For me it means
- Sitting in noble silence, which is a way to know people without having to go through a forest of words.
- A chance to study the mind, which includes listening to my internal talk and slowly, as my meditation deepens, finding those precious gaps when I am silent within.
- The opportunity to watch meditators learn how to concentrate…and so experience the deep relaxation that comes as the day moves on.
- The ah ha that sometimes arises within -- as if my eyeglasses have suddenly been washed super-clean, in this way revealing a world that is radically clear, bright and vibrant.
The Psychotherapist's Corner
A meditation-inspired psychotherapy offers people a way of understanding their problems as well as a way of healing them... This full day retreat offers an opportunity to engage in learning mindfulness psychotherapy.
"The approach to working with others that I advocate is one in which spontaneity and humanness is extended to others."
---Chogyam Trungpa Rimposhe
Confusion, though uncomfortable, is a healthy state of mind. That's because it creates a great need for calm and clarity.
Psychotherapists can teach depressed people to become aware of their internal talk. This leads to the insight that thoughts are simply thoughts - nothing more. It also teaches that the person is bigger than his or her thoughts or the depression that comes with them. The result is a greater capacity to cope.
Meditation is a method for moving beyond the isolating tendency of the thinking mind.
Whether in a psychotherapy office or sitting on a cushion, we are practicing awareness. In the psychotherapy office our awareness is trained on the past and on the future. In meditation it is trained on the experience of awareness itself.
Narcissism is a double-edged sword; individuals suffering from narcissism either idealize or devalue themselves and others. Buddhist psychology blunts both sides of this sword by declaring that there is no solid and lasting self. Meditative exercises allow individuals to personally discover that they are ever changing, impermanent, and in the flow of life.
Meditation increases the psychotherapist's capacity for single pointed awareness. Relating in this way to a person who comes for help is an act of deep caring. It heals.
Strange how people come into our offices feeling guilty for trouble that is well beyond human control.
Letting go is a skill that can be taught.
5 comments:
Just a quick note of thanks to a skilled and kind teacher. I have found Barbara to be skilled in guiding the group in forms of meditation that have produced deep states of meditation and significant insight. One meditation in particular using visualization provided an almost dream-like experience of subconscious energies. Having meditative access to these energies and giving them form allowed a natural transformation to take place. I'm not likely to forget these experiences. They were both powerful and practical.
Charles May
I am amazed to see how easy it was to meditate deeply throughout the daylong retreat. The process was both gentle and peaceful and yet it produced for me several personal insights. I am quite certain I will use the techniques in my daily practice.
The day meditation gave me moments of profound inner peace & calm. For me, the demon exercise was a continuation of the first one Barbara did about a month ago. This time Images hatched. I am very grateful to Barbara for her generosity. Each month she gives us her time, her energy, her calm & guidance.
Grateful Mary
....thank you to our barbara for her all-day retreat...i always think it will be so long a day but it went by with joy and insight. i never want that to end. and not talking is such a relief...the energy of the group, the sharing is very helpful.....the intervals were just right...as in walking meditation, sitting and change of rooms, private sessions...thank you to sheila as well for the supplies, goodies and water. very thoughtful and appreciated...madeleine
I am new to this incredible group. I am so thrilled to have found this generous brilliant and lovely professional. These meditation mornings are incredible.
Thank you
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