Emptying the Cup

Introduction

First we must value practice. Managers, educators and practitioners should reflect practice in order to transform it, rather than guide practice from the mountain peaks (Pearson, 1999). When we have identified a need for change we must adapt, quantify, and dedicate away those things we want to change to contemplative practice. It is scary to seek out new approaches and philosophies but we do that when there are gaps or doubts in the present most excepted ones. There is a need by clients for reassurance. Qualified professionals should have first-hand experience on integral approaches they recommend. They must be able to walk the patient through the process with their own valued understanding of the positive benefits and outcomes. The client should feel that this “person” has been healed, changed and is the figure to assist them on their journey to establish a bond that might be life-long. Having a witness and being one can explain the psychological, spiritual and physical development one must practice daily to reach higher levels of overall transformation.

Personally I need to continue to develop on all areas of the integral process. Times, life and circumstances are always dynamic and fluctuating. I have found that what once work doesn’t always and that we must adapt and find solution once that happens. Physically, I was where I wanted to be, but now, I need to rededicate myself to getting back on tract after to an injury. Psychologically there is always room for important. Meditation, listening to relaxing music, mental imagery, vacations and spending time with myself and others is important for my mental growth. I plan on always being aware of how valuable it is to be grounded with love, gratification, kindness, compassion, having a giving nature and practicing daily time-outs. All these adventures lead to spiritual growth eventually. One thing that is missing and I plan to rectify is finding a mentor. I do need guidance and someone I can talk to about my concerns, questions and when I feel less motivated to meditate. Through some of my meditation sessions, I have had the opportunity to pump into entities that given me advice, shared insights, and have said “you are home; it’s been a long time since seeing you”.   

 

Assessment

On a scale of 1-10, as a whole I rate myself an 8. This is a resolving condition and a sought after goal to improve upon daily through reading, searching, and thoughtfulness but also integral thinking. I am a physical person naturally and rate myself an 8 again. I enjoy life’s simple pleasures of the great outdoors and the playground we have inherited that is outside. I will hike mountains, seek peaks to climb, travel by way of river or creek, run up and down hills yet during I am a peace, harmony and tranquil in thought, connected to God. When I am not outside I am working out indoors doing P90X or yoga. But my newest adventure will be Turbo Fire with Chalene Johnson. I could use to lose about twenty pounds of fat, so a fat-loss program is warranted. Daily exercise also refocuses the mind, definitely helps my spirit and self-esteem plus I feel a sense of accomplishment and soothes a restless mind into calmness.

Psychologically I rate myself a 7. I have much work to do on this subject. Recent difficulties have tested my resolve and I have hit many bumps in the road because of it. My perceptions have not always been positive even with my heighten awareness of it. I do get stressed out; feel frustrated if things don’t go my way immediately. When I feel that way, I go within and still my mind from my senses and thoughts to relax, to let another world exist, to reenergize my soul with purpose. I love to be a peace and harmony with things in nature and in my mind. It feels like home!

Spiritually I feel is one of my strength because I have always been aware of it by my ancestors, parents and grandmother who was once a holy woman in our tribe that turn to religion to escape unsolicited visits from the outside world. Even though I feel spiritually connected I rate myself an 8. This is due to my struggle in the psychological area. I recently read an article entitled Empting the Cup: Healing Fragmented Identity. This paper was about indigenous people’s struggles (alcohol, drugs, depression and helplessness) that are in relations to the spiritual stripping and the oppression of culture, language and traditions brought on by colonialism. We have lost our way but seek to educate ourselves and fellow tribal members that we need bring back the old styles of communion, dancing, and spiritual practices. Emptying the Cup implies that our human bodies are physical vessels that contain our spiritual, emotional, and mental energies. My vessel has been filled with images of dancing barbaric savages in war paint, uneducated and defeated people whose culture was deemed heathen and of course cowboys and Indians rivalry. Amy Desjarlais wrote this piece and it made me aware that I need to “empty my cup” of negative colonial ideals and return to the ways of my ancestors. In the past there were traumas but these events are still affecting people to this day in the form of historical trauma theory. Historical trauma is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma resulting from a cataclysmic history of genocide. Thanks to this class and education I have to this point, I have stumbled onto something quite important to me that is healing something I didn’t understand before. Through community support, meetings with tribal leaders and identifying grief I will empower my spirit.   

