End of Term

My personal assessment still holds right now. I am trying to get some of the material parts of my life in order right now and still using my knowledge and experience of my spirit to make it through this time in life.
I am still thinking I need more physical activity. On Thanksgiving me and my kid went out about town and went on a nature walk. It was great. We talked plenty about how we need a better understanding of what is going on inside us as we try to make it through physical trials.
I am still practicing the Universal Loving-Kindness and Meeting Aesculapius.  I am also still doing my walking meditation.  I am working more hours lately but am really wanting to start this cardio class at 4:45am.  I think I can afford it, for it is only 50$ a month and I think 2 days a week is possible in my schedule.
With this course I have become stronger in my beliefs.  I know that we are all connected and my actions do affect others.  I am satisfied with this course and hope everyone who was a part of this class this term has a better view of health and wellness. I hope I can share more of my understanding with others and help them to see what is possible.

A Plan to Foster Integral Growth and Health; Spiritually, Physically, and Psychologically

I. Introduction

We may have all seen a doctor at some point that gave us advice that they themselves obviously did not follow.  We can be told we need to lose weight in order to help ourselves live a healthier life but why would we want to hear this from a physician who is also overweight?  We do not want to be told to quit smoking by a care provider who smokes.  We also do not want to think that the surgeon that is operating on us is stressed out in anyway.  We want our healthcare practitioners to be “together”, know what they are doing and to be doing it with calm integrity and integral well-being themselves.   If we really care about our healthcare professions as a way to help others find true healing we must truly heal ourselves; mind, body, and spirit.

I think of myself as a pretty balanced person, considering I have a psychological imbalance which could also be considered a physiological imbalance because almost all we know is that it has to do the brain and our chemical and hormonal communications could be miscommunicating.  So, anyhow and anyway, I believe myself to be a fairly balanced person.  I am at different levels of well-being throughout the aspects of my psychological, physical, or spiritual health but I feel strong in each and I do intend to grow in all 3 areas.  I want to be the healer I know I am; even though if you know me you know I really I am planning on going into research.  In medical research I will be searching for truth and I believe that truth is not something that can only be found in the physical world but is found deeper within and farther without than the reality we sense with our 5 biological senses.  In order to be successful in helping others I must keep grow and maintain my health in all aspects.

II. Personal Assessment

I completed the Integral Assessment (p111) and posted my thoughts in a blog titled “Universal Loving-Kindness & Integral Assessment”.  I said I felt that after the exercise I felt I needed to focus more in my biological area of fitness and interpersonal area of family because these are the areas where I am still in my mind.  I want to achieve a more whole feeling in my fitness and I need to find a way to fit more physical activity into my daily routine.  I would love to start doing Tia Chi again because it will tone my physical body while I also tone my mental state and connect with life spiritually.   As for me working my way out of the mental block of my family being all that matters I am learning that they are not much different than anyone else it is simply that I think their opinions matter more than other individuals’ may.

If I was to rate my health; physiologically, psychologically, and spiritually I would say that all three areas of my health are in good shape.  I am still ‘kicking it’ in all I do at work, at home, and at play.  I am in decent shape and have no chronic pain, discomfort, or physical issue and I very rarely feel sore after long days and nights at work and play.  Mentally (psychologically) for all I have been told about living with bipolar disorder I maintain good order within my mind and in my life.  I may ride a roller-coaster of emotion sometimes but I know how to hold on and not ‘freak’ when all seems to fall out from under me and how to not believe everything I think when my thinking is to ‘high’ on mania.  Then my spiritual life is what really keeps my mind mine and my body working.  For me life is a great experience where we can grow or not.  I intend to live my life with a purpose and believe that I, even being only one person, may change the way the world works if I can get but one person to hear me.  I have faith that the world is not in my control but I am working with a purpose even I cannot fully understand what it is.  I simply know it is good because I have integrity and am determined to serve a cause that is greater than me.

III. Goals

Physical

I really want to quit smoking this winter. I am an active person and try to eat right but I know being a smoker is very unhealthy.  I have been a smoker for 23 years now.  To help me in this area I am thinking of joining an early morning cardio-fitness class to get my heart pumping and get that euphoric feeling from getting an actual clear breath.

Psychological

I am trying to start doing yoga again.  I have done yoga on and off since I was 13 and really feel I could use the meditative practice that is part of this balance and breathe work.   Balance in my physical body will help my mind feel more balanced.  I am looking at getting yoga videos from the library but have also found a few useful videos on the internet.

Spiritual

With yoga I am working toward a more regular schedule of meditation. I know I am part of something bigger than me and want to set aside at least a half hour each day for meditation so that I may connect with all that I know is possible.

IV. Practices for personal health:

Physical

Cardio-fitness will help me get my blood flowing and make sure body is working at a more optimal level.  I can implement this exercise into my routine.  I will be checking out the 4am sessions at the community center.

