This week's exercise was at first very difficult for me. At first, I thought of my grandmother who passed away 6 1/2 years ago and it was too much to bear thinking about her. My 2nd attempt at this practice proved to be a lot easier by thinking about my aunt Bonnie. Even though she and I haven't been in contact over the years, it feels as though we don't actually need to. When we do talk, it's as if we haven't been away. She's someone that I've always looked up to because out of all of our family, she's the one who followed her heart and pursued her dreams out in Seattle- many miles away from here. She's a very active and caring person who's very open-minded and accepting of everyone. That is how I try to live my life. She inspires me to follow my own dreams. Despite the hardships she's been through in life, she's never let them bring her down. She's survived cancer and divorce, as well as being a single mother and a full-time nurse. Instead of letting what she's been through hold her back, she's always used it to give a new perspective to her life and reach her goals and be successful. This exercise gave me that same sense of joy and determination that Aunt Bonnie has always shown. Like me, she's the outcast of the family and she doesn't let that bring her down. This exercise also made me realize that I really need to talk to her again.
"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" means that in order to guide another person, one must have experienced that growth for themselves. You cannot encourage a person to achieve a certain level of spirituality or consciousness without having first experienced it yourself. This is why practicing integral healing in our own lives is so important. If we are to be seen as professionals by those that we want to help, we must know what it is that we are actually practicing. This is one of many reasons I find meditation such an important aspect of personal growth.
*I also want to point out that doing meditation today has been a lot easier than normal because we have a new member in our family. We just adopted a calm and loving dog who has just made the stress around our home melt away. I really couldn't be happier than sitting her in a calm state of mind in meditation with a dog to pet away at my side.*
Its so great to have someone that you can look up to and respect. I used my grandmother for this exercise, we lost her back in 1978. It was kind of difficult to focus on her face, but I kept at it and I finally did it. It really made me feel warm and happy. This exercise really made me feel like I want to be the kind of person that doesn't hold a grudge, I want to forgive and heal myself. I agree that you have to experience something before you can help someone else experience it. I am really into vitamins and herbs and I tell people about some of the stuff I use that helps me. I share my experience and let them make the dicission.
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