I’m going to leave this posted for a while, in case someone is interested in different conceptual models of therapy which I’ve found relevant to meditators. Hope this helps in some way!

 

INSERT: Here’s my current suggested use of the models, based on the nature of the meditator’s “problem”.

Use of Meditation Modalities

 Always the question: be with “the problem” or apply a method? I say tend toward being with the problem, unless a method speaks to us.

Always the question: is progress stage like, cycle like, fractal, or muiltidimensional? I say tend to think of it as multidimensional, nothing is without consequence, nothing is wasted, “progress” is actually beyond mapping.

 

Nature of Problem is…	Practice is…	Event is/are…	Major Wisdom is
Concrete/Operational	Normal life, normal skill development	Psychological insights, A&P type mystical insight	Perception of world isn’t “real” , problems may not be real
Bodily	Meditative movement – yoga, weights, chi kung, martial arts “forms”	Psychological insights, A&P type mystical awakening	Mind and body related, subtle body is mind
Personal	Therapeutic “listening” meditation, the bubbling-up of personal thoughts	Psychological insights, A&P type mystical insight	Flavors of reactivity and neurosis limits self-expression, relaxed mind is best
Authority, Self-Will	Fenner’s Natural Release/ Relaxation meditation	Glimpse of Presence	Basic self worth and self trust
Solid Time	Biocognition, Past/present/future	Thought/body Insights into shame, betrayal, abandonment	Past is pride and shame, honor includes both.Future is hope and fear of betrayal,  faithfulness includes both.Present is self-presence and fear of abandonment, commitment includes both – we can meaningfully “lose ourselves” as presence
Impersonal Reality – “It” realm	Insight Meditation, the bubbling up of impersonal states	Nanas, Jhanas, Cessations	No control of mindstates
Contextual Reality – “we” realm	Surrender – 6 realms paradigm is helpful	Nibbana – ending of mindstate	Dependent Origination and “gone”
Uncontrollable, elemental reactive reality – “I” realm	Introspection – 5 elements paradigm is helpful	“Knowing”,  awareness found within reactivity	No escape
No Solution	All of above/No practice – reconciling emptiness and form	Awakening 1 – reality doesn’t hide, yang	Mind nature, no being (nor non-being)
No Problem	All of above/No practice – reconciling self and other	Awakening 2 – natural love, reality as beloved, yin	Heart nature
No thing	Spontaneity, success and failure to live from Awakening 1 & 2	Awakening 3 – reconciling of interior and exterior, void	Gut nature, No interiority (remember, our gut is actually on the  outside of our body – we’re a donut, not a sphere)

END OF INSERT, back to original list of models… 

Therapeutic Models for Meditators

1. RAIN (Brach) Model
2. Natural Release (Fenner) Model
3. 6 Realms (Trungpa) Model
4. Vipassina “Nana/Jhana”(Folk/Ingram) model
5. Biocognition “Boundaries of Abundance” (Martinez) Model
6. Aro “Neurosis” (Ngak’chang Rinpoche) Model
7. Tibetian “5 Elements” (McCleod) Model
8. My Stuff… still in draft 

RAIN (Brach) method:

Theory – if the right attention is brought to emotional suffering, it will be released.

Treatment Method – basically desensitization, experiencing the suffering with mindfulness.

Usage – suitable for a conscious practioner with desire to expose and explore emotional landscape. Perfect for a mature person with a spiritual heart like an over-ripe fruit, needing gentle handling.

Letter	Meaning
R	Recognize (note) what is arising (fear, hurt, etc.)
A	Agree to “be with it,” to “let it be.”
I	Investigate in a non-analytic way, get to know how the body, heart and mind experiences these energies. You might inquire by asking yourself one or more of the following questions: “What is happening?” “Where am I feeling this in my body?” “What sensation, feeling or emotion wants attention?” “What wants acceptance?” The “I” is also Intimacy: experiencing difficult sensations and emotions with a direct, gentle, kind attention; and offering compassion to the place of vulnerability.
N	Non-Identification (disembedding) not having your full sense of Being defined by it. In other words, not taking it personally!

 

Natural Release (Fenner) method:

Theory: Basically psychological but highest/best state is presence. People move through predictable progression from a problem mentality to developing greater presence.

