Emptiness, Darkness and PTSD.
Hakuin Suso
abstracted the subjective moment, or Self, and found what from the
relative point of view is Darkness and Emptiness as actually Absolute
Light and Fullness and he was That.
Careful consideration of this statement shows the Self, or I, can be
viewed as Emptiness and Darkness if an individual’s identity is based
in the relative field, i.e., subject/object consciousness; or as Light
and Fullness, if that identity is in Consciousness without an Object.
Individual attention in the relative field is, for the majority of us,
generally focused on the objects of consciousness and not the Self.
This implies that for the majority the awareness of the Self is
unconscious in FMW’s meaning of unconscious as “aware, but not aware
you are aware”.
It follows from this that the majority is aware on an unconscious
level of a Self that is seen as Darkness and Emptiness which by
implication means it is not recognized as Self. Put another way, each
of us is aware to one extent or another of a “something” in our
unconscious that is dark and empty.
************
Imagine a newborn whose ego and personality are as yet unformed and
with a human body and brain designed to interact with the world.
Despite this apparent tabula rasa the newborn’s unconscious view of
its Self is as something that is dark and empty or, put another way,
as undeveloped and unformed.
Through natural inclination and a need to deal with the world it has
been born into, the newborn begins to create an identity for itself.
Ego and personality begin to fill out until after a few years the now
child’s true identity as the Self has been pushed further into the
Unconscious. Nevertheless, the Self, seen as Darkness and Emptiness,
is never completely forgotten.
Though the child come adult may never really have to deal with the
forgotten Self, some knowledge of It still arises. The adult may, for
example, go through life feeling somehow a fraud and anxious that
eventually the world is going to find this out. The extent of such
feeling would vary dependent on how deep the memory of the Self is
buried.
************
It is said nature abhors a vacuum. This may also be said of the human
mind. Blank archetypes are given content through an individual’s
experience. Fears are projected into the dark. Likewise the Darkness
and Emptiness of the Self may be seen as an opportunity to fulfill
some great potential or it may be seen as a place to put our fears.
Similarly, in the Near Death Experience most report seeing a tunnel of
Light. Others, however, report their NDE as an entirely negative
affair. I recall one report by a woman who said her NDE was one in
which a voice said over and over that she was nothing and didn’t
exist!
Again, in meditation we often hear of positive results and sometimes
of deep awakenings. But in the Introduction of “The Four
Immeasurables: practices to open the heart,” by B. Alan Wallace (an
author I’ve only just been introduced to) he writes, “I remember a
person who was meditating very earnestly and intently, under the
guidance of quite a realized teacher, and had a very profound
realization with a radical shift of experience. It scared the living
daylights out of this individual, and the experience then became
something that had to be repressed.” (p.13)
The message in part to be taken from these is that your reaction to
meeting Self is dependent upon whether you see the Self as
fundamentally Dark, or fundamentally Light.
It could be understood from this that the majority is not yet ready or
equipped to step onto the Path. And that for those who are the
pitfalls are still great. But it should not be forgotten that the
natural tendency of the human psyche and the brain is to wholeness and
self-healing. It should also not be forgotten that the role of pain
(in the Buddhist meaning) and the real value of the universe itself
(as I understand FMW) is to serve to awaken us to Realization of the
Self. Given this, it could be postulated that crises and trauma is
the universe’s attempt to introduce us to the Path. Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) could, for example, be a royal if not difficult
road to Self.
************
Trauma that leads to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is associated with
life and death experiences where the fight, flight or freeze (i.e.,
“play dead”) response is activated.
The response of fighting, running or freezing in face of danger is a
basic survival mechanism that elicits autonomic responses in the body
as directed by the brain. The active response of fight or flight is
accompanied by physiological changes that ready the body for action.
The passive response, on the other hand, prepares the body to suppress
action and freeze the individual in his or her tracks. It should be
noted that one does not consciously choose to freeze, rather the brain
automatically acts to depress physiology when the fight or flight
response is not an option. The freeze mechanism, in other words, is
the last option for survival when all else fails.
