![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Roo on July 3, 2002, at 13:22:15
Just curious...I have found Cheri Huber's books
(she's a Zen Monk) extremely comforting. She
wrote a special book called "The Depression Book" which
views depression as a opportunity for spiritual growth.
It's a good book.Any other meditator's out there?
Posted by tabitha on July 4, 2002, at 2:10:22
In reply to Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by Roo on July 3, 2002, at 13:22:15
Hi Roo,
I don't have a regular practice but I like the books by Charlotte Joko Beck and Pema Chodron a lot. I had not heard of the book you mentioned, I'll check it out. It's really appealing to think of all the difficult emotional states as having some use, isn't it?
I'm really interested in the relationship between psychotherapy and zen practice. At one point (many years ago) I thought that practice would not be psychologically healthy for me-- it seemed too much like some kind of self-denial, sitting facing a blank wall, sitting thru pain and boredom, etc. Too much like my childhood experience of being neglected. So I started therapy instead. Lately my interest in zen seems to be revived and I've been trying to resolve for myself whether practice and therapy are compatible. I had some discussion with my therapist and a zen teacher about this recently, and they don't see a contradiction.
Where I stumble is on the discipline of daily sitting-- it's much easier to read books and think about Buddhist philosophy.
Great topic, I'm glad you started it.
-tabitha.
Posted by judy1 on July 4, 2002, at 20:20:35
In reply to Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by Roo on July 3, 2002, at 13:22:15
One of my therapists recommended meditation to help with a crisis I was going through- and I still use many of the techniques today, especially breathing for panic attacks. I think some of the practices are wonderful to incorporate into your daily life. Best wishes- judy
Posted by Roo on July 5, 2002, at 10:05:51
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by tabitha on July 4, 2002, at 2:10:22
I like Pema Chodran a lot too. Just read her last
night and it really helped me to gain perspective.
Sitting IS hard....to just sit there and be with the
pain and all the thoughts...and to just notice them...not
reject them, but not BUY or believe them either...not to judge
yourself for having them...that's hard...but I guess the idea
is that the more you just notice it all, and start to become
an expert on your feelings (without having to 'figure them out' or
do anything about them...just noticing the process)...it takes
the power out of the emotional states...you see it for what it is...
as Cheri Huber says "it's just stuff...it doesn't mean anything"
You should check out Cheri Huber, I think you'd like her---she's
written lots of books and they are all easy to read--it's almost like
she writes for a 5 year old. A lot of them are in childlike handwriting...
I'll have to check out Charlotte Joko Beck, never heard of her...I've been having LOTS of really uncomfortable emotional storms lately...
and I'm in between meds (not on anything at the moment) stuff I feel is
really ugly like rage, anger, bitterness, jealousy, the wish for revenge--and
it'll boil up threatening to consume me, and yet it's a really good opportunity
to practice just watching it all...watching how I whip myself into a frenzy...how
I fan the flames...and to just let it be and not beat myself up about it or try to
rid myself of the feelings but to try and become an observer...like I'm watching a
movie or something. Sometimes I can actually see how absurd it all is...how my mind
tries to create drama to get me off center. How I cling to unhappiness and drama b/c I'm
scared of the open space, the unknown...Interesting stuff. My mind can wear me out though. It gets tiring.
Posted by tabitha on July 6, 2002, at 2:27:18
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there? Tabitha, posted by Roo on July 5, 2002, at 10:05:51
Hi Roo,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I don't know how you manage to sit thru the storms. I decided to take another stab at a daily practice, so far I can manage about 10 minutes before I give into all those compelling reasons to get up and do something else.
Joko Beck is the teacher at the San Diego Zen Center. I particularly like her book Everyday Zen. Her books are not exactly warm though, so they're not always comforting.
Your post reminded me of when I first went to the zen center, years ago, pre-meds, pre-diagnosis, pre-therapy. I went to the beginners session, where the instructor was explaining how to do thought labeling. You're supposed to watch your thoughts and gently label them as they come up. He demonstrated by doing this out loud, and every few seconds he'd say "having a _____ thought", having a ______ thought", etc, with silences in between. At that time my mind was racing so much, I could not label one thought without ten more thoughts popping up during the time it took to label the first one. That gave me an inkling that what was going on in my head might be a bit unusual!
Posted by della on September 25, 2003, at 8:31:44
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there? Tabitha, posted by tabitha on July 6, 2002, at 2:27:18
I have just read Pema Chodran's "When Things Fall Apart" and found it both difficult and enlightening. Right now I'm still confused as to what to say about what I think about it. I am going through a very difficult time. I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do, posting a message on the internet, but I think I will do it anyway. Would welcome hearing from anyone out there who is just as confused.
Posted by Dr. Bob on September 25, 2003, at 10:54:51
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there? Tabitha, posted by della on September 25, 2003, at 8:31:44
> I have just read Pema Chodran's "When Things Fall Apart" and found it both difficult and enlightening...
I'd just like to plug the double double quotes feature at this site:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon
The first time anyone refers to a book without using this option, I post this to try to make sure he or she at least knows about it. It's just an option, though, and doesn't *have* to be used. If people *choose* not to use it, I'd be interested why not, but I'd like that redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020918/msgs/7717.html
Thanks!
Bob
Posted by angelk on October 6, 2003, at 7:28:39
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by tabitha on July 4, 2002, at 2:10:22
Hi tabitha.
I'm pretty much like you about not having a daily sitting routine but I still consider myself ZEN. ZEN is not supposed to be complicated, it is exactly the opposite. Don't try, just do it. What I mean, is that I also read many books (none that you mentioned) and gradually I just feel I became ZEN by understanding the concept of ZEN. I don't sit in meditation as a rule, I meditate while driving, working, cleaning, etc...and I also learned to be a witness of my life. So maybe the official ZEN people might say I'm not really ZEN, but the Catholics would say I'm not really Catholic, the Buddhists would say I'm not completely Buddhists and the Wiccans would say I'm not a real witch. I am that I am.
Posted by SydBarrett on November 7, 2003, at 23:22:23
In reply to Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by Roo on July 3, 2002, at 13:22:15
I've been a zen buddhist over 20 years, probably part of my extensive martial arts background and facination with the spiritual side of humanity, but i am also very skeptical about an actuall gods existance.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Faith | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.