Week 7 exercies...

For this week the exercise on our CD wanted us to find our skilled teacher to be our mentor. He (Dacher) also reminded us that in order to continue our journey toward wellness we needed to be careful to find someone who not only helped us attain relaxation but was also working with us toward inner freedom and peace. The wise healer that resides within us can be named either Asclepius or the subtle mind. It took me a bit to relax enough to get into the exercise but once I did the mentor that I identified with was my maternal grandfather-Dr. Donald M. Green. He was a doctor for both WWI and WWII. He gave me an abiding interest in the medical field. He also encouraged me to read, study and ask why things happened the way they did. He could have been cynical from his war experiences, instead he took it upon himself to make sure that we knew about what had happened at the death camps and not to forget that this could happen again if we ever forgot what led to the first occurrence. The wanted us to sit and commune with this person. At first I had a hard time with this concept as my grandfather had died in 1972 so I haven’t seen pictures of him in a long time. I had to stop the exercise at that point and find a picture of him so I could finish the exercise. Once I had done that I was able to continue. This exercise fostered an increase in psychological/spiritual wellness as it has given me (again) a mentor for working toward this gentleness and peace that radiated from him when he was living. I think that is one of the strongest things I remember from him-he exuded peace and stillness. Through this exercise I have found a way to access a guide so to speak in settling my inner turmoil. The exercise speaks of us taking on the speech of the wise mentor we were envisioning (Dacher-CD, 2006). I had already been doing this as Dr. Green taught us that if you need to use profanity to get a thought across-even if angry-then it illustrates your lack of education through use of such limited vocabulary. When I am really angry, my daughters will tell you, I have adopted a strategy of what they call my poison pen letters. I have developed a way of calling someone an idiot without curse words or being outwardly derogatory. The idea that one cannot lead another where one has not themselves gone illustrates the idea that if you don’t practice these meditative practices or stress relief exercises-you have no reference to teach others with. It also is hard for your potential patients/clients to take what you are saying seriously when you are vibrating around the room or stressing over the least little thing. That doesn’t instill peace in them or teach them how to attain this state when you are exhibiting stress to the nth degree. I think I can implement these kinds of things best at night. During the day I have too many distractions to give it the attention it deserves. I do keep the breathing exercise and HALT handy during the day however, to head stress off at the pass. I already suffer from a few stress related disorders. By that I mean they are aggravated by high stress levels. By employing just these two exercises I have finally gained control over my IBS and have minimized the number of migraines (headaches from Hades) to no more than one a week when before they were one every couple of days. By using the meditations at night I can use them to help unwind my very active mind so it can relax and sleep. In this way, by being less stressed and keyed-up, I will have fewer physical problems as well as a better relationship with my husband, daughter and Creator.
Dacher,E.S. (2006) Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA:Basic Health Publications