Seeing in the list of suggested psychotherapeutic methods the word " thanatotherapy", I recall Greek mythology, according to which Thanatos- this is greek god of death... And in our world for death there is a certain taboo... Usually we do not talk about this either over a cup of coffee or in the home kitchen at dinner, we usually do not discuss this topic with children. And throughout life in our body, the balance of human existence is disturbed: mind - feelings - bodily sensations. The mind dominates, with the senses frozen and blocked in the body. A person controls himself, his feelings, but at a certain moment, when the power of feelings reaches its overabundance, a person loses control, " explodes"But this might not have happened - and the internal state could be stable, if a person was able to fully express his emotions through physical relaxation.
Vladimir Baskakov offered his own method of effective relaxation - thanatotherapy, or death cure. The therapy is based on total relaxation model. Thanatotherapy- This is the author's method, which includes the methods of establishing or restoring a person's contact with various types of death and dying. As a basic principle, the author of the method singles out " minimum in force and amplitude of impact"leading" to the maximum strength of feelings and experiences". Thanatotherapy is one of the most interesting methods body-oriented psychotherapy, which studies the connection of human consciousness with different types of dying.
The method of thanatotherapy allows you to solve psychological problems, heal the soul and mind of a person by bringing his energy balance back to normal. The author of the method emphasizes that thanatotherapy does not imitate death, but only simulates through symbolic representation.
Only at the moment of experiencing strong feelings, when a person ceases to control his consciousness, he is able to let go of bodily impulses. Interesting results of the use of thanatotherapy in the treatment infertility and miscarriage.
When comes death? When a person completely loses control of the body. And a person is scared to die, because in this case the body will cease to belong to him. By helping to relax the body, and therefore the psyche, the thanatotherapist simulates the death of a person. And death no longer frightens, does not cause painful experiences; you can emotionally " die"and be born again.
With the help of such exercises, you can get rid of emotional and muscle tension. Working with the lower jaw in thanatotherapy is very interesting - if you take a good breath with your chest, then the head will automatically go up, and the jaw will go down. A relaxed lower jaw is a prerequisite for relaxation of the whole body. I.e, to survive physically, you just need to be able to relax.
And such a scenario of thanatotherapy is also possible. A person comes to a therapist. What worries him?
"I don't want to live at all. Depression".
The therapist invites him to try to die, since nothing in this life pleases him, he does not want anything and his only desire is to end this life.
Death plays the role of an activator of strong feelings. The person is taken out to the field and offered to try to die. He agrees. A real coffin is rolled out of the car. In general, everything is for real. He lays down in it. The coffin is closed. They hang it on a tree and say that they will come for it in 20 hours. Everyone leaves. A man lies in a coffin.
He lies for an hour, lies for two, has already rested, as they say, changed his mind, even took a nap, if this is possible in a coffin. The coffin sways, the night draws near. It is getting harder and harder to breathe, although natural ventilation is present. A person can neither turn, nor stand up, nor sit down, legs and arms become numb, he is seized with horror and his only desire changes its direction - to live!
When a person says - " I want to die", "i don't want to live", he can imagine something from the field" not live", but he has no experience of living death. Therefore, you can talk about death, you can complain about life, say that everything is not so, or you can try to die in artificially created conditions.
What was the reaction of the person who was picked up twenty hours later?
As soon as the lid of the coffin was opened, he jumped out of the man's coffin with the words: " I love life ... I love my wife ... I have a wonderful job ... I still want to do so many things ... There are still so many places I have not been to ... Take me home soon"The man has realized the value of life.
It should be noted that in medicine there is a separate section "thanatology", who studies the state of the body at the final stage of the pathological process, the dynamics and mechanisms of dying, as well as the causes of death and the manifestation of the gradual cessation of the body's vital activity. This teaching served as the origin of such a direction in psychotherapy as thanatotherapy.
Thanatotherapy method has a powerful dynamic effect. Having experienced a simulated dying experience, a person begins to value life as such.