Hiking/nature walks are something I can do any time I need a break.  It is getting cold here in Colorado but walks in the brisk air can be exhilarating and can burn more calories as I also permit my immune system to strengthen.

Psychological

I shall practice mindfulness in my daily routine.  While walking I will focus on feeling my feet touch the ground, the cool air as I breathe, and the cold on my face and the core warmth of my body.

A Taste of Human Flourishing (p144) is an exercise that I have enjoyed and only takes about half an hour.  I can do this and feel the happiness, wholeness, and health that I am striving toward.

Spiritual

Universal Loving-Kindness (p93) is just my style.  I love the power of words. The exercise was meant to open us up to universal loving-kindness.  I believe that it works when we focus and repeat these words and believe in what they mean. Repeating the words and feeling the meaning and possibility behind them makes me feel more complete.  I can do this any time.

Meeting Asclepius (p56-58) is an exercise I found very useful.  I can imagine many people who inspire me, from Gandhi to my grandfather, see many [people in history and in my life that appear as guiding figures of wisdom.  It will be good to look at life and the possibilities that are there for us all.

V. Commitment:

I can assess my progress or my lack of progress in the next six months by doing the Personal Integral Assessment and also by reviewing the Tree of Contemplative Practices from, The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, which is a great guide to what contemplative practices many of use. 

The Tree has three roots to knowing; Communion, Connection, Awareness.  It has many branches that simulate areas of practice.  I enjoy many of these practices.  Creation process practices I take part in are singing, contemplative art, journaling.  Movement practices that I enjoy often are yoga, walking meditation, and contemplative movement.  I also take time to practice the stillness practices of silence, insight meditation, sitting meditation, and quieting and clearing the mind.  My only activist practices; work.  I do generative practices such loving-kindness meditation, mantra repetition, and visualization.  I do some ritual/cyclical practices such as vision quests and traveling to sacred places every year.  Some of the relational practices I thoroughly enjoy are dialogue, deep listening, storytelling, and council circles.  These practices can assist me in maintaining on this path to integral health.  I am happy to have found that my health and wellness plan is not only from my thoughts but have touched the consciousness of many.

  

To finish here I’d like to share this website which lists many Benefits of Meditation http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

References

Dacher, E.S., (2006).  Integral Health: the path to human flourishing.  California: Basic Health.

The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, (2011). The Tree of Contemplative Practices.  http://contemplativemind.org/practices/tree.html .

Beneficial Exercises for Mental fitness

The two exercises I enjoyed and found the most useful were the Universal Loving-Kindness (p93) & Meeting Asclepius (p56-58) exercises.   
I like Universal -Kindness exercise because repeating the words and feeling the meaning and possibility behind them makes me feel more complete.  I know I have purpose but sometimes the only reminder is myself.
The meeting Asclepius exercise is one I also enjoyed because I can imagine many people who inspire me.  From Gandhi to my grandfather I have many people see as guiding figures of wisdom.
Since we have learned of these exercises in class I have found that they are easy to use when I take my half hour or so each day.

Meeting Asciepius

The "Meeting Asciepius" exercise was nice and easy for me. 
I started off thinking I'd think of my grandfather but a few minutes into meditating my focus became my best friend.  If any of you knew him you would probably say he doesn't seem very wise.  But I have known him for 26 years and for all the idiotic things he has managed to do in life, he is still the wisest person I know.
See my best friend was in a car accident when he was 16.  He broke his neck and was told he would never walk again.  He has a metal plate and a piece of his hip bone in the back of his neck holding him together.  He refused to be a paraplegic. Within 3 weeks of the accident he was moving his body on his own and after almost a year of rehabilitation he was walking just fine.  
To me this showed that he had great integrity and determination.  He could reach inside himself and find that inner healer.  
Being mindful fosters a deeper awareness of the psychological and spiritual aspects of our lives. If are not mindful we merely think of our biological self and do not flourish.  We must reach within ourselves to foster better longer lasting health.
My friend still has some issues with one side of his body, it doesn't always function properly kind of as if he had a stroke.  It has been 18 years since he was told he was never going to walk again and he is functioning man.  WE live in the Rocky Mountains where life consists of wood cutting and riding horses for the majority of the people.  He can swing an ax as good as the next and has no difficulty with the animals  He is satisfied with his abilities and takes pride in how far he has come.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself”

 "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” 
We cannot teach what we do not know.  In health and wellness we cannot help others create their wellness if we have not created our own.  I feel health care professionals should be obligated to take care of themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually.  If you are in good whole health than you have a better chance of promoting it.  Being aware and developing psychologically and spiritually involves practice in loving-kindness and the subtle mind.

did i learn something new this morning? patience still works in my life...

