Space for your inner process

Ne. Nikoli.

Grof je bil eden prvih in najbolj cenjenih raziskovalcev klinične uporabe LSD. Kot freudovski analitik in psihiater je postal prepričan, da ima LSD terapevtsko vrednost kot katalizator ozdravitvenega potenciala nezavednega. Grof je zdravljenje z LSD izvajal na Inštitutu za psihiatrične raziskave v Pragi od leta 1960 do 1967, z delom pa nadaljeval na univerzi Johns Hopkins v Baltimoru. Delal je s psihiatričnimi bolniki, bolniki z rakom in odvisniki od drog, pa tudi z umetniki in znanstveniki, ki so jih zanimale globlje razsežnosti njihovega uma.

Takrat so z LSD delali na različne načine, vendar je bila Grofova metoda izjemna po zelo varnem okolju in osredotočenosti na notranje doživljanje. Pacient je ležal z zaprtimi očmi, poslušal glasbo in ga sta ves čas spremljala dva klinika. Poudarek je bil torej na notranji izkušnji, ne na interakciji ali psihodinamičnem doživljanju, in na dostopu do nezavednega prek izkušnje, ne z intelektom, besedami ali analizo. Grof je opažal in poročal o izjemnih terapevtskih koristih tega procesa za svoje paciente. Poleg tega je spoznal, da ta stanja zavesti niso niti približno tako neobičajna, kot se zdi: večina predindustrijskih kultur je imela kakšen kulturno sprejet način, kako občasno vstopiti v ta stanja, da bi spodbudili ozdravitev ali našli modrost, pri čemer so kot katalizator uporabljali npr. bobnanje, naravne psihedelike, meditacijo ali post. Grofove klinične raziskave LSD so bile zelo obetavne, a zaradi uličnega uživanja te droge in njenega spodbujanja s strani manj treznih osebnosti, kot je Timothy Leary, je bila neklinična uporaba v ZDA leta 1967 prepovedana, klinične raziskave pa so se končale leta 1975. Zato je svojo pozornost usmeril k drugim metodam za doseganje nenavadnega stanja zavesti in se odločil za globoko, hitro dihanje. To je osnova holotropnega dihanja (Holotropic Breathwork™). Čeprav ima holotropno dihanje po okolju in namenu nekaj podobnosti z Grofovim delom z LSD, seja holotropnega dihanja nikakor ne vključuje drog. Kot pri številnih oblikah joge ga poganja zgolj dihanje s hitrostjo, ki jo določa udeleženec.

The core principle of Holotropic Breathwork is that healing comes from within the person. In the holotropic model, this trust is raised to a level rarely seen before, and it empowers the participant. Facilitators do not see themselves as healers or as therapists. They are more like midwives, supporting a process that has its own wisdom. Leading a Holotropic Breathwork workshop is an intensive exercise in "not knowing." I remember Grof saying that facilitator training takes at least two years because it takes at least that long to realize how little you know, and that the human mind is infinite.

Grof believes that the psyche has an inner "radar" which, given the chance, can select the experience we most need for our development at that particular moment. No one can know in advance what that experience will be. Take, for example, a client caught in a pattern of anger toward her mother: what would be best to prescribe? A bioenergetic therapist might encourage her to express her rage. A Buddhist teacher might encourage her to practice compassion. A Jungian might encourage her to enter into a dialogue with an image of her anger. Kundalini yoga might encourage her to channel the anger into a higher form. A Holotropic Breathwork facilitator would simply say: "Keep breathing and discover what opens up for you." The answer is specific to the client and to that moment.

It is always tempting to think that we "know best." This is especially true for anyone working in the helping professions. A Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, however, is trained in not knowing. Of course, many people have great gifts in their chosen methods, whether craniosacral therapy, Reiki, bioenergetics, psychodynamic psychotherapy or aura cleansing, but these would never be used in a client's process at a holotropic workshop. "Healing someone" is a lovely thing, but within the framework of a Holotropic Breathwork workshop it would count as an abuse of power. Every participant should leave the workshop with a sense of personal power: with the discovery that they carry the answers within themselves, rather than that so-and-so is a "great healer." A Holotropic Breathwork facilitator is not expected to heal, and should not encourage the idea that they are a healer. The facilitator of a Holotropic Breathwork session is there to help, support and encourage clients to find their own way.

Many participants come to a Holotropic Breathwork workshop wanting to be "healed," or with an unconscious need to find a guru. This can be a trap for both client and facilitator. A good facilitator will resist this projection and gently encourage the client to look for the answer within. Of course, some facilitators have a strong healing presence, or perhaps a gift of "seeing" or understanding. But all good Holotropic Breathwork facilitators should hold this firmly: the facilitator's role lies in not knowing and in creating a space in which individuals find the answers themselves.

There are many ways in which Holotropic Breathwork resembles shamanism. As in shamanism, participants in a Holotropic Breathwork workshop go on a journey into a non-ordinary state of consciousness to find healing. Music is played to support this journey. But there are many differences between Holotropic Breathwork and shamanism. First, there is no roadmap for the Holotropic Breathwork journey: participants are not asked to imagine an entrance to a shamanic world and don’t begin their holotropic journey with an intention to work on a specific problem or question. It certainly makes sense to look for a spirit guide or power animal at a shamanic workshop, for these are typical features of the shamanic world, but to do this in a holotropic session would constrain the process. In a holotropic session, the whole world of possible spiritual experience, from any tradition (and from no tradition), is available to each client.

One of the most remarkable features of Holotropic Breathwork is that people can have so many different kinds of experiences, and are free to interpret them differently, without any specific language or worldview. I have seen Christians having Buddhist experiences, and Hindus having Christian experiences. I have seen atheists have shamanic experiences and shamanic practitioners have Sufi experiences. (I even remember a Catholic priest having a Christian experience, and expressing surprise and delight to discover what his faith was really about.) I have also seen people have experiences that seem to pull from many different traditions at once and have seen some people have experiences from no tradition yet identified. So although Holotropic Breathwork has many features that are similar to shamanism, it is much bigger and broader. In this sense, it is a truly post-modern practice.