Well, here we are...we arrived at the end.
I really enjoyed this class. I liked most of my other classes too but the information I am taking from this class will really help me in my day-to-day life as well as my professional life. I have gained a better understanding of integral health, but my main goal is to incorporate it more. Being so busy with everything else, I usually don't take the time for myself to meditate. I want to exercise more but again, being so busy, it's usually hard to find the time every day. I do make sure to exercise a few days a week though. But I want to every day. I also want to practice loving-kindness more. I really good friend of mine just lost her father suddenly and it made me realize that there is so much more to life than what I see. I want to open my mind and heart more and do more in my community. I want people to remember me as I remember her father. He was always such a happy man. He loved people, he loved God, and he loved his family more than anything. It's such a sad loss for all the people who knew him. I've known him pretty much my entire life because that's how long his daughter and I have been friends. He was known to me as Uncle Mike because he truly felt like a part of my family as well.
Anyway, I don't want to dwell on the sadness because he wouldn't want that. So, on to the ratings...
I don't think I've improved really over the course of the class because I haven't given myself the time to. But now that I have the knowledge and some sources, I will use them more often. I hope to use my journal more often too. I have made some leeway with that...I wrote in my journal a few times over the course of the 10 weeks. But my main goal really is to just take what I've learned and apply it. I've been more open with people also about the information I've gained. I had a very good talk with my mother-in-law and saw a different side of her because I never really knew how she felt about spirituality. So that was nice.
Anyway, I wish everyone the best of luck! I really enjoyed this class with everyone.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Unit 9 Final Project
I Introduction:
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?
As a health and wellness professional, developing a well rounded balance between psychological, spiritual, and physical is very important. All three areas eventually blend together somewhere along the line. They all depend on each other in order to achieve overall health, happiness, and wholeness. Psychologically we must be happy and content; if not, serious damage can fall upon the body because of stress. Having a sound psyche and spirit is essential to overall health, happiness, and wholeness. Achieving balance is relatively easy with practice. Active and passive meditation, prayer, spending time with nature, and visualization are just some of the ways people can achieve a sound mind and spirit. Clearing our minds of the daily mental chatter can have incredible affects on our personality and outlooks on life. Our lives are a gift and should be treated as such. As a nutrition professional, the first obvious step would be physical. Eating a healthy well balanced diet gives our bodies the nutrients it needs in order to function at peak performance. Our bodies should be treated like a high performance car; it only gets the best fuel. Our bodies are the same way; the better the fuel, the better the performance. Ever notice how after a fatty meal your body feels sluggish? The foods we eat also affect us psychologically and spiritually. Many cultures treat and experience food in a spiritual manner. Food is the center of family get-togethers and is celebrated over in times of joy and of sorrow (think a wake). Psychologically food is something we can enjoy and experience with an open mind. Food can bring us pleasure, but it can also bring on stress, which is why we need to learn how to balance our mind, body, and spirit. Food is something to be enjoyed, not frowned upon.
For me, the balance between physical, psychological, and spiritual is a little off balance. I need to spend more time meditating and getting in touch with the energies of the earth and of my body. I feel as though I have a pretty good balance but sometimes I sway in different directions, which is expected. It is at this point we must recognize the part of our life that needs some TLC. Through practice though, we become more mindful of what we need and the way we respond to situations. Eventually we learn to not react to stressful situations, rather we respond in a positive way. In order for us as humans to flourish to our greatest potential, we must achieve balance and harmony with ourselves and surroundings. With this balance, we flourish biologically, psycho-spiritually, interpersonally, and worldly.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
After assessing my health, I still have a significant way to go before developing my overall well-being. There are still many steps I need to overcome before I achieve that ultimate balance and wholeness. Through mental practice though, I hope to overcome my mental blocks.
Physically I score myself around an eight. Being an athlete all my life, and a competitive one at that, I know what level of fitness I can achieve. In the past, I have been a nine, almost ten. After having a child and going back to school though has put significant time constrictions on my schedule. But I find time to exercise almost every day. There are days when I do not exercise and I can feel that I haven’t. I feel sluggish and tired if I don’t exercise. Sometimes I incorporate my son into my exercises by taking him running with me, but I generally do not like to do that because the time I spend exercising is the time I can get in touch with my thoughts. My exercise time is my meditation time.
