Psychology
of the Body teaches somatic awareness. This awareness aids in physical, mental,
and spiritual healing, well-being, and evolution. Awareness of the
body/mind/spirit connection is cultivated and enhanced though the use of
different body-centered modalities. Unit one focuses on the body/earth relationship.
Unit two’s looks at the body/mind relationship. Finally, unit three uncovers
the body/spirit relationship. While each unit has a specific focus, each unit
cannot help but incorporate all three elements (mind, body and spirit) into its
teachings and articles as they are all intertwined and in fact, emanate from
the same energy Source.
While developing my body/earth connection
I learned to feel my body as I had
never done before. It was a new idea to me. The article titled, “Yoga: The Art
of Relaxation” (1979) by Keers & Lewenstain really helped with this! I
learned how to truly relax my body and take in complete feeling of every limb. Now I wonder if I ever truly knew
how to relax or what that word meant in its entirety before I read this
article. My favorite exercise from this article was called sinking into the floor. I continue to practice this exercise when I
finish working out at the gym and go into the sauna. I envision myself sinking
into the wooden bench. The wooden smell reminds me of the earth. I imagine I am
sinking into the earth and exchanging energies with Gaia. It is truly a
somatically spiritual experience.
I have also learned to look at the
implications of certain ailments with regards to what my body is telling me
about my mental, emotional, and spiritual states. I ask myself questions such
as, “Do I need to slow down? What is missing? What is my Self telling my self?
Am I truly listening to the Source via our means of somatic communication? What
message am I getting? Where do I need to focus on my self?” These questions
have led to a more holistic and fulfilling lifestyle even in the brief time I
have started utilizing them more fully.
At the beginning of this unit I received my level three reiki
certification under the Usui tradition. Upon completion my teacher sent me a
meditation/grounding CD that not only helps me ground mentally and physically
but has greatly aided in my physical sense of well-being. I have really started
to somatically experience the benefits of meditation, feeling more focused and
confident when I am finished. In summation, I have taken my experience of inhabiting my body to a new level of
awareness and understanding. I have also started exchanging with Gaia rather
than simply taking. I have learned the importance of talking and listening; giving and receiving energy;
conducting equal exchanges with the Source.
Focusing on my body/mind
relationship was also quite insightful. I practiced reiki a lot on myself
during this unit. I also did some yoga classes, as I wanted to continue
developing my body/earth connection and learning how to listen to my body’s
messages. The Imagineering article we read really reminded me of some
insightful points I have heard before but forgot. These include ridding our
vocabulary of shoulds. It also asks
the reader the question, “What happened to your life?” Then it answers it
saying, “You!” I thought this was a
great question/answer. It really made
the point that what is in your life
reflects what is in your mind. It
also implores the reader to let go of the comfort of familiar pain if you want
positive changes to occur in your life. I thought this was brilliant. I ended
this article with a shamanic journeying exercise because I enjoyed this so much
in our introductory course. It was equally as amazing. I have started doing
this type of meditation more. It really resonates with me!
The article on Forgiveness by Luskin
and the Hawaiian prayer on forgiveness were really touching. I had a really
great realization when contemplating both of these readings. I had also
recently read the chapter on forgiveness in Walsh’s
book Essential Spirituality. Thinking
about forgiveness while eating dinner inspired me to liken forgiveness to the
digestion process. I really gained valuable insights into the connection
between forgiveness and our physical, mental, and spiritual health and growth.
I also realized that many times what needs to be let go of in situations of resentment are my personal expectations of others.
While doing some soul-searching on
holding patterns in my life, developed in my youth and still active, I found
several negative and positive ones. Some of the negative ones include
perfectionism and feelings of inferiority. I am also highly critical. Letting
go of these have been works in progress. There is a tendency towards chemical
dependency in my family that I gave up years ago. I am proud of this. There are
some positive holding patterns too. I learned in Montessori
school to put my hands on my head. We
did this when we needed quiet time to gather ourselves and calm down. The
teacher would say, “Everyone be still and put your hands on your head”, reducing
the temptation to fidget and place our attention elsewhere. Today, when I need
to gather myself I will usually pace around my home with my hands interlocked
on top of my head. I sent much gratitude to my teacher for learning this
technique. I may never have expressed this gratitude for this trait had the
article not reminded me of it. Another positive holding pattern is my love of
jumping on a trampoline when I need to vent and process stuff in my mind. This
physical activity was developed during my youth. When I gave up chemical
dependency I bought a mini-rebounder and reverted back to this activity to deal
with stress.
I also revised my healthy living plan during this unit.
Once revised I really started implementing it into my daily routine. I began
scheduling play dates with myself. I started doing all my own cooking again as
I honored my need for a gluten-free diet. I started going to the gym regularly
and meditating while in the sauna. I also made a concerted effort to do my
grounding meditation once a day, even if it meant doing it while I was driving
to work. I also learned the importance of keeping my word to myself. I really
learned how important play dates with self/Self are and the detrimental effects
of not honoring these dates.
Unit three focused on the
body/spirit relationship. I learned about the subtleties of body/spirit
manifestations. Murphy’s article really showed me how we can have spiritual
experiences by merely being somatically conscious. He uses examples of shamans
and ascetics as well as physically disabled people such as Helen Keller.
We can manipulate our somatic senses to facilitate heightened spiritual
awareness. I also learned not to be so self-critical when I am ill (really
timely as I had just caught a nasty cold and was really getting down on
myself).
During the nature walk I actually
experienced a physical lightness to my step as I connected self with Self and
had some insights into different parts of my life that are ready for some
changes and transitions. I also really started understanding how our outward
experiences are manifestations of our inner condition.
I also started understanding the
idea of unified consciousness - how we all emanate from the same vibrational
Source. This understanding deepened when I read Healing Words by Dossey. Between the reading and Dawn’s commentary on the week six discussion board, I
really started to visualize the unified consciousness of all beings and how
this translates into vibrations which are heightened when we pray for others. I
never looked at prayer in this manner before. I had always regarded prayer via
the traditional ideas presented by the Catholic church. Looking at the
body/mind as an energy system helped me understand reiki and its implications
on a whole different level. It deepened my understanding of the kind of work
that can be done with chakras. The excerpt from Brennan’s
book Hands of Light also really deepened my understanding of this connection.
This is also great because it is more information to put into my folder of
dissertation ideas! I started this folder last quarter when I wrote a final
paper about using the chakras as an assessment tool for gaining insight into
what is going on with someone mentally, physically, and spiritually. There is
more to it than this but for the purpose of this paper that is all I shall say
about it.
In summation, this class was great.
It really helped me get some great ideas for things I want to incorporate into
my holistic health practice. It motivated me to start writing stuff down for my
website, brochures, and business plan. It helped me to define my niche in this
industry. I learned the benefits of person-centered philosophies and
process-oriented practices. I learned what these things mean and why they are
helpful to clients. I really appreciate my time in this class. Additionally, I
found a new tool – shamanic journeying meditations – which I never knew
anything of previously and absolutely fell in love with! Studying shamanism and
reading that book Animal Speak really helped me get more in tune with nature
and all its subtle ways of communicating with me. Thank you so much for giving
the blessings of this class and your personal wisdom to my cohort and myself!
