Meeting asclepius was a great practice exercise, I actually felt the presence of my chosen healer and was actually able to feel like I had merged with my healer. It's hard to explain but it was very pronounced in my legs especially...
I practive the subtle mind excercise daily. I have been doing this now for several weeks and it has made a tremendous impact on my life.
And by continually making this my practice each day I feel I will be doing great benefit to my emotional, spiritual and mental well being which will help my physical well being as a result.
The saying 'one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself.' Makes sense because why would I think that someone who teaches mediation but who has never meditated could assist me in fostering my spiritual growth & help me understand my milestones and through practical experience assist me when I need help pulling through rough patches? They most likely couldn't relate to what I was telling them and therefore could not provide me adequate advice to help me grow more or breath through the road block I find myself in!
I feel I have an obligation to know what I am doing through practical experience instead of just studying about it...
Just like the Saducees & Pharasees in the bible... they can sure talk a good talk but when it comes to practicing and knowing in their heart the truth of God they are as good as a drunken blind irishman trying to plow a straight line in a wheat field... they'll take you in circles but you won't get anywhere.
(No disrespect to irishmen, I'm polish & I don't take polish jokes personally) lol
Monday, June 20, 2011
unit 6
I first must determine what are my priorities and what practices will assist with this shift in developing this quadrant of my being and work towards flourishing in this under-developed area of my life.
I need to create a line of development in my journal (blog), set goals, time lines and identify what practices will take me toward my goal.
For example I am going to chose an urgent area I need to develop and I think it falls into the pscho-spiritual quadrant.
Urgent area: Believing that God would heal me if I sought healing.
What area of my life impacts this problem? Spiritual trust and (it's about me/not God).
Do I seek medical treatment for this ailment? Yes I have, I've been to the dentist 6 times for root canals.
I floss every night religiously and periodically during the day.
I wear a mouth guard every night.
I brush 2x a day and rinse with special mouth wash.
I eat healthy foods such as lots of fresh veggies. At least one meal is all veggies.
I only drink 1 glass of soda per day.
I drink plenty of water...
Problem: I automatically think a lump, tenderness or anything 'out of the ordinary' with
my gums or teeth means I need another root canal.
Then I worry and hash over the fact that I now need another root canal & sure as heck I will need one.
I think it is psychosomatic! I have decided to utilize what I've learned about mindfulness and when ever I feel anything 'wierd' in my HEALTHY mouth I will NOT allow any idea's of "oh no, this is happening again!, oh god I can't afford to go to the dentist!, I wish I had no teeth" type talk the continuous thinking of 'the inevitable' is happening.
From now on (and I have begun to do this for the past week or so) when ever I am tempted to use my tongue to feel the contour of my mouth 'checking for problems' I instead...
when ever I get the impulse to look for problems and or think about my mouth/teeth/gums I intentionally think "Well..." (as in I am well, good, fine) and I refuse to allow anything else to come into my mind & I conjure up a feeling of Well Being and I am able to disregard my previous concern and return to my day feeling everything is Well and fine! It works for me.
Instead of fretting about some imagined problem I have turned it around and automatically assume Good about what I am checking on and I can resume with my day with a peace of mind I was unable to obtain before! Now I believe in this way God has heard my desperate plea for healing and he taught me how to heal by not getting myself to think myself sick. Through needless and useless worry.
I need to create a line of development in my journal (blog), set goals, time lines and identify what practices will take me toward my goal.
For example I am going to chose an urgent area I need to develop and I think it falls into the pscho-spiritual quadrant.
Urgent area: Believing that God would heal me if I sought healing.
What area of my life impacts this problem? Spiritual trust and (it's about me/not God).
Do I seek medical treatment for this ailment? Yes I have, I've been to the dentist 6 times for root canals.
I floss every night religiously and periodically during the day.
I wear a mouth guard every night.
I brush 2x a day and rinse with special mouth wash.
I eat healthy foods such as lots of fresh veggies. At least one meal is all veggies.
I only drink 1 glass of soda per day.
I drink plenty of water...
Problem: I automatically think a lump, tenderness or anything 'out of the ordinary' with
my gums or teeth means I need another root canal.
Then I worry and hash over the fact that I now need another root canal & sure as heck I will need one.
I think it is psychosomatic! I have decided to utilize what I've learned about mindfulness and when ever I feel anything 'wierd' in my HEALTHY mouth I will NOT allow any idea's of "oh no, this is happening again!, oh god I can't afford to go to the dentist!, I wish I had no teeth" type talk the continuous thinking of 'the inevitable' is happening.
