Balance Meditation

[Guest guest]

(Feedback Welcomed)

The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously

call Young's Modulus:

Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or

physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

" The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in

the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation

he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will

not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

(1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

(2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

(3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

(4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

(5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that

we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

consciously control.

As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

This is natural resistance.

At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind " our

reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion,

fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and

effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type of

resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma—we want to get out

of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either

opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not

ours to interfere with.

Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do.

Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with

calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of artificial

resistance. It will make things worse.

Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do?

Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in

some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is look

for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we

Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic

health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to

figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

resistance.

Do I see resistance to the pain?

Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making

things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for

a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look

for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things

show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to

find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking

for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad

thing to find?

The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we

try to detect each form as it arises.

The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and with

labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out

which works best.

Steps – Without Labeling

(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

(2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

(3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

(4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

it.

(5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

(5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

(6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type

of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this

desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and

move on.

If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

(7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions

as appropriate.

Steps – With Labeling

(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

(2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

(3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

(4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

it.

(5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

(5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into

it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

up to whatever comes next.

The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

meditation with labeling.

[Guest guest]

Yes, yes, this really explains why I had moments when I developed fear toward spiritual things I used to cherish. I had moments when I dreaded the book "Power of Now" and certain Buddhist ideas simply because I tried to use them as "appropriate reactions" to replace my anxieties. Of course, all those efforts simply backfired and the pain intensified - pretty much like laser beam being intensified in a tube ... Also, even though I have read plenty of mindfulness based therapy materials out there, I found Listening in Silence to be helpful. It adds another dimension to acceptance and helps me be more willing to do it.Please keep contributing in this list. I will look for your posts.Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry®Sender: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 04:18:14 -0000To: <ACT_for_the_Public >ReplyTo: ACT_for_the_Public Subject: Balance Meditation (Feedback Welcomed)The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X ResistanceLet's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates, " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other. " The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced. Attempts to " not resist " often play out as: (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on. (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance. (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on. (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance. (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control. As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance. At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance. Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type of resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma—we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with. Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on. Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of artificial resistance. It will make things worse. Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all. To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds. As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance. Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance. Do I see resistance to the pain? Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK. Do I see any resistance to that resistance? Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it show itself. Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be. I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find? The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we try to detect each form as it arises. The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best. Steps – Without Labeling(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on. If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened. (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.Steps – With Labeling(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.

[Guest guest]

In my opinion- interesting and useful.To: ACT_for_the_Public Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AMSubject: Balance Meditation

(Feedback Welcomed)

The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:

Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

"The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other."

The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

Attempts to "not resist" often play out as:

(1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on.

(2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

(3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

(4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

(5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.

In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control.

As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance.

At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma—we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with.

Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

Do I see resistance to the pain?

Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it show itself.

Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find?

The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we try to detect each form as it arises.

The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best.

Steps – Without Labeling

(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

(2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

(3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long).

(4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it.

(5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

(5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

(6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on.

If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

(7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.

Steps – With Labeling

(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

(2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

(3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long).

(4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it.

(5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

(5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.

[Guest guest]

This sounds like an extended discussion about what ACT calls clean and dirty

anxiety. That is, feeling anxious is clean, feeling anxious about feeling

anxious is dirty. It's trying to get rid of our dirty anxiety that causes most

of our pain.

If I had to sum up what Branco seems to be saying, I'd say " Take a step back and

watch the passing show " . Adopt the stance of what Russ calls the Friendly

Scientist and watch happens with an objective and compassionate eye.

Branco, can you slip out of teacher-mode for a post or two and tell us something

about yourself? I'd love to know. No more than you're willing to of course, but

enough to give me and others a sense of who you are. Are there any issues in

your life you're struggllng with? If so, tell us. Who knows, we might be able to

help.

Cheers,

Stan

>

> In my opinion- interesting and useful.

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

>

> To: ACT_for_the_Public

> Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> Subject: Balance Meditation

>

>

> (Feedback Welcomed)

>

> The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

> truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

> call Young's Modulus:

>

> Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

>

> Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

> experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological or

> physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

> pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

> where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

> without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even

small

> amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

>

>

> " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in

> the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation

> he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

> toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

> in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes

it

> in the other. "

>

> The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will

> not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

>

>

> Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

>

> (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

> reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

> and so on.

>

>

> (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

> reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love,

> compassion, acceptance.

>

>

> (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

> reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

>

>

> (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

> reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love,

> compassion, acceptance.

>

>

> (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

> continues.

>

>

> In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

>

> To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

> natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

> own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance

that

> we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

> consciously control.

>

>

> As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

> In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

> reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

> This is natural resistance.

>

>

> At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

> into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind "

our

> reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

> nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

> shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

>

>

> Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

> fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and

> effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of

> resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to

get out

> of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either

> opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not

> ours to interfere with.

>

>

> Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

> inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

> protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

> when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

> feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

> away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to

do.

> Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

>

>

> Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the tension

with

> calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

> sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial

> resistance. It will make things worse.

>

>

> Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

> experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

> unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we

do?

> Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in

> some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

> resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

>

>

> To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do is

look

> for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

> creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

> natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

>

>

> As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we watch, we

> Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

> struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

>

>

> Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic

> health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to

> figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

> Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> resistance.

>

>

> Do I see resistance to the pain?

>

> Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

> relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

>

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

>

> Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making

> things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

> show itself.

>

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

> just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

>

>

> I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for

> a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look

> for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things

> show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure

to

> find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking

> for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a

bad

> thing to find?

>

>

> The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

> experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

> try to detect each form as it arises.

>

>

> The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with

> labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out

> which works best.

>

>

> Steps †" Without Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

>

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else

(this

> should not take very long).

>

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> it.

>

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

> it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

>

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

> Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

> comes next.

>

>

> (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type

> of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this

> desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and

> move on.

>

>

> If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

> itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

> pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

> at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

> themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't

make

> themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

> are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't

need

> to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will

be

> clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

>

>

> (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

> object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

> go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts

to

> the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

> fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

> Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

> as appropriate.

>

> Steps †" With Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

>

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

> something else (this should not take very long).

>

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> it.

>

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest

in

> it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> whatever comes next.

>

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into

> it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

> up to whatever comes next.

>

>

> The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

> meditation with labeling.

>

[Guest guest]

" That is, feeling anxious is clean, feeling anxious about feeling anxious is

dirty. "

I would say this even more carefully. Feeling anxious about feeling anxious can

be clean too.

The problem is not in having any feeling. Having a feeling is by definition OK

no matter what the feeling is. We don't decide our feelings, nature does.

The problem is when we resist/suppress/judge/fuse_with any of the feelings that

occur in the chain.

So you have the initial thing (maybe a thought, image, memory, pain sensation,

whatever). Usually, that triggers a 1st degree reaction (maybe anxiety,

tension, sadness, whatever), that may fester on its own, or it may trigger a 2nd

degree reaction (maybe guilt because look how much you suck at this, you're

making it worse; maybe anxiety because you are really are stuck here and you're

never going to get over this, etc.)

If you can let that chain unfold without fighting/struggling with what it puts

out, and also without embracing/believing some of the talk that is inside of it,

then that is a complete, clean experience. That's what we want.

As for background, my name is , I used to post here under a different yahoo

account. This is my new account. I'm not a psychologist or a professional. My

primary issue is chronic pain. I don't have many problems with anxiety/panic

right now, although I did have problems with them a few years ago before being

introduced to ACT.

> >

> > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: " ratvery uso_branco@ " <rato_branco@>

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental

> > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

> > call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

> > experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological

or

> > physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist

that

> > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

> > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

> > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even

small

> > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in

> > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation

> > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

> > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

> > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes

it

> > in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will

> > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

> > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt

yuckiness,

> > and so on.

> >

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

> > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

> > continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance:

> > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

> > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance

that

> > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

> > consciously control.

> >

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology.

> > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

> > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so

on.

> > This is natural resistance.

> >

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance

> > into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind "

our

> > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

> > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

> > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

> > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and

> > effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of

> > resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to

get out

> > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either

> > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not

> > ours to interfere with.

> >

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

> > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

> > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

> > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

> > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously

step

> > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to

do.

> > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> >

> > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with

> > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

> > sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial

> > resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult

> > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

> > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we

do?

> > Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage

in

> > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

> > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do is

look

> > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

> > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

> > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we watch,

we

> > Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

> > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic

> > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to

> > figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back

and

> > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > resistance.

> >

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

> > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making

> > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

> > show itself.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are

> > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for

> > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look

> > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things

> > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to

> > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking

> > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a

bad

> > thing to find?

> >

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

> > experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

> > try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with

> > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out

> > which works best.

> >

> >

> > Steps †" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else

(this

> > should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe

> > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

> > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

> > comes next.

> >

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type

> > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this

> > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and

> > move on.

> >

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

> > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

> > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember

that,

> > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify

> > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't

make

> > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions

they

> > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't

need

> > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things

will be

> > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

> > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want

to

> > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind

reacts to

> > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like

the

> > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

> > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

> > as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps †" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

> > something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in

> > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax

into

> > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and

open

> > up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the

> > meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I have been learning very much the hard way the truth that you are saying. Whn I

resist things get worse, when I accept things begin to improve. I was trying to

meditate the other day which is always very difficult for me, but my neighbour

next door had the Grand Prix on very load and I couldn't settle into mindfulness

very well with all those racing cars whizzing around. In the end I had to accpet

that I hated it and accept the discomfort. I wasn't very good at it but every

now and again I experienced peace and started to forget about the noise of the

cars.

It is so counter intuitive, but it seems that when we fully accept discomfort,

the discomfort lessens significantly. If I had been more skilled at mindfulness

I think I would have been more succesful with coping with the distraction. Some

buddhists actually increase discomfort and distraction on purpose to help them

develop higher levels of mindfulness. In Zen the elders might keep tapping you

with sticks to put you off, or they make you sit in a bath of ice cold water

with ice cubes in.

I feel quite hopeful about the power of acceptance.

Welcome back, .