Treatment Method: Basically needs therapist to undercut perceived problems until arrive at presence. Can also work for self-treatment but Dilemma can be confusing without a guide/model.

Usage: Lower phase emotions are realm of basic psychotherapy. Coexistance is healthy psychological human and is gateway to more spiritual dimension of Dilemma and Presence. Not sure if this model is limited because it doesn’t seem aware of “enlightenment” but Presence could be the point of enlightenment.   

Phase Emotions	Emotions	Generic Problems/Comments
Disconnection	Isolation, Rejection, Fear, Distraction, Separation	What is the point? I give up. This is ridiculous. This is dangerous. This has nothing to do with me. They have no business in how I feel.
Conflict	Anger, Vindictiveness, Blame	I’m furious. It is their fault. I can’t bear feeling like this. They make it difficult for me.
Codependence	Dependence, Neediness, Boredom	I have to please them. Without her I can’t do this. I have to ask him if it is okay. What will they think if I do this.
Coexistence	Vigilance, Application, Ambition, Learning	I’m getting better at this. I can see what I need to change. I’m making progress. I’m getting closer. When you do this, you get closer. What else can I do?
Dilemma	Confusion, Laughter, Perplexity, Anxiety	I don’t know if I’m making progress or not. There is nothing to do. Should I continue or stop. Is there something to do? This is crazy.
Presence	Aware, Alert, Relaxed, Calm, Clear, Spacious, Present

 

6 Realms (Trungpa) Model:

Theory: There are major modes of being that capture how we think of ourselves in terms of our effect/integration with the environment. The realms are a tautology – the subjective sense of inner being is co-created with the objective sense of the outside world; the evidence of the reality of the inner world is supplied by the outer world and vise versa. Because there is not a causal thing that links one realm to another, living with this paradigm can feel like being completely re-born is different realms.

Treatment Method: This works as a way to get someone sensitive to the gestalt context in which they live. It can be used to help sensitize people living in the lower realms to how they create the conditions for their suffering. It can be used as a cautionary and humbling device for people living in the upper realms. Wisdom is lived out in the human realm, the other realms are not conducive to maturation.

 Usage: For increasing sensitivity to base psychological conditions, but this model works on ever more subtle levels. Might be good reminder of the wisdom in human realm for advance practitioners who want to define themselves by higher attainments.

Realm	Conditions and attitudes which characterize and hold  in this realm	Attitudes which cause Descent	Attitudes which cause Ascent
Gods/Divas	Abundant pleasures that are gently enjoyed	Holding too tightly to pleasures, fear of loss of pleasures	Not possible to go higher, but acceptance and honest enjoyment tends to keeps one here
Jealous Gods	Abundant pleasures that are easily taken from others	Devoting more energy to taking or competition rather than enjoying pleasures	Letting go of taking and simply enjoying the pleasures available
Humans	World of nuance, where decisions must weigh the trade off between competing pleasures, between effort expended and resulting gain, wisdom in avoiding suffering	Repeating old patterns which have worked in the past	Obtaining and becoming fascinated with using power of discernment
Animals	World of patterned behavior, going through life on autopilot and obtaining basic satisfaction	Worry/anxiety that old patterns will not work into the future	Investigation of experience and being more conscious in decision-making
Hungry Ghosts	Desperately seeking pleasures in a world of scarce (but enough) pleasures	Fixating on never having abundance, intense striving for next pleasure	Enjoying pleasures that one has
Hell Beings	World nearly empty of pleasures, many opportunities for suffering, pain feels   unavoidable	Impossible to go lower, but lashing out and anguishing over suffering tends to keeps one here	Unnecessary pain is avoided by  acceptance, not fighting pain that is already here

 

Vipassina “Nana/Jhana” (Folk/Ingram) model

 

 

 

