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Meditation as Therapy: Ancient and Contemporary Perspectives
Mental illness, a budding crisis that is sweeping the western world, can seem both daunting and hopeless. ... Both classes of illness require therapy beyond conventional medicine (Ryomin 109). ... Meditation, along with the application of some Eastern philosophies, is one such option that therapists and sufferers of mental illness are turning to.
Meditation, an essential element in many Eastern religions, may appear to be a natural choice as a therapeutic agent. While various forms of meditation vary, the Reiki Glossary defines meditation as ‘any number of focusing, breathing, or contemplative methods designed to bring about a heightened state of consciousness and/or enlightenment’ (http://angelreiki. ... Frame describes meditation as ‘a form of contemplation ‘that involves concentrated practice’ and involves training the attention’ (Frame 187). Before delving into the specifics of meditation and Eastern thought, these brief descriptions preliminarily suggest that meditation’s contemplative and relaxing aspects can calm and ease the mind.
Upon examining meditation closer, its usefulness as a form of psychotherapy becomes apparent. One of the most basic results of meditation is a deeper and fuller understanding of self. Dhiravamsa writes that meditation allows people to better understand their own lives and the world around them, as well as who they are and why they react to situations in certain ways (Bucknell 123). ...
After the meditator comes to a deeper understanding of himself and his feelings, the next step in many forms of meditation involves detachment. For example, ‘Tibetan insight meditation practice dissolves reified images of self by first actively bringing them into awareness and then by challenging their imputed solidity, or as Tibetans would say, their ‘inherent existence’’ (Cooper 73). In the Ratnacuda, Santideva expounds on the idea that meditation is tied to emotions as well as discusses the idea of detachment. ... Being mindful of emotions through meditation leads one to realize that ‘happiness is freedom from feelings’ (Bucknell 53). ... While these writers emphasize detachment rather than understanding, their conclusions are much the same as Dhiravamsa’s: meditation provides a people with a means to emotional control.
While Eastern philosophy coupled with meditative practices clearly offers meditators several forms of emotional control, meditation’s integration into modern psychotherapy is less straightforward. ... Freud did not see the value in meditation as a tool in psychotherapy.
Approximate Word count = 1880
Approximate Pages = 7.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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