Kv

> > >

> > > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > ________________________________

> > > From: " ratvery uso_branco@ " <rato_branco@>

> > > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > >

> > >

> > > (Feedback Welcomed)

> > >

> > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental

> > > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

> > > call Young's Modulus:

> > >

> > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> > >

> > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that

we

> > > experience in any given life situation is equal to the

pain†" psychological or

> > > physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist

that

> > > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things.

First,

> > > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be

accommodated

> > > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even

small

> > > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> > >

> > >

> > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in

> > > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation

> > > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is

the

> > > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

> > > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that

precludes it

> > > in the other. "

> > >

> > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then

you will

> > > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> > >

> > >

> > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> > >

> > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

> > > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt

yuckiness,

> > > and so on.

> > >

> > >

> > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > compassion, acceptance.

> > >

> > >

> > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

> > > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> > >

> > >

> > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > compassion, acceptance.

> > >

> > >

> > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

> > > continues.

> > >

> > >

> > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> > >

> > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance:

> > > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on

its

> > > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance

that

> > > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

> > > consciously control.

> > >

> > >

> > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology.

> > > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience

> > > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so

on.

> > > This is natural resistance.

> > >

> > >

> > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance

> > > into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our

> > > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

> > > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how

> > > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> > >

> > >

> > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

> > > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and

> > > effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this

type of

> > > resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want

to get out

> > > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either

> > > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not

> > > ours to interfere with.

> > >

> > >

> > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to

get

> > > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with

it,

> > > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance

is

> > > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

> > > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously

step

> > > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want

to do.

> > > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> > >

> > >

> > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with

> > > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

> > > sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial

> > > resistance. It will make things worse.

> > >

> > >

> > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult

> > > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

> > > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must

we do?

> > > Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage

in

> > > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind

of

> > > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> > >

> > >

> > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do

is look

> > > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance

> > > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and

the

> > > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> > >

> > >

> > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we

> > > Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

> > > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

> > >

> > >

> > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic

> > > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to

> > > figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back

and

> > > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > > resistance.

> > >

> > >

> > > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> > >

> > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them.

I

> > > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> > >

> > >

> > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> > >

> > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making

> > > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let

it

> > > show itself.

> > >

> > >

> > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are

> > > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> > >

> > >

> > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might

look for

> > > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look

> > > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things

> > > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to

> > > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking

> > > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad

> > > thing to find?

> > >

> > >

> > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in

our

> > > experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

> > > try to detect each form as it arises.

> > >

> > >

> > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with

> > > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out

> > > which works best.

> > >

> > >

> > > Steps †" Without Labeling

> > >

> > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > >

> > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> > >

> > >

> > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else

(this

> > > should not take very long).

> > >

> > >

> > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > it.

> > >

> > >

> > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe

> > > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> > >

> > >

> > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

> > > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever

> > > comes next.

> > >

> > >

> > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type

> > > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this

> > > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the

reaction and

> > > move on.

> > >

> > >

> > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify

> > > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

> > > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember

that,

> > > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify

> > > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't

make

> > > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions

they

> > > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't

need

> > > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things

will be

> > > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> > >

> > >

> > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

> > > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't

want to

> > > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind

reacts to

> > > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like

the

> > > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

> > > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

> > > as appropriate.

> > >

> > > Steps †" With Labeling

> > >

> > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > >

> > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> > >

> > >

> > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

> > > something else (this should not take very long).

> > >

> > >

> > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > it.

> > >

> > >

> > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in

> > > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > > whatever comes next.

> > >

> > >

> > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax

into

> > > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and

open

> > > up to whatever comes next.

> > >

> > >

> > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the

> > > meditation with labeling.

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Kaivey,

The Soto School of Zen has a meditation practice called shikantaza, which means

'just sitting'. As I understand it, all you do do is sit and stay aware of

whatever comes into your awareness moment by moment. Easy to say, but hard to

do.

A meditation practice such as staying aware of your breathing is a form of

concentration which can very easily be disturbed--by a noisy neighbor on your

case. Because you have set yourself a goal, anything which stops you achieving

it will upset you. The alternative might be to listen to the sound of the cars

and what the commentators say and how they say it, instant by instant. It's all

part of what the universe does, moment by miraculous moment.

BTW, the branch of Zen where they hit you with a stick is called Rinzai. It's

the one where they actively pursue enlightenment (aka kensho, or satori). By

contrast, Soto is the 'quiet path', where sitting is all you need to do. I think

the reason they hit you with a stick in Rinzai is to wake you up. Meditating at

three in the morning would make anyone a bit sleepy!

Cheers,

Stan

> > > >

> > > > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > ________________________________

> > > > From: " ratvery uso_branco@ " <rato_branco@>

> > > > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > > > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > > > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (Feedback Welcomed)

> > > >

> > > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental

> > > > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

> > > > call Young's Modulus:

> > > >

> > > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> > > >

> > > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that

we

> > > > experience in any given life situation is equal to the

pain†" psychological or

> > > > physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we

resist that

> > > > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things.

First,

> > > > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be

accommodated

> > > > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance,

even small

> > > > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > > > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in

> > > > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation

> > > > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > > > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > > > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is

the

> > > > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

> > > > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that

precludes it

> > > > in the other. "

> > > >

> > > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then

you will

> > > > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> > > >

> > > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of

automatic

> > > > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt

yuckiness,

> > > > and so on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > > compassion, acceptance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set

of

> > > > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > > compassion, acceptance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the

loop

> > > > continues.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of

resistance.

> > > >

> > > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance:

> > > > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on

its

> > > > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of

resistance that

> > > > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we

can

> > > > consciously control.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology.

> > > > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience

> > > > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and

so on.

> > > > This is natural resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance

> > > > into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our

> > > > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them,

> > > > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how

> > > > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

> > > > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > > > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of

cause and

> > > > effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this

type of

> > > > resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want

to get out

> > > > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either

> > > > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not

> > > > ours to interfere with.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to

get

> > > > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with

it,

> > > > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active

resistance is

> > > > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You

are

> > > > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to

consciously step

> > > > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want

to do.

> > > > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with

> > > > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or

the

> > > > sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial

> > > > resistance. It will make things worse.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult

> > > > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance

to

> > > > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What

must we do?

> > > > Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we

engage in

> > > > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one

kind of

> > > > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to

do is look

> > > > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance

> > > > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and

the

> > > > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we

> > > > Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in

a

> > > > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic

> > > > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to

> > > > figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step

back and

> > > > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > > > resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> > > >

> > > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to

them. I

> > > > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> > > >

> > > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making

> > > > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I

let it

> > > > show itself.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and

guilt are

> > > > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might

look for

> > > > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor

might look

> > > > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things

> > > > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to

> > > > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking

> > > > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that

such a bad

> > > > thing to find?

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in

our

> > > > experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

> > > > try to detect each form as it arises.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels

and with

> > > > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and

find out

> > > > which works best.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Steps †" Without Labeling

> > > >

> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > > >

> > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for

or

> > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something

else (this

> > > > should not take very long).

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > > it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe

> > > > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes

next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it.

> > > > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever

> > > > comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over

what type

> > > > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this

> > > > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the

reaction and

> > > > move on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify

> > > > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about

it,

> > > > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember

that,

> > > > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify

> > > > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they

don't make

> > > > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions

they

> > > > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You

don't need

> > > > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things

will be

> > > > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own

sticky

> > > > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't

want to

> > > > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind

reacts to

> > > > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not

like the

> > > > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it

be.

> > > > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

> > > > as appropriate.

> > > >

> > > > Steps †" With Labeling

> > > >

> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > > >

> > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for

or

> > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > > acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise

to

> > > > something else (this should not take very long).

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > > it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > > the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in

> > > > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > > > whatever comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > > If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax

into

> > > > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go

and open

> > > > up to whatever comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply

to the

> > > > meditation with labeling.

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for that Stan,

I have real trouble meditating as it increases tension. My mind is so active and

my body is so tense that any attention, however slight, takes an enormous amount

of concentration which is always stressful and painful. Over the years people

have always written back and said thinds like,'you don't do meditaition like

that', or, 'that you are trying to hard', etc. I even always get these remarks

from therapists, psychologists, who I have worked with in the past.

I have now come to the conclusion that no one can really understand my degree of

physical tension, problably because it is very rare. It's absolute hell and

seems to stop my ACT work full stop. I find it so frustrasting because I know

that once I am free from this dreadful tension my poblems will be vitually over.

This tension causes hypoglycemia - blood suger problems - and so I am constantly

hungry. My hair grows stiff and brittle, and stands up on end because the

tension in my neck cuts some of the blood supply off. Good sleep is non

existant, and I can barely think most of the time because of the tiredness.

Hence all the typo's, words missing, and spelling mistakes here. Even walking

feels all wrong because of the unbearable stiffness.

I have just bought a new state-of-the-art mind machine but it will probably just

do nothing, or just send me staight to a disturbed and useless sleep like all

the others do. Oh, well, I decided to risk it as I have to try something.

On the rare occasions that I have achieved mindfullness over a number of hours I

have gone into an epithany state, and I have sometimes wrote about this

enlightment here. It is simply an amasing experience.

I prefer to listen to the sounds around me when I meditate, but I do also gently

focus on my breath along with it at times, but it is when I hear the silence

between sounds around me that I then go into bliss. Then my whole world becomes

a new place again, and it is like I am a child once more and the world is so

exciting and new. I then develop an incredible optimism and love for life.

Kv

> > > >

> > > > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > ________________________________

> > > > From: " ratvery uso_branco@ " <rato_branco@>

> > > > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > > > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > > > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (Feedback Welcomed)

> > > >

> > > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental

> > > > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

> > > > call Young's Modulus:

> > > >

> > > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> > > >

> > > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that

we

> > > > experience in any given life situation is equal to the

pain†" psychological or

> > > > physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we

resist that

> > > > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things.

