Everything we do in life carries risk. More prosaically, we could also say that anything worthwhile carries a risk.
In this article, we will explore the risks in a particular kind of inner work, and the way that the Odoki Method mitigates these risks.
This article is intended more for people who have already begun engaging with the Method, to help them make informed choices about which direction to take their Inquiry practice.
Odoki Method has six stages:
- Regulation: here we learn how to handle hyperarousal any trauma states we might experience and bring ourselves back to a basic regulated state. For some, this stage won’t be relevant.
- Attention: here we learn to pay a basic attention to experience, without following proliferative thought.
- Attitude: here we notice that the attitude we bring to bear on experience has a significant impact on the experience, and that we can influence that attitude
- Narrative self: here we learn about how we construct our sense of self and how judgemental inner talk is optional
- Reactivity: here we discover that reactivity - wanting things to be a certain way, or similarly not wanting, doesn’t actually change things, and is also optional. Letting these desires go can come as a huge relief.
- Completion: here we optionally explore a final set of inquiries that go deeper into our sense of identity and how that leads to discomfort and suffering.
These six stages can be grouped into two phases, of three stages each. Some people will be happy and content with the exploration of these first three stages - there is enough richness there to bring about significant changes in one’s life.
Others will, however, want to go further. But before deciding, it helps to understand something of what this might involve, and what the risks involved might be.
In all stages we are exploring the relationship between concepts and sensation (concept and affect). In the first three stages, we explore this in general. In the second three stages, we seek out particular ways in which we form concepts, particularly around our sense of identity.
Whilst the first three stages of the Method can be deeply valuable in themselves, they were actually conceived to ensure safety when progressing towards the second phase of the Method.
In this second phase, we will go looking for some likely deeply held views and assumptions. When we see these for what they are (i.e. assumptions not truths), this will be a new experience to our brain that it needs to interpret. As well as the views themselves, how the brain responds to this discovery is also constructed. Based upon prior experience this is not in itself a given as it depends on how our brain approaches new experiences in general.
If our approach to new experience is negative (“Oh no, not XYZ again”), then the outcomes of second phase inquiry will likely be experienced as negative. There’s even a name for this: the “Dark Night of the Soul”. However, if our approach to the new experience is positive (“Oh, this is interesting, I wonder what this means?”), then the experience will be rich and meaningful. This, hopefully, demonstrates the importance of the previous three stages, most notably stage 3.
What sorts of issues might we experience? We’ve already mentioned the Dark Night of the Soul: if we deconstruct identity without sufficient positivity, it can lead to something of a nihilistic downward spiral. Besides the first three stages, it is also the responsibility of your guide to steer you away from this particular risk. Whilst a clear risk from badly framed practices, the Odoki Method is specifically designed to avoid this occurrence.
Beyond this, given that we are deconstructing some deep parts of our experience, there are other, smaller impacts that this practice can have.
For some people, their recollection and memory is based upon anxiety. If we undermine the anxiety, their ability to remember in day-to-day life can be impacted. This may then involve some relearning. There’s also a rare possibility in stage six inquiries, when exploring perception, where vision can switch to 2D. This can be disconcerting, but typically reverts back after a short period.
For stage five particularly, this explores deep drives that commonly underlie our sexuality. It can thus impact our relationships. Thus, clients are, at this stage, encouraged to discuss their Odoki Method practice with any partners or spouses, so that they can be prepared for any changes that might occur. Without this, a partner might themselves view a change in their partner as reflecting negatively upon themselves. This would be unfortunate, and is totally unnecessary.
Clearly, with this much potential change, we could say that it is important to have some “wobble room” in our lives. If we are back to back, it might not be the best time to work on this second stage: we need some capacity in our lives to handle the process of adjusting our sense of the world. This doesn’t mean behing 100% free, just having some time (the odd 30mins here and there, and a low enough level of stress) to reflect on what is happening.
With all this risk, one might begin to question the value of the method, so let’s finish by turning our attention back to the positive benefits.
For so many of us, our lives are dominated by a never-ending mental chatter - a constant internal dialogue attempting to identify whether we are, in fact, good enough. This can be incessant, judgemental, and exhausting. It is a true delight when it stops. The mind is quieter, more spacious, and all the things that we assumed the chatter was necessary for still seem to happen!
Beyond this chatter, we still keep trying to mould the world into a shape where we will only experience happiness or pleasure - we try to pull things towards us that will bring pleasure, and push away things that will bring pain. This too can be exhausting, and honestly, it never really works. Once this pushing and pulling stops, we can experience another level of quietness. Firstly, the craziness of life no longer ruffles us in the same way (e.g. we’re no longer wound up when people cut us up driving, or if we are, it dissipates within seconds). But over time, we generally stop creating situations where the craziness of life can occur. Life gets simpler, and with this simplicity typically comes more natural pleasure and enjoyment, the very pleasure we were seeking previously, along with an appreciation that pleasure cannot be experienced all the time.
The further we go with this Inquiry, we can move towards a deeper and deeper resilience. Wherever life throws at us, we can handle. We now experience a deep wellbeing, one that is independent of external circumstances.