Unit 9 – My Psychospiritual Development Plan

I  Introduction:

It is vital for a health and wellness professional to be fully prepared to serve in the role of Healer to his or her patients. In the practice of Western medicine, practitioners involve themselves in the acquisition of knowledge and clinical practice in order to gain the credentials that give them the authority to treat patients. However, for a health and wellness professional to truly serve in the role of Healer, it is very important for that practitioner be involved in his or her own development psychologically, physically and in his or her spirit. It is only as the Healer seeks to experience a more expansive life that he or she comes to realize that the alleviation of human suffering and human flourishing are truly accessible; thus freeing him or her to the joy of serving others as a facilitator for their own healing.

As health and wellness practitioners, we each have the need to develop in every quadrant of Wilbur’s model for Integral Health; no one is exempt from needing to grow in his or her Psychospiritual health, Biological/Physical health, Interpersonal health and in health in our Worldly (exterior/collective) domain of relationship. It is in the development in each of the four quadrants that we have the possibility of attaining our fulfillment as whole human beings (Dacher, 2006).

Becoming a wholly realized human being is my own quest, incidental to my desire for the privilege of serving as a Healer (Curandero). Our class and its focus on Integral Health have provided me a framework for that development, which now requires that I find the pathways for my Self. This opens phase for creation of an identity based on my actions and what I do; a re-invention of the self.




II Assessment:

I define the word “spirit” differently from how it is defined in our class. My definition of spirit is derived from a biblical understanding as that which is eternal in every human being; it is what gives life to the collection of minerals and water that compose our bodies. In my understanding, when our spirit comes into contact with matter (a body) it becomes a living soul. The soul is made up of the mind, the heart (emotions), and the will (intention). The soul is a part of our being that is most often neglected in modern Western culture; yet it is from the soul, often referred to as the heart, that all of the issues life flows. Caring for the soul involves caring for the whole self, including the body.

At this point, I am very happy with the state of my soul’s health, but this is not something that has just happened; nor is it something that I can take credit for. I had to crawl out of seven years of clinical depression that was put into motion though the intention of some very real people who were used by the Adversary for the purpose of destroying my life. I did not know it then, but God never took his hand off me; he allowed it to transpire as a preparation for what would become my healing, and a pathway for my greatest victory. It has now been nearly five years since God healed me of the constant angst of clinical depression with all of its accompanying impulses to suicide. God healed me in a relatively short period of time, comprised of three weeks through which I experienced the healing power of the gift of prophecy. He then began transforming me into who I am today spiritually, physically and psychologically; something I hope to allow Him to continue doing throughout the rest of my existence on Earth and beyond.




III Goal development:

My Physical Goal is to engage in a program of integral Qigong learning and practice with the long-term objective of becoming a certified Integral Qigong and Tai Chi Instructor. This quest will help improve my muscle tone, improve my biological health and provide me with a template for mental fitness. In time, I hope to become certified in Medical Qigong Prescription and Therapeutics.

My Psychological Goal is to involve myself in meditation and guided imagery with the objective of developing myself into a Healer/Curandero (“Curandero” is the Spanish word for Healer). My quest is to learn and practice those elements of Curanderismo (the Art of Healing) which I consider as biblically redeemable. My goal is to master those elements that can help me uncover a Kairos moment (as opposed to chronological time): a moment that presents many more possibilities than any other moment; including healing. Some of the practices of Curanderismo that I perceive as biblically redeemable include the use of herbs, poetry, art, drumming, ceremony, dance, chanting, massage, training of the mind, story-telling, and the presentation of cultural and linguistic constructs; as well as imaginary journeying, communing with nature, sacred places, and the emission of mentally and biologically-derived healing energy. My goal is to access only those practices which I esteem as biblically-redeemable, and thus permissible to my own healing practice. I will not make use of Curanderismo practices which I perceive as anti-biblical, such as divination and communication with spirits, as these are practices that charge a heavy physical, mental and spiritual penalty that is paid by the practitioner as well as the patient.