From now on (and I have begun to do this for the past week or so) when ever I am tempted to use my tongue to feel the contour of my mouth 'checking for problems' I instead...
when ever I get the impulse to look for problems and or think about my mouth/teeth/gums I intentionally think "Well..." (as in I am well, good, fine) and I refuse to allow anything else to come into my mind & I conjure up a feeling of Well Being and I am able to disregard my previous concern and return to my day feeling everything is Well and fine! It works for me.
Instead of fretting about some imagined problem I have turned it around and automatically assume Good about what I am checking on and I can resume with my day with a peace of mind I was unable to obtain before! Now I believe in this way God has heard my desperate plea for healing and he taught me how to heal by not getting myself to think myself sick. Through needless and useless worry.
Just a note...
For the past 2 months after I had bought some books on face reading I have wanted to learn to read faces.
I feel it is an important thing to do for my career in the legal field and also working with troubled parents & I want to know their character because I know they are not going to openly tell me.
Anyway, I have the books. I've read em' then I got busy with school (which is not a bad thing of course)...
and lots of other excuses arose and I have not learned a thing (as of this past friday) and with the help
of previous studies & the wise information learned in this class and realizing the advice I was giving my daughter to help her overcome procrastination and feelings of defeat and hopelessness something clicked!
I realized I need to apply what I told her in my pursuit of learning what I am passionate about... face reading.
Friday night as I lay in bed I thought "why haven't I learned this yet?"
I mulled it over and as I lay there in stillness wondering silently I heard myself think "just allow face reading information to flow through your mind and nothing else."
I sat up in bed and then laid back down... that was the answer!
So Saturday morning I woke up and my mind wanted to just be silent & or try and get me to think of misc. junk about the day or life or whatever... I stopped the misc. junk thoughts and I would only allow and have only allowed definitions of what parts of the face mean and shapes of faces and so forth and I realized when I set my mind to it I could visualize the face shapes I was thinking about & I actually did remember the definitions of some of the area's of the face... I didn't know I knew this information by heart but when I only allowed my mind to ONLY think about faces & face reading information it surprised me with what it did know!
My mind wants to think about something all the time, it's the nature of the beast so I thought why not make it think what I want it too, I learn valuable information in the process and we're both happy! lol
It still tests me of course! But unless there is silence/stillness I am and will only think about face reading.
& in 2 day's I have learned and remembered more on the subject and I am wonderfully surprised at the great results!
And since my mind hates repeating the same 'face' information for instance, learning all the meanings of the forehead angles for 2 day's (lol), I am devouring information on the next area of the face and learning it in record time! My mind is like a catapillar I guess, give it food to think about and mull over and when it's mastered that it wants more to feed on! I make it prove to me that it KNOWS the previous info. before I will add something new & fresh to it's memory library! We are on the same page now! It's fantastic!
I just had to share this break through... hope it helps someone else!
It takes sheer determination and will to do this but when you get mad enough and put your foot down it makes a world of difference! The mind will listen! So cool.
I feel it is an important thing to do for my career in the legal field and also working with troubled parents & I want to know their character because I know they are not going to openly tell me.
Anyway, I have the books. I've read em' then I got busy with school (which is not a bad thing of course)...
and lots of other excuses arose and I have not learned a thing (as of this past friday) and with the help
of previous studies & the wise information learned in this class and realizing the advice I was giving my daughter to help her overcome procrastination and feelings of defeat and hopelessness something clicked!
I realized I need to apply what I told her in my pursuit of learning what I am passionate about... face reading.
Friday night as I lay in bed I thought "why haven't I learned this yet?"
I mulled it over and as I lay there in stillness wondering silently I heard myself think "just allow face reading information to flow through your mind and nothing else."
I sat up in bed and then laid back down... that was the answer!
So Saturday morning I woke up and my mind wanted to just be silent & or try and get me to think of misc. junk about the day or life or whatever... I stopped the misc. junk thoughts and I would only allow and have only allowed definitions of what parts of the face mean and shapes of faces and so forth and I realized when I set my mind to it I could visualize the face shapes I was thinking about & I actually did remember the definitions of some of the area's of the face... I didn't know I knew this information by heart but when I only allowed my mind to ONLY think about faces & face reading information it surprised me with what it did know!
My mind wants to think about something all the time, it's the nature of the beast so I thought why not make it think what I want it too, I learn valuable information in the process and we're both happy! lol
It still tests me of course! But unless there is silence/stillness I am and will only think about face reading.
& in 2 day's I have learned and remembered more on the subject and I am wonderfully surprised at the great results!
