Finding the Center Within: The Healing Way of Mindfulness Meditation. by Thomas Bien Page B
Authors: Thomas Bien
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longer captive to it. You may even be able to come back to just walking in the forest. This in itself is a miracle. Evolution has provided us with a gastrointestinal system that is skillful at digesting the food and nutrients we need to maintain a healthy body. It is not always perfect. Some people have allergies to certain foods. These types of food will not be digested well and may cause 02 BIEN.qxd 7/16/03 9:46 AM Page 26
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problems. All of us lose digestive enzymes as we age. Food that we once could digest easily now no longer agrees with us. Many people, for example, lose the ability to digest dairy products. Similarly, the human mind is the gift of evolution as well. It has become skillful at anticipating problems and solving them. It has become good at digesting unpalatable experiences. Troubling experiences may be metabolized in dreams, or by thinking and talking about them until we are through thinking and talking about them. Sometimes, however, this system of mental digestion breaks down. Sometimes the mind gets stuck in its processing. We may have recurrent dreams, or even relive traumatic experiences as if they are happening all over again. Someone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may relive wartime experiences again and again, caught in an endless and frightening loop. When we get caught in such a loop, when our minds are not digesting difficult feelings and experiences, we need help. At this point we need some way to bring calmness to our experience. Just as we do not digest properly if we eat while we are agitated, so we cannot process feelings if we are not calm. If we cannot do this on our own, psychotherapy aims to restore our ability to digest difficult experiences, so we can learn from them without being dominated by them. Key in this process is the ability to recognize that what you are experiencing is a memory and not a present reality. The presence of a therapist helps clients realize that they are not reliving this old experience, but they are safe with a caring person at their side, remembering it. When this happens, the mind’s capacity to digest the difficult experience is restored. We get stuck when fears, worries, or old traumas put us into a trance of pain that takes us out of the present moment. So with the person walking in the forest and worrying about money, it is important that he knows he is walking in the forest. If he gets so caught up in his fear that he is overpowered by it, with the same thoughts and feelings looping endlessly, he will get stuck there. It is already helpful when he realizes that he is in a lovely forest, walking in peace, even while at the same time he has this fear and worry. That way, he is not completely engulfed in the negative material.
Neutral experiences can become positive if we receive them with calmness and clarity. The bluebird that flew right across our path this morning as Beverly and I took our morning walk was very beautiful. 02 BIEN.qxd 7/16/03 9:46 AM Page 27
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But if our minds were agitated, we might have experienced it as neutral or not even have noticed it at all. Wouldn’t that have been a shame?
Similarly, drinking a glass of water may be neutral, but if you experience it fully, it can be a pleasure. The breath is often experienced as neutral, but it can be quite enjoyable if we give attention to it. Breath also can help us calm down and digest negative experiences, transform neutral events into positive ones, and reduce our suffering from negative experiences.
PRACTICE
Count the Breath
Sit comfortably. Loosen any tight clothing. Let your mind turn toward your breathing. With the first in-breath, count one. With the first outbreath, count one. With the second in-breath, count two, and with the second out-breath, count two, continuing up to ten. When your mind wanders, come back to the breathing, and begin again with one. When you reach ten, go
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problems. All of us lose digestive enzymes as we age. Food that we once could digest easily now no longer agrees with us. Many people, for example, lose the ability to digest dairy products. Similarly, the human mind is the gift of evolution as well. It has become skillful at anticipating problems and solving them. It has become good at digesting unpalatable experiences. Troubling experiences may be metabolized in dreams, or by thinking and talking about them until we are through thinking and talking about them. Sometimes, however, this system of mental digestion breaks down. Sometimes the mind gets stuck in its processing. We may have recurrent dreams, or even relive traumatic experiences as if they are happening all over again. Someone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may relive wartime experiences again and again, caught in an endless and frightening loop. When we get caught in such a loop, when our minds are not digesting difficult feelings and experiences, we need help. At this point we need some way to bring calmness to our experience. Just as we do not digest properly if we eat while we are agitated, so we cannot process feelings if we are not calm. If we cannot do this on our own, psychotherapy aims to restore our ability to digest difficult experiences, so we can learn from them without being dominated by them. Key in this process is the ability to recognize that what you are experiencing is a memory and not a present reality. The presence of a therapist helps clients realize that they are not reliving this old experience, but they are safe with a caring person at their side, remembering it. When this happens, the mind’s capacity to digest the difficult experience is restored. We get stuck when fears, worries, or old traumas put us into a trance of pain that takes us out of the present moment. So with the person walking in the forest and worrying about money, it is important that he knows he is walking in the forest. If he gets so caught up in his fear that he is overpowered by it, with the same thoughts and feelings looping endlessly, he will get stuck there. It is already helpful when he realizes that he is in a lovely forest, walking in peace, even while at the same time he has this fear and worry. That way, he is not completely engulfed in the negative material.
Neutral experiences can become positive if we receive them with calmness and clarity. The bluebird that flew right across our path this morning as Beverly and I took our morning walk was very beautiful. 02 BIEN.qxd 7/16/03 9:46 AM Page 27
F I N D A PAT H T O T H E C E N T E R
27
But if our minds were agitated, we might have experienced it as neutral or not even have noticed it at all. Wouldn’t that have been a shame?
Similarly, drinking a glass of water may be neutral, but if you experience it fully, it can be a pleasure. The breath is often experienced as neutral, but it can be quite enjoyable if we give attention to it. Breath also can help us calm down and digest negative experiences, transform neutral events into positive ones, and reduce our suffering from negative experiences.
PRACTICE
Count the Breath
Sit comfortably. Loosen any tight clothing. Let your mind turn toward your breathing. With the first in-breath, count one. With the first outbreath, count one. With the second in-breath, count two, and with the second out-breath, count two, continuing up to ten. When your mind wanders, come back to the breathing, and begin again with one. When you reach ten, go
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