Universal Loving-Kindness & Integral Assessment

The Universal Loving Kindness exercise (meditation) was just what I like.  I am a word lover and I know that words are powerful when we put an actual meaning behind them.  The exercise was meant to open us up to universal loving kindness and I believe that it works when we focus and repeat these words and what believe in what they mean. 
I completed the Integral Assessment and I feel I need to focus more in the biological and interpersonal areas my being.  I need more focus on my fitness and my family.  These areas are where I am still in my mind, so to say.  I am still looking at my family as separate from others.  My family and I are Us and other people are you.  I once new my family as All of Us and adopted the World.  This caused me some distress in other areas of my life and now my family is my family.  This really not been working for me like it used to.  Now I want to reconnect with that feeling of wholeness which I once new.  This should not be a difficult task for I am already seeing that I have extended my family out to include many others, just not the whole World, yet.  My fitness I feel is still stuck in the mind/body and I want to achieve a more whole feeling in my fitness routine.  That is why I want to take back up Tia Chi.  It will reconnect me with my soul body more and I will feel even more at ease with myself.

Spiritual Wellness' Connection to Mental and Physical Wellness

It may not seem like it but creating wellness has more to do with our spirit than many would think.  The World is made up of material objects, things we can see, touch, smell, taste, and hear.  The spirit is not material.  It is harder to understand something we cannot put into a material perspective.  We know we have a mind and a body but the spirit is more elusive unless a person has grown up with a strong religious background and conviction.  
Maybe this is not all true.  Many people believe there is something that is a part of us that we cannot fully conceive.  It is spirit; a soul, an essence, a force that resides in us all.  We know it matters.  There is something in us that is aware that elusive spirit is as real and true as the rest of this World.  
We do not all know what it is and what it means but it is detrimental to the future of mankind that we learn to connect with this inner consciousness for it is connected to all consciousness (un-, sub-, higher-).  How do we do this?
We must realize that when have an illness it could possibly be due to more than just the environment we are in or the food we did or did not eat or the exercise we didn't do or the sleep we didn't get or the stress that is wrecking havoc in our lives.  It may be that we have become unbalance, lost connection with what is truly important.  We need to feed our soul.  We feed our mind knowledge and our bodies nutrients.  We must feed our souls.  How do you feed the spirit?  Believe in something.  Act with loving-kindness and compassion.  Take time to breath each day just to breath.  Look at what is really going on inside yourself and make a move to heal.  
Take care of all aspects of your whole health.  A heart attack is not just about the physical heart.  It is about our metaphorical heart as well.
I meditate and do yoga a few times a week.  I know this helps me to stay balanced in my being.  I am physical and eat well.  I work hard and play just as hard when given the chance.  I smile for the stupidest reasons and laugh at my faults.  I learn something new all the time and pass knowledge on when I can.  I take walks in nature and hike mountains to be simply be present in their glory.  I take nothing for granted but also do not desire for what I do not need.  I simplify the complicated and enjoy the simplest of things.  I am aware that in the end all my belongings will not be mine when I am no longer in my body, so, stuff is just that, stuff.  Stuff to fill the gaps, stuff to make life seem full, stuff to build up and collect but in the end just stuff.  This makes life seem not such a big deal.  
So... here is one of my all-time favorite songs that still means as much to me today as it did when I was 15.... 21 years ago... wow!

Loving Kindness & Subtle Mind

The subtle mind exercise was quite different than the loving kindness exercise last week.  This week was about letting the mind flow and observing without contemplating the thoughts.  Last week was more about viewing our inner being and feeling the sensations of this experience and then letting go.  

The subtle mind exercise was quite relaxing for me and also quite easy.  I am a person who can let the thoughts that may be distractions go and carry on with what I am doing.  I do not let myself be frustrated with life often.  Instead I just breath and let go of what I can do nothing about.  This has been learned while I developed the coping skills to deal with being bi-polar.  So, this exercise was not something I needed guided through but it was interesting to listen to the waves while my thoughts fluctuated and receded.  I also enjoyed the music in the background.  It made me visualize a Celtic land by thew sea with seals popping in and out of the waves.  Made me laugh and then I moved on.

All in all, I like the concept seen in this exercise and would recommend it to others wanting to travel beyond the bonds of the biased material world.

Loving-Kindness Practice and Mental Workout

Loving Kindness Practice on the companion CD to Elliott Dacher's Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing has a much more relaxing voice.  Is this because it is a woman?  Is it the light sound of waves I heard in the background?  I did enjoy this exercise.  I found it relaxing but not 'put me to sleep' droning.  
I already believe that taking time to slow my breathing and look inward for a few moments a week is what keeps me going each week.  I feel better for the time I spend on myself and I know it makes it easier for me to understand my position, my role, in this World.  Yeah, I may serve the people each day for hours on end but I make them smile and lighten their view of the World some days and they do the same for me.  It works.

