To listen on the level that is required takes humility and stillness. In this inquiry all one can do is to enter into this stillness, wait, and wonder where this journey is taking us. The foundation of this undertaking starts with is the experience of our own perceptual and inner processes. An appreciation of our own inner world is paramount to the deep healing capacity of the spirit, mind, and bo
dy. When we take on this inquiry we come into relationship with our own human condition, our own pain and suffering. When we can develop this kind of relationship with ourselves it is possible to develop deep healing relationships with others. So work in the biodynamic field becomes very intimate, a deep study into what it means to be truly human. In this clinical relationship the commitment to becoming whole should be just as strong for the client as the practitioner. Within this relationship, the client will start to notice that all of their relationships seem to get better with little or no effort. I really believe that through this work, on an unconscious level the idea of intimacy isn't quite so scary and it's an attainable goal that we can all move toward. In this inquiry of healing or becoming whole a lot of questions come up and the most profound question that comes up for me is the nature of suffering. It seems that I am always seeing some form of suffering whether it be spiritual, emotional, physical, or just not feeling good. One common denominator in all suffering is relational, our relationship to ourselves, our family, environment, the universe, or just a sense on meaninglessness that can be overwhelming. Who am I and what is my relationship to this seemingly impersonal world? A painful experience of emptiness can grip us as a sense of separation from the divine and leave us depleted of any life force at all. I think the deepest suffering that we hold is the suffering that arises due to the loss of trust in relationship itself and the pain of intimacy. We as human beings desire intimacy more that anything else but as much as we want it we're that much afraid of it. For some the closer a relationship becomes the more threatening it becomes. Because of this, the deepest healing processes occur in the context of relationship. In the cranial field we consciously create a relationship that holds the possibility that trust in intimate contact can be renegotiated. This has to happen in a field of respectful listening, and a nonjudgmental field of presence. We must hold the intention to create a safe and meaningful relational field within the clinical experience. Continuing our inquiry, the Buddha taught extensively on the nature of suffering and basically, it is inherent within conditions of life. The Buddha did not say that everything is suffering which has been often said, he simply and profoundly stated that “there is suffering and it must be understood”. If we are in the world in a certain way, there will be suffering. If that way of being is relinquished, then suffering will also be relinquished. Simply put, if we hold onto things, onto fixed positions and refuse to look at life from a different vantage point, then there will be suffering. Most of us, most of the time, tend to see the present through the filters of the past. But if there is a way to truly live in the present, in present time, then there is the possibility not suffering. Within the biodynamic context, it is seen that suffering is relinquished when the system truly aligns with being in present time. It is an alignment to something else beyond the fear that seems to hold our sense of self together. It is a realignment to a universal, an Intelligence much greater than our human mentality. To something still, yet potently present. This occurs when the oppositional forces of our past experiences are reconciled within us, in states of balance and stillness. Within the Stillness, known only is this present moment, something else can occur beyond the suffering we hold. It's that simple. And finally, for myself as a biodynamic practitioner, can I truly listen to suffering, pain, hope, joy, and the deeper forces within our lives, without fear? Can we as human beings leave all agendas behind and be open to the forces of life itself? This is our challenge and the heart of the healing journey. Craig
