Unit 9 Final. Chea.

Health and wellness, and the professionals who dedicate themselves to helping people achieve it should embody, practice and teach the primary components that constitute actual health and wellness. In order to do this, professionals must understand much more than just the body; they must understand the mind and the spirit. In the age of never ending technological entertainment, unhealthy foods and unethical behavior, the health of the average person is declining. Many mainstream media sources claim that Atheism, or the non-belief of any higher power is the fastest growing “religion” in world. Combine this idea with the sentence before it, and it appears as if the entire world is suffering from a serious lack of the mind-body-spirit connection. It is important for the professionals to health care to understand these aspects because of not for these healers, who else would be able to bring integral health to the world?

Assessment

In assessing my own health through the three levels of integral health, the mind, body and spirit, I believe that I am doing quite well in all areas. I will be the first to admit that I need work in all of them; but I believe that I am on the right path. In the mind domain, on a scale of 1-10, I would give myself a solid 7. I make it a daily practice to expand my mind and learn new things. I do not watch TV, so I use books to flew my mental muscles, and create pictures and movies in my mind’s eye. Through mindfulness based practices, I have been able to understand my own mind even further, and be an active participant in my life instead of a casual viewer.

            In the body area, I would rate myself at a solid 8. After having completed a personal training certification course, I have added a much needed deeper understanding of the body to my life, and can now work through my own pains and continue to seek physical improvement through daily exercise. I have been working out for the past 10 years on a daily basis, and will be the first to admit that workouts had begun to get a little old and stale. With their being so much information online to sift through, I felt lost in a never ending maze of trends. This course gave me exactly what I needed to light my way towards the end of this maze.

            When it comes to the spirit, I would give myself an 8. I am a highly spiritual person, but follow no organized religion. I have decided to let life be my teacher of religions, instead of following the words of others like me who have interpreted books, visions or otherwise to be the end all be all of religions. A solid belief in a higher, infinitely wiser power has humbled me and destroyed much of the ego that I formerly possessed.

Goal Development

            I do have three goals as a matter of fact. For my physical goal, it is to understand my body much more than I do now, and take the steps to make sure that everything I do for myself keeps those facts in mind. I want my physical body to radiate health, and I understand that it isn’t just mental aspects that influence, but diet and exercise. I am in great shape, but I have pains. I want these pains gone and my muscles strong and lean. My psychological goal is to be a warmer individual to all people, strangers included. No one smiles at one another anymore. No one greets one another randomly on the street. No one holds doors for others, offers their seats to people who need it and give up their spot in line to an individual with less items to buy. I want to be the person who can do all that for a complete stranger, and not do it to make myself feel better, but because I want to do it for them.

My spiritual goal is to connect on a deeper level with my higher self. On clear nights, I like to go outside in the backyard with my dog, put a chair in the middle of my yard and sit back, looking at the stars while drinking a hot drink. I had the most incredible thought and feeling come to me the other night, when out of the blue, I thought “My higher self it out there somewhere watching me”. I don’t know why I thought that, but I felt completely at ease and totally loved, secure that everything was going to be alright. I want to make sure that I am fine tuning my spiritual body so that it can affect everything else in my life and provide me with a greater connection to all things.

Practices for Personal Health

Physical: (1) Daily stretching (yoga) and (2) light workouts. I have found that stretching feels incredible, especially after a good workout. I believe that most of the pains and problems I have today are a result of my refusal to properly stretch during the last 10 years of my heavy workouts. I’ve injured my body, and as a result I have to almost start over again. I don’t look at it as a bad thing, but as a rebirth of sorts, allowing me to do it right this time around.

Mental: (1) Daily studying of the human anatomy and (2) continuing to read each night before bed. After having just completed my personal training certification course, I’ve come to realize that the body is truly a large, biological machine with an integrated super computer as a “head”. If you really study the body, it’s energy systems, the muscles and all, you will be shocked at home it all runs. I believe the key to understanding the Universe it to understand my own physical vessel. I will also continue to read before bed because fostering a good imagination is the key to all of these integral health practices. It all takes imagination, one thing that TV and computers are killing.