 

 

 

Goals

Within my work I have set some goals in all aspect of integral health and wellness. More involvement with my community in the neighborhood and tribe through dance, festivals, volunteering, gardening, sharing feelings and rancor but most of all, feeling good about life and the knowing that we can have health, happiness and wholeness for ourselves, friends and enemies. I already have a fitness program (Turbo Fire), nutrition guide and have set a time to start which is after the holidays for 90 days, six days a week. Psychologically I need to continue with my mental practices of meditation, visualizations, and imagery. I have purchased a couple of albums dedicated to meditation. One is by Dr. Miles Neale titled Mindfulness Meditations For Tranquility and Insight and the others is Weight Loss through Hypnosis and Relaxation by Dr. Michael Cohn and DR. Mary Fuller. I have already started using them and they are great tools I bought at the iTunes store.

 

Practices for personal health

I have set goals, deadlines, priorities and will engage persistence and determination to meet all aspects of my spiritual, psychological and physical requirements that I have imposed of myself to heal, strengthen and reach higher places of awakening. Physically its exercise and yoga six days a week with my structured program I have already mentioned. On my days off I will visit my favorite hiking destinations and indulge in blissful meditation there for spiritual connections and energy absorption. I also love art, music and community gatherings. All these expressions of creativity I will utilize to further my spiritual journey, as I will paint, draw and write. New Age music I already use and am using as I write my paper.  Addressing old wounds and exploring the ones I don’t know yet are at the root of my psychological development. I am trying hypnosis via MP3’s with guided practice geared towards openness, stillness and witnessing. Those practice I started last night at bedtime. This morning I was ready for my daily tasks and excited to do them, one is this assignment. I like the idea of cross-training integral practice (Dacher, 2006). The idea is to incorporate all priorities for a whole-body approach to health; addressing individual quadrants with further the development of all. Replacing negativity with can-do attitudes is a focus of mine through contemplative practice as the witness. I see my failings; adjust my feelings and emotions based off that assessment, and work diligently daily to heal. My intention is supreme!    

 

Commitment

I have been on a journey for quite some time now and what I have learned is I am evolving daily with meditation, physical enjoyment through exercise, eating healthy nutritious foods, and with my awareness of myself, the world and universe. We are all connected and part of the whole ocean of consciousness, spirits and energies that we can tap into to help us navigate unmapped territory. The entire universal system is made of the same materials, orbit small and large cosmic bodies are powered by the radiant energies of thought that travel to us, nurtures and heal us. My commitment is to us! My commitment is to all; to respect each individual as precious and a needed part of everything. We all need each other’s help to move on to something wonderful and beyond what we presently have. What we have is good but can be much better if we include everyone and leave no one behind. When we finally realize that hurting others hurts ourselves wars will seize and we will have time, resources, and dedication to spread health, happiness and wholeness to ever corner of the planet instead of suffering. By reconnecting to the Great Spirit, with our Mother Earth and Father Sky Image we can collect our inner peaceful nature, calming our minds to hear the messages, and working in unison as a whole, we will overcome our many obstacles through divine wisdom and loving-kindness which will bring in a new level of reality and existence for humanity that includes living beings and consciousness. My commitment is to experience reconnections lost or forgotten, to stymie my own fears, to be open-minded and committed practitioner of integral health practice that include the practitioners in it makeup and considerations. I can’t forget something written in the Empting the Cup: Healing Fragmented Identity article: it is impressed upon the reader the vital role spiritually practices, culture, and ceremony play in Aboriginal identity, trauma prevention and healing: it also opens the door to discussing a pragmatic approach to culturally appropriate consultation that empowers all communities to take responsibility to come together in a good-way, for a fresh look at the contemporary consultation models and provides necessary inspiration to think beyond the limitations of current diseased and disempowering realities (Desjarlais, 2012).