JOY AND CONSCIOUSNESS: A Transpersonal DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Moving from the tenets of psychology, to what is referred to as the fourth branch in psychology, transpersonal psychology, we explore the possibility that the development of greater consciousness allows greater access to joy.   There appears to be a natural fit between the concepts of the pleasant life with persons operating at the lower centers or chakras where the concerns are focused on survival, attachment and power.  As we move up into the heart center, throat and head  centers the consciousness develops around the need for community, creativity, self expression and service.  These concerns correlate with engagement and meaning in the Positive Psychology paradigm. By understanding the levels at which we may be operating or where we may be stuck, may lead to new interventions and ideas for movement in therapy and life.  For more information about the Chakra System and relevant exercises, please click here.

 In Hillevei Ruumet’s Pathways of the Soul: A Helical Model of Psychosocial Development, the proposed model is not tiered but intertwined and interrelated. (Ruumet, 1997)  There is an inherent spiral movement that allows for change, transformation expansion and review in the process of self growth, awareness and expression.  This image of energy or consciousness that is both balanced and ever-changing is present throughout many systems of self-understanding and growth.  It is the pattern of our basic genetic building block in the double helix of our DNA. It is the final card of the Major Arcana in the Tarot, The World, a balanced dancer, representing both yin and yang, moving effortlessly amid spiraling lavender scarves.  It is the represented in the cadeuses of healing, the American Medical Association logo, with the intertwining snakes. The double helix is cultivated in deep meditation practice with rising and descending of divine masculine and feminine energies, Ida and Pingala nadi.( Rea,2003). Practitioners are guided through a breathing meditation to balance the active and receptive energies within them. The balancing of opposites is an essential element throughout philosophical and psychological theory.    While Ruumet’s work provides a rich and accessible model, David Frawley in Ayurveda and the Mind and Deepak Chopra in How to Know God provide texture in understanding of the psychological and divine energies of the physical, emotional and spiritual components of these seven centers and the transitions between them.  All of these systems rely on knowledge of the Chakra system for their foundation.  A seven layered developmental model with corresponding characteristics of the experience of joy is included in (Appendix I).    

In Hillevei Ruumet’s work (1997), she references Joseph Campbell on the difference between the in-law and an outlaw life.  The in-law life holds the traditions and teachings, restrictions, attitudes of our family and culture as imprinted into the first two chakras.  These centers that rule the early years of development when one must depend on others for survival and guidance in learning the rules of living on this planet.  As we get older we may find that these rules no longer work for us. The first chakra, root chakra, located at the base of our spine associated with the element of earth is primarily concerned with physical survival and basic safety.  The relevant issues are the food, health, shelter, and clothing.  Early childhood experiences or traumatic experiences of life and death have a direct impact on this center. Chopra equates a Stage One god with The Protector, who is unknowable and unpredictable and must be appeased at all times. (Chopra, 2000.p. 52)

Frawley (1997) notes that the overriding first chakra concern is fear for survival.  This is a potent motivator and disrupter of clarity for the higher chakras. He explains that in Ayurveda that there are three different gunas or qualities of energy Tamas(dullness, inertia), Rajas (activity, change) and sattva (intelligence light and inner peace.

Ayurvedic psychology aims at moving the mind from Tamas to Rajas and eventually to Sattva. This means moving from an ignorant and physically oriented life (Tamas),to one vitality and self-expression(Rajas), and finally to one of peace and enlightenment( Sattva). ( Frawley,1997.p.39)

 

If our basic sense of self and safety is not cared for, there is no moving forward.  The experience of joy in this chakra may be limited to basic need satisfaction.  While there may be great fear involved in the issues of the first chakra, there can be a concurrent opening of the higher chakras in times of great fear.  This is mentioned several times throughout transpersonal literature.  For Hillevi Ruumet, loss and trauma are cited as frequent catalysts to awaken the heart chakra. In Chopra’s work (2000) he mentions the instances of superhuman strength in mothers as they lift cars to save their children in accidents.  In a conference with Elizabeth Kubler- Ross, she spoke of the transcendant function in children opening early due to trauma.  She saw this represented with the introduction of the divine into their art. It is as if the soul, at these times of great trouble, must reach beyond its physical circumstances to access a higher understanding or meaning.

