Hara as therapy

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[BlueDevilfish]

I stumbled across a program called I Can Change Your Life in which a hypnotherapist Paul McKenna uses the one point concept in working with a patient with extreme anxiety issues. Have a look at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3W222dCEc&feature=related
In particular the segment in question is at around the 8min 40 sec mark (but you want to watch the preceding stuff to get the context)

In this video clip it would seem that the one point concept is being used effectively as a therapeutic tool for treating anxiety. I am wondering if this 'strikes a cord' with others who may use the one point as a means of keeping various emotions under check, or does anyone know of it being successfully used in a similar therapeutic context.

Any comments welcomed.

[Mark Freeman]

Hi David,

The concept of 'one point' and how things can change when your mind settles there, is what got me into aikido (K Tohei - Aikido in Daily Life). From day one it has been a part of every practice as both student and teacher.

I have used it often working one to one with clients. For the past couple of years I have beeen working with people out of work through some form of accident, illness or disability. Stress and anxiety affected at least half of the people I met. Teaching them 'one point' is definitely helpful and one way of lowering stress/anxiety levels. A great deal of stress is caused by the mind inappropriately focussing on anything other than 'the moment in hand'. The one point exercise directs the mind out of the head away from 'where all the thoughts are' to a more 'relaxed' place.

The core of McKenna's work is NLP based, one of NLP's core attitudes is if it works it works, PM has just picked up the aikido 'skill' and incorporated into what he does. No magic just working with what works.

regards,

Mark

[BlueDevilfish]

Hi David,
A great deal of stress is caused by the mind inappropriately focussing on anything other than 'the moment in hand'. The one point exercise directs the mind out of the head away from 'where all the thoughts are' to a more 'relaxed' place.
Mark

Hi Mark,

thanks for your interesting comments. Your mention of 'the moment in hand' has helped me make a possible link between the one point concept and 'mindfullness meditation' where the aim is the be 'in the present moment'. I guess in effect concentrating on the one point is a means of focussing on something that is in the present moment rather than filling your mind with 'what you should have done yesterday', or 'what you intend to do tomorrow'.

There has been a move towards integrating mindfullness meditation into psychology by merging it into mainstream cognitive therapy and thereby developing "mindfullness based cognitive therapy' (I have done a bit of reading on this but am no expert!). Maybe the concept of focussing on the one point is not that far removed from mindfullness meditation - maybe in essence it is another way of doing much the same thing.

Thanks again for your comments - they have stimulated some interesting stuff for me to think about.

Would love to hear any further opinions on this.

Dave