Fruit of the Contemplative Life
Fruit of the contemplative life: => General Discussion => : Benj September 01, 2017, 10:45:05 AM
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Hello everyone.
I'm required to complete three essays throughout my counselling degree. The last one, which will be the largest, I have decided to write on dependent origination and it's uses with western therapy. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for the first two? The university I am attending prides itself on critical thinking, so at this point I am thinking about critically analysing Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy/Stress Reduction and the western appropriation of Buddhist concepts. Also perhaps issues such as spiritual crisis or psychosis.
Does anyone know of any other interesting areas that would be great to critically write about which relate to counselling/psychotherapy?
Benj.
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Benj, this surely is a noble goal. What I have been working on here is something that I call Contemplatives in Recovery. (http://fruitofthecontemplativelife.org/forum/index.php/board,49.0.html) Our findings here are by leading a fruitful contemplative life we acquire a collection of superior fruit of attainment (maha-phala), which includes recovery from addiction and neuroses. So, you can explore this forum for case histories to support this premise.
The problem with recovery programs is they are only 5% effective, which means that they are 95% ineffective. I explain the profound ineffectiveness of recovery programs by clearly too few people understand the contemplative life, and the fruit there of, or there would be far more people in recovery. For instance AA and the psychology and psychiatric community clearly do not understand either the contemplative life, nor the fruit there of.
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Thanks J, very interesting.
Could there be an argument for first jhana being helpful for addictions and attachments issues? As in the first jhana feeling is surmounted, and the pleasantness therein satiates one's tendency to look for pleasant feeling externally? This in my opinion is the basis for attachment disorders such as borderline personality disorder. Some simply don't know how to make themselves feel good so they look elsewhere, destroying relationships and developing addictions. A new perspective and strategy to treating attachment disorders (which includes addictions) using the first jhana, I feel may be quite powerful.
Note: I work with borderline personality disorder on a daily basis, so I could write well on this area.
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Thanks J, very interesting.
Could there be an argument for first jhana being helpful for addictions and attachments issues? As in the first jhana feeling is surmounted, and the pleasantness therein satiates one's tendency to look for pleasant feeling externally? This in my opinion is the basis for attachment disorders such as borderline personality disorder. Some simply don't know how to make themselves feel good so they look elsewhere, destroying relationships and developing addictions. A new perspective and strategy to treating attachment disorders (which includes addictions) using the first jhana, I feel may be quite powerful.
Note: I work with borderline personality disorder on a daily basis, so I could write well on this area.
Yes, I agree, with the exception that all 8 stages of samadhi have to be mastered to fully dissolve all of the obsessive and addictive disorders. Here I sight my own experience, and add to it a quote from the Gospels, "We know a tree by its fruit."
We should also keep in mind that the 11th step of AA is meditation, and the 12th step is the religious experience; however, it seems almost no one today understands what meditation and the religious experience. So, I would suggest that you focus on contemplative recovery with an understanding of meditation and the religious experience.
The problem is