Saturday, October 27, 2012

Prayer & Meditation in the Morning


In the meeting tonight, as is often the case, it was acknowledged that spending time doing some sort of meditative activity like dog walking or sitting, just after getting up, even if only for a few minutes, sets a very positive and peaceful tone for the day.  Starting the day with some sort of prayer and meditation.  Hearing that at meetings is why I started doing it and I certainly agree that beginning my day that way, changes my day dramatically.  It was also widely acknowledged that most people either do not do it or struggle with it.  For example, they set their alarm a bit early and when it goes off they press the pause button until it is too late to take the time for peaceful meditation.  What I just described puzzles me a bit.  What I did was recognize the benefits of beginning my day with prayer and meditation and disciplined myself to do it.  Now I enjoy it and do it each day, without questioning.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Placebo Effect


Today I returned, once again, to the psychic healer that I go to in Oak Creek Village, near Sedona.  I was also reflecting on what most people refer to as the “placebo effect”, that results when trials are performed on potential medications.  It’s the effect that taking a sugar pill can have on the body, if a person believes that pill to be the actual medication.  To many people the placebo effect is just thought of a the imaginary effect of a sugar pill.  To me it simply demonstrates that the mind can and does have an effect on the physiological processes going on in the body.  I go to the psychic healer because another person’s mind, like the healer, can also impact on my own physiological processes.  We are connected.
I usually use a guided meditation of a lemon for the recovering people I work with.  In that meditation, I have them visualize a ripe, juicy lemon, which I have them cut into quarters and then bite down on.  The effect is almost always increased salivation and often being able to smell the lemon or have their mouth pucker up.  It is only a thought, there is no lemon, yet they have a strong and noticeable physiological response.  The response is not imaginary, though I find that some people think of it that way.
I have been using the placebo effect for many years to my benefit!

Monday, October 22, 2012

A Quiet Day


A quiet day of exercise, introspection and interaction with Maria, my wife.  I did my regular getting up at 2:00, spiritual activities until 4:00 and zoning until 6:00.  I spent the rest of the morning exercising, interspersed with computer work.
My introspection involved several periods of meditation and contemplation.  At first I checked myself for any fears or other feelings that I was trying to hide from.  I encountered minimal fear, some impatience with my disability, gratitude that my disability is as minor as it is and some self-doubt about the actual impact of the things I do, an interesting mix of feelings.  Most of my meditative time is spent on sorting through the events of the last several days.  I do this last by allowing my consciousness to drift over the events in an unstructured and non-sequential way.  I just observe the feelings come and go, without grasping or pushing them away.
I realize now that I interact with Maria in much the same way that I do my meditation and contemplation.  I don’t talk much since talking is difficult for me, but during the day we touch on a variety of topics, usually briefly.  I let the thoughts and feelings come and go without grasping or pushing them away.