Psychologically I score myself around a seven. This average score I want to be higher. I want to psychologically be happier. There are days when I am at a ten when I feel so happy like things couldn’t be better. But then I also have days when I feel I am at a five. Stress is something we all encounter in our day-to-day lives. It is unavoidable. But we must learn to respond to stress and not react to stress. Working full-time, having a house to clean and maintain, family and friends to spend quality time with, and school work puts a significant amount of stress on me. I try to make time for all of them. Prioritization is something I have some trouble with and this is one reason my psychological balance can be off because I am making stress for myself by not prioritizing. I would say this is the top reason for my psychological wellness to be off kilter. Unfortunately when I need to watch my son, it is often difficult for me to do much else because he takes up the majority of my time. When he sleeps is when I can get some things done, like school work or cleaning and laundry. But, my time with my son also makes me happy which then can spike my psychological balance back up to a nine or ten. It is kind of a catch 20/20; I love spending that time with my son, but then I don’t have time for much else which then puts stress on me because I know I have other important things to do.
Spiritually I find myself around a seven also. I love spending time with nature and really getting in touch with the Earth; the smells, sights, and sounds. I love spending time in the woods and on the beach. That is one way I score my spirituality. The other way is getting in touch with God. I do speak to him frequently but I want to learn more about the Bible and what it says. In that aspect my spirituality is closer to a five or six. I was raised to believe in God and know that he is above all else, but I am not familiar with much of his word, just passages that I have heard over and over again. I want to learn more about his guidance and his word. I also want to spend more time meditating quietly. Practicing the subtle mind and loving-kindness practices will allow me to be more spiritual. Practicing these will also train me to be more mindful of my surrounding and my responses to stress and daily living.
So overall, I rate myself around a seven or eight, which is good but I want to be better. I want to flourish in a nine or ten. Through integral health practices, I hope to achieve that level of wellness.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Physical: My goal for physical is to achieve that level of fitness I know I can be. I played competitive soccer in college and I was in peak condition. I love to push myself to be as fit as I can be. It is fulfilling and exhilarating to work hard, sweat hard, and achieve physical perfection (almost!). Although I do not play soccer competitively anymore, I still have that drive to be in the best physical shape I can be.
Psychologically: My goal for psychological is to prioritize more and have a better grasp on my daily activities. When I do this, I will have a better handle on my life and be on top of everything that is important. This will allow me to have a better peace of mind and knowing that all the important things in my life that demand my attention will have my attention.
Spiritually: My spiritual goal is to spend more time meditating quietly. Generally I do not carve out time for myself to meditate quietly. I have not had much time to practice the subtle mind or loving-kindness practice, and I really want to! This also blends into my psychological goal of prioritizing. Quiet meditation should be a high priority for me because it will allow me to make better decisions and be more mindful, plus it will strengthen my connection with other people, interpersonally and worldly.
IV Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
Journaling is a very powerful tool I can use to implement growth in all of these domains. Keeping a journal for my physical growth will allow me to keep track of two things; my nutrition-what I eat on a daily basis, and exercise-what I do every day in the gym or at home. I have kept a fitness/nutrition journal before and it makes you more mindful of what you do because you have to write it down. It is a personal contract you keep with yourself. Also, setting goals is a great motivator to stay on track. Rewarding yourself at the end of something you achieve is a great way to stay healthy.
Psychologically I plan to continue learning and expanding my mind to promote wellness and self-healing. School has turned my life around for the better. I am taking steps to better serve others through my gaining of knowledge and experience. The education I gain will allow me to spread what I know of gaining and keeping good health and wellness practices. Here again setting goals is a great way to stay on track and continue to learn. Also, the second way I am going to foster growth psychologically is to keep a positive mindset or outlook on life. I sometimes have a tendency to look at the glass half empty rather than half full. I am going to take the gifts I have been given and foster them to the greatest potential. I must be thankful and grateful for what I have been given and look at the positivity they bring upon my life.
