Energy Work
Meditation practice attunes us to more subtle sensations than we tend to notice in everyday life. Caught up in gross bodily feelings and our constant mental chatter, we cannot hear the quiet sounds coming from a deeper layer of our being, just as we cannot hear birdsong and gentle music on a busy city street. But when we sit quietly and let our mind settle a bit, the inner world springs to life.
What we find is not always balanced or in harmony. We discover sensations that could be described by words such as: Tension, tight spot, dense spot, knot, or wall, along with movements that feel like forces or energy flows. There may be accompanying feelings of pain, heat, or tightness. Of course, there is also ease, lightness, gentle ripples, and softness.
Here I talk about working with these within the realm of energy, that is, the realm of sensation. In this way of working, we are not looking at stories, views, or ideas. It is not that we should never use words and thoughts – that might be useful at times. But in my experience, working with the energy goes deeper into the heart precisely because it is below the cognitive level. The abstract, high-level world of words cannot heal or free the mind as deeply as going to this more subtle level of sensation. You do not have to be loyal to your stories and concepts. Let those go and work freely with sensation.
These specific ways of working do not come from the Pāli Canon. Among Theravadan teachings, they most closely resemble methods of meditating on the Elements from the commentarial work called the Visuddhimagga. They may also resemble methods from other strands of Buddhism, other spiritual disciplines, or modern healing techniques, and I am aware of some of these. But for the most part, I am simply reporting what I have found to work in my own practice.
Here are three main ways to work, plus three auxiliary aspects. Together, they cover quite a lot of the territory, in my experience.
Any one of these might bring a change, or some combination might be needed.
Three auxiliary points:
In general, we are aiming to soften rather than resist and to meet clearly rather than collapse in the face of these forces, tensions, and flows.
It is extremely tempting to use models and stories here. There are dozens of spiritual, psychological, and mind-body awareness systems that will tell you what all these things refer to, mean, and represent. I am aware of many of them, and they do float through my mind sometimes as I practice this way, but I have found it best to keep it simple – just using the language of energy, tension, etc. These words are closer to the direct experience.
One time Joseph Goldstein was practicing with U Pandita, and he reported that his meditation was generally going well, with lots of smooth, pleasant energy flow in the body – except that he was experiencing a “block” in his neck. U Pandita looked at him sharply and said, “’Block’?? That is a judgment. You are experiencing tightness.” Our mind so easily imputes such judgments.
The change that happens when we work with these spots is always a form of letting go, but can feel many different ways. Sometimes it’s like the snapping of a cord or disappearance of a wall, and there is an immediate release of tension and resulting freedom of movement. It may be a slow dissolution, such that we don’t actually notice when the issue is finally resolved. Or there may be a sense like an iceberg breaking up or a wall crumbling, with remnants floating around the area for a while, possibly even creating pain until they too dissipate. Or rather than feeling like something going away, it may feel like a connection being made – a sudden unification of parts that were separated, perhaps with an accompanying flow of energy or warmth. There are other possibilities too. Again, it’s best not to interpret, but to stick with the most elemental sensations you can.
One peril in this kind of work is to begin working toward the complete undoing of all tensions, taking that to be the goal. Stated plainly, that is not the goal. You are not Awakened when you have systematically eliminated all knots and are experiencing freely flowing energy throughout an easeful mind-body system. It is humbling to see how easily this background idea can slip in.
Rather, this energy work is supporting the path of tranquility and insight in ways that are not completely visible or knowable. By engaging with the “bodily knots,” the mind is learning how it is creating its own tension, how cause and effect work, how the mind and body are interrelated, how perception works, and how to calm the energies of the life process. In unexpected ways, the mind will have insights related to dependent arising, the four noble truths, and the three characteristics (impermanence, unreliability, and not-self). The subtle energies of the body are a glorious and precise laboratory for exactly the kind of work that the Buddha prescribed to free the mind.
In addition, and perhaps more noticeably, this energy work may lead to any or all of the following: Deeper intimacy with the body; being able to sense these subtle energies even in daily life, which provides invaluable information about living with more ease and harmony; and the cultivation of compassion, lovingkindness, and equanimity.
Meditation practice attunes us to more subtle sensations than we tend to notice in everyday life. Caught up in gross bodily feelings and our constant mental chatter, we cannot hear the quiet sounds coming from a deeper layer of our being, just as we cannot hear birdsong and gentle music on a busy city street. But when we sit quietly and let our mind settle a bit, the inner world springs to life.
What we find is not always balanced or in harmony. We discover sensations that could be described by words such as: Tension, tight spot, dense spot, knot, or wall, along with movements that feel like forces or energy flows. There may be accompanying feelings of pain, heat, or tightness. Of course, there is also ease, lightness, gentle ripples, and softness.
Here I talk about working with these within the realm of energy, that is, the realm of sensation. In this way of working, we are not looking at stories, views, or ideas. It is not that we should never use words and thoughts – that might be useful at times. But in my experience, working with the energy goes deeper into the heart precisely because it is below the cognitive level. The abstract, high-level world of words cannot heal or free the mind as deeply as going to this more subtle level of sensation. You do not have to be loyal to your stories and concepts. Let those go and work freely with sensation.
