Comparing the 'new me' to the 'me' from 6 weeks ago...

Well! When I look back at my previous assessment…I was rather generous when I see where I am now. I considered my physical health much higher than it really is. Funny how I thought I was in such great shape. To be fair, it was an average of five years ago (a 5) and what I felt in week 3 (a 10—HA!). A 71/2 is not a bad number, but with the knowledge I have now…I am at about a 6 with the growth from this course!  Maybe a little higher because I know see what my potential is and attitude counts for something, right?

My spiritual well-being has really stayed about the same. It was a 6 and now I would say a 6 or 7 is my reality. I feel better about my connection but I have been focusing on my mind and body health lately so this area has remained close. I know what to change and, more importantly, how to improve my ‘score’, so I have no problem believing that this number will soon be higher. :-)

The health of my mind has been the biggest surprise, here. I had given myself a number of “5—for most of my day—with spurts of 4’s and 6’s”. Hmmmm. I was really about a true 4 because now I feel as though I am now a 6 with a good way to go. What I base this on, again, is that I now know my potential and what I can become. I could be a 8, but that doesn’t leave me much room for growth, now does it?

I have made progress…in knowledge. I have noticed some healthy changes in all three areas---mind, body & spirit. I’m just excited to see the growth that is ahead of me and the person I will be in 2, 4 or 6 months from now—when all of this is implemented into my daily life. Only then will I be close to full integral health and enjoy human flourishing at its deepest level. And to spend the rest of my life living every minute to the true absolute best…well, what more can I ask for? I have practiced all of the exercises, done all the work, started various journals (prayer/meditations, sleep/dream, diet/mood, and exercise/activity) and have already felt the differences.  I feel calmer, happier and healthier than I was a mere 6 weeks ago and this course has not only gotten me there…it has given me tools for life and how awesome is that?

My journey: past, present and future...

I have posted the completed project for this course below. What I have learned the past few weeks from Mark and all of you will carry me towards my integral health, my well-being, my wholeness and my mind-body-spirit connection. I look forward to it!!

Introduction

      As health care practitioners, we have a responsibility to our clients but more importantly, to ourselves. When we educate ourselves and practice what we learn, we become healthier .This will obviously transfer to our clients because if we don’t feel healthy or have the energy we will be ineffective to those who come to us for help and guidance. Not only are we ineffective to their overall health, we won’t provide competent care and we have the potential to cause damage. As health care professionals who are teaching integral health to someone else, we must be knowledgeable and experienced first and foremost. We can sympathize with our clients when we have embraced the understanding that “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself. (Schlitz, Amorok, Micozzi, 2005) If we have an extensive knowledge combined with personal experience we are more capable of providing optimal care for the clients who come to us and build a strong relationship.

Another advantage for having traveled the path of self-healing is that we will be familiar with the struggles that may come while making the transition to integral health and human flourishing. When we have made our own journey, we can sympathize with the difficulties that may occur, even if we don’t suffer the same ones. We will understand that it may not be an easy road, that a little perseverance and determination can go a long way towards the end goal. When we know the practices work, we have a higher level of faith which flows over to the trust our client has in our capability to lead them forward. The connection between the practitioner and client is the basis for the entire progress and the stronger the connection…the deeper the mind-body-spirit health.

It is vital that a practitioner who is struggling in an area take care of themselves first. Psychological health encompasses the mind and a strong mental development allows the practitioner to acknowledge the responsibility they have. If the mind is not strong, the potential for damage is present. The practitioner may not be focused on the client and the ramifications may last a life time. In addition, if the practitioner is suffering (for example: from depression), they will not be healthy enough to treat their client efficiently. The physical health of the practitioner is also important for a number of reasons.  A client with weight issues may not trust an obese practitioner, but might listen to someone who has battled weight themselves. Another fact is that if the practitioner is suffering they may not be functioning well enough to administer care to another. This does not mean that a cold will interfere with the practitioner’s abilities, but a migraine might.  On the side of spiritual health, the practitioner should have avenues and methods in place for their own spirituality connection. Prayer, meditation or social support can all insure that the practitioner doesn’t become overwhelmed or burnt out.

Without a doubt, my weakest area is my exercise schedule. I can’t say my physical health because I do eat very well. For the past 5 years or so, the white flour and sugar is almost non-existent. They are not even in the house so consumption happens on the rare occasion that I go out to eat or eat at someone’s home. Although my diet is where it should be, physical activity is on the other end of the spectrum. I realize that I won’t enjoy wholeness and a healthy mind-body-spirit connection until I finish this particular journey. When I look at my entire integral health picture right now, I admit that I am not where I want to be, but now I have the tools to get there and enjoy better mind-body-spirit health all-around.

