Developmental Engagement Field Theory by Keith Witt - Integral Post-Metaphysical Spirituality2024-03-28T16:48:08Zhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/development-engagement-field-theory-by-keith-witt?commentId=5301756%3AComment%3A52404&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPerfect!
Now -- what did I m…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:522582013-10-21T20:33:04.959ZLayman Pascalhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/LaymanPascal
<p>Perfect!</p>
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<p>Now -- what did I make of Witt's paper? Well, here's what came up in my meditation of this essay and this current forum thread. Three topics stood out for me:</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>1. Boundless terminology</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>2. Naive positivity</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>3. Rules for Attunement</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p>1. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">BOUNDLESS…</span></p>
<p>Perfect!</p>
<p></p>
<p>Now -- what did I make of Witt's paper? Well, here's what came up in my meditation of this essay and this current forum thread. Three topics stood out for me:</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>1. Boundless terminology</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>2. Naive positivity</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>3. Rules for Attunement</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p>1. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">BOUNDLESS TERMINOLOGY</span>. We are, I think, a little gullible at the limits of our mind. Or perhaps a bit lazy. When an effect permeates our entire cognitive field we hastily (and happily) reach for extraordinary words like "infinite". Yet, in truth, we may be contemplating something that is merely <em>as big or bigger than ourselves</em>. We do not worry about this when we write poetry... but the progress of material science has been one long effort to replace boundless terms with specific quantities. And this is just as important when we are dealing with subtle material science.</p>
<p>Very hopeful cosmic exaggerations, repeated in every well-meaning book on all great topics, are present (like racism) in the subconscious of even very reasonable folks. We tend to say "beyond Time & Space" when that is not even technically thinkable -- so what are we referring to?! Such remarks are slightly disingenuous if not somewhat nihilistic. </p>
<p>At the very least, these <em>apophatic</em> terms should be reserved for Causal Realm phenomena and not conflated with High Subtle Energies. As soon as we dive toward notions of ONE UNIFIED FIELD <strong><em>we become meditators... not commentators. </em></strong></p>
<p>To go beyond this is to enter a nondual comprehension in which "divided reality" is itself the very form of "undivided reality". So ultimately we never escape or find significant utility for infinite and unitary phraseology. It has only a colloquial, poetic and personal use.</p>
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<p>2. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">NAIVE POSITIVITY</span>. Subtle energy is very promising and seductive. So is "attunement". We must therefore be cautious about assuming its therapeutic benevolence. Getting more in touch with a toxic entity may have a certain Tantric value but also comes with very real risks. More energy is not necessarily a qualitative improvement. Witt is not suggesting that it is... but we would be wise to keep ourselves very sensitive to this possibility. </p>
<p>The phrase "biofields" has some of the same problems. It narrows our gaze and tends to exaggerate the biological usefulness of all subtle energies. Wilhelm Reich, and later the Aetherometry Institute, have plausibly demonstrated that a part of the massless electricity spectrum is specifically destructive to organisms. Anti-bio-fields & a-bio-fields must be remembered... even as we try to be fearless and flowing in our use of those subtle energies which depend upon <em>trust</em>.</p>
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<p>3. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">ATTUNEMENT RULES</span>. This is where Witt's paper shines for me. He basically suggests a parallel between the manner in which information is exchanged between (UR) bodies & the way information is exchanged between (UR) subtle fields. These rules or principles-of-operations are themselves LR elements. They appear to include: <em>congruence, presence & markedness</em>. A man gets into a teamwork groove with a tree ONLY IF the trees "is" near him, if it is relatively reliable/coherent and if it displays changes which accord roughly with some of his own acts. This may be enough to establish a minimal stimulation of an additional UR object -- a shared higher-order field. The new field is not present as an additional body but rather appears as a correlated pattern of distortions in multiple bodies and an apparent reduction of 'randomness' which acts as momentum or stabilizing-attractor for future patterns. </p>
<p>It should be pondered, I think, that attunement between sub-fields of a single entity may generate an intensified functional coherence that allows individuated action at higher levels of subtle energy. "Growing a soul". </p>
<p>We should also observe that minimal attunement is... minimal. Socially and therapeutically adequate forms of resonance are often unsatisfying in the long run. Or at least they vary considerably. Co-participants may stabilize while remaining more isolated and abnormal-feeling then even they might consciously realize. Wherever therapy can redress this situation we should be alert for generic mechanisms that might be applied more broadly. A sense of pleasantly deepening and profoundly creative surplus-normalcy (associated with the production of intersubjective and intrasubjective "fabric") is a kind of abundance which permits further unfolding. It is produced more or less intensely depending, it seems, on whether we gravitate to more or less idiosyncratic and "on the spot" qualitative elements. Different aspects of ourselves in exchange produce different qualities of attunement within the same relations. Therefore we may wish to extrapolate this factor into the UR. That would mean that, as Witt suggests, social interaction protocols which tend to engender stabilizing forms of intersubjective feeling may also tend to invent, enliven or invoke UR subtle energy fields which interact with multiple bodies. </p>
<p>Or maybe not.</p>
<p>But we should investigate...</p> Consciously interacting with…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:522562013-10-21T18:21:49.729ZDavidM58http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/DavidM58
Consciously interacting with Layman Pascal's message above, here's what I picked up:<br />
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"Hmm, consciously interacting with others, not limited to screen squiggles - that sounds like a lot of fun!"<br />
<br />
How'd I do?
