In psychology, there is the term, “defense mechanism”:
“Any of various usually unconscious mental processes, including denial, projection, rationalization, and repression, that protect the ego from shame, anxiety, conflict, loss of self-esteem, or other unacceptable feelings or thoughts.”
Doubtless this mental mechanism has been recognized in many other terms as well through the ages, perhaps most simply as “stubborn attitudes”, which is as good a way of saying it as any, in terms of being the most universally recognizable attribute of this type of frequently repeated automatic responding to various things a person encounters.
It can be frustrating and exhausting to encounter these “stubborn attitudes” in other people, in which case it is so much more obvious how illogical, and how mentally confining these are for a being. What we have great difficulty realizing is how heavily stocked most, if not all of us are with these mentally and spiritually crippling mechanisms.
Understanding the specific composition, function, and mechanics of a Stubbornly Held Protective Attitude (“SHPA”)
First, there is the most visible, surface characteristic that identifies this attitude:
It imposes an energy that deflects and closes the door on connecting with and permeating something. It is a resistance to something, expressed essentially as: “I want no part of that.”
Think of it as the sound of a heavy metal door closing; a formidable resistance, a firm, resolute “I won’t go there.”
It’s a rigid and obstinate knee-jerk response, and it is not too hard to tell that at this moment, the being is not really present; they are substituting a rigid attitude in place of their presence.
Just behind this thought-energy shield that is being presented lies a state of anxiety and/or confusion, so intense at times that it is palpable. They can’t “go there”; they don’t dare, because something about that subject is related to something in that person’s mind that for them is dangerous and overwhelming.
In fact, the very energy that powers the resistance in that Stubbornly Held Protective Attitude is the energy of some dangerous and overwhelming experience(s) involving that subject which is now being resisted through that attitude. The recognition of this being the very substance of that attitude is a very important breakthrough, which opens up new possibilities in thoroughly and effectively deconstructing the particularly daunting spiritual architecture of the Stubbornly Held Protective Attitude (SHPA).
The basic technique is to invite the person to recognize, and consciously and rationally examine and re-evaluate the particular attitude”. By asking precise and specific questions that bring this about, for example, bits and pieces of the energy holding that wall of resistance in place bleed out as expressions of the energy of the emotional pain and fear of the underlying prior overwhelming experience(s), which then allows the for the opportunity to guide the participant to successfully spiritually digest that energy and be done with it. The apparent “solid wall” is successfully being dis-integrated.
Processing the stubbornly held protective attitude can expose the being to the underlying feelings of fear and pain, and these will, in fact, bleed through in addressing it, and so it is essential to address these as they become available in penetrating the “shield” of the protective attitude, and so part of the work to be done here is the processing of those underlying items.
And beyond even that, there is the more basic level to all such negative spiritual architectures. All negative spiritual material is such because it sits in opposition to a being’s natural passion and drives of some positive aspiration. All negative spiritual architecture actually derives its energy from the underlying positive aspiration. All negatively charged spiritual constructs are in fact composed of the energy of one’s positive drive, turned back against itself, and thus converted to the negative.
And therefore, fully successful addressing of any Stubbornly Held Protective Attitude must include both the processing of the negatively charged material that the SHPA is intended to shield the individual from and then, the positive processing, i.e., rehabilitation of the foundation of one’s positive aspiration. In fact, this is part of fully addressing and resolving of any and all negative material of any kind, not just one’s Stubbornly Held Protective Attitudes.
One more thing: The mechanics of this particular spiritual architecture have no doubt confounded counselors and therapists of all stripes because one of its characteristics is to hold in place or put back in place conditions of negative emotional character and related dysfunctions. When some personal issue appears to be resolved, and “comes back”, there is always an underlying Stubbornly Held Protective Attitude behind it, reinforcing that condition.