The Benefits of Practice

 

 

 

Out of all the meditation practices introduced through this class and through the book by Elliot Dacher, I chose loving-kindness and follow that with calm abiding. I like to keep it simple and learn to understand with new material. Visualization is in my introductory stage and really cannot be judged as most beneficial.

Mental fitness is about directing your mind into a balanced and positive path. Earlier in the blog I wrote that repetition is a key point and makes my mind ready and available to help itself on a regular basis. I believe that the reason behind a mental workout is commitment. This is beneficial with loving kindness as I can practice healing others by accepting the negatives and allowing them to dissolve into nothingness. I enjoyed finding my inner self and finding that time in the loving kindness exercise where I felt powerless to more physically but I was so comfortable that I didn’t need to move and once I woke up I found the journey to be almost like a reset button allowing to restart with a balanced and alleviated mind. Reaching back to the science of Olympian mental fitness, Dacher explores the limitless development and how we train our minds. The conclusion is in the prefrontal cortex. “Olympians of mental fitness have levels of activation of the left prefrontal cortex, the site that correlates with positive emotions, which are way beyond those of the ordinary individual, (Elliot S. Dacher, 2006).” As you can see, this is beneficial and the idea is to practice and activate those levels to a positive mind as an olympian athlete would by using visualization techniques.

Loving kindness is a building block for calm abiding. We move from our heart and mind to witnessing our minds thinking patterns. This is a remarkable practice once achieved and allows me to redirect my mind towards a focal point. This is usually my breath and I am still mastering this technique in order to reach unity consciousness. I like the idea of allowing thoughts to exist but to really just acknowledge them and just let them dissolve away allowing a sense of strength over the mind. This strength can increase with practice and I can see a difference every time I practice. I notice there to be a fading effect as well as if I don’t practice I lose that strength. When frustration is high, I usually can overcome it with accomplishing something, so it may take a clear and rebooted mind in order to achieve this. I will practice redirecting my mind towards positivity and step foot in the right direction.

 

Reference

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

Meeting Aesclepius

Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

I prepare for the week and have a relaxing and reflecting period of the previous hours of chaos after the evening.  I find a balancing beam to walk with and look at things with a level head. Observation of my choices, my decisions, and my previous meditation practices allow me to grow upon faded sessions. The inner self is constantly changing whether I tap into it with these sessions or if I do not at all. My body is a vessel that carries perspectives, and all sorts of energy and is guided by the conscious mind in every choice that is made. It is up to me and me alone ultimately whether I chose a positive path or different.

Aesclepius is the god of medicine, a healer of Ancient Greek religion, and I believe was imaginable to have great healing power. When I let the person I chose (during the meditation) to enter my vessel I felt a tingle throughout my body and really accepted the positive energy. I visioned a well to be the entrance to my inner health and while I was calm I let all that positive energy poor into the well with a light at the end of the tunnel. It is up to each individual to find a unique plan towards integral health. I can say I am ready for this session, yet I still feel there is room for calm-abiding. I feel I understand these practices but I want them to grow.

As Schlitz explains we cannot confuse the map with the territory he means just because we have a map of Hawaii does not mean we know what it’s like to be there. Schlitz also describes that providers must work on their own spiritual evolution to actually experience what the model represents. To truly understand the integral approach you must be a firm believer and do practice yourself. I think a strong professional and successful one has been through the motion and has understood and felt the experiences necessary to know what the best is for their clients. It is a personal journey and unique for each and every one of us. So the idea is to want to be like your professional because they are full of positive energy and practice integral health successfully.

Unit 6 Universal Loving-Kindness

The exercise and assessment progress works. I find myself calm and understanding of hope towards other individuals as well as a part of me that can help. Without personal integrity and confidence, one cannot give to another what is necessary. So, the areas of development I chose today, here on my birthday, are confidence and personal trust. I must develop and grow in these areas and maintain the balance so I can give this balance to others. This is why I chose this area of development.

To bring forth a strategy I must understand my weaknesses. I am weak in balance and maintenance. I can do well for short episodes but when I meditate I can see a significant improvement in clarity and control. I can allow time for meditation and allow myself to grow. I must not be scared of my new approach or its delicate structure, but embrace its new ability and transform my current inner health to a stronger inner health.

While browsing I found quotes to build confidence:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/confidence.html

 

Unit 5 Calm Abiding Exercise

Subtle Mind Exercise

Loving kindness gives us a feeling of giving, and concentrates on giving and dissolving a loved one’s problems as well as the entire world as a whole. You reach a real comfortable place and cannot move any limb of your body. After loving-kindness you know how to relax the mind, and get to a consciousness where you have let go. After the session you feel rejuvenated and reset even as you progress through each new time. The subtle mind exercise has moments where you cannot move as well, you are actually in the same consciousness but the new directions allow you to focus on a different thing, a focal point such as your breathing. Incredibly your mind cannot just focus on the breathing it brings up random memories and ideas that you have to wield off. Letting go of each thought is difficult because some thoughts linger for more time. With that said, you have to reach back to your focal point of breathing. Balancing your breathing, your focus on letting your thoughts go is a matter of practice. I know that I was weak at this exercise because I was jumping all over the place, yet I was able to visualize my thoughts falling into nothingness and directing my focus towards my breathing time and time again. This was the witnessing of the mind, I found that this could be fun as well as relaxing. I didn’t get much analysis of my mind, I did get a first start and found it different and the same as the Loving-Kindness. Nothing frustrating at this time, and life is good!

 

 

Good resource: http://wellness.ucr.edu/spiritual_wellness.html

 

Spiritual wellness is a balance of our beliefs and values. With that in check, you are now free to use contemplative workouts. I am a strong believer that making right choices in our life brings us balance and happiness. The inner tools we use to develop positive strategies can bring us this wellness. It’s really a snowball effect, one leads to the other and it drives in that direction. I feel best when my behavior is at its best. I don’t just mean doing the right thing and going towards positivity. I mean accomplishing more, becoming more and living more. I take steps to reach these inner goals and this brings me a mental wellness that is a vibrant source to others. With a positive mind, body and spirit you can’t go wrong. I hit the courts and track to really bring a positive vibe and to get in a balanced to get those endorphins. This inner connectedness is something everyone should be aware of and should practice to help one another.