Back Surgery

Friends, family, loved ones, and members of my circle:
      I had my back surgery on Nov.1st, 2011. As of this point, I no longer feel the shooting pain that had been running down my right leg for nearly 7 years. At this point, I merely have to recover from the actual surgery, and hope soon to be back to exercising, especially to lose the extra 30 pounds I put on since the hernia surgery in February. In fact (and this is a step in the Way Back Machine for a lot who know me), I went a purchased a new pair of roller skates to begin this exercise - gotta go get some street wheels, in order to not ruin the rink wheels. I feel great, I'm happy, and Becky and I have put off the wedding until recovery is more complete. I want to thank the Lady and the Lord, all the Powers That Be, and everyone who spent positive energies to help. The world would be a much finer place to live in if all were like this. Namamste'

An End is just a Beginning

In unit three, we were asked to rate ourselves on a scale of 1-10 with regards to our physical, spiritual and psychological well-being. At that time, I scored myself as a 4 physically, an 8 spiritually, and a 7 psychologically. Now that we are at the end of this term (and for me, and end to this relationship with Kaplan, for I graduate at the end of the term), I would perhaps change the scores only a little. For the physical, I might go to a 5, because for the last week or so, I have been feeling great with regards to my chronic back pain. I received the second epidural shot on Wednesday the 3rd, and so far have not had any relapses into the terrible mind-numbing pain that I have been dealing with for over 6 years. I am hopeful that I will be able to get out and start my walking soon; if I am not to have spasms and relapses, I will trust that I can move forward with my goals. With both the spiritual and the psychological, I would keep the scores where they are, for I am still practicing my daily rituals, and am still keeping my mind open and in a loving-kindness mode. Some days it is harder than others, because no one is perfect, and there are trials dealing with others who are not open nor kind. But in keeping myself on the positive route that I am on, I know that I will continue to grow in my relationship with the Divine, and with my fellow human beings. I do practice my daily prayers, and meditations - I really love the desert, and I went and found a nice place not to far from home, where I can be with Nature, away from people, and just chill. I am also looking forward to being able to re-enter the workforce, for by graduating next week, I will take my application and resume' to an agency that is very close to my house. I know that the American economy is very low at the moment, and that many people are having a hard time finding work. I will maintain being positive that earning this degree will make me very marketable to the places I want to work.
      Being in this class, as I have said before, has re-awakened me to my calling, and reminded me that the things I have studied for many years are calling me to put them into practice, like I did before, but more refined now. I am happy to see that there are others willing to try being open minded, and practice being more positive, because we all have an effect on the world, and the more positive we can be, the better the world will be. It's not just a fantasy, or a joke, it is real - how we act and react to each other determines the social realities we create. Keep being positive, keep trying to love our neighbors, and being kind to those we encounter each day, and we may just come out on top. I don't think any of what we studied is too difficult to practice, it's just a case of getting the information out to people, something that a course like this is doing. I hope we all have had a change of heart, and of practice, and of having a less stressful life, and that we will all carry this with us when we leave the course and school. May you all have the brightest of blessings, full of love, light and happiness, and may we all strive for integral health and wholeness. Namaste'.

Chris Keenen's Final Project, HW 420-02

Well, folks, here it is, final project time. I hope everyone had as much good learning in this course as I did. Good luck in all your future endeavors.
Final Project

