Once is not custom it is Jacques Vigne, a specialist in Hindu meditation, of deep trance and transpersonal psychology that I leave the floor in the columns of the blog "Psychology and Meditation." Chiasmus in perfect with that title, his new book "Healing the Soul" (Albin Michel, 2007) is subtitled "Meditation and Psychology." He developed many interesting ideas for our subject. Dr Jacques Vigne has trained as a psychiatrist in Paris. He then went to India as part of the fellowship Romain Rolland, allocated to three or four researchers each year for study subjects to better match between India and France, then with the support of the House Science Rights. He lived for ten years in India, where he writes and follows a traditional training in the way of Yoga and Vedanta. His books are translated or being translated into several languages and are fast becoming classics in the field of transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy. Here's how he explains his approach:
Meditation, Psychotherapy and internal development
therapy most natural mind is meditation. Must still be able to apply it to yourself, or find someone who can help us to practice. We will consider different aspects of this issue.
The traditional Indian medicine called Ayurveda. There is a classification of psychiatric disorders which corresponds to our distinction between neurosis and psychosis, and ideas of drug treatment by herbs, Réserpia for example, states of excitement. The talk therapy is also addressed. Traditional healers are very active, 80% of Indians were seen at least once in their life. They may perform rituals for the sick, and bring in a healing temple where he will return in a trance. These treatments are of short duration, to get a crisis. If the subject wants s'explorer further, he has both the motivation and ability, he will see a g (o) ur (o) u, which will advise him of practices, which, in young subjects or the restless mind, are more oriented service to the community rather than looking for a meditation intensive.
The question of the choice of g (o) ur (o) u is the most important because it will be a major transfer, to use the vocabulary of psychology, because of this, the true g ( o) ur (o) u has more traditional duties than rights to the disciple. It also has a special lead a pure life and be detached from material goods, test which falls sometimes in conflict with institutions in the financial well-established base. We can say that g (o) ur (o) u is the traditional archetype of those who aid as it can benefit from a rapprochement with the therapist. It is this subject that I discussed in my first book "The Master and the therapist." Before the proliferation of schools of psychotherapy and group spiritual self, the question arises for the public to know who can help, at what level and under what conditions. On that subject, we have much to learn from the pluralism of Hinduism, which has always been a multiplicity of schools and ideas about the mind without detriment provided to its vitality.
I discussed in my second book "Elements of spiritual psychology, how certain syndromes of psychopathology can be understood from a spiritual perspective open. For example, depression with his immobility, his detachment from objects prior investment may be the usual starting point for a return to self-meditative, provided that the patient can come to consider positively the sudden depression: it is at first a sort of coup of the body that no longer wants to disperse its energy to the outside and made sure to stay longer inside. This is where the skill of a therapist accustomed to spiritual matters may be a big help. I talk this way other symptoms of depression, as well as those of schizophrenia and regression. I question the notion of normality. Normality of the true spiritual perspective is not static but evolutionary. A truly healthy person should be able to exceed itself, to transcend its limits in order to experience the fundamental unity with all beings in all their variety. This is what teaches the East repeatedly, and indeed the tradition Christian also, for the little we know. In the second part of "Elements of spiritual psychology," I try to understand why the notion of spiritual master so common in the East has hardly developed in Christianity, it seems that this is mainly because it is a concept to compete with the power of a centralized hierarchy. I also addresses the concept of the meaning of the body and suffering, a theme that I look again in the Christian spiritual practices (the Desert Fathers) and Hindu (Ie Yoga) on the occasion of a subsequent written .
Meditation and psychology
In my third book "Meditation and Psychology" published recently, trying to clarify what the meditative approach: neither verbal introspection or analysis, but presence intuitive messages to the body at every moment and test, for the pacification and understanding the mind-body connection, to receive a stable consciousness below the continuous interference What do the automatic thoughts and feelings. There are many studies that have been made on meditation: Walsh and Shapiro have published fifty they considered particularly significant and cites 700 articles or studies on the subject, there is already this decade. I read The number of theses and dissertations in the United States on meditation was about 4000 years ago. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology "is to know what kind of work to an audience spread around the world. The relationship between meditation and psychotherapy has been studied in France by two associations, one of which has recently published a book of that title which I myself contributed. These are the acts of the first congress of the association in 1994.
In "Psychology and Meditation," I'm leaving the body and going to pure consciousness by trying to consider each of the major chapters of the body-mind point of view of meditation: vital energy previously, sleep and altered states of consciousness, the relationship between meditation and action, ego, emotions, I'imaginaire, not to mention the attention that is, if one can say, meditation what the knife is to surgery or hand massage. I am interested in the relationship between drugs and meditative experiences. I made a simple experiment of taking at the end of a five-month retirement when I 'had meditated for six to eight hours per day, 50 mg naltrexone hydrochloride, known inhibitor of beta-endorphin . About eighty percent of the effects of my meditation were inhibited: I had no appetite for attention, to observe the mental and global indifference. Valium or Haldol, taken for comparison, had little inhibitory effects on meditation. This experiment confirmed a priori by a control on a small group of meditators but who needs to be repeated with a larger sample, suggests that beta-endorphin is an important link in the meditative experience, and the mechanism of wider attention. This does not mean that someone would take endorphins would automatically Ull great meditator, the most important in meditation is the process of consciousness that can reach a state, and it is interpreted: to say otherwise, beyond the state of consciousness should be sought Consciousness states, which is nothing but the Self which is responsible Vedanta constantly.