#	Jhana	Ñana, a.k.a. Knowledge of	Basic Insight(s)	Basic Flaw(s)
0	0.4	(The Waterfall)	It is time to meditate, my mind is a mess	Poor concentration, poor investigation, usually swamped by the content/stuff
1	1.1	Mind and Body	Thoughts, intentions and mental echo (consciousness) become objective	Don’t see Causality, easily solidified to first jhana
2	1.2	Cause and Effect	Intentions precede thoughts and actions, consciousness echoes sensations	Don’t see Three Characteristics
3.1	1.3	The Three Characteristics	Begin to see Three Characteristics: impermanence, suffering,  no-self	Fight them, don’t see them very clearly, mostly at physical level
3.2	1.4		See the Three Characteristics more directly, set up for deep insight into them	Mind not fast or precise enough yet
4.1	2.1	The Arising and Passing Away	Shift into direct observation, mind speeds up, deep insights begin	Like a kid moving from a bicycle to a car
4.2	2.2		Ten Corruptions of Insight arise	Ten Corruptions of Insight not seen as they are, like a 16-year-old driving a Ferrari
4.3	2.3		Ten Corruptions of Insight seen through, Peak Experience on spiritual path	Still holding back, precision not as all-encompassing as they think, arrogance, unbalanced evangelism
4.4	2.4		The Three Characteristics are hints of the Ultimate, Realization can be attained	They don’t know as much or see as clearly as they think they do
5.1	3.1	Dissolution	(Beginning of Dark Night/Dukkha Ñanas) With highs come lows, with extreme highs come crashes	Attachment to A&P, long for past abilities, clarity and balance fade
5.2	3.1		Hints of the implications of transience at a more mental level. In 3rd vipassana jhana, center of attention vague, periphery open and more clear.	Effort must be more gentle and accepting, vagueness must be understood, insights now coming around to shake observer
6	3.2	Fear	Acceptance difficult, Fear can be frightening and fun. Insights coming around at observer, violating	Fascination with fear, lost in the content
7	3.2	Misery	Acceptance is difficult, Misery can be miserable and fun	Fascination with misery, lost in the content
8	3.2	Disgust	Acceptance is difficult, Disgust can be disgusting and fun	Fascination with disgust, lost in the content
9	3.3	Desire for Deliverance	Realization must be beyond reality, A Lack of Enlightenment is Unacceptable	Effort still made to create this, lost in the content
10.1	3.3	Re-observation	The GREAT KICK in the ASS, You won’t find the answer in any phenomena or reaction to them. Sense of observer shaking.	Basic acceptance of implications of previous insights low, large potential for messy bleedthrough into life
10.2	3.4		You can’t do it, and so you completely give up and accept defeat	Exhaustion
11.1	4.1	Equanimity	Realization can be attained, formations become obvious, begin to include full field of experience, name and form as integrated experience	Mind still speeding up, synchronizing, and recovering
11.2	4.2		Realization is imminent, the true nature of formations becomes obvious	Anticipation, over-confidence
11.3	4.3		Mastery of seeing the true nature of formations	Still holding back, center still seems to be that which masters
11.4	4.4		Attachment to mastery vanishes, effort to attain or do vanishes, it all happens by itself	Very few
12	4.4	Conformity	Effortless conformity of perception with the Three Characteristics of Full Formations.	None
13	4.4	Change of Lineage	This is realization/changes made in relationship to phenomena	None
14	4.4	Path	The first/next Path is Attained	None
15	N/A	Fruition (Nirvana)	This is the non-experience of Nirvana beyond space, time and the universe	N/A
16.1	0.1	Review	The Path has been attained, hints of limitations shown soon enough	Mind too powerful to really be stable or balanced, aftershocks of realization
16.2	0.2		The stages of the path can be mastered and integrated	Still working on mastery and integration
16.3	0.3		The stages of the Path are Mastered	Integration is lifelong, Dualities May Remain if this not the Last Path

 

Biocognition “Boundaries of Abundance” (Martinez) Model:

Theory: Our sense of self is vulnerable early in life to overwhelming negative experiences, these experiences cause biological-psychological-cultural wounds that can be re-triggered. Positive states are also linked to wounds because this is the original context in which the triggering insult occurred. They are inflicted by those with authority over you and dependent on survival.  Occur within the context of intimacy, love.

 As a result, wounds cause limits to dimensions of happiness because they are re-awakened by both similar insults as well as similar contexts of happiness. You can only experience joy to the extent that you feel worthy of the experience, wounds associated with happiness is the limiter of joy. 

