Self-help, meditation

        Personal development and self-help programs aimed at improving health and well-being are experiencing explosive growth. 

Reading books, attending conferences, or learning about self-help and self-healing programs are popular among intellectually curious people. However, happiness, well-being, and serenity are not necessarily commonplace among these enthusiasts — even if this is the goal of their quest.

The value — and the limits — of meditation and yoga

For healthy people, yoga and various forms of meditation are not only excellent relaxation tools, but they can also improve mindfulness, emotional awareness, serenity, kindness, compassion, joy, and mental calm. Yoga Nidra in particular is known to help reduce stress and cultivate self-awareness. By shifting the focus to the practice itself, yoga and meditation have become popular forms of escape that help reduce the perception of daily stress and anxiety — and are therefore effective tools for maintaining health and well-being. However, when seeking healing, while self-healing programs are not necessarily doomed to failure, there is a risk that they may not bring about rapid or significant changes, that they may fail, or that they may be downright harmful.

Those engaged in a self-healing journey through a spiritual awakening will soon realize that this is not an easy-going and quickly done process — but a time- and energy-consuming lifelong undertaking. During their journey, self-healing enthusiasts will discover that Western culture mistakenly considers traditional healing practices to be nothing more than a set of easy-to-learn, specific techniques and procedures — as is Western allopathic medicine. They will discover that all traditional healing approaches are spiritual and holistic. In holistic approaches, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are intertwined through the mind-body connection.

The meditation/mindfulness distinction — what was lost

Spirituality and meditation have a long tradition. The teachings of Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Buddha have undergone profound changes during the last 2,500 years as they evolved over an extensive geographical space and through large cultural diversities. Religion has been replaced quietly by personal development, inner life with mind emptiness, the prayer of the heart with breathing techniques and self-centering, meditation with yoga, and fasting with detox cures. During the late 1960s, the concepts of spirituality and mind-emptiness traditional meditation were hijacked by some enthusiasts of Ulrich Neisser's cognitive-behavioral model and were shifted from religious, spiritual practice to the practice of mindfulness — which is nothing but a cognitive exercise.

The traditional mind-emptiness approach to meditation — known in Western cultures as the Creative Void, Hesychasm, Universal Soul, or the Clear Light — is all about quieting the cognitive aspects of the mind and focusing on feelings*, perception, and intuition. Modern mindfulness meditation, by contrast, is all about intellect and focused thinking. Although meditation focused on mind-emptiness has been systematically associated with measurable, specific health benefits, mindfulness has so thoroughly lost its traditional roots that its effectiveness as a tool for self-healing is disputed. These days, exercise and meditation are aimed at healthy people to help them stay fit and broaden the perspective of their mind.

What traditional wisdom actually teaches

A good example of how traditional wisdom, concepts, and values have been manipulated for the benefit of cognitive models and their derivatives is the well-known quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: "Your thoughts become your words, your words become your behavior, your behavior becomes your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny." What most people do not know is that, originally, this quote began with a phrase that is systematically erased — with the intent to distort and manipulate the message of traditional teachings and to create the false impression of a long tradition for the cognitive model.

To restore the true message of this quote, before the phrase "Your thoughts become your words," you must add: "Your beliefs become your thoughts." This single restoration completely changes the meaning — clarifying that, according to traditional wisdom, beliefs and intuition are the main source of life's reality, not intentional thoughts as the promoters of cognitive models assume. Because, whether secular or religious, beliefs are the real source of everyone's reality.

When Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism and the author of the famous "Tao Te Ching," assures us that "If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place," he is clearly referring to "the mind" — and one should not wrongly assume that by "mind" he meant "brain" or "intellect." When it comes to brain and intellect, Lao Tzu is crystal clear: "Stop thinking, and put an end to your problems." Einstein understood this message — on several occasions he declared: "I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me." In both cases, the message is the same: the felt inner state, not the reasoning mind, is the true source of life's transformations.

