Loving Kindness & Integral Assessment

May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.

I really enjoyed this week’s Loving Kindness exercise. At first I was like “wow really how is this going to help me” but after reading through it a couple of times I actually felt pretty good. The thought of first helping myself gain freedom from all of my suffering and then finding health, happiness, and wholeness I think is incredibly important. You can only help others if you first help yourself. After you have gained peace within yourself you can begin helping others. I love the idea of helping others find health and happiness. I try and do this with my family now and it is very rewarding. Now I need to think outside the box and get out of my comfort zone and begin to help people that I don’t know as well.

While reading over the integral health assessment I could help thinking that I was lacking in several areas. My biological being is ok I guess. I eat fairly healthy, exercise from time to time, but I never take the time to really focus on my body as a whole. The interpersonal aspect has always been an issue for me. I tend to shy away from human interaction on a personal level because I am shy and pretty introverted. I may seem friendly and outgoing on the outside (after all I do work in customer service) but on the inside I am still a scared little girl afraid of rejection. I love my close family which makes up my husband, father, aunt, and cousin but other than that I have no close relationships. I don’t take the time to develop relationships into something more meaningful. This is something I really need to work on. I love people but they seem to make me a little uncomfortable unless in a work related setting. My worldly aspect is definitely not a top priority for me right now because I have so much on my plate within the here and now. This is something that will develop when I begin my career as an epidemiologist because I will need to concern myself with what is happening in the realm of diseases around the world. Psychospiritual is another area that I do not take enough time on. I never seem to find the spare time to take a minute and concentrate on what is going on internally. I would love to practice yoga but unfortunately I rarely have the time to squeeze it in. I am trying to find a way to rearrange my schedule a bit so I can take a little “me time”. This is something that will take some getting used to because nurturing my spirit had never seemed like a priority until I began learning how important it is for overall health and wellbeing.

Loving Kindness or Subtle Mind...

The Loving Kindness exercise that we participated in last week was very beneficial in finally opening up my mind to these relaxation activities. I was so close minded about the whole idea of sitting and breathing and trying to let my mind go and think happy thoughts. The Loving Kindness audio however was very relaxing with the crashing ocean waves in the background and the intermittent non-irritating voice helping you to drift off. I also liked the fact that it helped you to open up to other people and love those around you. I think many people have lost sight of the importance of positive human interaction. The Subtle Mind on the other hand was an exercise meant to release the mind completely. It was a way to focus on breathing and nothing else. I appreciated that because my mind is constantly racing during the day thinking about all of the things that I have to accomplish. Full time job, full time school, plus trying to find time for my family is a large task and can be overwhelming. It's nice to take a time out and just let all the stress and thoughts of the day float away and be at peace, if only for a few minutes.

The connection between the physical and spiritual wellness is a vital one. In order to be a well rounded happy person you must be physically and spiritually fit. One of the best ways to do this is to practice some form of mind-body exercise such as yoga or tai chi. These activities teach you how to breathe and refocus your mind on something other than your everyday life and stressors. They also stretch your muscles and keep you in shape.

Loving Kindness

          This week’s relaxation assignment was much better than the last two that we have done. I actually felt relaxed during this exercise because the voice didn’t just go on and on, there were moments to pause and reflect on the meaning of the words. I also enjoyed the sound of the ocean in the background. I was born and raised near the ocean so it always has a calming effect on me. It brought me back to my childhood and how people down at the beach bond together and enjoy each other’s company. I also liked the message behind this week’s assignment. It is about loving one’s self and then opening up to love others. This is an important concept that I think many people are missing out on today. We need to learn that we are amazing and sensitive beings and that we all need to come together in order to work as one well-oiled unit. There is nothing more vital to living a full and healthy life than having a family to love and support.

          Another portion of this assignment was to think about what a mental workout is. The mental workout is a workout for the mind. The effort consists of one hour a day to condition the mind and like physical training when the training stops we see a drop off in ability. So perseverance is necessary. Contemplative practice is the progressive development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities. Research studies and personal reports have demonstrated that mental training can transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt while enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness. This mental transformation provides resistance to mental distress and physical disease, expands our healing capacity, and promotes well-being (Dacher, 2006). There is nothing better than training the mind to dispatch stress and release anything that may hinder overall health. This is what mental workouts can accomplish for someone.

Reference

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

Wellness and some Crime of the Century

Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

1. Physical Wellbeing- I would rate my physical wellbeing a 5/10. I enjoy working out and being active but I rarely have the time or the energy. I work full time and go to school full time so finding a spare moment to run down to the gym or take the dogs on a nice leisurely stroll is difficult.

2. Spiritual Wellbeing- My spiritual wellbeing is probably a 5/10 as well. I don’t take much time to stop and smell the roses per say because once again I am short on time and energy. I have always wanted to try my hand at yoga but sadly have never had the chance.
3. Psychological Wellbeing- As for my psychological wellbeing that is actually in fairly good shape. I would give myself an 8/10 because I am overall happy with the way that my life is going. I am a hard worker and excelling in school. My close relationships are sound and I love the people in my life.

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

1. Physical- The only goal that I have for myself in this area would be to focus more on it. I would love to be able to have time to spend at the gym and work on my physical attributes. It would be nice to feel better about myself and the way I look and one way to do this is to concentrate on my physical being.

2. Spiritual- My goals for my spiritual being are to give myself time to stop and appreciate life and to also set aside time for activities like yoga which nurture my inner self.
3. Psychological- I don’t really have any goals for myself in the psychological arena. I am pretty satisfied with the way things in my life are going and I love the people that I chose to have in my life.

Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

I really do not enjoy these relaxation exercises. When he starts talking about rainbows and 7 color prisms I am lost. Beams of light shooting through your spine and past your feet as the color red… what?! Then he talks about trees and roots and red light again. This to me is just not relaxing because he is kind of all over the place. I don’t get it, I would much rather just listen to some soothing music and let myself relax that way. I don’t want to hear someone talking to me and making me think about things that make no sense. This simply causes frustration and irritation. No thanks.

Journey On Relaxation

I just finished listening to the Journey On relaxation exercise and all I can say is wow...

Although the audio made me want to fall asleep I didn't feel the least bit relaxed. I had a hard time getting past the annoying male voice that was talking about muscles, blood, and carpet. It was a little creepy at times and I just wasn't into it. I have listened to various other relaxation activities, most of them having some type of instrumental music which I find to be very soothing. I don't enjoy listening to someone instruct me for 15 minutes on things I should do to release stress. I would much rather listen to elevator music and let myself drift off into my comfort zone. I also like breathing exercises which I learned through a previous class. This can be very relaxing and give your mind a break from the everyday stressors. I have always wanted to try yoga but have never been able to find the time. This Journey On listening however, will remain at the bottom of my list for things to do when I am feeling anxious. Hopefully there is someone out there that can benefit from it but unfortunately by the end of it all I wanted to do was strangle the gentleman on the other end.

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging...

I have never felt the need to have my own blog because my life really isn't that interesting. I lead a normal everyday life filled with work, school, and intermittent free time. I currently work in the cardiology unit at our local hospital and actually despise it. I am a receptionist and the work isn't that rewarding or thrilling. This is the reason I am going to school, that and to ultimately better myself and my family. I am enrolled in the Public Health degree program and my dream is to become a District Epidemiologist after I receive my Master's. In my spare time I enjoy watching Florida Gator football (Go Gators!), riding on my husband's motorcycle, and spending time with my furry children: Gizmo, Piper, and Nova. I hope you all enjoy reading my posts for our Creating Wellness class and I look forward to getting to know the rest of you. Welcome to my blog!