(It has been my observation that psychological effects of PTSD are
best understood as an effect of the biologically based mechanism that
acts to freeze the organism. For instance, depression in PTSD is the
emotional reaction associated with the brain’s attempt to suppress, or
“depress”, bodily activity. Similarly, flight into addictions
commonly associated with PTSD is an attempt to “break the hold” of the
brain’s suppression mechanism that wants to lock muscles into place
and forces the attention into fixation. These in themselves produce
their own type of pain which escape to addiction seeks vainly to
alleviate.)
************
Consider Canadian Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire who in 1993-94 was
the Force Commander of the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force
during the Rwanda genocide. His attempts to stop the genocide had
him at times standing among groups of people who easily could have
taken his life. The only thing protecting Dallaire was his courage,
professional training and professional image. To those standing
around him holding machetes he was a strong leader to be obeyed. Yet
after coming home Romeo Dallaire fell prey to PTSD. Despite his
heroism in Rwanda his professional training could not protect him.
Why?
PTSD develops (see Peter A. Levine’s “Waking the Tiger: healing
trauma.”) when the freeze mechanism fails to complete its natural
cycle. Instead of shutting off when the danger has passed, the brain
continues to send singles to the body to freeze. Soldiers like Romeo
Dallaire are given training and a professional self-image that forces
them in situations like the Rwanda one to suppress their natural
survival instincts to fight or take flight. It is my contention that
by blocking this flight/fight response the brain is then left with
only one last survival strategy, the freeze mechanism. It is my
further contention that training the mind to block the flight/fight
response inhibits the brain’s ability to shut off the freeze
mechanism. An essential part of shutting off that mechanism is
activation of the flight/fight mechanism once the danger has passed.
But if the soldier has trained to keep the flight/fight mechanism at
bay, then the freeze response cannot be completed.
Look at it this way; if you are hiking through a field with nothing
but a camera and come face to face with a grizzly bear, attacking it
would be lunacy. Running is not an option as any grizzly could easily
outrun you. The only option is to play dead and hope for the best.
If playing dead works, when the grizzly leaves what you need to do is
get up and get away as quickly as possible.
In this example the freeze mechanism is completed when you get up and
get away (that is, when you return to action). But suppose that, like
a soldier, you’ve trained yourself to suppress the tendency to run in
the face of danger. Or suppose the situation where you can’t fight or
flee persists over time as it did with Romeo Dallaire. The result is
you’re brain comes to accept the freeze response as the norm and
continually suppresses the life processes of the body. In addition,
as the suppression method is associated with danger you always feel
threatened which in turn feeds the brain singles to continue the
freeze response. In other words, a vicious cycle of PTSD has set in.
************
What has been said so far relates to the biological aspects of PTSD.
How, you may ask, does any of this relate to the writings of FMW?
Consider that in a Near Death Experience an individual dies and is
catapulted toward the Self which is typically experienced as Light.
The person then comes back perhaps changed in a fundamental and
spiritual way. Then consider what may happen when there is the
imminent threat of death, but not death itself. Does it not seem
reasonable to assume such imminent threats can initiate or put into
place the psychological conditions that precede a NDE in anticipation
of actual death? In other words, is it not likely that in a traumatic
situation an individual may be unconsciously prepped to die and go
into the Light of Self?
If trauma is paired with an unconscious turning to the subjective pole
of consciousness, then consider what was written at the start of this
post; that from the relative point of view the Self is seen as
Darkness and Emptiness. Now imagine you are faced with an imminent
threat of death from, say, our previously mentioned grizzly bear.
Then further imagine as the grizzly approaches your unconscious
prepares to meet Self. If Self is seen by the ego as Darkness and
Emptiness you may find yourself in the unenviable condition described
as being in a tunnel with death at one end and a monster at the
other. Where death is the bear and the monster is a Darkness and
Emptiness that you do not recognize as your own Self.
