LIFE COACHING NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2006
A SERIES ON THE GROWING EDGE OF SELF-DISCOVERY
PRACTICES AND PERSPECTIVES
ON MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
First Edition
"We don't know who discovered water but we know it wasn't fish."Santayana In some ways, we humans are not unlike Santayana’s fish -- only our unconscious swimming happens in the stream of unexamined words and thoughts which pass through our minds.
Since my own journey of self-discovery began in the wonder of meditation, and since all wisdom teaching –- both, ancient and modern, and eastern and western -- contains the Perspective that Self-Awareness is the essential existential condition necessary for human beings to flourish and grow beyond a “conventional (conforming) identity,” I begin this series with the practice of Mindfulness Meditation.
"When we open our eyes, we all see the same.
When we close our eyes, we all see individually." Jung
To begin, I've discovered that Mindfulness Meditation offers three precious gifts: a perspective from which the conscious mind can encounter the unconscious autonomous aspect [1] of the mind for the first time (a perch elegantly described by Pantangali [2] as the “spectator without a spectacle); a springboard from which one can escape its involuntary grip; [3] and, finally, the experience of awe and wonder that follows after having awakened to the profound connection between the human mind and body.
Jung described the ego (center of consciousness) as being like a “cork on the ocean.”
Buddha described the ego as being like “an elephant trainer” on the back of an untrained elephant.
Both metaphors speak to the inherent reality of our divided natures [4] -- how the body inevitably trumps the mind: consider how body language betrays intended deception, and how lie detectors recognize such deceptions.
Returning to the perspective from which the conscious mind encounters its unconscious autonomous nature, we have science: the evidence of Cognitive Psychologist, David Burns, M.D. [5] (who peaks at the human stream of consciousness in his research), eloquently convey in excruciating detail, the unconscious and negative effects of the unexamined mind on the life of human beings. He writes this:
"...all of your moods are created by your 'cognitions,' or thoughts. A cognition refers to the way you look at things -- your perceptions, mental attitudes and beliefs. It includes the way you interpret things -- what you say about something or someone to yourself. You feel the way you do now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.
...when you are feeling depressed, your thoughts are dominated by a pervasive negativity. You perceive not only yourself but the entire world in dark, gloomy terms. What is even worse -- you'll come to believe things really are as bad as you imagine them to be.
...research has documented that the negative thoughts which cause your emotional turmoil nearly always contain gross distortions. Although these thoughts appear valid, you will learn that they are irrational or just plain wrong, and that twisted thinking is the exclusive cause of nearly all of your suffering."
So, when Burns asserts that your 'twisted thinking is the exclusive cause of nearly all of your suffering' -- call me an optimist, but these are my inferences:
If you become aware of the thoughts passing through your mind,
you can change the contents of your mind.
And if you can change the contents of your mind,
You can change the quality of your life.
Fundamentally, you will have successfully shifted up into an expanded state of consciousness in which, now,"You will have thoughts." rather than "Your thoughts having you."
C.S. Lewis called this "inside information."
Shifting from an outer-referred consciousness to an inner-referred consciousness is an adventure. The first time I became conscious of my own breath, I was amazed and life has never been the same again.
"Mindfulness is considered the heart of Buddhist meditation but its essence is universal and of deep practical benefit to all. In essence, mindfulness is about wakefulness. Our minds are such that we are more often asleep than awake to the unique because and possibilities of each present moment as it unfolds."
Jon Kabat-ZinnIf you haven't taken the adventure yet, do it! You won't regret it.
Happy Fall, Angela Maffeo ©September 2006The schedule for the Day of Self-Discovery Programs at Radcliffe for 2006 is:
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Recommended reading for Mindfulness Meditation and Expanded Consciousness:
WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE by Jon Kabat-Zinn
A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING by Ken Wilber
Email your comments and questions to:
amaffeo@post.harvard.edu
______________________
[1] "Mindfulness is the art of paying attention, of listening to your heart. Rather than
withdrawing from the world, meditation can help you enjoy it more fully, more effectively, more peacefully." Dean Ornish, M.D.[2] Quotes from Patangali's Yoga Aphorisms:
"At the time of concentration the soul abides in the state of a spectator without a spectacle."
"The mind ... is not the supreme or highest power; it is only a function, an instrument ..."
[3] Sometimes referred to as the "Monkey Mind."
"This lack of the mastery over the mind has been well described by Swami Vivekananda:
"How hard it is to control the mind. Well it has been compared to the maddened monkey.
There was a monkey, restless, by his own nature, as all monkeys are. As if that were not enough, someone made him drink freely of wine, so that he became still more restless. Then a scorpion stung him. When a man is stung by a scorpion he jumps about for the whole day, so the poor monkey found his condition worse than ever. To complete his misery, a demon entered into him. What language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that monkey? The human mind is like that monkey; incessantly active by its own nature; then it becomes drunk with the wine of desire, thus increasing its turbulence. After desire takes possession comes the sting of the scorpion of jealousy of the success of others and last of all the demon of pride enters the mind, making it thinking itself of all importance. How hard to control such a mind." Roberto Assagioli, M.D., The Act of Will.
[4] If the mind/body connection fascinates you, you can read this online:
CHAPTER ONE OF HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS BY JON HAIDT
http://happinesshypothesis.com/happiness-hypothesis-ch1.pdf
[5] Feeling Good” by David Burns
[This is a "must read" for anyone interested in this subject.]
