Unit 8: Review of Meditation Exercises

The two exercises that I have determined to be the most beneficial are:

The Loving-Kindness: I will implement this practice in my life by recognizing the beauty in imperfections, lending out an open and unbiased hand to those in need of support, an ear to listen, or a shoulder to lean on.  The loving-kindness replaces dislikes and frustrations with life, and instead helps me to focus on the good and the blessings my life and struggles have lead me to.  For example, I will give advice when asked that is not just based on my personal experience, but related to the individual asking.  I will remember the dynamic part of the integral map that states that every individual is unique and must be treated with this in mind.  To have loving-kindness does not mean that happiness is always my strongest emotion, but rather always acknowledged and strived for.  Not just for myself, but for others.

The Aesclepius Visualization:  I will implement this practice in my life by remembering that my inner essence is there are a support to help me develop my optimal integral health.  I will remember the visualization of the ancient tree, the strong roots that dig deep into the Earth, the gracefulness of the leaves in the wind, and the strength that the tree itself represents.  For example, when I am stressed, I will bring myself to think of the roots that stay deep in the Earth even when a storm is present.  I must believe in myself, so that I can be someone that someone can believe in.

Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius

   For this exercise, when asked to picture a person, I instead pictured an ancient tree.  I am a very visual learner, and while surprised that the tree was what appeared in my mind, I just went with it.  I felt this exercise to be very powerful and I have felt a change in me because of it.  When focusing on this tree, and the light shifting from it to me, I wanted to be rooted.  I wanted to feel the strength of its roots, the gracefulness of its swaying leaves in the wind, and learn from its wisdom only gained from its ancient experiences.  To think of all that an ancient tree has seen, all that has touched it, used it as a resource, used it as a marker of place in the physical world.  I will apply this exercise to my life by remembering that while the seasons will always shift, and life will always happen around me, I can be centered and participate in this life.

   The saying, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is to say that one cannot tell someone how to react or deal in a situation when one has not experienced it.  For example, my brother committed suicide and I felt the pain, the hurt, confusion and sadness.  My boyfriend was there as support, but did not understand the heaviness and breaking of my heart in terms of a close death of a loved one like that.  One year and a half later, my boyfriend's friend committed suicide.  It was then that he felt my pain, suffering, sadness and frustration, though I would of never wished this for him. I could be there as not only a supportive girlfriend, but as one that had felt this unfortunate experience.  There is a thread of common understanding because we have both undergone this unfortunate experience, though different coping mechanisms are used and different relations were affected.

Unit 6: Integral Assessment

The Loving Kindness exercise on page 93 is too beautiful to not include in this post.

"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" (Dacher, p.93).

   The exercise helped to feel aligned with the myself, the Universe and the life that lives here.  After this exercise I felt like a better listener, a welcomed guest to silence, and a more empowered individual.  I felt my place in these moments as a listener, as a guide and as a tool to help others find happiness.
   On page 115, there was a great point addressed, "What area of my life is ready for growth and development?" (Dacher, p.115).  This really made me understand the process more because only when I am ready to move forward in my life in terms of psychological, spiritual or physical development, can I truly succeed.  I must want to change and grow in order to reach true health, happiness and wholeness.  Personally, I would like to implement change in my spiritual development through nature walks and breathing in the fresh air and acknowledging where I am in those exact moments.  I will focus on the here and now, and let everything else drift away.
 

Unit 5: Mental Fitness

   The Loving Kindness exercise was very beneficial in accepting love into my heart, and not pushing it away when missing someone I love hurts too much.  The beauty of loving-kindness is that is opens your heart to not only acknowledge that a deep love for humanity can exist, but that it is actually able to be implemented into our modern society.
   The Subtle mind exercise was beneficial to me because the visual of the rise and fall of my chest as I breathe was very calming, just like the rolling waves coming in onto the shore.  Taking the time to breathe deeply in and out was very relaxing for my mind and body.  There is a point in the meditation where the narrator said, "There will come a time when your mind is firmly stabilized in stillness".  To move from the concentration of breath, to full surrender to the stillness.  I know this will be an ever-long process, but the reward is worth my effort, because it will bring me closer to my center, so that I can be a light that shines bright not just for myself but for others.
   The connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is highly significant in finding a balance of ones Chi and inner peace.  Spiritual wellness can also aid in forming closer relationships with loved ones, friends and strangers of a like mind.  Physical wellness is complete opposite of spiritual wellness in that it is physical while spiritual is well, spiritual (nonmaterialistic).  Psychological wellness is a little more closely related to that of spiritual wellness in that they both derive from the inner self and displays a belief in oneself, the world surrounding and the perspectives in which one has about life and its fellow creatures.
   For me, spiritual wellness begins with a solid psychological confidence that while there are things that happen in life that I can not control, I am in control of my faith, self-confidence, and self drive to succeed and be happy.  No one can take those away from me.  Physical wellness comes after psychological wellness most of the time (though sometimes it can be vice versa), because having a strong will enables me to challenge my physical body to succeed in ways that my mind can only think of, not act upon.  Simultaneously my spiritual wellness begins to develop because my soul is finding peace in the balance of all three of these aspects of integral healing that make me whole.  It was hard for me to explain, but point being, all three are interconnected, and if one is off balance, I am not at my full potential.  It is constant work to find the harmony between all of these aspects, but it is something that makes me a better person, a nicer and kinder person, and a more genuine and whole individual.