My Spiritual Goal is to keep my relationship with God through His Son by being careful to not mix His things with my healing practice outside of the church. This will require that I maintain an objective approach when working with patients by not using treatment as an occasion for proselytizing, as well as being careful to not over-spiritualizing the healer-patient relationship. Of course, God is my source for all that I do, but I believe He would rather that I keep His things separate from my healing practice outside of church. I do not wish to produce another man-made misinterpretation of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. He is perfectly capable of speaking for Himself through the Scriptures, dreams, prophecy and visions; and He is perfectly capable of healing through prayer, the laying on of hands, and through His grace, but these gifts are His children’s bread, and they should be served only in His church. I understand perfectly that I must limit my use of prayer for the sick, the laying on of hands, and the use of other gifts of the Holy Spirit exclusively within His church; not in my practice of healing outside of the church.




IV Practices for personal health:

In the last few months, I have been in the process of transforming my diet and opening myself to healing modalities that I may not have been open to consider before, including meditation and Traditional Chinese Medicine, which offers a systemic approach to health and healing. I am currently receiving acupuncure and herbal treatment and will now be studying Qigong as a means for my health and self-development. Qigong is a practice of moving meditation that has been a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 5,000 years. The self-practice of Qigong can be used for physical fitness, healing, as well as for moderating and even reversing the aging process. Qigong has three different modes of practice (1) Qigong, which involves moving meditation, (2) meditation, referred to as “sitting still, doing nothing”, as well as (3) the emission of healing Qi as a means for healing other persons. The practice of Qigong fosters growth in the physical, psychological and spiritual (soul) not only through its practice, but also through the insight and methodology offered through the study of its world view (Reid, 1995).




V Commitment:

I will be continuing to practice the exercises described in Integral Health (Wilbur, 2006), including The Subtle Mind, Universal Loving Kindness and Meeting Aesclepius. I will practice one of these for a period of about ten minutes, once a month. 

Over the next six months, I will be reading two books by Roger Jahnke, O.M.D, an internationally respected doctor of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and best-selling author: The Healer Within, and Healing Promise of Qi. I will also practice Qigong for 30 minutes twice a week by making use of Roger Jahnke’s DVDs: Essentials of Qigong, and Qigong Chi Kung. Roger Jahnke’s books and DVDs are available through http://www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/.

I will also practice Qigong with the help of instructional DVDs by Francesco Garri Garripoli and Daisy Lee of Wuji Productions. This will include Qigong for Beginners, Qigong for Cleansing, and Qigong for Stress Relief; I will also read their book Qigong-Essence of the Healing Dance available through http://www.wujiproductions.com.

I will continue learning to meditate and practice guided imagery once a week by accessing the meditation download library of http://www.meditainment.com/meditation-downloads/. Recorded material I will access for this purpose will include items such as Learn meditation, Guided Visualization, Natural Beauty, Inner Beauty, Self Motivation, The Secret Garden, Inner Peace, Guided Relaxation, Deep Relaxation, Deep Recharge, Stress Relief, Natural Sleep Aid, Spa of Relaxation, and Stress Buster.

In pursuit of learning more about the magical, subjective, world of a Curandero, I will also be studying the work of Martín Pretchel, author, writer, musician, storyteller, teacher and Healer: http://www.floweringmountain.com/martin/



References:


Dacher, Elliott. (2006). Integral health. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Pubns.

Garripoldi, F. . (2010, August 89). Wuji productions qigong. Retrieved from http://www.wujiproductions.com

Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi. (2010, Auugst 8). Institute of integral qigong and taichi. Retrieved from http://www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/.

Meditainment for Deep Relaxation, . (2010, August 8). Deep relaxationfor health and wellness . Retrieved from http://www.meditainment.com/meditation-downloads/.

Pretchel, M. (2010, August 8). Martin pretchel artist writer musician storyteller teacher healer. Retrieved from http://www.floweringmountain.com/martin/.

Reid, D., (1995) The complete book of chinese health and healing. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.