Thanatotherapy (from the Greek thanatos - death and therapia - care, care, treatment) is a psychotherapeutic method that gives a person the opportunity to establish the fullest possible contact with the processes of dying and death, and therapy in this case consists in providing appropriate assistance in establishing such contact (Baskakov , 2000; 2001).
Thanatotherapy as a type of body-oriented psychotherapy covers four basic psychological problems of a person: excessive control of consciousness (head), contact-feelings (chest, arms, neck), sexual relations (groin), support (legs).
Thanatotherapy simulates the process of correct, natural dying. It is based on the characteristics of the body of a person who died naturally (total relaxation, stopping control of consciousness, objectivity of the body, the so-called "biological breathing", etc.). Each reception of thanatotherapy is a complex work with the body. Below are just a few of the techniques of thanatotherapy.
3.9.1. Technique
Exercise 1. Preparatory
Group members sit in a circle. The presenter invites anyone who wants to help him demonstrate the first reception of thanatotherapy. To do this, he asks someone to come out and lie on the floor on their back in the center of the circle. Most often, those who have expressed a desire lie down so that their legs are located next to them, and their arms are along the body, with their palms down. The presenter offers to take the position of the "star" ("Vitruvius figure" by Leonardo da Vinci), with palms up.
This position ("star", or "figure of Vitruvius") is characterized by maximum ambivalence (maximum bestowal and reception, and at the same time). It is because of ambivalence, which means increased energy (the greater the "potential difference", the stronger the current), energy intensity, and the star, and the person in the "star" position, and the circle (a group of participants where inside the circle all those sitting are maximally open to each other) friend, but anyone entering from the outside meets backs) are the most commonly used magic symbols.
Exercise 2. "Body Homeopathy"
In this exercise, participants discover so-called “body homeopathy” and become familiar with one of its key principles - the principle of small doses and quantities. The founder of homeopathy, Hahnemann, formulated a principle that, in relation to thanatotherapy, can be represented as follows: the minimum in strength and amplitude of the impact lead to the maximum in strength of feelings and experiences.
In the demonstration, the partner on whom the technique is shown lies in the star position. You sit down on any of his limbs. Taking, for example, his foot in your hand, you begin to twist it smoothly and very slowly (the principle of "take your time") to the side. Note that in Russian it is difficult to find a verb denoting the described action and not reminiscent of an injury (cf. twist - twist - fold mix, for example honey. - displace bones, etc.).
To external observers, this action is completely imperceptible, while the passively perceiving it immediately notices.
This can be seen primarily by breathing (it changes) and by the tremor of the eyelashes, which are responsible in the body for control from the side of consciousness (the intensity of the tremor increases due to the increase in control). The implementation of this technique should be started after a long pause, during which the control of the consciousness of the passive perceiver, as it were, rushes to the place where the work is being done at the moment. Since nothing happens, control weakens and, as it were, leaves this place. After that, you can start pressing.
There is no time limit for this exercise, and partners switch roles after completing the cycle.
When working with a hand, it is important to draw the attention of the group members that it is you who raise the hand and bring your palm under it, and not the partner lets you raise his hand. The difference is enormous. This difference is related to the control and activity of the recumbent participant.
In work with the head, particular importance is attached to the position of the active participant in the exercise. This fit should be as stable and comfortable as possible. It is recommended to sit at the head of the person lying with legs wide apart so that his head is between them. The active participant touches one of the lying cheeks with his palm, then maintains a long pause. The face is one of the most taboo places on the human body. Only after that, smoothly and neatly, he begins to press. The exercise time is 4–5 minutes per body part.
Partners switch roles after they complete the cycle.
The exercise experience mainly concerns the sensations of polarization within the body. Often there is a feeling of the absence of one or another limb, or, conversely, the feeling of the presence of someone else's hand (despite the fact that the active participant has already started working with the other limb).
