Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Unit 8: Integral Exercises and Practices
After reviewing the exercises and practices experienced in this course, most of them were very beneficial in my life. It was hard to narrow it down to two, but I had to due to discussion purposes. The two that were the most beneficial to me were the Loving Kindness practice and the Subtle Mind Practice. The Loving Kindness has helped me realize one of my weaknesses and that would be negative behaviors due to me speaking my mind at anytime. It has helped me relax and work through these negative emotions and behaviors and share love and kindness instead of hatefulness toward myself or others. The second is the Subtle Mind practice. The Subtle Mind practice has aided in me finding my inner self and open my heart and mind to others and new experiences. This practice is so relaxing! To implement these practices into my personal life, I will continue performing these practices to train the mind to continue on the path of human flourishing. I will continue to at least practice three times weekly and more often as needed, especially if I realize that I am starting to wonder down the wrong path of fostering mental fitness. Also, I will change up the practices and exercises when needed to meet the need of the situation at hand. I look forward to continuing on this path to human flourishing, mental fitness, and integral health!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Unit 7: Meeting Asciepius and Transformation of the Healer
The meditation practice from this week, "Meeting Asciepius", was overwhelming to me. I tried the exercise several times and was just not able to bond or respond to it. It was a frustrating due to being hard for me to stay focused for the great amount of time between the visualization topics. I think this was the hardest meditation practice that I have experienced. I really do not think this practice met my needs. I will have to abandon this one and continue with the other practices at this time. Mindfulness and meditation has fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness by showing me the importance and benefits that these practices have on integral health and human flourishing. The practices has encouraged me to do the things I need to do to better myself psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Also, it has shown me ways to meet integral health to become one and whole again. To continue this fostering of greater health and wellness, I will continue to grow integrally to sustain health, happiness, and wholeness.
"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (Sclitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M.S., 2005, p. 477). This is an inspiring quote and the meaning that I feel that it has is that one will not be able to effectively lead someone else into human flourishing if one is not utilizing human flourishing himself or has had experience in himself. This applies to the health and wellness profession by one making a good example and being a good influence to the client. I think, I do have a duty and an obligation to my clients to have developed or be developing my own health through human flourishing psychologically, physically, and spiritually. My mom had taught me a saying a long time ago and I have incorporated into my life. "Practice what you preach!" If I am unable to develop integral health, my clients may see or feel as if it is a unnecessary cause. I sure do not want my clients to feel that way! I can implement psychological and spiritual growth in my personal and professional life by identifying my weakness and train the consciousness with contemplative exercises and practices for psychospiritual flourishing and human flourishing.
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. p. 477. St. Louis, Missouri:Elsevier
"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (Sclitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M.S., 2005, p. 477). This is an inspiring quote and the meaning that I feel that it has is that one will not be able to effectively lead someone else into human flourishing if one is not utilizing human flourishing himself or has had experience in himself. This applies to the health and wellness profession by one making a good example and being a good influence to the client. I think, I do have a duty and an obligation to my clients to have developed or be developing my own health through human flourishing psychologically, physically, and spiritually. My mom had taught me a saying a long time ago and I have incorporated into my life. "Practice what you preach!" If I am unable to develop integral health, my clients may see or feel as if it is a unnecessary cause. I sure do not want my clients to feel that way! I can implement psychological and spiritual growth in my personal and professional life by identifying my weakness and train the consciousness with contemplative exercises and practices for psychospiritual flourishing and human flourishing.
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. p. 477. St. Louis, Missouri:Elsevier
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Unit 6: Universal Loving Kindness and the Integral Assessment
The process of the exercise of universe loving kindness was the repeating of four statements over ten minutes with my eyes closed with the mind and body relaxed and still. The statements included:
May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.
The process of performing the integral assessment was very enlightening. The first step, I was looking at the four aspects of my life: psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly. Then I determine which one needs flourishing. Next, I decide which development is out of imbalance and essential at this time, what practices I will need to perform, what problems to resolve, new abilities to develop, and how will this contribute to integral health. I explored what areas of my life is ready for growth and is it the same or different area. I then thought about what does the next level of development looks like. I wrote down some notes as I did my assessment. I then looked back at my notes and determined if the assessment is clear and unbiased. This assessment tool can assist someone to think daily about their integral health. I really enjoyed reading a statement in our text.