Unit 10: Review

My Self Review:

1.  In reviewing my unit 3 personal assessment of my psychological, physical and spiritual well-being, my scores on the above were as follows:

   A. Psychological: 8

   B. Physical: 7

   C. Spiritual: 9

      

      As the course went on, my new scores for myself displayed in my unit 9 posting are:

   A. Psychological: 8

   B. Physical: 7

   C. Spiritual: 8

      My scores have changed in the area of spirituality.  This is because I have struggled to find inner peace on a steady basis, not to say that I have not been spiritually in tune, just that I have not meditated as frequently as I wished for myself.  Physically and psychologically I have maintained my score.  This was refreshing to see!

2 & 3. After reviewing my goals set for myself in each area, I have made progress during this term.  Physically, my goal was to commit to jogging 2 times a week for at least 30 minutes and I have for the most part been able to keep up with this.  Sometimes I would not jog, but rather found myself hiking or on a walk for that duration of time.  Psychologically my goal was to free-write and/or write poetry for 3 minutes everyday.  Even though I have not found myself consciously thinking about this goal as frequently as I would have liked, it is funny to see that I still found myself free-writing on my notepad on my phone everyday.  In my eyes, I have done this goal justice.  It is nice to see that I allow myself this creative outlet.  Spiritually, my goal in unit 3 was to meditate for 5 minutes, 4 times a week.  This is the area I wish I would have kept up with more.  I was not able to reach my goal, but I still have taken time to sit out in nature and admire its beauty.  I also have taken a lot of time to self-reflect, so while I have not consciously meditated in terms of my goal, I have tried my best to give proper attention to my spirituality.

4. In conclusion, my personal experience through out this course has been one of many ups and downs, while still one that has positively moved me forward.  There is no doubt in my mind that I have developed an improved well-being via meditation practices, my classmates' discussion posts and shared experiences, and my professor's active input and encouragement.  This course has brought me back to my center, helped me to find increased passion in my day to day life, and find hope for a better future.  The rewarding part of this course was that I feel more like myself again.  I feel that I am more respectful of the Earth, family and friends and myself.  The part that has been difficult for me is completing the coursework, none-the-less I have still enjoyed every part of it because it has helped me to grow and learn new stress relieving methods and ways to illustrate my creativity.  I want to thank everyone for their honesty in completing the blogs and postings and I wish that everyone finds the strength within themselves to accomplish their goals!

-Shauna 

Unit 9- Final

Unit 9: Final Project

Self-Review of Human Flourishing

ShaunaDowis2

January 14, 2013

   It is extremely important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically,

spiritually and physically in terms of their own lives because in order to help an individual,

one must be centered themselves.  According to Dacher, psychological development for a

health care professional “expands consciousness, strengthens our capacity for attention,

focuses our intention, reveals a penetrating wisdom, opens the heart, and brings to life the

qualities of human flourishing” (Dacher, p.106).  Areas in which I need to develop in order to

achieve a greater human experience, are all three aspects of, psychological, spiritual and

physical..  I believe that a path to human flourishing is an ever-changing and ever-long

process in which perfection is never reached.  Perfection is inhumane, for it is human to have

flaws and imperfections.  It is also human to embrace the imperfections in order to

grow as an individual and learn from past experiences to better future experiences and

relationships. 

   The human mind is a tool I wish to train in order to maintain a better mental

state more consistently, no matter what environmental or social cues may try to interfere.  I

wish to improve my psychological wellbeing by keeping up my self-confidence and trusting

my instincts, trusting my soul.  I wish to improve my spiritual wellbeing by first understanding

that I am as an individual in the present moments, and finding my own significance in this

World.  Then, I feel I can develop spiritually by connecting with nature, the divine Universe

and God.  All of the above are significant in my life because nature gives me inner peace and

surrounds me with beauty.  The Universe is made up of all of us, the planets, the stars, space,

etc.  To feel a connection to the Universe is for me to feel a connection to all that is.  God,

more so as a spiritual essence rather than a religious figure, grounds me and gives me an outlet

that I can trust where there is no judgment and an everlasting place of hope.  God is the means by which I can pray for others to find comfort in their lives, as well as pray for myself to find comfort.

   I wish to improve my physical wellbeing lastly because this is the area that I have the least trouble with.  While I always am striving to become more physically fit, I am studying nutrition and find being healthy to be a way of life for me through my diet of veganism and my love of the outdoors and nature.  I will develop my physical fitness by challenging myself more in terms of my body and mind.  It is amazing how fast or far I can run when my mind is in the right place of perseverance and determination.  On the other side, it is easier to have a great mind set while exercising when my body is in optimal physical shape.  Breathing is easier, my mind settles into meditation, and the natural high of exercise is implemented into the present.