And since my mind hates repeating the same 'face' information for instance, learning all the meanings of the forehead angles for 2 day's (lol), I am devouring information on the next area of the face and learning it in record time! My mind is like a catapillar I guess, give it food to think about and mull over and when it's mastered that it wants more to feed on! I make it prove to me that it KNOWS the previous info. before I will add something new & fresh to it's memory library! We are on the same page now! It's fantastic!
I just had to share this break through... hope it helps someone else!
It takes sheer determination and will to do this but when you get mad enough and put your foot down it makes a world of difference! The mind will listen! So cool.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Free Meditation music & Health & wellness course
http://www.withinsight.com/meditation/#!state_list_page
Here are 21 FREE meditations from sounds true publications.
If you are having trouble seeing this link or retrieving the information
I linked... go to www.soundstrue.com home page & on the front
of their website you'll see FREE offerings follow the prompts and you
will find the meditations or what ever else your interested in...
Enjoy!
If you have found this helpful please let me know.
Thanks so much
Liz
Here are 21 FREE meditations from sounds true publications.
If you are having trouble seeing this link or retrieving the information
I linked... go to www.soundstrue.com home page & on the front
of their website you'll see FREE offerings follow the prompts and you
will find the meditations or what ever else your interested in...
Enjoy!
If you have found this helpful please let me know.
Thanks so much
Liz
Monday, June 13, 2011
Power point for unit 5
I unfortunately could not upload it onto my blog... please look at Unit 5's Blog DB to view
my power point presentation in unit 5 thanks! Liz
my power point presentation in unit 5 thanks! Liz
Friday, June 10, 2011
unit 5 Post
I think the Loving kindness exercises was a great way to connect with others and understand our connection with those who seem to be 'out there' from us. When taking on their suffering it teaches me that it is ok to help others because in helping others Goodness increases for both (relief and wellness I am giving to them & I feel Good because it's a great act of compassion because I can expect nothing in return from them... I do it because it is a good thing to do.)
The Subtle mind practice was a great way to connect with my inner being-ness & through our studies I realize that this too is a connection with all, everyone, everything. This one inner "I-ness" that I am seeking to merge with and discover is the SAME "I-ness" that is in everyone! There is only ONE "I" and it's easy to lose that understanding because the personality which is very individualistic and separate from "I" being, thinks it is the I, but once the realization hits that I is beyond (behind) the personality and it's uniqueness, we can find the I-ness within and understand this is all there is... everything else is illusion, man made thought forms... they may seem & feel real but they are not the REAL and that is why they decay, fade and deteriorate back into the earth... the REAL does not die, decay or fade...that is how you know when you found the true inner I the one we all share and really are!
And I also think that our spiritual wellness and our mental and physical wellness depend upon this truth. And find I am working diligently to connect with something I don't have to work at to find a connection with and now that is what I am trying to do is not work at it but allow this connection to be and dwell there in spiritual, mental, and physical wellness until I shed this physical body and really find out that it was not real... but the I inside is real.
*For the meeting Aesclepius excercise (Subtle Mind Practice) found I really could feel my body as if (the Wise Person I chose) were superimposed over me. I felt energized, open, at peace with an overall sense of wellbeing surrounding me...like everything is alright! I had not ounce of worry or concern in my mind or heart and I felt a deep love, tenderness & compassion within me it was great.
I will definetly do these excercises again and again! I find they are beneficial to my spiritual, mental & physical wellness and in no way would I want to let go of that feeling. And I have been sticking to my goal of doing these mediations 2-3x a day (usually 2 but sometimes 3) and I feel a definite improvement in my overall attitude and thought patterns.
Liz
The Subtle mind practice was a great way to connect with my inner being-ness & through our studies I realize that this too is a connection with all, everyone, everything. This one inner "I-ness" that I am seeking to merge with and discover is the SAME "I-ness" that is in everyone! There is only ONE "I" and it's easy to lose that understanding because the personality which is very individualistic and separate from "I" being, thinks it is the I, but once the realization hits that I is beyond (behind) the personality and it's uniqueness, we can find the I-ness within and understand this is all there is... everything else is illusion, man made thought forms... they may seem & feel real but they are not the REAL and that is why they decay, fade and deteriorate back into the earth... the REAL does not die, decay or fade...that is how you know when you found the true inner I the one we all share and really are!
And I also think that our spiritual wellness and our mental and physical wellness depend upon this truth. And find I am working diligently to connect with something I don't have to work at to find a connection with and now that is what I am trying to do is not work at it but allow this connection to be and dwell there in spiritual, mental, and physical wellness until I shed this physical body and really find out that it was not real... but the I inside is real.