First,

> > > > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be

accommodated

> > > > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance,

even small

> > > > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > > > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in

> > > > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation

> > > > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > > > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > > > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is

the

> > > > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

> > > > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that

precludes it

> > > > in the other. "

> > > >

> > > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then

you will

> > > > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> > > >

> > > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of

automatic

> > > > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt

yuckiness,

> > > > and so on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > > compassion, acceptance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set

of

> > > > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

> > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

> > > > compassion, acceptance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the

loop

> > > > continues.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of

resistance.

> > > >

> > > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance:

> > > > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on

its

> > > > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of

resistance that

> > > > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we

can

> > > > consciously control.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology.

> > > > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience

> > > > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and

so on.

> > > > This is natural resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance

> > > > into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our

> > > > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them,

> > > > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how

> > > > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

> > > > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > > > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of

cause and

> > > > effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this

type of

> > > > resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want

to get out

> > > > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either

> > > > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not

> > > > ours to interfere with.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to

get

> > > > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with

it,

> > > > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active

resistance is

> > > > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You

are

> > > > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to

consciously step

> > > > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want

to do.

> > > > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with

> > > > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or

the

> > > > sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial

> > > > resistance. It will make things worse.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult

> > > > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance

to

> > > > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What

must we do?

> > > > Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we

engage in

> > > > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one

kind of

> > > > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to

do is look

> > > > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance

> > > > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and

the

> > > > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we

> > > > Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in

a

> > > > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic

> > > > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to

> > > > figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step

back and

> > > > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > > > resistance.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> > > >

> > > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to

them. I

> > > > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> > > >

> > > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making

> > > > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I

let it

> > > > show itself.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and

guilt are

> > > > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might

look for

> > > > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor

might look

> > > > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things

> > > > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to

> > > > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking

> > > > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that

such a bad

> > > > thing to find?

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in

our

> > > > experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

> > > > try to detect each form as it arises.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels

and with

> > > > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and

find out

> > > > which works best.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Steps †" Without Labeling

> > > >

> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > > >

> > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for

or

> > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something

else (this

> > > > should not take very long).

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > > it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe

> > > > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes

next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it.

> > > > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever

> > > > comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over

what type

> > > > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this

> > > > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the

reaction and

> > > > move on.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify

> > > > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about

it,

> > > > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember

that,

> > > > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify

> > > > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they

don't make

> > > > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions

they

> > > > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You

don't need

> > > > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things

will be

> > > > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own

sticky

> > > > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't

want to

> > > > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind

reacts to

> > > > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not

like the

> > > > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it

be.

> > > > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

> > > > as appropriate.

> > > >

> > > > Steps †" With Labeling

> > > >

> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > > >

> > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises,

> > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for

or

> > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > > > acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise

to

> > > > something else (this should not take very long).

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe

> > > > it.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so,

notice

> > > > the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in

> > > > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > > > whatever comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

> > > > If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax

into

> > > > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go

and open

> > > > up to whatever comes next.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply

to the

> > > > meditation with labeling.

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I had a unique opportunity to practice just noticing whatever came into my environment while in the hospital last week. It was painful pancreatitis that got me there. When the pain became "unbearable" (the understaffed nurses are slow to respond to pain relief requests), I focused on noticing on where the crunching, stabbing pain was in my body, what shape and color it had, etc., while noting that my body was doing its job to warn me that something was very wrong, being grateful for that, etc. My curiosity about it reduced my struggle against it and, although the pain did not decrease, my suffering did. With more practice, perhaps my mind could just stop analyzing and concentrating on the pain and just let it be in the background (???).

And after being bolted awake in panic mode when my IV alarm went off (frequently!), sounding like an all-out terrorist alert loud enough to raise the dead, I allowed the annoying, almost painfully loud sound, to just be, and I imagined the shape and geometrical beauty of the invisible sound waves in the air around me, while waiting for the slow nurse to come in and shut the damn thing off (still some judgment around it, ha!).

Helena

Balance Meditation> > > > > > > > > > > > (Feedback Welcomed)> > > > > > > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental > > > > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously > > > > call Young's Modulus:> > > > > > > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance> > > > > > > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we > > > > experience in any given life situation is equal to the painâ€"psychological or > > > > physicalâ€"that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that > > > > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, > > > > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated > > > > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small > > > > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical > > > > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates, > > > > > > > > > > > > "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in > > > > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation > > > > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is > > > > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of > > > > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the > > > > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering > > > > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it > > > > in the other."> > > > > > > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will > > > > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced. > > > > > > > > > > > > Attempts to "not resist" often play out as: > > > > > > > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic > > > > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, > > > > and so on. > > > > > > > > > > > > (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those > > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love, > > > > compassion, acceptance. > > > > > > > > > > > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of > > > > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on. > > > > > > > > > > > > (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those > > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love, > > > > compassion, acceptance. > > > > > > > > > > > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop > > > > continues.> > > > > > > > > > > > In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.> > > > > > > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: > > > > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its > > > > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that > > > > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can > > > > consciously control. > > > > > > > > > > > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. > > > > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience > > > > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. > > > > This is natural resistance. > > > > > > > > > > > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance > > > > into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our > > > > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, > > > > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how > > > > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance. > > > > > > > > > > > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, > > > > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some > > > > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and > > > > effectâ€"we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of > > > > resistanceâ€"and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemmaâ€"we want to get out > > > > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either > > > > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not > > > > ours to interfere with. > > > > > > > > > > > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get > > > > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, > > > > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is > > > > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are > > > > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step > > > > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. > > > > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on. > > > > > > > > > > > > Any other approachâ€"an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with > > > > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the > > > > sadness with joy, or whatever with whateverâ€"is just another type of artificial > > > > resistance. It will make things worse. > > > > > > > > > > > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult > > > > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to > > > > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? > > > > Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in > > > > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of > > > > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all. > > > > > > > > > > > > To skillfully work with resistanceâ€"of whatever kindâ€"all we have to do is look > > > > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance > > > > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the > > > > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds. > > > > > > > > > > > > As a general rule, detached awarenessâ€"a state in which we look, we watch, we > > > > Listen in Silenceâ€"dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a > > > > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance. > > > > > > > > > > > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic > > > > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to > > > > figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and > > > > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the > > > > resistance. > > > > > > > > > > > > Do I see resistance to the pain? > > > > > > > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I > > > > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK. > > > > > > > > > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? > > > > > > > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making > > > > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it > > > > show itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are > > > > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be. > > > > > > > > > > > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for > > > > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look > > > > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things > > > > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to > > > > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking > > > > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad > > > > thing to find? > > > > > > > > > > > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our > > > > experience. We divide resistance into two main formsâ€"desire and aversionâ€"and we > > > > try to detect each form as it arises. > > > > > > > > > > > > The meditation can be practiced in two different waysâ€"without labels and with > > > > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out > > > > which works best. > > > > > > > > > > > > Steps â€" Without Labeling> > > > > > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > > > > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, > > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > > > > > > > > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or > > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., > > > > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this > > > > should not take very long). > > > > > > > > > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe > > > > it. > > > > > > > > > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, > > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice > > > > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe > > > > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > > > > > > > > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? > > > > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. > > > > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever > > > > comes next. > > > > > > > > > > > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type > > > > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this > > > > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and > > > > move on. > > > > > > > > > > > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify > > > > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, > > > > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, > > > > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify > > > > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make > > > > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they > > > > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need > > > > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be > > > > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened. > > > > > > > > > > > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky > > > > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to > > > > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to > > > > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the > > > > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. > > > > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions > > > > as appropriate.> > > > > > > > Steps â€" With Labeling> > > > > > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > > > > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, > > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > > > > > > > > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or > > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., > > > > acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to > > > > something else (this should not take very long). > > > > > > > > > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe > > > > it. > > > > > > > > > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, > > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice > > > > the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in > > > > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to > > > > whatever comes next. > > > > > > > > > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? > > > > If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into > > > > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open > > > > up to whatever comes next. > > > > > > > > > > > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the > > > > meditation with labeling.> > > >> > >> >>

[Guest guest]

I remember you well! Glad you are back. I am learning so much from your posts and have created a special folder for them so I can find them easily.

Interesting choice of moniker: rato branco = white rat : )

Helena

As for background, my name is , I used to post here under a different yahoo account. This is my new account. I'm not a psychologist or a professional. My primary issue is chronic pain. I don't have many problems with anxiety/panic right now, although I did have problems with them a few years ago before being introduced to ACT.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Mrs Em Equanimity,

Actually it takes about half an hour for my mind to even begin to setle down and

then I might be able to meditate for a bit. Once I have achieved this statee I

might go on for ages because it is so nice, even though it is still really hard

work. I have wondered about keeping the sessions much smaller and perhaps then I

might just learn how to meditate despite the tension. I will do more work on

that, thanks.

For years I just lived with this tension and got on with my life but now I want

it to end. That isn't acceptance I do agree, but I'm sort of caught between a

rock and a hard place. Still, I have never lost my optimism about an eventual

recovery one day as I work hard at everything else laying the foundations.

Kv

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > ________________________________

>

> > > > > From: " ratvery uso_branco@ " <rato_branco@>

>

> > > > > To: ACT_for_the_Public

>

> > > > > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

>

> > > > > Subject: Balance Meditation

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (Feedback Welcomed)

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental

>

> > > > > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might

humorously

>

> > > > > call Young's Modulus:

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering

that we

>

> > > > > experience in any given life situation is equal to the

pain†" psychological or

>

> > > > > physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we

resist that

>

> > > > > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things.

First,

>

> > > > > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be

accommodated

>

> > > > > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance,

even small

>

> > > > > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The

clinical

>

> > > > > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in

>

> > > > > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation

>

> > > > > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is

>

> > > > > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream

of

>

> > > > > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It

is the

>

> > > > > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his

suffering

>

> > > > > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that

precludes it

>

> > > > > in the other. "

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist,

then you will

>

> > > > > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of

automatic

>

> > > > > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt

yuckiness,

>

> > > > > and so on.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

>

> > > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

>

> > > > > compassion, acceptance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new

set of

>

> > > > > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those

>

> > > > > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love,

>

> > > > > compassion, acceptance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the

loop

>

> > > > > continues.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of

resistance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance:

>

> > > > > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically,

on its

>

> > > > > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of

resistance that

>

> > > > > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we

can

>

> > > > > consciously control.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology.

