The Importance of Empathy in Healing

I found this exercise to be pretty amazing. I trusted my chosen guide and was able to relax relatively quickly. Coming from a Christian background, the exercise was a familiar idea in a different package. In the exercise we were able to choose our wise guide for the purpose of the exercise; in the Christian faith there’s only one true guide, Jesus Christ, and all the divinity in us is a reflection of Christ in us.

I had a 60-minute massage today and practiced loving-kindness for part of my session. I focused on my son to evoke the purest deepest love I could imagine. I then turned my focus outward to my parents, my child (again), and the world to inhale the problems or challenges of each; I inhaled their challenges and dissolved them in my heart. I exhaled and released the love evoked using thoughts of my son, and showered that love over every issue or concern held by anyone in my mind’s view. Like the practices loving-kindness and subtle-mind, Meeting Asclepius would need to be practiced regularly to maximize results.

One cannot lead another where one has not gone themselves

I agree that one cannot lead another where they have not gone themselves because they have no emotional or experiential reference to aid in their guidance of another. Those who don’t know first-hand what they attempt to teach can only share what they’ve read or heard; those who teach from experience are able to connect on a deeper level with those they help because they’re language will reveal that they’ve fought the same battles, felt the same feelings, and have true empathy for what the student is enduring and may endure throughout the duration of the healing process.

As health and wellness professionals we too must continue to develop our psychological, physical, and spiritual health. In order to remain connected to the processes experienced by our patients — with their challenges, triumphs, and setbacks — we must remain engaged in our own journey toward holistic healing and wholeness. Treating others from a purely intellectual stance will fail to serve them fully; we must feel and know they’re struggles for ourselves; we must overcome the obstacles they face in order to speak about them with authority. In addition, to declare what is to be gained on the other side of the common struggle, when one obtains abiding-calm and unity consciousness, we must be able to tell people how our lives were transformed in the process of integral healing for it to become real attainable to others. By continuing to better ourselves we place a real and tangible face upon the journey toward holistic healing and integral health.

Implementing psychological, spiritual growth in my personal life

Continuance of the meditative and contemplative exercises mentioned throughout the blog (e.g., loving-kindness, subtle-mind, and meeting Asclepius, etc.) is the probably the most appropriate approach for me to further develop my psycho-spiritual growth. Excavating personal truth, confronting old mental hindrances, and visualizing my best and healthiest self of the future will all undoubtedly play an important part in my journey toward holistic healing.

Loving-Kindness vs. the Subtle-mind

Loving-kindness Compared to the Subtle-mind Practice:

The loving-kindness exercise reminds me of a prayer whereas the subtle-mind practice reminds me of a meditation. The loving-kindness exercise is more of an externally-focused practice, one meant to affect things outside of yourself even more than within yourself. The subtle-mind practice is an exercise that seems more focused on calming and centering yourself and your thoughts, and is therefore more of a meditative practice in my opinion.

This practice focuses on awareness of the pattern and pace of our breathing. It puts emphasis on the rhythm and calmness of our breathing to bring us to a place of stillness, a place within where we're instructed to dwell without losing complete notice of our breathing.

Like loving-kindness, the hardest part of the exercise is settling the mind, but Dacher (2006) notes that the difficulty experienced when we first attempt to quiet the mind is common and dissipates with continued and consistent practice

Mind-body connection and Holistic Wellness:
The mental and physical elements of wellness are interrelated and cannot be discussed or analyzed apart from each other. A person can become more prone to physical ailments like heart disease due to an ailing emotional heart, as purported by Dr. Dean Ornish (2005). I have experienced a great deal of emotional distress in the past few years and as that distress has intensified it has had an adverse effect on my physical health, especially in the exacerbation of chronic joint pain and migraine headaches. To date, I still experience chronic joint pain and regular migraines despite the meditative exercises within the course curriculum, but just like someone who becomes obese: The problem didn't occur over night and its remediation will require on-going and consistent treatment to restore my mind and body to pre-trauma status.

Loving-Kindness: A Worthy Practice that Requires Practice

Dr. Elliot S. Dacher (2006) couldn't be more accurate when he stated, "I have found from personal experience that in the beginning contemplative practice requires effort" (p. 66). I know that my mind is busy with thoughts of daily duties, concerns, and planning; but until I started this and other meditative practices within this course I never realized the effort required to mute the internal chatter and relax, look inward to explore the healing resources within. The challenge is this: When I find a quite moment and engage in a quiet meditation I often fall asleep, once I've relaxed enough to actually meditate that is. This being said, the only way to attain the benefit of the loving-kindness practice is through repetition and that's what I intend to do; I will continue, even for five minute intervals, until I get a handle on the basic practice and can engage in longer contemplative sessions.

