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#1908 - Wednesday, September 1, 2004 - Editor: Jerry
Featured is Part 11 of 13 of the review/summary of The Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy, edited by John J. Prendergast, Peter Fenner, and Sheila Krystal. Information about this book is available at http://tinyurl.com/4nxfq
There is also a piece by Eric Chaffee on
nondualism and the Bible, which is exclusive to The Highlights.
In it he invites submissions on the topic. There will be a web
page for it on nonduality.com
As well, you'll meet the Wolfgang Bernard, a
nondual therapist.
Finally the Live Journal writings and
photography of Iamkatia and Wildgarden are
featured.
I'd like to once again thank everyone who writes us. We always
enjoy hearing from you. No kidding! So if you ever thought of
writing about anything whatsoever, please let us hear from you.
Just click 'Reply' on your email program, compose your message,
and 'Send'. All the editors will see your letter.
The Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy
Chapter 11
Healing Trauma in the Eternal Now
by Lynn Marie Lumiere
Lumiere is a licensed Marriage, Family Therapist. She has worked
with trauma and trauma-related issues for fifteen years. Her
orientation is transpersonal and somatic.
This chapter begins with Lumiere setting forth that nondual
awareness is unconditional love and as such accepts extreme
ecstasy and extreme trauma equally. "It is only in this
embrace of the manifest by the unmanifest that true
transformation or healing takes place," she says.
Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D. is quoted for his definition of trauma:
"the inability to be present with what is in the here and
now." Trauma is destabilizing, bringing us out of the here
and now and into the re-living of the past trauma. Lumiere say,
"Healing trauma requires being present with what is in the
moment."
Peter Levine, Ph.D., is noted as a leading researcher in trauma.
Levine is quoted: "Trauma is about thwarted instincts.
Instincts by definition are always in the present. When we allow
them their rightful domain, we surrender to the 'eternal
now.'"
Levine's method of healing trauma is known as Somatic
Experiencing. Lumiere presents its key concepts and demonstrates
how the method is applied in synergy with nondual awareness.
Somatic Experiencing uses a vortex model to illustrate how the
energy or trauma is created and negotiated. Lumiere says,
"The trauma vortex is a recapitulation of past, uncompleted
responses and exists outside the stream of our present life
experience. Nature simultaneously responds by creating a
'countervortex' to balance the force of the trauma vortex, which
is also called the 'inner vortex.' The inner vortex exists inside
mainstream life experience and is a primal rhythm or force that
is a natural compliment to the trauma vortex. It contains
resources that naturally assist the healing of the trauma. ...
Initially the trauma vortex is much larger than the
countervortex; this creates gravitational pull toward the trauma
that interferes with our ability to be in the here and now."
Three key concepts of Somatic Experiencing include pendulation,
titration, and resourcing.
Pendulation is the movement of experience between polarities,
such as pleasure and pain. The outer and inner vortex polarity
was noted above. Expansion and contraction are such polarities.
With trauma there is an uneven or interrupted flow of
pendulation. "When an even flow of pendulation is
reestablished, it regulates the nervous system, creating the
resiliency that is necessary to remain present and discharge
trauma. This resiliency, or self-regulation, is the ability to
allow experience to come and go without becoming fixated in some
way."
As pendulation is reestablished, titration can be introduced.
"Titration involves releasing traumatic stress a little at a
time, staying with only as much as we can be present to in the
moment. Titration slowly allows traumatic activation to be
accessed and assimilated so that the nervous system can gradually
adjust to each level of excitation."
Resourcing strengthens the center of gravity of the inner vortex
so that it can balance the pull of the outer, trauma vortex. A
resource is "anything that helps a person maintain a sense
of inner safety and integrity in the face of threat or
disruption." Lumiere says that direct experience of
awareness is the best resource and that the awakened
psychotherapist is a powerful resource. However, the author makes
clear that not all awakened psychotherapists succeed at
self-regulating and that a therapy such as Somatic Experiencing
could help achieve resiliency. She says, "the powerful
combination of self-regulation and awakened presence can
magnetize the client into a resonance with primordial awareness
and the natural movement of pendulation within it."