>

> > > > > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience

>

> > > > > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and

so on.

>

> > > > > This is natural resistance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance

>

> > > > > into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our

>

> > > > > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them,

>

> > > > > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation,

about how

>

> > > > > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion,

>

> > > > > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some

>

> > > > > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of

cause and

>

> > > > > effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist "

this type of

>

> > > > > resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new

dilemma†" we want to get out

>

> > > > > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord,

without either

>

> > > > > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and

is not

>

> > > > > ours to interfere with.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose

to get

>

> > > > > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue

with it,

>

> > > > > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active

resistance is

>

> > > > > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You

are

>

> > > > > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to

consciously step

>

> > > > > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you

want to do.

>

> > > > > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace

the tension with

>

> > > > > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or

the

>

> > > > > sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type

of artificial

>

> > > > > resistance. It will make things worse.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult

>

> > > > > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to

>

> > > > > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What

must we do?

>

> > > > > Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we

engage in

>

> > > > > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one

kind of

>

> > > > > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we

have to do is look

>

> > > > > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance

>

> > > > > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away

and the

>

> > > > > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look,

we watch, we

>

> > > > > Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When

caught in a

>

> > > > > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to

a chronic

>

> > > > > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically

try to

>

> > > > > figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step

back and

>

> > > > > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for

the

>

> > > > > resistance.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Do I see resistance to the pain?

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to

them. I

>

> > > > > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this

and making

>

> > > > > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I

let it

>

> > > > > show itself.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and

guilt are

>

> > > > > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might

look for

>

> > > > > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor

might look

>

> > > > > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things

>

> > > > > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to

>

> > > > > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking

>

> > > > > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that

such a bad

>

> > > > > thing to find?

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance

in our

>

> > > > > experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we

>

> > > > > try to detect each form as it arises.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without

labels and with

>

> > > > > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and

find out

>

> > > > > which works best.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Steps †" Without Labeling

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or

sensation arises,

>

> > > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference

for or

>

> > > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity,

i.e.,

>

> > > > > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something

else (this

>

> > > > > should not take very long).

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at

it. Observe

>

> > > > > it.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

>

> > > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If

so, notice

>

> > > > > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe

>

> > > > > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes

next.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

>

> > > > > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it.

>

> > > > > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever

>

> > > > > comes next.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over

what type

>

> > > > > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion,

is this

>

> > > > > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the

reaction and

>

> > > > > move on.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify

>

> > > > > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about

it,

>

> > > > > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next.

Remember that,

>

> > > > > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify

>

> > > > > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they

don't make

>

> > > > > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of

reactions they

>

> > > > > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You

don't need

>

> > > > > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out.

Things will be

>

> > > > > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own

sticky

>

> > > > > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't

want to

>

> > > > > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind

reacts to

>

> > > > > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not

like the

>

> > > > > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it

be.

>

> > > > > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of

reactions

>

> > > > > as appropriate.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > Steps †" With Labeling

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or

sensation arises,

>

> > > > > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference

for or

>

> > > > > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity,

i.e.,

>

> > > > > acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives

rise to

>

> > > > > something else (this should not take very long).

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at

it. Observe

>

> > > > > it.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

>

> > > > > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If

so, notice

>

> > > > > the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into

it. Rest in

>

> > > > > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up

to

>

> > > > > whatever comes next.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards?

>

> > > > > If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there.

Relax into

>

> > > > > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go

and open

>

> > > > > up to whatever comes next.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > >

>

> > > > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply

to the

>

> > > > > meditation with labeling.

>

> > > > >

>

> > > >

>

> > >

>

> >

>

[Guest guest]

really great post...

thank you!

>

> (Feedback Welcomed)

>

> The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously

call Young's Modulus:

>

> Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

>

> Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or

physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

>

> " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

>

> The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

>

> Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

>

> (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

>

> (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

>

> (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

>

> (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

>

> (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

>

>

> In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

>

> To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that

we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

consciously control.

>

> As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

This is natural resistance.

>

> At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind " our

reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

>

> Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma—we want to get

out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

>

> Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do.

Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

>

> Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension

with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of artificial

resistance. It will make things worse.

>

> Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do?

Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in

some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

>

> To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is look

for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

>

> As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we

Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

>

> Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back

and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

resistance.

>

> Do I see resistance to the pain?

>

> Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

>

> Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let

it show itself.

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

>

> I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that

such a bad thing to find?

>

> The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we

try to detect each form as it arises.

>

> The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and with

labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out

which works best.

>

> Steps – Without Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

>

> (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

>

> If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

>

> (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions

as appropriate.

>

> Steps – With Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into

it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

up to whatever comes next.

>

> The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

meditation with labeling.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Branco,I just want to say that what you have written here is very useful indeed. I have recently been experimenting with exactly the kind of techniques that you have been talking about with excellent results. I have found that when we can observe the resistance we have to pain and seperate it from pain- then we suffer much less. It is certainly a skill that needs to be developed and needs practice. I think that you have written down a good concise description of a most useful technique.In some ways I agree with people that what needs to be done is to get on with life and not over think about this kind of stuff- but meditating is not thinking and once you understand basic techniques, that you describe so well, then a regular sitting meditation can really have a lot of

benefits. One benefit I have enjoyed is relief from a painful neck. For years I have suffered with a tight painful neck that gave me headaches and stress. I tried muscle relaxants, various exercises etc all with little or no benefit. About six months ago I started just spending time observing the pain, observing the tension around the pain and observing my thoughts and feelings related to the pain. Now this may sound incredulous, but now it is 90 percent better. Sometimes, if I get stressed it comes back a little but if I practice this technique it never develops or stayes with me for long. I am lucky as this condition is obviously not serious- I know many others have conditions that won't be so easily dealt with- but, even if you can't gain relief from physical symptoms of a chronic condition you can definitely benefit pychologically. I will be very interested to see your future posts,JimTo: ACT_for_the_Public Sent: Mon, May 30, 2011 12:46:46 PMSubject: Re: Balance Meditation

"That is, feeling anxious is clean, feeling anxious about feeling anxious is dirty."

I would say this even more carefully. Feeling anxious about feeling anxious can be clean too.

The problem is not in having any feeling. Having a feeling is by definition OK no matter what the feeling is. We don't decide our feelings, nature does.

The problem is when we resist/suppress/judge/fuse_with any of the feelings that occur in the chain.

So you have the initial thing (maybe a thought, image, memory, pain sensation, whatever). Usually, that triggers a 1st degree reaction (maybe anxiety, tension, sadness, whatever), that may fester on its own, or it may trigger a 2nd degree reaction (maybe guilt because look how much you suck at this, you're making it worse; maybe anxiety because you are really are stuck here and you're never going to get over this, etc.)

If you can let that chain unfold without fighting/struggling with what it puts out, and also without embracing/believing some of the talk that is inside of it, then that is a complete, clean experience. That's what we want.

As for background, my name is , I used to post here under a different yahoo account. This is my new account. I'm not a psychologist or a professional. My primary issue is chronic pain. I don't have many problems with anxiety/panic right now, although I did have problems with them a few years ago before being introduced to ACT.

> >

> > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: "ratvery uso_branco@" <rato_branco@>

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

> > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously

> > call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

> > experience in any given life situation is equal to the painâ€"psychological or

> > physicalâ€"that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

> > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

> > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

> > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

> > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> >

> > "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in

> > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation

> > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

> > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

> > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

> > in the other."

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will

> > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> >

> > Attempts to "not resist" often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

> > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

> > and so on.

> >

> >

> > (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

> > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> >

> > (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

> > continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

> > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

> > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that

> > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

> > consciously control.

> >

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

> > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

> > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

> > This is natural resistance.

> >

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

> > into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our

> > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

> > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

> > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion,

> > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and

> > effectâ€"we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of

> > resistanceâ€"and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemmaâ€"we want to get out

> > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either

> > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not

> > ours to interfere with.

> >

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

> > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

> > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

> > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

> > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

> > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do.

> > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> >

> > Any other approachâ€"an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with

> > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

> > sadness with joy, or whatever with whateverâ€"is just another type of artificial

> > resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

> > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

> > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do?

> > Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in

> > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

> > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistanceâ€"of whatever kindâ€"all we have to do is look

> > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

> > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

> > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awarenessâ€"a state in which we look, we watch, we

> > Listen in Silenceâ€"dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

> > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic

> > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to

> > figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and

> > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > resistance.

> >

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

> > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making

> > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

> > show itself.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

> > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for

> > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look

> > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things

> > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to

> > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking

> > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad

> > thing to find?

> >

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

> > experience. We divide resistance into two main formsâ€"desire and aversionâ€"and we

> > try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different waysâ€"without labels and with

> > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out

> > which works best.

> >

> >

> > Steps â€" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

> > should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice

> > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

> > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

> > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

> > comes next.

> >

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type

> > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this

> > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and

> > move on.

> >

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

> > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

> > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

> > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

> > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

> > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

> > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

> > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

> > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

> > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

> > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

> > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

> > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

> > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions

> > as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps â€" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to

> > something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice

> > the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

> > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> > If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into

> > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

> > up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

> > meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

PS -And of course sitting meditation is not absolutely necessary as you can be minful anywhere. I hesitate to attach this as some may think it not appropriate- But it's been very useful to me so may be useful to other people here. Find attached a book about minfulness in everyday life.To: ACT_for_the_Public Sent: Tue, May 31, 2011 1:09:59 PMSubject: Re: Re: Balance Meditation

Hi Branco,I just want to say that what you have written here is very useful indeed. I have recently been experimenting with exactly the kind of techniques that you have been talking about with excellent results. I have found that when we can observe the resistance we have to pain and seperate it from pain- then we suffer much less. It is certainly a skill that needs to be developed and needs practice. I think that you have written down a good concise description of a most useful technique.In some ways I agree with people that what needs to be done is to get on with life and not over think about this kind of stuff- but meditating is not thinking and once you understand basic techniques, that you describe so well, then a regular sitting meditation can really have a lot of

benefits. One benefit I have enjoyed is relief from a painful neck. For years I have suffered with a tight painful neck that gave me headaches and stress. I tried muscle relaxants, various exercises etc all with little or no benefit. About six months ago I started just spending time observing the pain, observing the tension around the pain and observing my thoughts and feelings related to the pain. Now this may sound incredulous, but now it is 90 percent better. Sometimes, if I get stressed it comes back a little but if I practice this technique it never develops or stayes with me for long. I am lucky as this condition is obviously not serious- I know many others have conditions that won't be so easily dealt with- but, even if you can't gain relief from physical symptoms of a chronic condition you can definitely benefit pychologically. I will be very interested to see your future posts,JimTo: ACT_for_the_Public Sent: Mon, May 30, 2011 12:46:46 PMSubject: Re: Balance Meditation

"That is, feeling anxious is clean, feeling anxious about feeling anxious is dirty."

