Meditation
Gone Mainstream
by Barbara D. Allan
Author of Conquering Arthritis
One
marker that meditation is gaining in popular understanding
is a 2004 article published by the Arthritis Foundation
titled: "Meditation: Imagine a totally natural treatment
that can ease arthritis pain."
The Arthritis Foundation is a conservative, well-respected
organization that can be quite hesitant to endorse alternative
healing modalities. When they do give attention like
this, I pay attention.
Quoting from the article:
“Your doctor may have already recommended
adding meditation to your treatment regimen. These
days, meditation is taught in many clinics, hospitals
and HMOs, and endorsed by universities as prestigious
as Harvard and Stanford. In just a few decades, it
has gone from a counter-culture oddity to an accepted
therapy for many chronic conditions. It is even being
paid for by some cost-conscious insurers because it
requires no special equipment or clothing, doesn't
involve drugs, surgery or other pricey treatment and,
according to some studies, it cuts down on office
visits.”
When I read that paragraph I found myself breathing
a sigh of relief. It is important to me that the best
medical care be available to people with arthritis.
To my mind, one of the most powerful, life-altering
therapies available is meditation training. I am glad
that doctors are finally recommending it.
Without a meditation practice, I would probably still
be using an electric cart to get around instead of enjoying
walking, riding my bicycle and working out in a martial
arts dojo.
The Arthritis Foundation article also emphasizes the
broad utility of meditation skills: '’Once you
have learned it, no one can take it away from you. You
don't have to come back and get another treatment,’
says Betsy B. Singh, PhD, dean of research at the Southern
California University of Health Sciences in Whittier
and author of studies on meditation and fibromyalgia.
‘These skills can help people begin to control
their arthritis instead of having disease control them,'
Singh explains.’”
I whole-heartedly agree. I would also add, as the Buddhists
say, “meditation is good at the beginning, the
middle, and the end.” This means that you benefit,
no matter what stage of healing that you are in. Can
you imagine any other therapy that has only positive
side effects?
Pain as a Sacred Meditation?
Who wants to be in pain? No one in their right mind,
you might answer. But what if you are in pain anyway
and don’t know how to make it stop? What then?
Early on in my arthritis I frequently experienced fainting
intensities of pain. When I tried to walk more than
a few steps my body would go into shock. Sometimes I
would pass out. Sometimes I was able to stay conscious.
Those moments of consciousness were a major turning
point in my life.
It wasn’t until I found Shinzen Young, who is
now my primary meditation teacher, that I begin to understand
what was happening to me. I have studied with him for
many years.
Here is what he has to say about the matter:
“All over the world in traditional cultures,
men and women voluntarily subject themselves to pain
as a vehicle for radical spiritual transformation.
The Sundances and sweat lodges of native North America
are examples of this. As cultures become more complex,
the shamanic ordeals of the tribe evolve into systems
of ascetic and contemplative practice.
But what about involuntary pain? In theory, this
too could be turned into a purifying ceremony or a
sacred meditation. In practice it is exceedingly difficult
to do this unless you are fortunate enough to encounter
a competent guide in this area.
In this area, the qualifications for a competent
guide are severe. The guide must be a person who has
successfully used non-consensual pain to transcend
their limited identity and unite with the source.
Furthermore, to be a competent guide, one must have
the creative communication skills to clearly convey
to others how they could also do this.
Such people are very rare. Barbara Allan is one of
them. And her work, will be a godsend to those in
pain who are ready for radical growth.”
--Shinzen Young
Director of the Vipassana Support Institute
6 CD Guided Meditation Set
View Barbara Allan's 6
CD guided meditation set for people with arthritis.
|
