My favorite techniques!

I have to say I have enjoyed all of the techniques so far...except the one where we have to picture a wise person to identify with. I struggled greatly with that one. But for me the two best were the visualization and meditation. I really enjoy the visualization technique because imagining being in a place other than where I am is easy to do. The sound of the ocean has always been a source of relaxation and I have spent many nights sleeping right on the beach as a child and young adult. So looking at a picture of the Caribbean or a peaceful beach somewhere takes me away to a place where my stresses and day to day struggles do not exist. I think this is a useful technique to teach to people, especially those are who are not quite adept at mediation or haven't even really thought about becoming adept at it. The phrase "Calgon take me away" sort of sums it all up. We all want to be taken away to a land of peace and tranquility. We just need to figure out where that is and create it in our mind.

The other practice I enjoyed is the breath meditaion. All of these practices are a form of meditation but the breath meditation is one I am comfortable with and have practiced before. It's also a way to get in touch with my body and it's inner working because because the movement of my breath makes me very aware of the rest of the movements of my body and gives me a way to focus on that instead of my thoughts that are constantly trying to intrude. This is exactly why I would encourage my clients or patients to use this technique. It is much more natural for us to become aware of the movements of our body. At least this is a place I would start with someone who was interested in learning how to meditate as a stress reliever.

Meeting Gandalf...I mean Aesclepius

Ok, so in this exercise we are supposed to "commune" with someone like Aesclepius who would be our teacher on this journey to integral health. This person is suppose to be someone that we believe represents or is the qualities of someone who has acheived integral health by using the practices we have learned throughout the course. I kept trying to think of a family member...no luck there. And in all honesty I can't remember a specific person I have met that embodies these traits. So then my mind went off on a tangent about that. How sad for me not to have known an Aesclepius. The instructions then said to make up someone and the first person that entered my mind at that point was Gandalf, the good wizard from the Lord of the Rings Triolgy. Well I tried to go with that but throughout the exercise I just couldn't take it seriously. I tried to backtrack and find someone else but by that time I had lost all commitment to the exercise. I continued on to the end only to discover that I was really looking for my own heart and inner essence. I will try the exercise again but this time I will search my mind a little deeper to find someone real with whom I can relate! Needless to say this was not my favorite exercise.

We have discussed many times throughout this course about the importance of being an example in the wellness practices we teach. The phrase "You can't follow a parked car" comes to mind. The journey to integral health is ongoing and continuous and I believe we teach best by example. I would lose all my credibility if I walked into a nutrition counseling session with a bag of McDonald's. It is also important to be well-rounded at least in our knowledge. It's true that the practices I choose for myself may not be the best path for my clients but I need to know other alternatives. And finally when my clients see for themselves through my life that integral health is the only true wellness, it inspires them to seek it for themselves.

I have learned many useful practices and gained access to tools that will help me to become more spiritually and psychologically healthy. However, I still believe it all starts with the conscious choice of whether to use them or not. Only I can pick up the fork and eat with it!!!

Confirmed: I have ADD

Well I am so glad I saved myself lots of money in doctor visits to determine that I have ADD. I mean I always figured we all suffer from some level of it but I really didn't know ten minutes could be so long!! I sat down in the quiet stillness of my home to complete the loving kindness exercise thinking that ten minutes of my life would fly by. Well I cracked my eye open after what surely seemed like at least 5 of it and to my utter disbelief I was barely at 2 minutes. So I thought to myself, "Let's shoot for five". Well after another few minutes of chanting I was able to get into a rhythm but I will be honest and say that I did not make it to ten. I really enjoyed the exercise though as I do all mantra style exercises and I believe there is definitely power in the exercise. I will continue to push forward in hopes of gaining some discipline and adeptness at it.

As for the assessment exercise my weakness was the psychospiritual aspect. This came as no surprise to me and is something I have worked on for a couple of years now. I watched the "Secret" a couple of years ago and realized then that I tend to project negative signals and so have been working on that since. I know I have made definitive improvements but really need to continue growing spiritually. There is a phrase from a song that I learned in vacation bible school when I was a little girl and it goes, "I've got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart". I completely understand that now and it will be a priority in my life!

Well I was all ready to relax and further my learning into taming my mind. And as we all know by now the CD is bad and a horrible noise came into my ears to startle me out of all peace and quiet I may have been experiencing. I was able to come back to it though. I don't see a huge difference in the exercses, both are about focusing and connecting to the body so that the mind can simply be observed. Like most people I struggle with the clutter and my mind wanders often.  A part of me feels like I will never master it and another part of me can't wait til I do. I long for that stillness. And not only do I long for the stillness, I want to have mastery over my mind so that healing in other regards can follow. This leads right into the discussion of spiritual wellness. When the mind is calm and thoughts enter in a peaceful and free fashion then I feel more "healthy". By that I mean that when my thoughts are not heavy then I feel less stress regarding them. Stress makes me feel heavy and burdened and this affects my physical health, perhaps more subltey than some because I am in good shape but I do experience stomach pains sometimes when I am nervous and stressed.

I am glad to have these exercises available because I have know the benefits of mind exericises for quite some time. I will continue to practice them as I truly believe achieving mental and spiritual health is the key to having integral health.

Experiencing the sensation of loving kindness.....

Wow! Seems like it should be so easy to just let your consciousness go and focus on the good feelings. I really struggled with the part about being in tune to all your body's sensations...good and bad, and then only on the good. The physical aches and pains were as difficult to let go of as the emotional ones. But after a while of observing my feeling in a completely detached way I could feel myself relaxing into the exercise. I will need to practice this alot because once I got in touch with the loving kindness feelings I felt truer to myself. By that I mean that I perceive of myself as a good person with thoughts to others but having to first start with those thoughts on myself was difficult, and the time it took to get there was a overwhelming. But this is exactly the kind of meditation that I have been wanting to explore and I believe that it is the key to finding peace, not only with myself but those around me and especially the ones I love. Just listening to the exercise gives me hope that I can truly be that whole and happy person and can share the wholeness with those I love!!

The exercise was definitely a mental workout as I had to work really hard to lose the distractions of the environment around me, and I was even at home alone on a quiet morning. I believe the benefits of the exercise are definitely worth the work and would recommend them to everyone. But I can see time as being the biggest obstacle. I set aside a good deal of time and worked really hard to stay focused and still felt frustration at times. As a professional I would "prescribe" meditation to everyone, strongly encouraging them to make the time for it!!!