I found the Meeting Aesdeopius meditation to be the most difficult and uncomfortable one so far. The idea of a mentor to help guide you is a long standing practice in many things, not just meditative practices. As I followed the instructions given, I had difficulty choosing someone to be a mentor for this exercise, and found it impossible to mentally create a wise mentor as a focus. Being new to meditative practices, I felt inadequate in my attempt to create a wise mentor on which to focus.
I have learned to enjoy and appreciate the relaxation side of meditative practices, however when it comes to psychological or spiritual wellness, I can’t say that I’ve experienced an increase in wellness in these areas. In the future, I can see myself practicing some of the meditation exercises for the relaxation strategies. I probably will not look for these to provide spiritual or psychological wellness.
The quote “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (Dacher, 2006 p. 477) is very true. It brings to mind the saying “the blind leading the blind”. Neither individual gets anywhere, and/or can end up in a dangerous situation without proper guidance in areas that are unfamiliar. I feel that the Hippocratic Oath which is more commonly known when it comes to conventional medicine still applies to Integral Health as well. In the Hippocratic Oath, one vows to, “recognize the limits of their knowledge and pursue lifelong learning to better care for the sick and prevent illness”, to “seek the counsel of others when they are more expert so as to fulfill my obligation to those who are entrusted to my care” (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2005) just to name a few. That being said, I am certainly open enough to understand and accept a client that wishes to use meditative practices to expand their consciousness, however I feel that it would be better for the patient if I were to refer them to someone else who was more of an expert in the matter.
References:
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing. (p. 46). Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Weill Cornell Medical College. (2005). Hippocratic oath. Retrieved from http://www.med.cornell.edu/deans/pdf/hippocratic_oath.pdf
I have found the same thing to be true. I have often struggled with the exercises and have even fallen asleep. This one was particularly hard, I don't know of anyone that would be a suitable mentor except for God. When needing to relax I tend to lean towards the methods that we have been taught, but I too will not be using these strategies for spiritual well being or psychological wellness.
ReplyDeleteExactly how I feel Nicole, glad to know I'm not the only one.
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