When self-healing falls short

Even if the experience of your fearful feelings* happens in the present, stress relates to past events and anxiety always relates to the expectation of negative outcomes. Because stress and anxiety are always time-shifted, the vast majority of stress and anxiety coping strategies revolve around the concept of anchoring in the present. All of these "anchoring" strategies aim to hijack your attention and divert it from reading your unpleasant state of mind — to keep your attention as long as possible focused on a pleasant reality, intentionally created and nurtured.

Unfortunately, as soon as you are done with your coping strategy — whether it be yoga, mindfulness, art therapy, pet therapy, physical training, jogging, fishing, hunting, or any other relaxing activity — you will begin your descent back into your initial stressful and anxious state of mind. I hope you have better things to do than look for temporary refuge from your stressful or anxious intrusive thoughts. It is time to understand that meditation does not heal wounded souls, just as running or exercising does not heal broken bones. If meditation had helped you heal, you would not be here looking for a solution to your problem.

According to the 82 scientifically recognized models and theories of behavior, in real life, intentional thought cannot reliably create or induce emotional feelings*. Not only is the heart's electromagnetic field 5,000 times stronger than that of the brain — meaning your heart influences your brain and entire body at the cellular level — but the brain is wired so that sensory input always passes through the emotional centers before reaching the frontal cortex, the place where rational thought occurs. It is therefore physically impossible for intentional thoughts to create emotional feelings* through willpower alone.

The effectiveness of self-healing programs is conditioned not only by the limits of one's beliefs but also by the ability of the practitioner to focus effectively on their practice. This task is difficult to complete when the mind is overwhelmed by fearful or painful feelings*. This is why self-healing programs are not the best option in serious situations requiring rapid intervention. If, in your case, you truly believe that your regular meditation practice has helped you improve your condition — you are probably right. You may be on the right track, so keep going. There is no need to come looking for another solution.

However, if after years of repairs at the same mechanic your car still is not working properly, consider replacing it — or changing your mechanic. There is definitely something wrong. Even the most committed self-hypnosis or meditation enthusiasts will eventually come to understand that induction itself provides no health benefits beyond relaxation. It is the suggestion contained in a hypno-therapeutic framework that leads to improvements in states of mind and health. The hypnotically induced suggestion is the hallmark of every type of hypnotherapy.

Spirituality — what it is and is not

Spiritual awakening is a profound change that can only happen if you truly believe in and practice it. It seems that the rational mind and intellect were given to us not so much to help us understand life rationally, but rather to trigger our existential curiosity and motivate the search for spirituality.

Spirituality is not necessarily about intellect, cognition, or understanding. Spirituality is all about quieting the conscious mind and focusing on perception, feelings*, and intuition.

The "No Results - No Pay" principle guarantees my integrity and applies to all my therapies.***

Contact me and book your appointment today. I will be happy to accompany you on your journey.

You can reach me by filling out the contact form below.

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*In Somatic Hypnotherapy, the terms "feelings" and "emotional feelings" are often used interchangeably and refer to sensory experiences perceived onto or within the body, assessed, interpreted, and integrated through interoception and conceptualized by the rational mind as "emotions" - consistent with their traditional, biological and medical meanings, but differing considerably from the term 'feeling' in cognitive psychology.

**The results may vary from person to person.

***In other words, if at the end of your session you don't see any improvement in the issues addressed in therapy, I won't accept your money!

Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects the opinion of its author, is provided for educational and general informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical, psychological, or professional advice. I do not make any diagnoses according to recognized classifications (DSM-5, ICD-10) and I do not interfere in any way with ongoing treatments.

If you are already under medical care or treatment, follow their advice and treatment. I am not a doctor or licensed psychologist in Quebec; therefore, I cannot establish or continue a treatment based on your diagnosis. If you decide to consult me, be prepared to tell me what is bothering you and how you feel about it.

Somatic Hypnotherapy is an emotional health and wellness practice rooted in ancestral traditions and modern neuroscience insights. It does not constitute psychotherapy, medical treatment, diagnosis, or management of mental disorders, and is not intended to replace professional psychological or medical care.

On this website, the use of the masculine to designate people aims to ensure the fluidity of the reading and has no discriminatory intent.

Somatic Hypnotherapy - 186 Sutton Place, suite 104, Beaconsfield, Quebec H9W 5S3, in the West Island of Montreal.