59 - Healing the Wounds of the Psyche

Pain is a faithful companion that collects more of its kind on the way and does not let itself be fooled by our facetiousness. Yet pain wearies when we give ourselves over to glorification. In fact pain is a host at the center of the cosmic drama that extends the cosmic celebration to the existential realm.

Its lineage may be traced to what Dr. Stanislav Grof calls the perinatal stage of our life's trajectory in nebulous strata of our memory. However fleeting memories of our pre-natal uterine sojourn may sometimes break through from the unconscious. Nature protects us somewhat from the memory of the trauma of birth by blanking out consciousness, so that we embark upon our terrestrial episode with a (relatively) clean slate. But this is where it starts: childhood memories - vaguely erased, yet sometimes erupting with uncontrollable force.

Of course, there is no way of cataloguing these, since the scenarios of our childhood background vary so greatly; sometimes from the sublime to the horrendous, depending upon the case. It may be somewhat innocuous - a toothache, an upset tummy; or worse: being left unattended by one's parents, perceiving quarrels or even violence - being frustrated from one's wish, or confined, or unjustly treated, or punished, or abused, or derided. Whether actually trivial or traumatic, these impediments assume in our childish perception humongous proportions.

Mother nature was putting us through the apprenticeship of pain in preparation for possibly yet greater trauma as we grown to adulthood. Later upon reflection, one may come to realize that just as muscular stress, (within certain limits) tonifies the muscles of our body, so does psychic trauma toughen our mettle.  This is providing trauma does not exceed certain thresholds, after which it can prove to be psychologically depleting. Yet, it is good to bear in mind that the threshold between stress and over-stress shifts according to one's determination and realization.

Doubtless a traumatic event, however past, leaves a mark in the psyche, most likely a wound which if not tended is likely to fester and even grow disproportionately out of hand. Physical wounds offer us an apt model for what happens to the psyche: the way is open to bacteria, even viruses. The difference between bacteria and viruses: bacteria are attacked by the immune system; viruses are more insidious, they take over the very programming of the host cells and deplete their attackers.

Just as a timorous person is more prone to be mugged than a valiant character, since our wounds constitute our weak spots, so people inadvertently perhaps, perceive this weak spot. And if adversely disposed they will aim their attack right there; and if not, life will somehow find a way of doing this to one. Alternately thoughts and emotions accruing from outside and then ingested and incorporated, may infect the wounds, manifesting as bitterness or despondency. Painful thoughts may haunt one obsessively if not dealt with.

How does one effect a cure? In medicine two methods are availed of:

a)  administering a foreign product that attacks the bacteria - rarely the virus
b)  enhancing the organism's own defense system (likewise with the psyche)

What healing processes does meditation have to offer? Positive thoughts auto-suggested in meditation themes provide a most apt antidote to the negative self-defeating thoughts often triggered off upon our reflections and our psychological trauma. These will sometimes counter the negative thoughts forcefully and effectively protect the psyche from further infection. The sheer repetitiveness of a meditation theme as a mantra, conditioned by its association with a sound sequence will act as a protective dressing smeared with a balm upon one's sensitized heart.

Where the wounds are more deep-seated, affecting the overall structure of the psyche, then it is incumbent to call upon our psyche's inbuilt immune system. Indeed nature does provide us with a degree of inner resilience against upsetting impressions, thoughts and emotions. This ability is effected by the traditional 'indifference' illustrated by the 'imperturbability,' (vairagya) of the Hindu anchorite (sannyasin).

The strategy devised by our smart programming is to refuse admission to unwanted elements in based upon a differentiation (vivea) between self and non-self. In other words to refuse upon our sense of identity, albeit that this sense of identity is extended to the zones in the environment which are usually considered as lying beyond oneself but bear an affinity with one's nature. Certain meditation practices extend one's sense of identity to everything in which one discovers attributes akin to one's own and thus leads to further reaches of self-discovery.   

This sense of recognition (replicated in artificial intelligence) rests upon a more advanced therefore more subtle process than the commonplace subject-object relationship based on otherness (the I-It relationship of Martin Buber). This is identity based on resonance, similarity - in practice a blend between absolute identity and difference. For example, two gongs may have certain frequencies in common and others dissimilar, but owing to the similarities, if one strikes one gong, the other will start vibrating in resonance. This function built into our psyche allows us to enrich our personality with elements in harmony with our being. They have something in common with our own nature, yet differ in certain respects; on the other hand there is a turning down of any response (indifference) with regard to anything that is too foreign.

Also our programming needs to consider that our heredity is a hybrid consequently extending to zone of identity, while setting certain limits for example to cross-pollinization and breeding based on similarities versus incompatibilities. So our genetic programming provides the organism and indeed the psyche with some accommodation by which it can ingest elements in which the heterodox features may even outweigh the homeostatic ones. This is exactly where we are at risk to make a compromise and accommodate elements that prove toxic, harmful, destructive to our being.

Let us bear in mind that since this defense mechanism of the body and the psyche is inborn, it does not depend upon the feed back of experience. The defense mechanism is genetically determined, so there are vast differences of innate susceptibility accountable by heredity. (It is a feed-forward.) Actually we need to account for pre-conceptual features: in the parlance of esoteric lore, (let us call it meta-psychology), we differ in the particular composition or admixture of qualities. The qualities are our divine inheritance, (called 'ayan al Thabita' by the Sufis); yet it covers a vast range. This is predetermined.

It its incipient stage, therefore the immune system acts as a deterrent, repelling harmful intruders, likewise with the psyche. However, once in function, the system adapts itself to the environment. If the intruder manages to gain access within the organism or the psyche, the organism or psyche learns how to attack it, ultimately defeating it totally by killing it or eliminating it. The genetic code that mostly exhibits much stability throughout our lives to provide a template for the structuring of our tissues, does mutate greatly in respect of the immune system. The ability of the individual to respond to a particular antigen needs to be tailored to the nature of that antigen. Even this is foreseen in our planning so that it may be held that the wherewithal to resist harmful psychic elements is written right into the pool of our divine inheritance. We are provided with a psychic defense system highly adaptable to what seems to be unexpected trauma.

The macrophages first neutralize the disturbing element by engulfing it, then disintegrating it; precisely so does the psyche when its function has not been impaired by over-stress both emotional and mental. But the stress of our lives in our present day civilizations being the way it is, harmful psychic elements tend to gain access into our psyche and our defense mechanism gets over-stressed. This is where psycho-therapy and meditation - optimally a judicious combination of both will prove to the ultimate resort when disturbing thoughts have become ingrained and persistently obsessive. Mercifully the challenge of the assailant will enhance the immune system.

In the psyche, the antigens need to be reinforced by a concerted volitional act since in our civilizations, we have turned down the autogenic psychic defense mechanism actuated by the myths of old. Certain methods of meditation are devised precisely to trigger off archetypal psychic forces that effect recovery. The organism and psyche know how to self-heal, if we know how to let them take over: our will acts as the catalyst triggering off an unconscious, cosmic will, if we know when to let the transit take place. This does rest upon an act of faith: to enlist the action of those archetypal factors of our being, we need to honor our higher being.