I would recommend this exercise to others who would like to grow psychospirituallity.  The concept of loving-kindness is something we need more people to understand.  If we care for others and they can care for us back healing can take place.  

Letting go of negative emotional reactions and focusing on the positive aspects of life even when we are suffering or angry can create healing.  

I liked focusing on those I am close to and focusing on myself.  I think looking at my thoughts and what was comfortable about some and uncomfortable about others.  Emotions are something understand quite well being that I have met each emotion intensely for years until I was able to organize and integrate my emotions into my whole view of myself.  

Which brings me to the second question the professor wanted us to answer here this week.

What is the concept of "Mental Workout"?    Well, I think a mental workout is actually using your brain.  But according to our reading it is an exercise in clearing the mind or focusing on a specific thought.  Research has shown that great contemplators can change their physiological functioning.  They can mute their parasympathetic nervous system (the one that reacts to stress and makes our hearts race and bladders empty at the fright).  Mentally working out can mean meditating, visualizing, and is very useful in clearing the mind.  With a clear mind we may have a clear view of what is around us and within us.  

Criminal

Ok. Crime of the Century is right... I just did this relaxation exercise last term for my stress prevention and management course.  I like this one.  Ok, the voice is still a bit monotone but I like the use of color and chakras.  I am into those things so it helps.  I have read some exercises to myself. You know get a script for the exercise and record it in my voice and it helps.  Maybe it is that I am hearing me instead of someone else but I do find it easier to relax.  Maybe this won't work for others.  Maybe it is a helpful tip for some.  I just thought I would throw it out there because I heard from a couple of you last week that the monotone voice is not all that easy to listen to.  Remember high school? I had a science teacher that was monotone and he'd flat put me to sleep but maybe that is part of my problem now.  I think," oh, man, I could fall asleep."  I don't want to fall asleep when I am doing a visualization exercise.  I just wan to relax and come out of it rejuvenated.  Falling asleep would be bad in the middle of the day.  I can take a half hour and meditate but after my time is done I got stuff to do.  instead.
So, yes, I like this exercise. I just don't like listening to this guy.  So, I will keep my recording and use it when I want to go on this color journey through my body and relax.

My Health, My Goals

These are the first 3 questions I was asked to answer this week.  (Crime of the Century will be put in another blog for me)

Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal well-being), where do you rate your 

A-physical well-being _ 7 because I am a smoker even if I am active and eat right.

B-spiritual well-being _ 8 because I know I am part of something bigger than myself.

C-psychological well-being _ 9 because this girl has come a long way with a disorder that is suppose to make my life hard and medicated.

Why?  

Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

A- quit smoking this winter.

B- get more regular on my meditation.

C- start doing yoga again.

What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

A- Do more aerobic activities to get my pumping and get that euphoric feeling.

B- set aside at least a half hour each day for meditation.

C- Get yoga videos from the library.

Journey On Relaxation

Ok, for class I had to listen to an guided relaxation trip.  So, from this experience, as with all my previous experiences, with guided imagery and visualization I got to say, yes, it is relaxing but I am not sure if it really the monotone voices that use for these things or if it simply the fact that I lay down and just relax. 
I do try to meditate on a regular basis and manage to actually meditate about 3 times a week on average.  I live in this busy World with the rest of you and won't kid myself that it is easy keeping up with all that goes on daily.  I work 2 jobs (one full-time, one part-time) and then help out a friend about once a week for the extra benefits.  I go to school and am probably in a book or on the Internet for about 30-40 hours a week just for school.  I am also raising a 14 year old and and am looking at getting my 12 year old in about a month.  I am having to look for a new place because I cannot imagine the three of us in the tiny place I got now.  I am so busy that just lying down and listening to a guy guide me into a relaxed state feels great.  I always feel a little refreshed after stopping to meditate or be guided through relaxation.  I think that simply stopping to focus on breathing is an amazing exercise in feeling okay with all the hectic World blowing around us. 
So, remember, just breath in through the nose and down to the stomach... at least a few times a week... and this could make life's turmoil resemble the small storms that pass and leave blue skies.

Ello All... Welcome...

Welcome to an all new blog for an all new course...
This is my 3rd blog spot.  My 1st was for composition, my 2nd was for personal, and now a new one for Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing.  What a great title for a course!  I know I am going to enjoy this course and the blogging we will be doing.  I love to share my experiences and hope that I may help some of you understand the things in life that can be so confusing.  I hope to learn something from all of you as well.  Please, respond to my posts and feel free to share with me what you think.  So, Ello All.  Welcome to another great experience in life.
Peace and Blessings,
Jenni aka kitchendove aka K-Dove

Conception

Another blog for another course... let's go Health...