Subtle Mind Practice....Mental Fitness

The mental fitness practice this week incorporates the concept of the subtle mind.

“We begin by taming our busy mind. We learn how to diminish the ceaseless mental movements

of thoughts, feelings and images” (Dacher, 2006 p. 65).

1. Compare and contrast the Loving-Kindness exercise and the Subtle Mind exercise.

The loving-kindness exercise was to help us open our hearts to others and slowly release us from our own self-centeredness. It was intended to help prepare our minds for further growth and development. I enjoyed this exercise. I felt very calm and relaxed. I could visualize myself at the ocean as I experienced the loving-kindness feelings. I felt the release of unpleasant, disturbing feelings, thoughts and emotions. The exercise was beneficial to me because I did release some feelings and emotions that I was harboring.

The subtle mind exercise….hmmm…I can sense that this exercise is going to be a little bit more difficult to get a handle on. Although I did feel very relaxed it was hard for me to “tame” my mind and keep it from wandering; perhaps because it was not a complete guided meditation exercise. I found it challenging to maintain concentration and keep my mind still. This exercise will definitely require more practice.

2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

This exercise was very different from the previous ones. I really do hope to grow with, and expand my awareness with this practice because it will be very beneficial for my mental, spiritual and physical well-being.

Spiritual wellness explores the deeper layers of the mind to discover natural wisdom and understanding, inner peace and loving-kindness which are essential reasons for continual well-being of body, mind and spirit. Spiritual wellness will help develop my calm-abiding consciousness. This connection will allow my inner being to become clear, focused, unbiased and confident. In order to have a fulfilling, healthy life it requires the inner development/growth of the mind, body and spirit. Simply, when the mind, body and spirit are in harmony, there is integral health.

Thanks for reading!

Reference:

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

Loving-Kindness Meditation Prayer.....

I enjoyed reading and meditating on these prayers and wanted to share.....It really does make you think and feel good.

Say this blessing for yourself anytime you feel alone, afraid or out of touch with the Light within.

May I be at peace.
May my heart remain open.
May I awaken to the light
of my own true nature.
May I be healed.
May I be a source of healing
for all beings.

Say this blessing for as many people as you wish. If worried thoughts about loved ones occur during the day, take a moment to send them a loving kindness blessing rather than a fearful thought.

May you be at peace.
May your heart remain open.
May you awaken to the Light
of your own true nature.
May you be healed.
May you be a source of healing
for all beings.

Thanks for reading!

Reference:

http://www.fairview.org/SpiritualHealth/S_013948

Loving-Kindness and Mental Workouts...

“Contemplative practice is the method and tool we use to explore the inner world and evolve our psychospiritual life” (Dacher, 2006).

This week’s assignment was to listen to an audio entitled: Loving-Kindness. This exercise was to assist us to open our hearts to others and help us gradually diminish our own self-centeredness, preparing our minds for further development. As we diminish focus on ourselves and our own needs, an enhanced concern and compassion for the welfare of others will begin to develop.

I enjoy guided mediations because with this technique it allows my mind to really focus on the exercise and limits my mind from wondering.

I enjoyed this exercise. For fifteen minutes I was out of my element/comfort zone/room. I was completely calm and relaxed. I could visualize myself at the ocean and I experienced the loving-kindness feelings and also the release of the unpleasant, disturbing feelings and emotions I was feeling. It was, at a certain point, a little emotionally overwhelming. However, I believe the exercise helped me to release some feelings and emotions that perhaps I am still holding back. I would recommend this exercise and I am committed to try it again for the next week to see how I will react each time.

 “Research studies 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” (Dacher, 2006).

Implementing mental workouts to foster psychological health can help identify, understand and manage thoughts and emotions. It can alleviate stress and bring a sense of calmness to an individual mentally, physically and spiritually. However, I believe this takes time, dedication and open-mindness to master.

Loving-kindness is a step that I will need to work on everyday due to the trials and tribulations I endure on a daily basis. However, implementing mental workouts can help guide me through.

Thanks for reading!

 

Journey to silence and stillness...

“Letting go of what no longer serves you and taking on what supports inner growth may not please everyone you know. But adjusting our life over time to allow for more inner stillness and silence will, along with the other preparations, cultivate the ground of our life so that the seed of integral health can fully bloom” (Dacher, 2006).

Silence and stillness focuses on awareness and integral health. The goal is to eliminate needless activities throughout our day and within our physical environment that can affect our mind in negative ways. The objective is to find inner peace, calmness and silence.

Thanks for reading!

The journey to skillful-action….

Skillful action helps to open our mind “…learning to restrain unskillful behavior and encourage skillful behavior” (Dacher, 2006).

Skillful-action focuses on learning to restrain unskillful behavior, In other words, behavior that generates an obstacle to inner development and instead promote skillful behavior that supports integral health. In this step, the goal is to calm the mind and remove negative reactions and negative thoughts that impact the mind (Dacher, 2006).

Learn to make a conscience effort to really think before speaking in order to avoid any backlash or inner turmoil that could affect integral health.

Thanks for reading!

The Journey to loving-kindness....

“Loving-kindness opens the heart and ensures the help and cooperation of others” (Dacher, 2006).

