I Am

         Within 18 months, even after major life changing events such as a major accident causing permanent disability or winning millions in a lottery, people tend to return to their individual baseline level of happiness. This is referred to as hedonic treadmill or adaptation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill The topic is further complicated when we consider locus of control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control and openness to experience https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openness_to_experience

    These Western psychological concepts likely overlap somewhat with one's level of spiritual maturity. I have no idea if & how spiritual maturity could be assessed, except perhaps by someone with an exceptionally high level themself and has integrated this as completely as possible into their day-to-day life ie consistently 'walks the talk.'

    NOW as individuals, as a human race, and perhaps as the entire cosmos, we are ALL in the process of evolving spiritually and integrating this higher state of being into our day-to-day, moment-by-moment behavior. We are ALL starting to experience peace, unconditional love & joy that is independent of external conditions. 

    “By shifting our attention from the fluctuating nature of experiences ("I am this" or "I am that") to the simple, ever-present sense of "I am", we recognize the foundational being-ness that underlies them. As this recognition deepens, being-ness imbues all experiences, revealing a ground of peace that transcends understanding.” Amoda Maa

    Let us continuously remember who we truly are, our true nature, our authentic Self.

Amoda Maa "Recognizing the 'I Am' That is Always Present"

Protection on the Path

     Practicing morality & generosity is traditionally required in preparation, before learning meditation.

     We used to refer to such personal reserves of non-material wealth as "character." If we had earned a lot of it, we knew that we were "rock solid" ie stable & dependable, no matter how rough & chaotic things got.
     Today, morality & generosity are rarely even mentioned before or during secular meditation courses such as MBSR, even though they facilitate meditation practice and serve important protective functions. 
 
"The perfume of sandalwood,

the scent of rosebay and jasmine,

travel only as far as the wind.

But the fragrance of goodness

travels with us

through all the worlds.

Like garlands woven from a heap

of flowers,

fashion your life

as a garland of beautiful deeds."          Buddha 

     In addition to morality & generosity, years of dedicated meditation practice provide even more stability that further protects us from becoming lost within some of the challenging realms that we may encounter in meditation. We thus have a much better chance (*** see Treleaven's book below ***) of remaining absolutely clear about what’s happening, so that the ultimate dimension of our consciousness is never pulled into & gets lost in a chaotic realm, even when we may be right in the middle of it. 

     One of the most important things about our practice is that we start to discover inside ourselves a resource of stability - and that’s really important. That’s part of what meditation is about.         Adyashanti

     If you're a meditator, whether or not you're aware of ever having had significant trauma, whether or not you teach meditation, I highly recommend this new, well-written, important book:

David A. Treleaven. “Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness. Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing.” W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

Buddhism - a Closer Look

     Xenophobia is usually a form of aversion, even hatred: "fear & distrust of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange." Less commonly, xenophobia is expressed in the form of clinging or greed: "an uncritical exaltation of another culture in which a culture is ascribed an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia 
     We laugh at Homer Simpson when he says exactly how he feels: "I don't like him - he's different." But there's a little Homer in every one of us. We're far less evolved than we'd like to believe.
     From the start (~500BCE), Buddhism has sought the "middle-path" between extremes, and has seen aversion, greed, & delusion, as the basic causes of human suffering. Nevertheless, xenophobia remains a powerful primitive reaction, easily over-ruling higher forms of reason. "The world we experience comes as much, if not more, from the inside out as from the outside in." Anil Seth http://jglovas.wixsite.com/awarenessnow/single-post/2017/09/22/Clarity-of-Vision

     "Buddhism ... is not primarily a philosophy or description of reality. It is a pragmatic path whose goal is to lessen suffering and increase happiness." Melvin McLeod, Lion's Roar, November 2017

     The Buddha 
• denied being divine; 
• only claimed to have "awakened" by dropping greed, hatred & delusion; 
• for 40 years taught many to achieve the same awakening he had; 
• taught people not to rely on him or anyone other than themselves to awaken; and 
• taught that even his own teachings (later called "Buddhism") were like a raft to cross a river, a vehicle to be discarded after one has awakened.

