End of Course Review

In the unit 3 assessment of my physical wellbeing, I rated myself an 8 because at the time I was following a specific diet and exercise routine. Since then I have continued and sustained my routines but what has changed is my new awareness of the higher levels of my biological aspect of health: body-mind and body-spiritual. From the Dacher text I learned ways to deepen my understanding and knowledge about how much control I really do have over physiological health using exercises such as biofeedback. I think that I would still rate myself an 8 or a 9 under this aspect because although my knowledge has expanded, I must practice what I’ve learned in order to develop it further.

In the same assessment from unit 3, I rated myself an 8 under my psychological wellbeing. I felt that my mind was pretty healthy since I have been a positive thinker, believer, and doer. My positive outlook has always benefited me and anytime I felt myself speaking or feeling the negative, I mentally shake myself awake and turn it back around. I would rate myself a 9 still because although I’ve developed my psychological wellbeing very much in this class, I know there is always room for improvement so I do not think I’ve made a 10 yet. Depression used to grab hold of me and sink me into random mental darkness. But since my positive outlook change (which happened a couple years ago) I have began to develop strong ropes that pull me out fast when I feel myself falling. I have come a long way and I now know even more ways to practice my mental fitness so that the feeling of peace is never far away when I need it.

Under my spiritual wellbeing from unit 3, I rated myself a 9 because I thought I was pretty high up on the spiritual level of health. At this point I think I should have given myself an 8 because from what I now know, all the new techniques and knowledge, I think that I am truly a 9 now. I have experienced a greater spiritual wellbeing state since practicing all the wonderful exercises from this class. The calm-abiding, loving-kindness, visualization, and simple breathing techniques has truly developed all the aspects of my life since the beginning of this class.

I plan on continuing my mental fitness practices to develop and reach integral health. Every experience in the class has been beneficial and rewarding because I see instant results in my mood, emotions, and peaceful states. I know that I will continue on what I’ve learned and teach these points to my loved ones and patients that I will have in my future. My Dacher text will stay on my nightstand even after this class is over. This is one of the most valuable courses Kaplan has offered me and I am so grateful to have gotten into it.

Picture from http://parskid.blogspot.com/2008/09/alex-grey.html, Artist: Alex Grey