Spiritually I am going to practice the subtle mind and loving-kindness practices more often. This will allow me to develop a stronger spirituality. I also want to start going to church more often. I want to learn and know the word of God. This will also allow me to grow spiritually. I also want my son to be brought up on the word of God and have a love for God and for others. I will continue to spend time with nature and be in touch with the Earth for this gives me peace and mental stillness. My son will be the reason for me to be a better person so that I may teach him to be a good person; to not be selfish and to help others. Also, this may sound like it is coming out of nowhere, but I love to listen to music. Music really gets into my soul. I love a variety of types of music also, but no matter what, music always lifts my spirits, especially country music because so many of the songs relate directly to my life. I love how the songs can make me smile one minute and tug at my heart strings the next minute.
V Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?
Keeping a written track and keeping a mental focus are the ways to assess progress. Write down where you are now and after six months, look back on it to see if you have improved, stayed the same, or if you have gotten worse. Goal setting is important for people; it gives us all something to strive for. We should want to be the best we can be because we as humans are the only mammals that have the chance to do that. We have a chance to flourish. According to Dacher (2006), “unlike all other living beings, we are born with a unique and highly developed consciousness that endows human life with the capacity for language, creative imagination, self-reflection, discriminating intelligence, loving-kindness, and a good heart. If we choose to fully develop them, they enable us to realize in our lifetime an expansive and sustained flourishing of body, mind, and spirit. No other living being is endowed with these precious possibilities. We are destined for more than ordinary health or an ordinary life”. This statement is so true, but only if we allow it to be. Attaining true health, happiness, and wholeness is a conscious effort that we must really focus on and want to gain. If we do not harness our inner strength, we will only continue to live in mediocrity; we will never achieve true happiness.
My commitment is to myself to be the best I can be, not only for myself, but for my family, friends, and environment. I will continue to keep in my focus that I want to be a better person for me and everyone and everything around me. I want true happiness, health, and wholeness. Keeping that focus will be the drive I need to get there. By keeping my body, mind, and spirit healthy, I will have ultimate happiness.
Reference
Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc. Laguna Beach, CA.
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?
As a health and wellness professional, developing a well rounded balance between psychological, spiritual, and physical is very important. All three areas eventually blend together somewhere along the line. They all depend on each other in order to achieve overall health, happiness, and wholeness. Psychologically we must be happy and content; if not, serious damage can fall upon the body because of stress. Having a sound psyche and spirit is essential to overall health, happiness, and wholeness. Achieving balance is relatively easy with practice. Active and passive meditation, prayer, spending time with nature, and visualization are just some of the ways people can achieve a sound mind and spirit. Clearing our minds of the daily mental chatter can have incredible affects on our personality and outlooks on life. Our lives are a gift and should be treated as such. As a nutrition professional, the first obvious step would be physical. Eating a healthy well balanced diet gives our bodies the nutrients it needs in order to function at peak performance. Our bodies should be treated like a high performance car; it only gets the best fuel. Our bodies are the same way; the better the fuel, the better the performance. Ever notice how after a fatty meal your body feels sluggish? The foods we eat also affect us psychologically and spiritually. Many cultures treat and experience food in a spiritual manner. Food is the center of family get-togethers and is celebrated over in times of joy and of sorrow (think a wake). Psychologically food is something we can enjoy and experience with an open mind. Food can bring us pleasure, but it can also bring on stress, which is why we need to learn how to balance our mind, body, and spirit. Food is something to be enjoyed, not frowned upon.
