Field Notes
by Dr. Avraham Cohen, PhD, RCC-ACS, CCC

Reframing is a technique that evolved from Aaron T. Beck's work with developing cognitive therapy. He talked about cognitive restructuring. It became a 'handy' tool for changing perceptions. In some sense, it was a trick to 'fool' the unconscious, and it often worked, or so it seemed. However, what lies unseen below the surface still has power. Read Field Note

The term mindfulness can be misleading, as it seems for some people to point to thinking which is equated with the mind. Mindfulness is a usual translation of the Pali word ‘sati. ’ A truer translation would perhaps be recollective awareness; literally ‘going back and remembering. ’ Perhaps just the term awareness is good, too, as it connotes something holistic. Read Field Note

Repression and suppression are such a norm in our culture that these experiences are rarely noticed, let alone questioned. Each person has an internalized suppressor and a repressor. For example, consider your own history of schooling from the earliest days. I have memories sitting in school as a young child and being deathly afraid of the principal who, I know, had the power to punish me. Read Field Note

Work with another person directly on the relationship between you and another. Invite the other to say what he or she senses/feels in the moment as the two of you engage with each other. Also, invite the other to tell you what he or she sees in you; that is what are their ideas about who you are and what motivates you. Also, invite the other to say what might be missing from what what is experienced and interpreted. Read Field Note

Theorizing is an attempt to make sense of one’s experience in the world, and do so in a way of “map-making”: that is, systematically, and with a view to share the results with others. When theorizing is approached in this way, we others are invited to map their own experiences onto the one that is being offered. Thus the process generates engagement and dialogue amongst people. But, unlike regular maps, theories exhibit core values as well as core views. Read Field Note

NOC can be induced with the use of substances and techniques. There is ample evidence for this. What this “method” does not provide, however, is transformation of the bases in consciousness that were formed from earliest days. What lies at the base of consciousness is inextricably woven into every aspect of a human being. Read Field Note

Integration of Four Components that make up pursuit of any art. The four components are: 1) passion, 2) talent, 3) skill, and 4) knowing what matters to you and what the art or activity contributes to you and to others. I illustrate these with my own story. Passion: This feeling of love and fascination with a particular art or activity cannot be manufactured. Read Field Note

The most crude approach in terms of working with behaviour is to try and change it immediately, to get rid of it, to conquer it, and/or to critique oneself for not getting rid of it, or changing it. The more subtle approach is to note that the behaviour has control over us and takes charge of us. Further realizing that the behavior points to a powerful sub-identity that has grown out of early experiences that become lodged in the unconscious. The sub-identity has control of the part of you that is trying to grow. Read Field Note

Death is the body’s way of saying that it has had enough; enough of the struggles and the internal conflicts. I believe that early death is a result of protracted and often largely unconscious struggles that become so ingrained that they are not noticed: all the while the body tries its best and hardest to hold everything together but, beyond a certain point of tolerance and acceptance, it couldn’t, and starts to fall apart. Psychotherapy, in particular, what I call inner work, can facilitate the uncovering and exploration of the domain of the unconscious, the ground within which the struggles and internal conflicts take place. If the work is successful, and to the degree it’s successful, the person may find him/herself completely “at home” and more closely in alignment with their ‘true nature. Read Field Note