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��What role does poetry play in mindfulness and the transformation of suffering?

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Why poetry?

My starting point is my love of words and understanding of the weight that words carry, both in how we communicate with others and how we used words internally, in our thought processes

Poetry plays an important role in many contemplative traditions, religions (especially Buddhism) and secular mindfulness-based programmes. In all of these it has a particular role to play in the reduction of dukkha (दुक्ख)

Here I address this form of language, its roots in Buddhism and why it has such a distinct and valuable part to play in contemporary mindfulness and mindfulness-based programmes

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Origins of dukkha दुक्ख)

Tanha is the origin of dukkha

This craving is made up of particular mental processes and contents that are dynamic, actively created and re-created moment by moment

A temporary cessation of dukkha is possible, by changing conditions so that these patterns of processing no longer feed off themselves

What is the role of poetry in this process?

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The felt sense of poetry – ‘A natural medicine’

“Therin lies the special power of poetry to reveal truth: it helps us find it within ourselves”

Sherry Jr. & Schouten (2002)

“Poetry is a companion through dark times. The poem is the friend who calls you at just the right moment on a bad day when above all you feel the need to be known. The poem is a voice that makes it clear you are not alone.”

Poetic Medicine. The Healing Art of Poem-making. John Fox 1997

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Interactive Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) Framework

Teasdale and Barnard 1991

More dukkha

Less dukkha

Implicational meaning and language (general, implicit, emotional, thematic) – poetry, metaphor, story and parable

Intuitive and (felt) sensed – ‘the deep structure of experience’

‘Knowing with the heart’

‘ Knowing with the head’

- Propositional meaning and language (specific, explicit, factual, conceptual)

Poetry

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An example of how this works

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La Belle Dame Sans Merci�John Keats (1819)

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

Alone and paley loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

What is the matter, armed old-fashioned soldier, standing by yourself and doing nothing with a pallid expression? The reed like plants have decomposed by the lake, and there are not any birds singing.

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La Belle Dame Sans Merci�John Keats (1819)

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

Alone and paley loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

What is the matter, armed old-fashioned soldier, standing by yourself and doing nothing with a pallid expression? The reed like plants have decomposed by the lake, and there are not any birds singing.

Implicational

Propositional

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Two kinds of meaning – a) Implicational

A poems meaning is conveyed by a combination of carefully chosen patterns of conceptual meanings together with the actual sounds of the words, their rhythms and the visual imagery they evoke

With La Belle Dame Sans Merci, you can check that the discussed meaning is in fact being conveyed and ‘sensed’ the feeling engendered - - if you ask yourself a question “would he be fun to meet at a party? “ (without having to think about it…)

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Two kinds of meaning – b) Propositional

Corresponds to the kind of straightforward explicit, factual, conceptual, or literal meaning conveyed by a single sentence.

The kind language in certain kinds of prose, official documents and instruction manuals

Can be involved in discrepancy monitoring and related maladaptive thoughts.

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Poetry – A Buddhist background

The paradoxical nature of Buddhism, where teachings on meditation experience can often be considered like a ‘finger pointing at the moon’ (Ho, C.-h 2008) - can make linear and logical explanation unsatisfactory

A popular alternative is to use metaphor and aesthetics (poetry and art), with verse most often delivered in poem format or spontaneous songs (e.g. Tibetan Dohas)

Verses are often used instructionally – inspiring and motivating reminders of why we practice and as an elegant literary device for presenting paradox

In terms of subject matter, nature is a very popular focus

The original teachings of the Buddha were part of an oral tradition and so it’s not surprising that these traditional Pali scriptures contain both prose and poetry (gathas). The latter being used as a poetic summary of the prose

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Poetry – in secular mindfulness - Poems and Poetry in MBSR

Week Five

The Guest House (acceptance)

Week Six

Wonder

Week Seven

The Summer Day

Week Eight

Kindness

Week One

If I had to live my live over

Week Two

The Summer Day (self compassion & present moment experience)

Week Three

Coming back to the present
Autobiography in 5 Chapters

Week Four

Wild Geese (focusing, to expanding)

Kempton, H. M. (2020).

Use of Poetry in Secular Mindfulness Guidance.

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Poetry – in secular mindfulness

Poetry is used in both MBSR and MBCT and this has greatly influenced other MBP’s

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely

The world offers itself to your imagination,

Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things”

Wild Geese. Mary Oliver. 2004

Poems specifically selected for key aspects of the course, and attitudinal foundations, such as impermanence, mindful attention to experience, compassion and acceptance

Segal (2012) views poetry in relation to acceptance as “an alternative vehicle for communicating a different relationship to experience”

Here, Mary Oliver uses a direct and accessible style to allow the reader to ‘dwell in possibility’ -

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Buddhist and Secular Poetry – how do they compare?

Secular verse tends to be more accessible and concrete , Buddhist is more philosophically abstract and has more emphasis on anatta

Secular approach focuses more on acceptance

With secular poetry, there is no guidance on the different stages of practice. This is common in Buddhist texts

Both use nature a great deal to promote and support mindful awareness. This use of nature acts as an

accessible way to demonstrate change and uncertainty and the paradox of things appearing so real –

when in fact they are impermanent

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Buddhist example

Heaven is eternal. The earth endures.

