UNIT 7 BLOG: AESCLEPIUS & MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

The Aesclepius exercise allowed me to visually access my inner healing ability that is found within my inner self and it interesting how the wise healer resides within self and it help guide individual’s to the integral process. Ancient Greeks called this inner healer Aesclepius which is also known as the subtle mind. Meeting Aesclepius consist of closing the eyes and visualizing an image of a very wise loving man or person that is close to an individual and I chose to pick my fiancé for this particular routine and I found the exercise to be easy and fun at first but when the exercise continued further it stated to choose an individual alive or that has passed on I began to get sad and I instantly thought of my nana (great grandmother) at first it was somewhat challenging to complete this exercise because I felt overwhelmed with past memories and her not presently being here with me in the physical but as I continued with the exercise I began to think of how I respected and honored her and I felt a sense of connection with her. I then stabilized the image in front of me as I carefully observed my nana. The sound of the water brought harmonious memories that reflected back when my nana was alive and I began to see all the positive time we shared together; I began to realize how special she was and still is to me and I reflected on how much she loved and cared for me and I how I felt as if she still was here with me spiritually. I was able to feel her compassion and love and this connection deepened within my spirit and soul. I continued the exercise and I stabilized my mind while imaging a strong beam of light that forming around her head like my angel and I felt protected and content and the beam of light connected within my inner being. This was a great experience and I would continue practicing it to obtain inner peace and connect with my past and present loved ones; I felt rejuvenated after this exercise. This exercise does require a substantial amount of focus and transitioning of the mind in order to be able to fully connect with the inner being.

Providers of healthcare must work on their own spiritual evolution to actually experience what the model represents and as Wilbur put it “one cannot lead another where one has not gone” because in order to teach and heal individual’s as a whole the teach must have experienced healing practices as whole and understand the true purpose and significance of healing modalities in order to transform suffering of illness into the grace of healing (“Integral approaches to Mind-Body Medicine”, 2005). In order for an individual to become integrally informed and take up an integral practice awareness is important to the practice of medicine and the practitioner must transform the enjoyment of the doctor and patient relationship. Human development is experiencing medicine as a spiritual path that transcends and diminishes the lower level issues of financing of healthcare; this can also help the practitioner to be empowered to make changes in socio-cultural problems that are seen in medicine today. Disease that is seen in patients can be the grace through which both the healer and patient transforms their respective lives.

References

Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. (2005). Elsevier Churchill Livingston Publications

Meeting Asclepius. (n. d.). Retrieved from doc sharing mp3

LOVING-KINDNESS (MEDITATION)...INTEGRAL ASSESSMENT

As the consciousness expands individual's capacity for empathic listening, caring for others , seeing, generosity, heartedness and emotional intimacy spread to all their relationships they may have with other people and in their life. The development of universal loving-kindness is the final leap in interpersonal development. The kindness practice allowed me to gain freedom from suffering which allowed me to have positive thoughts of sustained health, wholeness and happiness. Meditation is a great way to relieve stress, clear the mind from numerous thoughts, it allows inner peace for the mind, body and spirit and it calms the mind to expand the consciousness; meditation can prevent certain diseases from occurring due to being stress free and chaotic thoughts and behaviors. The mini love and kindness  practice was powerful and it allowed me to expand my heart and mind; it also helped me to eliminate thoughts of hatred and anger which allowed me focus more on personal love to universal love and kindness. I am glad that the universal exercise can be practiced anywhere and anytime. The integral assessment was a great practice that aimed toward my evolution in knowledge that helped me address and support each aspect of life with the goal of realizing my human potential as commitments, my temperament and my general level of health. This exercise allowed me to expand my consciousness so that I can transcend my consciousness and heal from emotional wounds. Integral development allowed me set goals for the future such as fitness, nutrition and self-regulation for my mind, body and spirit; integral health allows me to be balanced and not be under or overdeveloped in certain areas of psycho-spiritual and integral health because it allows awareness.