Consciously interacting with Layman Pascal's message above, here's what I picked up:<br />
<br />
"Hmm, consciously interacting with others, not limited to screen squiggles - that sounds like a lot of fun!"<br />
<br />
How'd I do? .tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:522532013-10-21T18:10:21.287ZLayman Pascalhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/LaymanPascal
<p>.</p>
<p>.</p> There ARE people who are sens…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:522492013-10-21T03:56:30.906ZRev. O.M. Bastethttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1rciwzlli1nrh
<p>There ARE people who are sensitive enough to subtle energies to detect what is going on in the people involved, even from squiggles on a computer screen, because such energies are outside of space-time; I am sure this sensitivity can be cultivated, though I think it's preferable that such sensitivity emerge as a natural consequence of spiritual development...</p>
<p>I too think it would be waycool and wonderful, to have online intersubjective spaces populated by people whose ability to…</p>
<p>There ARE people who are sensitive enough to subtle energies to detect what is going on in the people involved, even from squiggles on a computer screen, because such energies are outside of space-time; I am sure this sensitivity can be cultivated, though I think it's preferable that such sensitivity emerge as a natural consequence of spiritual development...</p>
<p>I too think it would be waycool and wonderful, to have online intersubjective spaces populated by people whose ability to consciously interact with others was not limited to screen squiggles....</p> Yes, agreed, Neelesh.
Given…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:525152013-10-21T01:38:54.965ZBalderhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p>Yes, agreed, Neelesh. </p>
<p>Given my own recent inquiries, I got excited, also, by his mention of the role of language in ontological development in his bullet points at the beginning of the essay; I wish he had developed that more. Perhaps he has other works where he has done so...?</p>
<p>Regarding the essay by Klein I mentioned, it is found in Mark Unno's <em>Buddhism and Psychotherapy across Cultures</em>.</p>
<p>Yes, agreed, Neelesh. </p>
<p>Given my own recent inquiries, I got excited, also, by his mention of the role of language in ontological development in his bullet points at the beginning of the essay; I wish he had developed that more. Perhaps he has other works where he has done so...?</p>
<p>Regarding the essay by Klein I mentioned, it is found in Mark Unno's <em>Buddhism and Psychotherapy across Cultures</em>.</p> Your second paragraph, Bruce,…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:525142013-10-21T01:30:29.023ZNeelesh Marikhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/NeeleshMarik
<p>Your second paragraph, Bruce, languages my feeling of 'unquenched thirst' after reading the paper and getting all excited by the first 4 pages!</p>
<p>And the point of energetic sensing being more effective than 'talking about an issue' appears to be a matter of monumental significance to me - something which applies to any inter-subjective space, really, included discussion threads on online forums? In an increasingly networked world (both physically and virtually), cultivation of this…</p>
<p>Your second paragraph, Bruce, languages my feeling of 'unquenched thirst' after reading the paper and getting all excited by the first 4 pages!</p>
<p>And the point of energetic sensing being more effective than 'talking about an issue' appears to be a matter of monumental significance to me - something which applies to any inter-subjective space, really, included discussion threads on online forums? In an increasingly networked world (both physically and virtually), cultivation of this capacity seems vital to maintaining the healthy vibration of a shared space, something I see often violated and damaged even in circles of postconventional people. </p>
<p>Anne Klein's work gets added to my list of things to read (or sense into). Thanks.</p> This paper makes an important…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-21:5301756:Comment:525102013-10-21T00:59:51.278ZBalderhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p><br></br>This paper makes an important gesture towards the inclusion of subtle energy fields in the conceptualization and practice of integrative psychotherapy. I particularly appreciated Witt's deft (pun intended!) articulation and modeling of a mature, attuned, congruent, growth-oriented therapeutic orientation in his case study at the end of the paper.<br></br><br></br>I say "gesture towards," however, rather than something stronger and more definite, because overall I felt his discussion of subtle…</p>
<p><br/>This paper makes an important gesture towards the inclusion of subtle energy fields in the conceptualization and practice of integrative psychotherapy. I particularly appreciated Witt's deft (pun intended!) articulation and modeling of a mature, attuned, congruent, growth-oriented therapeutic orientation in his case study at the end of the paper.<br/><br/>I say "gesture towards," however, rather than something stronger and more definite, because overall I felt his discussion of subtle energy fields remained strongly speculative and, it seemed to me, under-theorized throughout the paper. In other words, I believe a stronger case could have been made for *why* Witt feels the inclusion of a model of subtle energy fields is relevant. Throughout his discussion of the case study, for instance, the most striking, effective, and relevant-seeming strategies and conceptualizations seemed, to me, to be relatively easily handled by existing models of intersubjectivity, attachment theory, developmental theory, cognitive neuroscience, and so on. The clinical relevance of a subtle energy field model was not clearly demonstrated, other than as a possible way of metaphorically languaging these other biopsychosocial processes.