I would say this even more carefully. Feeling anxious about feeling anxious can be clean too.

The problem is not in having any feeling. Having a feeling is by definition OK no matter what the feeling is. We don't decide our feelings, nature does.

The problem is when we resist/suppress/judge/fuse_with any of the feelings that occur in the chain.

So you have the initial thing (maybe a thought, image, memory, pain sensation, whatever). Usually, that triggers a 1st degree reaction (maybe anxiety, tension, sadness, whatever), that may fester on its own, or it may trigger a 2nd degree reaction (maybe guilt because look how much you suck at this, you're making it worse; maybe anxiety because you are really are stuck here and you're never going to get over this, etc.)

If you can let that chain unfold without fighting/struggling with what it puts out, and also without embracing/believing some of the talk that is inside of it, then that is a complete, clean experience. That's what we want.

As for background, my name is , I used to post here under a different yahoo account. This is my new account. I'm not a psychologist or a professional. My primary issue is chronic pain. I don't have many problems with anxiety/panic right now, although I did have problems with them a few years ago before being introduced to ACT.

> >

> > In my opinion- interesting and useful.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: "ratvery uso_branco@" <rato_branco@>

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 11:31:08 AM

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

> > truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously

> > call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

> > experience in any given life situation is equal to the painâ€"psychological or

> > physicalâ€"that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

> > pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

> > where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

> > without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

> > amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

> > psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> >

> > "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in

> > the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation

> > he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is

> > insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

> > collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

> > toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

> > in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

> > in the other."

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will

> > not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> >

> > Attempts to "not resist" often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

> > reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

> > and so on.

> >

> >

> > (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

> > reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> >

> > (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those

> > reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love,

> > compassion, acceptance.

> >

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

> > continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

> > natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

> > own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that

> > we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

> > consciously control.

> >

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

> > In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

> > reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

> > This is natural resistance.

> >

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

> > into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our

> > reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

> > nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

> > shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion,

> > fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some

> > unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and

> > effectâ€"we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of

> > resistanceâ€"and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemmaâ€"we want to get out

> > of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either

> > opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not

> > ours to interfere with.

> >

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

> > inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

> > protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

> > when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

> > feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

> > away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do.

> > Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> >

> > Any other approachâ€"an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with

> > calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

> > sadness with joy, or whatever with whateverâ€"is just another type of artificial

> > resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

> > experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

> > unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do?

> > Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in

> > some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

> > resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistanceâ€"of whatever kindâ€"all we have to do is look

> > for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

> > creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

> > natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awarenessâ€"a state in which we look, we watch, we

> > Listen in Silenceâ€"dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

> > struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic

> > health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to

> > figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and

> > Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

> > resistance.

> >

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

> > relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making

> > things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

> > show itself.

> >

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

> > just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for

> > a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look

> > for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things

> > show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to

> > find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking

> > for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad

> > thing to find?

> >

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

> > experience. We divide resistance into two main formsâ€"desire and aversionâ€"and we

> > try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different waysâ€"without labels and with

> > labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out

> > which works best.

> >

> >

> > Steps â€" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

> > should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice

> > the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

> > it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> > If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it.

> > Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

> > comes next.

> >

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type

> > of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this

> > desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and

> > move on.

> >

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

> > itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

> > pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

> > at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

> > themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

> > themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

> > are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

> > to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

> > clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

> > object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

> > go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

> > the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

> > fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

> > Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions

> > as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps â€" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises,

> > briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

> > against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

> > acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to

> > something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

> > it.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

> > revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice

> > the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

> > it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

> > whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

> > If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into

> > it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

> > up to whatever comes next.

> >

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

> > meditation with labeling.

> >

>

1 of 1 File(s)

livngmed.pdf

[Guest guest]

Some good stuff here Rato, I've been aware for some time that working really

hard at acceptance is defeating the object and becomes another way of not

accepting. That seems to be true of mindfulness too. When I was meditaing the

other day I allowed myself to be annoyed with the sound of the racing cars from

next door, and as I accepted the distraction, the useless mindfulness session

that I was having, and my irritation, as well as my hatred of it, I had moments

when I became at one with all the other sounds around me and there was a touch

of peace. I achieved this because I was trully accepting the irritation. When we

truly accept how can anything be really annoying anymore and yet we have to

accept being annoyed and upset if we are going to accept. I do get it.

Still, unless I can get my body tension down I'm could end up with chronic a

diseae of some sort - I'm already puting on loads of weight due to adrenal

exhaustion and the chronic hunger it causes.

So I need to find that window through this like the way you mention. It is like

when you meditate you need to focus and yet loosen up letting things be at the

same time. So you gently focus on something while allowing your thoughts to come

and go as they please. There is a window in which this can be done. When I

achieve this state it is very blissful.

Kv

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we

might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or

physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the

type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the

type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear,

and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma—we want to get

out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is

when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are

feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step

away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do.

Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension

with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of artificial

resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance?

What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which?

Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will

accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no,

not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is

look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away

and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we

Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back

and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the

resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let

it show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that

such a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we

try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and

with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out which works best.

> >

> > Steps – Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe

it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that,

at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the

fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be.

Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions

as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps – With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts

to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there.

Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go

and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Rato - Or !

It's good to have you back. It's really weird- but the other day I was thinking. 'I wonder what happened to - I loved his posts- they really resonated with me'. And here you are! Great!

I work a lot with stillness in my own yoga practise and meditation. I think there is something very powerful here. I tried your 'listening' meditation last night - just sat and listened to my mind - very quiet, with the odd rumble. But what I did notice is that when the thoughts went - pictures came up, instead. I have a lot of pictures in my mind - usually of some disaster!

I still have a great deal of active resistance - which I think for me is a question of trust. I take small steps forward but get into a heated debate in my mind if it is safe and end up frozen to the spot not knowing which way to turn, ACT pulling me forward and my history pulling me back - ping, pong - and then I get that active resistance to the whole drama and want to throw the towel in and not bother even trying. It's, just too much effort. I think maybe I have not cultivated enough detached awareness. I am very much still in the loop. But I think I am beginning to see the loop now! Although going forward seems dangerous and risky, whilst still spinning on this loop.

I seem to be getting more out of meditation than ACT of late - I have noted the stillness that flips over into everyday life when I meditate regularly. But I don't do it enough. Maybe 20 to 30 minutes for a few days - then stop for a few days- and so on. I'm on a mission to expand my practise.

I would like your opinion on a couple of things if that's ok - 1) My throat tightens up when I meditate sometimes - any ideas why that should be? I just try to breath around and through it and let it be. and 2) How do the meditations you describe differ from mindfulness meditation?

Anyway - thanks for posting- and I really look forward to hearing more from you!

Simone

Subject: Balance MeditationTo: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

(Feedback Welcomed)The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X ResistanceLet's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain—psychological or physical—that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates, "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety,

whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other."The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced. Attempts to "not resist" often play out as: (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on. (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more

appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance. (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on. (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions—peace, love, compassion, acceptance. (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control. As human beings, a certain amount of resistance

is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance. At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance. Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effect—we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of resistance—and entangle ourselves in an entirely

new dilemma—we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with. Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on. Any other approach—an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever—is just another type of

artificial resistance. It will make things worse. Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all. To skillfully work with resistance—of whatever kind—all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds. As a general rule, detached awareness—a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silence—dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance. Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance. Do I see resistance to the pain? Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK. Do I see any resistance to that resistance? Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it show itself. Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be. I

am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find? The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms—desire and aversion—and we try to detect each form as it arises. The meditation can be practiced in two different ways—without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best. Steps – Without Labeling(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is

arising. (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there.

Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on. If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure

anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened. (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.Steps – With Labeling(1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then

what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.

[Guest guest]

Hi Simone,

" I would like your opinion on a couple of things if that's ok - 1) My throat

tightens up when I meditate sometimes - any ideas why that should be? "

Are you meditating on the breathing when this happens? If so, just don't

meditate on the breathing. Meditating on the breathing isn't that productive

IMO once you've built up a basic level concentration ability.

Bear in mind that you don't have to be sitting in a chair with your eyes closed

in an upright posture to do any of these meditations. Personally, I don't close

my eyes on any meditation. What's the point? You live life with your eyes

open. Might as well practice with your eyes open as well.

Likewise, sometimes if I'm tired and I keep falling asleep when trying to do an

exercise, I go on a walk and do the exercise. You might try that. Try the

exercises while you're walking in the park or something.

The word " meditation " may scare some into thinking this is like sitting in a

trance and becoming hypnotized or whatever, but you coud just as easily call the

meditations " exercises " . They are not very different in form from the ACT

exercises in GOYM. Meditation may be a bad word to use that scares some people

off.

" 2) How do the meditations you describe differ from mindfulness meditation? "

Well, what I'm trying to do is identify the key areas of mindfulness practice

that are the most difficult and non-intuitive, and then build exercises that

work on those areas specifically.

I find that one of the hardest areas for me personally has to do with the

question of how to work with reactions and resistance in response to

unpleasantries.

You can go to a teacher with a problem and they will tell you " don't resist " or

" accept " , but what does that mean? In a way, we know what they mean but there

are many circumstances where it is very difficult, if not impossible, to " do " or

bring them about in practice. Remember that we are organisms, we have brains

that obey laws of cause and effect, it's not clear that we can always " accept "

or " not resist " as a matter of choice or will.

