Unit 10: Reassessment

Although I do feel I have evolved a bit since my unit 3 assessment, I do have a long way to go.  I would still rate myself with a six, psychologically, physically, and spiritually.  Though I have been trying to care out time to meditate, it is usually very late, and I am very tired.  Unfortunately, this time also reflects my "me" time.  I have been unable to venture to the Buddhist group meetings.  I have been very busy with my family at this time.  New roles are being created in the family, and it has been difficult for everyone. 

I do hope to begin taking time for myself.  I realize it is important to do.  I am still working on my relationships to allow others to help me, and let go of my delusion of control.  It has been a back and forth battle so far.  I have found that I have many unwarranted and, possibly, unreachable expectations.

I appreciate this course very much.  It has helped me put words and practices along with so much I already believed to be true.  I will certainly continue this path toward human flourishing.  It has been difficult to self-reflect and realize my own role in my mental anguish.  However, as I let go of the ego, I can work to bring relief to world suffering.

Unit 9: Off The Beaten Path

         Western civilization is pounding at the doors of contemporary medicine, and pleading for something more.  Patients look for answers that go beyond the temporary solution, invasive procedure, or pharmaceutical drugs.  Society has begun to embrace the various methods of complementary and alternative medicine.  Yet, there is still more.  Integral health moves beyond remedies or procedures, and therapies or nutrition.  Integral health encompasses all that there ever was.  Integral health includes the innate source of self-healing each of us possesses. 

            A health and wellness professional, to encourage optimal health, must be able to assist the patient in drawing this innate ability to their consciousness.  The healing experience is individual in every way.  It is necessary the professional have his or her own experience in an effort to understand the process and the many paths toward optimal wellness.

            As I initiate my calling as a health and wellness mentor, I also shall continue down the path of integral health.  On this path, I will continue to learn.  This phase of my life focuses on commitment.  I have always been a great starter, full of ideas, and very organized.  However, I become aloof once things are running smoothly, and either pass it to someone else or drop it completely.  My relationships have suffered greatly for this.  I am a great person to have on your side in an emergency, but otherwise, I am often reluctant to open my life.  I am on the edge of this phase.  I believe this aspect of my life is at its end.  I am and will continue to be committed to my loving husband.  There surely is no greater commitment than having children.  In addition, within the next year, I will finally have my degree, after three attempts.  I am finally feeling comfortable in a stable environment.  I believe the next phase of my life is the deepening of relationships, allowing others to know me and be present in my life.  As I allow myself to be free, I believe I will flourish.

             The discovery of integral health and the implementation of its practices have affected me greatly in a short time.  When I began this path, I was simply getting through the day.  I put my spirituality and psychological mind on the back burner.  They provided me the ability to avoid unhappiness, but actually stood in my way of true happiness and optimal health.  Over the course of the last six weeks, through meditation, intention, and daily action, I have moved closer to knowing my true self and the happiness born from within.  The physical body is also a component of integral health.  Without effort, I have begun to lose weight.  I believe this is partly because of the reduced feeling of stress.  Although I still have many responsibilities and time restraints, my point of view has changed.  I also believe I have fewer cravings than I had before.  Living with intention allows me to acknowledge cravings, and then assess whether it comes from hunger, stress, or some other emotional need.

            I am still working on each area – spirituality, the physical, and the psychological mind.  I think it is important to incorporate exercise to address the physical needs of the body.  My goal is to have a physical body that operates in a refined way. I will reintroduce the practice of yoga into my daily life.  This will help to meet many of my needs, but will certainly address my physical needs.  I can practice yoga easily in my home or in a gym and with or without my children. I will also continue to be vigilant about the nourishment I provide my body.  Processed foods laden with chemicals often provide unbalanced nutrition. Such foods also create disturbances in the activity within the body. 

I will continue to work on the psychological aspect of my health through my relationships with others.  My goal is to be more open in my relationships.  I need to allow others to have a role in my life.  I will stop being afraid to ask for help.  When friends or family offers help, I shall graciously accept.  I will begin to accept favors in return for my help.  I fear I have lost a few friends because I always turn down their favors.  It is only with contemplation that I have realized that this may be off-putting. I know I feel uneasy when I am unable to return a good deed.  I shall continue to practice loving-kindness, and be thankful when it is bestowed upon me.

I shall continue regular meditation to address my spiritual work.  Various meditation practices can strengthen the connection I feel to the energy that flows around me.  One meditation I have found to encourage this connection actually comes from the practice of theta energy healing.  I imagine myself as a white light that travels across various planes of reality to meet with God.  I also do pray each day.  I pray for those who are suffering.  I pray in thanks for all the blessings I have in my life.  I pray in thanks for every lesson I have learned. 