Analysis of the above situation suggests an unrecognized Self could be
disowned by the ego and projected outward into the world. If that
projection is not withdrawn the problem of false predication (see
LXXIX, The Barriers to Recognition in “Pathways”) arises. The
individual now predicates properties of the Self as properties of the
world at large. The universe is thus seen as darkness and emptiness
in the invidious sense.
In this way, PTSD is a spiritual crisis that can only be ultimately
resolved by Recognition of the true nature of Self as Absolute Light
and Fullness. But in the sense that PTSD is the other side of the
coin of the Near Death Experience, it is a particularly hard Path to
follow for none of the Light aspect of Self is readily apparent.
Further, the biological “freeze” mechanism must be contended with and
one must be willing to let go of false self-image created to counter
Self as Emptiness. And this letting go runs the risk of further
trauma as the individual with PTSD will then once again come face to
face with Self seen as darkness and emptiness.
I think it takes a special kind of Teacher to guide one suffering from
PTSD. That One, I think, must teach an active type of meditation to
guide the student away from reinforcing the freeze response. And that
One must train the student to recognize the darkness and emptiness he
or she is running away from, is actually his or her own Self! A Self
that is after all, Absolute Light and Fullness.
mt
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And, one�s second birth (the born again
Enlightenment) is therefore increasingly feared the closer one gets to that
re-birth, since the original birth and cause of PTSD has never been worked
through. This process of personal evolution and therefore processing through
the PTSD issues suggests several simularities.
Even though the infant�s brain is rather undeveloped we still have the
experience of the dark, warm, passive uterine protection of mother. But
then we are suddenly thrust into a cold and demanding world, where we must
even breathe and eat to survive, a world we could call, as a whole, a Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. And here, the �light� is as though a negative
thing, blinding and overwhelming. The fact that most remember none of this
trauma also suggests a PTSD event much like with adults where severe trauma
can wipe out the memory, yet where it can become problematic as parts may
emerge, causing a variety of unwanted symptoms later in life. In fact, a
case might be made that �life� for most is the �working out� of birth
trauma, that is, the attempt to resolve (make conscious) this traumatic and
unconscious event so it no longer disturbs, or becomes the unconscious
re-active substitute for life or the illusion, living second-hand, making
unauthentic (not genuine or authentic choices of Self?) because this
unconscious PTSD is biasing the choices made as the developed and developing
self.
The paradoxical element of course is that the unconscious development of the
self was built on sand and structures its own demise or undoing. The natural
tendency toward wholeness (Rock of Self) means to dispel the trance of
self (a temporary PTSD). Of course this may not be seen as such as the self
can appear satisfied, being a substitute for Reality, yet unconsciously the
self yearns for Wholeness which means the undoing of the self (PTSD) by
returning to the scene of the crime (birth) to become conscious of the Self
(via the second birth or as in Zen Buddhism the discovery of one�s Original
Face � taking a little leeway with the �Self� term). This simply means
becoming more of an authentic being and here again I am using this in a less
mystical sense and more in an existential sense, which however, I do not see
as unrelated.
If the substitute, second-hand, false �self,� animated by re-active
anger-fear, and frozen within an illusionary �self� identity, unaware that
it is a living PTSD product, and projects (which also means unconsciously
disowns) it�s inner Reality (the deeper and hidden Self) then we see how so
many look to leaders, gurus, authority figures, mythical figures,
archetypes and gods, disowning the Self within. Another possibility of
inauthentic use of what might be called leaking Self-energy is giving the
self powers it does not have as such. Often, for example energy may be
released within some meditative (or other) event and the self may feel it is
imbued with special powers and it goes to the self�s ego, or to the head.
Some bit of Self is logged in the head as though the self owns it. An aspect
of this was called once �spiritual materialism, I believe. Very typical of
what often happens with energy that has not been integrated or only
partially developed. Very few even Know what Original Face is about, and
those that do are often still as infants in the integration.
Hakuin wrote: �Others, however, report their NDE as an entirely negative
affair. I recall one report by a woman who said her NDE was one in which a
voice said over and over that she was nothing and didn�t
exist!"
