Once again the Loving-Kindness exercise was a pleasure to participate in. It is nice to “let go” of the chaos for a bit a truly focus my energies on producing good and effecting change in my life and that of my loved ones.
Taking
in others pain and letting it work through you and not simply “breathing it out”
always catches me a bit off guard due to the fact that every other time I’ve
completed a meditation similar you were taught to “breathe out” or let go of the
concern with your out breath, I enjoy the practice of letting it work through
me much better and find it works better to complete the transformation of
turning the intentions to another individual.
The
assessment exercise basically takes Dacher and Wilber’s
quadrant association of the four areas of development and removes the four
stated stages for each area and focuses on each as an attribute of Body, Mind,
or Spiritual development. In doing so he introduces new key ideas, concepts or
actions to be considered. The new attributes for considerations are: Psychospiritual-
Conative, Cognitive, Emotional; Biological- Fitness, Nutrition,
Self-regulation; Interpersonal- Personal, Family, Community; Worldly- Work,
Social Activism, Generativity.
In each of these new
areas we instructed to assess where we are in regard to our development in
relation to the Body, Mind, or Spirit. We then map out a much more intricate
graph of where we are, what milestones we have hit/accomplished, where we need
to focus, and any severe unbalances. We are instructed to consider where we
feel and see we need development/help and then compare that to where we feel we
are ready to develop. We can graph out these four quadrants and each marker in
order to get a visual to assist ourselves. It is stressed that these areas
although once developed usually do not fall back greatly but that they are
fluid, there is no exact end to our development and that dependent on our place
in life these measures can change.
I know where I want to develop is
in the Worldly quadrant (Social Activism), I would love to be more involved in
effecting the changes I want to see in areas such as “green” building/city
planning, political concerns and even with more local endeavors such as my kids’
school. I want to be more involved. I yearn for it. Yet, I know this is not the
appropriate area for me to put my time and energy into at this point in my
life. This goes hand in hand with the Interpersonal aspect as well-Community.
Where I need to develop is in the
Biological quadrant. Formerly I was extremely competent in this area but has
fell quite far from where I know I need to be. I have lost my hold on a few
areas of focus here such as source of foods, food choices overall and exercise-
well rounded exercise. If I do not get my body in tune with my needs then my
health seems to fail in other areas as well. I get a pent up hostility with myself and
become “bogged down” which leaves me feeling like I do not have time to get
involved and work on other areas of my life. Right now I feel like I am betraying
my true self by negating these desires.
I simply need to become more active
again in my food choices and make the time to cook and prepare for the
craziness so I do not end up starving, cranky, low blood glucose hazy and just
go grab something fast food like. This will be a very big and important change
for me that will also greatly help my mental state of being.
Blessings,
Christine M. Campanella Dixon
I feel so much better in addition to meditation if I eat healthier. My husband and I have tried to cut out all GMOs and processed foods. I also have some bottled up emotions and hostility. It has gotten much better with practicing meditation. I feel I can breath a little easier.
ReplyDelete