Unit 10 - Stepping Forward

      I read over my unit three post to remind myself what ratings I had written for my physical, spiritual, and psychological health.  I immediately realized I had made some progress since then. The feeling of accomplishment that came with that thought was something I have not allowed myself to enjoy. It also encouraged me to continue working on these three areas.

       My physical health was, and is, still a 5.  I have not yet added a exercise routine to my schedule as yet. I recently took a fitness test as part of the Navy reserves. I rated fairly well score-wise, but I was mentally embarrassed with my score. I knew it was my own doing, and that it won't improve unless I do something about it. I still like my idea of dancing for exercise, but also want to include some resistance training.  I will be setting specific goals this week and check my progress one month from now.
  
         My spiritual health has moved up from a 7 to 8.  This progress was partly because of our meditation and visualization exercises; with the other part a result of a Christian convention I attended recently.  My list of fears has distinctly diminished, and my general outlook has become more cheerful.  It is So nice to notice how some things that used to bother me, don't anymore. I also more fully understand that peace of mind is a Choice and not a gift some people have.

      My psychological health has also improved; from a 5-6 to at least a 7.  It ties in with my spiritual progress, as both this class and my spiritual walk have caused the progress I have noticed. With fewer fearful thoughts, my positive attitude is lasting longer. Being bothered by fewer events has helped too. 

      Once I begin improving my physical fitness, I am sure the other two areas will improve along with it.  I am looking forward to being in a better place in all three areas before this year is over.


     I want to say thanks to all who have read and responded to my posts. I plan to continue using this blog once class is over, to post thoughts and information aimed at helping people in their nutritional, spiritual, and physical lives.  I hope you choose to stay connected.

 I hope you always remember God's abundant blessings go with you as you continue on your life's journey.


R/
Angie

Unit 9 Project- Ready, Set, then GO!

Introduction

            It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop their psychological, spiritual, and physical wellness because those who teach from experience have the greatest impact on their client or patients.

            Psychological wellness is the area of my life that needs the most work, I believe, because it affects the other two. My current mental discipline is tied to my schedule. When I don’t have a schedule, or something pressing to be accomplished, I am mentally lost. Disciplining my mind is also necessary for progressing in my spiritual and physical wellness, so improving it will also improve the level of success I achieve in those areas.

Assessment

            My spiritual wellness score is the highest of the three because I have been working on it the most for the past few years. Psychological is second and physical is last. While I mentioned my weak areas of my mental health above, it is still better than my physical health. Regular exercise has not been in my vocabulary since starting online classes almost two years ago.  I believe once I have improved my mental discipline and focus, it will spill over into the other areas, and eventually all three areas can be worked on with one set of goals.

Goal Development

            My physical goals are the easiest to set because I have a point of reference. A few years ago I was in great shape and very happy with my figure. I recall what it took to achieve that, which was exercising at least an hour, six days a week. Since I have not been active for an extended period of time, my intermediate goal is thirty minutes five days a week. Once I have done this for several weeks consistently, I will increase it to an hour.

            A spiritual goal I have is for my trust in God to grow stronger than my fears. I have been working on this for quite some time and have seen progress in some areas.  I am going to continue my daily practice of reading devotionals, meditating on His word, and listening to encouraging music. It has proven successful, so I see no need to change it at this time.

            Setting a mental health goal is a bit harder for me. I have an ingrained habit of running randomly after goals. In order to change this, I will need to create a goal I can work on daily. I believe the best approach would be to start a week-long log of my thought patterns. Once I review my log, I will set a goal in my weakest area and build from there.

Practices for Personal Health

            Exercising in my home is my first step toward improving my physical wellness.  I enjoy dancing, which can be a great workout. We own a kinect as well as dance games that have workout settings.  I will dance for 10 minute increments with no more than five minute breaks until my motivation (and energy) have increased enough to exercise in a gym.

            My spiritual health has been my focus recently, but I can improve it further by writing down specific goals, instead of just carrying them in my head.  I choose to memorize scriptures about His unconditional love, picking one a week to focus on, possibly two, depending on how well I understand it.

            I need to improve my motivation to increase my psychological health. I believe that can be done by taking the time to compare my current habits to what our text says is available to me through a disciplined mind. Then I must write down the benefits and post them in my room, where I will see it every day. Once I have changed my current perspective, I will be ready to create the thought log.

Commitment

The best way for me to assess my progress in these areas is to create reminder alarm on my phone in month increments. Fueling my desire will also help, which can be done through reading our integral health text again. I have wanted to do that since class started. I am glad to own it and eager to share it with others.

Maintaining the practices long-term will become easier as peace replaces the frequent inner turmoil I experience now. I have had some moments of being completely peaceful and crave more. That craving is providing the energy and motivation to practice. Plus, I believe the practices listed in our text will work for me, just as they have for countless others. With desire and believe already in place, developing the discipline to achieve success in these areas will be much easier.

Unit 8 - favorite exercises

       I have learned a lot in this class and every exercise has challenged me, but there were two that stood out from the rest: LovingKindness and Meeting Aesclepius.  The first is helping me to be more loving to people I don't care for.  It has made me more aware of moments when I have mentally criticizing someone. Once I do acknowledge it, I make my thoughts switch to more positive ones.  I have noticed some improvement in my opinion of people already.  Jesus told us to "love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)  Obeying this scripture has become easier with the lovingkindness exercise.
    Meeting Aesclepius was good too, because it quickly improved my spiritual connection to Jesus. It reminded me of the scripture, "come to me all you who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28).   Visualizing the exchange of my darkness and burdens for his peace and light; my weak health for his strong... the list goes on.  The white light is also found in scripture.  These three points make this exercise my favorite by far because I have been longing for a closer walk with Him than I was getting through reading scripture. The bible still imparts wisdom, but this exercise has allowed me to piece all the knowledge of Jesus I have into a person in a way reading scripture alone has not been able to do.