Exercise 3. "Theater of Touch"
The members of the group are divided into pairs, in which one becomes an "actor" who is actively acting, the other becomes a "spectator" who is passively perceiving. The passive participant assumes a star position. The active one sits down next to him. The stage of the theater is the body of the passive perceiver. On this stage, the "actor" presents different types of contacts: needle-like - he pointwise touches different parts of the partner's body with his fingertips; enough hard - presses with the entire surface of the palm or fist; spaced on different parts of the body - several touches at the same time in different places; different kinds "Overlap-bridges" - for example, with his hand he covers both legs of the partner.
The main condition for the correct implementation of this technique: "do not rush!"(just like that, not, for example, "do it slower"). Another important condition: the "actor" waits some time before starting the technique, and does not "pounce" on the "viewer". In this case, the body of the "viewer" seems to increase in volume - it is looking for the first touch. Only in this case, the "viewer" accepts the contact of the "actor".
The goal of the "actor" in this improvised body theater is to surprise the partner, and to surprise with the staging of the "play", its plot, and stage moves. The task of the “spectator” is one of the most difficult: not to set or solve any problems (“what concerns me?”, “Where will they touch me next time?”, Etc.).
The exercise is given 5-7 minutes, after which the partners change roles. It is advisable to accompany the exercise with meditative-relaxation music.
Comment. It concerns the end of this and all subsequent exercises. When you ask your partner to finish the exercise (and you immediately suggest that he take his time, stay still in this state), your partner, with rare exceptions, ends it in a standard and completely wrong way. He tightens his abdominal muscles and tries to get up and sit up straight from the prone position. The correct ending is at first turning the body on its side and only then lifting. This is exactly what the smallest children do, mastering a body that is still disobedient to their will - more objective, passive, relaxed.
Exercise 4. Sequence of supports
Your partner is in the star position. The palms are facing up (small children just lie there - they are as open as possible to the world, and only adults "grab" the ground). You bring your palm under the partner's lying hand and gently and gently, slowly, begin to lift, tear it off the floor. The forearm and shoulder are on the floor. In this case, the weight of the hand "flows" down into the ground. The hand relaxes, assumes a position in which it seems to rest on the wrist and, as a result, becomes heavier. As a result, the hand acquires its own subjective weight, which is clearly different from the usual one associated with a stressed or active state. The increase in weight of a particular part of the body while working with the body is a reliable indicator of the relaxation of that part.
Having relaxed the hand in this way, you can move on to the forearm. While gently holding your hand, lift your forearm by grasping it by the wrist. The weight of the forearm, as it were, "flows" down and through the elbow goes into the floor, into the ground. The forearm relaxes. Use smooth flexion-extension and rotational movements of the forearm, trying to make the rotational figures unrecognizable to your partner. Otherwise, he will begin to perform the recognized movement himself, connect his own activity, which will immediately affect the weight of the forearm and hand. They will become lighter. It is convenient to trace the problem of constant control from the side of consciousness in the performed manipulations with the hand using the example of special points. Holding the partner's forearm by the wrist (the hand hangs down freely, the forearm rests on the elbow), you smoothly and again with a minimum amplitude move the forearm to the point when the hand (purely anatomically) should, as it were, "roll over".
Do not hurry! After reaching this point, switch to the body homeopathy mode - use the minimum range of motion. You will find that the hand, previously as if it was as relaxed as possible, will begin to carry out "prowling" movements, trying to "throw" on its own. At the moment the hand approaches this point, the lying person experiences tremendous discomfort associated with the loss of the hand from the control zone.
Continue the exercise. Raise your hand by the wrist - lift your elbow off the floor and bring your palm under it. Perform smooth and accurate manipulations with your partner's hand - the hand seems to float in the air.
Continuing the manipulations with the hand, check, as in the previous case, the point of inflection of the hand. It is noticeable that control is more difficult in this case.
Finish the exercise.
Move to the leg. Bring your hand under the knee bend and begin to smoothly and gently lift the knee up. Your partner's heel slides across the floor. In this case, contact with the ground is maintained, with the support (which is especially important when working with legs). Raising your knee (while lifting the foot off the floor), bring your palm under the foot. The foot has found support in the palm of your hand.
