Unit 8 Review

My days usually start around 7am when my daughter wakes me up. I have attempted to start my mornings with the subtle mind exercise. I have really enjoyed this exercise and find it to be quite beneficial. I feel as though it lets me pull myself together and to focus on what I have in front of me for the day, usually school and work.

At night before bed, I run on my treadmill which gets my heart pumping. Then I follow this with a shower and the loving kindness exercise. I like this one because between exercising and releasing all of my negative feelings, it becomes much easier to sleep at night. I feel calm, relaxed, and at peace. It is a great way to end my day. I have had issues with sleep since I was a teen; meditation has been an amazing tool in lessening/eliminating this issue. 

I would like to continue with my meditation exercises and I work on my physical and mental health. They are equally important with the end result that I hope to achieve. Continuing these exercises will keep me where I want to be. The exercises allow me to take my health to an area I did not even know was possible before this class.

Meeting Aesclepius

     Meeting Aesclepius was a visualization exercise. I visualized my grandfather who passed away 4 years ago. He was both incredibly wise and kind. We were in his house, where many deep conversations have taken place in the past. As we sat across from each other,  I visualized the light beams coming from him as I absorbed his knowledge and love. Not only did I feel stronger and healthier after this exercise, I felt an amazing amount of peace. A closeness to my grandfather was possible that I had not experienced in years. It was profound.

     The meditation exercises in this class have really allowed me to feel at peace as I have grown spiritually. I hope to continue to repeat these exercises in order to strengthen my mind and heart. I would also like to find additional exercises to supplement where needed.

     "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself," is a wonderful saying to remember. It reminds me of the golden rule that we are taught as children, "Treat others as you want to be treated." Both show us that to achieve what we want in life, the change needs to start within us. How can you expect to better others if you aren't capable of implementing this change in your own life? As a health and wellness professional, you need to be able to have your own real life experience to draw on in order to guide others.

Unit 6 Assessment

       1. Practice the universal Loving Kindness (meditation) exercise on p. 93.

      Universal Loving Kindness is an exercise that can be practiced by anyone. This exercise made me feel more connected to people that I know. I no longer felt like I was alone in my effort to make a difference in the lives of others. It left me feeling hopeful that we can make a difference and help each other through life.

2.        2. Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115). Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

To complete the Integral Assessment, we have to look at the four parts of integral health to determine where the work needs to be done. Using the meditation exercise assisted with gaining awareness.

I decided to look at the biological and psychospiritual aspects of my life. Biological covers my physical health. I have mentioned my efforts at weight loss. Creating a goal, implementing exercise, and watching my caloric and nutritional intake, play a part in my plan. Due to health issues, following through with this is more important than ever. Psychospiritually, I’ve noticed how I respond to the world around me. I tend to prevent myself from achieving goals from time to time. Having the ability to listen to my still self in order to act from a place of loving kindness lets me make the best choices for my true self. This prevents my ego self from trying to get its way.

In order to further develop my life in these areas, I will continue to work with my meditation exercises. I could benefit from continuing my exercise program and possibly extend it as well to include some weight work. My routine includes taking time to walk which allows me to clear my mind. Enjoying my routine will make it seem less like work and more like entertainment.

Subtle mind exercise

1.          Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

The subtle mind exercise was wonderful. It reminded me of the type of exercise I use in meditation. The exercise lets me feel like I am finally able to slow my mind down and not worry about everything I still need to do for the day. Relaxing for the exercise was not as quick as I would have liked, but the end result was relaxing. I was able to stay on my focal point and I felt at ease with the steady rhythm of breathing.

Differences between the subtle mind exercise and the loving kindness exercise were apparent to me. The loving kindness exercise can be challenging depending on the events in your life. Even though I believe this to be an extremely important exercise, it did not come as easy as the subtle mind exercise did.