     Like the Hippocratic Oath, the Buddha's primary interest was lessening suffering and increasing long-term happiness. So Buddhism has a lot in common with, and has often been compared to, a form of medicine or psychology.

     "Pragmatism considers thought an instrument or tool for prediction, problem solving and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes. The philosophy of pragmatism 'emphasizes the practical application of ideas by acting on them to actually test them in human experiences'. Pragmatism focuses on a 'changing universe rather than an unchanging one as the Idealists, Realists and Thomists had claimed'." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism

 

Lambert's of Taos, NM  http://lambertsoftaos.com/new-manager/main

Core Insights of Buddhism

     “The three core insights of the Buddhist tradition are the facts of impermanence, of suffering, and of non-self. 
     The first of these refers to the truth that all phenomena, without exception, change; 
     the second recognizes that all experience is structurally incapable of yielding lasting satisfaction; 
     and the third points out the awkward truth that we are not quite what we take ourselves to be. 

     To these we might usefully add the associated ideas of the interdependent arising of all phenomena, and the notion of awakening as a radical psychological transformation.”


       Olendzki A. "Unlimiting Mind. The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism." Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2010. 


     Useful introduction to the above: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/08/exploring-mysteries-of-human-condition.html

Deluded Ordinary Mind

     “Buddhist psychology offers models of the process and structures of the mind. It shows how flight from the existential inevitability of loss, pain, and death leads to delusion, which is a subtle and pervasive refusal to face reality. Instead, we attempt to find and hold on to something that is concrete and substantial. This common mentality is one of grasping, which leads to attachment and creates an accumulation of habit-energies, preferences, and behavior patterns that support the illusion of an enduring self that can escape impermanence. Buddhist psychology sees this self as a defensive structure that lacks foundation yet dominates the ordinary mind.”

        Caroline Brazier. “Buddhism on the Couch. From Analysis to Awakening Using Buddhist Psychology.” Ulysses Press, Berkley, CA, 2003. 

Spirituality - Healthy or Unhealthy?

     “The pursuit of spiritual goals can be a useful excuse to avoid dealing with painful feelings, unresolved trauma, and limited professional development. But prioritizing transcendence over relationships becomes a way to be self-centered while appearing to be concerned for the benefit of other people. 
     So psychologists … apply a simple test to spiritual statements: Do the beliefs and practices take the person closer to a functional and helpful existence, or away from one?”
        Scott Carney. "A Death on Diamond Mountain. A True Story of Obsession, Madness, and the Path to Enlightenment." Gotham Books, 2015.
       The message: don't join cults, especially if you have undiagnosed & untreated psychiatric conditions - perfectly reasonable!
       But then the author warns against serious spiritual pursuits in general, travel to foreign countries with different cultures, and the power of evil spells, - all of these endangering sanity & life - ????

     Futile attempts to escape psychosocial dysfunction through religion / spirituality is called spiritual bypassing. See: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/02/processing-karma-now-spiritual-bypassing.html 
     When unfortunate, marginalized individuals get trapped in spiritual bypassing, usually after intensive brainwashing by sociopathic handlers, instead of finding heaven, they "unleash hell on earth", primarily for their own families. Such psychosocial illness has nothing to do with legitimate humanistic / religious / spiritual aspirations. 
     Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an increasingly common humanistic pathway towards greater depth of meaning: http://jglovas.wix.com/awarenessnow#!Meditations-Potential/c17jj/565b14520cf221f2a7a5e228

     Examples of legitimate Buddhist aspirations are expressed by Dogen:
     "Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments to the self."
     and the Bodhisattva vow: http://www.johnlovas.com/2015/06/bohdisattva-vow.html 

Buddha statue

Desire, Craving, Clinging & Suffering

     "Our minds are governed by a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then being driven by loss, need, desire, or insecurity to crave it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions: addictions to drugs, drink, cigarettes, sex, love, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we so driven, often at great cost to ourselves?"
       Marc Lewis. "Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs." Anchor Canada, 2012.

