Aesclepius

Meeting Aesclepius wasn't much different than the other meditation exercises.  The difference being Aesclepius represents inner peace and inner wisdom.  I cuddled into my favorite chair and began to relax to what I love, the sound of the soothing ocean along with the tinkling of music in the background,  I can take the tinkling of the music or leave it.  While listening to voice describing Aesclepius and our ability to reach inner peace and wisdom of which is deep with in us gave me a positive and calming feeling that if I continue to utilize this form of relaxation and clearing my mind I too can be successful.  I enjoyed thinking of someone I find inspiring to myself who may possess wisdom, love, compassion and imagining the white beam.  I actually could feel a heaviness at the crown of my head.  I tried to focus on the beam of light going into my throat, that seemed odd and I lost my concentration, I refocused and visualized the red beam of light to go from my wise person's heart and into my heart, this feeling did feel good and gave me a sense of energy and peace.   Overall,  I came away from this exercise with positive thinking, motivating me to embrace with more gusto my own inner positive qualities and inner peace. 

unit 6 loving kindness

I am so interested in the loving kindness theory.  I have been focused on this practice for many years and because of this class now know it has a name and really is part of a much larger life aspect.  I followed the instructions for the exercise and found it to be quite powerful by giving me the mind and spirit of transferring positive energy to the world.  After this focus sending inner feelings of goodness and kindness how can one continue to harbor negative and angry feelings.  It was a nice way to relax this evening and find my calm peaceful self after having such a long and very busy week at work.   The assessment tool was also interesting and is a good way to check oneself looking inside and working on honest areas that are weak.  I need to work diligently on listening not just with in myself but to others to clearly hear what may be underlying.  I need to organize a workable meditation daily to continue striving for a clear and calm abiding mind and spirit.  To listen to my spirit regarding stressors that are short term and others that are awaiting me in the next 7 months.  Thus far it has all been a great learning experience and spiritual growth for me. 

The Subtle mind

So unit 5 is about the subtle mind and witnessing mind, calm abiding with the ultimate goal of experiencing unity consciousness.  So I found myself back in my favorite recliner, ready to focus myself into quiet calm, planning on practicing my witnessing mind and control my thinking and clear my mind.  I enjoyed the focus on breathing, it once again helped me to stay focused and keep my mind on only one thought, breathing at a relaxed level and bringing my heart rate and respirations down to slow mo.  Unfortunately, I really don't enjoy the woman's voice, she startled me again when she broke the ocean calmness.  I am finding a man's mono-tone lower voice more calming than the womans, not sure why,  must be a childhood issue...haha  Anyway, overall,  I enjoyed the focus on breathing with the ocean sound.   It is getting easier and the benefits are amazing after a long day at work:) 

Loving Kindness

I snuggled into our double recliner with a warm blanket to experience the loving kindness cd.  Dacher prepared me for what was to come, as I listened to him I was actually hoping he wasn't going to be the soft soothing voice taking me on my next journey of meditation.  A womens voice then began with her directions of relaxing and thinking of others with loving kindness.  I like the idea that loving kindness breeds loving kindness, which is what I try to live by with my belief that positive breeds positive, I also believe that positive is stronger than negative, it may not happen the first time but eventually if you are spirtitually and psychologically strong, a positive attitude can make changes for the better.  I just veered off the original path of loving kindness......I am finding the amazing quality of emptying my mind through these exercises, and soon I found myself drifting into relaxation and clearing my mind to follow her instructions.  She would tell you what to focus on and then the sound of the ocean would take over, the first time she came back on to give the next direction, I nearly jumped out of my chair....haha  her voice startled me, once I knew this routine and prepared my subconscious for her voice to jolt me to the next step I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the cd.  Over all, I am feeling the benefits of opening my mind and taking my husband on this journey with me.  He is loving these meditation exercises and total relaxation that goes along with them.   so far so good for me!!

Crime of the Century??? Total relaxation!!!!

First off....am I misunderstanding the title of this meditation exercise?  In our assignment it is called crime of the century.  My husband decided to join me on this journey of total relaxation and yet another attempt to clear all the clutter and chatter out of my mind and find total relaxation with out falling asleep.  The title of the exercise was a bit different,  I was prepared to encounter something other than total relaxation.   I enjoyed this exercise and so did my husband (his first meditation),  we both were totally relaxed, I was finally able to clear my mind, when an incoming thought entered I was able to easily drift it right out.  I had nothing other than a positive outcome with this exercise. 
Physical well being 6/10.    I just started a new workout this week to increase my strength and cardio and lose 10 lbs.  GOAL:  physical workout 5 x's each week, sticking with 0 sugar and 0 white flour, eatng healthy,  accountability with my spouse who is participating. 
Spiritual well being 7/10.  I work everyday on being kind to everyone I come in contact with.  I am consciously thinking of ways to improve and talk with God constantly everyday asking for guidance and strength.  GOAL: focusing on my faith and increasing my kindness with others whether at work or with stangers,  a conscious effort with everyone I come in contact with. Kindness breeds kindness keep track and always strive to do more.
 Psychological well being 8/10.  I'm finally at a place in my life where I feel it is all coming together, and I mean a peace within and such hope for the future.  Because of my learning from life experiences I am very confident at turning my negative views or reorganizing my thoughts when presented with negative co-workers or family opinions and turning the situation positive.  GOAL:  To refocus others in my work place who present negative remarks and actions and guide them to think more positive, this in turn will keep me mentally positive and psychologically healthier. 
The one thing I'm going to strengthen this week is meditation, I need to experience it enough to create a habit forming activity, along with devoting myself to physical exercise each day.  
This has been such a positive experience putting together all the areas of my life, they all need to be healthy working together, striving for wholeness and happiness.   Thanks,  kelsy

My journey to relaxation

Here I am about to write about my experience listening to the relaxation cd.  As I was sitting with my favorite fuzzy warm blanket in our double seated recliner, I began my journey of relaxation.  I closed my eyes and cleared my mind of all the frustration I had been having for the past 2 hours trying to figure out the blogging process.  I felt what a great way to release this ridiculous stress I had been overcome with.  It was an amazing experience to say the least, it was 830pm, the house was absolutely quiet.  I vaguely remember reaching the point of letting my arms go completely relaxed and keeping my eyes closed, breathing ever so peacefully and letting the calming feeling overtake my mind,  I fell asleep.  I woke up around 10pm feeling so relaxed, but yet disapointed I couldn't get through the entire cd.  I'm going to try it again tonight!     Meditation is something I don't focus on on a regular basis, but after last night I can see and feel where I need to do just that,  meditate, clear my mind and learn to relax in a calming manner.   Good health is truly a mind/body/spiritual approach, when one area is struggling, all areas are not fully connected or functioning at their top level.