Well, of course in a sense the woman as �self� is nothing and she didn�t
exist since the �self� (identity) is a mental concept. However, since a
�voice� repeatedly told her this it�s likely from a negative, unresolved
part, perhaps as a disowned parental contaminant. If an actual voice in your
head tells you something watch out because it�s usually from a lower order,
not a higher order (Self), even though what is said may be true in some
fashion. This can also be, of course, a serious mental disorder.
And here, it should be clear that Hakuin is saying that the self is
projecting itself as nothing and emptiness, (rather than owning a fullness
of being as Self). Although, I�m not sure why there is a step needed to say
the Self is empty (by such a self)? Perhaps it is rather from the position
of either believing a Self exists or Knowing that Something larger than a
self exists. For a self that knows little of any of this, other than
itself, there is only �nothing� (not even �emptiness�) and the rest is
imposed upon the nothing, the projection being a supposition from the idea
of Self, and largely a Western philosophical-Middle-Eastern construct. In
the Oriental sense, there is no Self, just as there is no self, but this
does not mean there is not a Fullness of Being, but that also, Nirvana and
Samsara are One, and that �I� am neither This nor That and Both.
mt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hakuin Suso" <hakui...@gmail.com>
To: "Franklin Merrell-Wolff - Consciousness Without An Object Discussion
Group" <fm...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 2:32 AM
Subject: [fm-w], {Franklin Merrell-Wolff Fel Emptiness, Darkness and PTSD.
In Pathways, FMW writes the ineffable transition came after he
abstracted the subjective moment, or Self, and found what from the
relative point of view is Darkness and Emptiness as actually Absolute
Light and Fullness and he was That.
Careful consideration of this statement shows the Self, or I, can be
viewed as Emptiness and Darkness if an individual�s identity is based
in the relative field, i.e., subject/object consciousness; or as Light
and Fullness, if that identity is in Consciousness without an Object.
Individual attention in the relative field is, for the majority of us,
generally focused on the objects of consciousness and not the Self.
This implies that for the majority the awareness of the Self is
unconscious in FMW�s meaning of unconscious as �aware, but not aware
you are aware�.
It follows from this that the majority is aware on an unconscious
level of a Self that is seen as Darkness and Emptiness which by
implication means it is not recognized as Self. Put another way, each
of us is aware to one extent or another of a �something� in our
unconscious that is dark and empty.
************
Imagine a newborn whose ego and personality are as yet unformed and
with a human body and brain designed to interact with the world.
Despite this apparent tabula rasa the newborn�s unconscious view of
its Self is as something that is dark and empty or, put another way,
as undeveloped and unformed.
Through natural inclination and a need to deal with the world it has
been born into, the newborn begins to create an identity for itself.
Ego and personality begin to fill out until after a few years the now
child�s true identity as the Self has been pushed further into the
Unconscious. Nevertheless, the Self, seen as Darkness and Emptiness,
is never completely forgotten.
Though the child come adult may never really have to deal with the
forgotten Self, some knowledge of It still arises. The adult may, for
example, go through life feeling somehow a fraud and anxious that
eventually the world is going to find this out. The extent of such
feeling would vary dependent on how deep the memory of the Self is
buried.
************
It is said nature abhors a vacuum. This may also be said of the human
mind. Blank archetypes are given content through an individual�s
experience. Fears are projected into the dark. Likewise the Darkness
and Emptiness of the Self may be seen as an opportunity to fulfill
some great potential or it may be seen as a place to put our fears.
Similarly, in the Near Death Experience most report seeing a tunnel of
Light. Others, however, report their NDE as an entirely negative
affair. I recall one report by a woman who said her NDE was one in
which a voice said over and over that she was nothing and didn�t
exist!
