Hi garyrh,
Thanks for clarifying. The psychoanalytic model does show some parallels to the process of awakening. The idea of plunging the depths of the unconscious to gain insight in to one's reality is somewhat analogous to this thing we're doing. The reason I am reluctant to validate this way of talking about awakening is because people already tend to see meditation as an opportunity to work on their "stuff" (i.e. the content of their experience). The unconscious mind is FULL of content, and it definitely bubbles up the surface during meditation. But without applying an experiential understanding of the characteristics of the content, "insight", as is used in the context of awakening, will not be attained. That's how I see it, and maybe I'm still misunderstanding you. If so, that's all right

I never meant to say that you were way off, or that the idea doesn't make sense. Even if you understand the difference, I hate for others to confuse insight practice with the psychoanalytic process. I wouldn't want someone to think that they could just work with a psychoanalyst and get enlightened by drudging through their stuff.