Chris

Two favorite exercises

Within this class, we have had several assignments, exercises and meditations designed to bring about a shift in our consciousness'. I would have to say, after reviewing, that my two favorites are the "Meeting Aesclepius", and the "Subtle Mind" exercises. As I have noted in other blogs and discussion boards, I have been on this path for quite some time, yet it never hurts to have a refresher course now and then. In the "Meeting Aesclepius" exercise, I was able to put a face to the energy that I had talked with for a long time. Often, it has just been an amorphous mass of swirling Chaos that I spoke with, but now that I have given it a body and a face, it seems that I can access it all the more readily. As for the "Subtle Mind" practice, I had admitted to having been astray from the Path for some time, and this exercise reminded me of where I needed to be, and how to return. Once I had done this meditation, my memory and thoughts of it's grace and power returned, and I am once again in contact with what I am Here to do. The subtle mind leads itself to knowing the witnessing mind, the calm-abiding, and finally the unity consciousness that I (and everything, for that matter) am a part of. Being now in my 40's, this is a great reminder for me for the focus of the latter half of my life,and I feel that I can approach the future with enthusiasm and the joy that comes from being in service to others. I will incorporate both the vision of myself as healer, and the patterns of the collective consciousness, to pass along this message wherever I can. In working with persons with developmental disabilities, I can shine light on what may be a difficult life for them, and possibly help lessen their perceived burdens. I can use my energies to help lift up the hearts and minds of the veterans I serve through my work in the American Legion. And I can sleep easier at night, knowing that, rather than being a cause of stress and strife, I am working to heal those social wounds. Namaste'

Meeting Aesclepius

As a entry note to this meditation, I had a setback from the great relief I had previously posted re: my day free from pain with the epidural shot. Thursday, while cleaning the pool filter, my back suddenly popped, and I was dropped to my knees as all the blocked pain came rushing back in. I know that the pain doctor said this would be a trial and error pace, but I was so disappointed to have to get rushed to the ER, after a day of feeling alive again. I am doing a little better, but this blog is late, because I can't sit at the comp for very long at one time, but I don't want to be any later on getting this out.

Besides, with this meditation being "Meeting Aesclepius", I was excited to get to it, because even before performing the meditation, I knew it would be good for me, and especially given my current physical situation. With the setback in treatments, I have had to go back to taking the handfuls of medications every 6 hours, but I am fully hopeful that I have at least another avenue of healing that should allow me to be rid of the meds once and for all.
     In doing this exercise, I envisioned two separate men who I feel exemplify that image of the Wise Healer; Dr. Hoyt, my H.S. sophomore AP Biology teacher, and Dr. Page, my first transpersonal Psychology teacher. I saw them merge in my head, wearing green robes, with a loving smile, and time-worn, but healthy skin. He seemed to shine from within, and his eyes were aglow. There was a knowing look on his face, and as the meditation progressed, I realized that the look was a welcoming home of a part of myself. There was a feeling of calm goodness, happiness, love and healing; I envisioned a drum, rattle, snake skins and incense smoke, as we sat to face and contemplate each other. With the visioning of the white light from him to me, it was natural for me to progress the vision before the speaker did on the disc - I was already seeing the light coming from this being's top four chakras (Crown, Third Eye/Mouth, Throat, and Heart) before being told to. With the first re-emergence of this energy into my own, I was aware of my heartbeat being intense, but not sped up or racing, just like all-of-a-sudden, it was there. I attributed this to the re-entry of the love that this energy brings. I noticed as we looked at each other, I was not self-focused on my back pain; although I am worried that just the right move in the wrong way will bring intense agony back, it wasn't as important as welcoming back the Healer Within. He has been hidden by my doubts of not being able to heal all those who make seek/have sought my healing energies, since I myself am in need of the healing. Yet I realized that the two are not mutually exclusive, and for me to heal, I have to relax, and to accept that it is OK to get healing from other sources - I don't have to do it alone, in other words. I will continue to remember the image of this wizened old/young man within, because I have always known that I, too, am capable of healing, both myself, and others.
     "One cannot lead where one has not gone himself," is an interesting phrase for one such as I, who enjoys the role of Devil's Advocate. Firstly, I agree that I cannot ask others to take a step that I have not taken (or were unwilling to take) myself. However, I am very much a follower of the concept of 'leading by example', and I would be more than happy to take that journey right next to those I might be asking to take that first step. In relation to what we are trying to comprehend, however, I know that I needed to learn and understand the different healing arts, meditations, and forms of spiritualities that I have learned, so that I can best help guide those who come to me for help. I believe much of our 'lost humanity', so to speak, is due to forgetting that we are Divine made Flesh. We came from a much better, lighter, and more energized place, in order to be born into the mortal flesh from which we experience and learn what it means to be 'human'. This is the attitude I would take into my role as a health professional, that I can see where we should be, and try to understand my client's motivations and spiritual practices well enough, to help them find their paths a little easier. I think this is the least that I could do to help those who would come to me; I'm not in this is gain megabucks from weekend retreats, I'm here to serve. For through service to others, we are in turn, served. And that is the key to the healing mystery, that concept of what goes around, comes around; as a health professional, I would be cheating others (and ultimately myself) if I did not hold to this awesome ideal.