Again, in meditation we often hear of positive results and sometimes
of deep awakenings. But in the Introduction of �The Four
Immeasurables: practices to open the heart,� by B. Alan Wallace (an
author I�ve only just been introduced to) he writes, �I remember a
person who was meditating very earnestly and intently, under the
guidance of quite a realized teacher, and had a very profound
realization with a radical shift of experience. It scared the living
daylights out of this individual, and the experience then became
something that had to be repressed.� (p.13)
The message in part to be taken from these is that your reaction to
meeting Self is dependent upon whether you see the Self as
fundamentally Dark, or fundamentally Light.
It could be understood from this that the majority is not yet ready or
equipped to step onto the Path. And that for those who are the
pitfalls are still great. But it should not be forgotten that the
natural tendency of the human psyche and the brain is to wholeness and
self-healing. It should also not be forgotten that the role of pain
(in the Buddhist meaning) and the real value of the universe itself
(as I understand FMW) is to serve to awaken us to Realization of the
Self. Given this, it could be postulated that crises and trauma is
the universe�s attempt to introduce us to the Path. Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) could, for example, be a royal if not difficult
road to Self.
************
Trauma that leads to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is associated with
life and death experiences where the fight, flight or freeze (i.e.,
�play dead�) response is activated.
The response of fighting, running or freezing in face of danger is a
basic survival mechanism that elicits autonomic responses in the body
as directed by the brain. The active response of fight or flight is
accompanied by physiological changes that ready the body for action.
The passive response, on the other hand, prepares the body to suppress
action and freeze the individual in his or her tracks. It should be
noted that one does not consciously choose to freeze, rather the brain
automatically acts to depress physiology when the fight or flight
response is not an option. The freeze mechanism, in other words, is
the last option for survival when all else fails.
(It has been my observation that psychological effects of PTSD are
best understood as an effect of the biologically based mechanism that
acts to freeze the organism. For instance, depression in PTSD is the
emotional reaction associated with the brain�s attempt to suppress, or
�depress�, bodily activity. Similarly, flight into addictions
commonly associated with PTSD is an attempt to �break the hold� of the
brain�s suppression mechanism that wants to lock muscles into place
and forces the attention into fixation. These in themselves produce
their own type of pain which escape to addiction seeks vainly to
alleviate.)
************
Consider Canadian Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire who in 1993-94 was
the Force Commander of the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force
during the Rwanda genocide. His attempts to stop the genocide had
him at times standing among groups of people who easily could have
taken his life. The only thing protecting Dallaire was his courage,
professional training and professional image. To those standing
around him holding machetes he was a strong leader to be obeyed. Yet
after coming home Romeo Dallaire fell prey to PTSD. Despite his
heroism in Rwanda his professional training could not protect him.
Why?
PTSD develops (see Peter A. Levine�s �Waking the Tiger: healing
trauma.�) when the freeze mechanism fails to complete its natural
cycle. Instead of shutting off when the danger has passed, the brain
continues to send singles to the body to freeze. Soldiers like Romeo
Dallaire are given training and a professional self-image that forces
them in situations like the Rwanda one to suppress their natural
survival instincts to fight or take flight. It is my contention that
by blocking this flight/fight response the brain is then left with
only one last survival strategy, the freeze mechanism. It is my
further contention that training the mind to block the flight/fight
response inhibits the brain�s ability to shut off the freeze
mechanism. An essential part of shutting off that mechanism is
activation of the flight/fight mechanism once the danger has passed.
But if the soldier has trained to keep the flight/fight mechanism at
bay, then the freeze response cannot be completed.
Look at it this way; if you are hiking through a field with nothing
but a camera and come face to face with a grizzly bear, attacking it
would be lunacy. Running is not an option as any grizzly could easily
outrun you. The only option is to play dead and hope for the best.
If playing dead works, when the grizzly leaves what you need to do is
get up and get away as quickly as possible.
In this example the freeze mechanism is completed when you get up and
get away (that is, when you return to action). But suppose that, like
a soldier, you�ve trained yourself to suppress the tendency to run in
the face of danger. Or suppose the situation where you can�t fight or
flee persists over time as it did with Romeo Dallaire. The result is
you�re brain comes to accept the freeze response as the norm and
************
LXXIX, The Barriers to Recognition in �Pathways�) arises. The
individual now predicates properties of the Self as properties of the
world at large. The universe is thus seen as darkness and emptiness
in the invidious sense.
