My assessment in unit 3 was a 7 for physical, 8 for spiritual, and 6 for psychological well being. My score has not changed much yet because I have been busy working  and caring for my two children. My goals were for meditation and yoga which I have not had time to start yet. I enjoying the meditation exercises throughout this course, and have recommended friends to try it. Things in this class were things I have always believed and now it is confirmed. I try to be more calm and try not to let things get to me and watch how I react. I will try to stay focused on my goals and not let distracting people or things keep me from accomplishing my goals. I will try to pass on any information that I have learned to others to help them improve their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.                   Introduction

 

Being physically fit by eating healthy and exercising, makes a person feel better physically and mentally. To add to that, thinking positive, and being kind to others is how people add being spiritually and psychologically well. I need to learn to incorporate meditation and yoga into my life for more peace and quiet.

 

II.                Assessment

My assessment tells me I need work in all areas, and need to make more time to practice integral health. I score my spirituality the highest since I try to listen to tohers and be kind. There are a lot of people in my life who incorporate spirituality into their lives, which is more common these days. More time needs to be spent on exercising, even though I do run around a lot and my job is physical. I work outdoors and with plants and dirt in a garden center, so I feel this is good for my soul. From time to time I catch myself thinking negative about myself and my abilities, but need to try to curb that as much as possible.

 

III.             Goal Development

My goal for physical wellness is more exercise and eating healthier. Try not to eat out as much, and cook from scratch, and less sweets. In the past few years I find myself not wanting much meat, maybe since there are always recalls about how bad some food is. My goal psychologically is to not let others negative thinking get to me, and to surround myself with positive and supportive people. My goal spiritually is to meditate and try yoga.

 

IV.             Practice for Personal Health

To implement growth in Physical, I want to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, and maybe less wine. To implement growth in Psychological, I want to think positive about my life and accomplishments, and not let others put me down. To implement growth in Spiritual, I want to meditate more, learn yoga, listen to others, and be kind.

 

V.                Commitment

It would help to write down my goals and start a log of my activity. This way I can assess my progress and make sure I am on goal or work to get there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visualization has helped me in the past to help me think positively into the future. I have heard people say if you picture it, or think it, it can or will happen. I picture all the good things in life that I would like. Meditation is new to me, and would like to make more time in my day for this, and also would like to try yoga or something similar. I used to play sports but since having kids, do not have much time anymore. I do enjoy Reiki when I can get it.

Unit 7 blog - This was an interesting meditation because I do feel that my father is with me a lot and he was the person that I was looking at, and pictured the light to/from. When I had to picture the light to my heart, I really did have a feeling of fullness in my body. I also wanted to add my sister who has just recently passed because I also feel her with me a lot, so I am not sure which one or both was with me during this exercise. Since traveling to CA by myself I have changed in the way I think, act, and feel. I did spend a lot of time alone and quiet, thinking of family and friends on the East Coast. I met some spiritual people there and felt their influence on me while there. Also, since I was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, while my daughters were 8 mths and 22 mths, has definitely changed my way of thinking about life and the future. I took the diagnosis well and dealt with it pretty good, and was never afraid, but thought positive and tried to live my life to the fullest from that point, wanting to spend every waking moment with my kids.   One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself - this means that a person has to be healthy and live a healthy life to be able to teach it to someone else. If someone is in this profession they are usually passionate about it and also want to teach it to others. These professionals usually eat well, exercise, and like quiet meditation, yoga, the outdoors or whatever suits them. Being calm, quiet, a good listener, and kind to others is a way to implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life.

Unit 6 blog - In the Loving Kindness meditation I have to work on forgiving others, and in the Subtle Mind I have to try to ignore disturbances which will set me back and just stay focused on my goals in life. I always have to work on eating healthier and exercising more, even though I am very active I do not actually do exercises. Also, not worrying about what others say or think, or what they are doing and realize my potential. There are many people in life that want to keep you down, are not supportive, and do not want to see you happy or fulfilled out of jealousy, control, or they want to feel they have power over you or better than you.

The difference between Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind is in Loving Kindness the speaker prompted the listener to think certain thoughts about people we know. In the Subtle Mind exercise it was mostly breathing and trying not to think of anything and having a calm mind. It was hard to stay still and not think of anything. Also, when I do these exercises, I have been yawning a lot because I am tired and doing a lot of breathing. This was a good exercise to relax, especially for those people who are always doing something or talking. Some people do not ever  have quiet in their lives, between the tv and kids or someone talking to them. Spiritual wellness is connected to mental wellness because the person is calm and not stressed and their thinking makes them calm which is better for physical health. This connection helps people enjoy their life and makes them happy when they are thinking good thoughts and not letting the craziness of everyday life affect them. These exercises can make people nice to others which is important for harmony among people.

My experience with Loving Kindness was relaxing and because I did this late at night I was already tired and had a hard time staying awake. The exercise was beneficial because I relaxed and thought good thoughts, such as feeling loving kindness for people in my life, even those that I thought were my enemy. The difficult part was forgiving those that I thought were my enemy. Also, some other parts I was not sure what I was supposed to do or think about, but probably because it was my first time. I do recommend this to anyone, because it is relaxing, and helps calm your mind.

A mental workout is anything that will challenge a person’s mind, such as reading, games, and putting together clues to solve a mystery. Proven benefits of a mental workout are an acute mind. Mental workouts are good for your mind, just like exercising is good for your body.