Unit 8: My Meditation Practice

            Meditation can be a powerful tool for changing your outlook on life, as well as improving your overall health and wellness (Dacher, 2006).  The techniques are not hard to follow, but they can create changes in your life if used correctly.  Meditating as little as 30 minutes/three days a week, I have experienced benefits that have significantly reduced my stress levels and given me a few moments of joy and relaxation.   

The Contemplative meditation practices by Elliott Dacher have benefited me by reducing my stress level and granting me inner peace.  I continued to use at least two of them at least three days a week.  My favorites are the Subtle Mind and Meeting Asclepius.  Since implementing these two exercises into my life, they have become a common practice of allowing time for me to clear my head and reflect on the day.  Sinking gently into a relaxed state of mind, I allow the chattering thoughts to escape my mind as I replace them with thoughts off loving-kindness and a witnessing mind.  This feeling leaves me with a strong sense of peace, joy, love and total relaxation. 

The steps I have developed to implement these practices into my daily life.  1. To continue using the contemplative meditations practices and add more days in the future.  2. Learn to practice and focus on positive emotion, I have tendency to focus on too many negative thoughts and emotions since I began meditating.  I also need to put more faith into my psycho-spiritual beliefs and get back in touch with my religious beliefs.  3. Incorporate relaxing music on my desk top computer, so I can be in a comfortable/less stressful state of mind while completing my homework.  4. Continue to exercise on a regular basis with the local First Nation members and find ways to incorporate some of the relaxation techniques I have learned into my exercise program. 

References

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health. The path of human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.  

          
 

Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius

This week we completed the Meeting Asclepius exercise. This meditation session was based on learning how to quite the mind by concentrating on one specific wise and guiding person in my life.  Overall, my experience was very pleasant.  I especially enjoyed the sound of gentle waves and soft music, along with relaxing vocals.  After experiencing this exercise I believe that meditation has increased my psychological and spiritual wellness in the following way: “I have been given a life changing tool that is needed to quite my life-robbing noisy-mind, so I can gradually improve the quality of life as I have known it”.  To ensure this continued mental improvement, I am going to implement these valuable meditation exercises as part of a regular weekly routine.  I’m confident that over time, this type of positive psychological training will further enhance my psychological and spiritual wellness.    

            According to (Schlitz, Amorok & Micozzi, pp. 477), the quote “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that I can’t expect another to acquire psychological, physical and spiritual growth if I haven’t developed it within myself.  According to (Dacher, 2006, p. 59), the four reasons that I should explore psychological and/or spiritual growth and development are because “it is the most undeveloped aspect of our life, it is a principal source of modern-day epidemics of mental suffering and premature disease, it is the one area of development that will most directly catalyze the full development of our life, and the development of our inner life is the most unique and precious opportunity given to us as humans.”  This means that if I acquire psychological and spiritual wellness then my physical health may naturally improve.

            I also believe that in order to be a true professional, I should only advise clients after fully treating my own psychological, physical, and spiritual growth and development via integral medicine.  This is because the benefit of practicing integral medicine will allow me “the opportunity to end needless suffering and to gain health, happiness, and wholeness” (Dacher, 2006, p. 59) for both myself and the patient/client.

I can also implement positive psychological, physical, and spiritual growth and development within my personal life.  I currently feel that my personal life needs work because there are times when my psychological state is in complete turmoil due to moments of anxiety and depression, my spirituality is constantly tested with useless drama, and I have periodic fatigue due to lack of physical exercise.  A couple of ways I could combat these negative factors while improving my personal health is to implement daily mental, continue my weekly physical exercise program with the local First Nations members and  exercises such as meditation, yoga, Tia Chi and running.   

References

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health. The path of human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. (Chap. 6, pp. 59).

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. (pp. 477).

 

Unit 6: Exercises for Mind-Body-Spirit Wellness and Healing

My experience for this week’s exercise on universal Loving Kindness and the Integral Assessment was very interesting.  It took me a few times to remember the mantra because I kept forgetting the words, but once memorized them I really started to feel relaxed.  It felt similar to a prayer in asking that all individuals be helped with suffering, health, happiness and wholeness.  I was really able to find the awareness of humankind in my meditation.  In addition, when I was asking myself about the different aspect of my life being either difficult or suffering I was able to see how the worldly part is more suffering and the biological part is more difficult. 

Upon doing this exercise I discovered I still need more help on taking on the suffering of others, I tend not to want to take on other people pain.  I feel for them, I just refuse to let their pain affect me.  The areas that I have chosen to focus on for growth and development are my spiritual side.  Over the last several years I’ve been so busy travelling and attending school that I have neglected my spiritual side.  I truly believe in a higher spirit, but I have noticed how my faith tends to waiver and this is something I need to seriously work on.  Taking this class has been very different for me because I never thought I would ever see myself meditating and now I find myself meditating about two or three times a week.  Ever sense I started doing the loving-kindness exercises I’ve seen a change in myself, so I plan to continue doing this type of exercise to help my spiritual side flourish.  I will continue my weekly exercise program with the locals in my community, I use exercise as a way for me to relax and help others get fit.  I’m thinking of taking a few yoga classes now that I’m learning more about the calming effects of this form of exercise. 

Unit 5: The Subtle Mind

     I must start by saying "I don't know what is up with these exercises; they are getting better and better".  Talk about relaxation, this subtle mind exercise was way better than the Loving-kindness exercise.   I felt I didn't have to worry about showing any loving-kindness to others or take in anyone’s pain a suffering.  This was all about focusing on my breathing and pure relaxation.  I love the deep breathing exercise, it is the easiest way to relax, I learned this technique a long time ago and used it several times during volatile situations to slow my mind and see things clearly.  I'm glad it worked because I know I would be in worse condition than I am in now if I hadn't. 

     During this exercise, I could feel my thoughts melt away as I concentrated on my breathing.  I could feel my heart slowing with every breath I took, my body felt heavier and heavier as I became unaware of time and the room I was laying in.  The more I listened to the waves on the exercise, the more I felt like I was back in Hawaii sitting on the white sands of Bellows beach with no one around.  The more the wave crashed the more I felt like I was becoming one with the sand, I felt like a 170 rock wedged deep below the surface.  There was no distraction, just the waves crashing and the feeling of pure calmness and oneness with the ocean.  

     I know at some point during the exercise the voice asked me to listen and see how my mind works.  Watch its mental movements.  Observe how my mind pulls me toward random thoughts.  When I heard the voice on the exercise asking me this, I simply resisted because the feeling of relaxation felt much too good to let go.  I didn't care where the mental movements went as long as they didn't disturb me from the feeling of calmness/oneness with the sand.  

      I truly felt at peace laying there and at that moment, I thought this is what taming the mind, feeling witnessing and calm-abiding really feels like.  This is what it’s like to have the mind-body-spirit all connected in one time and space.  I now understand why people take Yoga or Tai Chi lessons; it brings them to a place of clarity and vividness making them happy, healthy and whole.  If this is the feeling I get every time I listen to these exercises, I can't wait to listen to the next one.