Spiritual: (1) Daily meditation and (2) more time in nature. Meditation is my break from the outside and time to focus on Me. I find that taking every opportunity to focus on my breath and become centered has become a way of life for me. It has enabled me to concentrate longer, without getting distracted and it eliminates all sources of stress. I also feel that spending more time in nature will help me to really understand how life should be lived. We are so unnatural in our lives; it’s sad really. The more I get outside, the more I realize that life is so continuous, and that life exist in all places, under all conditions, even in the darkest and scariest depths that you can imagine. The laws that we believe bind us to life are completely ignored by some creatures such as the ones that live on the bottom of the ocean, miles under water, being pressed by thousands of pounds of pressure, without sunlight and warmth. How is this possible?

Commitment

I will assess my progress or lack thereof by constantly being aware of how I feel. That is the only way. You must be conscious of all the things in your body; the sublte energies buzzing in and around you, the way your heart beats, the small aches and pains, the feelings of hunger or thirst, the sleepy feelings in the middle of the day or after a long rest, your posture while you are sitting typing a long paper…everything. I will also gauge my progress by consulting with my twin flame, my sister. My sister and I live on two opposite sides of the continent, but our lives mimic each other’s in every way. When I have a bad day, she has a bad day. If I get sick, she doesn’t feel well. When I have a spontaneous moment of happiness, it’s because she had a great moment. She will let me know how she feels, and I will always feel the same. That is another way I will know how I am doing.

Heartfelt Loving kindness and meditation

This is going to be a rather long post, but I am going out on a limb and will pour my soul out because of some past issues that crept back into my mind and have been bothering me since. These incidents take place when I was sent to Haiti after the earthquake in 2009...


When we got to Haiti, there was nothing standing in the area they drove us to on the way to the "camp". Thousands, upon thousands of tents everywhere. No one had anything. We got to the camp which was a cleared out area that was surrounded by four foot thick concentrina wire, that rounded wire with barbed hooks all over it. It was about chest high, and about a body long, too high to jump over; and that was it. They sent us in to do security on the place. The first day we got there, they showed us around and got us acquainted. The second day, the stood  guard. That day I witnessed grown men offer their daughters to us for sex..or to keep..for only a little bit of food. People crowded around these fences all day long, standing there, watching us watching them. They watched what we were doing, and begged for food. We were told we would be NJP'd or court martialed if we gave them food, so we didn't...

On my third day, I met this young boy named Johnson. Sorry, I'm tearing up now that I'm typing this out. Johnson was wearing a shirt, dirty shorts, sandals and was carrying a backpack..a small blue on that looked empty. I was surprised to walk up and see him talking to my Marines, he knew English very good. I approached him and began talking to him. He told me that he was all alone, and I believe he was all of 13 years old. Johnson's mom, dad and baby sister were killed when the earthquake struck; his house had collapsed..he was the only one who survived. I was shocked, and after a while asked him what he had in his bag. He opened it and told me it was all he had...it was a small English phrase book. I almost cried on the spot, but held it together because of my Marines. He wanted a job, and asked me if I could help him. There were Haitians working on the base, but I knew he wouldn't be able to work..I lied and told him I would see what I could do. He took to calling me "Bossman".

The next day, one of my Marines approached me and said a boy was looking for me at the fence. I went out to see, and it was Johnson. He was being harassed by a a group of about 4-5 boys, all older except one. They were trying to rob him, so he was pacing the fence with the Marines on patrol because he felt safe. I forgot to mention that he was sleeping under the lights illuminating the fence all night..on the ground because he had no where to go. I went up and began talking to him. He was so scared, and didn't want to say why, although the boys around him didn't speak english. I understood and began to get angry, and pointed my rifle at the boys, and told him to tell them to go away before I lost it. They finally did, and I was able to give him a cookie out of my bag. His eyes glowed with tears and he thanked me..shaking my hand with both of his...I sent him on his way, and never saw him again.