As I addressed earlier, I have always had a tumultuous relationship with commitment.  I have learned the joy and rewards of commitment.  I plan to search out further study in integral health as introduced by Elliott Dacher and Ken Wilber (Dacher, 2006).  Within six months, I believe my path to be significantly closer to its destination of integral health and wellness, but still be very wide. I have already begun strategies for making lifestyle changes to achieve optimal health and wellness.  I have been discussing these practices with my husband in detail.  We have begun meditating together.  We are adjusting our life with purpose and goals in mind.  I have also begun to discuss these changes with people who surround me.  I believe to follow this path one cannot be shy. 

I shared with my husband a couple of nights ago that my vision is my husband, our two sons, and I am sitting, legs crossed, knee to knee in meditation.  We are radiating beautiful, rich colors that flow around and in between each of us, and then swirls together in the midst of us.  I envisioned our children growing up knowing the always-existent undercurrent of happiness.  I can imagine nothing greater than bestowing the gift of optimal wellbeing upon my children.

             

         

References

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

Unit 8: Optimal Well-being

Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.

The two practices that have worked best for me has been the Loving Kindness practice and the Visualization.  It seems we are inundated with images of suffering on a daily basis.  I am unable to actively or immediately improve circumstances.  Even in matters concerning those I personally know, I often feel helpless and unable to affect change.  The Loving Kindness practice allows me to acknowledge this suffering and to feel some effectiveness.  I am still in the infant stages of flourishing and achieving wholeness. I encounter frustrations, shortfalls, and feelings of loneliness.  Visualization brings me back to a place of happiness and peace.  I feel centered and able to view my emotions and circumstanced with a witnessing mind, rather than an active mind.

Laura

Meeting Aesclepius Unit 7

The meeting Aesclepius called on us to think of someone we held in high regard as a wise person.  It caused me to think of Mr. Lacey.  He was a retired attorney that had been one of the original partners in a law firm I had worked at.  He has long since passed, but I remember he was always filled with kindness.  Thinking back, I believe he always spoke and acted with intention.  I admired him and the happiness he carried. 

Over the past few weeks, I have felt the restlessness that I had long felt quiet.  Even with all off the stresses in my life, which I am still struggling with finding more time to fit in perceived responsibilities, I have continued to feel more and more at peace.  Meditation has drawn me in toward realizing myself.  I have come to realize the pressures I feel are  put there by only myself.  This has actually helped me relax and view the endeavors I have taken up as opportunities for growth and flourishing.

The saying, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself," implies that a leader must be confident in the path.  One can only be confident in such a path when he or she has become familiar through experience.  I certainly feel that this applies to the health and wellness field.  One can cite studies and other patients' experiences, but this does not result in empathy.  I think it is every individual's duty to develop their health psychologically, physically, and spiritually.  Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of optimal health.  As such, the physician or health and wellness professional should strive to be this picture to help educate patients and provide example. 

As a mother, I strive to find true happiness and optimal health and wellness for myself and for my family.  It is important that I provide an example to my children so that they will discover true happiness as well.  Each time I act with intention rather than reactivity, I exhibit a way of being for my children.

Unit Six: Integral Assessment

1. Practice the universal Loving Kindness (meditation) exercise on p. 93.
2. Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115).

Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

I have always known that I always want to fix everything of everything at once.  Of course, this is not possible.  Each time the fact becomes apparent,  I become overwhelmed and give in.  I have always gone big, and came back defeated.  It is very difficult for me, for some reason that I am not yet certain, to separate and work on one detail at a time.  Of course, this is most often the case when I am moving in my own interest.  When doing things for others, I am detail oriented, and want to achieve the most perfect end as possible.  As I type, a thought just came to me that the reason I move forward so boldly and attempt to fix everything is because I do not want there to be anything left for someone else to help me with.  I ask for nothing, and that includes support.  I rarely allow others to be there for me.  I do not know if this is a lack of trust in others, either for their confidence in me, or for their reasons for supporting me.  


As such, I am in a life situation in which my dedication to others and my acceptance of support is providing a lesson.  This is the area I feel needs the most development at this time.  I believe it is much further behind the other aspects of my integral health.  I have had troubles in this area my entire life, and believe it is only with the evolution of this area that I can move toward flourishing.  I believe the loving-kindness practice can assist me in this area.  I also believe perhaps simply practicing trust with those near and dear to me would be helpful.  I certainly do have some control issues, and could do well to let go of some of the minor details.