     In 500BCE, the Buddha, through meditative contemplation, learned and taught what neuroscientists are starting to discover: the basic cause of human suffering is the "self" that "clings", craves, desires, etc. See: http://www.johnlovas.com/2014/09/unentangling-from-me-myself-i.html

     "If you get something that is quite nice, you simply want to keep it, or repeat it, or get something similar to it. Like being in debt, we must continually work to satisfy our desire for sensual pleasures, our wanting. There is no fulfillment to be found by obtaining what you want. Okay, you get some fulfillment for a bit, but no ultimate fulfillment. We usually assume that when we want something and we get it and that feels great, that feeling is due to the fact that we got what we wanted. But have you ever stopped to consider that it might be due to the fact that you stopped wanting? The relief from the wanting produces quite a bit of pleasure. So perhaps a more effective strategy would be to let go of the wanting."
       Leigh Brasington http://rc.leighb.com/more/Abandoning_the_Five_Hindrances.htm

     "Many people are not aware of this, but strictly speaking, the statues we see of the Buddha, as well as other Buddhist art objects, serve as representations of states of mind rather than of a divinity." 
       Jon Kabat-Zinn. "Mindfulness for Beginners. Reclaiming the Present Moment - and Your Life." Sounds True, 2012.

Dale Johnson   www.dpreview.com

Basis of Mental Illness & Suffering from a Buddhist Perspective

     These four are distortions of perception, thought & view:
               • Sensing no change in the changing, 
               • Sensing pleasure in suffering, 
               • Assuming "self" where there's no self, 
               • Sensing the un-lovely as lovely.

     Delusion is a mental illness that causes all sorts of suffering; mental health can be restored by correcting the flaws in how the mind operates.

       "Vipallasa Sutta: Distortions of the Mind" (AN 4.49), translated from the Pali by Andrew Olendzki. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 2 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.049.olen.html .

ShopVac   www.dpreview.com

Our Relationship to the Supreme

     "... in Chinese thought 'the notion of a Supreme Being, so essential to Western religions, is replaced by that of a Supreme State of Being, an impersonal perfection from which all beings, including man, are separated only by delusion.'"

       John Blofeld. "Taoism: Road to Immortality." Shambhala Publications Inc, 1985.
       quoted in: Solala Towler. "Chung Tzu - The Inner Chapters. The Classic Taoist Text. A New Translation of the Chuang Tzu with Commentary." Watkins Publishing, London, 2010. pxiv

Don't be Afraid of the Dark

     We all experience ups & downs numerous times each day. During meditation, we see & feel our actual life with minimal distraction, and therefore much greater clarity. That’s why we can experience emotions so powerfully during meditation and also why we're able to learn, through our meditation practice, to live with progressively increasing skill & wisdom. 
     However, many of us have experienced significant trauma in our lives, the echos of which can repeatedly re-emerge in various disruptive ways into our present life. Sometimes these energies are "too sticky" for us to process physically, on our own, during meditation. In such cases, professional counselling offers established psychological techniques for effective processing.
     A variety of challenges from our past, including, but not limited to what we consider significant trauma, can resurface as challenging mental content in meditation. There are many things that we may not consider to be "significant trauma" that can, nevertheless, have significant effects in meditation. Verbal abuse, witnessing domestic violence, various forms of neglect, having alcoholic parent(s), divorce, etc can all leave people with unresolved issues. For example, neuroimaging studies suggest that exposure to verbal abuse - considered relatively "minor" trauma - can have even more significant effects than more easily recognized forms of trauma, like sexual abuse.
     So choosing to seek counselling may be very wise. Counselling can markedly benefit both our overall quality of life, as well as our effectiveness in performing our wide variety of tasks - including meditation!
     Counselling is completely confidential. At least a third of us need counselling at some point. Far from jeopardizing our career, obtaining necessary help is as much a professional obligation as being sober at work.
     Should concerns or difficulties arise during meditation, make sure you discuss it during group meditation or on a one-to-one basis with the meditation teacher, trusted family or friends, - and or - a mental-health professional (who ideally also has meditation experience).
       *** I thank the wonderful mental-health care professionals in my immediate family who kindly help refine some of these blogs with their wise suggestions.***