Keeping you posted

I know this isn't a regular assignment entry, but as it pertains to what we are learning, studying and (hopefully) practicing in this class, I thought I'd blog just to keep you all informed. As many of you know, I have had some serious, chronic low back pain problems. I have had two hernia operations, and have taken 5 different drugs, four times a day, for over 6 and 1/2 years. Yesterday was my first visit to the pain management specialist, who determined that I could probably be OK with the steroid epidural shot in my spine. And boy, let me tell you, I am glad that I did. Yesterday at 10 am Arizona time, was my last handful of pills; I had the procedure done at 11am. The idea was to take it easy throughout the day, not just up and run a marathon or anything, so I chilled. When it came time to go to bed 11pm, or so, I could not sleep. Not because I was in pain, but due to the lack of it.
    It is like I'm an addict coming off of his drugs - I could feel everything again, smell scents I couldn't smell, and breathe deeper than I have for years. Because of this re-awakening, I was hot, I was cold, I got maybe 20-25 minutes per hour of sleep last night. I knew the big test, however, was going to be getting out of bed. My lady let me sleep because she knew what I was going through (since she was up with me most of the night); I finally slept somewhere between 6am and 11:30 when I had to get up to relieve myself. She noticed that I was out of bed without the grunting and groaning, pissing and moaning that she'd heard from me these past many months. She says I am holding myself taller, my eyes are clearer, and I don't seem to be letting every little mosquito fart and kid interruption bother me like it previously had. I am elated. I may have mentioned this early on in class, but to remind ya, I have only been back in my desert (AZ) since September of last year. I left Nebraska after raising my daughter Zen, and seeing her married off and away with her Navy man - and I had spent almost 6 years in Scotland, where I got my injuries working with a quadriplegic man in a wheelchair. Never the less, I always told myself if I could come back to the land of my birth, Phoenix, then I would be able to start setting things aright again. And in less that a year - from last Sept. - I have met the love of my life, I have been giving a new lease on my body, free from pain, and I graduate with my four year degree in Psychology in just about 4 weeks. This has been intentional, this following of that voice inside my head that said, "If you go there, it will come"; this has been me getting into this class, to remind me of long-forgotten practices that I needed to be reminded of, of knowing how to meditate, of remembering living integrally, and it couldn't have happened without effort from me. So I just wanted to share this with y'all, and thank you for being part of this marvelous journey that has gotten me, back to me. Namaste'