Carry out neat smooth flexion-extension and rotational movements of the leg, each time modifying their pattern. Feel the difference in the weight of your leg. Watch your breath and eyelashes, noting general relaxation and control work.
Finish the exercise. Lower your foot to the floor, keeping your leg with one hand under the knee bend. With a light effort of the other hand, help to straighten your leg, the foot and heel slide along the floor. Do not hurry! Allow your leg to slowly straighten out, as if under its own weight.
Go to the head. Sit back more comfortably. Raise your head gently, bringing your palms underneath. Just hold your head in your palms for a few minutes, paying attention to your breathing and eyelashes. Begin to smooth head bends forward-backward, right-left and rocking-rotations. Monitor the tension in your neck muscles.
The time allotted for the entire cycle is 15–20 minutes.
Exercise 5. Attach
Your partner assumes a star position while lying on their back. You sit down on one of his limbs, for example, a hand, and take it in your hands. Use a wrist grip. In this case, and not when, for example, partners hold on to their hands, as in a handshake, the social context is largely leveled out (“help me!”).
Smoothly raising your partner's hand above the floor, you very slowly and carefully (the conditions of the previous techniques - “do not rush!” And “minimal in strength and amplitude of impact” - are preserved) begin to pull it towards yourself. Stretching is done with your back - like rowing on a boat. Your arms are straight, which means they do not shake and therefore do not force your partner to strain and worry about you. Try to focus completely on this exercise. This is easy to do if you pay attention to the changes that occur in the partner's body - the hand becomes "telescopic", breathing changes and much more.
You keep extending your hand; often your partner wants you to move him. If you guess this desire - be sure to realize it. When these conditions are met, your partner may not experience pain, but you immediately stop performing the movement as soon as your partner complains of pain. So you made a mistake.
By stretching the partner's body as much as possible or pushing it out of place, you stop the execution for a short time and very smoothly return the partner's hand and body to their place. After that, stretch out his leg and head in a similar way.
The time allotted for the entire cycle is 15–20 minutes.
Exercise 6. Final Element
This exercise is a kind of "assembly" of all the above-mentioned principles and techniques of thanatotherapy.
Your partner is lying on their back. Legs together. Hands to the side.
You sit next to one of the arms, bend over your partner, take his hand, which is on the other side of the body, in yours and gently bring it to you. Now sit more firmly, spread your legs, thus forming an angle. The extended arm is the bisector of this angle. Pull with your back. The partner's upper body begins to twist with a "screw". Make sure that your pulling force is even, do not jerk your hand, do not rush.
The correctness of this exercise involves the sequential inclusion of segments of the partner's body. So, the thigh begins to lift off the floor and rise to the top point only as a result of the rotational movement of the upper body. If we see that the thigh is making independent attempts to rise, then it is necessary to stop stretching for a while, moreover, to slightly weaken the partner's hand so that the thigh drops, and thus indicate an error.
After the hip reaches the maximum upper point, one of your hands should be placed on the floor - in order to insure the thigh fall. The task here is twofold: on the one hand, it is to give the hip and torso a "flight" at the moment the hip falls, on the other hand, to protect the hip from hitting the floor.
The partner is now face down. The arm that you pulled is free, the other is bent and is under the chest. Take your free hand and move it to the side and back. Sit comfortably and firmly with your legs apart; Smoothly and with a minimum amplitude, extend your hand towards you. Let your partner's arm rotate. If the technique is performed correctly, joint pain is excluded, but you immediately stop the movement in case of pain. Continue the pulling motion. Notice that the knee on the same side as the arm is pulled towards the chest. As soon as the hip reaches the top point, place one of your arms next to your torso, ensuring the "flight" and safety of the thigh fall. The well-relaxed body of the partner in the final phase of this exercise becomes, as it were, "jelly-like".
Exercise 7. Initiation of natural death
Initiation takes place in groups of 5-6 people. This requires a darkened, well-ventilated room. The nature of the musical accompaniment, the preliminary preparation of the participant (initiate) and the group as a whole are significant issues that affect the result of both the exercise and thanato therapy as a whole.