I would recommend this exercise to others because we live in an over-taxed society, overwrought with mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual stimulation. We all need to begin a practice that encourages stillness and calm; we all need to see the perspective of another that may differ from our own with compassion and sympathy. Many wars, and general societal discords, stem from misunderstanding: We see ourselves as "us" and those from different cultures and/or perspectives as "them" which always sets the stage for division and egocentric power struggles.

The meaning and purpose of the "mental workout":

A mental workout is the equivalent of a physical workout but for the mind. To be an Olympian one must train vigorously and daily, likewise with the mental workout it is imperative to engage in practice (e.g., loving-kindness or the subtle mind) daily. In order to sharpen the mind and remain in a state of diminished ego, and with an open heart, it is important to reflect on the needs of others above our own. It is key that we remove ourselves as the center of our own universe, where all revolves around our feelings, needs and wants. It is important to note the ultimate aim of contemplative practice, stated by Dacher (2006), "The most meaningful aim of contemplative practice is not rest and relaxation but rather the progressive development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities" (p. 65).

A closer look at loving-kindness:

Loving-kindness is a daily practice of the actual act of love. Loving-kindness is moving beyond the superficial sentiment of love into the action of love, whereby we remove our focus from ourselves and acquire a heightened concern for the well-being of our fellow man (Dacher, 2006). At first this contemplative practice of sending out love and receiving it in return, even from our perceived enemies, feels like work; the goal with the loving-kindness practice is to reach a state of consciousness where the practice is an integral and inextricable part of our attitude, and the physical practice is no longer needed because our lives become a daily expression of the practice.

According to Dacher (2006), research has shown that, "when we stop practicing, we will see a drop-off in our [psychospiritual] conditioning, whether physical or mental" (p. 65). Like an athlete, we must be diligent in our contemplative practice to maintain our contemplative/psychospiritual progress and growth.

The daily practice of the mental workout will likely prove beneficial to me as a means of centering myself and giving more attention to the purging of mental and emotional junk that I might harbor for long periods of time without a practice to consciously address and rid myself of it. Loving-kindness is about opening our heart toward others but it's also a great self-accountability tool to gauge where we are emotionally. The daily practice of loving-kindness encourages us to tackle issues that may hold us back at their root.

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

Integral Healing: Journey Toward Peace

The quantifiable life questions that we ask each other (i.e., how are you today?, when will you ever decide to have children?) in passing, in general or in pseudo-intimate conversations may seem daunting, but it is really the existential questions (e.g., what is the meaning of life? What is my purpose in life? how do I cooperatively create deeper meaning and cultivate peace in my life and the world around me?), that we must ask and answer ourselves in the truly intimate discourse of our mind, that pose the most challenge, render us most vulnerable, and therein offer the greatest opportunity for profound reflection and healing. This challenging internal discourse can teach us how to surmount all that seeks to oppress us along our life's journey toward integral healing.

What is Integral Healing?

According to Dr. Elliot S. Dacher (2006), a renowned student, practitioner, and teacher of integral health and healing: integral healing transcends the comfort and framework of the one-dimensional disease-medication paradigm so often found in the Western approach to medicine; integral medicine is a self-imposed challenge and a life-long quest to live our best, most authentic, lives by filtering away the unhealthy ties that bind and limit us from existing in a state of optimal holistic health and wellness. In the framework of integral healing, one must address issues of physiology, psychology, and spirituality with earnest fervor, and equanimity of concern for the state of ones' whole being.


Preparation for the Journey Toward Integral Healing
Dr. Elliot Dacher (2006) lists the following as preparatory steps to ready the mind and spirit to embark upon integral healing: Engage in regular reflection - constant reflection upon the preciousness of life in general and our own life in particular; make a decision to cultivate an attitude of loving-kindness; become a highly-skilled communicator and a person who acts in a manner that mitigates the perpetuation of disturbing outer experiences that cause distress to others or yourself; strive each day to create an oasis of quiet and stillness, a quiet place to ponder the elements of your life, and divide the necessary from the marginal and unnecessary elements of your life.

A deeper look at the preparatory steps outlined by Dacher (2006) provide practical application and personal context for each exercise:

1. Loving-Kindness: This step encourages us to develop a loving embrace toward all people by first developing the attitude and practice toward ourselves. Dacher (2006) describes the process as, "opening our hearts with kindness, care, patience, and generosity toward their [others'] needs." Loving-kindness is important to my personal health because it reminds me to release offense and by doing so to live free from the weight of grudges.

2. Skillful Action: This step is an exercise that we have the opportunity to do every day. This step focuses on the avoidance of behavior that creates obstacles and encourages conscious participation in behaviors that promote inner development. This step is important because it reminds us to constantly assess our behavior and remain committed to peace, stillness, wellness, and integral health, on a daily basis; this portion of the preparedness process can be very challenging and that's why having opportunities throughout the day, every day, to recommit to the exercise and lifestyle is imperative.

