Psycho-spiritual Exercises & Practices in Review

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Of the four exercises and practice sessions learned during the semester, the two standouts are meditation and visualization. Meditation and visualization have long been revered in the East as methods of psycho-spiritual intimacy and enlightenment; as the West broadens its scope of medical practice; both are now more readily accepted as viable practices by the people and medical community of the West, respectively. As it’s noted by Patricia Gray (2007):

Americans are embracing alternative medicine with a passion. The most recent federal survey on the topic, in 2002, showed that half the adult population had used alternative therapy. Boomers are the top users: Nearly 70% of people 50 to 64 have tried alternative therapy, from acupuncture to chiropractic to meditation to supplements, according to a 2006 survey by AARP. And as demand has grown, the medical establishment, once avowedly anti-alternative care, has started to accept it. Most medical students now learn about alternative therapies (p. 1)

Federal testing is underway to qualify the validity of meditation, but regardless of the conclusions of the said studies: I can only speak for my personal experience with meditation. The past 10 weeks has been my longest consecutive period of meditation. I have enjoyed the practices learned in our coursework and have felt the calming effects of each exercise during the actual practice and for at least an hour post meditation. I notice meditation’s ability to center and redirect the thought process in the safe haven of my home, but the challenge comes after I open my eyes, once the soft gaze has refocused on my surroundings, and the issues on my mind slowly resurface.
I have to continue my meditation consistently in order for it to become the constant state of my being so I can think, speak, and be in the same mind frame as I am in meditation all day long. I can use meditation to put things in perspective rather than overreact and get into over-analyzing the “what ifs” in my daily life. I can also use meditation as a daily mental break, to carve out some healthy “me time”.

Visualization is a wonderful practice because it trains the mind to see things as you want them to manifest as opposed to dwelling on how they are now, especially if the present is in stark juxtaposition to your desired life. I could use visualization to envision my intentions for my life and see myself in that life: How does it feel?; who’s a major part of my life?; how does this state of living enhance my family life?; what does it feel like to live the success born of my hard work? All of the questions above can be posed and envisioned in visualization along with a plan to work toward the life of my own design.

Gray, P. B. (2007). It this man getting healthier, or just poorer? Money. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.kaplan.uah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25058311&site=ehost-live