Chris

Meditation and assessment

I hope everyone had the kind of experience that I had when doing the universal loving-kindness exercise. The opening of the heart chakra to the world, basically, is to feel both the pain and suffering of everyone, AND the joy of loving life from everyone. It is a mixed emotional state, but an extremely powerful one. When doing this exercise, I was reminded of a ritual that I took part in back when I was working with a Wiccan coven. We decided to do a "Healing the World" ritual; there were six of us who had done several rituals before, and we worked well together. We asked that everyone bring a handful of earth from where they lived, and we placed all of this dirt in a big glass jar, to use as a focal point. The ritual involved a sort of guided meditation, with a focus on first sensing the people of the world's pain and suffering, and then sending them back waves and waves of our loving-kindness energy. I would say this at this juncture - several people who participated in this exercise were not very grounded, and they got terribly sick the very next day. By grounded in this sense, I mean they were not able to release the energy of the world's pain and suffering, and they ended up going home with that energy still inside them.
     NOTE: of course at the end of the ritual, we had a grounding period, "cakes and ale" time, where we sat comfortably, quietly discussing our individual perceptions of the ritual, and eating some blessed food and juice. Unfortunately, those who got sick were not aware that they had not released all of the negative energy, and so took it home with them. I would never NOT do a grounding after a ritual; it is a vital part of the ceremony, to chill, relax, and release, because most ceremonies of this type can raise quite a bit of energy.
     As for myself, being reminded of that time during this exercise, I was once again amazed at the huge amount of negativity in our world, and the immense tenacity with which we humans strive against it. I would cure the world's ills, were I given the power. As it stands, I can only cure those I can reach AND who are willing to help heal themselves. With my work with the American Legion, we always have a chair set aside, and draped with the POW-MIA flag, to remind us that there are still servicemen and women out there being held in captivity, or who still have yet to be found. This practice brought those thoughts to my head as I was practicing the mantras in the exercise; needless to say, I was completely awash in tears, because of the intensity of the emotions I have when it comes to knowing how much suffering there really is in our world.
     As for the second part of this assignment, the integral assessment, I found this an interesting practice, and was quick to determine which of the four quadrants was/is causing me the most difficulty and suffering. The biological quadrant. I basically have four vertebrae in my lower back that are off-kilter due to slipped discs. These vertebrae being out of alignment cause pinching of the nerves that run the length of the right side of my body; I am pretty much in constant pain and have been since this occurred in 2005. So, for the assessment and what I need to work on most, it goes kind of like this:
Fitness - I used to walk several miles a day (this is due to not being able to do much more than this because of the nature of the pain); I recently had a hernia operation, to fix the hernia operation that I had in Scotland, that was done in such a manner as to cause the doctors here to tell me that they had never seen such a botched job. Since the hernia op made me not able to even walk, I didn't, and have gained about 30 pounds. This additional weight of course, make the pressure on my back worse. As a good side note, though, I am going finally to see a pain management specialist on Tuesday, to begin possibly getting epidural shots to numb the nerves. I may even qualify for surgery, but that's a last option.
Nutrition - I eat pretty well, but for many years, I only ate one meal a day; this caused my body to act in a "feast-or-famine" mode, and instead of losing weight, I gained it. Since I have not been able to exercise, and being with my fiance and her two kids, I have begun eating more regularly, and at the same time, encouraged them to try healthier foods, like broiled fish, and salads, and veggies. So there is a goodness working in there, I just need to regulate my eating with exercise, which I hope to be able to start next week. (In case you are asking yourself, "Why can't he walk?", every once in a while, I will have a nerve pinch so sever, that it drops me to the floor, and this can happen with the slightest of antecedents. Because no one wishes this to happen to me miles away from home, I have been instructed to just wait til I see this pain specialist next week.) I have a plan of action that is intentional (as the integral practice should be), I just have to wait a little longer to fit all the pieces together.

     Well, this has gotten a lot longer than I expected, and I hope none of you got tired of reading and managed to make it this far. I look forward to reading your experiences with this practice. Namaste'

Week Five Powerpoint presentation

Well, converted my powerpoint doc to a Google doc - which will give you a URL when you open it, then opened up a New Blog page, clicked on the LINK tab here. That will open a box; on the top line, write what you want the link to say (here, I wrote power point for class), then paste the URL on the secons link. Now to see if that worked.

