Meeting Aesclepius

Meeting Aesclepius has by far been the most fulfilling, beneficial mindfulness exercise thus far. This exercise met me where my heart dwells; wanting to be more like CHRIST every day and developing an AGAPE love for all, no matter the situation or circumstance. Meditation comes easily for me as I have been practicing it for quite some time. As I battled the flu and found it hard to sleep, meditation helped to change my focus from the pain to the easy sleep that I so desired. I was soon able to easily drift into the deep, restful sleep I needed. It took some work but I now know that calm abiding and unity consciousness are attainable if only for a few moments at a time. I am more developed than I was at the beginning of the course and with frequent practice I will be able to reside in these states of consciousness  for longer periods of time.

Meditation has helped me improve my physical fitness as well. It has been easier to do another set of weight lifting reps, do more crunches, walk another lap around the track, making better food choices, etc. When I visualize the choices and then intentionally follow through on those choices in reality, I am utilizing the witnessing mind. I can continue to use meditation and visualization to help my body regulate my blood pressure while I continue to lose weight. I can further enhance my body’s homeostasis using meditation to help me deal with and ward of stress.

The saying “one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that it is impossible to teach someone anything that you don’t know or haven’t experienced. Sincerity speaks for itself and knowledge affirms it. The first example that came to mind when I read this saying was the common practice and mistake many of us make when trying to comfort someone or deescalate a situation by saying ‘I know how you feel or I understand’. This came to me because my best friend’s mother died in January and for the first time in 15 years of friendship I had no words to comfort my friend because I had no frame of reference from which to draw. I felt so helpless but I was not. I did have sources to draw from; my parents, who love her dearly. My father attended the service with me and he was able to comfort us both.

As a health & wellness professional I must be able to relate to my patients/clients on an intimate, transparent level so they are able to trust what I am teaching them is real and that it works. As a health educator my patients/clients need to see a healthy, well adapted individual who can practice what she preaches. Continuing to develop my psychological, physical, and spiritual health will be invaluable to my patients/clients. The ability to block out everything and focus all of my undivided attention on what they need and want is key but to do so from a calm abiding mindset is essential to uncovering sources of distress that need to be addresses and developing an individualized plan for each patient/client. Integral psychological and spiritual growth will continue in my life as I create and alter my integral plan based on what area needs the most attention throughout the remainder of my life. Being attentive to one’s own needs is critical to staying on the road to integral health and experiencing human flourishing on all levels and helping others attain the same.