The second chakra is the emotional center and is focused on need, greed and attachment.  It is also a particular center of power for women as the home of the womb, wherein they learn the issues of sexuality, creation and the sacredness of a body in tune with the moon and tides. It is associated with the element of water that moves consciousness towards desire, creation and form. Water is the formative aspect of the mind which allows us to imagine, plan and construct our reality.  It is the basis of will, motivation and action in the external world.  ( Frawley,1996, p.64)  The shadow side of these issues is often found in jealousy, scarcity and beliefs that the abundance of another will impact your own ability to have.  It is a limited view of reality which does not affirm the infinite universe on a personal level. 

The divine that is described in this chakra is that of a parent with whom an individual might have a relationship, God the Almighty, but it will be a relationship of reward and punishment.  There are expectations to be met which do not generate from within the individual. There is often a rigid sense of right and wrong.  Misfortune is interpreted as a punishment from the Gods.  The view of the divine in this Chakra is seen to be the ultimate authority and many atrocities can be made in his name; since, there is only one right way and this particular god gives one the authority to distribute punishment to those who do not believe. (Chopra, 2000.p. 69).   The fear associated with this chakra is fear of rejection and being alone.  The second chakra in Ruumet’s presentation is the place to which individuals can regress from both the fourth and fifth chakra, as they try to progress . (Ruumet, 1997.)   It can get scary out there as we try to become more than the expectations our family or culture. Sometimes, we want to climb back into our Mama’s lap or hide behind our Daddy’s coattails

The Emotional/ Cathectic Center

Control issues originate at II as we try to satisfy our greed by making the environment serve our needs.  Central to our development through this center is also the need to be loved… Perhaps, the materialism of our time is a form of this longing for the security of Mother, literally a Mater-ialism. Little wonder that we cling to ‘transitional objects’ in the form of things and power symbols, which buffer our ego importance ….(Ruumet,1997,.p.11)

 

 We believe that surrounding ourselves with the material comforts will soothe the unrest within our soul. Our joy is connected to the things or people we acquire.  In our consumerist society, it might be argued that there is no god other than money.  Money is our energy of exchange in today’s world; however, the level of money one can be content with varies greatly from individual to individual. When the decision is made to equate a level of money with happiness, one’s life energy is confined by that decision. Based on this decision, the person may forego things that would bring a true sense of joy in order to satisfy the need for a sense of external security.  What has historically been referred to as a mid-life crisis is often precipitated by the growing sense that no matter how successful one has been in life, a life connected only to possessions lacks deeper satisfaction.  When an individual in this phase confronts true loss, they often go through a deep period of reevaluation and perhaps, reconnect with a different heart-centered sense of security.  One of the clearest teaching stories of all time is the tale of King Midas and how his love for gold costs him the most precious life of his daughter.  

 

Casie entered therapy at 42 years of age. She had been in a successful marriage, had a daughter graduating from college, and had run a successful home based business for seven years.  From the outside everything was ‘perfect and in order.” Recently, a man she had met a home based business convention had started showing her an unusual amount of attention through emails and phone calls.  There was something about this man she found quite “compelling and maybe dangerous.” He had shared that he had come from a working class background and had been working since he was 15 to support those he loved. He was not currently in a relationship and it was not clear whether he had been married of had children.  Casie was drawn ‘to know him better and to help.”  Her psychotherapist explored these words with her : “perfect and in order”, “compelling and maybe dangerous”, “to know him better and to help.”  What became apparent was that Casie was experiencing the transition from being what was expected in a good wife and mother to a new period of time where other aspects of herself might have room for expression.  Casie and the therapist agreed to direct the attention away from the mysterious man and look at the words in relationship to Casie her life, her needs, her wants and her desires. They looked at whether there was a part of the perfect order that did not feel perfect at all.  They explored what she might feel compelled to explore and what areas or to what people or causes she might be drawn to help.  By not focusing on the energy of the outer relationship and drawing that energy back into Casie, she was able to identify a desire to return to school and explore art, psychology and social work before making a firm decision.

