A Better Path to Wholeness

Hello,

I have used contemplative practices for years, mostly in the form of deep breathing and visualization, but I have found that mindfulness meditation and healing meditation to be my two new favorites.  I have been able to evolve my mental abilities, clarity, empathy, sensitivity, compassion, courage, patience and resilience.  It has also heightened my capacity of intimacy and loving-kindness as purported by Dacher (Dacher, 2006).  Don’t misunderstand, I still do my deep breathing exercise daily, but that is mostly to relax and I used visualization when I feel the need to get away.   But since I've  learned how to used visualization with healing meditation and mindfulness or subtle mind to look deep inside and identify troubling thoughts and emotions, my everyday experiences have greatly improved.  I have found these practices to be very beneficial in helping me cope with negative situations and negative people.  I don't allow their words and attitudes to pollute my mental and/or emotional essence.

How can I use these practices in my professional life?  That's a good question that required some intense thought.  My major is Health and Wellness and my professional area is in preventive medicine.  My community suffers from a lot of preventive illness that are the result of lifestyle behavior.  Two of the most common negative behaviors are smoking and alcohol consumption.  We do have a growing prescription drug problem, and there are dietary issues that also complicate matters, but smoking and alcohol consumption are the major factors affecting health in my community.  The outreach component is in place, but the tools currently being used are ineffective.  Currently we employ educational forums and brochures, but we need to implement workshops to empower the individuals.   I strongly feel that contemplative practices should be one of the workshops. 

Teaching the individual what's wrong with their current lifestyle is one thing, but teaching them how to affectively change is another.   When I worked with the diabetes outreach I told the groups about starting a walk team.  However none of them reported forming one in their neighborhood.  Finally I spoke with the neighborhood associations and we formed neighborhood walk teams and recruited members of outreach group.  It was successful. Over 80% of the members became members of the neighborhood walk team.  I think it is because we became proactive in setting them up thus eliminating the need for them to do it.  Some of the participants shared the idea with their families and church congregation and last year we had a local event "Walking for Prevention" that was formed by this group.  It was small but they did raise over $5000 in donations (Webber, 2009). 

Interactive activities have proven to be more effective than sit and learn.  When you participate you often take ownership. I know I never would have started meditation had it not been for my Philosophy teacher who thought enough of her class to incorporate it into her instructions.  It has had a profound effect on my life and I feel that even though some participants may not continue to use contemplative practices, those that do shall benefit and maybe find other forms to help them on the path to human flourishing.  

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA, USA: Basic Health Publication, Inc.

Webber, V. N. (2009). PAL Annual Report. Fort Worth: Partners At Lunch.