For me, the balance between physical, psychological, and spiritual is a little off balance. I need to spend more time meditating and getting in touch with the energies of the earth and of my body. I feel as though I have a pretty good balance but sometimes I sway in different directions, which is expected. It is at this point we must recognize the part of our life that needs some TLC. Through practice though, we become more mindful of what we need and the way we respond to situations. Eventually we learn to not react to stressful situations, rather we respond in a positive way. In order for us as humans to flourish to our greatest potential, we must achieve balance and harmony with ourselves and surroundings. With this balance, we flourish biologically, psycho-spiritually, interpersonally, and worldly.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
After assessing my health, I still have a significant way to go before developing my overall well-being. There are still many steps I need to overcome before I achieve that ultimate balance and wholeness. Through mental practice though, I hope to overcome my mental blocks.
Physically I score myself around an eight. Being an athlete all my life, and a competitive one at that, I know what level of fitness I can achieve. In the past, I have been a nine, almost ten. After having a child and going back to school though has put significant time constrictions on my schedule. But I find time to exercise almost every day. There are days when I do not exercise and I can feel that I haven’t. I feel sluggish and tired if I don’t exercise. Sometimes I incorporate my son into my exercises by taking him running with me, but I generally do not like to do that because the time I spend exercising is the time I can get in touch with my thoughts. My exercise time is my meditation time.
Psychologically I score myself around a seven. This average score I want to be higher. I want to psychologically be happier. There are days when I am at a ten when I feel so happy like things couldn’t be better. But then I also have days when I feel I am at a five. Stress is something we all encounter in our day-to-day lives. It is unavoidable. But we must learn to respond to stress and not react to stress. Working full-time, having a house to clean and maintain, family and friends to spend quality time with, and school work puts a significant amount of stress on me. I try to make time for all of them. Prioritization is something I have some trouble with and this is one reason my psychological balance can be off because I am making stress for myself by not prioritizing. I would say this is the top reason for my psychological wellness to be off kilter. Unfortunately when I need to watch my son, it is often difficult for me to do much else because he takes up the majority of my time. When he sleeps is when I can get some things done, like school work or cleaning and laundry. But, my time with my son also makes me happy which then can spike my psychological balance back up to a nine or ten. It is kind of a catch 20/20; I love spending that time with my son, but then I don’t have time for much else which then puts stress on me because I know I have other important things to do.
Spiritually I find myself around a seven also. I love spending time with nature and really getting in touch with the Earth; the smells, sights, and sounds. I love spending time in the woods and on the beach. That is one way I score my spirituality. The other way is getting in touch with God. I do speak to him frequently but I want to learn more about the Bible and what it says. In that aspect my spirituality is closer to a five or six. I was raised to believe in God and know that he is above all else, but I am not familiar with much of his word, just passages that I have heard over and over again. I want to learn more about his guidance and his word. I also want to spend more time meditating quietly. Practicing the subtle mind and loving-kindness practices will allow me to be more spiritual. Practicing these will also train me to be more mindful of my surrounding and my responses to stress and daily living.
So overall, I rate myself around a seven or eight, which is good but I want to be better. I want to flourish in a nine or ten. Through integral health practices, I hope to achieve that level of wellness.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Physical: My goal for physical is to achieve that level of fitness I know I can be. I played competitive soccer in college and I was in peak condition. I love to push myself to be as fit as I can be. It is fulfilling and exhilarating to work hard, sweat hard, and achieve physical perfection (almost!). Although I do not play soccer competitively anymore, I still have that drive to be in the best physical shape I can be.
Psychologically: My goal for psychological is to prioritize more and have a better grasp on my daily activities. When I do this, I will have a better handle on my life and be on top of everything that is important. This will allow me to have a better peace of mind and knowing that all the important things in my life that demand my attention will have my attention.
Spiritually: My spiritual goal is to spend more time meditating quietly. Generally I do not carve out time for myself to meditate quietly. I have not had much time to practice the subtle mind or loving-kindness practice, and I really want to! This also blends into my psychological goal of prioritizing. Quiet meditation should be a high priority for me because it will allow me to make better decisions and be more mindful, plus it will strengthen my connection with other people, interpersonally and worldly.
IV Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
Journaling is a very powerful tool I can use to implement growth in all of these domains. Keeping a journal for my physical growth will allow me to keep track of two things; my nutrition-what I eat on a daily basis, and exercise-what I do every day in the gym or at home. I have kept a fitness/nutrition journal before and it makes you more mindful of what you do because you have to write it down. It is a personal contract you keep with yourself. Also, setting goals is a great motivator to stay on track. Rewarding yourself at the end of something you achieve is a great way to stay healthy.