 

 

Serious boundary transgressions and ethical pitfalls in the helping professions arise in these lower chakras. Healing relationships that encourage clients to be utterly dependent are not considered healthy, ethical or wise in our western training, but there are many instances wherein the devotees are expected to give their entire physical fortune, devotion and dependence to the service of the teacher, guru or leader.  It appears that there may be a misinterpretation of dependence of a spiritual nature in the higher chakras with total dependence for survival.   When a therapist misinterprets the love of a client or student (4th) as something personal (2nd) , boundary violations are common.  The nature of these helping relationships with their inherently unequal basis of power lends itself to the idealization of the teacher or therapist.  The person in the position of power must be wise enough and settled within their own life to redirect that energy back to the client or student to allow them to progress along their own path of greater self compassion and understanding.  In addition to violating ethical boundaries, therapists, teachers and healers who take advantage of this situation rob their clients and students of an essential healing passage, which differentiates the love of the heart chakra from the sacral chakra.

 

Sarah entered therapy confused and distracted. She had been studying to become a psychotherapist after many years of workshops on dreams, symbols, meditation and other self help tools.  Her children were both in school and she was anxious to have a degree, in order that she might return to a full time career in the future.  After a course in  introductory counseling with a feminist perspective, she became increasingly agitated and was having difficulty sleeping and feeling intimate with her husband.   She chose a  sandplay therapist due to her interest in symbols and dreams.  In her first try, there was a constellation of women figures both light and dark goddesses moving towards the middle of the tray with a little figure of Gretel( from Hansel and Gretel), standing alone in a grouping of trees.  When the therapist gently asked about the tray, Sarah began to sob and talk about feeling lost since her last dream workshop.  In this workshop , she had been befriended by the leader.  During one weekend, he had suggested that due to the content of her dreams, it was indicated that they should consummate their relationship. Although she was deeply conflicted, she submitted.  She refused to continue the relationship and dropped out of the group, but she did not know what to do with these feelings of anger and shame, depression and feeling lost.  This therapy lasted 3 years as the clinician and client explored issues of ethical conduct, the duty to report, empowerment and hierarchy in healing relationships.  The dream worker was not licensed by any particular board and the client did not want to pursue legal action.  Her worked continued to look at the need to help others and the drive for self expression. She finished her counseling degree, but chose to pursue life as an artist\, feeling this was a more fulfilling path for her spirit and healing.

 

 

In the third center, which is also known as the power center, we encounter issues of success, power, achievement, and recognition.  We see how our personal, ego- based will  interacts with the world at large. In the third center, Chopra describes a God of Peace.  In his interpretation, this center is where external and internal events are beginning to be able to be separated, wherein the choice to act rather than react becomes developed, although it might not be fully understood.  This is the place where the healthy development of identity and ego can take place, giving the individual a sense of personal control and decision making.  The shadow side of the third chakra is arrogance and a lack of empathy for others.  There is a tendency to withdraw and isolate into an ivory tower.  Our joy at this level is often connected to our perceived standing in the world. We like to be the best.  It is at the heart of competition and isolationism of many of our United States’ goals and values. 

 Developmentally, this is witnessed in adolescents as they move away from the idealization of and dependence upon the parent to the realization that they are beginning to have power and choice in the world.  Many are the laments this author has heard from parents regarding, what has happened to my child , as the sweetness and the obedience of early childhood fades into the tasks of individuation.

It appears that the transitions between the centers of consciousness and stages of learning are where are critical learning may take place. Chopra notes the story of the imprisonment of St John of the Cross and his poem noting the darkness of night and the flight from pain.  He sees this as a crucial transition. When we disconnect from our ego and the physical circumstances our souls can take flight.(Chopra, 2000. p.100)   This transition is what Ruumet refers to as the III-IV waltz ;wherein, we try to let go of the rules, expectations and rewards of an externally based sense of success to move into a more heart- centered consciousness. (Ruumet, 1997.p.13)

 Many healers overstay their time in the healing professions or over commit their hours due to ego or financial concerns.  Teachers over commit their time and forego their need for renewal.  It takes a deep level of presence to show up for healing, teaching or creative work.   Healing work does suffer when physical and egoic needs such as money and pride are the dominant motivations behind maintaining a therapy session.  I have often thought we should joining together as healers and set up a sabbatical fund for healing professionals; in order, that when crisis strikes or they have been in practice for seven years they are able to take six months off to rejuvenate, refresh and refill themselves with inspiration, compassion and goodwill.  

