The work I am doing is mostly antithetical to what popular culture seeks these days, even the ones that appear on the surface to be working with similar techniques to me. The reason for this is that I am using the techniques not for the goal of getting good at the techniques, but rather to unravel our assumptions and habitual tendencies. I thought I would take a moment in this email to illuminate the details that make it antithetical.
The elephant in the room that we must address before proceeding is our restless modern mind. In a rather candid discussion between Carl Jung and Native American Chief Ochwiay Biano in 1932, the Chief commented on his impression of the European mind:
And mad we are, drunk on our personal ideas of perfection. The habit of our modern minds is utopian, we look upon the world, nature, the unconscious, and the great creation that is this life and the first inevitable reaction is “not good enough”. In this reaction is hidden the greatest hubris, the not-so-subtle implication that if I, Craig, were put in charge of this whole thing called life, then I would obviously do a better job than what has been done by whatever unfathomable powers brought this moment into existence (particularly if this moment happens to have a crude or stupid person in it, obviously I would create a world without such people). The paradox is that this reaction, and us as we are in our modern form, is itself a product of those unfathomable powers. To turn our utopian habituation back on ourselves internally is to continue this hubris, continue our insult to nature and life. More accurately, it allows nature to continue insulting itself without realizing it.
In becoming aware of such things our minds will, naturally, move to try and resolve the imperfect situation and in doing so only perpetuate it. To even suggest a solution in this writing is doing as much, and so I am forced into an inevitable hubris by presenting an alternative: we must learn to surrender our undivided attention to our present situation without attempting to resolve it. It is this action which allows us to bring to bear the awesome fuel that is conscious attention while simultaneously submitting to the sacred power of the unconscious and finally allow nature to organize and heal itself (and by extension ourselves for we are not separate, whatever we may believe) in a way that our dull conscious minds could never fathom, contrive or manipulate into being in a million years.
Conceptually this might sound easy enough, but to follow the logic of this concept to its finality is almost terrifying for the modern mind. Releasing our control is not a thing we do once and then it’s done, after which we can go back to things as they were: firmly under our control. Much of the hubris is buried so deeply in the unconscious that we don’t even realize it is happening. Nevertheless, we must learn to hold the course by staying attentive while letting the unconscious unravel and reveal itself, and quite painfully, stay in the midst of the most severe patience as this whole process happens at what appear like glacial speeds – at least in the beginning.
The good news is that by the very nature of the approach, you’re not required to be perfect at it. In fact, I am enthusiastically encouraging you specifically not to be. Sincerity is the aim of the game, and all the weird twists and turns and curveballs that get thrown your way are simply a normal part of the unravelling process that nature takes to heal herself. It is almost inevitable that you will not engage with your practices the way you think you should in a perfect world. You will probably mess things up, probably drop your practice all together at one point, or force it way too much and create issues. All of these moments are like a test of your mettle and willpower: are you able to maintain the attention to these difficult, imperfect moments without interfering in the process?
The answer is almost certainly not, at least not for any useful length of time in the beginning. We must start with baby steps, learning how to enter into this process with small and digestible pieces; with parts of ourselves that won’t drop us off a cliff when we inevitably mess it up.
Relationship, Not Technique
The process that we enter into with this work makes use of techniques, but at its heart is one of relationality and not itself a technique. What is relating to what? The mind is relating to the body, the conscious to the unconscious, the inner world of the individual to the world outside, the Yin is relating to the Yang and the Yang is relating to the Yin.
It can be thought of in much the same way as a relationship between a parent and a child: yes, there are many techniques that can be used to help highlight certain aspects of the relationship, especially a damaged relationship, but there must first and foremost be attention and sincerity given to the relationship itself. The restoration of relationship is not something that can be rushed and attempts to do so may in fact degrade the relationship further. Neither is this restoration something that can be outsourced, as if you could ask someone else to put you in a better relationship with your child or yourself. What is needed is time, lots of it, and a trust that comes only from the challenges and duress arising from the events of our lives. A poor relationship looks fine when times are good and quickly falls to hell when trouble arises. A strong relationship put under duress, on the other hand, emerges out the other side ends up even stronger – forged in the pressure cooker that is life.
You may relate well to your body when it is functional and helping you perform at your very best, but what about when it’s broken and injured? You may relate well to your mind when it is calm and clear but what about when it is confused and full of turmoil?
With practice, these relationships can be dramatically improved, and bit by bit your relationship with life as a whole can improve as well, and with time you will be able to pay attention to the difficult and uncomfortable with as much freedom as you have when attending to the easy and comfortable.
Baby Steps
If this all sounds like it’s right up your alley, and you’d like to actually do something about it instead of just thinking about it, the first port of call is to learn to pay attention to the discomforts that won’t release in the simple beginning practices, and see if you can listen to them without trying to adjust them. Notice the impulses that want to make these small pains more comfortable, more perfect. Pay attention to that part of yourself and let it be illuminated in your awareness to whatever degree it presents today. By listening to the discomfort you will slowly reveal everything it’s connected to, including the habitual perfectionist that is wound up in the heart of our western mind.
I’ve got a playlist of exercises to get you started on youtube, which is embedded below but you can find more directly by clicking right here.
Craig can be found at www.craigmallett.com and contacted direct at contact@craigmallett.com
[Feature Photo by Kristijan Arsov on Unsplash.]