These specific ways of working do not come from the Pāli Canon. Among Theravadan teachings, they most closely resemble methods of meditating on the Elements from the commentarial work called the Visuddhimagga. They may also resemble methods from other strands of Buddhism, other spiritual disciplines, or modern healing techniques, and I am aware of some of these. But for the most part, I am simply reporting what I have found to work in my own practice.
Here are three main ways to work, plus three auxiliary aspects. Together, they cover quite a lot of the territory, in my experience.
- Investigate by working attention into the tight or painful spot like water would gently work its way down into dry soil. If there is a feeling of energy flow or force, hold it in check while you do this. There is no pushing or aggression, but a persistent interest to go deeper, to see and feel more. Attention is small and getting smaller as you move down into deeper layers. The tension is distinct from the attention.
- Let the pain, tension, or force expand freely into open space. This means making attention large like the sky or ocean and letting the small spot release outward, dissipating its energy. The object is again distinct from the attention, the way a cloud is distinct from the sky – and you are the sky. To do this means letting go of our grasp of the object and trusting that attention will hold the rise and fall of the tightness, pain, or energy flow.
- Become the tension or force, riding its leading edge with the intention of softening, releasing, and integrating its energy into the fabric of the mind/body. The separation between attention and object vanishes. The spot that feels different from its surroundings melts into the whole by the dissipation of its boundary as attention is placed there. It takes tremendous trust to become what we had been resisting, and to ride its disappearing edge.
Any one of these might bring a change, or some combination might be needed.
Three auxiliary points:
- A good strategy when we notice a tight spot or knot is to gently pass breath energy through it. This challenges the mind’s tendency to think of it as solid or impenetrable. It is even fine to infuse the breath energy with love or compassion if that feels useful.
- It is very common to have sudden emotional feelings, such as despair, fear, anger, or sadness, as we work with a tight spot. These are best treated as energy flows – just let them pass through, along with the accompanying heat, cold, or other sensations. Stories or images may be noted, but not entered and dwelled upon. If tears come, let them flow. But above all, keep attention from collapsing into the emotion.
- Sometimes a release will trigger sensations in the throat, leading to coughing. Don’t try to suppress this cough. In fact, it can be helpful to intentionally base the cough from the place of tension: Use the force of it to move energy right at that point.
In general, we are aiming to soften rather than resist and to meet clearly rather than collapse in the face of these forces, tensions, and flows.
It is extremely tempting to use models and stories here. There are dozens of spiritual, psychological, and mind-body awareness systems that will tell you what all these things refer to, mean, and represent. I am aware of many of them, and they do float through my mind sometimes as I practice this way, but I have found it best to keep it simple – just using the language of energy, tension, etc. These words are closer to the direct experience.
One time Joseph Goldstein was practicing with U Pandita, and he reported that his meditation was generally going well, with lots of smooth, pleasant energy flow in the body – except that he was experiencing a “block” in his neck. U Pandita looked at him sharply and said, “’Block’?? That is a judgment. You are experiencing tightness.” Our mind so easily imputes such judgments.
The change that happens when we work with these spots is always a form of letting go, but can feel many different ways. Sometimes it’s like the snapping of a cord or disappearance of a wall, and there is an immediate release of tension and resulting freedom of movement. It may be a slow dissolution, such that we don’t actually notice when the issue is finally resolved. Or there may be a sense like an iceberg breaking up or a wall crumbling, with remnants floating around the area for a while, possibly even creating pain until they too dissipate. Or rather than feeling like something going away, it may feel like a connection being made – a sudden unification of parts that were separated, perhaps with an accompanying flow of energy or warmth. There are other possibilities too. Again, it’s best not to interpret, but to stick with the most elemental sensations you can.
One peril in this kind of work is to begin working toward the complete undoing of all tensions, taking that to be the goal. Stated plainly, that is not the goal. You are not Awakened when you have systematically eliminated all knots and are experiencing freely flowing energy throughout an easeful mind-body system. It is humbling to see how easily this background idea can slip in.
Rather, this energy work is supporting the path of tranquility and insight in ways that are not completely visible or knowable. By engaging with the “bodily knots,” the mind is learning how it is creating its own tension, how cause and effect work, how the mind and body are interrelated, how perception works, and how to calm the energies of the life process. In unexpected ways, the mind will have insights related to dependent arising, the four noble truths, and the three characteristics (impermanence, unreliability, and not-self). The subtle energies of the body are a glorious and precise laboratory for exactly the kind of work that the Buddha prescribed to free the mind.
In addition, and perhaps more noticeably, this energy work may lead to any or all of the following: Deeper intimacy with the body; being able to sense these subtle energies even in daily life, which provides invaluable information about living with more ease and harmony; and the cultivation of compassion, lovingkindness, and equanimity.
