Posted by Ensign Domingo Chavez (Security Officer) in Counselor’s Office (Post-Sim Side Sim)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Katie Nunn (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office (Post-Sim Side Sim)

Posted by Ensign Domingo Chavez (Security Officer) in Counselor’s Office (Post-Sim Side Sim)
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Domingo smiled again while responding, “A good run sounds good, I’d be up for that. Nothing beats a real beach though, certainly not a holodeck.”

Katie smiled her agreement. The holodeck truly was a poor substitute, but now that she was stuck on a ship full-time, that was the only beach she was going to be running on anytime in the near future.

The smile faded while a more austere expression covered his face, closing his eyes Domingo spoke, “Computer begin a ten minute timer and softly chime at the end. Now close your eyes and focus on my voice. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and breathe in, eleven, twelve…”

Katie watched Chavez for a few seconds after his eyes closed before finally setting hers closed as well and trying to time her breaths to his voice. She quickly found her mind drifting off to enjoyment of the soothing nature of it, but dragged herself back to the task at hand.

A couple minutes passed in such a fashion before Domingo changed the pattern, “One hundred and twenty, breathe out, now listen just to me directing your breathing… breathe in… breathe out…”

By the time the few minutes had passed, Katie had probably fidgeted and thought about 120 things other than what she was supposed to be focused on, but she attempted to be non-judgmental as she time and time again redirected her focus back to the meditation.

A couple more minutes went by before the pattern changed again, “Breath out… breath in… and now just match my breathing and listen to me breathe.”

Ensign Chavez, Sec

Katie found herself pouting that she wouldn’t be able to listen to his voice any longer, but having to focus on listening to him breathe was far more difficult than listening to his voice. She found herself starting to need to focus entirely in on it and enjoyed the few moments that her mind finally cleared as she slowly breathed with Chavez.

Lt Cmdr Nunn, CNS

Domingo would peek from time to time and was happy with the effort the Counselor was putting in. He knew that the first attempt at meditation was always the hardest with so many thoughts finding their way in to distract you. The computer softly chimed at the ten minute mark.

“Now exhale and stretch your arms as high as you can, make sure you straighten your back too.” Domingo directed while following suit, having several satisfying pops along his spine and a head rush as blood flowed to his head.

Ensign Chavez, Sec

Katie grinned as the computer chime reached her consciousness and her eyes slowly slid open. Her head tilted to the side as she contemplated the way her body and her mind felt. Surprisingly, despite the struggle she had to stay on task, her mind did feel quieter and her body more relaxed. That mind-body connection never ceased to amaze her. She slowly reached her hands above her heads, folding her fingers in between each other to turn her palms out and stretch out her shoulders, arms, and back. She twisted a few times as well and then dropped her hands loosely at her sides.

“Huh,” she observed, quietly. “That was interesting.” She studied Chavez for a few minutes, piecing together her first hand experience with meditation with what she knew about the man. “Thank you,” she added. “I really appreciate the demonstration, even if I may be the world’s worst student.” She laughed lightly to punctuate her point.

Lt Cmdr Nunn, CNS