"Healing Trauma with Meditation"

[Meian]

Hello all

Having recently been in a car accident, and also recently starting to work on some "ACA" issues (having found a group to work with through Al-Anon), I decided to research "trauma and meditation" to see what came up. Also, there has been new research in the connection between lupus and childhood trauma, which also led me to research this, since meditation is often recommended for trauma survivors.

So I found this article, it's from 2004, but I found the information useful. It's not zazen, but various mindfulness techniques employed, and breathing awareness. Hope it's okay to share.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/healing-trauma-meditation/

Gassho
kim
st

[Jundo]

Hello all

Having recently been in a car accident, and also recently starting to work on some "ACA" issues (having found a group to work with through Al-Anon), I decided to research "trauma and meditation" to see what came up. Also, there has been new research in the connection between lupus and childhood trauma, which also led me to research this, since meditation is often recommended for trauma survivors.

So I found this article, it's from 2004, but I found the information useful. It's not zazen, but various mindfulness techniques employed, and breathing awareness. Hope it's okay to share.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/healing-trauma-meditation/

Gassho
kim
st

Yes, do whatever helps and works. I take it that "ACA" is "adult children of alcoholics."

I will also recommend Shikantaza on top of, or hand in hand, with anything else one might do. It sure helped me through the trauma of my cancer, fear of dying, "horse kicked me in the chest" surgery and recovery a year ago. It helped me dealing with a mom who had dementia in her senior years, sick kids, ups and downs, love and loss, and lots of stuff. Why?

There is just something so very special of sitting, letting the car accident be the car accident, the sickness be the sickness. Let the parents be the parents. One drops resistance and judgement, and each is a shining jewel on the net of this crazy life. The accident shines as the accident, the cancer is this moment of cancer, dad is just dad etc. One might even taste something about this universe that transcends birth and death, sickness and health too.

Then, getting up from sitting ... get back to driving or healing or dying or dealing with family craziness. It still sucks, but it is also that shining jewel. Weird, huh?

Gassho, J

STLah

[Seibu]

I will also recommend Shikantaza on top of, or hand in hand, with anything else one might do. It sure helped me through the trauma of my cancer, fear of dying, "horse kicked me in the chest" surgery and recovery a year ago. It helped me dealing with a mom who had dementia in her senior years, sick kids, ups and downs, love and loss, and lots of stuff. Why?

There is just something so very special of sitting, letting the car accident be the car accident, the sickness be the sickness. Let the parents be the parents. One drops resistance and judgement, and each is a shining jewel on the net of this crazy life. The accident shines as the accident, the cancer is this moment of cancer, dad is just dad etc.

Gassho, J

STLah

Shikantaza helped me in the past to resolve trauma. Trauma has a tendency to occupy the mind and it kept coming back while sitting or doing other things. Like Jundo said "letting the car accident be the car accident" can change your perception toward the trauma because you start looking at it with new eyes (at least that was the case in my experience). You start to see the trauma for what it is rather than attaching your trauma emotions to it or re-experiencing it as you did when it occurred. I didn't resolve it overnight, but over the course of several months the emotions I had been struggling with for a long time started to resolve. The trauma no longer prevented me from living in the present. All I did was allowing the thoughts of the trauma while sitting to be there like the clouds in the blue sky.

Gassho,
Jack
SatToday/lah

[Meian]

Jundo and Jack,

Thank you for your responses. It's been a strange, jumbled week (even by my standards) -- the accident was just the beginning of many events, along with my remembering why I've never been much for 'support groups' ..... You have touched on the realities of midlife (in my case) and what does work, however. This is why I am just responding now.

Yes, shikantaza, what I keep returning to. Letting each event, each "it" be itself for what it is, without the extraneous stuff.

Thank you for the reminder, and for sharing examples of your practices.

Gassho
kim
st

[Jundo]

Yes, shikantaza, what I keep returning to. Letting each event, each "it" be itself for what it is, without the extraneous stuff.

Boy, you expressed the heart of Shikantaza so well in just a few words. Lovely.

Of course, never fotget deep down that "it" is also just the dance of the whole universe, dancing in and out of each little "it."

I am glad that you seem to be feeling a little better.

Gassho, Jundo

stlah