*For the meeting Aesclepius excercise (Subtle Mind Practice) found I really could feel my body as if (the Wise Person I chose) were superimposed over me. I felt energized, open, at peace with an overall sense of wellbeing surrounding me...like everything is alright! I had not ounce of worry or concern in my mind or heart and I felt a deep love, tenderness & compassion within me it was great.
I will definetly do these excercises again and again! I find they are beneficial to my spiritual, mental & physical wellness and in no way would I want to let go of that feeling. And I have been sticking to my goal of doing these mediations 2-3x a day (usually 2 but sometimes 3) and I feel a definite improvement in my overall attitude and thought patterns.
Liz
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Post 2 in unit 4
The concept of the mental workout is utilizing this workout to transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion and doubt to arise while enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving kindness, openness, acceptance and happiness.
It provides enhanced resistance to mental distress and physical disease and promotes well being. Also the most meaningful aim is NOT to rest or relax but to progressively develop an expanded consciousness (unity consciousness) and its healing capacities.
Well being requires a diminished focus on oneself and an enhanced concern and compassion for others.
When we tame the mind through perseverence and continued practice (establishing new and healthful habits) we will be able to still the mind and develop a witnessing consciousness and then evolve to calm abiding which then evolves naturally over time into unity consciousness.
It provides enhanced resistance to mental distress and physical disease and promotes well being. Also the most meaningful aim is NOT to rest or relax but to progressively develop an expanded consciousness (unity consciousness) and its healing capacities.
Well being requires a diminished focus on oneself and an enhanced concern and compassion for others.
When we tame the mind through perseverence and continued practice (establishing new and healthful habits) we will be able to still the mind and develop a witnessing consciousness and then evolve to calm abiding which then evolves naturally over time into unity consciousness.
Persistance
I have continued to keep to my goal of doing the subtle mind
practice 2-3 times a day and I have found that my mind wanders
less over all and I can retain the witnessing mind with more and
more ease w/o having to return to my breath to get my focus
back. I feel calmer and more peaceful afterwards and this lasts
longer and longer after each practice session into my daily life
activities which is very nice.
practice 2-3 times a day and I have found that my mind wanders
less over all and I can retain the witnessing mind with more and
more ease w/o having to return to my breath to get my focus
back. I feel calmer and more peaceful afterwards and this lasts
longer and longer after each practice session into my daily life
activities which is very nice.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Day two in Unit 4
Here is what happened...
I went from focusing on my breath with every ounce of concentration to
the next 'phase' where I was observing the antics of my mind such as the
thoughts it was handing me and the images it wanted me to see and I found
the whole thing quite funny. I chuckled and was amazed at the things that
go on in my own mind!
Then I had trouble off and on with these thoughts sticking to me and it was
once again as if it was me (the observing presence) having these thoughts
though I knew better. And I thought I cannot untangle myself from these
thoughts, I lose myself in them actually. And then I would quickly concentrate
on my breath. Then after focusing on my breath I returned to the observing of
these thoughts and images of the mind and I realized after a bit that I was just
there...observing but nothing got my attention I was able to seperate myself from
the mind and stay here for awhile, quite awhile and as I noticed this I was realized
everything my mind put out and flowed past my awareness it didn't matter, I just
couldn't be bothered by it. It faded into oblivion I guess these thoughts seemed so
much more distant from ME, just out of reach really. A second could have passed
or several minutes I just don't know because the sense of time was not there. Wierd.
And I was somewhere but nowhere at the same time and even noticing this didn't
cause me to lose my 'place' in this phase of being. Was it calm abiding? May be it
was... I was calm, very calm and I was just dwelling 'there' so it could be that I made
it to the second stage of the excercise! I look forward to hearing about other's
experience to see how we compare and if others felt the same in the calm abiding phase.
Have a great day! Liz
I went from focusing on my breath with every ounce of concentration to
the next 'phase' where I was observing the antics of my mind such as the
thoughts it was handing me and the images it wanted me to see and I found
the whole thing quite funny. I chuckled and was amazed at the things that
go on in my own mind!
Then I had trouble off and on with these thoughts sticking to me and it was
once again as if it was me (the observing presence) having these thoughts
though I knew better. And I thought I cannot untangle myself from these
thoughts, I lose myself in them actually. And then I would quickly concentrate
on my breath. Then after focusing on my breath I returned to the observing of
these thoughts and images of the mind and I realized after a bit that I was just
there...observing but nothing got my attention I was able to seperate myself from
the mind and stay here for awhile, quite awhile and as I noticed this I was realized
everything my mind put out and flowed past my awareness it didn't matter, I just
couldn't be bothered by it. It faded into oblivion I guess these thoughts seemed so
much more distant from ME, just out of reach really. A second could have passed
or several minutes I just don't know because the sense of time was not there. Wierd.