An individual needs to have faith that will inspire them to transfer their energies from outer physical health and healing to the holistic and evolutionary integral healing (Dacher, 2006).

The specific skills an individual can develop to prepare to include integral health are:

 loving-kindness; skillful-action and silence and stillness (Dacher, 2006).

Loving-kindness focuses on learning to be less self-centered and be more conscientious of others.
This can be conveyed through prayers, positive thoughts and/or physical support. By incorporating this process, individuals begin to alleviate emotions from within such as anger, jealousy, pride, greed, prejudice, impatience, etc (Dacher, 2006).

On my journey, I will continuously remind myself of the importance of displaying loving-kindness to myself and the people around me. I know that one day, without thinking, this will develop and come naturally.

Thanks for reading!

Reflecting on my level of wellness….the psychospiritual

I realize this is so true.... 

“Consciousness is the driving force that takes us toward integral health and life. It motivates, orients, and controls the entire process of human flourishing” (Dacher, 2006).

Thanks for reading!

Reflect on my level of wellness; physically, psychologically, and spiritually...

Unit 3 assignment:

Based on my reflections, on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing) I would rate my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being as follows:

A. Physical well-being I would rate myself as a 4. Unfortunately, for the past 4 years, I have been suffering with an auto immune deficiency disorder. I’ve been on quite a bit of medications but nothing has worked. This is one of the reasons why I was so interested in taking this class. I think this class is making a great difference in my psyche. Although I am still physically struggling, I am feeling better about my situation and a lot happier inside. I believe I am on the road to recovery. My goals in this area are to get healthy inside and outside and kick this disorder to the curb!

B. Spiritual well-being I would rate myself as an 8 and increasing on a daily basis, just from the beginning of this class as a matter of fact. I feel stronger in my beliefs, faith, with my connection with God and my inner spirit. I know that God exists and I make it through every day because of his presence in my life.

C. Psychological well-being I would rate myself as an 8, also increasing on a daily basis. I feel very positive in this aspect. As I am learning and studying, my classes are really helping me get through my own personal issues. I know I have grown in this area of my life in the past 4 years. I am not the person I was 4 years ago. I can proudly say I am a much stronger, determined woman.

My goals are to get healthy, both inside and outside, physically, spiritually and psychologically. I want to achieve a balance within all these areas. I want to alleviate myself of stress, anxiety and of especially negative thinking.

Activities and/or exercises that I can implement in my life to assist in moving toward my goals are to breathe, mediate, pray, relax and let go. Perhaps take up Yoga to help release my stress, tension and anxiety.

I found the relaxation exercise “The Crime of the Century” to be very relaxing and beneficial. I really enjoy the guided mediations. I found it very beneficial because it made me really concentrate on what the guide was saying. I was very relaxed during the exercise and I felt re-energized at the conclusion of the exercise.

Thanks for reading! 

Thought for today....

This has been a very productive weekend. I feel that I have grown mentally and spiritually.

“I am not a rocket scientist, a philosopher, or a wizard. Even if I were all three, I would still find myself looking off edge of my understanding into a vast unknown. As I recognize my own limitations, I am more grateful than ever for a Higher Power who is free from such restrictions” (taken from Courage to Change).

Thanks for reading!

Re-train My Brain.....

OK….beginning today I will consciously make an effort to think and feel positive mentally, physically and emotionally. I am on the path to re-train my brain! 

“The power of our mind can transcend physical space to affect the body, mind and spirit of all those we touch” (Dacher, p.23 2006).

My first thought this morning was “ugh, I’m so tired I don't want to get up” but I quickly changed my thoughts to “no I’m not tired, it’s Friday and I am going to feel good today"…so far so good! This will be very challenging but I know it will be well worth it. 

Thanks for reading! :-)

Day 2 Blog

Getting in a little reading this morning before starting work. I really like this philosophy....

“...the signs and symptoms of  health. These include a sense of inner control, competence and self confidence, creating and sustaining healthy relationships and having a sense of meaning and purpose in life” (Dacher, p. 13, 2006).

Thanks for reading :-)

Journey on Relaxtion Exercise

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog. My name is Lori Ochoa and I currently reside in
Las (HOT)Vegas, NV with my two dachshunds Jack and Hannah and my kitty cat named Cleopatra. It is a cool  (NOT!) 108 degrees on this Wednesday evening at 7:14 p.m. I am currently working as a Paralegal for a small bankruptcy law firm in downtown Las Vegas. I am pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with an emphasis on substance abuse. I am counting the days to graduation (292). I am looking forward to attending the graduation ceremony in Chicago in August, 2013!

This is my first blog, a requirement for my Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing class. (Which I am enjoying by the way). I guess blogging can be compared to writing in a journal and/or diary.

One of our exercises for this week's unit was to take some time and listen to an audio entitled "Journey on Relaxation." Personally, I have a very hard time relaxing, in other words...I don't know how it. However, taking this dedicated time to close my eyes, listen, breathe, and follow the "suggestion" directions, I was truly in a state of relaxation. When the exercise was over and I opened my eyes, it felt as if I had been somewhere else other than in my room. Pretty cool. I guess I will need to dedicate time on a daily basis to take a "journey on relaxation."

Thanks for reading :-)