Unit 7: Current Trends and Research Supporting the Mind-Body-Spirit Paradigm

Hello class

            For this week’ blog assignment I will be explaining the current trends of the mind-body-spirit paradigm.

1.     Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?  The meditative practice for this week was very interesting and beneficial.  I like the fact that I was able to visualize a wise person and sit in his presence, in order to let go of any hurt, pain, suffering that a loved one has caused in the past.  In addition, as I was sitting in my room visualizing the wise man, I was able to see all the different colors radiating from, which I found very fascinating.

The way that the mindfulness meditation has fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness is by allowing me to be more aware of my environment, putting others before myself, expressing love rather than hate or anger, and feeling whole and calm in heated situation.  The best way to continue these practices in my own life, in order to foster greater health and wellness is to set aside 15-30 min a day for meditation or the loving-kindness exercise, share the information that I learn and have experienced with others, and allow myself to be calm and aware in all situations.

2.     Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p.477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?  The idea of “one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” refers to the ability to see the divine in everyone and to work on the spiritual evolution experience on our own, which transforms the suffering of illness into the grace of healing (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).           

The way that this concept apples to the health and wellness professional is unfolding the human development, which allows the experience of medicine as a spiritual path that transcends and diminishes the lower-level issues of the financing of health care (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).  Working in the health field I have an obligation to my clients to by developing my health psychologically, physically, and spiritually because the only way to teach someone is by living out the experience through my life.  The way that I can implement psychological and spiritual growth through my personal life is by becoming integrally informed and to take up an integral practice like loving-kindness or the subtle mind practice to grow in my spiritual and psychological aspects of my life.

Reference:

M. Schlitz, T. Amorok, M.S. Micozzi (2005). Consciousness & Healing, Integral     Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier, Churchill Livingstone.