Final Project: Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

I. Introduction:

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

             “To become the agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life” (Dacher, 2006, p. 167).

 

            I think it is important to lead by example. It is essential for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically, this allows them to promote, educate and guide their clients onto the path they have already traveled on.

            I am a work in progress as I try to achieve my goals. My main goal is to continue to develop my mind, body and spiritual connection. By continuing to meditate, I will calm my mind and eliminate the chatter and clutter that fills my mind. I also need to concentrate on my physical well-being by integrating exercise into my daily routine. I also need to strength my spiritual well-being. God is a very important part of my life, I just need to trust and have more faith in him and in myself. I am going to start a “gratitude” blog to express and share daily what I am  grateful for in my life. This will help further my spiritual and psychological connection as well.

II. Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?  

            Based on a scale of 1 to 10 (“10” being the highest and “1” being the lowest), I would rate my wellness physically, spiritually and psychologically as follows:

            Physical well-being: I would rate myself a 5. For the past 4 years, I have been suffering with an auto immune deficiency disorder. I was so interested in taking this class; I want to heal from the inside out, mind, body and spirit. Although I am still physically struggling, I am feeling better about my situation and fell a lot happier and healthier inside. I believe I am on the road to recovery. My goals in this area are to get physically healthy inside and outside and finally overcome this disorder. This class has reiterated the importance of daily exercise, meditation and prayer in order to attain integral health.

            Spiritual well-being: I would rate my spiritual well-being as an 8; however, it increases on a daily basis. I feel much stronger in my beliefs, in my faith, and with my connection with God. I know that God exists and I have made it this far and I’m continuing to make it through every day because of his presence in my life.

            Psychological well-being: I would rate my psychological well-being as an 8, also increasing on a daily basis. I feel very positive in this aspect. As I continue to grown, learn and study, my classes are really helping me deal, cope and overcome my own 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 stronger woman.

III. Goal Development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual. 

            My goal is to get physically, spiritually and psychologically healthy. I want to achieve a balance within all these areas. I want to alleviate my inner being of stress, anxiety and negative thoughts, emotions and feelings.

            Physical: My goal is to continue to eat healthy by cutting down on carbohydrates (my weakness). I want to lose a minimum of twenty pounds by May, 2013 (graduation in Chicago!). I am going to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day. I will alternate stretching exercises, strength training, yoga, pilates and walking into my schedule. I know that losing this weight will also help in my psychological and spiritual areas as well.

            Psychological: My goal is to continue practicing meditation in order to de-stress and calm my mind. Therefore, I will continue with the exercises we practiced in class such as Loving-Kindness, Subtle Mind, and Meeting Aesclepius. I am also very interested in meeting with a guide to assist me with my meditation practice. I am going to continue to research additional meditation practices to integrate into my daily routine.

            Spiritual: My goal is to continue to focus and develop my connection with my beliefs, my faith and with God. I will continue to pray, meditate and reflect. I was raised in the Catholic religion; however, I do not currently attend church services. I do believe in the Angels, Saints, the Holy Spirit and Baby Jesus and I will continue to light my candles and pray to them daily. This class has opened my mind and made me aware of other spiritual healing traditions that I am interested in exploring such as Buddhist, Chinese and the Navajo principles.

IV. Practices for Personal Health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example. 

            Physical:  I will continue to eat healthy and monitor my daily caloric intake. I have given up sodas and caffeine and have increased my water consumption to approximately sixty-four plus ounces per day. I will integrate at least thirty minutes of stretching, yoga, pilates and/or walking into my daily routine as well.

            Psychological: I will continue to mediate on a daily basis. For now, I will continue with the exercises we practiced in class such as Loving-Kindness, Subtle Mind, and Meeting Aesclepius. I will read more books, articles, publications, etc. regarding psychological health and wellness to better further my development in this area.

            Spiritual: I will, on a daily basis, continue to pray, meditate and reflect to help improve my spirituality. I also am going to start to read the bible each day in order to further my beliefs, faith and connection with God.

V. Commitment:

How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness? 

            I am going to get more organized and create a daily schedule so that I have time to exercise and practice meditation on a daily basis. If I write a list of my “things to do” down on paper, I will do them. I will start with “baby steps” and create a daily goals list, gradually adding goals to it. This will help me track my daily accomplishments. I have enjoyed blogging; therefore, I will continue to blog and journal my thoughts, feelings, emotions and accomplishments. At the end of the six months, I will have my sister, niece, and co-workers, (people I interact with on a daily basis) assess me to see if they have noticed a change in me. At the end of the six months I will also assess myself. It will be close to graduation so it will be a perfect time to start another self-assessment program.

Thanks for reading!

Unit 8....Review

This week’s assignment was to review the exercises and practice sessions we have completed throughout the past 7 weeks (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.). We are supposed to choose two practices that we have determined to be most beneficial. I chose Loving-Kindness and Meeting Aesclepius (visualization).

I really enjoy the guided mediations. I find them very beneficial because it makes me really concentrate and focus on what the guide is saying. This technique allows my mind to really focus on the exercise and limits my mind from wandering. I also feel very relaxed during the exercises and re-energized at the conclusion.

