For some people, the material in the repressed unconscious is relatively benign, while for others it can be quite the opposite- so much depends on our early life experiences. What’s significant here is that our forbidden feelings, impulses, and needs, along with the complex defensive mechanisms that hold them in check, create a dynamic system that gets fired up, or mobilized, through intensified forms of dharma practice. It is clear that the quieter the mind and the more penetrating the practice, the more thoroughly this unconscious material becomes mobilized.
These deeper realms of the mind hold profound healing energies- but certainly that’s not all. The greater the mobilization, the more powerfully the shadow-like energies of the psyche also move toward the surface. As these obstructive and destructive forces become increasingly active, they trigger a range of internal responses, including unconscious anxiety and the defensive systems long woven into the subtle fabric of our being. All of this is normal in the process of deepening practice.
~Lawson Sachter
of sound mind and body can mean much more than being ok…..
inquiry for today~ such courage it takes to simply be…..to simply be without pretense……
Since I now recall fondly
the painful days of the past,
if I live long, I may look back
on these harsh days, too,
and find them sweet and good.
~Fujiwara no Kiyosuke