3. Silence and Stillness: This step focuses on the practice and value of silence and stillness. There are several adjunct steps to this preparatory practice, they are as follows: Be conscious of the outward noise and environment in which you spend your time; create internal calm, in the sanctity of our own mind; the third step is one that comes to the more seasoned practitioner and it's a state of natural calm in ones' mind, where your mind effortlessly maintains a peaceful homeostatic state in all situations and under all circumstances.

Personal Assessment: Physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being
I will give myself a modest rating for all three categories of well-being at the moment. I know where I've been in the past in each area and also have an idea of my goal in each area, and I know I am currently functioning far beneath my own standards. Why? I am in a place of physical, spiritual, and mental recovery after a devastatingly damaging three-year relationship that consumed my life -- a relationship with such a high price that the only tender to satisfy it would be my very life if it continued. In this relationship I lost myself, my zeal, my goals, and a certain level of self respect. At the lowest point therein I stopped praying, eating, sleeping, and only existed because what I describe here is not living, just existing.

Physical Goal: I have completely changed my nutritional regimen in the past few months; I have transitioned from being a life-long carnivore to a totally-committed vegan. My physical goals are nutritional more than weight or fitness-based. My goal is to continue along this exciting nutritional path, to research and incorporate life-force rich food and supplements into my dietary regimen, to heal my physical body from the inside out. I will publish a separate in-depth post about my dietary program and its nutritional benefits in the near future, so be sure to check the blog regularly.

Spiritual Goal: My goal is to pray and meditate, for no specified length, daily. I seek to advance my integral healing to improve my ability to quiet my mind and be still, to hear and see my next steps in life, as guided by divinity not personal or blind ambition.

Psychological Goal: My goal is to regain the joy I had four years ago and then transcend that level to experience the most whole, peaceful, secure, and confident me possible. I know that the latter half, becoming the best me ever, is a life-long process and not a short-term goal.

Resolutions
Basically, as Elizabeth Gilbert suggested: Eat, pray, love. I will continue to eat organic whole foods as much as possible, along with nutrient-dense superfoods. I will engage in free-form and guided prayer and mediation, even if just for five minutes, daily. I will continue to journal and blog to track my progress along my journey. My overall goal is the restoration of a joyous and radiant mental, spiritual, and physical state; I will inundate myself daily with as much uplifting music, literature, new media, conversations, and visualization as possible to cultivate an environment of peace and mental prosperity.

Dacher, M.D., E. S (2006). Preparing the Ground. In Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Meditation: Chromotherapy and Healing

This unit's meditation, The Crime of the Century (Kaplan, 2010), resembles a zen-like re-enactment of the scientific experiments conducted by Sir Isaac Newton, between 1666 and 1672, to prove his theory of the relation of light to color. In his unprecedented experiments, Newton demonstrated that a ray of light is divided into its constituent colors by the first prism, and the resulting bundle of colored rays is reconstituted into white light, sound familiar? (Cherry, 2010).

This week's meditation was like a bit of a social experiment set to calming music and the lulling voice of an effective moderator. We, with the moderator's instruction, focused on certain colors associated with different parts of our body. The moderator introduces each color in association to a given body part separately, and the moderator eventually asks us to envision all the said colors seen through the prism as one radiant white light that envelops us as the climax of the meditative process.

All cerebral analysis aside, the exercise was relaxing and quite enjoyable. But with more thought I wonder: Was I supposed to gather something other than surface relaxation from the exercise? Was I supposed to feel warm when I focused on red and cool when I focused on blue? I can't say the experience was an evocative color-to-emotion exercise, but it does pique my interest about the study of chromotherapy, light therapy, and colourology as a holistic or alternative treatment.

I will likely return to this practice again; maybe I'll think less about the meaning of the exercise and just enjoy. Can I get an "Ummmm"?

Cherry, K. (2010). Color Psychology: How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors. About.com

The Crime of the Century (2010). Kaplan University. Retrieved from http://www.kushs.net/kaplan/HW420/TheCrimeOfTheCentury.mp3

Meditative Exercise: Journey on Relaxation

This meditative exercise was new, and deceptively challenging. I am often stressed out with life's constant challenges in the foreground and anxiety nipping at my efforts toward peace in the background.

As the mediator starts to lead me into the visualization and relaxation meditation I can hear my mind's reel betraying my will to cooperate. "Get into a relaxing position", "Focus on moving heat and energy into your extremities", heck "Breathe". My conscious mind persists with its agenda: "Did you turn off the stove?", "Was that the baby?", "What am I going to eat for lunch?".

The most challenging part of the meditation was the immense effort it took to quiet my mind enough to allow entrance to the mediator's instruction. I was also surprised that the not knowing where the moderator was going, and not knowing him, made me slightly anxious and a bit apprehensive. I felt more vulnerable than I could imagine I would, especially when I'm in the safety of my home simply listening to a voice through my computer, a soothing and gentle voice, the voice of a man who can't see, hurt, or judge me.