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Fasting the Mind
Knowing constancy, the mind is open.
With an open mind, you will be openhearted.
Being openhearted, you will act royally.
--Lao Tsu (1972)
According to Taoism, keeping to the Way requires openness and flexibility. In Lao Tsu's aphorism, we are told that to act royally (i.e., in harmony with the Tao), we must possess an open mind and heart--an attitude of receptivity that allows unconscious signals and guidance to reach consciousness. Chuang Tsu (1974) elaborates on this principle in a delightful story about Yen Hui, a young man who consults a Taoist sage (in the guise of Confucius) about his plans to save the people of a neighboring state from the careless despotism of their ruler. After listening to Yen Hui's elaborate plans, Confucius remarks:
"How could that work? You have too many plans. They are fine but not appropriate. These preconceived ideas probably won't get you into trouble, but that is as far as they go. How can you possibly influence him? You are still too rigid in your thinking."
Yen Hui said, "That is all I can think of. May I ask what to do?"
Confucius said, "You must fast. I'll tell you why. Is it easy to work from preconceived ideas? Heaven frowns on those who think it is easy."
Yen Hui said, "My family is poor. I have neither drunk wine nor eaten for many months. Can this be considered fasting?"
Confucius replied, "That is the fasting one does for sacrificial ceremonies, not the fasting of the mind."
Yen Hui said, "May I ask what is fasting of the mind?" Confucius said, "Your will must be one. Do not listen with your ears but with your mind. Do not listen with your mind but with your vital energy. Ears can only hear, mind can only think, but vital energy is empty, receptive to all things. Tao abides in emptiness. Emptiness is the fasting of the mind."
Confucius closes with the following statement to Yen Hui: "If you are open to everything you see and hear, and allow this to act through you, even gods and spirits will come to you, not to speak of men. This is the transformation of the ten thousand things, the secret of the wise kings Yu and Shun, the constant practice of Fu Hsi and Chi Chu. It is even more useful for ordinary men."
In Chuang Tsu's story, Confucius is telling Yen Hui to go ahead and follow his desire to assist the people of the neighboring state, but not to rely so much on rigid plans and preconceived ideas. Instead, Yen Hui is counseled to proceed with an open mind--a state of inner quietude out of which, at the proper moment, right actions can emerge spontaneously.
As a psychotherapist, I see fasting the mind as critical in two ways. First, it describes the attitude with which I try to work with my clients. It is tempting to categorize and pigeonhole psychotherapy clients, to preprogram my thinking about them and the techniques I should use. After all, I have years of experience and a myriad of theories to choose from. However, the Taoists are pointing out that all this planning and theorizing gets in the way of being fully present to the reality of the moment and the individuality of the human being I am with.
The more I focus on my clever ideas and plans, the less likely I will be able to flow with the process that is occurring--the Tao of the psychotherapy relationship. I have, therefore, tried to cultivate a "beginner's mind"--to follow Jung's advice to set theories aside and discover psychology anew with each client. Practicing in this manner, I have to be willing to not think I know the answers, or even where things are headed; instead, I must trust the wisdom of following the Tao.
Case Example: A Mad Housewife
After arriving for her appointment, Liz told me that she did not have anything to talk about or work on that session. Then, half joking, she said to me, "Why don't you think of something!"
After pausing a moment, I felt the impulse to take her up on it, so I said, "O.K.," and taking the first thing that popped into my head, I asked, "Have you read any good books lately?" "As a matter of fact," she replied, "I have! I've been reading Diary of a Mad Housewife."
"What's it about?" I queried, deciding to go ahead and trust the Tao. Liz then described the plot of the novel, which centered around the terrible plight of a harried housewife. The more she told me about it, the more Liz realized that her own life was very much like that of the protagonist in the novel, and that just below the surface, she was feeling quite upset and angry with her husband for all the tedious housework he expected of her. We subsequently spent the remainder of the session sorting through the emotions with which she had gotten in touch.
In this case, by fasting my mind and following my irrational impulse, Liz and I were brought into contact with the dragon vein of Tao, where Liz' unconscious issues were cooking. At the beginning of the hour, neither Liz nor I knew what she needed to work on. By trusting the impulse, we got in touch with the Tao, which for Liz was processing her anger about being an overburdened housewife.
I have found that fasting the mind is equally important for my psychotherapy clients. They too tend to follow old habits and programs, rather than remain open to the Unknown. If they are to learn to follow the Tao, they, too, must quiet the ego's constant chatter so the less audible voice of the Self can be heard. For example, a 30-year-old man with a keen intellect and a propensity for planning things ahead of time had the following enlightening dream:
I'm playing some kind of game. It's the game of life. I'm asking people around me how to play--I want to know all the rules before we begin. They tell me, however, that the only way to learn the rules is through playing the game, learning them as I go.
On another occasion he dreamed:
I'm in a large building, trying to work myself through a long, complicated maze. As I'm going along, I keep wondering how I will ever know when I get to the end. Suddenly, it occurs to me that there is no use worrying about it ahead of time; I will recognize the end when I get there.
It is clear to me that these dreams, like the Taoist teachings, are not telling my client to become an empty-headed fool, never planning or thinking ahead. Rather, I understand the message as a compensation aimed at balancing over-reliance on rational thought and planned action. The point, it seems, is to learn balance--and to be more trusting of the spontaneous wisdom of the Self.
About Gary S. Toub...
Gary S. Toub, Ph.D, is a therapist based in Golden, Colorado, specializing in Anxiety Disorders, Co-dependency, Depression, Emotional Growth & Development, Identity Issues, Men's Issues, Mid-life Issues, Relationship Issues, Self Esteem, Stress Management, and more.
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