I came to the conclusion that whatever the route of approach, relaxation, relaxation therapy, hypnosis or erichsonnienne classic, there is a deep state common is therapeutic. It allows easy communication between the conscious and the unconscious, and between the body and mind.
mechanism of therapeutic action of deep trance
There are mechanisms of action similar between the deep trance state common to various forms of therapy, and meditation. We remember events better in a sad state when you're sad again. The memory is linked to mood. It was also experiences memory while intoxicated or under amobarbital or amphetamine. The subjects were to resume the psychotropic substance in order to properly remember what they had stored in the same state. This also applies to emotional states, body postures (see the memory of the dream that comes when we take the same attitude as we had) or the memory running in place, even season (seasonal disease). Is used in a meaningful way of this conditioning related to the state when it is recommended to meditate at the same place at roughly the same time and in the same position. To facilitate the integration of meditation in daily life, it is advisable also in some schools of Buddhism, like Zen, to meditate with open eyes. That said, this act of memory-related condition may explain the difficulty for the meditators to put the statements they have in meditation in everyday life, there is no simple recipe for it, c ' is a question of spiritual maturity overall.
Let us turn now to the main mechanisms of action of deep trance :
1. Coping with symptoms
It's about seeing his fears in the face, and develop a fundamental quality for meditating, which is simply not afraid. Advise the patient to move in the direction of the symptom to a certain point has often been described as "paradoxical intention>> but the symptom, appearing, wants to tell us something, and the paradox is rather in the usual attitude is to try to silence rather than listen. Being able to approach gradually the place or attitude mental quality is painful for both patient and meditating. This is reminiscent of the basic mechanism of osteopathy who is by manipulation progressive return to the position of the initial trauma that the body was in the habit of reflexively flee, and realize that it happens nothing painful. You could call it "mental I'auto-osteopathy.
could also call this basic mechanism "association-dissociation" by a chain of associations, mnemonic, emotional, one returns to the traumatic episode, and now, thanks to the state of deep relaxation, it dissociates the traumatic image of the negative emotion, the tension was there to replace them automatically associated with deep relaxation. Many therapies fall agree on this mechanism, each with its own vocabulary: in psychoanalysis, this is called "follow the resistance" to mirror the distortions of the patient ", etc. ... In behaviorism, we will discuss the implosion, flooding by the patient's symptom, the "stimulus satiation" I'immersion ... In gestalt, we ask the patient "to emphasize his feelings" instead of avoiding it, and systemic therapies, we speak paradoxical injunctions, or to prescribe the symptom relapse, lack of hope expressed, and finally a double bind of therapeutic paradox.
Meditation allows us to go in the symptom or the shadows in advising non-fear as a basic quality, we have mentioned. Moreover, a deep understanding of mental functioning in pairs of opposites (dvandva) leads naturally to accept that the symptoms that we tend to reject a part of ourselves has still something to tell us and we can possibly suggest a way out. In practice, the meditator I'immobilité is an effective way to address every little movement corresponding to an early leak. The Pondering for a minimum period of time in each session and throughout the day escape to avoid too self-reducing practice time. A method of Vipassana is to scan every part of the body one after the other with the consciousness and to stop before the insensible parts, "blind" until they become tender. This opens a window into the unconscious through a repressed feeling, which, when it reappears, shows us why she was repressed. Finally, when one reads the life of a yogi or wise, we see that during their sadhana, they had episodes of samadhi with prolonged respiratory failure and near-complete. Is not this the way to dive straight in a fundamental fear, that of suffocation and death, and once you're inside, learn to smile? It seems more that hypoxia do secrete from a certain point of the hormones associated with the well-being (cortisol and perhaps endorphins), which would facilitate this process of desensitization fundamental otherwise harmless when it occurs spontaneously during meditation, since the body will always eventually return normal breathing.
2. The evaluation of symptom
This method is correlated to the first, insofar as it can also cope with the symptom: the patient is asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 100 its symptoms, then see how it changes during deep trance. This convinces the patient of the impermanence of its evils, because they often end up lost at least a few times. As such, this method can be likened to meditation in which, observing the sensations, not only painful, but pleasant or neutral, its impermanence and you realize it is released in small little of their disruptive influence on the basis of the mind.
3. Back to the resources already present in the individual
This database is typically a therapeutic basis of meditation also: the resources present continuously at the bottom of ourselves are the Self, the Divine, to the beyond forms; whatever name is given.
4. The decompartmentalization mental functions
One reason for the pain inside, it is the means of communication between the various mental functions: verbalization, imagery, emotions, sensations. Therapy is clearly intended to convey information between these different plans; meditation too. In practice, due to return regularly to the body while the mind away from it no less regularly to project themselves into the complex emotions-usual word-images allows real decompartmentalization between these levels.