     "This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don't be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, for these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings. To suffer with is the literal meaning of compassion."
                        Joanna Macy                   http://joannamacy.net/thegreatturning/personal-guidelines-t.html

Allowing Elephants to Pass Through

     Blockage or stagnation of energy (qi) is the fundamental cause of illness according to Chinese & Japanese traditional medicine. Energy which is normally "fluid", becomes pathologically "reified" & stuck.
     Western psychology & psychiatry has similar metaphors of "being stuck" re mental illness: wallowing, catastrophization, circular thinking etc.
     A common dysfunctional & ineffective way of (not) dealing with difficult issues is pretending that they don't exist - avoidance. It may be a major problem that's quite obvious to everyone except those who refuse to see, accept & skillfully let go of "the elephant in the room."

     In meditation, we learn to become increasingly porous.
 
    "When you sit,
     you leave the front door open,
     you leave the back door open,
     and you don't serve tea."                   Shunryu Suzuki 

      Zen talk by Koun Franz: "Beyond Words – December 19, 2013": http://zennovascotia.com/dharma-talks/

Ego - What Does it Mean?

     "The definition of ego I use the most is just 'the resistance to what is.' Ego has a quality of resistance. And its base, when you get right down to the root of it, which is in your gut, the sense of self is literally like a closed fist in the gut. It's like an energetic 'no' to life. And then the energy comes up to the heart, and there it's an emotional, feeling-based protectionism, and fear. And then of course in the mind, what started out as a reflex in the gut as a contraction, becomes one's whole psychology, which is often a pushing away, and or grasping.
     Ego is the thing that's always negotiating with life. This is both what the ego is and does - ego is a verb, a movement, a happening. ... 
     When one's thought process is not about oneself, there is no ego." Adyashanti 

        This & other "Buddha at the Gas Pump" interviews: http://batgap.com

Four Principal States of "Self"

     "The ancient Indian texts called the Upanishads contain the world’s first recorded map of consciousness. The earliest texts — dating from the sixth or seventh century BCE — delineate three principal states of the self — the waking state, the dream state, and the state of deep and dreamless sleep. Later texts add a fourth state — the state of pure awareness. Waking consciousness relates to the outer world and apprehends the physical body as the self. Dream consciousness relates to mental images constructed from memories and apprehends the dream body as the self. In deep & dreamless sleep, consciousness rests in a dormant state not differentiated into subject and object. Pure awareness witnesses these changing states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep without identifying with them or with the self that appears in them."

       Thompson E. "Waking, Dreaming, Being: New Light on the Self and Consciousness from Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy." Columbia University Press, 2014. http://evanthompson.me/waking-dreaming-being/ 

Attachment to People, Memories, Concepts, Theories, Dogmas ...

      "One of the basic tenets of Bowlby's attachment theory is interactions with significant others who are available & supportive in times of stress facilitate the formation of a sense of a "secure base," or ... felt security. This sense can be viewed as the cognitive-affective aspect of an interpersonal prototype or script. 

     Theoretically, the script includes something like the following if-then propositions: If I encounter an obstacle or become distressed, I can approach a significant other for help; he or she is likely to be available and supportive; I will experience relief and comfort as a result of proximity to this person; I can then return to other activities. 

     In Bowlby's terms, the sense of having a secure base provides an individual with a framework for maintaining well-being, formulating effective emotion-regulation devices, developing positive models of the self & others, and engaging in exploration & risk-taking activities.

