Meeting Asciepius

Something really remarkable happened while I was doing the Meeting Asciepius meditation. Keep in mind that my spirituality is the most underdeveloped part of my life. I had just come back from getting a facial before I did the meditation so I was already very relaxed and my mind was quiet so maybe that was the key, I don't know. I sat with my mental mentor on a green clifftop above the ocean. He was an old man with thick, long, gray hair and beard and bright blue eyes. His eyes were sparkly and he had a slight smile the whole time. His skin was lightly tanned and unwrinkled. He looked at me and smiled and I got very calm. When the beams of light were flowing through him to my mind, throat and heart, I could actually feel an energy and a slight heat in those areas. It felt very real. When he began to dissolve into pure energy and I absorbed him, I could feel the heat everywhere. I was sitting outside in the sun listening to the meditation practice and it was warm, but it felt like the warmth was coming from me (if that makes sense).

Obviously these practices are helping me develop mentally and spiritually. I had no idea I could feel so calm and in control. I felt like if I touched someone, they would feel the energy coming from me. Too bad I was by myself or I would have tried it. To me, this proves that we are more than just a biological being. I was able to tap into something greater than that. The more I do these practices, the stronger that sense of wholeness and attachment will be and I think I'll be able to sustain that feeling and clarity for longer periods of time.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself." This saying applies to health and wellness professionals in that we can't help people with physical, mental and spiritual development unless we have developed those aspects of our own life. How can we teach something we have never learned?

I will continue to do these meditation practices to develop mentally and physically. I will also incorporate yoga into my exercise routine. I used to do yoga often, but for some reason I stopped.

I hope you all had a good experience with the Meeting Asciepius exercise.

Integral Assessment

This Sunday I found some time to do the universal Loving Kindness exercise from our book. I kept repeating the four lines in my mind while focusing on my breath. Breathing in I thought "May all individuals gain freedom from suffering." Breathing out I thought "May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness." Breathing in I thought "May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering." Breathing out I thought "May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness." The first two lines of the meditation exercise felt natural. I really do wish that all people have freedom from suffering and find health, happiness and wholeness. After all, if everyone felt that way the world would surely be a better place right? The last two lines were a little more difficult. I would find my mind wandering and thinking that I don't have the time or ability to help other people with such a huge path. I can't even figure out exactly how to flourish myself. But after the exercise I began to think that the way I can help others is by just simply living my best and doing what I can. A simple kind word or small act of kindness can make a big difference. I don't have to show them the way to human flourishing, but just encourage and be connected to others. A lot of good can come from simply caring.

After coming to that conclusion I did my personal integral assessment. Biologically I have developed a good fitness regime and I eat a well balanced diet. I am also fairly self-regulated. Worldly I need more development. I am good at my job and always try to do my best so I have developed pretty well there. I do, however, want to do more social activisim. Unfortunately, at this point in my life, considering I work a full time job and attend Kaplan, I will have to put that aside until I am done with school. My interpersonal life needs a little more development as well. I have a close family, but I need to make more time to spend with them. They are all very important people to me and I want them in my life. I can't put visits off because you just never know. I want to spend time with them while we are all here and able. I really want to do more for my community, but I haven't decided where I can do the best work. Again, after I am done with school I plan to do some volunteer work. Maybe share some of what I have learned in my classes to help others be more healthy. Psychospiritually I am very weak. I have yet to find my spiritual connection. Before I wasn't really even thinking about it and it wasn't that important to me. But now I realize that it is an essential part of being whole and I really want to find my connection. I do believe in God, but I don't attend church. I may start there. I also really enjoy the outdoors and living in the Pacific Northwest we have beautiful country to explore. I hope to find ways to spend more time outdoors and I think I will start with hiking and kayaking. Both are easily accessible here. I have a long way to go in this aspect of my life, but at least now I am conscious of its importance. Meditation is another thing that I tend to incorporate regularly into my life.

If anyone has any suggestions on developing psychospiritually, please let me know. I am open to anything really. Thank you.

Subtle Mind

I listened and participated in the subtle mind exercise. I liked it better than the loving kindness exercise. I was actually quite calm during and after the exercise. I was able to actually calm my mind. I noticed that sometimes I would find my thoughts coming in again, but I would then just focus on my breath and I could get them to disappear. The sound of the waves and flute in the background went along with my breathing and it helped me stay on track.

The loving kindness exercise had us concentrating on sending love to others. The subtle mind exercise focused on me and my mind. In the loving kindness exercise, when we had to take the hurt away from a loved one, it made me sad to think about a loved one hurting in the first place. There was no sadness in the subtle mind exercise, it was just an exercise to focus on losing all those thoughts that take over. I will listen to this exercise again.

Our mental and physical selves are connected to each other. If we take care of our physical self, we will experience better mental health. If we take care of our mental health, we can experience greater physical health. Stress can take a toll on our physical bodies so calming the mind is an important part of being truly healthy. I am only really beginning to wrap my head around this concept. I have always taken good care of myself physically, getting plenty of exercise and eating healthy. But I haven't taken very good care of myself mentally. I have an anxiety disorder that I let control me sometimes. I take medication to keep it under control, but it doesn't make me feel calm and relaxed like participating in the subtle mind exercise did. These types of mental exercises will benefit my mental health and I plan to use them often.

Practice Loving-Kindness

I finally had the opportunity to listen to the loving-kindness program. I found it both beneficial and difficult. It was beneficial in that it gave the me the chance to think about my loved ones and for a moment I actually felt like I had the power to take away any suffering they might be experiencing. My daughter recently had her heart broken and there have been lots of tears. I imagined I was taking that hurt away from her. I could also imagine that I was embracing everyone and giving everyone happiness.

I had difficulty concentrating at times because the reflective pauses were so long. I would find myself getting distracted with my own thoughts and I had to consciously get back on track.

I would recommend the practice to others if they were ready to try it.

Mental workouts allow us to train our minds to be in control. We can teach ourselves to control our negative feelings and thoughts and replace them with positive feelings and thoughts. Those that have this mental awareness also have greater gamma wave activity and a clearer mind. I can use these mental workouts to control my reaction to stress in my life. I might also be able to teach myself to mentally be above all of the chaos.

I look forward to reading my classmates' experiences.