In addition to my physical health, I would like to improve my mediation skills which will go a long way towards my integral health. My mind-body-spirit connection will strengthen by practicing what I have learned through this course.  I am getting better every day and I look forward to the day when it is second nature and people comment on the difference in my demeanor. I am excited for my inner peace to radiate to my outer core.

Assessment

When I think about where I was 7 or 8 weeks ago, there is no doubt that I have come a long way. The exercises that we practiced in this course have caused a change and my plan is to continue so that the changes run deep. My interpersonal flourishing has had the largest improvement. We learned that with commitment, effort, and proper guidance our relationships can evolve and flourish. (Dacher, 2006) I am finding my relationships with others to be less strained and I believe that a lot of the stress was from how I actually perceived the relationship. Nothing has really been changed except me…from the inside. The exercises we did (witnessing mind, calm-abiding, unity consciousness) played a direct role in the growth of my inner self, which in turn has made me a better person on the outside. My spiritual self has benefited, but so has my psychological side. The union has made a profound and satisfying connection for me. I look forward to deeper growth in the near future. Although I do need to make some changes in the area of physical activity, I am feeling healthier in this area, too. I’m not feeling the stress in my neck and shoulders or my lower back. I feel more enlightened and alert in my daily activities. It is hard to explain but even my skin feels…alive. The most interesting thing for me is that I am noticing changes in all three areas; mind, body and spirit alike. Admittedly, they aren’t growing equally but they are connected. I would rate my spiritual and psychological health about the same at 6 out of 10. This is with the ultimate goal of unity consciousness as the 10 and I can’t wait to reach that level. My physical health is tough to assess. I think the best way is to take the entire physical self into account and this gives me an average of 4, which means I have the perfect opportunity to grow. It is time for me to take control of my physical health…I see meditation and yoga in my immediate future!

Goal Development

With the knowledge gained in this course, I have developed more than a few goals for my overall wellness. My spiritual self is my healthiest but there is still room for improvement. I have started a prayer journal that will be the best tool for growth here. I have done this in the past, even just taking the time to write down three things that I am thankful for that day. Looking back in the journal will be especially helpful on the days when I feel overwhelmed or stressed. It is too easy sometimes to forget how great our lives are and we can flourish when we remember the small blessings we are surrounded with. Although this journal will help with my spirit, I feel confident that it will work with my psychological health, too. Filling my mind (and days) with positive thoughts can only heal my mental health. I generally don’t have many negative thoughts, but I am not full of positive ones either. I guess you could say that I am ‘neutral’ and I’m finding that this is not optimal. I want better! I deserve better! I will have better! My personal goal for myself psychologically is to ‘love myself more’. This means that I love every ‘me’ from the past, the present ‘me’ and the ‘me’ that I have not yet met. I can visualize the ‘me’ I want to be and now I have the tools to ‘be that me’! Exciting! As I’ve said once or twice before, my goal for physical health is the most vital right now for my integral health. I have decided that every morning I will get up 15 minutes earlier to do some stretching and yoga poses. By the end of the year, that time will be at least a half hour, if not more. My personal motto for the past 10 years or so has been ‘breathe’ and I have amended it to “breathe, dance, live”. This means that I will dance every day even if it’s just in my kitchen while I am cooking. I have moved a small radio into the kitchen and it is staying on so that I don’t ‘forget’.

