Overcoming resistance to meditation practice

[Sundragon]

Hello All,

 

Well, for my first non-introductory post I wanted to share something that really helped me. For a few years I meditated off and on without any real progress. My practice wasn't rooted in any tradition though over recent years I have gravitated to the practice of ceremonial magick/qabalah. I have found that the Western way speaks to me but not without a healthy dose of an Eastern understanding of non-duality and the Self (I'm ore more Hindu than Buddhist in regards to my understanding of this subject) and the infinite impersonal divine (nicely embodied in Taoist thought).

 

In regards to my energy work, I am embarking on a "one seat" approach to Qigong and about to begin a year long focused practice of Spring Forest Qigong to the exclusion of all other teachings. I have already experienced this system and find that I can instantly enter a somatic trance of sorts where I can sense the movement of my Qi. Along with this I am going to work with Glenn Morris' Meditation Mastery course which I have had for quite some time but never got around to using it with any dedication.

 

For a long time I noticed that I quickly developed a resistance to meditation very quickly after starting any consistant meditation practice in the form of profound stress and anxiety that would literally prevent me from progressing despite my best efforts. Well, being a trained clinical hypnotherapist I figured I must have some sort of subconscious block to meditation but nothing I knew in regards to self-hypnosis helped one bit.

 

Deciding that there must be something out there that would help I stumbled upon (in a rather synchronistic way..."when the student is ready" and all that jazz...) the CDs of Dr. Lloyd Glauberman a psychiatrist and a hypnotherapist as well. I bit the bullet and bought a CD called Meditative Relaxation and I have to admit that the results have been nothing short of amazing. Years and years of resistance is melting away and I find that my motivation to learn meditation and practice both meditation and qigong is limitless. In fact it is this enthusiasm that got me to sign up to become a Tao Bum.

 

This CD isn't the old fashioned paternalistic hypnosis of (You now want to meditate, Every day it gets easier and easier to meditate and similar suggestions) instead it is based on the power of Ericsonian hypnosis and metaphorical storytelling. It is amazing how quickly the subconscious mind responds to metaphors and stories in comparison to direct authoritative suggestions that can easily bring about even greater resistance.

 

As in all things, our subconscious (or unconscious mind, inner mind) can either be our greatest enemy or our greatest ally. I am so enthusiastic to share what I have found to be an amazing aid to the practice of meditation which is so vital on the spiritual journey (not that there is anywhere to go of course). I am certain that I am not alone in having had trouble sticking to a meditation practice or encountering powerful resistance to a disciplined practice. Please check out this CD and see what you think. If I could give away copies I would but Dr. Glauberman deserves to be paid for his work.

 

(and no, I am not either Dr. Glauberman or an affiliate selling his products)

 

Any thoughts on the subject of resistance in regards to meditation, qigong and spiritual practice in general would be most welcome as I am here to learn.

 

 

 

Sundragon

Edited December 20, 2009 by Sundragon

[bindo]

Hey Sundragon,

Good to have you here. I trained as a hypnotherapist 20 years ago. Never did anything with it, but I'm glad to have taken the training. In fact, just a few days ago, I pulled out all of the training materials to review.

 

Thanks for the tip about Dr. Lloyd Glauberman. I've been interested in his work for a long time but never bought any of his products.

 

Milton Erickson's work is a fascinating study as well. He was a brilliant man ahead of his time.

[DalTheJigsaw123]

Thank you!

[fiveelementtao]

Well, IME any spiritual process that creates subconscious resistance is a sure sign that it is something that I need for my own personal growth.

My take on the process is that true spiritual growth happens on a level that is beyond the reach of my mind/ego. So, since my mind does not understand what is happening, it becomes fearful and acts out destructively in an attempt to protect me. The job of my ego is to protect me, so when it feels it cannot control a situation, it thinks it is a threat and seeks to destroy it. So, once again, I need to work with my ego, let it know that the process is really for my benefit and help me through it. If I am able to convince my ego that I will become stronger as a result of the practice, then my ego will try to to help me through the fear and resistance.

 

I will share an example. I used to be an actor and director. Whenever I was directing a play or film, just before opening night or first day of shooting, the actors would all forget lines, have physical injuries, pick fights with each other and then all freak out because tomorrow was opening night and they were all afraid that they would suck on when the curtain went up or when I yelled action. It is at this point that many directors start yelling at their actors to "get it together and stop screwing around." which puts more stress on the actors and creating more negative drama.

I, on the other hand, would tell my actors that all the craziness they are experiencing was a very good sign. To this, my actors would usually get a slacked jawed dumbfounded look on their faces. I would explain that their resistance was exhibiting itself through unconscious destructive acts. Not because they didn't know what they were doing, but because they were on the verge of actually emotionally connecting with their characters and going beyond their mind's understanding and this was frightening their egos... So, then I would talk them through explaining that their egos did not understand what was going on and that they were afraid. So, if we merely explain to our egos like a parent to a frightened child that if we go beyond the mind and actually emotionally connect with our characters, we will look better,... then our egos will get out of the way and help us go beyond our limitations....

 

This is the process I go through with myself when I am experiencing ego based fears in regard to my spiritual work. Instead of trying to destroy my ego, I become the parent and explain to my ego that it is in our best interest if we take the risk and work through the fear...

 

My .02

Mike