The reason for heaven’s eternity and earths endurance

is that they do not live for themselves only,

And therefore, may live forever.

The sage steps back but remains in front,

The outsider always within.

Self is realized through selflessness.

Lao Tzu (Taoist) . 4^th century B.C.

The Poetry of Zen

Secular Mindfulness Example

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.�I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to�kneel down in the grass,�how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?�Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild�and precious life?

The Summer Day . Mary Oliver

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Some thoughts to finish

Our ability to communicate through language is one of the defining aspects of being human. Language, such as poetry, can be positive – providing engagement, empathy and connection. But it can also be used to cause harm, disconnect and pain. Not only can words between people cause injury, the words and language we use in our minds can also be problematic.

Poetry plays an important role in MBP’s – providing a highly embodied approach in the teaching process. This is because its implicational language connects with the mind in a different, ‘sensed’, way vs. propositional, conceptual content

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Some thoughts to finish

Buddhist and secular poetry have similarities, but there are some differences in terms of their role and types of content. For example, secular poetry is more accessible and concrete and has a greater focus on acceptance. Despite this divergence, might there be religious/spiritual poetry that could be used (more often) with MBP’s?

Suggest creation of a ‘compendium of mindful poems’, that could be categorized by the roles they play, where they should be used, and with annotations on the benefits that may be accrued by usage. Categorisation could be done by theme, subject, title or even keywords

Finally, not everybody likes poetry, or certain poems….

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A brief indication of areas that would have

been relevant which have not been covered

Further discussion around I.C.C model. Looking at memory, meaning as well as language

Different types of working memories and their relation to the wider memory system

Other strategies for transformation and the reduction of dukkha. For example, the effect of different approaches to processes in the mind – ‘What , ‘How’ and ‘the View’.

Consideration of the above with broader reference to mindfulness as a way of being and consequent impact on self and others

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Areas for discussion and further exploration

Use of poems in MBP settings is primarily secular, but there may be some environments where a more spiritual approach may suit and appeal to those with a spiritual background. This would connect well with rise in interest in religious (e.g. Christian) meditation

Consider different, additional approach to poetry in MBP’s, e.g. participants’ penning their own poems

The I.C.S model is currently a hypothesis and further investigation is necessary to provide additional substantiation. Of particular interest to this presentation, is the relationship between poetry, implicational meaning and feeling-tones (vedana)

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Areas for discussion and further exploration

Poetry is clearly very important in a range of contemplative traditions, both religious and secular

It is surprising therefore ( with regards to secular mindfulness and MBP’s) there is no systematic assessment of poetry available; looking at which poems should be used in certain settings and qualitative/quantitative research to assess the impact of usage

This assessment could utilise word search software that identifies keywords and relates these to aspects of MBP’s , e.g. the attitudinal foundations

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References

Barnard, P. J., & Teasdale, J. D. (1991). Interacting cognitive subsystems: A systemic approach to cognitive-affective interaction and change. Cognition & Emotion, 5(1), 1-39.

Ho, C.-h. (2008). The finger pointing toward the moon: a philosophical analysis of the Chinese Buddhist thought of reference. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 35, 159–177.

McMahan, D. L. (2008). The making of Buddhist modernism. Oxford University Press.

Fox, J. (1997). Poetic medicine: The healing art of poem-making. Tarcher/Penguin Group.

Walpert, B. (2017). Poetry and Mindfulness: Interruption to a Journey. Springer.

Tsering, T. (2005). The Four Noble Truths: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 1 (Vol. 1). Simon and Schuster.

Schiller, Friedrich. On the aesthetic education of man. Penguin UK, 2016.

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References

Sherry Jr, J. F., & Schouten, J. W. (2002). A role for poetry in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(2), 218-234.

Barrett, T., McAreavey, N., & McNutt, K. (2019). Combining Poetry and Mindfulness: Stories of Creating New Spaces in Higher Education. In Barrett T., Harris V. and Nixon G.(eds.)., Mindful Heroes: Stories of Journeys that Changed Lives. Inspired by Learning.

Keats, J., & Agbabi, P. (2004). La belle dame sans merci. ProQuest LLC.

Kempton, H. M. (2020). Use of Poetry in Secular Mindfulness Guidance. Mindfulness, 11(6), 1546-1556.

Suzuki, D. T. (2018). Mysticism: Christian and buddhist. Routledge.

Oliver, M. (2004). Wild geese. Tarset, England: Bloodaxe.

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References

Teasdale, J. D., & Chaskalson, M. (2011). How does mindfulness transform suffering? II: the transformation of dukkha. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 103-124.

2011-09-21 Mindfulness and the Transformation of Dukkha (Suffering) 52:18. Gaia House : Mindfulness,

Insight, Liberation: The Foundations of MBCT/MBSR (audio) John Teasdale.

- Mindfulness: Developing Agency in Urgent Times. 9 Nov. 2020. Jamie Bristow ; Rosie Bell

Santorelli, S. (2010). Heal thy self: Lessons on mindfulness in medicine. Harmony.

The poetry of Zen. Shambhala Publications, 2007.