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…has constantly been cited as a prerequisite for meditation. Also, the standard disclaimer states that meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological treatment.
Basically, then, the people who need meditation the most are the least able to do it, and those who are most able to do it are the least inclined so to do. Because of course a person with a naturally stable mind is most likely to be much more involved in the external world.
Plus, as a slight irony, what, apart from pharmacological treatment, is psychological treatment if not a form of guided or assisted meditation?!
Within many traditional medical / spiritual traditions meditation was used as a treatment for a whole range of psychological and emotional problems, including what we would generally in the West call “mental illness” (not the DSM-IV-TR definition but you get the gist)
In the extremely litigious society we live in you can totally understand why a meditation teacher is not going to suggest someone with serious problems engage in a “mass market” programme.
Certain types of condition such as Schizotypal disorders can be controlled by medication however if you engage in deep trance activity such as meditation or hypnosis this can cause a relapse. I suspect this is because you are beginning to play with the boundary between the conscious and unconscious mind (using a popular model of consciousness)
Where meditation was used as therapy the meditation teacher would generally work 1 to 1 with the patient, a relationship that is clearly not there if you are trying to reach a wider audience.
However I would say a lot of things like “stress” mild anxiety and mild (non clinical) depression can be vastly helped by meditation.
The training creates the “stable mind” we are all at different starting points and how stable your mind is may fluctuate day to day to begin with.
I would suggest that if you have a diagnosed Psychiatric condition that you contact your health care practitioner or Energy Arts (or both) before starting a programme like this.
……………..mmm, is our practice not about nurturing and then iteratively improving the stability of mind as just one aspect of meditation development/cultivation? .
…..fascinating discussion, which perhaps compares with ‘exercise for health’ programmes where those who would benefit most are the least likely to engage. I have the impression that Bruce is ‘on a mission’ to offer a safe, effective and accessible approach to meditation for the wider community – and in exactly the same way that ‘general’ physical exercise classes aren’t appropriate for everyone, so too for activities like meditation. That said, the point that those who would benefit most from a little attentive relaxation are least likely to engage is pivital in the context of wider health and wellbeing – part of the solution is likely to involve improved communication, education backed by more evidence based research.
ok, so in a litigious society, it is reasonable to take precautions. However, in a closed meditation circle, it is possible to be more explicit.
So, to be absolutely clear, meditation absolutely is intended for pretty much the whole spectrum of mental or psychological disorders, in contrast to the specific proclamation of the disclaimer?!
As a matter of interest, seeing as a very wide range of knowledge is available in this forum, what would have been the ancient Chinese method of approaching the very serious psychotic illnesses?
Regards…
I agree, we can be more explicit in this circle, but I think we have to be careful since we have no teacher actually observing us as we meditate and interact on a daily or weekly basis. I think someone like Bruce could tell very quickly if a student was in trouble, but with our limited interaction here it would be much more difficult.
To me, it’s kind of like the old saying, when the student is ready the teacher appears. Maybe for this topic – and in a perfect world – it would read, when the patient is ready the doctor will appear.
In a way, I think we all are probably a little crazy and could use some help. But I feel like this practice is safe for me. Obviously, Bruce feels that it’s safe for most people or he wouldn’t teach it openly. I’m sure he knows a lot of techniques that aren’t safely taught in the open and has chosen not to teach them publicly.
It is explicit enough to say that, in principle, meditation has these aforementioned capacities.
I fully recognise that the infrastructure for implementing the practicalities of meditation in this western world is woefully inadequate.
However, this is not to say that such an infrastructure could not be developed.
Peace!
…. a number of times over the years, I’ve heard Bruce give examples of Taoist adepts in China providing very high levels of expert and sophisticated support for all manor of mental and physical disease and trauma – particularly during and following the Cultural Revolution. I’m also aware of a growing number of Tibetan lineage meditation traditions beginning to open up in support the development of synergy between authentic lineage traditions and modern science to help people across the spectrum of mental health.
That sounds great, I am all for synergy. I am curious, though, exactly what was the nature of such expert help? If you accept that the more disordered the mind, the less amenable to treatment by meditation, what methods were used to bring about some semblance of stability for meditation to be able to work? Some kind of herbs and tui na I suppose…
Seeing as you have brought up physical disease, is there some point at which these Taoist arts become ineffective? How far are they effective in cancer, for example? There must be a point in the progression of the disease where modern medical science is the only recourse. Where is this point? I think that this information would be of great interest to many. But of course it’s a closed shop. Any mention of natural treatments for cancer, certainly in this country, and you would be regarded as the lunatic fringe…
Happy Easter to all, although perhaps, on second thoughts, that may not be a festival celebrated by many energy arts practitioners. Ha ha, happy holidays then!…
I would imagine that how a meditation teacher might work with a patient would depend very much on their own background, training and level of personal development. These types of condition might be treated with a combination of acupuncture, Chi Kung Tui Na, herbs etc but it would also depend on the causality of the condition whether it was physical, emotional, mental, psychic, karmic etc or any combination of the above. I would think a high end teacher could do a lot by direct transmission.
Although this is to some degree a closed group, it’s not as if every person here has been vetted via a full psychological / medical case history so I think any disclaimer and caution would still fully apply in here as it would with any fully public programme.
With regard to physical illnesses, as with many alternative /
complementary medical systems unfortunately in the West practitioners often get the patient after modern alopathic medicine has given up. By which time it is often too late or only limited progress can be made. The time for a lot of these things to shine is before the illness kicks in or in the early stages of the disease. This is as much true for Western medicine as it is for Eastern. (this is not to be negative as there are amazing cures that happen that defy most rational explainations but they are slightly more rare) There are specific legal ramifications for claiming to be able to treat or “cure” cancer so you won’t find many people making those types of claim.Bruce has often mentioned that in China traditional methods are used alongside modern ones, for example using Dragon & Tiger Chi Kung with cancer patients alongside chemo / radio therapy. Also Chi Kung Tui Na practitioners keeping patients alive before modern surgery is used to patch them up. So it’s not necessarily an either / or choice. Both modern and traditional medical systems have their great strengths and weaknesses.
Meditation is a neigong (internal work). As such, it should be taken with the utmost respect, because it has the potential to change you profoundly at very subtle levels. Care must be taken to follow the safety precautions. For people in general, following time-tested methods from a good teacher is mostly safe. However, for people with special conditions I’d say that direct supervision is a must. Pretending otherwise is inviting trouble.
My 2 cents.
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