Final Project

My Integral Health Development Plan

I. Introduction: Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?
It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically so that their efforts in healing can take on new and evolved dimensions. When the practitioner has developed his or herself psychologically, he or she can better teach and help heal the patient’s mind. When the practitioner has developed his or herself spiritually, he or she can better assist and guide a patient towards spiritual healing. And when the practitioner has developed his or herself physically, he or she will know from experience the reasons why and how to keep fit, eat healthy, and promote preventative measures of physical ailments.
My own personal goal for development is within all these areas; I want to learn and practice more in order to keep evolving myself. I want to be able help patients heal all aspects of life, not only physically. With that in mind, I need to develop my own aspects in order to fully understand the stepping stones needed to accomplish my goals.
II. Assessment: How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Psychologically, I am pretty well and stable. I always keep a positive outlook on all situations, even the ones that are most irritating. Practicing meditation helps me find that inner peace in times of stress and also allows me to focus on what is really important. But the most important part is that I have discovered techniques of acting with intention and have turned away from unconscious reaction. The key is being conscious. I would give myself a pretty high score in the area of psychological wellness; an 8 out of 10. There should always be room for improvement.
Spiritually, I have grown much since the start of this class. Practicing the meditation exercises and reading from other classmate’s experiences has helped me greatly in developing my spiritual self. I have learned how important this aspect of life is and also how suppressed it has been throughout our Western culture. I would rate intentions for wanting to keep up with my mental fitness a 10 out of a 10, but at this point I would rate my overall spiritual domain a 7 out of 10 because I know I still have much more growth ahead of me. I posses a great asset which is openness to the spirituality part of life and this gives me the leverage I need to pursue my inner truths.
Physically, I am a healthy, young adult. My heart is healthy, all my organs and systems are functioning as they should, I exercise regularly, and I eat healthfully too. I am pretty health-conscious when it comes to choosing the foods I eat. I make sure to include fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet every day, as well as fiber and whole grains. I keep myself educated on why these foods are so important and this also gives me motivation to keep it all up. I am overweight, although not by much. I am steadily losing weight every time I get onto the scale so I know my efforts are worth my persistence. I have lost 25 lbs since the fall and I plan on losing around another 20 by summer; I will then no longer be considered “overweight” according to WebMD’s healthy lifestyle site. I would rate myself an 8 out of 10 for my physical area of life because although I am not at my target weight, I do keep myself educated on healthy living and I eat the right things and exercise regularly.
III. Goal development: List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
One goal that I have for myself in the physical aspect of my life is to lose another 20 pounds by summer. I am already on the path to make this happen because I eat healthfully, exercise regularly, and keep myself motivated in various ways. I believe my efforts are keeping me on the right path in order to make this goal become a reality.
A goal I have for my psychological aspect of life is to become naturally able to act, and not react. I willfully practice this daily but it is a hard thing to make it become a natural response. I have become really good with this when it comes to disciplining my son, but I find it harder when it comes to adults. It is when adults act irresponsible or show hatred, my unconscious reactions want to burst out. But this is a cycle I want to end within myself. I want to be able to think, act, and be proud of how I handle any situation, naturally.
A goal I have for my spiritual aspect of life is being able to permeate my inner love towards all others despite their actions and past frustrations. I find it hard to love people who hate so deeply, but I do recognize that we are all spiritual beings that are all capable of love. I want to be able to spiritually connect with my inner happiness and love and give it to everyone I come across in my day. I know practicing the Loving-Kindness meditation will allow me to fully develop this goal.
IV. Practices for personal health: What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
For my physical domain, the strategies I can use to implement growth in this area are dedicating a regular exercise routine, eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber each day, and keeping myself educated on health care prevention. This is the anatomical/physiological area of biological flourishing, the most basic step. The next steps that follow the path of biological flourishing are the mind-body and then the spiritual-body. The goal is to evolve in order to reach these higher levels of biology. Practices that can help foster further biological growth into these higher levels are doing yoga, tai chi; exercises that implement the use of meditation. To become fully conscious of our body’s capabilities and realize we are not solid beings that are born into this life and die, but are rather made up of the same particles the rest of our universe is made up of and ever moving and evolving, that encloses our true essence, our spirit, and that is eternal and immortal (Dacher, 2006). Meditation and practicing full awareness and consciousness will be what fosters the full development of my physical domain.
For my psychological domain, the first thing I need to do for myself in this area is to make my mental health a priority since it never really was before I started this class on integral health. Stress is a major issue for mental health because it can turn into physical ailments and become an underlying cause of illness or disease (Dacher, 2006). A great way to melt mental stress is to practice meditation on a daily basis and to practice imagery whenever I need to “escape” the physical place I need to flee. Since anger and fear can deteriorate any mind, being able to close my eyes and imagine a happy and peaceful surrounding can allow my mind to recuperate and find the strength it needs to get through any difficult situation. Then at night before bed, practicing meditation, allowing my thoughts to disappear and to become fully conscious of the present moment will give my inner self the tools it needs to grow, develop, and evolve into the higher levels of psychospirituality.
For my spiritual domain, the practices I can implement into my life in order to foster this development are the subtle mind exercises and the Loving-Kindness exercises. The subtle-mind exercises all me to quiet my mental chatter and mute any physical states I feel that are uncomfortable. Practicing this regularly will help me to find the stillness of my mind which will allow me to meet my higher consciousness; it will allow me to witness myself and answer questions I’ve always wondered about myself. Obtaining unity consciousness is the ultimate goal of my spiritual life, so finding the oneness between my self and life will open my mind and heart to truth. Practicing loving-kindness allows me to meet and get to know my true essence. Having love and giving love will unite me with my soul.
V. Commitment: How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?
Assessing my progress on my goals for the next six months can really all be determined by the set regime I’ve created; whether I follow it or not. If I follow it, I will develop each aspect of my life over the next six months and beyond. If I do not follow it, then my development will come to a halt until I pick it back up again.
The regime I have created for myself includes eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day; exercising at least three times per week; practicing yoga at least twice per week; meditation every night (a mix of calm-abiding, loving-kindness, subtle mind, and visualization). By making sure I stick to this plan, my next six months of living should develop my life physically, spiritually, and psychologically. Each aspect will not only develop into stronger aspects, but evolve further to my goal of integral health and human flourishing.