     Although the sense of having a secure base may be formed during early interactions with primary caregivers, Bowlby contended that every meaningful interaction with significant others throughout life may affect a person's beliefs about others' availability & supportiveness. Moreover, although the sense of having a secure base may be quite general, it is also common for people to develop relationship-specific beliefs organized around actual experiences with a specific partner. These beliefs do not necessarily fit with the more general, chronic sense of having (or not having) a secure base. In fact, like every cognitive-affective representation, the sense of having a secure base can be contextually activated by actual or imagined encounters with available & responsive others, even among persons who have chronic doubts about their secure base." 
       Mikulincer M, Shaver PR. Attachment theory and intergroup bias: Evidence that priming the secure base schema attenuates negative reactions to out-groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2001; 81(1): 97–115.

     "There are two remarkable things about the empirical findings summarized (in the paper above). One is that meaningful benefits emerge not only from actual secure attachments in real-life relationships, but also from the mere activation of attachment-connoting concepts into working memory. The second remarkable finding is that these beneficial effects are found across such a diverse range of meaningful outcomes. The cognitive priming of attachment security makes people healthier. It leads them to be more compassionate and helpful to others. It reduces prejudice. Future research will, no doubt, discover yet more benefits that emerge from the simple priming of attachment security. I’m tempted to believe that a sense of secure attachment may be the psychological equivalent of a broad-spectrum antibiotic — a sort of universal antidote to everything that ails us." 
       Schaller M. Is secure attachment the antidote to everything that ails us? Psychological Inquiry 2007; 18(3): 191-193.

       There's a problem with this "universal antidote." Wisdom traditions agree that serious evolution of consciousness begins with LETTING GO of ATTACHMENT - to everything, without exception.

 

Degree of Dependence on Conditions

     A drug addict is physically-dependent on - locked-into - one or more substance(s). How strongly do YOU - supposedly a non-addict - depend on stuff - not to feel 'good' - but simply not to be anxious nor panicky?
     One of the benefits (or drawbacks, depending on your ultimate goal) of meditation practice is that you perceive increasingly clearly (soberly?) exactly what & how strongly various things attract (clinging) or repulse you (aversion). 

     NOW you get to immediately CHOOSE to act according to the delusion that chasing what attracts, & running from what repulses WILL do it for you - OR that it WON'T. 

     The default lifestyle for most is far from clarity about such things, but a constant state of distraction ie compulsively reacting to external (& internal) stimuli to seek comfort and avoid discomfort - the "approach-avoidance dichotomy". These folks "externalize" - blame their state of being on others, the external environment etc - have an external locus of control. This is considered to be a state of slavery according to Buddhist psychology, AND most importantly, both Western & Buddhist psychology says it doesn't work.
     So, the only useful path is renunciation - giving up on the delusion that external gratifications will do it for me (anicca & dukkha) and to realize in a very direct, personal way that even the concept of "me", as we typically understand it, needs to be seriously re-examined (anatta).

     Old habits are ridiculously sticky - keep repeating AND trying your best to EMBODY the Bodhisattva vow:
     "Beings are numberless, I vow to free them;
     Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them;
     Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them;
     The Buddha way is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it."

Gutkin www.dpreview.com

We Sculpt Our "Self" Moment By Moment

     "In a moment of anger, whether acted out, verbalized, or merely seething unexpressed within, one trains oneself to become angrier by laying down a thin layer of angry disposition. A person so disposed to anger will more and more easily erupt in anger anew at any provocation.
     But in a moment of kindness a kindly disposition is deposited, and one becomes incrementally more disposed to kindness. 
     The attitude with which we respond to an object of experience, with anger or with kindness, will therefore not only influence the causal field outside ourselves but also progressively reshape our very character."

       Olendzki A. "Unlimiting Mind. The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism." Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2010.