And I was somewhere but nowhere at the same time and even noticing this didn't
cause me to lose my 'place' in this phase of being. Was it calm abiding? May be it
was... I was calm, very calm and I was just dwelling 'there' so it could be that I made
it to the second stage of the excercise! I look forward to hearing about other's
experience to see how we compare and if others felt the same in the calm abiding phase.
Have a great day! Liz
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
unit 4 post 1 of 3
In the excercises I had very interesting experiences. In the loving-kindness excercise I thought it was very beneficial as it had a carry over effect into the suble mind excercise here is what happened.
During the Subtle mind excercise I observed how my mind wanted to notice things, first my mind would move to the sound of the waves as I focused on my breath, then as I let it go and returned to my breath my mind heard seagulls and other birds 'at the ocean' then I returned to my focus (breath) and then I noticed my mind wanted to analyze what was happening, it was acting as if it were me in that it would say 'wonder why I heard birds? This is obviously a computerized ocean sound, my mind must want to find things' then I realized my mind had become 'alive' it thought it was someone it thought it was ME! I returned to my breath, then my mind started to analyze 'isn't it odd how the mind searches for anything to cling too? It searches for things to hear and see... it feeds on thinking, mulling things over and it always wants to be in a discussion?'
Then my mind thought a few other things before I returned the focus on my breath, then I had a visual of (the loving kindness mediation) and I felt how it feels to take in everyones suffering into my heart & my body wanted to cry, sadness came over me then my mind thought..."it's been transmuted" and I returned the focus to my breathing.
During one point I felt a glimpse of Being. Stillness. I was nothiing but I was... at the same time. Then my mind began to analyze this 'feeling' and the excercise ended...
As I found my mind analyzing I wondered 'what is this thinker within? Who is breathing this body? Who is directing the breaths? Is it this mind being who speaks all the time or is it the "I" am being found as stillness? Who is doing it? And I found myself deeply contemplating this after the session ended. The mind I see feeds on activity its as if it will die without doing something! But it is true it is always grasping as if it were a person drowning and grasping at anything that floats on by. And behind it all was an inner essence observing the obsurdity of this inner dialog my mind was having with itself.
It really is insanity if you really think about it. (Who is thinking about it? My mind who is grasping at something to mull over or this "I" ness who is very curious about the antics of the mind?).
I hope to hear from you and tell me if you noticed anything similar, like the mind becoming someone and thinking things as if it were a conscious entity and determining answers that it seemed quite satisfied with. I look forward to hearing from you all! Liz Hobby
During the Subtle mind excercise I observed how my mind wanted to notice things, first my mind would move to the sound of the waves as I focused on my breath, then as I let it go and returned to my breath my mind heard seagulls and other birds 'at the ocean' then I returned to my focus (breath) and then I noticed my mind wanted to analyze what was happening, it was acting as if it were me in that it would say 'wonder why I heard birds? This is obviously a computerized ocean sound, my mind must want to find things' then I realized my mind had become 'alive' it thought it was someone it thought it was ME! I returned to my breath, then my mind started to analyze 'isn't it odd how the mind searches for anything to cling too? It searches for things to hear and see... it feeds on thinking, mulling things over and it always wants to be in a discussion?'
Then my mind thought a few other things before I returned the focus on my breath, then I had a visual of (the loving kindness mediation) and I felt how it feels to take in everyones suffering into my heart & my body wanted to cry, sadness came over me then my mind thought..."it's been transmuted" and I returned the focus to my breathing.
During one point I felt a glimpse of Being. Stillness. I was nothiing but I was... at the same time. Then my mind began to analyze this 'feeling' and the excercise ended...
As I found my mind analyzing I wondered 'what is this thinker within? Who is breathing this body? Who is directing the breaths? Is it this mind being who speaks all the time or is it the "I" am being found as stillness? Who is doing it? And I found myself deeply contemplating this after the session ended. The mind I see feeds on activity its as if it will die without doing something! But it is true it is always grasping as if it were a person drowning and grasping at anything that floats on by. And behind it all was an inner essence observing the obsurdity of this inner dialog my mind was having with itself.
It really is insanity if you really think about it. (Who is thinking about it? My mind who is grasping at something to mull over or this "I" ness who is very curious about the antics of the mind?).
I hope to hear from you and tell me if you noticed anything similar, like the mind becoming someone and thinking things as if it were a conscious entity and determining answers that it seemed quite satisfied with. I look forward to hearing from you all! Liz Hobby
Thursday, June 02, 2011
relaxing music
soothing & relaxing music take a listen and enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSgPDKG6bB0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSgPDKG6bB0&feature=related
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