 

Alex had felt very good about his practice as a motivational speaker. He was drawing large crowds and making significant amounts of money with a simple clear approach to life and money.  Yet, as of late, he had been receiving emails from people for whom his simple had not worked. He had been doing this work for years and had always received these emails and had merely shrugged them off as people” who weren’t ready” or “who didn’t get it.”  They had never bothered him much as he had received more adoration than complaint.  It was only now that he was approaching his forties that he had started to reconsider his work and that maybe there was something more to these ‘complainers.”  In the process of therapy, he began to look at the idea that he actually wanted people not only to experience greater wealth, but also a different sense of happiness.  He was not sure what this was all about but he had noticed a difference in his friends that had families.  Although they did not have his wealth or freedom, there was something that gave them happiness in their lives.  In therapy, he chose to examine relationship and what it had meant to him thus far.

 

 

 

Ruumet(1997) refers to the 4th chakra, the heart center, as the Aloha center.  Aloha is a term similar to Namaste which roughly translated means, I behold the divine light within you.  In this center, we begin to recognize a oneness with others. Life turns away from the satisfaction of ego needs towards a sense of service and higher purpose. It is described as one of the most difficult passages for people who have been raised with a socially conditioned, limited view of success and reality. This transition occurs for many people in adulthood, although it is not guaranteed.  In the 80s, there was a popular bumper sticker pronouncing: he who dies with the most toys wins. As this sticker adorned many a BMW with driver over thirty, it was clear that heart centered consciousness was not ruling this segment of the adult population. There is often a catalyzing trauma or loss that pushes people to look beyond their self contained limited personal lives towards a connectedness with others.  Many healers are called here at earlier times in their lives through circumstance or an inner knowingness.   According to Chopra, the divine is experienced at stage four as a Redeemer who is all-understanding, forgiving and intuitive. (Chopra, 2000. p.105)  Frawley (1997) states:

The heart is the center of the inner mind or feeling nature that transcends the senses. Ayurveda regards the heart as the center of consciousness.  This is not the physical heart but the core of knowing deep inside ourselves. (Frawley,1997.p.51)

 

It takes time to adjust to the heart chakra life and the sensitivity.  I received a Buddhist teaching on the development of compassion which  compared sensitivity with the experience of an eyelash in the eye.  To the untrained or unawakened soul, it was just an annoyance to be brushed away. To the soul awakening in compassion, it was no longer something that could be ignored.  Art from this center begins to pull people more deeply into the artistic work and provides a greater sense of connection.  

Joy is experienced in the heart as love and service. It arises as naturally as reaching out a hand to catch someone who is falling.  It is not connected to an ego-based  identity , which craves recognition for a job well done.  It just feels good to help.  On the shadow side, it can be draining to work in a never-ending cycle of service, when our younger selves cry out for recognition of our efforts. Roger Walsh notes this in his article, Terrorism and other global terrors

The practice of awakening service sounds simple, and conceptually it is. However,  practically it is a life-long discipline. Redirecting motivation and relinquishing attachments may be crucial for our individual and collective wellbeing, and even for our survival, but they are also major challenges, as we all know. …But all of us have seen people working for idealistic goals, who out of their attachment to these goals become either burnt-out and depressed, or angry, aggressive, and righteous. (Walsh, 2002. p19).

 

 

 