Reference

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

 

 

UNIT 5: SUBTLE MIND PRACTICE

The subtle practice introduced me to my subtle mind and is now part of my daily regimen that I will continue to practice 15-20 minutes daily. The subtle practice allowed me to progress to three levels of psycho-spiritual flourishing from a witnessing consciousness to the mind of calm-abiding which is the subtlest mind of the human consciousness. This practice helped me evolve  and allowed me to experience the effects over a period of time that helped me maintain stabilization of my mind, more patience and inner calmness. This particular practice is ancient that is related to breath; the use of breath is for two reasons because it is a direct relationship between the breath and mind. As breathing becomes more rhythmic the mind follows that and a peaceful breathing pattern leads to a peaceful mind. The breath is always with individuals so breathing practices can be practiced anywhere at anytime. When individuals use their breath they will learn how to tame and stabilize the mind by developing the witness consciousness; as witnessing replaces grasping and clinging individuals progressively evolve into unity consciousness. The loving-kindness exercise diminished self-centeredness and helped to achieve human flourishing by opening my heart to others; the exercise also included a progressive experience that involved three levels to the mind such as the witnessing of the mind, unity consciousness which cultivates the mind and love and kindness. Both exercises allowed inner peace and human flourishing with the mind, body and spirit and will be practices at least 3-4 times a week for at least 15-20 minutes.

Reference

Loving-Kindness Practice. (n. d.). Retrieved from mp3 audio

Subtle-Mind Practice. (n. d.). Retrieved from mp3 audio

UNIT 4: LOVE & KINDNESS (MENTAL WORKOUT)

I found the loving-kindness experience to be very beneficial to relaxing my mental state but somewhat challenging because some portions of the exercise required forgiveness and to deal with certain emotions that may have been forgotten about due to the pain it caused. The loving-kindness exercise diminished self-centeredness and helped to achieve human flourishing by opening my heart to others; the exercise also included a progressive experience that involved three levels to the mind such as the witnessing of the mind, unity consciousness which cultivates the mind and love and kindness. The love and kindness was a mental workout that enhances the passion of others and the water sound was very soothing and rejuvenating which allowed me to calm and open my mind to become more affectionate with my loved ones. I was able to eliminate any negative sensations in order to be at peace within my body, mind and spirit. I was able to shift my thoughts from unpleasant feelings to positive feelings by giving them energy in order to change my level of thinking. I was able to get with my inner being by loving myself more by eliminating negative thoughts and energies that hindered me from achieving human flourishing. It was challenging at one point of the exercise to think of one of my loved ones suffering but then taking deep breaths allowed me to see hope and helped me not to become overwhelmed with negative thoughts and sadness; I did like the part of the exercise where I was able to send out peace and wellness to my loved ones after having to think about them suffering that was relief mentally and physically. I was then able to embrace all individuals regardless if they were good or bad and it helped me to forgive them for any hurt or pain they may have caused me. I enjoyed the natural peace of my mind and heart in order to connect with inner self to maintain stability of the mind, body and spirit.

 

                                                                   Reference

Loving-Kindness Practice (n. d.). Retrieved from mp3 audio

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT REFLECTIONS/MEDITATION

On a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the highest in optimal well-being and health I would consider myself to be spiritually inclined because I meditate and incorporate deep breathing techniques regularly and I also consider myself to be emotionally intelligent and capable to train my mind by being aware of my behaviors and consequences behind reactions; I am able to maintain self control under stressful, challenging and chaotic situations due to me being spiritually in tuned. I would rate my physical well-being a 10 because I exercise every day, eat nutrient-dense foods regularly with moderating my portion size; also eating fruits and vegetables are a daily regimen with incorporating vigorous intense exercises such as aerobic/anaerobic exercises, yoga, boxing, hiking, meditating and deep breathing techniques (which help produce oxygen to the brain and throughout the blood stream). My psychological well-being would be an 8-9 because I continue to learn everyday and there is always room for improvement and obtaining the knowledge necessary to expand my level of thinking. My experience with the Crime of the Century gave me a sense of relaxation and calming effect to my mind, body and spirit it also rejuvenated and gave me a soothing sensation in my mind, body and spirit. Listening to this audio actually gave me energy after hearing and participating in the activity. The rainbow meditation exercise was a visual imagery that gave me a sense of peace especially when I focused on the color red that allowed me to feel grounded, safe and comfortable in my environment while being stabilized to the earth. I did feel confident and was conscious of my self-worth when I pictured orange while deep breathing. Yellow was also a good color that I focused on which pertained to body regions for feeling loved and chanting “I choose to love” made me want to be closer to my family which gave me the ability to love and share positive feelings with my loved ones.