About half the chapter is devoted to a case study in which the
key concepts of pendulation, titration, and resourcing are
illustrated.
As part of her concluding statement to this chapter, Lumiere
says, "Because its effects are so intense and pervasive,
trauma can be a catalyst for profound surrender and awakening. I
see it as a wake-up call for the human race. Trauma is a primary
cause of human suffering, and yet it can only be truly resolved
by coming home to the eternal now. In the healing of trauma, we
must let go of the mind's illusion of control and discover the
beingness that is always present."
~ ~ ~
The Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy,
edited by John J. Prendergast, Peter Fenner, and Sheila Krystal.
Information about this book is available at http://tinyurl.com/4nxfq
Exclusive to The Highlights:
Eric Chaffee
"If Thine Eye Be Single"
(Including an invitation for submissions)
It would seem that few readers of "the Bible"
(Hebrew/Christian scriptures) are inclined to look for its
nondual message. The majority persistently contend that these
writings are essentially dualistic, good and evil. While I was
doing graduate studies at a prominent non-denominational divinity
school years ago, I was dumbfounded when a lecturer proceeded to
map various belief systems, omitting monism (nondualism). When I
inquired about her exclusion, she responded by saying "It's
so naive as to be unworthy of our time."
We hear a similar dismissal in an otherwise handy new volume
entitled Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking, by DQ McInerny,
Random House, 2004. As a first principle of logic we are
introduced to The Principle of Identity: "The whole of
existing reality is not a homogenous mass. It is a composition of
individuals, and the individuals are distinguishable from one
another." We're not told why all of existing reality cannot
be considered as a homogenous mass (the ancient philosopher
Zeno's important observations notwithstanding), aside from being
told that an apple is not an orange. The logical(?) extension of
the author's position would seem to argue that the nondual
position is illogical.
Minority positions are often marginalized by terms such as
'naive' and 'illogical', but this needn't end the consideration
of nonduality. Surely we can respond.
Although our fundamentalist friends, and even many thoughtful
liberals, would probably agree with both of the above
characterizations of nonduality, we can point to a significant
nondual statement early in the Bible, my favorite textbook, that
is most worthy of consideration. It is the powerful injunction
first encountered in Genesis 2:17 -- "Of the tree of the
knowledge of good AND evil, thou shalt not eat of it..."
[emphasis added].
Those of a literalist bent seem to reason that the bell can't be
un-rung, unless you join their club and subscribe to their
interpretations and doctrines, which are decidedly dualistic,
and, ironically, are adorned with, and seem to argue on behalf
of, the very fruit which God has proscribed. Most of the
Judeo-Christian world seems to believe that our two earliest
ancestors blew it; we're left with their tainted fruit, a raging
plague called sin, which even God could not quench with a flood
(Genesis 6-10). Yet these same good folks seem less inclined to
accept the advice offered by God to Ezekiel (18:1-3) "What
mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's
teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall
not have occasion any more to use the proverb in Israel."
So, heredity is out; blaming our parents' parents doesn't wash
with God! -What to do, what to think, where to stand?
An excellent article, 'Who Told You?,' on our verse in Genesis 2,
can be found in a slim but weighty volume entitled The Thunder of
Silence by Joel S Goldsmith. (I happily came upon nonduality.com
earlier this year while searching for mentions of this author.)
Although I think Sarlo gives Goldsmith only a star and a half in
his nondual rating on this site, I find him to be a compelling
teacher because he is more than a theoretician; he practices and
illustrates the application of nondual contemplation and living,
if you will. The aforementioned title is one of his deepest
volumes; those disinclined to eat the cherry first may prefer to
start with Living the Infinite Way, which the author himself
suggests, or a personal favorite that I like to share with those
open to encountering this author, The Spiritual Power of Truth.