5. Regeneration ultradian
Rossi insists on overall efficiency, non-specific sessions rest of twenty minutes when we feel during the day. He walks away and a speech of psychotherapeutic schools who want to appear as specific as possible in order to appear as scientific as possible as well. The report specifically scientific psychotherapy must be questioned. Overall effectiveness, as long as it is proven, is quite scientific. Moreover, behind the statements of specific action to look scientific to hide as trade concerns: "follow my method, you will get results that you do anywhere else ..." It is the interest of the general book on meditation and psychology to show the types of activities common to various methods compared to what they are really specific.
often given this advice to beginners who want to make pension especially among Tibetans: do short sessions of meditation, whenever you feel, which may return five or ten times such as during the day: probably meditators make regeneration ultradian unknowingly ...
6. The emotional abreaction
Emotions are the basis of the psyche, they have their place in therapy as in meditation. This is not to be the plaything of emotions, but whether they play with. There are three types of abreactions: pathological, therapeutic and meditative.
- The abreaction is the pathological hysterical, which is very theatrical and not very therapeutic, however some have noticed that when we speak let these crises, and conversion symptoms, that is to say until the beginning of the century, there were significantly fewer psychosomatic illnesses. The latter, unlike the hysteria, can be fatal.
- The abreactions occur during therapy sessions: they are effective, however may be suspected of theatricality from the therapist, the patient wants it or just to scare him.
- The Meditative abreactions: they happen usually indoors, although they may occur also outside the so-called "kriyas. They are subtle, but real. They have the sole witness Witness, that is to say, the Self. The energy they release during meditation can be directly oriented towards spiritual evolution.
Key points from this? Already, the need to find his own rhythm, which does not correspond to selfish whims, but the physiology of the organism. In the history of ancient monasticism, there were two tendencies: those who followed strict timetables Community and then others, often semi-hermits hermits who followed their own pace: they were called "idiorythmiques" and it is on their side rather than my sympathies go ...
The increasing emphasis in psychology in memory related to the state rediscovered three fundamentals of meditation: our ego is not a stable entity, but rather a shifting mosaic of different states, on the other hand, mental states vary from moment to moment, according to briefs that traces the state of the moment, they lack the continuity that superimposes on them so as secondary. Finally, we can see that what is liberating in therapy or meditation, this is not the depth of the "trance" that the quality of the dissociation between the psycho-physical and whoever is watching. With this separation, an individual may feel his operated leg for example, in hetero-or self-hypnosis, but not to be identified with the pain. Ramana Maharshi was operated on at the end of his life as a bone tumor on the arm without anesthesia. When asked what pain he had, he answered quietly: "It's like the bite of a million scorpions, but that body is not for me." Until the end, he remained quiet and bright. Then when he died, his features became marked, expressing intense pain. That is to say that until consciousness was present, the dissociation was functional, but once she is gone, the body has run its course. This dissociation between the observer and the observed (Drishti Drishti and) is more than therapy. It is a spiritual path in itself, the path of Knowledge.
Meditation can she turn to pathological subjects?
To be clear, it is better to distinguish the ordinary meaning of meditation sadhana, the latter representing a meditation sustained, intense, with a daily life in harmony with the ideals of meditation. to be accepted by a spiritual master and embark on this path requires a great balance of departure and a good ability of self-control (the Yama-Niyama Yoga). At that time, the practitioner can be treated by balancing the flow of energy (prana). According to Ayurvedic medicine, diseases are both physical and mental imbalances between prana. The practitioner may also make self-analysis during his meditation. The role of the spiritual master is not, like the psychotherapist, to return detailed unconscious disciple by cons, he can put in a situation where negative trends may be latent. It will then analyze the disciple of the As. Despite all these favorable factors, the practitioner can go through difficult phases, especially if the Kundalini awakening is accelerated by the absence of sexual activity. The meditations practiced extensively concentration may reveal weaknesses observation of the mind to rebalance regularly psyche.
After discussing this traditional reference, what about now indications of meditation in psychotherapy? How practical will he? In practice non-intensive, with multiple opportunities for verbalization with the therapist. Prayer, the mantra can help to stabilize the mind and regain a minimum capacity of concentration. For cons, the meditations of observation are not as recommended, patients who did not have control of the mind that these techniques need to be profitable. Overall, meditations very close to the body seem useful to bring awareness to the base of the mind and avoid excessive ramblings. However, these meditations may increase hypochondriacal tendencies.
I discussed these issues with Dr. Schnetzler, former head of department of psychiatry and practitioner of the Tibetan way. He arranged for a long meditation groups with patients. The indication of meditation arose in a case by case and there was no regular correspondence between a particular type of meditation and pathology. In reality, the real problem does not arise so much in terms of indicating or indication-cons, but rather in terms of patient motivation, success in finding or not a psychotherapist who has sound experience of meditation.
This article gives an idea of some processes involved in meditative experience. Even if meditation can help some patients because they are too ill or they are not motivated to practice it, it can help therapists to assist them in the most natural way, ie say, by a process of consciousness.
By Dr. Jacques VINE
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