Practices for Personal Health

        This is the fun part! The best thing that I have learned recently is that I have the right to feel whole. I have the tools and opportunity to become the person I have always wanted to be, at my deepest core. What this looks like for me personally is a little of my present habits combined with some new behaviors on a daily basis. What my day will look like now, is that I will take time for myself first and foremost every day. I will take time before my morning shower to stretch and wake up slowly instead of being rushed and stressed in the first half hour of my day. After my shower a nourishing breakfast is a must! My days vary in activities and responsibilities but this is something that I will do for just ‘me’.  I know from past experience that when I take care of myself, there is a direct influence to my psychological health. One thing that I can specifically do every morning in this area is to meditate daily, not just weekly, to develop an inner peace that will follow me throughout the day. In addition, I can practice deep breathing all day, especially during stressful times, in order to find the calm from the morning. Although these are both good things that I can do for myself, I think the best thing I can do is to decrease my time with the negative people in my life and foster new, healthier relationships with those who are more positive. This one change alone will be the best thing I can do for my psychological well-being. To build my spiritual health, I will spend time every day, at multiple times, in prayer and contemplation.  My prayer journal is in my nightstand but I have also added a small notebook to my purse for added ‘grateful’ thoughts and ideas for my journey. I have been missing close spiritual relationships in my life. I used to have a circle of friends from church, but I have changed. I am still close to one of the women but our bond has a different basis now than it did before. I think it’s time to search the ‘events’ section of the paper and start to actively participate in groups that ‘fit’ the new spiritual me. There are six components of fitness from cardiovascular endurance to flexibility and agility. (Seaward, 2009) The first thing that I am working on is my flexibility because I have realized that my body doesn’t move like it used to. Muscles are tightening up and the best way I can think of for this is yoga with some tai chi added in for balance and stability. This is my first change along with a little dancing every day. After a couple of weeks, I will add more cardiovascular aspects to my dance. I really enjoy my mini-trampoline because of the benefits to my lymphatic system but by adding some ‘lively’ music I can double the aerobic activity. The physiological effects of this physical exercise alone will encourage me to increase my physical activity because I will undoubtedly feel better mentally which will lead to more exercise, leading to better health. It’s a circle that I look forward to. Utilizing the information that I now have will lead to my ultimate mind-body-spirit connection and integral health.

Commitment

        I know myself pretty well, both the positive and the negative parts. I also know that it takes 21 days to form a habit, good or bad. (Sapolsky, 1994) With this in mind, I have created a chart to monitor my progress for the next four weeks. There are a couple of aspects to the chart including a place to ‘rate’ the day on a scale of 1-to-10 and a page for thoughts, ideas, changes, struggles and accomplishments for each day.  I have started to think about how to adapt the pages for the weeks following this first month. I know that life will continue to happen and I have to insure that I will keep up my new habits—for my own good. I will not’ let myself go’ again. When I see how good I feel compared to a few weeks ago (and with small, incomplete changes) it won’t be too hard to maintain the positive changes.  The pleasure that I foresee in my immediate future should be enough motivation to keep practicing the plan I have. For now, I will keep a close eye on my behavior and once the behaviors are habit…I will refer back to the binder where my documents and useful information will be kept. I will take a look at myself every Saturday morning to see how the past week affected me and what I should do in the upcoming week to maintain my health and healing process. I have complete faith that the more I practice my new behaviors, the better my mind-body-spirit connection will be, therefore, the better my integral health and overall wellness! I’m excited to see where I will be in a year! Definitely in a better place than I was a year ago.

References

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

2.   Sapolsky, R.M. Why zebras don’t get ulcers: The acclaimed guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping, third edition. (1994) St. Martin’s Griffin. New York, NY.

3.   Seaward, B.L., PhD. Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being, sixth edition. (2009) Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Sudbury, MA.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., Micozzi, M.S.  Consciousness & healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. (2005) Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. St. Louis, MO.

The practices I will continue...

So, this week I took some time for reflection. I gave thought to which of the past practices worked best for me, which I felt most comfortable with and, above all, which ones I would actually DO in the future. Without a doubt, meditation will be a major instrument in my future! There are so many different tools for me to use and keep the practice 'new and fun'. Along with this, I have a personal goal to become efficient enough to meditate at will. The goal is to be able to take a minute to meditate while waiting for my appointment time, before a presentation or interview, or when a daily stressor has made it necessary for me to slow down and 'breathe a little'. I have been inspired by a fellow classmate's blog. I think she was just kidding, but she said something about having a 'meditation party'. YAY, Mz Carla! Well, it has sparked something in me. The other day, Professor Maule asked me what can be done to change the negative stigma that some people have about meditation. Well, I have decided to have 'meditation parties' with a couple of friends that are not necessarily 'skeptic' about meditation, but more about their success with it. They make comments like "I could never do it right" or "I have trouble focusing long enough" or even, "I don't think it will make a difference in my hectic life". I plan to invite them over for meditation practice in a warm, relaxing room with a light, nutritious 'meal' after. I hope to do this once a week and hopefully have enough interest for two or three get-togethers each week. I am excited!!

Know for being meditation's side-kick, visualization has become my new best friend! I have found so many places that it will benefit me and I know there will be more as the days go by. I am using it in small ways throughout the day to make a difference in the way I see things. When I'm waiting for the light to turn green, I visualize the healthy lunch I will have or how good I will feel while exercising. I use it before an exam or an important meeting. I use it when planning a weekend or how my office will look when I start working in my field. It is very exciting and keeps me motivated to keep moving forward at those times when I'm frustrated or tired.