You can make an effort to " accept " or " not resist " when you are dealing with

something that is not too intense, that may work, but with the really difficult

stuff I find that it can create problems. What I've found personally is that it

helps at times to just drop efforts to " accept " or " not resist " and to instead

look at things from a different angle.

Instead of trying to " not resist " something that is problematic, I think a

better approach is to just step back and look for resistance. Take it as a

given that it is probably going to be there, so just look for it. If you find

it, label it " resistance " and relax in it. Let it be. That is enough. If you

don't, then great--you've found acceptance. It's very important to soak in that

acceptance, rest inside it, get to know what it feels like to not have a fight

going on. What that does is it makes it more likely that you will find yourself

slipping into that state spontaneously in the future. It gets trained into the

grooves of your brain.

Also, remember that labeling is very powerful. It's been shown that labeling

unpleasant states actually dampens negative emotional reactions in the brain.

If show you a picture of a face in distress, and I have you tell me the gender

of the face ( " male " or " female " ), you will have a measurable reaction in your

amydgdala, the part of the brain associated with fear, anxiety etc, to the

distress that you are seeing in the face.

BUT, if I show you the same picture and I have you tell me whether the face is

" anxious " or " sad " --in other words, turn towards the emotion you are seeing and

label it rather than commenting on some side issue such as the gender--the

reaction in your amygdala is reduced as measured by fMRI. This indicates that

the process of mindfulness is dampening your reaction. It doesn't conclusively

prove that the labeling itself is the cause of the reduced reaction, but based

on my experience I suspect that it is.

In fact, the neuroscientsts quoted the following in the study:

The skillful use of labeling during satipatthana [mindful] contemplation can

help strengthen clear recognition and understanding.

At the same time, labeling introduces a healthy degree of inner

detachment, since the act of apostrophizing one's moods and

emotions diminishes one's identification with them.

Analayo, from Satipatthana

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17634566

>

>

>

> Subject: Balance Meditation

> To: ACT_for_the_Public

> Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> (Feedback Welcomed)

>

> The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental

truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously

call Young's Modulus:

>

> Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

>

> Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological or

physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where

there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without

much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts

of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe

Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

>

> " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

>

> The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

>

> Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

>

> (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

>

> (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

>

> (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

>

> (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

>

> (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

>

>

> In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

>

> To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance:

natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its

own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that

we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can

consciously control.

>

> As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology.

In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience

reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on.

This is natural resistance.

>

> At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance

into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind " our

reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them,

nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how

shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

>

> Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to

get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

>

> Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when

you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the

fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this

process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it

go, say nothing more, move on.

>

> Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the tension

with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the

sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of artificial

resistance. It will make things worse.

>

> Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult

experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to

unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do?

Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in

some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of

resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

>

> To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do is

look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

>

> As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we watch, we

Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

>

> Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

>

> Do I see resistance to the pain?

>

> Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax

into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

>

> Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

>

> Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are

just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

>

> I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad thing to find?

>

> The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and aversion†" and

we try to detect each form as it arises.

>

> The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out which works best.

>

> Steps †" Without Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

it.

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it

as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

>

> (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type

of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this

desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and

move on.

>

> If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at

all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

>

> (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact

that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the

process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as

appropriate.

>

> Steps †" With Labeling

>

> (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

>

> (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

>

> (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

>

> (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe

it.

>

> (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

>

> (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

>

> The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the

meditation with labeling.

>

[Guest guest]

Many people prefer to meditate with their eyes open as this helps to

stop them from falling to sleep. Also, it helps people to get used to

mindfulness practice in their daily lives and so getting used to having

your eyes open is helpful. Saying that, keeping your eyes closed has

benefits in different ways, for one thing, closing the eyes makes the

brain go into a deeper meditative state as brain activity will naturally

slow down and some meditators find this useful. I prefer to close the

eyes but if I keep falling to sleep I will open them, and if that

doesn't work then I practice mindfulness while doing things. Some

advanced meditators let the eyes go naturally where they will, which

usually means that they will go into a half open position. That sounds

rather nice, I think.

Kv

> >

> >

> > From: rato_branco@ rato_branco@

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> >

> >

> > Â

> >

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which

we might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering

that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the

pain†" psychological or physical†" that we experience multiplied

by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the

equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little

resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much

suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who

fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle

actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the

continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily

absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of

the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total

surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist,

then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of

automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion,

Felt yuckiness, and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to

have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new

set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to

have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate

reactions†" peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the

loop continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of

resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active

resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily

introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into

our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are

designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion,

frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can

" get behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with

them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about

our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This

is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of

tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some

physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a

simple instance of cause and effect†" we do not have any control

over it. Rather than " resist " this type of resistance†" and entangle

ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to get out of its the

way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either

opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose

to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to

argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull.

Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the

thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have

the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and

let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing

more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively

replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the

fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with

whatever†" is just another type of artificial resistance. It will

make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active

resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see

which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental

technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the

other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all

we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking

dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active

type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows

itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we

look, we watch, we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts

it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax,

step back and take that stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected

to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than

frantically try to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this

sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the

reactions. I look for the resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to

them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this

and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into

it. I let it show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and

guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them

be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer

might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way

that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching,

just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda,

nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If

I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found

acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance

in our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire

and aversion†" and we try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without

labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each

method and find out which works best.

> >

> > Steps †" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or

sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that

your mind reacts to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference

for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is

equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives

rise to something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at

it. Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike,

displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get

away " ? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open

up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open

up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over

what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this

aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem.

Just drop the reaction and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget

about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next.

Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions

themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify

themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that

you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them

and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any

intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear,

if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own

sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that

doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in

which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you

see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's

aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way,

continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps †" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or

sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that

your mind reacts to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference

for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is

equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it

until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at

it. Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike,

displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get

away " ? If so, notice the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be

there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you.

Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be

there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you.

Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling

apply to the meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

yes, " don't resist " is resisting in and of itself

resisting resistance

it's like the example of telling yourself not* to think of a yellow ball

which is why it is so hard for anxiety sufferers to get entangled in it

when there is a reaction we try to resist reacting

therefore resisting the exact thing we are trying to accept

the better method is to accept resistance and be willing to experience it

and if you just observe it closely, you will see that it just a happening within

your awareness, and if you just allow it to be, it will leave on it's own

and it's power will gradually be drained

> >

> >

> > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we

might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological or

physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where

there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without

much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts

of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe

Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love,

compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the

type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the

type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear,

and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to

get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when

you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the

fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this

process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it

go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence,

or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance?

What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must

we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate

one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do is

look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance

creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the

natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we watch,

we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a

struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and aversion†" and

we try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out which works best.

> >

> > Steps †" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it

as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at

all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact

that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the

process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as

appropriate.

> >

> > Steps †" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

oh, and if you already have formed an automatic resistance to resistance, than

just observe and accept that too

Acceptance is what are observing self is, resistance is based in believing a

thought that denies What IS

> > >

> > >

> > > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>

> > > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> > >

> > >

> > >  

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > (Feedback Welcomed)

> > >

> > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we

might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> > >

> > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> > >

> > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological or

physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that

pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where

there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without

much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts

of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe

Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> > >

> > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is

apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

> > >

> > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then

you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> > >

> > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> > >

> > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

> > >

> > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> > >

> > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> > >

> > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have

those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> > >

> > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

> > >

> > >

> > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> > >

> > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the

type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the

type that we can consciously control.

> > >

> > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear,

and so on. This is natural resistance.

> > >

> > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> > >

> > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type

of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to

get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without

either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is

not ours to interfere with.

> > >

> > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to

get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when

you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the

fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this

process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it

go, say nothing more, move on.

> > >

> > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence,

or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

> > >

> > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance?

What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must

we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate

one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> > >

> > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do

is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away

and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> > >

> > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught

in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> > >

> > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

> > >

> > > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> > >

> > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> > >

> > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> > >

> > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

> > >

> > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> > >

> > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might

look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor

might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad thing to find?

> > >

> > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in

our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we try to detect each form as it arises.

> > >

> > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and

with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find

out which works best.

> > >

> > > Steps †" Without Labeling

> > >

> > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > >

> > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> > >

> > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

> > >

> > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> > >

> > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it

as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> > >

> > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

> > >

> > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

> > >

> > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently

clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about

it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember

that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to

clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they

don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of

reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next.

You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out.

Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never

happened.

> > >

> > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact

that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the

process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as

appropriate.

> > >

> > > Steps †" With Labeling

> > >

> > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> > >

> > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> > >

> > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

> > >

> > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> > >

> > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

> > >

> > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling

towards? If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax

into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open

up to whatever comes next.

> > >

> > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the meditation with labeling.

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I prefer to meditate on the sounds around me, but I sometimes focus on the

breath if I'm losing it as it can re-focus me, but I don't do it for long. Today

I meditated mainly with my eyes open as it was sunny and pretty, but after a

while I would close my eyes for a deeper meditation. This doesn't last long,

though, because I soon start to fall asleep, and so it goes back to eyes open

again.

Cd's have never worked for me as my mind just wanders, and usually after the

first few moments of putting one on.

Right now I'm impressed by the simple act of just observing, but it is not easy

for me as my tendency is to try and make things happen and work better. And just

observing is so gentle that I spend most of my time lost in thought, but trying

to focus more casues more tension and distress. Boy, it is so hard finding that

sweet spot, that tiny little window where I might experience a small amount of

peace for a fraction of time. It's gorgeous when it happens, though.

Kv

> >

> >

> > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we

might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological

or physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist

that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the

type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the

type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear,

and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this

type of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new

dilemma†" we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of

its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the

flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when

you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the

fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this

process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it

go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence,

or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance?

What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must

we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate

one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to

do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away

and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When

caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels

and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and

find out which works best.

> >

> > Steps †" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it

as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at

all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact

that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the

process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as

appropriate.