He has assiduously prevented anyone from founding a church around
his teachings; a few websites, of debatable merit, are hosted by
some of his students. But primary sources are generally best. His
lectures are also still available on tape and cd, through his
estate, although the speaker departed the planet in 1964.
I am launching a project that identifies and considers nondual
Bible verses. There is a treasure trove of material here that
seems to have received little attention from this angle. The
project doesn't belong to me. If someone else wants to seize the
day and go to press with the idea, please send me a review copy.
I don't know if my efforts and receipts will be of interest, or
be worthy of sharing anywhere. I don't even know how to receive
your nominations and commentary efficiently. (Anyone with insight
or experience in digital compilation of such a project will win
my eyes, ears, and gratitude.) With that disclaimer in place, I
invite nominations of your favorite nondual Bible verses (any
published translation will be fine as long as it is identified; I
usually quote kjv, but I read numerous versions). Commentary is
also welcome, although it may, or may not get associated with
'your' verses, depending upon my editorial judgment. The email
address for the project is 4EricC@rochester.rr.com. Thanks for
your contributions! (Credit will be given in lieu of payment, if
anything is published or shared. By contributing your views to
this project you agree to allow them to be published without
other consideration or remuneration.)
~ ~ ~
Eric Chaffee chases sheep and tortures botanical Being on an
organic farm near Buffalo NY. He also participates as a volunteer
in a lively, nondenominational Bible study at a local prison
every Saturday.
Nonduality.com will host the web pages for Chaffee's project, so
please contact him via 4EricC@rochester.rr.com
Wolfgang Bernard
http://www.finaldialogue.com/index.html
My new teaching is a platonic dialogue style teaching intended
to complement the unfolding of your true nature.
Human beings are intended to develop an identity which is based
on the physical, intellectual and emotional development of
intrinsic bio-psychological processes.
The end result of this process, at the end of puberty, is an
identity that enables procreation, and the ability to face life
independently. The resulting person is then referred to as an
"adult". And this is where most humans stop in their
evolution.
Yet, there is the possibility of a next step: keeping all that is
learned during the process of the acquisition of identity and at
the same time initializing the project of becoming aware of one's
real nature outside the law of cause-effect.
This is what the "final dialogue" is about: to initiate
a living process that will eventually generate it's own dynamics
and which may show the way to the end of one's personal
evolution.
Therapy usually remains inside the frame of identity, but the
"final dialgoue" is expected to bring up the insight
that "identity is a myth" (U.G. Krishnamurti).
The "final dialogue" intends to generate overall
comprehension of the dynamics of life, which will be
"correctly read" instead of interpreted, resulting in a
life where you're detached from ups and downs, where something
that could be called your real nature will grow continously as
you become conscious of it.
My task will be to emphasize what is okay, the essential value,
and to uncover the hang-ups, the original belief .
Your task will be to integrate all this into your daily life
activities.
--Wolfgang Bernard
from http://www.livejournal.com/users/iamkatia/
"The Delight Song of Tsaoi-talee"
I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of the dawn
I am the roaring of the rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive
~ N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa (Native American)
Wildgarden
http://www.livejournal.com/users/wildgarden/
I would be posting more often, and more thoughtfully, if I
could.
Overwhelmed. Trying to run a home business, to do the cooking and
the laundry, home schooling a surly adolescent whose bliss is
currently lies in deepening his contacts in hacker circles. I
don't know which is worse, this or having to go to school to pick
him up after a fight. At least he's learning a lot more. It feels
like he's leaving me in the dust.
At the same times, plaster falling and hammering and sawing in
the next room. Carrying buckets of rubble across the floors to
outdoors.
Right now my bathroom (the only one in this small house) is
stripped back to the studs.
You can see the ground under the house through cracks in the
floor, if you look up from the shower you see into the attic, and
into a line of stored chairs.
The bathroom sink is disconnected.
There is a sense having a lot to organize in the next 6 weeks.
Taking a deep breath.
~ ~ ~
I want to share the view of the sky from my back door. This was
taken at sunset on the day of Hurricane Charley.
