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.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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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