In this way, PTSD is a spiritual crisis that can only be ultimately
resolved by Recognition of the true nature of Self as Absolute Light
and Fullness. But in the sense that PTSD is the other side of the
coin of the Near Death Experience, it is a particularly hard Path to
follow for none of the Light aspect of Self is readily apparent.
Further, the biological �freeze� mechanism must be contended with and
one must be willing to let go of false self-image created to counter
Self as Emptiness. And this letting go runs the risk of further
trauma as the individual with PTSD will then once again come face to
face with Self seen as darkness and emptiness.
I think it takes a special kind of Teacher to guide one suffering from
PTSD. That One, I think, must teach an active type of meditation to
guide the student away from reinforcing the freeze response. And that
One must train the student to recognize the darkness and emptiness he
or she is running away from, is actually his or her own Self! A Self
that is after all, Absolute Light and Fullness.
--
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Hakuin Suso
a life-long Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” it should not be assumed
that any trauma leads to PTSD. For many, traumatic events produce
emotional responses that only last a few months before the normal
equilibrium of the brain reasserts itself. The infant brain in
particular is quite capable of dismissing the physical trauma of
birth. In fact, one thing to be garnered from my post is that PTSD
develops where there is a history of consciously chosen inaction over
a lengthy period of time, and newborns have no such history.
By “consciously chosen inaction” I mean choices like those made by the
soldier to not run in the face of danger and not attack until so
ordered. The assumption here is that this pre-programs the brain to
take the only other course of action available to it when finally
encountering a traumatic situation, and that is to freeze. I will
take this up again in a later post. Right now I want to return to my
originally intended meaning when I spoke of the newborn.
Regarding birth, in Transformations FMW cites that with each rebirth a
new ego is born as well. I suggest that along with environmental and
hereditary factors, ego formation and personality development are
influenced by the newborn’s view, albeit unconscious, of the Self as
Darkness and Emptiness (D&E). Viewing Self as such could provoke
fear, anger, depression or similar emotions which could cast a life-
long pall over the child’s life. Or, conversely, it could motivate
the child to make “something” of their life. (Of course, other
factors like extroversion and introversion also influence how much one
would be influenced by the view of the Self.)
Rather than go on with all the possible ways viewing the Self as D&E
could lend to ego formation and personality development, let me simply
say that, like the physicists who ignore the observer in collapsing
quantum fields, psychologists who ignore the observer, i.e., Self, are
going to be missing a big part of the picture in any theory of ego and
personality development. And if psychologists want to truly
understand the mind and treat afflictions like PTSD then Self, as
defined by FMW, has to be included in any therapeutic approach.
On Sep 18, 8:42 am, "mt" <m...@znet.com> wrote:
> I think one s birth could be considered the origin of a life-long Post
> Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And, one s second birth (the born again
> re-birth, since the original birth and cause of PTSD has never been worked
> through. This process of personal evolution and therefore processing through
> the PTSD issues suggests several simularities.
>
> then we are suddenly thrust into a cold and demanding world, where we must
> even breathe and eat to survive, a world we could call, as a whole, a Post
> trauma also suggests a PTSD event much like with adults where severe trauma
> can wipe out the memory, yet where it can become problematic as parts may
> emerge, causing a variety of unwanted symptoms later in life. In fact, a
> unconscious event so it no longer disturbs, or becomes the unconscious
> re-active substitute for life or the illusion, living second-hand, making
> unauthentic (not genuine or authentic choices of Self?) because this
> unconscious PTSD is biasing the choices made as the developed and developing
> self.
>
> The paradoxical element of course is that the unconscious development of the
> self was built on sand and structures its own demise or undoing. The natural
> tendency toward wholeness (Rock of Self) means to dispel the trance of
> self (a temporary PTSD). Of course this may not be seen as such as the self
> can appear satisfied, being a substitute for Reality, yet unconsciously the
> self yearns for Wholeness which means the undoing of the self (PTSD) by
> returning to the scene of the crime (birth) to become conscious of the Self
> Face taking a little leeway with the Self term). This simply means
> mystical sense and more in an existential sense, which however, I do not see
> as unrelated.
