Zinrainder

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), developed by Marsha Linehan, is the most evidence based treatment for suicide and self harm.  Linehan, a devout Catholic, developed DBT under the influence of Christian contemplative prayer.  In my research on this tradition, I discovered that the type of meditation I practice is called kenosis, a Greek word meaning “to empty,” as when God emptied of divinity to become fully human as Christ the redeemer.   This idea shows up elsewhere in the Christian tradition:  The process of emptying one’s self of all truths (which is objectivity) in order to become fully other (subjectivity) is what I believe Kierkegaard meant by the term inwardness.  How indeed does the individual manage each step as a situated being confronted with their own token Moriah?   And if, as Kierkegaard and Linehan both suggest, it is indeed the task of a lifetime, how can one ever hope to discriminate the existence of the definitionally non-existent?  And yet we do.  Is this perhaps what the prior Saul meant with the ministry Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind … Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good … ?

see this article for more on kenosis and mindfulness meditation: Gentle Space-Making: Christian Silent Prayer, Mindfulness, and Kenotic Identity Formation