    As I have mentioned in previous posts, practicing these exercises can be done while I am on the bus riding to and from work. The evening ride often lasts 30 minutes or more, which is plenty of time to work on these methods of meditation. Because Jesus is lovingkindness personified, flowing from one to the other would be effortless.  The lovingkindness is first so I can eliminate all negative from my thoughts.  Once my thoughts were cleared, I am better able to receive whatever Jesus shares with me. I anticipate leaps occuring in my walk of faith over the next few months.


Angie

Thoughts on unit 7 exercise

    The meeting of Aesclepius mp3 had me going along one train of thought on one person initally, but then switched to another once it began describing the "bright white light".  In the beginning, A new friend, made in just the past year came to mind. I have admired her strength and positive attitude despite great trials in her life.  We have encouraged each other through emails and over dinners several times.    
     But when the narrator mentioned the white light, I my person switched to Jesus. It was strengthened as I did not want to take on the weak areas I had seen in her words and actions.  Plus scripture came to mind, about our time on earth is ment for becoming like Jesus.  It comes from Romans 8:29  "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers".  Much as I love my friend, I felt like this exercise would idolize her, which was totally contrary to all my biblical studies.
     The image of Jesus was much easier to connect with via the white light.  I have been studying Him for over 10 years now and have very recently come to a fuller understanding of the immensity of the sacrifice He made for us.  Romans 8:32 says it beautifully, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Can you sense the love oozing from this scripture?  I can!  For this reason, this exercise tops all the others we have done this term because it is helping me to connect more closely with my Savior. I look forward to doing it again tomorrow and am so grateful for learning it!

    As for the phrase, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is a foundational truth on every level of life and with every experience. There is an element of understanding one gets from experiencing something which cannot be gained just through study.   Several obvious examples are all the support groups and rehab centers for many different issues.  Someone who has never touched a drug is in no position to help someone trying to stop using them. Same goes for mental illness, or children with genetic or mental issues.
   I therefore have an aboligation to develop my psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being before I can become a credible resource for clients.  Improving these three areas of my life will be accomplished by taking small steps every day.  As I master one area, I move onto the next challenge.  Once I have achieved calm-abiding I will continue practicing the techniques so as to maintain it.

Unit 6 - Universal Loving-Kindness
     As with all of our exercises, this one presented an approach to viewing the world I have not experimented with.   My mind shifted to various people, from close to home, to those I have unpleasant thoughts about, and then globally. I also began to reword the phrases. I changed 'may' to 'let' in the furst two starements. The last two became, "I will assist....".  I changed the wording because I found the word 'may' too weak, more of a wish than a confident declaration. I know I can (and do) change the lives of my patients, so saying may would be a step backward for me.

    The self-assessment was not easy and definitely uncomfortable admiting to myself my weak areas, particularly in regards to my family.  I had actually just acknowledged it to myself Before reading it for this unit!  Graduation is in sight, but still far enough away that a few more months of reduced family time is necessary.  I know it is a temporary sacrifice for a long term benefit, but my conscience is not giving me a break from the guilt.
    I need to set aside time for hanging out with my kids, a little every day and more on the weekends. During the week, their time can be when I first get home until I begin my schoolwork. Saturday mornings can be spent making breakfast together or a few hours at some activity. I can do it and will do it, with God's help.

Unit 5 vs Unit 4

Hello Everyone,
        I found the subtle mind exercise more challenging than the loving-kindness one from unit 4.   In loving-kindness our minds were allowed to roam, our assignment was to flood whatever crossed our minds with love. (Fink, 2009)  The subtle mind practice required us to stay focused on our breath, whenever a thought caused our mind to stray, we were to recognize and return to ur breathing.
      I am glad the authors mentioned this practicing subtle mind would have ups and downs. Without knowing it, I have done some of this  already, when trying to memorize something. I have become frustrated with my lack of consistency. Reading about the subtle mind exercise has encouraged me and my motivation to resume practicing it has returned.

Unit 4 - Loving - Kindness

   This exercise was an interesting one. The first couple of times I felt strange/odd turning the feelings onto myself. But that feeling disappeared once I changed my perspective. I chose to envision God's love penetrating every part of me. 
     I did notice benefit from the beginning. I have known for a while I am very critical  of myself and have a difficult time relaxing fully. This exercise was a nice change of pace and one I am willing to continue doing.  I would recommend this to others and include it in my treatment plan once I have mastered it.
   As I have been reading the chapters in our books, I am seeing stronger links to the Bible.  Especially this week. When the 'Integral Health' book stated, "enduring wellbeing requires...an enhanced concern and compassion for the wellbeing of others" directly correlates with the scripture John 13:34b "As I have loved you, love one another." Also where Dacher mentions how changes don't occur without regular practice of the desired change.  Psalm 1 refers to this also when it says to meditate on the word day and night and you will prosper like a tree whose leaves never wither.

   Does anyone else see the link?