   I would like to share a quotation from the text Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing that I found inspirational.  Dacher states, “Once we hold the preciousness of life and the possibility of human flourishing near and dear, its remembrance no longer fades with the busyness of daily life.  Rather than laid out by our current culture, we begin to demand more from ourselves.  We are willing to set out on this new adventure in search of life’s greatest treasure, the flourishing of human health, happiness, and wholeness” (Dacher, p.14).  In terms of a self-assessment, I have rated my health in all three domains of spirituality, physicality and psychological status.  On a scale of one to ten, ten being the utmost development, I rated myself an 8 spiritually, a 7 physically and an 8 psychologically. 

   I think it is extremely significant to not just be present in the moments of life, but to participate in those moments. It is important to make a realistic goal, while simultaneously set for oneself a challenging goal.  For example, my physical goal is to jog 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes, keeping my heart rate up for that duration of time as well as participating in strength exercises.  I know that this is a realistic goal because I have at least 90 minutes a week to devote to my physical well-being.  I will begin each day with 20 push-ups and 1 liter of water before breakfast to keep myself hydrated.  Second, I will plan ahead the days and times I can exercise.  This week I can exercise on Wednesday late afternoon, Friday late afternoon, and Sunday late afternoon.  I feel confident that I will follow through with my physical goals.

   Being prepared to accomplish goals is the ultimate way to ensure that the goal itself is personally possible.  In terms of my psychological goals, I truly believe that I can accomplish any goal that I set my mind to through the virtue I have adopted for this week; diligence.  According to dictionary.com, diligence is “the conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task; giving the degree of care required in a given situation; preserving determination to perform a task (2012).   I have been applying this to my day-to-day life by acknowledging the tasks at hand I must complete, realistically organizing my thoughts and actions in order to implement a plan for each tasks, and then taking action to complete them.  Diligence is teaching me to break away from the feeling of becoming overwhelmed, and instead taking a step back, a deep breath, and tackling my goals head on.  I also have set a psychological goal to repeat 5 things that I am grateful for each day out loud.  This way, I am bringing forth my gratefulness out into the real world.  This mindfulness practice will help me to focus attention outward in a positive manner, rather than to become focused too inward.  In my opinion there is a difference between self-reflection and self-obsession.  It is healthy to self-reflect because it allows the self to become comfortable with one’s own strengths and weaknesses in order to find peace with past choices, comfort in the present, and braveness for the future.

   My spiritual goal is to continue having a connection with things greater than myself, larger than materialism, and deeper than the physical world.  I truly feel that there is a divine spirit that helps to enforce universal laws such as when you put ideas, hopes or dreams out into the world, they have a way of coming back to you.  I plan on implementing my goal of developing a stronger connection to the spiritual world by guided meditations, nature walks, and 5 minutes of quiet in a sacred space a day.  I plan on using the doc sharing guided meditations as a starting point for increasing my meditation frequency because they are valuable resources that I already have at hand. 

   I will assess my progress and lack of progress for the next six months by keeping a journal.  I will first make a chart, separating my psychological, spiritual, and physical goals.  Then I will have a space for the interconnection of these goals, because in reality all of my thoughts, decisions and actions affect my whole self; physical, psychological, and spiritual.  I also feel that rereading the Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing book over again will help me to stay on track through out my journey of self-development, self-awareness, loving kindness toward all of humanity and the creatures on the Earth, as well as guide me to my ultimate goal of human flourishing.  A very intelligent professor once told me that something has been learned only once one was able to teach the material to someone else.  This is my ultimate goal, not just to find peace within myself, but also to offer tools or maybe just an ear to listen or a shoulder to lean on ,for others on their path of the human experience.  The human experience is our opportunity to live the precious human life of passion, loving kindness, and peace of mind, body and soul.

  

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health    Publications.

Unit 4: Mental Workout for Peace of Mind

     My experience during this exercise was very moving.  At first I found it difficult to get into the zone, but as my thoughts became at ease, so did my mind and my spirit began to give way.  I found myself repeating, "I take in your suffering and as it dissolves in my heart, I give you health, happiness and wholeness."  This was a very beneficial exercise for me because I felt through this exercise, I was truly able to let go.  I would recommend this exercise to others because I feel it is a great exercise in Integral healing.  The concept of a mental workout is the practice in which you first take control of the mind, just to let it go and let all be, within and without.  Proven benefits of a mental workout are the ability to train the mind as well as accept the world as it is, knowing that once you find peace within, harmony will find you.  Awhile I go I found this urge to write on my wall, "Respect the Earth, Respect Yourself. Find peace within and harmony will find you".  I feel that I have become connected to myself again through this exercise of letting go and taking in the hurt of all those around you.  When it asked me to picture someone's hurting, and to take it in and dissolve it within my heart, I pictured my dad.  This is because on Dec. 30 it will be two years since my older brother committed suicide, which was very unexpected.  I always feel weird saying this because I feel that it a sort of weakness or something, I don't know.  But through this exercise I felt myself taking in the hurt of my dad, dissolving it in my heart, and sending him genuine health, happiness and wholeness.  I hope it works :)