Unit 7

1). I had a little trouble with this exercise.  to be completely honest when the recording mentioned summoning up an image of a wise man or women the first image that popped into my head was a Native American women shrouded in clouds.  It is an image I have seen in art before but I am surprised that is the first thing that came to mind, but I stuck with it.  I tried to imagine the light transferring for her to my self and that is where I had the trouble. While I was unable to do that part I did notice that the visualization did help me to direct my thoughts and hasten the time it took for me to relax and focus on the traits I desired for the wise one.  I feel that the meditation is helping me to take more time in the things I do.  I notice happiness in others more because I am taking the time to take in my surroundings more.  I feel that am a little more relaxed and am pleased that I am looking to better myself. I will try to increase the amount of time I meditate so that I may get closer and closer to achieving a calm abiding mind.

2. I take the saying to mean that you can not live your live in  the "Do as I say not as I do" manner.  If you as a health care provider are not in possession of a calm abiding mind and believe in the bodies' ability to heal then your patients are going to pick up on that.  If a doctor is an overweight smoker and they prescribe weight loss and smoking cessation people roll their eyes and call them a hypocrite. The same here holds true.  IF you have not been down the path to a calm abiding mind with kindness and love then you can not direct someone else down that path.  If you feel your patient is in need of psychological and spiritual growth and you are not able to assist them you should at least have contact information for someone who can.  I do however, believe that health care providers should be able walk the walk and talk the talk.  We need to be at our best for those we serve and so a calm and abiding mind is really the best for our performance physically, mentally and spiritually.  I have been trying to make sure I take time to reflect each day since we started this class.  I have been trying to practice the loving kindness and calm abiding mind exercise but I still really have a busy, cluttered mind but it has gotten a little better.  I would like to do better to not only help myself but those around me.  The better I am the more I can help them. 

Veroinca Ratliff

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications

Amorok, T., Micozzi, M., Schlitz, M. (2005). Consciousness & Healing. St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Churchill Livingston, Inc