Therapy and Meditation Groups
I have found that combining group therapy with the ideas and guided meditations of Dr. Joe Dispenza greatly increases the benefits.
Groups meet for 2.5 hours which allows time for a 40 minute meditation guided by Dr. Joe. Each member will have read most of one of his books so everyone understands that we begin by looking at ways we no longer want to think, feel, and act. Then we talk about how we want to be instead.
After meditating, members can express what happened. But there is no requirement to talk.
Belonging to a group has several functions. It keeps you focused on the process, as it is easy to “forget” to meditate, or to maintain good changes.
It offers all of what regular therapy offers, and more. Members assist each other with their thoughts and emotions, supporting with empathy and compassion. A group culture emerges.
Jen called me because her husband was ready to leave if she didn’t work on her distancing style. She worked a lot, and when home, was so busy she “didn’t have time” to be with him. In my office she couldn’t access any emotions about her life, or her childhood. When I made suggestions about scheduling time with him, she just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t help her.
However, when Jen joined my therapy and meditation group, she could explore on her own timetable the thoughts that led her to an isolated lifestyle. Then she became able to look at the emotions that made her feel like being alone. Once those became more available she could connect the avoidant actions to the thoughts and the emotions they brought. Gradually she took increasing pleasure being with her husband. Their marriage improved because she could change for herself, not because of his demands.
Chuck also couldn’t understand what was wrong with his life choices. He felt pressured by his wife to be different, but after sacrificing to do things with her, he gave up. He was angry about being seen as defective. Regular therapy didn’t go anywhere.
In the meditation therapy group he began to look at his ways of being, and the beliefs that caused them, that he, himself, wanted to change. The nature of Dispenza meditation took him inside himself in ways he had never experienced.
The marriage didn’t survive because of his wife’s long standing resentment, but Chuck became happier. He could laugh easily, and became extroverted. He felt like a new person.
Dispenza meditation invited him to introspect in ways nothing else had. Once he started looking at himself, then therapy could be effective.
Here are Dispenza’s books:
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
If you are interested, contact me for more information. We will have a conversation about what you want to accomplish. And I can answer your questions. If you are not near Camarillo you can join a videoconferencing group.
805-987-5647
ahasti555@aol.com
