Continuing the Path of Wellness

It has been a few months since the last post so I thought I would revisit the blog to see how my other partners along this path are progressing on all fronts, life, school, wellness, etc. Life continues to be a challenge, and that certainly is not a bad thing but as I continue to make the necessary changes, it becomes increasingly more harmonious and will as long as the essential focus is maintained each day. I hope this is the case for all of my former classmates and my wish is wellness for all as you travel along a path to true integral health.

~ Linda

Final Blog - Unit 10 Farewell

My classmates and Professor have help to make this one of the best classes I have taken and I know I am a better person and better equipped to go forward in attaining a much better rounded life. My personal assessment from Unit 3 has not changed drastically so I know I still have much work ahead but that makes me want to forge ahead and make my life the absolute best it can be physically, mentally and spiritually. My physical, spiritual and psychological scores now are seven, eight and six in that order. I know I am capable of much more I need to push myself and dedicate more of ‘me’ to the journey. The lowest part of my assessment came from my psychological wellness and having been through some very recent past years it has taken its toll, I had many lemons thrown my way and I forgot the best way to deal with them is to make lemonade, I forgot the lemonade part! This class has helped in that I have fortified my meditation to help both psychologically and spiritually.

I have implemented taking some more advanced Yoga classes and actually bought some new Yoga tapes with more advanced poses that I can use at the house when it is just not possible to get to a class this way there is not excuse. I have also committed to eating even more of a vegetarian food fare, something I already do but even fewer meals with beef. Of course in the summer I cannot resist that one burger on the barbeque grill there is something to it and I have a difficult time relinquishing it! As my psychological wellness needs more work I have dedicated more journaling time. Journaling helps me put things into perspective and to revisit prior days where there may have been more stress I can make an assessment as to what and where I need to make changes and implement them ongoing.

I must emphasize the fact that this has been one of the BEST classes I have taken, from the materials provided, the wonderful tutelage of Professor May and most of all to the amazingly wonderful group of people I feel honored to call my classmates. I think the support and encouragement from all has been fantastic and uplifting at times when I felt I was overwhelmed there may have been a particular post or just a few words that gave me that inspiration I needed to overcome my momentary lapse. As one of my classmates posted online classes can at times seem impersonal but I have to say that was most assuredly not the case during this experience, I could not have asked for a better class and I know I am a better person and will move forward and evolve with the lessons learned throughout the past ten weeks. I will persist to live in the sphere of possibilities not probabilities. I have a new found commitment to become that person I am meant to be and as Thoreau said, “If I am not I, who will be?”

Thanks ~ Linda

Progression Unit 9

I. Introduction

Health and wellness professionals must consistently evolve and develop throughout their career. They must continuously pursue their education in order to effectively disseminate information to others and in order to be credible they must blaze the path of wellness in order to help clients navigate psychologically, spiritually and physically. A professional cannot ask anyone to walk in their shoes or go down the same path without having first navigated the same waters. In order to connect to clients in a professional manner one must be able to demonstrate and provide techniques from within and their own growth both personally and professionally. As I have stated on the continuum I am a perpetual work in progress but throughout the past nine weeks I have made strides to more fully develop all three areas but I think the area that needs more attention at this point in time is my psychological development.

II. Assessment

When I first did the physical, spiritual and psychological assessment in Unit 3 my scores were six, six and five in that order. My physical wellness is slightly better and I might be more hyper critical of my own personal assessment but I know I am capable of much more so now I would do my assessment as follows seven, eight and six accordingly. I have been trying to dedicate myself more to yoga and other low intensity activities but at this juncture I still need to push myself more ardently. My spiritual well being has taken on new life as I try to practice more meditation and do so more consistently. Our meditative practices throughout our classes have helped me to reach deeper and look more closely at the inner person and with such guidance I know I can become even kinder compassionate person for myself and everyone I touch. My psychological aspect or guidance needs some more work and feel that in order to do this I need to de-clutter more and incorporate time for my own self indulgence, not in an extravagant manner just to spend time with me and I feel that by incorporating more journaling with help with my psychological growth.

III. Goal development

One goal in my physical development is to achieve an intermediate development of Yoga in order to become more flexible and stronger in both mind and body. I have increased my morning walks and they have become quicker with more effort and vitality. I am trying to become a full vegetarian in order to help my slightly precarious immune system and under active thyroid. I do not eat a great deal of meat but I have narrowed it down, proudly, to an occasional burger on the grill. My last few classes at Kaplan will help me accomplish this more as I am going to direct my efforts to some of the nutrition classes, somewhat force my hand into a more practical and healthful diet. My psychological goal is to practice more meditation and visualization as I feel it will help me engage more of “me” within myself as well as everyone in my life. My spiritual efforts are going to go into more journal time as I find this connects me with the past, helps me live in the present and it gives me a dialogue to work towards the future. As the holidays fast approach I have found some new found enthusiasm for my Christmas card designs that I send each year.


IV. Practices for personal health

In order to implement and foster more growth in my physical development I am taking a dance class in order to get me up and aerobically moving. I am unable to do my long distance running any longer so I am hoping my getting up and moving in the form of dance I can achieve that same level of fitness plus I will improve my dance greatly! I am also give another round to kick-boxing, no pun intended, as when I first tried this sport I liked it but I think I gave up too quickly so I am going back at the bag for another round. Psychologically will be somewhat easier to put into full force when I graduate in the spring but until that time I am going to reserve a set amount of time each day devoted to myself, whether it is meditation or just staring at a blank wall it will be for me and me alone! My spiritual development is ongoing but I am going to continue to use loving-kindness practices as well as meditation for my spirit as well. My journaling is for both my psychological and spiritual well-being so I am going to make sure that my entries are more consistent.