     Watch Olendzki's interview: http://www.tricycle.com/p/1762

Kensington Market, Toronto

 

Exploring the Mysteries of the Human Condition

      "Perhaps the most unique and important principle of the Buddha’s approach to the mind is the insight that the mysteries of the human condition are best explored in the dynamics of subjective experience as it unfolds in the present moment. 
     Buddhist theoretical psychology is a science of experience, in which the stream of consciousness itself, as it is presented to the attentive and carefully trained observer, is the field of investigation. ... adepts would go off into the forest alone, cross their legs, shut their eyes, and look very closely at what was going on. They would observe the various effects of fasting, breathing exercises, and other yogic disciplines on their experience, and they organized their observations and insights in formal teachings and systems of great subtlety and complexity. 
     It was a remarkably scientific endeavor in many ways, in which the human body and mind served as the laboratory for investigation. As such, the entire tradition is more of a descriptive phenomenology than a theory of mind. 
     The Buddha was not saying, 'This is what I theorize human experience to be.' Rather, his message (paraphrased) was, 'This is what I’ve seen in my personal experience.' And further, 'Don’t take my word for it; examine it for yourself, and you too can see exactly what I’m talking about.' 
     Much of what he points to does not require years in the wilderness to access, but is available to all of us in this very moment."

        Andrew Olendzki: "Buddhist Psychology", Chapter 1, in:
        Seth Robert Segall ed. "Encountering Buddhism: Western Psychology and Buddhist Teachings", SUNY Press, 2003.

Buddhist Psychology

     "There was a whole movement surrounding the Buddha, often referred to as the Sramana movement, characterized by the investigation of the human condition using various experiential methods. Many of these methods were certainly psychological, and we might even call some of them scientific. Rebelling against an orthodox intelligentsia that relied on revealed scriptural authority to guide a ritual communication with external deities, the Sramanas, or Wanderers, were more apt to use yoga, asceticism, and meditation to access an internal landscape and gain personal insights into the nature of their own minds and bodies. Their methods of inquiry constituted a body of shared praxis, and the experiences accessed and insights gained were largely repeatable and verifiable. Thus the tradition went beyond the contributions of a few individuals, and built up profundity and authority over many generations. The Buddha was both an heir to this psychologically investigative tradition and one of its greatest contributors."

        Andrew Olendzki: "Buddhist Psychology", Chapter 1, from:
        Seth Robert Segall ed. "Encountering Buddhism: Western Psychology and Buddhist Teachings", SUNY Press, 2003. 

Buddhist Teachings - Religion? Philosophy? Psychology?

    "Buddhist teachings are not a religion,
     they are a science of mind."               Dalai Lama

 
     For those "not running away from life, but seeking a wise path through it."
       Kornfield J. “The wise heart. A guide to the universal teachings of Buddhist psychology.” Bantam books. NY, 2008.

Stefano M   www.dpreview.com

Buddhist & Western Psychology - Opening Minds

     "In the early years of the twentieth century, Anagarika Dharmapala – a Sinhalese Buddhist monk, on a tour of the United States – is said to have attended a lecture by William James at Harvard University. During the lecture, James apparently became aware of the monk, dressed in a distinctive yellow toga, sitting in the audience. 'Take my chair,' James said, 'and I shall sit with my students. You are better equipped to lecture on psychology than I am.' Dharmapala obliged and gave a short account of Buddhist teachings, after which James turned to his students and remarked, 'This is the psychology everybody will be studying twenty-five years from now' (adapted from Sangharakshita, 1952, p. 78). One hundred years on, it appears James’ prediction never came true. It has taken much longer for academics in the mainstream of Western Psychology to begin to share James’ open-mindedness towards Buddhist ideas, let alone to treat them as a valid ‘Psychology’."

       Stanley S. Intimate distances: William James' introspection, Buddhist mindfulness, and experiential inquiry. New Ideas in Psychology 2012; 30(2): 201-211.

     "William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) American philosopher and psychologist who had trained as a physician. He was the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. ... He challenged his professional colleagues not to let a narrow mindset prevent an honest appraisal of those beliefs." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James

Johnny Rockets restaurant, Seattle WA - May 2013