The Loving-Kindness exercise is intended to assist us in opening our hearts to others and help us gradually reduce our own self-centeredness and preparing our minds for further development. As we reduce focus on ourselves and our own needs, an enhanced concern and compassion for the welfare of others will begin to grow. I enjoyed this exercise. I was completely calm and relaxed. I could visualize myself at the ocean experiencing loving-kindness feelings. I also felt the release of the unpleasant, disturbing feelings and emotions I have bottled up inside. At a certain point, I felt a little emotionally overwhelmed. However, I believe the exercise was beneficial because I was able to release some negative feelings and emotions.

The visualization meditation exercise (Meeting Aesclepius) helped me access my inner healer. The inner healer which exists within each of us and helps guide us toward the integral process. I found this exercise very rewarding. It was a guided meditation, very soothing, with the sound of the ocean waves in the background. We were told to close our eyes and visualize the image of a very wise and loving man or woman. We were supposed to concentrate on the image to help relax and move us toward our subtle mind. With eyes closed, I could visualize a light coming from my image towards me. Throughout the exercise I felt a great sense of calmness, happiness, inner healing and peace. I felt my heart really open up. It was very uplifting and inspirational. I felt a sense of inner freedom. The meditation practice was definitely more than just a relaxation exercise.

These exercises can be implemented into my personal life to promote mental fitness at anytime I feel the need. I can shut the world out by taking time to meditate and rejuvenate. There is no time limit or time frame to meditate. I’ve mentioned this before “meditation is like having small doses of health and wellness injected into my body, mind and spirit.” I truly believe it!

My definitin of meditate:

M = Mind
E = Emotional well-being
D = De-stress
I = Integral Health
T = Therapeutic
A = Anew
T = Tranquility
E = Energy

Thanks for reading!

Notes from the Universe...

“Enjoy your thoughts, take time to visualize, and meditate to soothe your spirit and your soul."

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Meeting Aesclepius…..

1. Complete the Meeting Aesclepius practice. Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

The ancient Greeks called the inner healer Aesclepius. Aesclepius is the Greek god of medicine, healing, rejuvenation and physicians. This week’s meditation practice was entitled “Meeting Aesclepius.” This exercise, through the use of visualization, helped me access my inner healer that is found at the source of my being. The wise healer resides within each of us to will help guide us toward the integral process.

I found this exercise very rewarding. It was a guided meditation, with the sound of the ocean waves in the background, very soothing. We were told to close our eyes and visualize the image of a very wise and loving man or woman whom we knew. My image instantly came up of my father. My dad passed away in October, 2011. When I think of my dad I am so happy and relieved that he is no longer suffering and is in a better place with my mom. Concentrating on his image helped me relax and move toward my subtle mind. With my eyes closed, I could visualize a light coming from him towards me. Throughout the exercise I felt a great sense of calmness, happiness, inner healing and peace. I felt my heart really open up. It was very uplifting and inspiring. I did feel a sense of inner freedom more so than just relaxation.

I look forward to meditating; I find this to be my time for clearing my mind, feeling refreshed, calm, relaxed and healthy. Meditation to me is like having small doses of health and wellness injected into my body, mind and spirit. Through these exercises, I am feeling that I am healing from within and growing mentally and spiritually. I find meditating a very emotional experience yet it's very liberating as well.

2. Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p.477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

I believe this means that we must lead by example. I think health and wellness professionals, in order to really be able to assist, advise and/or help their clients/patients, have an obligation to be educated and experienced in integral health and well-being. They also have a responsibility to continue developing their health psychologically, physically, and spiritually. It would be an asset and beneficial to the clients/patients. This will provide and instill more confidence to the clients/patients that the health and wellness professional believes in the services he/she is providing.

I can implement psychological and spiritual growth in my personal life by meditating and practicing loving-kindness, calm-abiding and the subtle mind. And by focusing daily on the body, mind and spirit connection.

Thanks for reading!

Approaching work today....

This is how I will approach my job today...

"We are taking what may seem mundane, owning it as our own, and transforming it into an act of service, artistry, and sacredness" (Dacher, 2006).

Thanks for reading...enjoy your day :-)

Universal Loving-Kindness and Integral Assessment

The first part was to practice the Universal Loving-Kindness mediation. We were to close our eyes for a minute or two, rest into the natural ease of our mind and body and repeat the following phrases for 10 minutes:

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.

By repeating this phrase and concentrating on the meaning of each word in each sentence I did gain a sense of calm, healing and love within myself and I had the desire to share this feeling with others.

In the second part, I am supposed to take inventory of the four aspects of my life and determine which area needs attention. The four aspects are psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal and worldly.

I feel I need to concentrate and develop the psychospiritual aspect of my life. If this part of my life is in disarray I know the other aspects are suffering as well. This is one of the main reasons I decided to take this class. I have become more aware and mindful, mediating, reading the assignments and just thinking is helping me tremendously to grow and cope with things I have been struggling with.

I am taking baby steps toward integral wellness. I am constantly thinking about everything that I am learning in this class and trying to apply it. Today has been a great day!

Thanks for reading!

Reference:

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