PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC FACTORS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING LONG-TERM MEDITATION by W. SCOTT LAWRANCE M.A., University of British Columbia, 1986 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Counselling Psychology We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA June 1992 © William Scott Lawrance, 1992 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives, it is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Counselling Psychology The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date Oct. 2. 1992 DE-6 (2/88) Abstract Various forms of meditation are being used by an increasing number of people in North America. Practiced both within the context of an overarching spiritual path and as a self- regulation strategy, meditation is sometimes a supplement to traditional forms of psychotherapy. At other times, meditation, as part of a spiritual practice, is used as an alternative approach to mental health and well-being. A multiple case study research format is used to understand the pattern of experience involved in long-term meditation from the perspective of the meditators. Five meditators were interviewed for their accounts of their experience with meditation over a minimum of ten years. The interviews were organized into five narrative accounts and summarized as a general account which in turn revealed twelve common themes. The stories take the form of a movement from alienation and estrangement, through struggle and problem solving, toward an eventual consolidation of meaning and engagement with the world. This movement is accomplished through the resolution of three major tasks: the clarification of the relationship with the teacher; mastery of the techniques involved; and a cognitive restructuring based upon the optimal resolution of the first two tasks. Theoretical implications of the study, such as various relationships between meditation and psychotherapy, are presented. Finally, the practical implications of the study for general counselling, counselling with meditators, and counsellor growth are discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements vii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION General Topic 1 Rationale 7 Previous Investigations 14 Approach 18 Summary 21 CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW 22 Temporality and the Significance of Duration 25 Motivations, Expectations and Goals 28 Behavioural Approaches 30 Psychodynamic Theory 32 Humanist-existential Approaches 33 Transpersonal Psychology 35 Variables Involved in Successful Outcome 49 Mechanisms Involved 51 Meditation and Life-Path Development 57 Summary 61 CHAPTER III - PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE 63 CHAPTER IV - METHODOLOGY 82 Research Question 82 Design 83 Research Steps 86 The role of the Literature Review 87 The role of Personal Perspective 89 Co-Researchers 89 Co-Researcher Descriptions 91 Interview Procedures 94 Construction of Accounts 98 Construction of A Common Account 101 Validation of Accounts 103 CHAPTER V - RESULTS 106 Dylan's Story 109 Augusta's Story 129 Hamish's Story 150 Jane's Story 167 Sid's Story 183 General Story 209 Questioning 209 Dislocation and loss 210 Searching 212 Meeting with the teacher 215 Acceptance by the teacher 217 Struggle with the teachings 219 Experiences of success 221 Integration into meaningfulness of practice 223 Confirmation 225 Connection with self and others 227 Problem solving 229 Re-engagement with the world 235 Commentary 239 CHAPTER VI - DISCUSSION 249 Summary of Findings 249 Limitations of Study 253 Theoretical Implications 255 Temporality 256 Motivation and results of meditation 257 Teacher-student relationship 260 Technical mastery 268 Cognitive restructuring 278 Life-path research 284 Practical Implications 286 1. As an adjunct to therapy 286 2. With practitioners 290 3. Counsellor growth 292 Further Research 294 BIBLIOGRAPHY 297 APPENDIX ONE : Demographic Form 307 APPENDIX TWO : Interview Concerns 308 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many who deserve my gratitude and appreciation for their role in the completion of this work. First and foremost, gratitude to Kalu Rinpoche, who opened the gate for me to the Buddha dharma, and to whom the entire work is dedicated. Secondly, it could not have reached completion without my wife, Dianne, who has been a source of unending support and wisdom, my children, Aaron, Suzanne, Kai, and Alwyn who have shown tremendous patience during these past years. Thank you to my parents. Barb and Bill, who provided me with my foundations and who continue to believe in me, despite the late blooming (or perhaps because of it.) Thanks to my committee members. Dr. Marv Westwood, friend and mentor. Dr. Larry Cochran, "semantic warrior", and Dr. Michael Brownstein, who encouraged and nursed me through the process; to my Doctoral cohort of Henry, Pam, Derek, Louise, and Diane; to Dr. Doug Flemons, who first gave me courage to pursue this topic; to Drs. John Allan, Bill Borgen, and Ishu Ishiyama for their friendship and encouragement over the years; to my colleagues at Windermere Secondary, particularly Marion, Donna, and Leo; to Chagdud Rinpoche and to Ken McLeod for their support and insightful comments; and to all my Dharma brothers and sisters, especially my co- researchers (and their families) who gave so unstintingly of their time, honesty, and energy. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION General topic What is the role of intensive and long-term meditation in the mental health field? Do people begin meditating to gain relief from particular types of personal problems just as others turn to mental health practitioners? What are the benefits, if any, to one's clients of such a practice? At the most elementary level, mental health may be readily equated with pure and simple happiness. That all beings seek happiness and avoid suffering seems almost too obvious a fact to warrant stating. Nevertheless, the quest for happiness continues to motivate us even while its attainment seems to elude us. As aids on this quest, meditation and psychotherapy have been developed as just two of the many vehicles within the many different cultural contexts that humans have created. Meditation, in various forms, has been touted as everything from a great panacea for psychological distress and a path to Maslow's "peak experiences" and optimal well-being on one hand, to a recipe for "neurotic regressions to union with the breast" or intrauterine states, narcissistic neurosis, or artificial catatonia. An increasing number of individuals is turning to some form of meditation, either as an adjunct to other forms of personal change or as a substitute for them. Katz and Rolde (19 81) suggest that despite apparent theoretical contradictions among these systems, consumers are putting together their own "treatment packages" to satisfy more of their felt needs. "In creating such a package theoretical conflicts are ignored, de-emphasized or reshaped into a more complementary pattern" (Katz and Rolde, 1981, p. 374) . Given this situation, counsellors and other mental health practitioners need a map to be able to understand not only the benefits and drawbacks of a long term regimen of meditation but also some typical patterns of such long term practice. The aim of this study is to understand the pattern of experience involved in meditation practice from the perspective of long term meditators. Before proceeding, it may be useful at this point to clarify a few terms. The word meditation has come to have a variety of connotations. The meaning of the word varies according to the particular spiritual tradition involved, the context in which it is applied, and the translation system used, which itself involves all the complexities of cross-cultural understanding. In this study, I will be following Walsh's (1982) generic definition of meditation as "the conscious training of attention aimed at modifying mental processes so as to elicit enhanced states of consciousness and well-being" (p.77). Since the study will be focused upon meditators who have been practicing within a Buddhist traditions (due to both researcher familiarity with this tradition and in an effort to delimit clearly the degree of external validity of the study), some words on the nature of this tradition may be in order here. All schools of Buddhist meditation recognize the complementary processes of calming the mind (shamatha), on one hand, and developing insight into the nature of phenomena (vipassana), on the other. Calming the mind requires overcoming the contradictory tendencies of mental agitation and dullness. Insight is developed through investigation of both self (subject) and other (object) and relies upon both rational/cognitive and intuitive/ experiential approaches. The goal of Buddhist practice is to overcome suffering in all its forms through the balanced development of wisdom and compassion. Of wisdom, the Dalai Lama (1984) states, "there are in general many types of wisdom; the three main ones are conventional wisdom realizing the five fields of knowledge, ultimate wisdom realizing the mode of subsistence of phenomena, and wisdom knowing how