This meditative practice was extremely weird to me. To begin with, I chose my grandfather who passed away over ten years ago. He was a very wise, loving, and caring man, but I felt sad more than anything. It has been a while since I have really thought about him, and it made me sad since I just lost my grandmother (his wife of 58 years) in July. I wish that I would have thought of Jesus from the onset of this practice because it would have been a better fit for me. When I was directed to be in communion with this person, I felt more like I was performing a séance than a mindful practice. I was completely distracted. My mind never was able to achieve even witnessing consciousness during this exercise. The next time that I do this exercise, I will try using the Jesus as the wise one because that is keeping with my spiritual beliefs, and I would benefit more from this practice.
The saying, "One cannot lead another where has not gone himself ((Schlitz, Micozzi, & Amorok, 2005, p. 477)" simply says that if an individual has not gone through the struggle, then he/she is unable to help others through that struggle. This applies to the health and wellness professional in that he/she needs to be able to understand and empathize with individuals in order to be able to help them. An individual who has never struggled with depression or anxiety will have no idea how it feels to deal with mental illness. A client who struggles with mental illness needs to feel like they are understood, and that they are not the only person to have ever felt that way. This is not to say that a person who has never been depressed can't help one who is, but the individual who understands the struggle will share a common bond with the client, and perhaps be able to develop a more trusting relationship.
We do have an obligation to ourselves and our clients to develop our health psychologically, physically, and spiritually. If we are not constantly striving toward health, we will not be taken seriously, and the patient may lose hope in improving his/her own health if a professional is not able to maintain it himself/herself. Psychological and spiritual growth is not something that we implement in our lives so much as it is something that is apparent in our lives as it grows.
Tomorrow I will try the Meeting Aesclepius practice again focusing on Jesus, and I think that it will go much better. I believe that it is important that these practices line up with our beliefs in order to reap the benefits of the exercises.
Thanks,
Amy
References
Schlitz,
M., Micozzi, M. S., & Amorok, T. (2005). Consciousness & Healing Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine.
St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.
Amy, I agree with your perception of the exercise I found it very hard to concentrate and really did not get a lot out of it. My mind begins to wonder if it is not stimulated and I felt a lot of the time I was left to wonder around in my own thoughts of past times with my mentor. I agree with your comments of the statement made by (Schlitz, Micozzi, & Amorok, 2005, p. 477). In addition, I too believe that if the teacher has not had experience within the subject then it would be very difficult to get the point across or in this case help heal someone else. However, I do not see a defined line of mental health especially this day, age, and feel that everyone no matter what their size, shape color or experience has something to give and a lesson to be learned from. I would also agree that as a health professional you should be strive to do as you preach in some way shape or form. However when you see your doctor or healthcare professional outside of the workplace doing something that is not so healthy just remember they are people too and have every right to indulge as much as the rest of us do. I guess what I am saying is that judgment passed on these people by their prospective clients should not reflect the professional opinion that is carried by their peers. Thanks Sam
ReplyDeleteHello Amy: I had a hard time with Meeting Asclepius as well. I choose my father and I was halfway through the practice when someone starting knocking at my door. I had to stop because I was distracted with the company. I tried to get back into the exercise but I could not focus for that long. 20 minutes is a long time to stay strongly focused.
ReplyDeleteIf I had chosen someone who had passed I would of felt sad and I think I would of had a even harder time completing the exercise.
The saying :"One cannot lead another where he has not gone before" is understood exactly as you stated. If you cannot completely relate to another persons problem how can you help them? Depression is a perfect example. Depression is a difficult thing to understand if your not experiencing it yourself. It would appear that one should deal with it and move on but if you have experienced it before you would know that is not the case.
Great Blog
Cherie
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI had some difficulties with this exercise as well. I chose my mother which may or may not have been a mistake as the emotional wounds were still way to fresh. I had a hard time focusing on the meditation as I was distracted by my emotions and the huge door of which I hide my emotional baggage in slammed shut on me. You bring up an awesome point. in dealing with the mentally ill. though we may or may not be mentally ill or terribly depressed, we still must validate what the afflicted individual is experiencing and feeling. Also, even though we may not be suffering from the same afflictions , we can still suggest or prescribe particular exercises for others and practice them ourselves. We would also benefit from the exercises. Thank you for sharing.
Aaron
Hi Amy! I thought of my sister, but to think of a person that has passed is a sad moment but should be a happy one also, having had that person in your life that meant so much to you is a great thing. I think that a person does have to go through an experience that their client is going through to fully understand how they are feeling, it is hard to put yourself into someone else place when you do not understand exactly how they feel.
ReplyDeleteI can see how this exercise could make you sad when you choose a loved one who has passed away. I did the same with my grandma but I found myself very calmed and peaceful. Jesus would be a good one to think about as well. I just found any time that I go back and think about my grandma I do get sad don't get me wrong but that is where the mental fitness comes in and when you get sad try to steer it into the happy direction and away from the sad.
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