Many of the readers of this paper may be involved in service professions that allow a connection to a greater cause or less fortunate people; however, while this service may be fulfilling on certain levels, we may begin to notice an inner longing that is not satisfied by our  work alone. Many of us mistake our service to others with an inherent denial of self for selfless service.  We perform the tasks of admirable professions in education, non-profit and healing work with a sense of giving to something greater than ourselves.  All the while, we may not be taking any time to discover the uniqueness wit in our being.  We think that taking time for creative self expression, our art, is self indulgent when there is so much work to be done for others.  How can we take time out just to be when we have the responsibilities of work and home and family?  Perhaps, some of us indulge in less than healthy behaviors such as drinking, gambling, drugs or indulging is self destructive, meaningless relationships in an effort to assert our independence and affirm our right to freedom and happiness.  Squeezing in a night or week-long vacation of partying, is more convenient to a US lifestyle than weekly explorations of our creative soul.  Perhaps, we believe that we will have time to get around to our own soul’s expression at retirement or when our kids grow up or when work gets a little easier.  We  may discount the importance of creative self exploration as indulgent at a time that the world needs so much help.  All of these excuses, behaviors and postponements have very real bases in our lives and in out truths.  But, what if those future times never come?  What if you do not get to retire?  What if you realize that the world has a long history of neglect and abuse and that although your contribution is very important there will always be plenty left to do? What if your years of training and practice in psychotherapy have led you to a place of doubt and questioning? What if the apparent impasses in your clients’ lives have led to dread and cynicism at having to show up for the therapy hour?  What if you see that your creativity is being channeled only into supporting the creative lives of others?  Are you taking the time for self renewal and doing things that give your joy?

These questions mark a time of passage from a purely heart centered consciousness to the doorway of the creative 5th center located at the throat. In moving up from the heart center to the fifth, we are called to express our own unique sense of being. Ruumet (1997) refers to this as the Star center and identifies it as the place for Seekers. This need to have a personal self expression can be very disorienting for a person who has dedicated their life to service.  It is at the heart of many passages through the Dark Night of the Soul for healers and artists.  There is little support for the creative process in today’s society.  The ability to be paid for creative expression seems isolated and insulated into some strange entertainment reality.  The truth of art is that it has no purpose greater than the expression of a soul.  Yet, we suffer because our soul’s expression does not seem to pay the bills or make anyone else happy. It is the need to reconnect with your soul’s  creativity and uniqueness regardless of the bills or the happiness of others that is the first level of development in this phase.  Primary characteristics of this new level of creativity are that it is not conventional, not competitive, and not based on external standards ( Ruumet,1997,p.11). In speaking of the spiritually driven, inner work of art  abstract expressionist Wassily Kandinsky states the following.

 

The other art….also has a deep and powerful prophetic strength…The spiritual life to which art belongs and of which she is one of the mightiest elements, is a complicated but definite and easily definable movement forwards and upwards.  The movement is the movement of experience.  It may take many forms, but it holds at its bottom to the same inner thought and purpose. Veiled in obscurity are the causes of this need to move ever upwards and forwards, by sweat of brow, through sufferings and fears.( Kandinsky.p.4).

 

Dr. MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI who did his dissertation by studying art students at the Chicago Art Institute  found a otherworldliness or sense of 'flow' when the person was fully engaged with their work.  He continued his work. In the early seventies,

I spoke with chess players, rock climbers, musicians, and inner-city basketball players, asking them to describe their experience when what they were doing was really going well. I really expected quite different stories to emerge. But the interviews seemed in many important ways to focus on the same quality of the experience. For instance, the fact that you were completely immersed in what you were doing, that the concentration was very high, that you knew what you had to do moment by moment, that you had very quick and precise feedback as to how well you were doing, and that you felt that your abilities were stretched but not overwhelmed by the opportunities for action. In other words, the challenges were in balance with the skills. And when those conditions were present, you began to forget all the things that bothered you in everyday life, forget the self as an entity separate from what was going on—you felt you were a part of something greater and you were just moving along with the logic of the activity.
    Everyone said that it was like being carried by a current, spontaneous, effortless like a flow. You also forget time and are not afraid of being out of control. You think you can control the situation if you need to. But it's hard because the challenges are hard. It feels effortless and yet it's extremely dependent on concentration and skill. So it's a paradoxical kind of condition where you feel that you are on a nice edge, between anxiety on the one hand and boredom on the other. You're just operating on this fine line where you can barely do what needs to be done.
    Since then, colleagues have interviewed by now ten thousand people around the world—women who weave tapestries in the highlands of Borneo, meditating monks in Europe, also Catholic Dominican monks, and so forth. They all said these same things. So "flow" seems to be a phenomenological state that is the same across cultures. What people do to get into that state varies enormously, but the experience itself is described in very similar ways.

