Witnessing vs. Intervening

By on February 7, 2009 in Balance, Happiness, Inspiration, Meditation
Question:
I am trying to understand the balance in being the silence witness to my mind, (in just witnessing all it’s churning thoughts of insecurities etc. and knowing that it is not my true essence), verses taking what an insecurity says to me and working it through. An example is that I can witness my thoughts (and know they are just thoughts) regarding my fears of not being good enough, but should I not try to change this fear as well to grow as a person (by risking being vulnerable, open, honest etc.)?
 
Answer:
If I understand you correctly, you are trying to determine whether you should work on an issue like fear or low-self esteem primarily through the cultivation of your silent witness, or through a more active approach involving changes in behavior and beliefs. I believe both are needed, but because the awakening of the spiritual self has been so neglected in our society, and because it is the real foundation of self-esteem and fearlessness, I may tend to place more emphasis on it than on psychological modalities. However, the two practices are complementary and mutually supportive, so you don’t really have to decide between them.
 
If we have deeply ingrained conditioning like phobias or limiting behavioral patterns, then it is helpful to use specific techniques to assist in clearing those blocks. Meditation awakens the silent witness value that will eventually wash all that away, but that can take a long time. The same rule applies to physical illness and imbalances—meditation will help improve the ability of the body to heal itself, but for chronic or acute situations, it is also important to intervene with physical treatment.
Love,
Deepak
 

 

About Deepak Chopra

Time Magazine heralded Deepak Chopra as one of the 100 heroes and icons of the century, and credited him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine." Entertainment Weekly described Deepak Chopra as "Hollywood's man of the moment, one of publishing's best-selling and most prolific self-help authors." He is the author of more than 50 books and more than 100 audio, video and CD-Rom titles. He has been published on every continent and in dozens of languages. Fifteen of his books have landed on the New York Times Best-seller list. Toastmaster International recognized him as one of the top five outstanding speakers in the world. Through his over two decades of work since leaving his medical practice, Deepak continues to revolutionize common wisdom about the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit, and healing. His mission of "bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east" remains his thrust and provides the basis for his recognition as one of India's historically greatest ambassadors to the west. Chopra has been a keynote speaker at several academic institutions including Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Kellogg School of Management, Stanford Business School and Wharton.His latest book is "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul."
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5 Responses to Witnessing vs. Intervening

  1. Char February 6, 2009 at 7:06 pm #

    " Meditation awakens the silent witness value that will eventually wash all that away, but that can take a long time." ~(((Deepak)))

    I especially like the 'wash all that way' part :-)

    Love,

    Char

  2. SoulCurry February 6, 2009 at 11:38 pm #

    ''Witnessing'' here reminds me of the ''sakshi bhava'' that the Geeta exhorts us to learn. To be able to stand apart from an action, an emotion or a relationship so as to develop perspective. And what better way to do it than to meditate?

    Thank you, Dr. Chopra for the reminder.

  3. rajeshmsharma February 7, 2009 at 4:14 am #

    I 'intervene' my body to make it healthy so that I can make my mind 'Witness '. The path I follow it Eight limbs of Yoga – Yam ( Yama ), Niyam ( Niyama ), Asan ( Asana ), Pranayam ( Pranayama ), Pratyahar ( Pratyahara ), Dharan ( Dharana ), Dhyan ( Dhyana ), Samadhi

    This is the reason exercise, asanas, pranayam and other methods which keep our body healthy are important, till our manifested body exists.

    Take care of manifested body, it will lead us to Samadhi, the witness.

    Love

    Rajesh
    http://rajeshmsharma.blogspot.com

  4. UncleTree February 7, 2009 at 5:56 am #

    You mean the silent witness?

    Or the voice inside that rarely shuts up?

  5. Raphael February 7, 2009 at 2:59 pm #

    I have found that all the behavioral and cognitive tools in the world have been helpful, but just more western cultivation… like Deepak says, our culture is so spiritually unexercised. I have been therapizing myself for about 30 years. I am finally not chronically depressed for the first time in my life and off anti-depressant medicines. I owe this success to my own committment to daily meditation combined with the tools of psychology of our culture. So I have practiced and have perservered. The one thing I am now trying to learn is patience with the process of change. I am learning that our society is geared to hurry up… get it quick and get it now. Looks like I better write a new intent for myself…. PATIENCE

    Commitment, practice, delayed-gratification…. this sounds a lot like growing up…OUCH!