After listening to the "Meeting Aesclepius" exercise, I once again have to express that these sort of calm meditative exercises do not work for me the way they are intended to. I am not sure if it is an attention issue or if I just do not take it seriously enough to reap any benefits from it. I can however see where any sort of mindfulness meditation like this exercise can increase one's psychological and spiritual wellness. Being still and calm with your own thoughts is a powerful way to re-connect with your inner self. Weather following meditation like this one, sitting quietly in the car during your commute or taking a quiet walk outside, time "alone" with ourselves is very beneficial to cultivating a conscious mind.
That being said, the quote "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" refers basically to "practice what you preach". Health, Wellness and Nutrition are professions that need to be practiced by the practitioners in order for them to fully help clients. I would be lying if I didn't say I would be skeptical of an overweight nutritionist with McDonald’s bags in their trash, they could know every aspect of human nutrition front to back and it would not matter. If you have the passion in your craft that most are looking of in a practitioner, you should be practicing what you preach. As a health an wellness professional, my obligation to clients would be to cultivate their minds and help their individual human flourishing. If I do not practice these things myself, I certainly cannot offer practical advice, which would sell my clients short of what they were looking for.
However, I have mentioned in many posts that certain techniques so not work for me. Does this mean I do not have a future in health and wellness as a professional? My thoughts would be if I understand all of the possible treatment avenues and can appreciate how each one can contribute to establishing a conscious mind. I can offer a more broad range of advice because I have tried and either succeeded or failed at different techniques. I would assume most clients I would have would encounter similar issues.
Thank You for reading my post, I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year! I will be working the overnight shift ….ringing in the new year with co-workers and a bottle of sparkling cider ;)
Pursue!
Michelle
This is so true as long as we have tried and know the benifits we can help our clients to understand the pros and cons of different exercises. I have the same problem with the medation cannot seem to get into the calm and relaxing of the water falling I just end up going to sleep. Everybody has there own way of finding relaxing ways to become one with there selves. I am still looking have not seem to have found it yet but still trying different methods.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI think most of us have difficulties with calming meditations, but like everything worth doing, it takes practice and being kind to yourself in the efforts. (loving kindness) I believe that in the effort we achieve almost as much as when we are successful in the practice. I also agree with what you said about going to a fat nutritionist with McDonalds in their waste can, yet, as a heavy person myself, going to a heavy nutritionist that has lost weight and working on their health might be someone that knows what I am going through, rather than someone who has never had to lose weight. I think that I would rather go to a professional that can relate to its patient/client through experience.
Happy Holidays,
Jen
Hi Michelle.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I really appreciate your honesty. I think that the fact that you have attempted mindfulness meditation at least gives you the experience of it. If the integral approach it is stressed that everyone is different and therefore the approach for each person may be different. Every person may not benefit from mindful meditation however, you still would be able to direct someone as regards it. You can still be objective about it, because it may work for some of the individuals that you work with. You will be a fine practitioner because you are willing to practice, experience, and learn whatever it is you are providing incite on.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you as well. These exercises definitely take practice. Do not get discouraged. I keep telling myself it will come with practice because I to have a hard time with staying focused. It definitely does not mean that we do not have a place as health and wellness professionals. When we want to suggest something to our clients and we are not completely familiar with or have not personally mastered it that is when we refer them to someone who is proficient in it. I think that is what will make us valuable to our clients. We cannot know or experience everything but we can become familiar with other professionals that we can refer our clients to.
Leslie