There are many things that I have learned in the past few weeks, from coursework & classmates alike. I treasure the friends I have made here and look forward to keeping in touch after week 10. We have some awesome tools now that we can use to create our own personal wellness! Fantastic!

What I've been up to this week...

Hello all!

My meditation for this week was “Meeting Asciepius”. The exercise asked us to think of a wise man or woman that we respected and who would represent our inner self and healer. If we couldn't call someone to mind, we could create our own. This is what I did: I combined some people that I do know into one being of my own. My mom's eyes, the face of an ancient woman that I have only seen in pictures but was immediately drawn to, and the tiny shape of a grandmother with a big heart. This inner being was calming to me before the exercise really even began. :-) After I had my inner-healer image stabilized, I was directed to visualize a white light from her forehead to mime in order to cleanse my thoughts & feelings. I then repeated the process for my throat (my words) & heart.

I got a lot out of this exercise and intend to practice it until it becomes second nature and I can call on my inner guide at will. I had a little trouble at the end when I was to let the light flow from my head through my body so I added a little movement of my own and it really helped me. I took my hands and placed them on top of my head then slowly pulled them down over my head as though I was 'helping' the light move down my body. (This is actually a modification of an 'energy exercise' that I learned from my naturopathic doctor.) I stopped 'physically' at my heart but then I found it easier to imagine the healing light down to my toes. In the future I would love to accomplish the effect of this meditation practice by just performing this movement...especially in the middle of a stressful situation. :-) While I was practicing this meditation, I felt warm inside...I could feel the healing light moving through my body & it was fantastic! Admittedly, it was hard to keep focused, but I still felt the warmth and peace after I was finished...definitely a great experience!

In Integral Health: The path to human flourishing, Elliot Dacher, MD (2006) uses the phrase: one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself. What does this mean, exactly? It means that we can't help anyone else (in any manner) if we haven't had the experience or learning lesson for ourselves. How can we understand the path that someone needs to take if we haven't taken our own journey? The experience doesn't necessarily have to be the same, but the lesson does. I have battled my weight (on the 'too much' side) so I do have an idea how someone with anorexia or bulimia may feel. We have to learn from our individual struggles before we can begin to move a client towards a healthier mind-body-spirit connection. As a health practitioner, we owe it to ourselves first and then to our clientele to have our own mind-body-spirit connection whole & healthy...and to have the tools to establish integral health. If we aren't capable of healing & helping ourselves...we can't be of service to anyone else, can we? I am striving everyday to cleanse the toxins (all manners) from my system in order to have a healthy mind, body & spirit. I'm so excited to continue growing!

Reference: Dacher, E.S., M.D. Integral Health: The path to human flourishing. (2006) Basic Heath Publications, Inc. Laguna Beach, CA.

A lot of work on myself this week...!!

This week I 'worked' on the Universal Loving Kindness meditation. I say worked because it took a lot of effort to get started. I found the phrases that we needed to memorize a bit 'unnatural' so I altered them to fit 'me' better. Instead of the 'May I', I used 'Help me' and changed 'assist' to 'aid'. Then it was easier to relax and focus on the phrases. I did pray before doing this exercise because I am not the one with the power to heal, but God can use me as He sees fit. :-)) (I think this is the challenge—we have to remember who the Master Healer is!) I found that it was easier, or more comfortable , to add a name instead of the 'all individuals' because it made the exercise more personal and heartfelt. Maybe in time, I will be able to expand my energies but for now...one at a time keeps me focused better, especially with the connection of a personal relationship. I was also able to practice the exercise for a longer period of time and this is a bonus. I felt good after this meditation but not as good as some of the other exercises that we have practiced so far. (Maybe because I need to work on myself more...?) I will practice this meditation again, but most likely for people that are close to me and are in situations that cause personal suffering. Who knows, I might get enough practice that the skill will improve enough to direct the meditation to all individuals...but right now it takes too much out of me.