 

 


 

Chopra(2000) sees the divine of the 5th level is seen as  a co-creator with each individual in charge of his/her destiny.  The world becomes and interwoven extension of self and questions regarding power and one’s right to use it arise.  The level of creativity available to you at this point is infinite, you can co-create with God.

Somewhere along the line, I broke free. I am who I want to be and doing what I want to. How did I get to this place? It didn’t happen through struggle and strife. Somehow a deep current swept me along and brought me here, if that is evolution, then I believe in it….It is enough to trust the process. (Chopra,2000. p.195).

 

Our journey into the arts is only a doorway.  David Frawley repeatedly reminds us not to be caught up in the activities of the mind and body. Artistic expression can be just as consuming as any other activity. ( Frawley 1997) The quality of experience and mindfulness in any activity are essential.  Consciousness is an ongoing process that transcends time and boundaries.  Not all people, healers, clients or otherwise want to open up to these creative possibilities and the resultant personal responsibility for life.  We often live in relationship to circumstance as an explanation for why things may not have gone better or turned out the way we wanted.  We let our concerns limit our ability to rise above and see the bigger picture.  We limit our ability to experience joy.  This does not have to be the case.

 

Rhea had been a dedicated social worker for nearly twenty years.  She had worked in both the public and private sector and was active in fundraising and community organizing.  She was articulate and funny and spoke rapidly.  She expressed that she “like every other client was not really sure why she was there”( in counseling).  She knew her life was important and that she had helped many people personally and professionally. She felt satisfied with the success of her family.  She did not want to change a thing but she still felt there was something more. She hared a dream of being on a beautiful sailboat and watching others pass by where the people were in brightly colored clothes and held shining goblets of many colors. The therapist asked if she might be able to draw this image to which she replied she hadn’t drawn in many years.  The therapist suggested, if she were willing, that she take time and experiment with just choosing colors from the pastel box and playing with the colors on the page with no goal or image in mind.  Rhea started slowly then gradually increased the size and breadth of her lines.  She began to smile and explore the colors allowing them to overlap, shade and intermingle.  She spoke of how alone she was on her boat that she would stop and visit places but never linger. She remembered her love of drawing as a child and the hours spent playing with line and form and color.  She met with the therapist three more times in which time she enrolled in a community art class ‘just to play.”

 

 

As we move upwards into the sixth center our joy may be experienced as a deep inner knowing of unity.  There is a sense of clarity when perceiving life from this center located in the center of the head, the third eye region.  You may finally get the sense of understanding as to how all of life fits together.  This is often accompanied by a sense of the ineffable or the realization that all-knowing is neither possible nor necessarily desirable.  You live in the moment without desire.  This does not mean that you get to retreat from society many teachers and those on the bodhisattva path must continue to teach and serve.  There is no longer the ego involvement of needing recognition and there may still be periods of self doubt.  The art expressed in this place may be represented the in the ephemeral mandala sandpaintings. They may be formed of geometry, symmetry and patterns or have no recognizable form at all.  There is often a spiritual practice inherent in the artistic process. The catalyst for creativity lies within the artist.  The shadow side of this process is when the artist or healer or teacher once again gets pulled into the trap of over commitment and over producing.  At these times our egos can be fooled into thinking that we alone are the ones chosen to deliver a message, insight or healing. We may mistake our sense of wholeness for being the whole. We may experience frustration and impatience with what we perceive is a slowness in humanity’s ability to grow learn and evolve.  I would think in Ruumet’s work this would be a regression from the 6th to the 4th and 3rd  centers. We may need to retreat back into our truest creative selves. When we begin our lives in service professions, it is truly a turning away from the self- centered success issues of the third chakra involving power and money and achievement as defined by an external judge.  Our intentions are good and helpful as we reach out to others in need.  Yet, I see the shadow side of this as identifying the others in need in somewhat of a different category from one’s self.  While I truly recognize the importance of this work and this stage I see another issue develop within these professions that I propose may lead the way to the transition between a heart centered life that feels a sense of duty and pride at within there service and a fifth creative centered life wherein one’s true self is allowed to emerge and be recognized as the ultimate service to spirit, Self and community.

