In practicing the meditation or exercise on page 93 of: Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing, I found myself reminded of my personal spirituality. The exercise or meditation goes like this:
"1.) Rest and quiet yourself and your mind for a couple of minutes.
2.) Repeat the following phrases for about 10 minutes.
A.) May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
B.) May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.
C.) May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering..
D.) May I assist all individuals in finding sustained health, happiness, and wholeness."
Dacher says: that this mini practice can be very powerful in expanding your mind and heart. I think that he is right. I have been practicing this since I was a very little girl. To date my earliest memory of practicing this was when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. The details are unimportant but regardless it is a very good practice no matter what your faith or spirituality or your age. It not only helps heal others but you as well.
Then we were asked to complete the Integral Assessment on page 115 of: Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. This exercise focuses more on ones self than on others. There are a few important steps.
1.) Again you need to spend a couple of minutes to calm your body and mind.
2.) This time you are to ask yourself the following questions:
A.) "What aspect of my life --- psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or worldly --- is the sorce of difficulty and suffering?"
B.) " What area of my life is ready for growth and development?"
C.) "Have I been clear and unbiased in my assessment?"
D.) "Am I taking on too much or too little?"
These questions will help us develop as an ongoing assessment tool that we can use in our daily lives.
In practicing these exercises I found myself reminded of my personal Spirituality and what I practice on a daily basis. It made me realize how much I have grown since I was young, (I did not always practice this on a daily basis.) and how much further I still have to go. It really is true, the more you learn the more you realize just how much you do not know.
I need to grow more in my interpersonal area myself. I have major trust issues that have developed because of past experiences in this lifetime. (Listen to the following: http://www.myspace.com/jewel/music/songs/fragile-heart-album-version-28298927 I think that many of us can relate.) It is difficult for me to grow past them. And it seems that the best tools to help me move past them are determination, practice trusting others, and not let set backs discourage me. Wish me luck and send me positive energy. ;)
---Anita Rachel Scott (Goehring)
References:
E.S. Dacher M.D. (2006). Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
http://www.myspace.com/jewel/music/songs/fragile-heart-album-version-28298927
http://www.myspace.com/jewel/music/songs/fragile-heart-album-version-28298927
Hi Anita
ReplyDeleteYou have several great suggestions in your growth and wellness of the interpersonal line of development. Determination, trusting others, and not letting setbacks discourage me would also help in my interpersonal line of development since I see those same concerns for me. I was amazed that you have been doing this practice as early as 4 to 5 years old. I would not even have remembered doing something at that age. If my parents had taught me back in the day and continued it with me every day, then maybe I would have done it from then on. For me personally, I think I would benefit from doing the meditation every day to expand my mind and heart. I would suggest that you keep up the good work on doing meditation each day because it seems to be working quite well for you. The exercises work great for my clients to also expand their mind and hearts. I enjoyed reading your post that you did this week in Unit 6. I will make sure to send you some positive energy your way!
DanielleBis2
Thank you.
DeleteAnd what I remember from when I was 4 to 5 was that I did not like seeing others hurt so I would send positive energy and requests for their healing.
I did not know what I was doing then. :)
Anita, I too have to work on the interpersonal area of my life. I feel as if I tend to take on too much and then sometimes feel overwhelmed. I think that I need to ask others for help more often and not see it as a sign of weakness, but rather as a tool.
ReplyDeleteDid your dad install that thought into your head too? It is a hard thing to overcome and then the fear of being taken advantage of is difficult too.
DeleteHello Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMany of us have room to grow in the interpersonal area of our life. It seems that you really have a great understanding of yourself and where you strengths and weaknesses lie. This gives you a great advantage over many. Often times the life struggle for many is to learn where their strenghts are and what weaknesses they face. Putting a music link to your post is a great idea to help us all have a better understanding of you! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you and you are welcome Stephani. I think that the hardest part for me is dealing with it. It is a real issue for me. But thank you for the encouragement. It is nice to have.
DeleteHi Anita,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how the Universal loving-kindness exercise is much like that of which we learned spiritually as a child. I like learning how the right way to do things now are the way we have been doing them, just more of it now!
This was a rough week for me personally, so getting things done on time did not happen; thusk, creating stress for myself and greater anxiety than I am sure was needed for the circustance. But, even the pros can have some down days, I guess. I feel this course is too worthy of the rush it is given on the ten-week time frame; but it does give us great skills to practice with on a daily basis and become more proficient at integral practice.
You mention the need to personally work on trust issues as part of your integral assessment. I am sure there are many of us in that boat. As we read in the text Dacher mentions in number two of the Eight Principles of Integral Practice the need for inner development to get past the childhood, and other memories holding us back from truly experiecing optimal human flourishing.
I am sure with constant daily practice, like that of the prayers we have been doing all our memorable lives, the Principles of Integral Practice will become part of our daily routine, also.
Yours in health,
Marcella Gracer