> >

> > Steps †" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

, how do I integrate Listening in Silence and meditation with focus on breathing? My meditation is basically part of a martial arts regiment in which we are required to concentrate on breathing. The challenge of this meditation is if the mind wanders away from breathing, it will be quite easy for the breathing to turn incorrect and hence I won't accumulate the desired health benefits. I tried to integrate Listening to Thoughts while focusing on breathings, but I immediately found that to listen to whatever comes from silence requires a certain amount of attention that diverts my focus away from breathing. It is easy to say that these are two different types of meditation that shouldn't be combined together, but something in me says that elements of Listening in Silence can greatly help breathing meditation if I just know how to do it.Please share your insights, they have been helpful before. Thanks!!Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry®Sender: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 22:22:03 +0100 (BST)To: <ACT_for_the_Public >ReplyTo: ACT_for_the_Public Subject: Re: Re: Balance Meditation Hi, I could be meditating on the breath - I don;t remember. Sometimes I do, sometimes I meditate on sound, sometimes on watching thoughts, sometimes I listen to Jon Kabat Zinn cds, sometimes I do choiceless awareness, other times loving Kindness. Maybe I am flipping about too much?I've never tried meditating whilst in the midst of the everyday - that is something I shall certainly try. And I meditate with my eyes closed and sometimes open. I don't sound very consistant do I!Working with resistance is a biggy for me. It seems like a great big stubborn rock weighing me down. And I can't seem to will myself to accept - relaxing into it, as you suggest would probably mean that I didn't move forward with the resistance , I would just sit and look at it and feel bad for not moving forward. On the other hand sometimes I push against the resistance and blast through - with a lot of tension and exhaustion.Maybe I will label the resistance and sit with it, and feel my way into it, get to know it. But will that move me ahead with my hands and feet? I could spend a lifetime that way. SimoneSubject: Re: Balance MeditationTo: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Tuesday, 31 May, 2011, 10:31 Hi Simone, "I would like your opinion on a couple of things if that's ok - 1) My throat tightens up when I meditate sometimes - any ideas why that should be?"Are you meditating on the breathing when this happens? If so, just don't meditate on the breathing. Meditating on the breathing isn't that productive IMO once you've built up a basic level concentration ability. Bear in mind that you don't have to be sitting in a chair with your eyes closed in an upright posture to do any of these meditations. Personally, I don't close my eyes on any meditation. What's the point? You live life with your eyes open. Might as well practice with your eyes open as well. Likewise, sometimes if I'm tired and I keep falling asleep when trying to do an exercise, I go on a walk and do the exercise. You might try that. Try the exercises while you're walking in the park or something. The word "meditation" may scare someinto thinking this is like sitting in a trance and becoming hypnotized or whatever, but you coud just as easily call the meditations "exercises". They are not very different in form from the ACT exercises in GOYM. Meditation may be a bad word to use that scares some people off. "2) How do the meditations you describe differ from mindfulness meditation?"Well, what I'm trying to do is identify the key areas of mindfulness practice that are the most difficult and non-intuitive, and then build exercises that work on those areas specifically. I find that one of the hardest areas for me personally has to do with the question of how to work with reactions and resistance in response to unpleasantries. You can go to a teacher with a problem and they will tell you "don't resist" or "accept", but what does that mean? In a way, we know what they mean but there are many circumstances where it is very difficult, if not impossible, to"do" or bring them about in practice. Remember that we are organisms, we have brains that obey laws of cause and effect, it's not clear that we can always "accept" or "not resist" as a matter of choice or will. You can make an effort to "accept" or "not resist" when you are dealing with something that is not too intense, that may work, but with the really difficult stuff I find that it can create problems. What I've found personally is that it helps at times to just drop efforts to "accept" or "not resist" and to instead look at things from a different angle. Instead of trying to "not resist" something that is problematic, I think a better approach is to just step back and look for resistance. Take it as a given that it is probably going to be there, so just look for it. If you find it, label it "resistance" and relax in it. Let it be. That is enough. If you don't, then great--you've found acceptance. It's very important to soak in thatacceptance, rest inside it, get to know what it feels like to not have a fight going on. What that does is it makes it more likely that you will find yourself slipping into that state spontaneously in the future. It gets trained into the grooves of your brain. Also, remember that labeling is very powerful. It's been shown that labeling unpleasant states actually dampens negative emotional reactions in the brain. If show you a picture of a face in distress, and I have you tell me the gender of the face ("male" or "female"), you will have a measurable reaction in your amydgdala, the part of the brain associated with fear, anxiety etc, to the distress that you are seeing in the face. BUT, if I show you the same picture and I have you tell me whether the face is "anxious" or "sad"--in other words, turn towards the emotion you are seeing and label it rather than commenting on some side issue such as the gender--the reaction in youramygdala is reduced as measured by fMRI. This indicates that the process of mindfulness is dampening your reaction. It doesn't conclusively prove that the labeling itself is the cause of the reduced reaction, but based on my experience I suspect that it is. In fact, the neuroscientsts quoted the following in the study: The skillful use of labeling during satipatthana [mindful] contemplation can help strengthen clear recognition and understanding.At the same time, labeling introduces a healthy degree of innerdetachment, since the act of apostrophizing one's moods andemotions diminishes one's identification with them.Analayo, from Satipatthanahttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17634566> > > > Subject: Balance Meditation> To: ACT_for_the_Public > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18> > >  > > > > (Feedback Welcomed)> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed afundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the painâ€"psychological or physicalâ€"that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates, > > "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation hecannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other."> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced. > > Attempts to "not resist" often play out as: > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on. > > (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love,compassion, acceptance. > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on. > > (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love, compassion, acceptance. > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.> > > In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control. > > As human beings,a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance. > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance. > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effectâ€"we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this typeof resistanceâ€"and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemmaâ€"we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with. > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on. > > Any other approachâ€"an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence,or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whateverâ€"is just another type of artificial resistance. It will make things worse. > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all. > > To skillfully work with resistanceâ€"of whatever kindâ€"all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds. > > As a general rule, detachedawarenessâ€"a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silenceâ€"dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance. > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance. > > Do I see resistance to the pain? > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK. > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. Ilet it show itself. > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be. > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find? > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main formsâ€"desire and aversionâ€"and we try to detect each form as it arises. > > The meditation can be practiced in twodifferent waysâ€"without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best. > > Steps â€" Without Labeling> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? Ifso, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on. > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility ofthe reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened. > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.> > Steps â€" WithLabeling> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up towhatever comes next. > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.>

[Guest guest]

Try listening to your breathing.

> >

> >

> > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a

fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we

might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we

experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological

or physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist

that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First,

where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated

without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small

amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical

psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent

in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the

inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts

is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of

collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the

toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering

in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it

in the other. "

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you

will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic

reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness,

and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of

reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those

reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace,

love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop

continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of

resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises

automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the

type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the

type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our

biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to

experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear,

and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce

resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get

behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support

them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about

how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension,

aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or

some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause

and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this

type of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new

dilemma†" we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of

its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the

flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get

inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it,

protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when

you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the

fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this

process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it

go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the

tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence,

or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of

artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a

difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural

resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance?

What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must

we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate

one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to

do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for

resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away

and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we

watch, we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When

caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that

stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a

chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try

to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and

Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I

relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and

making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it

show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt

are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look

for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might

look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting

things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no

pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am

looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such

a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our

experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and

aversion†" and we try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels

and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and

find out which works best.

> >

> > Steps †" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this

should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it

as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently

observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what

type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is

this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction

and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify

itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it,

pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at

all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify

themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make

themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they

are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need

to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be

clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky

object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to

go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to

the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact

that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the

process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as

appropriate.

> >

> > Steps †" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation

arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to

it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or

against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e.,

acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to

something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it.

Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure,

revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice

the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in

it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever

comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards?

If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it.

Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to

whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to

the meditation with labeling.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

So it is like zooming in on the breathing and hope that the other noises fade away ... Which is the traditional stance of the practice ... Thanks anyway.Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry®Sender: ACT_for_the_Public Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:05:57 -0000To: <ACT_for_the_Public >ReplyTo: ACT_for_the_Public Subject: Re: Balance Meditation Try listening to your breathing.> > > > > > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>> > Subject: Balance Meditation> > To: ACT_for_the_Public > > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18> > > > > >   > > > > > > > > (Feedback Welcomed)> > > > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:> > > > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance> > > > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the pain†" psychological or physical†" that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates, > > > > " The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other. " > > > > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced. > > > > Attempts to " not resist " often play out as: > > > > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on. > > > > (2) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love, compassion, acceptance. > > > > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on. > > > > (4) In the interest of " not resisting " , we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactions†" peace, love, compassion, acceptance. > > > > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.> > > > > > In trying to " not resist " , then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.> > > > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control. > > > > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance. > > > > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively " feed the fire. " We can " get behind " our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance. > > > > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effect†" we do not have any control over it. Rather than " resist " this type of resistance†" and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemma†" we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with. > > > > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on. > > > > Any other approach†" an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whatever†" is just another type of artificial resistance. It will make things worse. > > > > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform " checks " to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all. > > > > To skillfully work with resistance†" of whatever kind†" all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds. > > > > As a general rule, detached awareness†" a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silence†" dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance. > > > > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to " do " , how to " not resist " this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance. > > > > Do I see resistance to the pain? > > > > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK. > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? > > > > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it show itself. > > > > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be. > > > > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find? > > > > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main forms†" desire and aversion†" and we try to detect each form as it arises. > > > > The meditation can be practiced in two different ways†" without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best. > > > > Steps †" Without Labeling> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > > > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on. > > > > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened. > > > > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.> > > > Steps †" With Labeling> > > > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising. > > > > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it. > > > > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that " equanimity " and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long). > > > > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it. > > > > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, " yuck, get away " ? If so, notice the aversion, label it " aversion " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > > > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it " desire " , and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next. > > > > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.> >>

[Guest guest]

Metta - Your words "hope that the other noises fade away" jumped out at me. While following this thread started by Rato Branco, I noticed that quite a few posters seem to want meditation to make something go away - struggle.I've had two types of experiences with meditation. The first was to get rid of my anxiety; never worked and usually made it worse. The second was to simply help me focus on the present and get my bus out of the ditch; it works very well, on the fly as well as sitting. I use "Open Focus Brain" techniques by Les Fehmi, both on the fly and sometimes "sitting." When I am lost in my mind I am using one of the most intense combinations of attentive styles - narrow and objective. Open Focus Brain techniques help me use all four of my attentive skills to become more "in contact with the present moment, fully conscious of my experience," a plain language definition of the ACT core principle of "contact with the present." I also use "notice five things" on the fly. It works remarkably well.The purpose of my post is not to diminish any particular meditation practice. Rather, I hope the post will cause people to take a step back and ask themselves what they are expecting from whatever meditation practice they are following or considering. If you expect it to make something go away it might make it worse. ACT works best for me when I dance round the hexaflex, using all six processes, and not depend on any one or two for psychological flexibility.BillTo: ACT_for_the_Public From: metta.freedom@...Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 12:10:32 +0000Subject: Re: Re: Balance Meditation

So it is like zooming in on the breathing and hope that the other noises fade away ... Which is the traditional stance of the practice ... Thanks anyway.Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry®

Sender: ACT_for_the_Public

Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:05:57 -0000To: <ACT_for_the_Public >ReplyTo: ACT_for_the_Public

Subject: Re: Balance Meditation

Try listening to your breathing.

