Meditation and Mental Illness
A Presentation at the Hawaii State Hospital
November 14, 2002
Mindfulness, or Insight meditation, is an ancient Buddhist practice for attaining higher levels of self understanding through the development of a heightened awareness of present moment experience as it occurs in our minds and bodies. Said to be the original form of meditation developed by the Buddha himself, it is based on a kind of nonjudgmental and focussed attention that nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of our present moment reality. It allows us to witness the nature of our experience, come to a deeper understanding of the workings of our minds, and realize the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation. One can think of mindfulness as simply the art of conscious living. It is a way to be more in touch with the fullness of our being through a systematic process of self-observation, self-inquiry, and mindful action. In essence, it has to do with waking up and seeing things as they truly are. In fact, the “Buddha” simply means one who has awakened to his or her true nature.
My own experience with mindfulness meditation began in the mid-1970s with periods of involvement in Tibetan meditation practices and Zen meditation. It was in the mid-eighties that I began to practice insight meditation, which is primarily found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cambodia.
As my practice developed into the 1990’s, I began to teach in different types of situations. For a number of years, I taught meditation at Halawa Prison. I then began a regular class at the Korean Temple in Palolo Valley, and then about a year ago I began teaching regularly at the Hawaii State Hospital with the support and guidance of Reverend Dave Edwards. Recently, I also began teaching in a program at the Tripler Veterans Hospital.
What drew me to the application of insight meditation to the needs of the mentally impaired was the power of mindfulness in understanding of the workings of our minds. What we generally understand as mental illness, or, for that matter, mental health, has to do, in large part, with how we relate to what happens in our minds. Most of the time we tend to react automatically and unconsciously to the forces of the outside world with little awareness of how they condition and influence our lives. Mindfulness allows us to observe these forces with greater clarity, how they influence our behavior, how we react to them, and how they can often cause us to suffer. Through this awareness we begin to see how we can make positive changes to enhance our health and quality of life. It can generate powerful benefits on many levels: from the simple alleviation of stress and worry, to the attainment of deeper levels of peace, stability, balance, and happiness in life.
In the case of mental illness, mindfulness can be a powerful tool for observing our mind states, how they came to be, and what their impact is on our behavior. Through impartial and nonjudgmental observation, we can come to a greater awareness of how these forces can have a powerful effect in controlling our lives. For many, it affords a powerful means of developing a sense of understanding and control over these forces and an ability to manage their symptoms in a way that can positively complement more traditional treatment methods. By directing attention and investigation toward the causes of particular mental states, as well as the symptoms, it can also provide an important tool in the arduous and difficult road toward healing and wholeness. And, by bringing the person into the process of observation and investigation of his or her own mental states, it brings a powerful element of personal recognition and responsibility into the healing process. It can also be a powerful tool in directly alleviating particular symptoms such as stress, or in cases of anger management or generalized anxiety disorders. In some cases, it has helped in the actual diagnosis and treatment of specific psychological symptoms.
On a personal level, I have experienced tremendous personal gratification in seeing how the meditative practice has generated positive results for those who practice it. I consider it a privilege to be able to share this practice with those who bring a quality of sincere intention and commitment to the attainment of healing and wholeness.
On the other hand, while the goal of the practice is to heal one’s self and realize one’s own potential as a human being, it is through that process of self actualization itself that one also realizes one’s interdependency with others and attains a sense of interconnectedness and community. It is in that sense that mindfulness practice can also be a strong factor in reconnecting consumers with their families, friends, and relevant communities. Similarly, faith communities can play a large and important role in encouraging and facilitating that process of reconnection for individual consumers, both within themselves, and between themselves and the community.