power point for class


Chris

Subtle Mind Practice

As many of you may be aware (because I do have a tendency to repeat myself), practices such as this one are not new to me, and it was nice to just relax, chill, and become one with everything for a bit. The other practice - loving-kindness - was about feeling a greater love, and using it to heal ourselves and others. It is the beginning of having an open heart, which is essential for reaching the deeper recesses of our minds, and achieving the flourishing we are after. The loving-kindness is an emotive practice, whereas the subtle mind could be said to be a mental practice. The art of stilling the mind, in order to be able to be absorbed by The All, is a really good practice, and I think more (Westerners) should try it. The Asian cultures of the East have had these types of practices ingrained into their culture and daily lives for so long that I am sure, it is almost automatic. We in the West, having spent much time working on the outer self, through capitalism and religious dogma, could do with learning to understand and use the inner resources we all have. In my life, I use practices such as these all the time now - I didn't so much in my teens and twenties, because I hadn't reached the pinnacle of wisdom that comes with practice, and experience. This practice allows me to remain calm in the storm that is daily living in this world (especially having teenagers in the house!); and even though I have my chronic lower back problem, the pain becomes less of a focus when practicing meditations such as this. As the recording was ending, we were asked to "come back" to our environments, returning to "this world", so to speak. Well, as I have done things like this for a long time - and again, I claim in no way to be some guru or Master - coming back to this environment, I still maintain a modicum of this calmness within me as I wrote my notes.
I wasn't bothered by it, but I find the use of the sounds of ocean waves to be a bit of a cliche'. When we were asked to take the 10 deep breaths, I was on my eighth intake when she began speaking again; I attribute this to my long-time breathing practices, because I take such deep and slow breaths when doing exercises such as these. My focal point was the energy of the breath entering my body through my nose, circulating down the back of my body, and up through the front of my body, to exit from my nose, taking away with it the "old and used" energy/carbon dioxide. About two-thirds of the way through the exercise, my dogs decided to bark like mad; it startled me, but I was able to return to the witnessing and then subtle mind fairly quickly, as I did not lend any energy to the disruption. Does that make sense? Because that's what we are learning to do with the witnessing mind - not lending any energy to the random and ceaseless flow of thoughts we are constantly bombarded with. This "not lending of energy" allows us to have plenty of energy to focus on our breathing, and leaves us calmer and more peaceful, for our delving into our inner peace.
For me to try to describe my personal unity consciousness to others who most likely don't live and think as I do, is kind of a difficult task. When I reach that wonderful place at the center of creation, I am filled with the perfect love that abides there. It has always been my opinion and practice to think of the energy that is our Universe, created all the things that it had created, because of Love. If others want to call that center of the universe God, or Goddess, or Mohammad, or Jesus, or Krishna, or Buddha, or Kwan Yin, or Chaos, that's fine. One's relationship with the Divine is, by it's very nature, meant to be unique - following someone else's Word is to miss out on the power of relating to the Divine on one's own terms. This subtle mind/unity consciousness is what I would wish all humans to reach, because I feel that is what we need to do to evolve into our next step, before we humans kill all that it pure and wholesome, and good, and alive. Namaste'.

Chris

Video of biker me at Celebration of Freedon, Mesa, AZ, July 1st 2011

Since Dr. Johnson asked for it, I have found a link to our local Fox affiliate, channel 10 news. This was our Americal Legion Post Riders doing promotion for the Celebration of Freedom, our local Fourth of July shindig. We were interviewed by several other news channels, I just haven't found their videos, but will post them here when I find them. Cheers, and thanks for all your wonderful, inspiring comments. You all are great!

Chris
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/morning_show/corys_corner/Mesas-Celebration-of-Freedom-07012011#.Tg4iaAvpDf0.facebook