> >

> >

> > From: rato_branco@ <rato_branco@>

> > Subject: Balance Meditation

> > To: ACT_for_the_Public

> > Date: Sunday, 29 May, 2011, 5:18

> >

> >

> > ÂÂ

> >

> >

> >

> > (Feedback Welcomed)

> >

> > The great meditation teacher Shinzen Young beautifully expressed a fundamental truth about human suffering in the following equation, which we might humorously call Young's Modulus:

> >

> > Young's Modulus: Suffering = Pain X Resistance

> >

> > Let's look closer at this equation. It tells us that the suffering that we experience in any given life situation is equal to the painâ€"psychological or physicalâ€"that we experience multiplied by the extent to which we resist that pain. Taken literally, the equation tells us two important things. First, where there is little resistance, large amounts of pain can be accommodated without much suffering . Second, where there is a lot of resistance, even small amounts of pain can lead to enormous amounts of suffering. The clinical psychologist Joe Ferguson eloquently elaborates,

> >

> > "The dramatic leverage that resistance can apply to a given pain is apparent in the anxiety, whimpering and screaming of the toddler who fears the inoculation he cannot avoid. In fact, the pain that the needle actually inflicts is insignificant compared to the pain involved in the continuous stream of collisions, falls, and abrasions that he happily absorbs at play. It is the toddler's extreme resistance to the idea of the needle that causes his suffering in one situation, and his total surrender to the flow of play that precludes it in the other."

> >

> > The practical message of Young's Modulus is simple: do not resist, then you will not suffer. The application, of course, is more nuanced.

> >

> > Attempts to "not resist" often play out as:

> >

> > (1) Some pain or unpleasant event occurs, followed by a set of automatic reactions to the pain or unpleasant event. Dislike, Aversion, Felt yuckiness, and so on.

> >

> > (2) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (3) The effort backfires, the pain gets more intense, and so a new set of reactions occur. Frustration, Anger, Judgment, Fear, and so on.

> >

> > (4) In the interest of "not resisting", we make an effort not to have those reactions. We try to replace them with more appropriate reactionsâ€"peace, love, compassion, acceptance.

> >

> > (5) The effort backfires again, the pain gets more intense, and the loop continues.

> >

> >

> > In trying to "not resist", then, we end up in a tangled web of resistance.

> >

> > To avoid this hangup, we need to distinguish between two types of resistance: natural resistance, the type of resistance that arises automatically, on its own, through its own forces, and active resistance, the type of resistance that we ourselves voluntarily introduce into a situation, the type that we can consciously control.

> >

> > As human beings, a certain amount of resistance is hardwired into our biology. In response to painful and unpleasant stimuli, we are designed to experience reactions of tension, dislike, aversion, frustration, anger, fear, and so on. This is natural resistance.

> >

> > At the same time, we also have the ability to voluntarily introduce resistance into our experience. We can actively "feed the fire." We can "get behind" our reactive emotions, start them up, fuel them, fuse with them, support them, nourish them. We can dive deep into thoughts about our situation, about how shitty, how wrong, how unfair it all is. This is active resistance.

> >

> > Natural resistance is when you experience a sharp feeling of tension, aversion, fear, or sadness in your body in response to some physical pain or some unpleasant thought. This type of resistance is a simple instance of cause and effectâ€"we do not have any control over it. Rather than "resist" this type of resistanceâ€"and entangle ourselves in an entirely new dilemmaâ€"we want to get out of its the way. We want to let it unfold out of its own accord, without either opposing it or supporting it. It is a part of the flow of nature and is not ours to interfere with.

> >

> > Active resistance, on the other hand, is when you consciously choose to get inside of your conversation with the pain or the thought, to argue with it, protest against it, sink into an active push-and-pull. Active resistance is when you willfully squeeze the pain, grasp at the thought, fight. You are feeding the fire, fanning the flame. You have the ability to consciously step away from this process, to drop it and let it go. That is what you want to do. Drop it, let it go, say nothing more, move on.

> >

> > Any other approachâ€"an approach where we try to actively replace the tension with calmness, or the aversion with liking, or the fear with confidence, or the sadness with joy, or whatever with whateverâ€"is just another type of artificial resistance. It will make things worse.

> >

> > Now, the million dollar question is: when we find ourselves facing a difficult experience or situation, how exactly do we allow our natural resistance to unfold, while at the same time dropping our active resistance? What must we do? Must we constantly perform "checks" to see which is which? Must we engage in some kind of sophisticated mental technique that will accomodate one kind of resistance and eliminate the other. The answer is no, not at all.

> >

> > To skillfully work with resistanceâ€"of whatever kindâ€"all we have to do is look for it. The act of stepping back and looking dispassionately for resistance creates a silence in which the active type of resistance drops away and the natural type of resistance shows itself and unfolds.

> >

> > As a general rule, detached awarenessâ€"a state in which we look, we watch, we Listen in Silenceâ€"dissolves resistance, melts it away. When caught in a struggle, then, all we need to do is relax, step back and take that stance.

> >

> > Suppose that I experience a sharp pain in my collar bone connected to a chronic health condition that I am struggling with. Rather than frantically try to figure out what to "do", how to "not resist" this sharp pain, I step back and Listen in Silence. I watch. I look for the reactions. I look for the resistance.

> >

> > Do I see resistance to the pain?

> >

> > Yes, I see Dislike. Aversion. Yuckiness. I bring my awareness to them. I relax into them. I let them show themselves. They are OK.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance?

> >

> > Yes, I see Frustration and Guilt at the fact that I am fighting this and making things worse. OK, I bring my awareness to that. I relax into it. I let it show itself.

> >

> > Do I see any resistance to that resistance? No, the frustration and guilt are just there, nothing is erupting on top of them. So I let them be.

> >

> > I am not looking for resistance in the way that a police officer might look for a suspect. Nor am I looking for resistance in the way that a doctor might look for a cure. I am just looking, just watching, just listening, letting things show themselves. There is no agenda, nowhere to get to, no goal, no pressure to find anything in specific. If I can't find the resistance that I am looking for, then I have found acceptance. I have found equanimity. Is that such a bad thing to find?

> >

> > The theme of the balance meditation is to simply look for resistance in our experience. We divide resistance into two main formsâ€"desire and aversionâ€"and we try to detect each form as it arises.

> >

> > The meditation can be practiced in two different waysâ€"without labels and with labels. The reader is encouraged to experiment with each method and find out which works best.

> >

> > Steps â€" Without Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Rest in that equanimity until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (6) At times, you may get caught up in an intellectual struggle over what type of reaction you are observing. Is this neutrality, is this aversion, is this desire, what is this? If that happens, no problem. Just drop the reaction and move on.

> >

> > If a reaction arises that's mysterious or that doesn't sufficiently clarify itself to you as aversion or desire or neither, then just forget about it, pretend it never happened, and open up to whatever comes next. Remember that, at all times, it is the responsibility of the reactions themselves to clarify themselves to you. If they don't clarify themselves to you, if they don't make themselves clear to you, such that you can't tell what kind of reactions they are, then forget about them and move on to whatever comes next. You don't need to expend any intellectual energy trying to figure anything out. Things will be clear, if they aren't, just drop them as if they had never happened.

> >

> > (7) If, at any point in the meditation, a reaction becomes its own sticky object in your mind, something that doesn't want to pass, that doesn't want to go away, then go up one level and look for the ways in which your mind reacts to the presence of that reaction. What do you see? Does your mind not like the fact that the reaction is there? That's aversion. Notice it, let it be. Repeat the process in this way, continually moving to higher levels of reactions as appropriate.

> >

> > Steps â€" With Labeling

> >

> > (1) Let go and open your awareness to whatever is arising.

> >

> > (2) When a mental event such as a thought, image, feeling, or sensation arises, briefly notice it. Then, look inward at the way that your mind reacts to it.

> >

> > (3) If you don't see a reaction, if there's nothing, no preference for or against, no pushing, no pulling, then what you have is equanimity, i.e., acceptance. Label that "equanimity" and rest in it until it gives rise to something else (this should not take very long).

> >

> > (4) If you do see a reaction, step back, relax, and take a look at it. Observe it.

> >

> > (5) Is the reaction a kind of aversion, i.e., a dislike, displeasure, revulsion, pushing away, intensification, eek, "yuck, get away"? If so, notice the aversion, label it "aversion", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pushes on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > (5) Is it some kind of desire, liking, wanting, attraction, pulling towards? If so, notice the desire, label it "desire", and let it be there. Relax into it. Rest in it. Gently observe it as it pulls on you. Then, let go and open up to whatever comes next.

> >

> > The same points (6) and (7) from the meditation without labeling apply to the meditation with labeling.

> >

>