<br/><br/>One thing that I have in mind here is discussion of the cultivation of a capacity for energetic sensing, such as you find in the work of Judith Blackstone or Anne C. Klein. For example, in Klein's "Psychology, The Sacred, and Energetic Sensing," she draws on Tibetan tantric and Dzogchen teachings, as well as Almaas' Diamond Approach, to make a case for energy awareness as a link between psychotherapy and contemplative practice. Because all perceptions, and all mental, emotional, and cognitive functions, are accompanied by the movement of energy, she argues that learning to direct attention to, and to work imaginally and feelingly (non-verbally) with, subtle energy (as you do in yogic and tantric practices) can facilitate psychological healing as readily as it can effect physical healing or spiritual growth. Using a case from Almaas' work -- in which a woman who has been repeatedly verbally wounded by her mother, contacts and works with this wounding (and subsequent "hole" in her heart region) to feel into and then release and transform the energy locked in this wound --, Klein argues that cultivation of a capacity for such subtle energetic awareness can facilitate shifts for clients more profoundly and suddenly than talking "about" an issue -- and that, because of the subtle nature of energy, attunenement with its movement can simultaneously help clients, not only to resolve psychological issues, but to open to the phenomenal fields and qualities commonly associated with spiritual dimensions of being in contemplative traditions.<br/><br/>Something like this might have helped better connect his speculations about energy fields at the beginning of the paper with the therapeutic work he so beautifully describes at the conclusion.<br/><br/>Other than this: Like you, Neelesh, I also appreciated Witt's discussion of the role that formal operational cognition plays in adequate shame regulation. A nice takeaway.</p> Totally agreed. In fact I wou…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-19:5301756:Comment:524082013-10-19T21:31:07.625ZRev. O.M. Bastethttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1rciwzlli1nrh
<p>Totally agreed. In fact I would argue there are many health issues, of every kind, which cannot fully be dealt with unless their subtle-energy aspects are addressed directly. But then as an energy "healer" I am biased by seeing the successes I and others have, haha. But it just seems self-evident that health is a whole-person matter....</p>
<p>More science would help some people be more willing to get involved, but IMO just more public knowledge of the RESULTS would I think make more of a…</p>
<p>Totally agreed. In fact I would argue there are many health issues, of every kind, which cannot fully be dealt with unless their subtle-energy aspects are addressed directly. But then as an energy "healer" I am biased by seeing the successes I and others have, haha. But it just seems self-evident that health is a whole-person matter....</p>
<p>More science would help some people be more willing to get involved, but IMO just more public knowledge of the RESULTS would I think make more of a willingness in more people. </p> The energy measurement and ba…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-19:5301756:Comment:523102013-10-19T21:22:19.079ZNeelesh Marikhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/NeeleshMarik
<p>The energy measurement and balancing space seems is acquiring a lot of precision and scientific sophistication, though still in the fringes of mainstream awareness, let alone adoption.</p>
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<p><a href="http://wds-bio-resonance.com/">http://wds-bio-resonance.com/</a></p>
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<p>I think along with mindfulness , energy work would be a good complement to holistic health. Even for people who haven't been spiritually inspired.</p>
<p>Integral Life Practice, or even ITP Katas of Micheal…</p>
<p>The energy measurement and balancing space seems is acquiring a lot of precision and scientific sophistication, though still in the fringes of mainstream awareness, let alone adoption.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://wds-bio-resonance.com/">http://wds-bio-resonance.com/</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>I think along with mindfulness , energy work would be a good complement to holistic health. Even for people who haven't been spiritually inspired.</p>
<p>Integral Life Practice, or even ITP Katas of Micheal Murphy and co, covered the energy space rather lightly. There is now scope for a far more scientific approach I think.</p> Actually this is a better way…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2013-10-19:5301756:Comment:524072013-10-19T20:51:33.621ZRev. O.M. Bastethttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1rciwzlli1nrh
<p>Actually this is a better way to say what I mean about the subtle energies and consciousness and quadrants:</p>
<p><span>To me, matter, energy, and consciousness are simply three labels or angles of view for the same whatever; to me, that is what "co-arising" means, or "mutual enactment" or whatever. </span></p>
<p><span>Nothing is truly "in" one quadrant or another; the quadrants are merely convenient baskets if one wishes to sort the vegetables for differing purposes...</span></p>
<p>Actually this is a better way to say what I mean about the subtle energies and consciousness and quadrants:</p>
<p><span>To me, matter, energy, and consciousness are simply three labels or angles of view for the same whatever; to me, that is what "co-arising" means, or "mutual enactment" or whatever. </span></p>
<p><span>Nothing is truly "in" one quadrant or another; the quadrants are merely convenient baskets if one wishes to sort the vegetables for differing purposes...</span></p>