References

Dacher, E.S., M.D. (2006) Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc. Laguna Beach, CA. ISBN-13:978-1-59120-190-8

Two Mental Practices That Work For Me

The two mental practices that I found to work best for me and create a lasting effect were the Loving-Kindness and the visualization practices. The Loving-Kindness practice is such as peaceful and fulfilling engagement. Practicing this on a regular basis helps me to have and keep love in my heart and radiate it towards others. I dislike my conditioned thoughts towards others sometimes, so by practicing Loving-Kindness, I can change my initial thoughts to pure love. An example of how this positively effected me was a recent train ride I took last week. On this train were so many "gross-looking" and "gross-acting" individuals (the train runs through many poor areas of the city of Chicago) who either littered out the doors when they opened, cussed at their children, or who just smelled really bad. I had poor thoughts of them all but then suddenly the love I remembered from practicing this Loving-Kindness meditation knocked on my door and budged its way inside. Love took over and I no longer held in these negative feelings towards these people or towards my inner self, more importantly. I was able to completely transform my emotions by allowing love and kindness to fill my heart, mind, and the place that I was physically in.

The visualization practice is another wonderful meditative act that has allowed happiness to fill my soul; to fill my inner core. I can at any time, any place, through any situation close my eyes for a minute and visualize a calming scene; a happy scene; a peaceful scene. Whatever it is I need at that time and place, I can create it in my mind which gives me the emotions I'm after. This changes my whole aura which changes those around me too. This has helped me specifically when dealing with my wild three-year-old son: he is always pushing the limits, my buttons, and the dog (literally). I take a few moments to close my eyes to gain calmness and love back into my heart and mind and then I am way more able to deal with the situation in a calm way. My son truly benefits from this, as do I.

These are true ways of strengthening my mental fitness as long as I practice them both on a regular basis. They keep my mind and thinking fit by staying positive, calm, kind, peaceful, and loving.

Integral Assessment

The universal loving-kindness meditation exercise from page 93 of our Dacher text was very enlightening. My mind willfully accepted the words I said as I imagined all people rising above their suffering and floating on clouds of health, happiness, and wholeness. It was truly a divine experience for me. I discovered how easy my mind allowed me to believe these words; how much my whole being wanted this for all people.

From our Dacher text, the Integral Assessment meditative practice allowed me to discover that within the worldly aspect of my life is where I have always had the most difficulty. Within any job I’ve had, it has been out of survival. I have worked in many restaurants as a server and had recently worked in a technical support department; all of which has service responsibilities. I want to give my service, which is the highest level to achieve in this realm of life. But I must “choose” it, not “put up” with it in order to make money and survive. So this is also the area that I want to focus my growth and development on. After reading chapter 11 on Flourishing in the World, my view of this aspect completely transformed; it slapped me awake. I want to turn my life into a service of myself; taking each opportunity to practice strengthening my inner self in order to reach my highest potential. It doesn’t matter what one does to make money, it only matters if what one does is able to use it as leverage for reaching integral health and flourishing.

I am not currently working right now but I am out in the “world” everyday: running errands, waiting in lines, dealing with people over the phone and in person, etc. I run into many angry people on the street and in stores and they usually are able to light a spark of madness within me. I want to realize these opportunities before that spark ignites and reach deep within myself to practice my loving-kindness in order to find an inner peace. Diffusing all situations that stem from anger or frustration will be the goal of such opportunities.

I enjoyed both the Loving-Kindness exercise as well as the Subtle mind exercise we did this week. I know many of my classmates stated they did not like the loving kindness part of “inhaling” other’s pain and suffering but I did not have any problem imagining that breathing it in would disintegrate from the love of my heart and allow my body to breath out health, happiness, and wholeness back into the person I was focusing on. The Subtle mind exercise was just as calming and rewarding as the loving kindness exercise. I enjoyed this one very much because I had in mind the benefits I of calmness and stillness I wanted to experience so badly. I hate mental chatter, which is why these exercises are so wonderful because they help my mind to witness, not hold onto and accept and love, not criticize.

