Mindfulness Meditation–Its Potential Emotional Uncovering Effects
Posted by George Shears | Filed under Mindfulness Meditation, Uncategorized
In less than four decades from its introduction into the U.S. and other Western countries, mindfulness meditation has been embraced enthusiastically by millions of people as it becomes increasingly mainstream. Originally introduced by the Buddha over 2500 years ago, it has been referred to during most of its history as Vipassana (in Pali) or Vipashyana (Sanskrit) Meditation, which is usually translated literally as “seeing through clearly,” or “Insight Meditation” for short.
The specific meaning of the word, “insight,” as applied here, however, is at variance with how it is usually construed in Western psychotherapy—i.e., as becoming aware of buried feelings, traumatic memories, unconscious motives, etc.” The main insight that is commonly gained through mindfulness practice is at a distinctly different level and consists in personally experiencing the truth of what the Buddha called the “three marks of existence:”
- “Impermanence” (Anicca) – There are no permanent “things” to be found anywhere in the universe; rather, all of these seeming “things” are actually constantly changing processes.
- “Suffering, unsatisfactory, or imperfect” (Dukkha) – Given the truth of impermanence or constant
change, all forms of attachment or aversion to present experience inevitably causes suffering. - Egolessness (Anatta) – Since there are no permanent “things” of any kind, the seeming permanence of one’s “self” is illusory. It also is a constantly changing process; that is, in reality, there is no “self” that is separate from the rest of the universe. What is experienced as a separate self, then, is much like a whirlpool in a river, the contents of which are constantly changing.
No less an authority than Ken Wilber, sometimes called “the Einstein of consciousness,” claims that Vipassana meditation, no matter how intensively it is practiced, has no inherent potency in helping its practitioners become aware of what he terms their “shadow”–i.e., disowned feelings, motives, etc.
As a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher, I am quite puzzled by this claim in that I have personally observed many dramatic instances among even beginning mindfulness meditators whereby they have suddenly been flooded by buried (that is, completely disowned or “ego alien”) traumatic memories that include a panoply of such “shadow” feelings of which they were previously unaware.
On the basis of this personal experience, I’ve actually come to regard this particular effect as one of the most powerful potential benefits of mindfulness, although those who experience it unexpectedly may not initially regard it as such.
It is for this reason, that as a teacher of mindfulness, I have strongly emphasized the importance of understanding mindfulness as a tripartite skill set consisting in: 1) Concentration; 2) sensory clarity; and 3) equanimity. The latter of these three skills entails accepting or “embracing” ALL experiences equally, whether they are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. In my experience, it is the application of this particular sub-skill that makes mindfulness so potentially powerful in overcoming anxiety disorders, including panic attacks. As a meditator develops the skill to be fully present to, and accepting of, the intense fear that is the key defining quality of such disorders, it gradually (or sometimes suddenly) loses its previous controlling power.
As an example of how this can happen, a young woman who was subject to intense panic attacks enrolled in one of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs I led several years ago. Her specific aim in doing so was to overcome her panic attacks. Toward the end of the eight-week series of 2.5 hour classes, she experienced a sudden breakthrough during a guided meditation process.
During the sharing period that followed, she exclaimed loudly and joyfully: ”I CAN BE SCARED!” She went on to report that she had just sat through an intense panic attack, “one breath at a time,” and by doing so had realized that she was completely able to face this fear without fleeing from it as she had done repeatedly over a period of many years in the past.
Although I’m not aware of any research about the prevalence of repressed/disowned feelings coming into full awareness during intense meditation practice, I suspect that it is quite common. The following report by Ed Halliwell offers a particularly clear example of this phenomenon:
“About four days into my first meditation retreat, I started crying. Not little droplets of tears, but great, big, uncontrolled sobs – it felt like I was throwing up wave after wave of stale sadness. I’d expected the long days of sitting to be boring, annoying, physically demanding and (with a bit of luck) illuminating, so to find myself repeatedly breaking down into a noisy heap of grief came as a shock. These spontaneous outbursts of wailing continued throughout the month-long programme – it says much for the teachers’ equanimity that they didn’t chuck me out.
“So when would-be practitioners ask about the benefits of meditation, I tend not to give a straight answer. Will it help you be less stressed? Reduce your pain? Make you think more clearly? Stop you from eating too much? Well, maybe it will help with all of those things, but there’s no guarantee, and even if it does, you might find there are other effects too, like finding yourself questioning” (read the rest of the report here.)
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This blog has been created as a resource to all people who are dedicated to increasing happiness and to decreasing suffering in their lives--and in the world--by learning how to live more wisely and skillfully.It aims to include a distillation of what I have personally learned in theses regards, along with the collective wisdom of many others.