V. Commitment

In order track my progress I am going to keep a special journal and name it my Commitment to Well-Being and I will write down any activity or lack of activity and use it as a motivational tool to keep me moving forward. I will make an assessment at the end of each week and see where I need to step up my game to improve in order to keep my on my path and make any necessary adjustments. I can also use the integral vow as a beacon, a guiding light to keep me motivated as well. Committing to the Tibetan traditions wherein we are what we think, with our thoughts we make the world and happiness follows as well as nurturing mindfulness as the mind is both the source of happiness and the root of suffering (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Commitment takes up time, energy and self engagement and the best way I can monitor and assess my progress is by checking my goals and tweaking them as time progresses. I am committed to become that person I am meant to be.


Reference:

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness & healing Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Unit 8 Meditation, Visualization, Subtle-Mind, Loving-Kindness......

After reviewing and implementing all of our practices that we have learned through the past weeks I really want to utilize all of them going forward but I think for me the ones that I will benefit exponentially will be (and have been thus far) are both the meditation and loving-kindness.

Meditation utilizes breathing and by all accounts this is very much a natural thing with most of us, I imagine but there are times when one gets harried and stressed it becomes somewhat unnatural so for me to be able to slow down concentrate on breathing it will help me instill more harmony and balance therefore with time it will become more second nature. This is effective because it can be done just about anyplace but of course I would not recommend a full meditative state while driving but using the breathing techniques when driving in horrific traffic is a great way to de-stress and focus, clear the mind of the problem at hand and this way one can arrive at their destination in a more focused and calm manner. I know this will work for me every single day!

The other practice is loving-kindness which is something that can be used daily forever! By being able to open ones heart and exude compassion can not only alter the way one lives but it can also change how others live. By this I mean if I act in a more caring, compassionate manner to others I can imagine they may possibly find it infectious and could start to implement this practice into their own life. I have been trying, not 100% successful at it yet, to start each day by visualizing the day going great, smooth and relatively few bumps, I do some meditative breathing and I wind it up with a small prayer for everyone and then one for those that I have lost.

Incorporating all of these practices at first may seem unnatural or forced but I truly believe the more they are practiced they become part of my being and with that I know that I am on a path to great wellness and a life rich in peace, love, harmony and balance.

Thank you all ~ Linda

Meeting Asclepius

This week was chaotic and frenetic at best so I tackled this particular exercise a few times. I was able to acquire and image as well as maintain some focus as my healer was my grandmother. Although she passed away many years ago she is always with me and has been a pillar in my life both as she lived and died. I think my focus was so powerful because she was a wonderful, kind and amazingly compassionate person one to aspire to and I want to continue this exercise so I can attain a truly deeper focus with her.

Mindfulness and meditation play an enormous role in one's overall wellness, as we have evidenced it connects us and weaves our minds, bodies and spirits into one cloth. In addition each of these practices of meditation is helping me become more aware and in tune to developing and achieving inner peace and on the path to human flourishing. With each practice and continual practice I can feel the calm permeate each and every cell and I look forward to the time when they are natural in that I do not have to "remember" to meditate it becomes a greater part of my being.

The quote is simply put, self explanatory in that one cannot do something in direct conflict of one's teachings and expect credibility or a modicum of respect. I have much work to accomplish before I can truly lead another in the direction of flourishing but I feel I am able to achieve this well being with practice and honest, compassionate dedication. I really like the following quote so I wanted to share it with all...

"Great souls are they who see that spiritual is stronger than material force, that thoughts rule the world." ~ Emerson

Unit 6 - Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment

This exercise was a mini practice, as Dacher claimed, in expanding our hearts and minds as well as serving as antidote to hatred and anger. It also was a practice in turning our own personal gratification into thinking of others and incorporating the practice of loving kindness towards others as well.

I liked this exercise and I felt calm and could begin to actually feel more positive feelings flow towards others. I faltered a few times but was able to re-focus and realized it was not the quantity of people reached it was the quality I was projecting.

The Integral Assessment was interesting as I thought for a while on what aspect of my life is a source of difficulty and suffering and what needs work. As I always profess I am a constant work in progress and I believe both my psycho spiritual and biological flourishing need some work with emphasis on the psycho spiritual. I practice meditation but it is not consistent and I feel by working on this area it will improve vastly. By practicing more fervently I can improve my personal growth and believe my true potential and find my way truly on the way to becoming that person I am meant to be.

I intend to set time aside each day and practice the loving-kindness exercise as well and more meditation and focus on improving my time management skills. I actually eat rather healthy, I am not a vegetarian but I very, very rarely eat any meat but do eat lots of fish and occasionally some chicken. I do Yoga but I must say I have "fallen off the wagon" of consistency so I am going to make a concerted effort to dust myself off and get back up and into the Yoga practice on a regular basis. I think the occasional long, thought provoking walk is also good for the soul so I need to incorporate at least one or two a week.

Now this is my new outlook and road to transformation on the road to true harmony and balance for a positively healthful lifestyle and longevity.

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Mental Fitness Presentation

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgbt36b9_0c58nxbgg