May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.
The process of performing the integral assessment was very enlightening. The first step, I was looking at the four aspects of my life: psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly. Then I determine which one needs flourishing. Next, I decide which development is out of imbalance and essential at this time, what practices I will need to perform, what problems to resolve, new abilities to develop, and how will this contribute to integral health. I explored what areas of my life is ready for growth and is it the same or different area. I then thought about what does the next level of development looks like. I wrote down some notes as I did my assessment. I then looked back at my notes and determined if the assessment is clear and unbiased. This assessment tool can assist someone to think daily about their integral health. I really enjoyed reading a statement in our text.
With time I will no longer think in fragmented ways, speak or act as if I am disconnected from the whole, limit myself to an underdeveloped consciousness, or view my life from the narrow perspective of ordinary health. I will think, feel, speak, and act from an integral perspective (Dacher, E.S., 2006, p. 116)
Practicing the universal loving kindness meditation was very relaxing and helped me open my mind and heart to others and release the negative emotions that I had bottled up inside me. This exercise assisted me in shifting love for myself to others. With the integral assessment, I discovered that there is a lot that need to be flourished and developed within my life. The focus area that is essential is the psychospiritual aspect. I realized most of my motivation comes from instinctual and education. I lack the motivation from wisdom, wholeness, and oneness. I have partially met this goal. I have the universal loving kindness and compassion. I am more reactive than I would like to be and knowledge is predominantly through reasoning. The majority of my emotions come from desires, anger, fear, and reactive emotions. I lack a stable and expanded happiness, wholeness, and oneness. I will continue to implement the subtle mind practice, meditation exercises, physical exercise, relaxation techniques, and unity consciousness; learning to change reaction into intention.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Unit 5 Blog: Subtle Mind and Spiritual Wellness
1) Comparing the loving kindness exercise to the subtle mind exercise was hard. Both exercises aided in relaxation using focus points and deep breathing to help keep the focus and relax. On the other hand, in contrast the loving kindness exercise was a lot easier to follow, easier to keep the focus with, and was about finding love within your self and love for others. The subtle mind exercise was about training the mind to focus and tune into the deeper mind and release the mental chatter. I benefited from the training until it got to the part where the CD was messed up and had a lot of static. Could not focus with this noise being present. It became very frustrating. I tried multiple times and ended with the same result.
2) Mental and physical wellness is just part of the wholeness one can obtain. Spiritual wellness is a major ingredient for one to come into integral health and wellness. Spiritual wellness helps one open the mind and find their inner self with loving, kindness, and spirituality with a "great one". With this principle being in one's life, mental and physical well-being can prosper and grow. While taking this course, I have learned the importance of each one of the ingredients involved in human flourishing and integral health. Like in one of the past blog post, we had to look at how we graded ourselves in each, I realized how much I was lacking spiritually. Knowing this has aided me in setting goals and priorities. I have now added some of the interventions into my daily routine and have began to flourish. I have noticed that the mood swings, irritability, headaches, and blood pressure has decreased significantly, while the physical wellness has increased. By this, I mean that I feel like a stronger person mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually with my inner self and outer self.
2) Mental and physical wellness is just part of the wholeness one can obtain. Spiritual wellness is a major ingredient for one to come into integral health and wellness. Spiritual wellness helps one open the mind and find their inner self with loving, kindness, and spirituality with a "great one". With this principle being in one's life, mental and physical well-being can prosper and grow. While taking this course, I have learned the importance of each one of the ingredients involved in human flourishing and integral health. Like in one of the past blog post, we had to look at how we graded ourselves in each, I realized how much I was lacking spiritually. Knowing this has aided me in setting goals and priorities. I have now added some of the interventions into my daily routine and have began to flourish. I have noticed that the mood swings, irritability, headaches, and blood pressure has decreased significantly, while the physical wellness has increased. By this, I mean that I feel like a stronger person mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually with my inner self and outer self.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Unit 4: Loving Kindness Practice and Mental Workouts
I have listened to the Loving Kindness Practice that was included on the compact disc with our textbook by Dacher multiple times over the last week. This exercise has been very beneficial to me in my life. I have had many hard feelings going through my mind lately primarily in my personal life, including being very hard on myself. I have a very bad habit of always taking the blame for everything and being so hard on myself. Those that know me, even classmates, know that I have this habit. This is a very hard habit to break, but I am steadily trying. The practice has showed me how to open mind and heart and let go of those negative feelings, love myself, and love others more. I have always heard that it takes a lot more energy to be angry or hate that to forgive and love. I can honestly say that I can now agree more than ever after completing this practice exercise. I would highly recommend this practice to anyone. I say this due to I know there are others around me that could use the help, just as I do, to feel better about themselves and others.