>
> anger-fear, and frozen within an illusionary self identity, unaware that
> archetypes and gods, disowning the Self within. Another possibility of
> inauthentic use of what might be called leaking Self-energy is giving the
> self powers it does not have as such. Often, for example energy may be
> released within some meditative (or other) event and the self may feel it is
> partially developed. Very few even Know what Original Face is about, and
> those that do are often still as infants in the integration.
>
> affair. I recall one report by a woman who said her NDE was one in which a
> exist!"
>
> Well, of course in a sense the woman as self is nothing and she didn t
> exist since the self (identity) is a mental concept. However, since a
> voice repeatedly told her this it s likely from a negative, unresolved
> fashion. This can also be, of course, a serious mental disorder.
>
> And here, it should be clear that Hakuin is saying that the self is
> projecting itself as nothing and emptiness, (rather than owning a fullness
> of either believing a Self exists or Knowing that Something larger than a
> self exists. For a self that knows little of any of this, other than
> of Self, and largely a Western philosophical-Middle-Eastern construct. In
> the Oriental sense, there is no Self, just as there is no self, but this
> does not mean there is not a Fullness of Being, but that also, Nirvana and
> mt
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Hakuin Suso" <hakuin.s...@gmail.com>
> To: "Franklin Merrell-Wolff - Consciousness Without An Object Discussion
>
> Group" <fm...@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 2:32 AM
> Subject: [fm-w], {Franklin Merrell-Wolff Fel Emptiness, Darkness and PTSD.
>
> In Pathways, FMW writes the ineffable transition came after he
> abstracted the subjective moment, or Self, and found what from the
> relative point of view is Darkness and Emptiness as actually Absolute
> Light and Fullness and he was That.
>
> Careful consideration of this statement shows the Self, or I, can be
> and Fullness, if that identity is in Consciousness without an Object.
>
> Individual attention in the relative field is, for the majority of us,
> generally focused on the objects of consciousness and not the Self.
> This implies that for the majority the awareness of the Self is
> you are aware .
> It follows from this that the majority is aware on an unconscious
> level of a Self that is seen as Darkness and Emptiness which by
> implication means it is not recognized as Self. Put another way, each
>
> ************
>
> Imagine a newborn whose ego and personality are as yet unformed and
> with a human body and brain designed to interact with the world.
> as undeveloped and unformed.
>
> Through natural inclination and a need to deal with the world it has
> been born into, the newborn begins to create an identity for itself.
> Ego and personality begin to fill out until after a few years the now
> is never completely forgotten.
>
> Though the child come adult may never really have to deal with the
> forgotten Self, some knowledge of It still arises. The adult may, for
> example, go through life feeling somehow a fraud and anxious that
> eventually the world is going to find this out. The extent of such
> feeling would vary dependent on how deep the memory of the Self is
> buried.
>
> ************
>
> It is said nature abhors a vacuum. This may also be said of the human
> and Emptiness of the Self may be seen as an opportunity to fulfill
> some great potential or it may be seen as a place to put our fears.
>
> Similarly, in the Near Death Experience most report seeing a tunnel of
> Light. Others, however, report their NDE as an entirely negative
> affair. I recall one report by a woman who said her NDE was one in
>
> Again, in meditation we often hear of positive results and sometimes
> Immeasurables: practices to open the heart, by B. Alan Wallace (an
> author I ve only just been introduced to) he writes, I remember a
> guidance of quite a realized teacher, and had a very profound
> realization with a radical shift of experience. It scared the living
> daylights out of this individual, and the experience then became
> The message in part to be taken from these is that your reaction to
> meeting Self is dependent upon whether you see the Self as
> fundamentally Dark, or fundamentally Light.