Psychologically I plan to continue learning and expanding my mind to promote wellness and self-healing. School has turned my life around for the better. I am taking steps to better serve others through my gaining of knowledge and experience. The education I gain will allow me to spread what I know of gaining and keeping good health and wellness practices. Here again setting goals is a great way to stay on track and continue to learn. Also, the second way I am going to foster growth psychologically is to keep a positive mindset or outlook on life. I sometimes have a tendency to look at the glass half empty rather than half full. I am going to take the gifts I have been given and foster them to the greatest potential. I must be thankful and grateful for what I have been given and look at the positivity they bring upon my life.
Spiritually I am going to practice the subtle mind and loving-kindness practices more often. This will allow me to develop a stronger spirituality. I also want to start going to church more often. I want to learn and know the word of God. This will also allow me to grow spiritually. I also want my son to be brought up on the word of God and have a love for God and for others. I will continue to spend time with nature and be in touch with the Earth for this gives me peace and mental stillness. My son will be the reason for me to be a better person so that I may teach him to be a good person; to not be selfish and to help others. Also, this may sound like it is coming out of nowhere, but I love to listen to music. Music really gets into my soul. I love a variety of types of music also, but no matter what, music always lifts my spirits, especially country music because so many of the songs relate directly to my life. I love how the songs can make me smile one minute and tug at my heart strings the next minute.
V Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?
Keeping a written track and keeping a mental focus are the ways to assess progress. Write down where you are now and after six months, look back on it to see if you have improved, stayed the same, or if you have gotten worse. Goal setting is important for people; it gives us all something to strive for. We should want to be the best we can be because we as humans are the only mammals that have the chance to do that. We have a chance to flourish. According to Dacher (2006), “unlike all other living beings, we are born with a unique and highly developed consciousness that endows human life with the capacity for language, creative imagination, self-reflection, discriminating intelligence, loving-kindness, and a good heart. If we choose to fully develop them, they enable us to realize in our lifetime an expansive and sustained flourishing of body, mind, and spirit. No other living being is endowed with these precious possibilities. We are destined for more than ordinary health or an ordinary life”. This statement is so true, but only if we allow it to be. Attaining true health, happiness, and wholeness is a conscious effort that we must really focus on and want to gain. If we do not harness our inner strength, we will only continue to live in mediocrity; we will never achieve true happiness.
My commitment is to myself to be the best I can be, not only for myself, but for my family, friends, and environment. I will continue to keep in my focus that I want to be a better person for me and everyone and everything around me. I want true happiness, health, and wholeness. Keeping that focus will be the drive I need to get there. By keeping my body, mind, and spirit healthy, I will have ultimate happiness.
Reference
Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc. Laguna Beach, CA.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Unit 8-Implementing Practice
Hello all,
I have enjoyed doing the exercises although I wish I would have had more time to do them. I did not do them the way I really wanted to. So, the way I can implement them into my life is by trying to do them daily, or even just weekly. Just like many other people in class, our lives are over-run by our spouses, children, work, school, and other daily activities that take up blocks of time in our schedules. It was difficult for me to find the time to do the subtle mind and loving-kindness exercises. My form of meditation comes from my running and exercise. I also like to get outside and enjoy nature. This may not necessarily be a meditation or mental exercise, but I also enjoy the time right before I put my son to bed when I'm holding him in my arms and listening to this beautiful instrumental CD of lullabies I play for him before he goes to sleep. It's so peaceful when it's just me and him in the darkness of his room with a slight glow from his nightlight. I really enjoy that time with him.
Anyway, I really hope to implement the exercises more in my life because they were relaxing and stimulating at the same time. I think the ones that worked best for me were the loving-kindness exercise and the visualization one from last unit. I want to try the subtle mind exercise again.
