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!!!
I think a big part of choosing a person to represent Aesclepius and the difficulty in it is simple...how do we know? How many times in life do we meet someone who we think is a mess, and yet when hard times come there way, they exhibit an inner grace and peace that exceeds our every expectation? Even more frequently, unfortunately, we see people who we think really have it all together, really know themselves, really have all the pieces of themselves put together in the right order, only to find they are in great inner turmoil, suffering mental illness or addiction, and are just good at putting on a happy face?
ReplyDelete