Acem Meditation develops inner strength and expands inner freedom.
But the profound psychological changes it entails are not accomplished without resistance.
Fundamental personality changes can be effected through Acem Meditation, enhancing the practitioner's perceptions, emotions, behaviour and bodily life. These transformations go beyond the 'feel-good' improvements promised by many growth-oriented schools, but they happen slowly and incrementally. Personality development is a gradual process, and not always a straightforward one; it may involve confrontation with essential aspects of ourselves and our basic existential assumptions.
Acem Meditation is a technique that enables us to overcome inner resistance to change and, with perseverance and a long-term perspective, to fulfil deep-rooted yearnings for a better life.
Acem Meditation affords deep relaxation and a liberated state of mind. This initiates the process of change, but unresolved inner issues may subsequently interfere with or distort certain aspects of meditation practice and impede personal progress. Reduced relaxation and satisfaction from meditation often occur when a breakthrough is imminent, but often people do not realize this, and respond to their difficulties either by concentrating, which is counterproductive, or by ceasing to meditate regularly. The most constructive response is to discuss these experiences with a guide, who will provide clarification, encouragement and reassurance. As problems are explored, mental equilibrium and freedom will be restored, fostering further development.
Regular meditation and a willingness to work with one's practice are essential to the process of transition. With perseverance, the benefits achieved during meditation will spread to our everyday lives. During Acem Meditation our spontaneous mental activities often appear disjointed, but there are emotional and cognitive patterns in the chaos, and thoughts and feelings eventually tend to converge towards basic themes. If we continue to meditate regularly and to seek to improve, pockets of hidden anxiety, depression, anger, sorrow or restlessness may surface, as may images and fragments from the past. Meditators frequently become discouraged, and critical of their own practice, jumping to the conclusion that they are no good at meditating, or that meditation is not good for them.
Many of the persistent psychological structures that are activated during Acem Meditation are connected to the superego and revolve around child-parent conflicts dating back a very long time. Consciously concentrating on overcoming such obstacles, or else lapsing into irregular habits of meditation, does not help the practitioner to resolve these problems. The solution lies partly in daily half-hour periods of Acem Meditation at home, and partly in Acem retreats involving lengthy meditations and personal guidance.
One of Acem's most important contributions has been to develop a systematic psychology of meditation incorporating concepts and principles that help meditators to further their own growth. The advice, clarification and support provided by guides, along with the opportunities for extended meditation, are invaluable to the personality development that is one of the long-term objectives of Acem Meditation.