The participant lies on his back in a star position. The group is located around. After turning on the music, but after waiting for the pause necessary for the first contact, the group begins to work. Each participant performs any of the four basic exercises and works with the part of the body or limb with which he wants to work. The change of techniques and body parts within the group is arbitrary. At the same time, the participants do not agree among themselves who is responsible for what, and do not coordinate their actions.
At about 10-15 minutes, the initiate enters a deep altered (trance) state. Cooling of the extremities is noted, their weight increases significantly, the nature of breathing changes.
At the 15-20th minute, the group exerts pressure - a kind of "press". Two participants lie down so that they cover the body of the initiate with themselves.
The remaining 2-3 participants lie on top of this kind of "platform". Everyone is as relaxed as possible.
At this point, the initiate, as a rule, does not perceive the severity of the people lying on him.
The group members maintain this position for 2-3 minutes, after which they carefully release the load, as if "opening" the body of the initiate. They grab his limbs (while holding his head), lift (lift the body off the floor) and turn it 90 degrees in the air (cross) and carefully lay it on the floor. Participants say goodbye to the initiate and walk away from him (you can cover him with a blanket). After 15–20 minutes, you can start the procedures for bringing him out of trance, using standard techniques: massage the “third eye” and stomach, call by name, give sufficient weighty arguments to “return”.
- The energies must be balanced. If there is tension, relaxation should replace it. Thanatotherapy helps to achieve this balance.
- We do not know how to relax, our rhythm of life does not allow us to do this. But this can be learned.
- Thanatotherapy relieves the fear of death. The ability to accept your death eliminates many psychological problems.
I think everyone who has successfully attended the training at least once will agree with me: it is impossible to get such a volume of feelings, thoughts, images and just pure energy in everyday life. Well, perhaps doing extreme tourism. Anyway, one day I realized that I miss the band. It was time to go somewhere. But where? I turned to a psychologist I knew. “Go to Baskakov. Maybe you will like it. " What does "maybe" mean?
Vladimir Baskakov conducts trainings on thanatotherapy. Oh, there it is! Death cure ...
"Are they buried in the ground?" I asked cautiously. "Not! - my friend winced. - Those who bury them are impostors. And Baskakov is the creator of the original method. "
It turned out that thanatotherapy is a section of body psychotherapy. And that thanatotherapist Baskakov once served in the navy. Submariner. For some mysterious reason, this calmed me down.
And one fine autumn day I signed up for a training. I was also pleased that I was not asked for prepayment. “At the end of the day, give it back,” the mustachioed man waved his hand, in whom the presenter was guessed. "Excellent! - I thought. “If you don’t like it, I’ll run away!” And she stayed.
“Our entire civilization is built on yang energy,” the presenter addressed all of us, who sat in a circle on “foams”. - We are all in a hurry, trying to become the best, conquer, capture, achieve ... "
“It's like trying to constantly inhale and not exhale. Try it, maybe it will work? "
The circle laughed.
“You see, you understand that this is impossible. The energies must be balanced. If there is tension, relaxation should replace it. We will now try to work with yin energy. "
I began to recall everything that I know about the two types of energy in traditional Chinese philosophy ... However, at the beginning Baskakov warned that he was not going to state a theory, but was using different terms to indicate the direction of his thought.
In life, of course, we will not achieve such a degree of relaxation. But we can get closer
“How does a massage therapist usually work? - he depicted exaggerated, energetic movements. - So that he gets tired and sweats, and pieces of flesh fly from the client in all directions. This is yang. We will do something else ... But I need a volunteer. "
Everyone hesitated. Then I thought that since I had come ... and raised my hand.
“Lie down,” the host invited, pointing to the center of the circle. "And what to do?" - "Nothing, just lie down."
And then it turned out that my body does not share my determination. It would seem that difficult - lie down and do nothing. But laying in front of everyone, I felt extremely uncomfortable. To get rid of the stiffness, I took the most relaxed position: I stretched out on my back, threw my hands behind my head, and stared at the ceiling.
“Of course, it’s impossible to work with such a client,” said the voice of the host over me. - Look, the whole body is clamped. Legs are crossed, arms are crossed ... "
Blimey! And I thought ... I unbound my legs and stretched my arms along my body. Will he be satisfied now? After all, I'm in the classic shavasana - yoga pose for relaxation. The presenter seemed to have heard my thoughts.
You can die in any position, which means you can relax in any position
“Savasana,” he said, “the pose of a corpse. But you know what? After all, the dead do not lie like that. Then they are laid like that. And sometimes they fold their arms over their chest ... (I will not succumb to the provocation! - I decided and did not move.) ... and they close their eyes, giving the appearance of a sleeping person. This is a way to avoid thoughts of death, to pretend that the person has just fallen asleep ... And the real posture of a corpse is the most open posture, with outstretched arms and legs ... "
"Vitruvian man, like in Da Vinci's drawing?" - clarified someone from the circle. "About. Death is maximum relaxation. Eyes open, lower jaw drooped ... ”By restrained chuckles, I realized that the presenter was showing how it looked. “So if you meet someone like this, know that this is our person! After thanatotherapy ... "
The laughter intensified. (I never thought talking about death could be so fun.)
“Of course, we will not achieve such a degree of relaxation in life. But we can get closer ... Only you breathe, please. And you breathe too, ”he turned to me, and I realized that I was holding my breath ...
Many of the exercises began with presence, which felt strangely even when there was no body contact.
That is, before they touched me, I felt the warmth of an approaching hand. There were other exercises, "yang". For example, one of the training participants went to bed, pretending to be a dead person, and four tried to "stir" him up without using their hands, for example, to say something to make him laugh.
All my life I considered myself an introvert - and then it turned out that it is not so easy for me to withdraw into myself! Oddly enough, it was easier to renounce not words, but from physical impact: in another exercise, the other four people pushed me, pinched and tickled me while I sank into something deep with my eyes closed, leaving my body on a distant surface.
... Large photographs are passed from hand to hand in a circle: a mountain climber frozen in the mountains sits, leaning against a stone; the yellow-white body of the Dalai Lama, which turned out to be incorruptible ... There is silence, and suddenly the girl next to me can not stand: “How much can you ?! Why are you showing us all this? " After a short pause, several voices are heard at once: “What's wrong with that? If you don’t like it, don’t look. And I'm curious! "
Four people pushed me, pinched and tickled me, while with my eyes closed I plunged into something deep
I wonder what the presenter will do. Asks the girl, as is often asked in groups: “What do you feel?”. But he answers her directly to the question posed:
“I have two goals. I want you to see that the real death looks very different from the fake one that is shown on the screens every day. And it makes a completely different impression. What - you just felt it. The second goal is to see how quickly you can switch, regain balance. "
Yes, a meeting with death (even in the photo) can unsettle. But how to restore balance? In confusion, I look around the circle and see that everyone is looking at each other. In the meantime, the photographs return to the presenter, he calmly puts them aside.
"Are there any other questions? If not, lunch break! "
And wow, everyone immediately rises, begins to talk as if nothing had happened, to collect things ... Well, lunch is contact with food, with your own body. Maybe this is the restoration of balance?
I had tried a lot in those two days and was slowly proud of my openness to new experiences and my ability to switch. But on this exercise, I felt that somewhere inside me there is a line that I am afraid to cross. It was called innocently - "Flying Carpet". I chose Irina as a couple - a short, red-haired woman who, in some ways, it seemed to me, was similar to me.
First, all the participants took their places - and I was already looking forward to how I would lie down and close my eyes and feel some more unusual things ... But then it turned out that our “flying carpet” was going to fly through a dangerous area where only one could survive "Flyer". We had to decide which of the two.
“I feel confused, I don’t know what to do,” I said to Irina. "I know!" - She resolutely responded and pushed me in the shoulder.
And then, one after another, three quick thoughts came to my mind. First: our forces are approximately equal, not the fact that I will be able to push her. Second, instead, I can pull her ankles so that she falls. Third: perhaps, falling, Irina will hurt her head. And then she drove her elbow into my chest. And I decided - no, it's a game after all. She is neither worth my chest nor the back of her head. And I got off the rug.
There was another unexpected result: I began to fall asleep remarkably easily.
When the exercise was over and everyone sat in a circle, the presenter asked: "Well, who died?"
“I am,” the young man replied. "I couldn't push the woman."
"And we hugged to be like one person!" - Two girls happily responded.
“So,” said Baskakov, “we have three dead people. Who else?"
I raised my hand.
So I don't know - maybe I was deceiving myself that time? Maybe I just don't have enough will to live? And I also remember that fleeting chill when I raised my hand ... and a strange feeling of freedom: yes, she died - and now what can you take from me?
I went to thanatotherapy not for the sake of therapy, but for the sake of the group. And she got what she wanted: it was a real adventure. But there was another unexpected result: I began to fall asleep remarkably easily. I remember how one day I toiled on a bus excursion with long journeys. And recently I flew for eight hours and slept half the time, although the chair cannot be called the most comfortable bed in the world.
My method may sound grim, but it works for me.
I think this: uncomfortable position? But you can die in any position, right? This means that you can relax in any position. And I relax - and wake up at a different point in time.
"To live, we need to be able to easily return to a state of balance"
Vladimir Baskakov, thanatotherapist
Psychologies:
Why did you become interested in death as a psychologist?
I remember how and when it started. In Odessa, I was 5 years old. And suddenly I realized that I was going to die. The realization overwhelmed me so powerfully that I cried all night long. I was scared, but even more offended.
It's all over - it's such an injustice! And I decided to conquer death. First, I wanted to become a doctor. Parents were afraid to walk past pharmacies - I immediately demanded to buy the largest and most brilliant (as I understand now, it was a syringe for gastric lavage).
Then I realized that medicine does not cancel death. Then I thought about immortality. And I decided to become a psychologist.
Why can't you not think about it at all?
He who displaces the reality of death from his consciousness deprives himself of vitality. Life and death are connected, like inhalation and exhalation, meeting and farewell. If we don't say goodbye, we won't have our next meeting. If we cannot exhale, there will be no inhalation. Trying not to think about death, we freeze, freeze - and our life stops. Remember what yin and yang look like? There is a black dot in the center of the white. And vice versa. By maximizing one component, we find ourselves at the point of another.
Life begins in the center of death. And it is important to understand this in order to feel the balance. This is one of the key concepts in thanatotherapy.
We believe that at the heart of all psychological problems and somatic diseases is a disturbed balance of activity and passivity. If the balance is imbalanced, the person becomes unstable. Something constantly throws us out of balance - stress, microbes, various events.
To live, we must easily return to a state of balance, be stable. Like a tumbler that returns to the point of balance, no matter how you push it in different directions.
What is the purpose of thanatotherapy?
They say that the sight of the abyss causes despair for some, while for others the desire to build a bridge. My task is to prevent people from falling into despair. Thinking about death, many people imagine a long, painful extinction, helplessness, illness, suffering. Why, I wonder? IN
When the clock stops, it happens in one second. Arrows don't fight in agony. How does a candle go out? This is what the right death looks like. This is an easy death, at the peak of health.
In traditional culture, people had a presentiment of their term long in advance, sometimes years. And they calmly prepared, realizing that this event was a part of life, its natural end, and not something terrible and hostile. We have lost this culture, but it can be restored.
In the classroom, we create such conditions in which you can safely come into contact with the thought of your mortality. There are four types of psychological problems that we solve through bodywork.
- The problem of excess control is the head in bodily projection.
- Loss of contact is the area of the chest and arms.
- Sexual intercourse is the groin area.
- The problem of support, stability - legs and feet.
How does this happen? Talking about it is useless, you can only try and do it.