 

 I  recently attended a conference of a very popular and well respected teacher of consciousness.  An audience member asked a simple question which certainly had a Christian background in its understanding of compassion and self sacrifice.  The teacher reacted harshly questioning the politics of this country and the compassion of slaughtering Iraqi women and children to spread the works of democracy and compassion.  The questioner was silenced.  Although many of the audience may have agreed with the teacher’s point of view, we  sat in silence to witness a teacher , who epitomized gentleness, patience and compassion react in such a harsh and unforgiving manner.  The rest of the conference was run by his teachers although it had been advertised as a meditation workshop with him, we in act were the audience for lectures which were fairly basic and a mass produced version of a scared mantra ritual.  It was strange and I wondered if the reactions and attitudes of the teacher might also represent an internal conflict about the commercialization of the spiritual message.  Here, we would see not only the second/ 4th conflict of compassion and need for space but also the conflict of speaking one’s personal truth and the gross industry that might spring up around it.  How do we balance our need to express our true nature, the higher calling to teach and the merchandising that so easily follows in this country and economic system?  A common dilemma for clients and people in general is to mistake their work for their life purpose and think that they must be one in the same.  Work can be as blessed as the attitude we bring to it whether it is pounding nails, planting gardens, exploring thoughts and dreams or doing surgery. Drawing, painting and photography do not need to become a career.  If you enjoy these pursuits and they fill your heart , relax your mind or energize your soul, that is payment in itself. It is always important to take time to detach and remove one’s self from the busyness of whatever we do.

 

But I don't think the direction of evolution is laid down in any sense. We, having become aware of what is going on, have to decide for ourselves to what end this information should be directed and where it should be going. And I think that from the abstract level, the signposts for those decisions are again differentiation and integration. You want a future where people are free to develop whatever unique blueprints they carry in their genes, and you want that freedom to blossom as much as possible, but at the same time, you want each person to see that they are part of something much greater. That's where the integration comes in—it starts with feeling that you belong to a family, to an ethnic group, to a church and to a nation. But unless you realize that you're also part of all the living systems and the planet—that there is something beyond all of this that we can sense—unless you're part of that, then evolution would not be very successful, as far as I can tell.

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

 

 

 In the clinical hour, we can help people detach by teaching simple breathing techniques, such as alternate nostril breathing or a simple guided meditation.

 

 

Time 5-10 minutes

EXERCISE 1 : Alternate nostril breathing.

The purpose of this exercise is to release tension and balance the breath and body, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. It also helps the interconnections of the right and left hemispheres, the sun and moon energies.

Sit comfortably upright in a chair with you feet firmly on the ground. Take a few deep gentle breaths, letting go for now, of all other concerns. Take your right hand and use your thumb to cover your right nostril.

   Breathe in slowly through your left nostril, bringing the breath all the way up from the sole of your left foot to the top of your head for a few seconds.   Then, cover your left nostril with your pointer  finger and middle finger from your right hand, holding your breath for a few seconds and allowing it to fill your entire head, release your thumb and exhale through your right nostril. Keeping your left nostril covered, repeat the process on your right side. Closing the left nostril with your thumb and  breathing in from the sole of your right foot all the way up to the top of your head. Pause, holding your breath for a few seconds , covering the left nostril and then release the breath through the left side. Continue in this alternate breathing pattern for 5- 10 minutes.  And always finish with and exhale from the left nostril

 

           

 As we continue to be comfortable in the higher realms, we might touch the seventh chakra experience of bliss.  It is the joy of Being, No place to go. Nothing to do.  Life is art. Miracles abound. This is a place reserved for each of us without accompaniment of any guide, therapist or other person.  It is our direct connection to Self or Spirit. This is the place people talk of when their "crown chakra opens" and they feel at peace. In many ways this is the experience of flow.   In some ways, it is a return to that sense of a child but with a deeper wisdom, knowledge and experience gained.  It is a completion of the circle: you return home and know it for the first time.

 

References

 

POST TEST

 

        Thank you for joining us in the CE course.  If you would like to explore additional alternative thoughts and interventions for clinical practice, you might be interested in

 INNERLANDSCAPE: Bridging Evidence Based Therapy with Alternative Therapy Approaches  16 CE $176.00                                                                    CLICK TO ORDER