The concept of "Mental Workout" is that one has to be repetitive in performing the contemplative exercises to train one's mind for integral health and healing, evolving one's psychospiritual life and to know how to access its capacities and resources. Research has indicated that performing mental workouts has influenced and benefited our physiology, hormonal system, and immune system, enhanced one's well being, increases attention, memory, perception, and imagery, decreases disturbing emotions such as anger, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt, and increases positive emotions such as patience, loving, kindness, openness, and happiness. With this shift, one can increase their resistance to mental distress and diseases, increase the healing capacity, and promote well being. Also, using a test for gamma waves, it suggests that one with a compassionate state using contemplative exercises had a higher order of mental integration. To implement mental workouts in my life to be able to foster my psychological health, I will begin to integrate the mental workouts two times daily into my usual daily routines. Also, I will make the time that is necessary and needed for myself to meet this goal to become a better person internally and externally.
The concept of "Mental Workout" is that one has to be repetitive in performing the contemplative exercises to train one's mind for integral health and healing, evolving one's psychospiritual life and to know how to access its capacities and resources. Research has indicated that performing mental workouts has influenced and benefited our physiology, hormonal system, and immune system, enhanced one's well being, increases attention, memory, perception, and imagery, decreases disturbing emotions such as anger, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt, and increases positive emotions such as patience, loving, kindness, openness, and happiness. With this shift, one can increase their resistance to mental distress and diseases, increase the healing capacity, and promote well being. Also, using a test for gamma waves, it suggests that one with a compassionate state using contemplative exercises had a higher order of mental integration. To implement mental workouts in my life to be able to foster my psychological health, I will begin to integrate the mental workouts two times daily into my usual daily routines. Also, I will make the time that is necessary and needed for myself to meet this goal to become a better person internally and externally.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Self Reflection and Exercise
One must be aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses to obtain optimal wellness. This includes being aware of your physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being. There is little encouragement among health care providers to perform self reflection evaluations and look into one's inner self for inner treatment options for the mind, body, and spiritual healing methods, even if it is used to complement the external treatment modalities. I do encourage you to evaluate you own well-being of the physical, spiritual, and psychological aspects. Here I have completed a self reflection myself and share with you what my finding were. I am not ashamed, I now just added knowledge on what factors I need to work on and how I am going to meet that goal.
Based on my self reflection:
I would have to rate my physical well-being as a six (6) due to not living a healthy lifestyle, being overweight, and having a decreased health status (including hypertension) as 36 years of age. Goal: I will have a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and have a stable health status within 6 weeks. Actions: I will quit smoking, start exercising 2-3 times weekly for 30 minutes a day, eat smaller portions of healthier foods, lose 10 pounds, and take medications as prescribed.
I would have to say my spiritual well-being is rated at a 5 due to reacting before I think sometime in situations, not addressing my inner self, and not treating my body as a precious one. Goal: I will handle open the inner mind and self and treat this body as a precious one within six (6) weeks. Actions: I will think through my feelings before speaking or reacting to a problem or before making final decisions, start addressing my inner self to increase my integral health, and start taking better care of my body physically and mentally to care for it as a precious one just as God gave it to me.