I have enjoyed doing the exercises although I wish I would have had more time to do them. I did not do them the way I really wanted to. So, the way I can implement them into my life is by trying to do them daily, or even just weekly. Just like many other people in class, our lives are over-run by our spouses, children, work, school, and other daily activities that take up blocks of time in our schedules. It was difficult for me to find the time to do the subtle mind and loving-kindness exercises. My form of meditation comes from my running and exercise. I also like to get outside and enjoy nature. This may not necessarily be a meditation or mental exercise, but I also enjoy the time right before I put my son to bed when I'm holding him in my arms and listening to this beautiful instrumental CD of lullabies I play for him before he goes to sleep. It's so peaceful when it's just me and him in the darkness of his room with a slight glow from his nightlight. I really enjoy that time with him.
Anyway, I really hope to implement the exercises more in my life because they were relaxing and stimulating at the same time. I think the ones that worked best for me were the loving-kindness exercise and the visualization one from last unit. I want to try the subtle mind exercise again.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Unit 7 Meeting Aesclepius
After completing the Meeting Aesclepius exercise from the CD, I felt renewed. I found this exercise to be a little easier; that may be due to the more practice I've had with meditation recently. My vision of the wise healer was that of an ancient Tibetan man. This may be because of what Hollywood has put into our heads of fitting the characteristics of a wise healer, but whatever. It worked for me. I already felt as though I were sitting in a temple with him in his red robes and long white mustache. He was actually quiet throughout the whole connection with me. I could see myself sitting in front of him on a mat while we held hands and just exchanged energy. I could see the light leaving him and coming into me. It was empowering. So, I found this exercise to be very enlightening because I think this is the first time I've actually made it to a visual in my head. Mindfulness is gradually taking me to another level of calm and patience. I used to set off like a rocket at the drop of a hat. Now through mindfulness practices, I control my emotions and reactions. I don't let things get to me the way they used to. With more practice, I will be able to apply these techniques to much more and I eventually will reach that epic point of consciousness we've read about in our books.
The saying "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" I think hold significant truth. How can one person preach about something but never experienced it for themselves? It's kind of contradictory, is it not? The profession of choice for me is nutrition and this saying goes hand in hand with proper nutrition. I couldn't be a fat nutritionist who eats McDonald's all the time and expect people to listen to my advice. That's just silly. Practice what you preach...that's what I say. People need to be open-minded though when it comes to this phrase because often times people turn away from the saying when it has a spiritual reference. Accepting and loving others and their beliefs is key. I know sometimes it is hard to do that but we must try as best as we can.
The saying "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" I think hold significant truth. How can one person preach about something but never experienced it for themselves? It's kind of contradictory, is it not? The profession of choice for me is nutrition and this saying goes hand in hand with proper nutrition. I couldn't be a fat nutritionist who eats McDonald's all the time and expect people to listen to my advice. That's just silly. Practice what you preach...that's what I say. People need to be open-minded though when it comes to this phrase because often times people turn away from the saying when it has a spiritual reference. Accepting and loving others and their beliefs is key. I know sometimes it is hard to do that but we must try as best as we can.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Unit 6- Integral Assessment
The mantra which is given on page 93 is very enlightening. It made me think about everyone in the world, especially those who are close to me. Who wouldn't want others to have happiness and health and wholeness? I have in the DB posts said that I can't feel compassion for people who do cruel things to other people or animals (there have been a string of violent acts on animals in the Baltimore area that piss me off to no end!). And I still find it very difficult to extend any kind of love to those people because they don't have love for other living things. BUT, hopefully with God's great power, he can open those people's eyes and tell them what they are doing is wrong.
Anyway, the mantra was nice; very soothing, just like the other exercises. I think the area that I need the most practice is psychospiritual and possibly interpersonal. I sometimes forget where other people are coming from. I need to put myself in their shoes and feel their experiences. I want to extend kindness to them. My psychospiritual flourishing needs some training. Learning and recognizing my emotions and learning to control them and channel them will help me out tremendously. It will certainly cut down on some of the stress in my life. I need to practice the exercises more often. I need to get in touch with my soul more often. I still haven't taken that walk to the beach nearby and sat there to meditate. I'm not sure why....I guess it's because I get sidetracked with everything else going on in my life. But that is part of my problem....I'm not taking enough time out for myself to flourish. I'm learning though.
