Module #1 - “MONOLOGUES“ - Spring 2021

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Welcome to the Module 01 "Monologues" thread! Consider what you've written down from your brainstorm in the Meditation portion of our exercises. What jumps out at you that's wanting to be explored a little more deeply? Come up with a topic based around these meditations and write an essay about your personal perspective on the matter ("Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words). This could be a single aspect or multiple elements from your list. In addition to sending in via e-mail, if you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post here with or without including your "Meditation" and/or "Mindfulness" responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversation for any "Mingling" points you may wish to accrue as Extra Credit.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Meditation:
I move over from my studying chair to my comfortable couch and take a seat, leaning back and closing my eyes.
Trying to get into a comfortable position, I view relaxation as the easiest way to find stillness as per Prof. Aloyarc's instructions.
I feel that I am getting in tune with myself and my breaths, but it's not the feeling I want.
Rather, the parts of myself that feel the most physically uncomfortable rise to the forefront of my mind:
-my feet feel like some cross between being squished and being numb
-there's some soreness and pain in my chest/stomach area
-after a minute or two, my legs and thighs start feeling really cold
-I try to lean into the comfort of relaxation, but I simply can't escape from the pain!

Monologue:
The observations from my meditation remind me one of the reasons why meditation is particularly challenging for me: for a variety of reasons, my body has always felt 'off' to the point that being in tune with my physical feelings means that I will feel the sensation of being 'off' even more strongly than normally! No wonder I often feel better when I'm doing something active or allowing my mind to go to work thinking about problems or various other interesting stuff: it means I spend less time thinking about being physically uncomfortable at any point in time! To be honest, I have actually been working over the past few years to realign my body and sensations to be properly in sync with where they should be. While I've made some progress - especially in terms of visual and auditory perception, I still feel very far from where I need to be. Possibly the biggest sign of progress is that at times I have a better understanding of exactly what is wrong (e.g. going from "I can't keep my balance" to "When I stand on one foot, I feel like I'm swaying in the direction of the foot on the ground"). And knowing what a problem is can be a very important first step in solving it...

Mindfulness:
I feel that the power of faith is largely out of balance in my life because - for a variety of reasons - I have a hard time visualising what the future will be like even a few months ahead. As someone who loves to set and achieve goals, the past year has been frustrating because various events made it hard to do either of those things... for nearly everyone on the planet! If I was able to have a better view of how the world will look three or six months from now, that will do a great job to realign my sense of faith.

[Carrie Warts]

I started this month meditating a lot, especially since recently I'm connecting a lot with my guides, but meditation itself it's hard.
Just like Prof. Aloyarc said, my monkey mind starts jumping from side-to-side and keeps me unfocused most of the time, but I was able to notice my heartbeat, my breathing, and my extremities most of the time. I noticed also the screams of my neighbours, the singing of the birds and the wind blowing through my window. It helped me relax to also have 528Hz music in my background since I heard it's very helpful when meditating.
I've always been an over-thinker, I'm never fully relaxed because there is always something going on in my head, and those things could be mine and could be someone else's. Being over empathic is also something that influences this. I feel the way others feel and sometimes I feel beyond what I should, and sadly I've never known how to prevent/stop/control it. In addition, I try every day to learn new things and I'm constantly looking for new subjects/people to learn from.
This month I'm learning new things, particularly spiritual, so this months' power comes in with perfect timing. In order to connect better with my inner self and guardians and guide, I must have faith in me, in my abilities and in those who are guarding/guiding me.