This week has been tough for me, once again. My mother is still in the hospital but I have begun to find inner peace with the whole situation. This week we were to envision our Aesclepius or wise person. I thought of my grandmother who is my mother’s mother. I know that my mother would not want me to suffer in the least bit and it was as though this exercise was meant to remind me of that. My grandmother was a warm, caring, positive, healthy (among many other qualities) individual. She was always healthy never really had any bad health problems but when her husband (my grandfather) passed away she followed just a few months after. I made it a point to meditate at least twice a day this entire week. I have been extremely busy but I realize that maybe this is crucial to my well-being right now. Everything happens for a reason is a common saying and maybe I was meant to be in this class for this reason. When I would meditate I would put on melodic nature tunes, like running water from a waterfall or waves crashing on the beach with light bird sounds in the background and the sounds of the wind blowing. I would then think of my grandmother and the feeling that her hands or touch always brought me. A feeling of warmth, comfort, safety, happiness, as though everything was as it should be. Then as I would meditate and concentrate on my breathing and thoughts I had a though come crashing down on me. My grandmother placed her hand over my heart and told me that if my mother was to go she would suffer no more, is she were to stay I would suffer no more. This made me think greatly about my present situation. If my mother stays and returns home she will still suffer as she has not felt well in 3 or more years. She has endured one bad health issue after another since her transplant in 2004. If I allow my mother to go and come to peace with the thought of her no longer being here physically then she would be released of any suffering but I would suffer from the loss of her. I would be selfish to want her to stay for she would suffer therefore if I become focused on the thought of her not suffering I am able to let her go. I have made peace with this and this week’s exercise assisted me to a new understanding. “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” has a powerful meaning (Schlitz & Amorok, 2005). This means that to truly help, guide, see, experience, etc. something one must first experience it firsthand. If a person should be able to relate to a situation in order to assist another to an understanding of the situation. The text states that having a map of Hawaii is not the same as actually being there (Schlitz & Amorok, 2005). This applies to health and wellness professionals because they need to be able to relate to their clients or patients words before being able to truly offer words of wisdom.

Reference:

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to

            Mind-Body Medicine. St.Louis, MI: Elsevier, Inc.