Meditation v Counselling – into the Deep
Meditation versus Counselling?
Both appear to do similar things but to define them is difficult. Meditation involves a sound or chant while including thoughts (open meditation) or excluding thoughts
(closed meditation). Counselling is defined as a talking cure to allow the person to speak freely about themselves to someone who can reflect without judgement on what is said. There are many approaches.
Mediation can help in relaxing and dealing with stress. It allows the mind to form a cushion between the person and outside world. Counselling can be used in the same way. The counsellor will support the person to feel more confident in their life.
But both meditation and counselling can be used to go deeper and create a relationship to the darker, or hidden (unconscious) side of the mind. This is where all the hurts, insecurities and pain are. Meditating for longer periods of time, or seeing a counsellor focused on integrating you with the hidden side of yourself can bring you up against the parts of yourself which you do not like and have repressed with defences.
What happens generally is that the person comes up against their defenses.
Deeper meditation on retreat and with guidance approaches the defenses in a gentle way at the pace of the meditator. It could be said that the meditator is at an advantage as there is no need for a counsellor, or a relationship with the counsellor. Most importantly is that there is no need to verbally conceptualise what is coming up for the client. It just arrives and the meditator learns to be with it.
Counselling has the advantage of the counsellor showing you the defences and where you might be with them, even though you want them to remain hidden.
Herein lies one explanation that up and down the country there are people meditating and counselling to avoid their defences. The mediator is so well defended nothing traumatic comes up for them. The counselling client in collusion with the counsellor does not approach the defences for fear of pain and upset on both sides.
You get what you pay for! Which one do you want!
Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2013
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Disclaimer: This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only.
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique.