培育念力 面對壓力、痛苦和疾病

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_54e08d74010096ga.html

Jon Kabat-Zinn博士在「正念減壓療程」（Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction）這一領域享有盛譽。他於1979年在美國麻省大學醫學中心(University of Massachusetts Medical Center)附屬「減壓門診」(Stress Reduction Clinic）開創「減壓與放鬆療程」(Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program，簡稱SR&RP)。

在《完全失敗的生活——如何運用念力處理壓力、痛苦和疾病》（Full Catastrophe Living -How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation）一書序言中，Kabat-Zinn引用了小說Zorba the Greek的一段對白：

Zorba的一位年輕朋友問他：「Zorba，你結婚了嗎？」

Zorba回答說：「我不是男人嗎？我當然結婚了。妻子，房子，孩子，所有的東西……完全的失敗！」

"Zorba, have you ever been married?" to which Zorba replies(paraphasing somewhat)"Am I not a man? Of course I've been married. Wife, house, kinds, everything... the full catastrophe!"

Kabat-Zinn接著說，「完全的失敗在這裡並不是悲歎，也不意味著結婚或有孩子是失敗。Zaoba的反應包含著對生活豐富性以及隨之而來的各種兩難問題、悲傷、災難無比的欣賞。他的方式是在完全失敗的巨風中「舞蹈」，慶祝生命，隨之歡笑，笑他自己，即使是在個人遭遇失敗和挫折的時候。這樣，他從不陷於沉重太久，也不會被世界或他自己的傻念頭徹底的擊敗。」

(It was not meant to be a lament, nor does it mean that being married or having children is a catastrophe. Zorba's response embodies a supreme appreciation for the richness of life and the inevitability of all its dilemmas, sorrows, tragedies, and ironies. His way is to "dance" in the gale of the full catastrophe, to celebrate life, to laugh with it and at himself, even in the face of personal failure and defeat. In doing so, he is never weighed down for long, never ultimately defeated either by the world or by his own considerable folly.)

「Catastrophe（英文意為災禍、慘敗等）在這裡是指我們辛酸的人生經歷，既包括危機、災難，也包括所有小的挫折。這個詞語提醒我們生活總是在流動之中，所有我們認為常在的事物實際上都是臨時的、不斷變化。這包括我們的想法、意見、社會關係、工作、財產、創造、身體，所有的東西。」

(Catastrophe here means the poignant enormity of our life experience. It includes crises and disaster but also all the little things that go wrong and that add up. The phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent is actually only temporary and constantly changing. This includes our ideas, our opinions, our relationships, our jobs, our possessions, our creations, our bodies, everything.)

Kabat-Zinn認為：「壓力的問題並不存在簡單快速的解決辦法。從根本上，它是人類生存的自然組成部分。然而，有些人試圖通過退縮來迴避，另一些人則通過這樣那樣的自我麻醉來逃避。當然，避免不必要的痛苦和磨難是明智的。但一旦逃避成為了我們面對問題的習慣性方式，問題只會成倍的增長。它們不會神奇地消失。消失的，或被埋沒的，只會是我們成長、改變和痊癒的能力。而面對我們的問題通常是超越它們的唯一方式。」

(The problem of stress does not admit to simpleminded solutions or quick fixes. At root, stress is a natural part of living from which there is no more escape than from the human condition itself. Yet some people try to avoid stress by walling themselves off from life experience; others attempt to anesthetize themselves one way or another to escape it. Of course, it is only sensible to avoid undergoing unnecessary pain and hardship. Certainly we all need to distance ourselves from our troubles now and again. But if escape and avoidance become our habitual ways of dealing with our problems, the problems just multiply. They don't magically go away. What does go away, or get covered when we tuned out our problems or run away from them, is our power to grow and to change and to heal. When it comes right down to it, facing our problems is usually the only way to past them.)

「控制是處理問題和壓力的核心。這個世界上有許多力量的運作完全在我們的控制之外，另外一些我們有時認為在控制之外的實則不然。在很大程度上，我們影響環境的能力有賴於我們如何看事情。我們關於自己和自身能力的信念，以及關於世界以及各種力量的信念，都影響我們將發現什麼是可能的。我們如何看事情影響了我們可以擁有多少能量來處理事情以及選擇如何運用我們的能量。」

(The issue of control is central to coping with problems and with stress. There are many forces at work in the world that are totally beyond our control and others that we sometimes think are beyond our control but really aren't. To a great extent, our ability to influence our circumstances depends on how we see things. Our beliefs about ourselves and about our own capabilities as well as how we see the world and the forces at play in it all affect what we will find possible. How we see things affects how much energy we have for doing things and our choices about where to channel what energy we do have.)

「在上述例子中（書中提到的『減壓與放鬆療程』的事例），每個人都迎接我們給予他們的挑戰：在生活中，彷彿每一刻都是重要的，有價值的，可以工作的，即使這一刻是痛苦、悲傷、絕望或恐懼。這裡「工作」最重要的含義是經常、自律練習覺察每一個當下（念力），完全地「擁有」你經歷的每一個時刻，好、壞、或醜陋的。這就是完全失敗生活的核心。」

（In the above examples each person took up the challenge we extended to them to live life as if each moment was important, as if each moment counted and could be worked with , even if it was a moment of pain, sadness, despair, or fear. This "work" involves above all the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment awareness or mindfulness, the complete "owning" of each moment of your experience, good, bad, or ugly. This the essence of full catastrophe living.）

為什麼念力的意義很重大呢？Kabat-Zinn解釋說：「在對外部世界和內在體驗做出機械反應時，我們無意中浪費了大量的能量。培育念力意味著學習開發和聚集我們浪費的能量。由此，我們學著平靜下來，並足以進入和沉浸在深深的放鬆狀態。這滋養和重塑了身心。與此同時，它使我們較為容易看清我們實際的生活方式，以及如何調整來改善我們的健康和生活品質。此外，它還幫助更有效地運用我們的能量，不論是緊張的情境中，還是我們認為自己受到威脅或感到無助。這個能量來自我們內部，因此總是在可獲得的範圍之內。」

（We routinely and unknowingly waste enormous amounts of energy in reacting automatically and unconsciously to the outside world and to our own inner experiences. Cultivating mindfulness means learning to tap and focus our own wasted energies. In doing so, we learn to calm down enough to enter and dwell in states of deep relaxation. This nourishes and restores body and mind. At the same time it makes it easier for us to see with greater clarity the way we actually live and therefore how to make changes to enhance our health and the quality of our life. In addition it helps us to channel our energy more effectively in stressful situations, or when we are feeling threatened or helpless. This energy comes from inside us and is therefore always within our reach and potential control.）

「培養念力將引領你在自身中發現放鬆、平靜和洞察力。彷彿你將進入一個新的區域，先前不為你所知或懷疑存在的，然而，那裡流淌著積極能量將深化你的自我理解和自我痊癒。到達那裡是容易的：可以在任何時刻，距離不會遠過你的身心和呼吸，而且它的大門總是敞開的。它總在那裡，不論你有何問題。不論你面對的是心臟病、癌症的病痛或只是壓力很大的生活，它的能量對你有極大的價值。」

（Cultivating mindfulness can lead to the discovery of deep realms of relaxation, calmness, and insight within yourself. It is as if you were to come upon a new territory, prviously unknown to you or only vaguely suspected, which contains a veritable wellspring of positive energy for self understanding and healing. Moreover it is easy to get to this territory. The path to it in any moment lies no farther than your own body and mind and your own breathing. And this territory is always accessible. It is always here, independent of your problems. Whether ou are facing heart disease or cancer of pain or just a very stressful life, its energies can be of great value to you.）