The next day, while checking on my Marines, I hear a story from a Haitian that the food the army was giving out wasn't making it into the hands of the people. He said that the gangs had rigged the system, and were taking all the food. The Army had it set up so where you had to give them a ticket in order to get the food they were passing out. Someone in a gang had bought out all the tickets, and was letting his men take the food while these starving people looked on. I told my LT, and he invited me to go investigate the food handout site a short walk from our camp. We left, and walked into the area, but the army wasn't there. On the walk back, I was came up on two boys, one about 4, the other maybe 5. They had an old Nokia cell phone, like the original, and were playing a ringtone over and over again, dancing. They looked at me, bobbing their heads, and I started bobbing my head too. When I asked them what their names were (in French), they told me they were Jimmy and Pechucco (sp?) They were orphans too, and only had that phone. We got back to the back gate, and my LT made me leave them. They watched me and I slowly walked back to my tent..wishing there was more I could do for them.

My heart is breaking right now as I think back on all of those people we just left behind. Superbowl Sunday rolled around, and these bastards rolled out a HUGE big screen, and unloaded A FREAKING TRUCK FULL OF CHIPS. They had so many chips, that I was ordered to take a few boxes back for the Marines. Meanwhile, hungry Haitains stared at the troops gorging themselves on chips and sodas, watching football while they had nothing//NOTHING. I left Haiti after a week, and never saw or heard from any of them again...

I feel the deepest sense of guilt for not having done anything for those people. My guilt runs even deeper when I remember that as soon as I got back to the states, I partied so hard and not once did I think back on those little boys. I practice loving kindness meditations now because of my guilt, and when I do, I listen to African music and envision I'm taking all of their suffering away. I would give up everything I own to provide any of those little boys or girls a few moments of peace and love. The only reason I can deal with this right now is because of the meditation and words from my sister. I have promised myself to never allow the politics of governments to dictate my compassion towards a fellow living creature; ever. Thank you for reading

Meditating with the Masters

Haha that was so corny it's unreal. If you're here reading this, thank you! This is what went on for me this Unit:

I really enjoyed the "Meeting Aesclepius" exercise. Here is what my mentor looked like in my mind's eye. Have any of you seen the old show that used to come on Spike TV called Afro Samurai? Well he was kind of like that. I imagined this old, skinny man that was extremely muscular, just not in a body builder type way..like a Bruce Lee body or something. His hair was a dull grey, and he had a receding hairline. He was wearing a white, traditional Tae Kwon Do gi and had the sleeves rolled up. past his forearms. He was sitting cross legged in front of me, and I noticed (how do I "notice" something that I am imagining?) that he had on loose fitting black pants with no shoes or socks. His feet were also worn and calloused, showing years of training barefoot on various types of ground. He kept a slight smile on his face, and I knew in my head that this guy was the epitome of the peaceful warrior. I knew that he had all of the skill in the world, all of the wisdom, but what he chose to show everyone (or just me) was the calm, loving, yet disturbingly balanced and powerful quiet nature. When I was young and taking traditional martial arts, I had dreams of owning my own school, and being that super old sensei that was feared and highly respected. When my mind drifted, I would notice that he was still there, not having moved an inch. Haha I got IN TO this meditation didn't I?

By the end, I had decided that this old Master was truly the person that I wish to be in the "future"...and maybe I shall..maybe I shall.

In looking at the quote "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself", I believe that statement more than anything. I learned this early on as being a key principle in leadership. In the Marines, I would never, ever, ever make my Marines do anything that I hadn't or wasn't willing to do myself. It was because of this that my Marines didn't look at me as a guy who bossed them around, but as a man just as them; a man that would get dirty with them and not sit by on the sidelines and watch them do it. To lead another down a road that you have not traveled yourself makes you a liar to not only that person you are leading, but yourself. It's a shame that more people haven't realized this yet, and that they continue to deceive themselves on a daily basis.

Whew that was a lot. Thanks for reading. Have a great week.