>
> It could be understood from this that the majority is not yet ready or
> equipped to step onto the Path. And that for those who are the
> pitfalls are still great. But it should not be forgotten that the
> natural tendency of the human psyche and the brain is to wholeness and
> self-healing. It should also not be forgotten that the role of pain
> (in the Buddhist meaning) and the real value of the universe itself
> (as I understand FMW) is to serve to awaken us to Realization of the
> Self. Given this, it could be postulated that crises and trauma is
> road to Self.
>
> ************
>
> Trauma that leads to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is associated with
> life and death experiences where the fight, flight or freeze (i.e.,
> The response of fighting, running or freezing
>
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
mt
My point of view here is of course theoretical. And I consider, the personal self and the Self are mental constructs, stated theoretically as gross and subtle mental constructs, neither which actually exist except as such, except as convenient references on a mental map to communicate and organize as some sort of value pertaining to behavior and thinking, feeling, and so on.
The uterine infant yet to be born does not have a “self” nor a developed Self. Or, if these elemental constructs (psychological and archetype) are there at all they in some way are deeply buried in some kind of cosmic life-track to then be formed uniquely through conception, birth, life-experience, and rebirth (transcendence); and then perhaps to repeat the cycle (reincarnation, et al, as many believe).
So where to start the treatment of PTSD?
Psychology has developed the idea of the self, the developmental self. But there is almost nothing about the Self except in the esoteric literature that extends the development of consciousness beyond the self. However, there used to be some “existential therapists,” primarily somewhat based upon Existentialism, utilizing very basic human givens and themes such as Life/Death, Able to Act/not act, Choice, and Separation. These existential themes (human givens) are generally dealing with more than just the the usual psychological neurotic aspects of conventional therapy and the distortions of being, or at least those distortions in terms of the self’s powerlessness (resignation), blame (surrender of freedom or blind rebellion), absurdity (alienation from self) and estrangement (withdrawal from others).
In the context of a transcendental rebirth the self may still have a whole lot of unresolved psychological issues when exposed to higher order events which expose the limitation of the self’s beliefs, but at the same time, reveal, at least momentarily or suggest solution to the self’s existential needs (conscious or not and here mixed with "Self" revelations) involving Rootedness (of Self or Universe of Being) Identity (Self or Universe of Being), Meaningfulness (Self or Universe of Being – Creativity), Relatedness (Self or Universe of Being – Love). These issues, the “self” may incorporate in some way, but are generally found beyond what the self, as such, can know or Be (though may mimic).
A question arises as to what then “Knows” (experientially) when rebirth or transcendence occurs? The contention is that the Self is becoming aware of Itself, just as the infant becomes aware of itself (self in the developmental sense)?
Now, a Spiritual Therapist would be the next natural step in the sequence from the Psychological, to the Existential levels of therapy. This is the general movement from the fragmentation of ego through self to a more authentic self, to the Self and Unity Consciousness. But this orientation is also to move from the time-bound to the timeless. From self-embedment as identity to wider and deeper horizons of Being, from the hallucination and trance of self to That beyond, beyond all the substitute gratifications which offer the resistance to either incorporation or Knowing of higher levels of Being.
I am not sure just how having PTSD is to be treated given this statement by Hakuin:
“And if psychologists want to truly
understand
the mind and treat afflictions like PTSD then Self, as
defined by FMW, has to be included in any therapeutic approach.”
How do we include “Self” “as defined by FMW in a therapeutic approach”?
I am suggesting, theoretically, that birth is a traumatic event in which most have no memory and may be related to PTSD symptomology as the self develops where illusions, distortions of Being and self-gratifications substitute for the greater Reality of the Self. Much of this of course would go undetected (as much of PTSD symptomology does), and appears as normal, more or less, as most of the culture is functioning on this unacknowledged level of distortion (I mean war and re-active egoic, greed based existence is the world-wide norm). And unfortunately, the egoic-self level is where most of the therapy would probably need to start, rather than at the Existential, and the Spiritual level which is far too beyond the usual neurotic, ego-dominated self (except of course in some individual cases).
mt
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