The inner self is a magical place, it's like that best friend you had as a child, you laughed, talked and played together the friend no one knew about but you, the best friend that comforted you, when you were in pain, and only you knew they were there. What does this have to do with "Mental Workout"? Children are closest to Spirit than any one. Children don't question, they just participate, and they know that there is a part of them that is unseen, and that their young knowing is misunderstood, yet they interact with it daily regardless of what they're told; or how often they are scolded not to talk to themselves. :) I believe we should enter our "Mental Workout" in the same way playfully with childlike abandon anticipating and believing that anything is possible. Opening our minds to the idea that what we are doing is limitless and opens up all kinds of possibilities not only for ourselves, but others.
I feel that inner work should be fun, and can be very much like that childhood experience when you created whatever you wanted, all from within. You gave no thought to the outcome you just believed. I believe mental imagery, meditation, and what Dacher calls "Mental Workout" is the same thing. The inner self the part of us we have neglected and as a result must retrain by doing "Mental Workouts".
When Dacher suggest that we do something called "Mental Workout", what he is suggesting is that we do mind exercises; I would compare to calisthenics, naturally expanding our mind by using only our mind. And doing this training requires discipline by setting a specific time, and creating a sacred space in which to do your practice. By doing this you can expand your consciousness towards enlightenment.
Dacher says: A time set aside each day for exercising the mind through meditative contemplation with the purpose of learning to use more of our minds capacity". This is how we arrive at the place of "Olympian mental fitness". The idea is to stabilize the mind thus entering into a higher state of consciousness.
I would call it "Fine-Tuning" the mind. Desiring to be conscious is personal, wanting to be more aware is a positive. We can utilize whatever tools work best for us; however, Dacher's model is a great start. Happy meditating.
Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health: The path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, Ca. Basic Health Publications.
I like the point of view you have taken, through the eyes of childhood innocence and exploration. I think that we loose that spirit of adventure somewhere about the time we stop believing in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. Anxiety begins to set in about the time we realize that there are school tests to take and poor grades have ramifications.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the popularity of computer games are replacing the imagination and creativity of play. I see the popularity of texting and the social network replacing face to face interaction. It is sad. We are growing a society that not only has lost touch with their inner self, but have starved to death inner creativity.
Texting and facebook do not allow the nuances of voice inflection, body language ,or the millions of nonverbal cues that face to face interaction allows.
Guided imagery allows us to embrace the inner self in an attitude of calm and peace. It allows us to embrace our own true self and recognize the various facets of our own personality.
Great entry by the way. Gave me a really neat way to look at meditation.
HI Johnnie!
ReplyDeleteLike the comment before me, I really like the approach you have taken to your practice; like a child. You are right when you say that when children commit they do so without hesitation. I love that. For instance, my daughter picked a baby yoga book out at the library the last time we went. To watch my two year old try to do the poses throughout the book is too cute. The point is, she does not know if she is doing them 'right', she is just fully engaged and enjoying every minute. We can all learn a lesson from that :). Happy meditating to you too!
Janena
Johnnie,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better myself. You have the best blogs and they are so easy to understand.
I like how you said "I believe mental imagery, meditation, and what Dacher calls "Mental Workout" is the same thing. The inner self the part of us we have neglected and as a result must retrain by doing "Mental Workouts"."
I agree with you, all of those things are the same thing to me, I mean cause that's how I also interpreted it.
On a different note, as a single mother, how would you go about suggesting a time that I myself could take a mental workout? I love massages and the chiropractor, but they don't really help as much mentally as they do physically. Any suggestions?
Kelly
Hi Johnnie,
ReplyDeleteJohnnie your blog is great very well written and orgainize. Johnnie I like the CD it talks about meditation in a positive ways.
Johnnie I learn something from your Johnnie blog, it state how important meditations is in our life if we take the time to apply it in our busy lifestyle. I learn by during mediatation it can release the stress tension that I have sometime.
Johnnie I like how put pretty colors in your blog it stand out the background.