There is a connection between spiritual wellness and physical wellness by one’s ability to use their mind and body as one. This is accomplished through mindful and intentional practice. This connection has begun to manifest in my personal life more than ever before since the beginning of our Creating Wellness class. These exercises and readings help to understand a deeper meaning to life and the interconnectedness of these different aspects of our life. My mental wellness plays a role on my physical wellness and vice versa. When one is lacking, it can pull down the other as well. There has to be an effort to maintain both aspects in order to keep on the path of wellness as a whole.

Loving Kindess

For the time it took to complete the Loving Kindness practice, I truly felt the diminishing of self-centeredness; just as it said it would. I understand I will have to practice this twice a day for the next week in order for it to be a more natural state of mind, though. This was without a doubt a beneficial exercise because it gave me the chance to feel the tenderness and love that I hold for my son and my pets to others; to channel that dense loving kindness to people that I know are suffering, strangers that I do not know, and to “enemies.” I do not label anyone in my life, past or present, an enemy by the way. Instead, I think of the people who have wronged me or my loved ones who I know hold much pain and suffering inside. I have realized these people are who need someone like me to breathe in that dark cloud that surrounds them and to then release my positive energy that is filled with health, love, joy, peace, and happiness towards them. I recommend this exercise to others because we all need this opportunity to realize a greater potential that Dacher speaks of within his book, Integral Health, and his audio CD.

The concept of a “Mental Workout” is exactly as it states: exercising the mind in order to reach its full potential. Just as one exercises their muscles at the gym in order to become more fit, strong, toned, etc, our minds need a good workout just as often in order to keep it healthy, strong, fit, and efficient. The research surrounding the benefits of mental workouts indicates that a developed compassionate mental state “increase[s] [the] synchronization of gamma waves and organization which suggests a higher order of mental integration” (Dacher, 2006, 63).

I will implement mental workouts in order to foster my psychological health by dedicating certain time periods within my day that I can devote to this practice. Dacher recommends 5-15 minutes, twice per day (2006, 66). I will begin with the Loving Kindness workout for the next week and will progress to the other exercises as our course progresses, too.

Reference

Dacher, E.S., M.D. (2006) Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications, Inc. ISBN-13:978-1-59120-190-8

Physical, Spiritual, & Psychological Wellbeing

Unit 3, Part I

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being optimal wellbeing, this is where I rate myself under these three categories:
Physical Wellbeing: I rate myself an 8 because I am not only aware of how necessary it is for my body to get regular exercise and to be eating fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and fiber everyday, but I do it as well. I may not have the most perfect physically fit body but I do take care of myself and I am a pretty healthy individual. My goal for this area of wellbeing is to get to that perfect physically fit body by continuing what I am doing through exercise and eating well. Something that has helped me with the act of exercising (because it can be hard to find your groove) is finding a routine in which you will continue to do regularly. I began a routine called “Look Better Naked” which is a healthy eating and exercise regimen that caters to women’s health in every biological aspect of the physical body. I work out 4 times per week alternating cardio and featherweights and making sure I eat specific “Key” foods at every meal. As long as I get in my body everything I need to and exercise the days I should, I can eat whatever else I want. The funny thing is that I’m usually not craving the bad stuff by this point. If I can continue this I will make it to my goal faster than I think.

Spiritual Wellbeing: I rate myself a 9 because I carry a strong faith of something far beyond what the eye can see. I believe my God is everything and everywhere. My openness and trust within myself has helped me grow this aspect of my life tremendously. My goal is to find love in every single person I come across in my life no matter who they are or what they have done. I do not want to be judging, angry, revengeful, or hateful towards anyone or anything since this is exactly what will hinder my journey towards my complete wellbeing. What has helped me thus far has been connecting with the earth, nature, in order to feel and know again that we are all one; that nothing can exist without the other; that the path I chose to walk down effects the other people in my life. To recognize this without effort is my ultimate goal within the realm of my spiritual wellbeing.

Psychological Wellbeing: I rate myself an 8 because although I have trained my mind through many stillness and calming techniques, I still have far to go to reach integral health. Meditation is wonderful but it is still a struggle for me. Ultimate concentration and awareness is my main goal for this aspect of wellbeing. Perhaps if I train my mind a little harder through meditation more often, I can reach this goal to where it can be an easier feat no matter where I am. It is my positive attitude that has given me the much needed boost in this aspect of my wellbeing; I’ve practiced this every single day for years and it has made a tremendous shift in my view of life and ultimately the core of my happiness.