Loving-kindness exercise

To provide a little set-up for my discussion of the meditation, this morning I was up at 4 am, to get ready to do a photo shoot/interview with several of the local news channels. The American Legion Riders from Mesa Post 26 (that's us!) were asked to participate in a weekend-long Celebration of Freedom, where we will be doing the opening ceremonies (riding our motorcycles in formation with American, military branch, and POW/MIA flags flying. This morning was the kick-off of this celebration, and since we do a lot for veterans and local charities, we were asked to come downtown at 5am this morning (it's now almost 11am, Arizona time). We had a great time talking to news persons, getting interviewed, and riding our bikes for the cameras. I got home about an hour ago, a bit sore from all the sitting, and standing - with my back, I have to change positions quite a bit - and so I thought I would get this assignment done.
     I really enjoyed the message of this meditation; while I may seem to many to be a gruff individual, I have a heart of gold, and would do whatever I could to help my fellow human being, if I could. That's exactly what this meditation was all about, and it even included making sure you turned the loving-kindness inward, and recognized yourself as being worthy of receiving this kind of emotion. I did not find it difficult at all to do, perhaps because I am used to these kinds of thoughts and practices, or perhaps because I was already in a "sharing" kind of mood. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone, because being able to feel this great level of emotion for one's self, and for one's fellow humans, is something that we all desperately need to do. It is this kind of emotion that, if practiced daily, leads us to the wisdom that helps us be open to the idea of ending needless suffering, and to bring about human flourishing. Our planet and it's people are on a downward spiral, and we need to encourage this kind of thinking in everyone, and fast. That is another thing I liked about this meditation - you were to send this kind of energy to those you would consider your enemies - they are human, too, and a little less hate makes more room for a little more love. I have always bought into the philosophy, and repeat it constantly to anyone within earshot - you cannot love or hate something in someone else, until you love or hate it in yourself. And if we can bring about a revolution where the hate is dismissed all together, we would be in a fantastic place. I also subscribe to the mantra, "What goes around, comes around"; I also learned from my studies of Wicca, and other pagan, earth-honoring religions who believe that what you do comes back to you threefold. Keeping this in mind makes it a little more difficult to justify doing/thinking negative things, because who wants that to come back to them??
     When doing this meditation, I was reminded of a song, from a commercial in the 70's - maybe some of you will remember it - which has a similar sentiment as the meditation: "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony." This further reminded me again of the pagan belief of practicing/worshipping/working with others, "In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust"; these are at the core of who I am, so when doing the exercise, I felt a warming in my chest, and when I took in the suffering of a loved one (my fiance', Becky), I ceased to feel (focus on) my back pain for a few moments. I was smiling a lot, and this continued into the next practice of feeling this loving-kindness for a group of people.
   This is what a 'mental workout' is all about, and those who have ever done weight training, or had a specific regimen of exercising, or yoga, or even martial arts, knows that the key to success is practice, practice, practice. Our aim here is a more peaceful coexistence brought about by spending a hour a day meditation, opening ourselves up to this great cosmic energy and love, of which we are a part of. The research backs this up because, while we in the West have focused on the outer world, the sages of the East have been doing this inner world for centuries; they have made the foundation for us to work from. It almost seems unnecessary to point out the benefits of doing this for one's self, because once you have reached a state of calm mind, and have experienced the joy of conversing with your spirit/soul/higher self, you will never want to leave that place and come back here. I am happy I had the chance to take this course, because it is validating for me, in several ways, things I have done for a long time. I am no guru, or sage, (I will take the title Mystic, however!), and I am in now way near to perfect. But I believe in this energy, this integral health, and I wish and want it for all my fellow humans; with it, I think we can bring the Earth and her inhabitants, back on the right track. Namaste'

Currently off posting...

For all my classmates and others following my blog;
     I have been finally scheduled for an MRI, due to having two slipped discs in my back. Because this happened in 2005 in Scotland, we have been unable to get hold of the MRI/pain management data from there, so I had to start the whole process all over again. I just finished the physical therapy process, and my doctor put in for me to get an MRI, but there was concern as to whether or not I would get it, because I am on AHCCCS insurance. Well, I had the MRI this morning, and was told it would be 24-48 hours to hear from my doctor about the MRI. Well, my doctor's office call me about two hours later, to schedule an appointment for tomorrow morning!
     Now after almost 6 years of this pain, with two hernia operations in the mix (Scotland did an unheard of process hernia op that doctors here had to fix - certainly explained the additional pain I had been having!), there may be hope that something can be done to get me away from having to take handfuls of pills every 6 hours, each day. I am hopeful, and would ask that anyone able would help the Universe bring me the long-time-so-looked-for solution, with prayers, candles, burning sage, or whatever small thing you might do to encourage a good outcome, would be greatly appreciated. Until this is solved, however, I am pretty laid up, not being able to do much since I have recently had a flare-up off bad spasms and severe nerve pain up and down my right side, so my ability to blog may be a bit off schedule. Bear with me, and I am sure all will be well in the end. Namaste'.

P.S. I have really enjoyed reading all of your comments to my blog, and I am glad to be in this class with all of you, too! Cheers, and keep 'em coming!

Chris

The Crime of the Century meditation

OK, I have to admit, I was a little confused by the title of the meditation, and the actual exercise. This guy was running us through a basic chakra meditation, on which I have done extensive studying over the years, compiling many different chakra workings into a little pamphlet. If anything, "The Crime of the Century" is that many people do not know that we are made of 'white light', which, when refracted through a prism, or a crystal, divides itself into the rainbow we see. I followed the meditation with a light-hearted attitude, knowing right off the bat what the guide was doing - I even went and got out my little chakra pamphlet, and followed along with his musings.
As for the assignment on this blog, I have the following answers and ratings:
A - physical well-being - 4; Goal - lose weight, and get slipped discs in back healed. How I will accomplish this - go for walks.
B - spiritual well-being - 8; Goal - return to practices that I have ignored. This will be done by continuing to live my beliefs, and do more of it.
C - psychological well-being - 7; Goal - to release old patterns, and embrace new ones. I will do this by allowing myself to accept a loving partner, and not be afraid that my past relationships will be a template for this one.
I have always been a very spiritual person, and I practice psychology all the time; talking with friends and family, helping them to see the reasons behind their actions, and helping them realize they have great potentials that they aren't tapping into. I also "people watch" every chance I get. I don't know why, I just love imagining who they are, what their lives are like, and what they are thinking. My mind is aware that there is more to this "reality" than meets the eye; I'd like to think that I am very aware of my spirit, and I listen to it's voice. I have developed a strong intuition, and this helps me in dealing with day-to-day life, as well as extraordinary situations. Yes, I give knowing winks to little children,  I talk to plants, animals, and my relations who have passed on - who knows where wisdom will come from! I hope that others who have done this exercise will come away from it with the knowledge that we are indeed, white light refracted in this mortal flesh.

Relaxation practice

The timing of this assignment couldn't have been better for me. I had just spent four hours in the Arizona sun (about 105-107 degrees), with my son, helping a friend of ours work on his girlfriend's car. We didn't get it back to running properly, and were all flushed and sore and tired - although we had made sure to be drinking the water and some Gatorade, of course. We were frustrated that the work we had done did not fix the problem, and our friend decided to knock off for the day, and try again early tomorrow, since the noon sun was up, and it was just too hot to be out working on the car, on the hot concrete, with hot tools. We said goodbye to my friend, and came home; my son jumped in the shower, and I got the grease off of my hands, and grabbed a cold drink, and set down at the computer to check into school.
     I listened to the relaxation exercise, performing all that the voice told me, and did indeed, find my arms and hands heavier, and definitely more relaxed. When the session was over, I brought this relaxed energy here, and began to blog about the experience. I have done guided meditations before, both as the leader, and as a practitioner. I really think the universe saw that I was tense, because, as I said, the timing of this was perfect. Now, I am relaxed and energized, and after checking all of my schoolwork, I will be going for a nice swim in the pool. Here's hoping everyone had a great experience with this assignment. Cheers! 

Integral psychology reading

     Today's reading left me thinking of a lot of things. Inner and outer medicine, or focus of healing, reminded me of the philosophical mantra, "As Above, So Below", the constant quote of the Rosicrucians, many Hermetic Societies, and the Golden Dawn. This applies to the concept that we, in these human bodies, are the microcosm, which reflects and is reflected by the Universe, which is the Macrocosm. In short, if we are hurting, the universe it hurting; if we are holistically healthy, we reflect that healthy perspective onto our subjective reality which, when shared, becomes the collective's reality.
     I read for a couple of hours, and went for a swim. In the wonderful triple-digit heat we so enjoy here in the Arizona desert, surrounded by crystal clear water in my backyard pool, I was contemplating and absorbing the information I had just read. While this information was not new to me by any stretch, each time we encounter something similar, we do this to gain a new perspective, a new understanding of the 'thing'; today's 'newness' was that in order for me to exist in a calm, healthy manner, I must project that inside and out. To wit; I have two slipped/bulging discs in may back, and have had two hernia surgeries, all due to my life of Service to Others. I worked as a personal carer for a man in Scotland, he requested many a "lift and wee shuggle (wiggle sideways)", which in effect, played havoc on my inner core structure. Now I see pain managers, go through physical therapy, and take handfuls of pills - all things I would wish not to have to do. If I can take these lessons we are currently reading to heart, and to task, I should be able to find a place I can exist in, without needing to recognize this pain in such "Western" ways. I want this. I have a severe dislike for taking pills; pills which only cover up the symptoms, and don't actually do any healing.
     I have the understanding of the metaphysical, having studied these concepts for many years. I have the discipline, having developed and practiced mediation and the 'stilling' of my mind; I was a Marine, so I know that my body will do what my mind tells it; I have walked in Divine shoes, across dimensions that many humans could not even acknowledge existing. So, I can do this - I can add the focus of living without pain into my meditations, and my learning in this class. I think I will, and I think I will continue to update my progress in this endeavor, here, in this blog. So Mote It Be.

First Entry

Hello Folks!
     This blog was designed for a college course, Creating Wellness - Psychology and Spiritual Aspects of Healing, taught at Kaplan university. Now, since most of those that I know I will be sharing this information with are at first, my fellow classmates in this course. I may open this blog up to personal friends of mine, and use it as another method of conveying my thoughts and such.
    I am Chris Keenen, age (almost) 45; I live in Mesa, Arizona with my finace' and her two kids; I have a daughter, Zen, who will be 21 this year, who if married and lives with her Sailor, also named Chris. I am a member of my local American Legion, having been in the United States Marine Corps in my youth; I am also a Legion rider, which is a subgroup of Legionnaires who ride motorcycles. We do rides for charity groups, rides to foster community awareness, and sometimes, we just have a scoot for fun. My Rider name is Wolfman - we'll get back to that!
     I have a long history of being interested in alternative religions, different methods of worship and spirituality, and have always had a deep and abiding reverence for Nature. In my circle of family and friends, I am known as the Shaman - yes, I said Shaman. I make herbal medicines, I help people find lost bits of their souls (spiritual healing), and am very in tune with animals of all sorts. I have a pack of 5 different rescue dogs, and am definitely their Alpha (see, Wolfman, it fits); it is always interesting to newcomers to my circle to see me communicate with my animals as if I was talking to another human being. I have studied psychology for many years, alongside of my study of religions and alternate spiritualities. My bookshelves are loaded with books such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Nag Hammadi Scrolls, and the Magician's Dictionary, to mention a few. I have been a Mormon Priest, studied the Southern Baptist ways, and delved a bit into Judaism and Catholicism - I now classify myself as very spiritual, but I do not subscribe to any one's religion. My belief is that your relationship with the Divine is unique; organized religion is someone else's word, someone else's experience, and what works for them may not necessarily work for you.
     I love to grow things, and have managed to have a garden wherever I have lived - be it Kilmarnock, Scotland, or the deserts of Arizona, or even a very small corner of the walk outside my apartment in Lincoln, Nebraska. Growing things for me, is like going to church - well, in fact, anything to do with nature is church for me. I follow the Old Ways, marking the turnings of the moon and the seasons with ceremonies and rituals. I am always willing to discuss my beliefs with anyone who has an open mind - I don't get dragged into dogmatic discussions with folks who tell me I'm damned and am going to hell. In my belief system, I came from a better place (which they can call Heaven, if they wish), and my Spirit is here once again, inhabiting this mortal coil, undergoing the trials and tribulations of being in a body that grows old and dies (which I can relate to their Hell, if so provoked).
     I hope that this blog will be a great platform for discussions with my classmates - I am very excited to see others' blogs. We will be sharing our blog URLs next week, and so I'll leave off with a hope that there will be lots of interesting things to read and discuss, with my fellow students.