2.          Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

My family is not overly active or athletic. Even my three brothers were not in sports. In high school, I was the only in my family to take on sports and attempt to be athletic or physically active. However, at some point, illness prevented me from this as well. I tore cartalidge in my knees, dislocated my shoulder, and had a horrible immune system. My health issues continued until just recently. About a year ago, I decided that I was not going to let my health issues rule my life. I committed myself to getting healthier. I began walking, running, and eating healthier. As a result, I was able to go off certain medications that I had been on for years. Through this dedication to being healthier, I was able to grow mentally. I have always had issues sleeping. Most nights it seems like there are so many thoughts going through my head that I am unable to just “shut it off”. Exercising allowed me to relax and take myself to a peaceful place. I began doing a significant amount of my activity at night. Once I got to that place of relaxation, I was able to sleep. We all know the many benefits our bodies receive from the proper amount of sleep. Once I recognized how my exercise was affecting my body, it became less of a task. 

Loving-kindness and mental workouts

1.  Once again, I enjoyed this exercise. This exercise made me think of my family. While certain people in my family have caused significant stress and worry, the rest of my family has been a rock. They are always willing to help me out in a jam, support my decisions, and love me unconditionally. I’ve always thought our family shows us how to love. Growing up, I was showered in love. To this day, it has been my goal to be as kind, selfless, and loving as they were for me. In order to do this, the love has to start within. I focused on myself. I could feel the love radiating through me. Sending that love to others is an amazing thing. There are so many people in my family who could use it right now. My grandma has been in and out of the hospital all week with strokes and my kid brother got himself into trouble this afternoon and is sitting in jail. I know he is beating himself up over what happened far worse than anything we could say to him. It is a challenging exercise because it requires you to bring in all the pain of those you love and care about. That can be a mountain to take on. But sending it back out as love is a positive experience.
2. "Mental workout” is a concept that is described in two phases by Dacher. First is the loving-kindness exercise and the second is the subtle mind exercises. Working with the first exercise is to move past our self -centered thoughts so that we can grow in a psychospiritual manner. Dacher says that loving-kindness will attract loving-kindness. Next, we are to focus on subtle mind. Finding a deeper level of consciousness allows us to eliminate the mess in our minds. Research has shown that mental Olympians, those who have mastered the techniques, actually have an elevated level of gamma wave activity. It shows a mental fortitude that isn’t exposed to mind fluctuations or stress and expansions of health and healing capabilities. Implementing these workouts can be done through practicing the loving-kindness exercise and then working on the subtle mind activities when I am ready. If I can practice these exercises daily, I should be able to benefit from them.

Physical, Spiritual, and Psychological

On a scale from one to ten, I would give the following ratings:

A.   Physical- I would state my physical wellbeing would be around 7. I rate this due to my current health, including illnesses and weight. A goal to improve this would be to maintain my current exercise plan through the year. I began this plan in the fall of 2013. I have already lost 20lbs and have been able to eliminate some medication that I was on. This will not only assist me in losing weight, but it will also perk my attitude up, increase my self-esteem, and create a healthier body in general.

B.   Spiritual- I would place my spiritual wellbeing around a 6. I place it low because I often forget to take time to clear my mind and relax. Becoming one my mind will allow the other areas to increase in rating as well. A goal that could improve this number would be to set aside a certain amount of time and practice meditation on a daily basis. It would be optimal to do this in the morning before I start my day so that it can begin on the best note possible.

C.   Psychological- I would also give this a rating of 6. The reason for this is the issue I have managing my stress. It is easy to feel as though the rating is higher when there are no stressful events in my life. Unfortunately, once these do occur, I have a hard time preventing them from taking over my mind. A goal to assist in this would be to practice thinking positively and apply the saying, “mind over matter”. If I want to see the positive side of things I will, it just takes practice. Physical exercise tends to alleviate the stress, but it does not actually eliminate the source of the stress.

I, once again, enjoyed this exercise. The affirmations that we had to think about when we transitioned from one color to the next were interesting. When the exercise was finished, I felt very connected and focused. This was wonderful since I had to work on my assignment for the class next. It allowed me to apply myself without as much distraction.