Treatment Method: Essentially desensitization. Find a safe place, a safe posture (solid seat, warm, back protected), imagine happiness, look for the “kill joy” negative feeling, that is the wound, experience the sensations of wounds without judgment. A more active method is to apply an antidote by creating a healing field, as described below.

Usage: Basic psychotherapy usage, but good model for why spiritual openings can have negative rebounds.

Wounds	Stress Neurotransmitter	Sensation	Healing Field, Re-Empowerment
Shame, creating Hopelessness	pro-inflammatory products (not cortisol) – auto immune disease	hot, humiliating, shrinking, embarrassment, want to disappear	Honor: what is the honorable thing to do now? Do this without carrying forward the sensation of shame.
Abandonment, creating Fear	Adrenaline, flight response – cancer disease	cold, isolation, aloneness, fear	Commitment: commitment to oneself. if person x abandons, I will commit to doing y for myself.
Betrayal, creating Frustration/Anger	Adrenaline and Cortisol, fight response – heart disease	hot, anger, being tricked	Loyalty to self, valuing oneself: set boundaries, do something beyond the moment of betrayal.

 

Aro Neurosis (Ngak’chang Rinpoche) Model:

Theory: Our pain and confusion from the addiction to splitting experiences into form (knowing) and emptiness (not knowing) and then feeling aversion to empty experiences and grasping at form experiences, relaxing the aversion creates acceptance of emptiness (not knowing) and resulting happiness and freedom.

Treatment Method: Not sure, seems like desensitization again by consciously being with the experience of aversion until it yields the unified field of experience described in table below.

Usage: Good method for integrating peak wisdom experiences into daily life.

Element	Symptom	When we try to consolidate empty form quality of these elements…we experience of aversion to passionate empty quality	Experience of aversion (passionate empty quality)	So we relax the experience into the unified experience of…
Earth	Territorialism		Hollowness and Insecurity	Generosity and Equanimity
Water	Aggression		Fear	Clarity
Fire	Obsession		Isolation	Indiscriminate Compassion
Air	Suspicion and Paranoia		Groundless Anxiety	Self-accomplishing Activity
Space	Depression		Bewilderment	Ubiquitous intelligence

 

5 Element (McLeod) Model:

Theory: Our reactive patterns are caused by avoiding sensations…

Treatment Method: Using visualizations to cultivate sensations and being able to fully experience the sensations and not fall into pattered reaction.

Usage: Good method for diffusing reactivity at the sensation-trigger level (as opposed to narrative story level

Element	Initial Reaction	Feeling = Fear	Open Space	Pristine Awareness
Earth	Rigidity	hollowness or uncertainty = Instability	Earthquake	Balanced, knowing without judgement
Water	Fluidity	external threat = Engulfment	Tidalwave	Mirrorlike, knowing clearly
Fire	Intensity	aloneness  = Isolation	Featureless Desert	Distinguishing, knowing the particulars
Air	Busyness	groundless  = Destruction	Falling	Effective, knowing what to do
Void	Dullness	overwhelmed = Being nothing	Blankness	Totalness, knowing totality

 

 

 

5 Elements	Provoking	Calming
Earth	Your position is weak. You are on shaky ground.	You position is solid. You are on solid ground.
Water	There is danger everywhere. You are going to be overwhelmed.	You are safe, no one is going to hurt you. I’m going to make sure of that.
Fire	You are alone in this situation as far as I’m concerned.	You are not alone. This is a difficult situation, but you and I are going to get through it together.
Air	You have no idea what to do.	You know what needs to be done, and I know you can do it.
Void/Space	You don’t even know where you are.	Where are we now? Here in this room, this is where we are.

 

Interpersonal 6 Realms (McLeod)

 

Realm	Principal Emotion	Provoking	Calming
Gods/Divas	Pride	I’m right, that’s just how it is.	You are right.
Jealous Gods	Jealousy	I’m better than you.	You are better than me.
Humans	Desire	I want you.	You have me.
Animals	Reactivity/Instinct	I’m just trying to survive.	You are living, not just surviving.
Hungry Ghosts	Greed	I’m taking everything.	You can have whatever you want.
Hell Beings	Anger/Hatred	You are against me.	I’m on your side.