I have rated my psychological well-being as a 5 due to being under increased stress and so many emotions going through my head that I do not know where to start. Goal: I will have increased knowledge of different approaches I may take to help deal with the stress in my life day to day and the emotions that I feel within six (6) weeks. Actions: I will continue learning from courses I take in school, continue learning from research on mind body, and spiritual modalities, try different approaches to reducing stress to find the correct techniques for my different circumstances, perform daily techniques to aid in relaxation and stress reduction, and communicate more with others my emotional feelings to clear my mind instead of repressing them.
RELAXATION EXERCISE
I have completed the relaxation exercise "The Crime of the Century". This exercise talks you through visualization, deep breathing, relaxation, and positive emotions with the rainbow technique of relaxation focusing on 7 different areas of the body. At first, I was getting a little frustrated trying to listen to him, do what he was saying, and trying to relax all at the same time. I felt a little overwhelmed! As I continued listening, I became more relaxed and was able to focus on everything he was saying. His voice was so calm. It was like going into a trance or something. It is hard to explain. I was so relaxed by the end of it, I had went to sleep. So, I would say it was very beneficial. My five year old woke me up talking to me. I just had to listen to it again and again. I love it! What a magnificent feeling that it gave me!!!! I think I will continue with this technique.
Based on my self reflection:
I would have to rate my physical well-being as a six (6) due to not living a healthy lifestyle, being overweight, and having a decreased health status (including hypertension) as 36 years of age. Goal: I will have a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and have a stable health status within 6 weeks. Actions: I will quit smoking, start exercising 2-3 times weekly for 30 minutes a day, eat smaller portions of healthier foods, lose 10 pounds, and take medications as prescribed.
I would have to say my spiritual well-being is rated at a 5 due to reacting before I think sometime in situations, not addressing my inner self, and not treating my body as a precious one. Goal: I will handle open the inner mind and self and treat this body as a precious one within six (6) weeks. Actions: I will think through my feelings before speaking or reacting to a problem or before making final decisions, start addressing my inner self to increase my integral health, and start taking better care of my body physically and mentally to care for it as a precious one just as God gave it to me.
I have rated my psychological well-being as a 5 due to being under increased stress and so many emotions going through my head that I do not know where to start. Goal: I will have increased knowledge of different approaches I may take to help deal with the stress in my life day to day and the emotions that I feel within six (6) weeks. Actions: I will continue learning from courses I take in school, continue learning from research on mind body, and spiritual modalities, try different approaches to reducing stress to find the correct techniques for my different circumstances, perform daily techniques to aid in relaxation and stress reduction, and communicate more with others my emotional feelings to clear my mind instead of repressing them.
RELAXATION EXERCISE
I have completed the relaxation exercise "The Crime of the Century". This exercise talks you through visualization, deep breathing, relaxation, and positive emotions with the rainbow technique of relaxation focusing on 7 different areas of the body. At first, I was getting a little frustrated trying to listen to him, do what he was saying, and trying to relax all at the same time. I felt a little overwhelmed! As I continued listening, I became more relaxed and was able to focus on everything he was saying. His voice was so calm. It was like going into a trance or something. It is hard to explain. I was so relaxed by the end of it, I had went to sleep. So, I would say it was very beneficial. My five year old woke me up talking to me. I just had to listen to it again and again. I love it! What a magnificent feeling that it gave me!!!! I think I will continue with this technique.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Relaxation Journey
The relaxation journey has significantly helped me. I listened to it, again, this afternoon when I got to the hotel room. See I am having to spend two nights away from my family due to work travel (classes). This itself is stressful on me, especially being away from my children. My youngest, five years old, has been having some heart trouble and it is about to drive me crazy knowing that I want be able to see him for 3 days. Maybe this CD can keep on working till I am able to get back home to my family. I know it will. I am keeping my faith and thinking positive. He is in good hands and I know this. So all we be OK!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Welcome!
I am now taking a class that is teaching me about creating wellness through psychological and spiritual aspects of healing. This class is not mandatory for me to take, but I choose this course due to I think it is going to help me better myself and to aid in better care for the clients that I serve. This is the second week of class and it has already blown my mind on learning the importance of the inner self and how it effects the body. I am looking forward to gaining a significant amount of knowledge from our professor and fellow classmates. Thanks in advance!
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