11 - Counteractive Positivity Can Be A Problem

Direct experience dissolves beliefs yes. But often we resort to some sort of positivity in our actions, thoughts, or emotions in order to counteract or manage the problem instead. That is, we distract, relax, relieve, suppress, or repress symptoms rather than dissolve them. We overlay something on the problem rather than dissolve the problem to start with. Meditation and spiritual practices can be either used to dissolve the "problem" or counteract it.

Reviews

William, I do think my meditation practice has promoted my mental health and the quality of my life. It certainly enabled me to finally leave my way-too-long unhealthy marriage and to recognize other unhealthy choices I’d made over the years and make decisions to remedy them. I have a lot less fear and more joy. I can see more clearly when something is my problem or somebody else’s. Are you suggesting I have only hypnotized myself into thinking I feel better, but I’m not? I find this hypnosis part of the story a little odd.
Donna

The ol’ rock in the pocket. Thanks for this.
🙏🏼✨💖

As always great content William! As someone who understands depression both personally and as a clinician, I know how difficult it is when it feels like things won't ever get better. One practical thing I used to use with my clients (and I still use everyday for myself) is writing three things that I feel good about myself. I do this in addition to a gratitude list, but I would write three things that I feel good about myself for and I kept the bar very low lol..Sometimes it would be, " I got up today and went to work" or "I took a shower" I find that this was a very helpful way to "baby-step" someone into little building blocks of self-esteem. Because sometimes the leap from feeling sad and depressed to feeling positive was too big of a jump.
One of the main reasons I gravitated to you and your podcasts is because it appears that you have successfully married the spiritual and the clinical Mental Health schools of thought in a very lovely and cohesive way. 🤗 A nice merger of Eastern and Western philosophies.☯️

This episode was deep. I had to listen to it three times. This episode challenged, in fact conflicted with my understanding from previous episodes. Previous episodes said that awakening meditation enables one to dissolve difficult feelings by observing them without engaging with them. However, I got the impression from this episode that those feelings may not necessarily be dissolved. I think there are gaps in my understanding. I am keen to fill those gaps.
It is notable that direct experience foreshadows beliefs/notions.

Edit after your reply:
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Yes, I am hoping that as I listen to more, I will get answers.

I feel stuck in the way you speak doing the things with a rock in my pocket. How to dissolve what's underneath?
I've gotten past most my distractions but will notice the ways I still pretend not to see. I worry about direct experiences when something is extremely dark, painful, engrained.
Onward and upward