The integral assessment was eye-opening for me! I did the assessment myself at first and I found that I was probably a little hard on myself because I 'needed a LOT of work everywhere'. So I found an out-of-the-box solution. I asked 3 people who know me very well to do the assessment, too, from their personal view of where I am. I asked them to rate the specific area on a scale of 1-10 and also to rank them from 1 to 12 in order of least to most developed. Interesting to say the least...! I was definitely harder on myself than they were, but we all agreed that my fitness & nutrition were 1 and 2 (least developed)...although we didn't all have them in the same order. The rest of the areas were pretty close with a few exceptions. My son saw my emotional higher than my neighbor did (because I generally keep my emotions in check—except at home, where I feel 'safest'), but my best friend saw my community & social activism higher than my son did. I did give me a more honest view of where I really am because they all saw me as more developed in most areas than I saw myself. This was good because my self-esteem raised enough that I now want to work on something and we all agreed on the area that I should start with...fitness and nutrition. The best part...? Because I am strongest in cognitive and family...I have the smarts to do it and the support to be successful! ;-))) 

Loving-kindness vs the Subtle-mind...and what spiritual wellness has to do with physical or mental wellness.

When I reflect on the loving-kindness exercise and compare it with the subtle-mind one, I find some definite differences. The loving-kindness practice actually stimulated my energy. I felt more alive and rejuvenated...in a noticeable way. I did feel calm and relaxed but not as much as I was after the subtle-mind exercise. I think that this is good because both of these practices can fit in my life in different times. An interesting thing to note is that both of them involve deep breathing...this should tell us something! I know that both of these exercises are for my personal benefit but the loving-kindness practice will help me with the people in my little corner of the world. The subtle-mind practice will help me to ground myself and find what I am truly capable of...always a good thing.

I found it easier to do the subtle-mind exercise but I'm not sure why. Is it because I am becoming more focused and trained? Is it because I was at a point in my personal life that I really noticed the calmness? Is it because my mind was craving the peace I was looking for? I had a particularly tough few days and I was worried about even trying the exercise. After a couple of false starts...everything worked out well I did not feel energized but I was definitely calmer than I was at the beginning. I had trouble 'exploring' my mind but I think at the moment...I didn't really want to see what was deep in there. I had enough to deal with at the time. :-)) I think that if we take the time to really listen to our body...we will have more success with any self-searching exercises because our mind-body-spirit connection knows what we need at any given moment.

When I think about what it means for our spiritual wellness and the mental/physical connection...I realize that they are all connected and we need to strengthen all three for optimal health. All three are vital to our overall wellness so we should give all three equal attention. For wholeness and integral health we should exercise our mind as evenly as we do our body and our body the same as our spirit. When we finally connect it that physical illness comes from an unhealthy mind or spirit and vice versa...we can start to improve our health. I know that for myself, when I put on a little weight, my mind becomes filled with 'unhealthy thoughts' before I even know its happening. :-( I have to work on that!

Giving your mental self a workout...

Most of us have some idea of what a mental workout is...but how often do we practice it? A mental workout is where we give our brain the chance to build strength and memory. We can perform specific exercises, like counting or reciting the alphabet backwards, or doing mind puzzles (crosswords or sudoku). This is a form of mental workout that has long-term benefits as we age. We have all heard the 'use it or lose it' phrase but how many of us actually use our brain for things beyond our 'regular' needs? We use it for work but how many 'mindless' activities do we perform? We don't have to think very much once we get the hang of something. We need to use the creative side more often. My son and I used to practice creativity on a regular basis but we have gotten away from it. This is not good and I think it's time to bring back the practice. What we would do was to always 'think of another way' to do something. We used it all the time. If we were going to have spaghetti for dinner & wanted garlic bread, we would ask "how can we do this without the oven"? Once we tried the toasted & spread the bread with garlic butter after (eehhhh, not so good) but, another time we grilled it in the frying pan like you would a grilled cheese. This was awesome because we grilled both sides....yummy! Another time he wanted chicken ramen noodles for dinner & his brother wanted mac & cheese. I said 'what if we tried mixing them together' and believe it or not...it is still one of their favorites. I have to admit-it IS real good. I will say that not everything turned out well & more than one 'another way' ended up in the garbage & we called for pizza to be delivered. :-) All in all, creativity is a good way to work a little mental workout into a busy day...
But perhaps one of the best workouts we can give our minds...and therefore, ourselves, is to use positive affirmations. When we are bombarded every day by negative conversations, people and events...our mind can become worn out and drained. We can't avoid negativity unless we close ourselves up in our house with only positive family members. Ideal maybe but impossible, right? So, how do we best counteract the anger, fear or worry that we have experienced in any given day? When we have taken the time to 'use our brain' in a positive way, the bad is easily over-ruled and washed away. The positive mental workout includes 'boosting our moral' and self-esteem to improve our mind-body-spirit health on a day-to-day basis. Giving ourselves 2 positive comments for every negative 1 that is heard...a good start towards a positive mental workout. Good thoughts everyone...!