Anyway, the mantra was nice; very soothing, just like the other exercises. I think the area that I need the most practice is psychospiritual and possibly interpersonal. I sometimes forget where other people are coming from. I need to put myself in their shoes and feel their experiences. I want to extend kindness to them. My psychospiritual flourishing needs some training. Learning and recognizing my emotions and learning to control them and channel them will help me out tremendously. It will certainly cut down on some of the stress in my life. I need to practice the exercises more often. I need to get in touch with my soul more often. I still haven't taken that walk to the beach nearby and sat there to meditate. I'm not sure why....I guess it's because I get sidetracked with everything else going on in my life. But that is part of my problem....I'm not taking enough time out for myself to flourish. I'm learning though.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Unit 5 Subtle Mind Practice
I did the subtle mind practice once before, just to see what it was like. This time around I felt like I delved a little deeper than I did the first time. All in all, like the other meditation practices, it relaxed me. They all are very relaxing because of the narrator's voice. I focused a lot on my breathing, inhaling and exhaling relatively consistently. I still don't feel as if I'm getting as much out of these exercises as I would like, but with more practice, I hope to eventually master meditations.
The loving-kindness practice was nice too because you can picture the people that you are extending love to. The subtle mind practice, to me, was just a nice relaxation technique. I allowed thoughts to come in and leave almost as quickly. Again, I focused on my breathing. I try to breath into my diaphragm and not my chest but I feel like I can get deeper breathes by allowing my chest to fill up instead of my abdomen.
The spiritual connection with the mind and body is a very significant one. When there is imbalance in one area, usually the other areas lack as well. Finding a nice balance is key. And if you feel that you maintain good balance and you kind of slip up, that's ok. You just need to recognize that and make adjustments. We're here to learn how to do that. We're here to learn how to balance the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of our lives.
The loving-kindness practice was nice too because you can picture the people that you are extending love to. The subtle mind practice, to me, was just a nice relaxation technique. I allowed thoughts to come in and leave almost as quickly. Again, I focused on my breathing. I try to breath into my diaphragm and not my chest but I feel like I can get deeper breathes by allowing my chest to fill up instead of my abdomen.
The spiritual connection with the mind and body is a very significant one. When there is imbalance in one area, usually the other areas lack as well. Finding a nice balance is key. And if you feel that you maintain good balance and you kind of slip up, that's ok. You just need to recognize that and make adjustments. We're here to learn how to do that. We're here to learn how to balance the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of our lives.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Unit 4 Mental Exercise
I forgot to describe the mental exercise.
Mental exercise is exactly what it sounds like. Just like we exercise and push our bodies, we can do the same with our minds. Research has shown that mental exercise improves overall health. As a part of integral health, it is a necessary step in order to achieve overall health, happiness, and wholeness.
I seem to have trouble with the visualization part. I do like to allow the music and background sounds to take me over and relax me. But for some reason, I can't seem to open and expand my mind. Hopefully through more of these exercises, it will happen.
I mentioned in my other post that my mental block may have something to do with my current situations in life. These doctors and spiritual healers have years of experience under their belts....we're not going to get the hang of these exercises right away. I really want to and I'm really going to try though.
Mental exercise is exactly what it sounds like. Just like we exercise and push our bodies, we can do the same with our minds. Research has shown that mental exercise improves overall health. As a part of integral health, it is a necessary step in order to achieve overall health, happiness, and wholeness.
I seem to have trouble with the visualization part. I do like to allow the music and background sounds to take me over and relax me. But for some reason, I can't seem to open and expand my mind. Hopefully through more of these exercises, it will happen.
I mentioned in my other post that my mental block may have something to do with my current situations in life. These doctors and spiritual healers have years of experience under their belts....we're not going to get the hang of these exercises right away. I really want to and I'm really going to try though.
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