A reassessment

How do I rate my well being physically, spiritually, and psychologically today?  I am still in pretty good health.  This means I do not take prescription drugs prescribed by a physician and I don't remember having a cold or the flu in the last few years.  I have my aches and pains and take melatonin at night to sleep.   I have not eaten fried alligator or fried pickles again. At least I can say I tried them.  Tonight I will enjoy steamed carrots with butter and parmesan cheese. My spiritual well being is a work in progress. I am more aware of the depth of my inner life.  This class has increased my motivation for making my inner growth a major part of my life..  My psychological well being is better today than when I was in my 20's, 30's, or even my 40's.  Much of my inner growth is coming from my inner healing.  Many of my painful past experiences are being brought into the light of day.  I am beginning to deal with them and let them go.  A very wise person told me a very simple truth.  I was frustrated and finally said “what does letting go really mean”?  She thought, and quietly said “you choose what to make important.  Make something else more important than the pain.  What did you learn from the experience?  How will you avoid making the same mistake again?”  I have more choices.  I can make the pain important or I can make the lesson important.  That is how you let it go.  I am in a better place today.   I am getting back into my yoga and meditation and I really wish I could continue this class.  Wishing everyone the greatest of journey’s.

unit 9 project

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1 Introduction:

            Health and wellness begins where you are.  Many people discover that the physical aches and pains are signs and symptoms of their own creation.  Our ulcers can be relieved with a pill, diet, or an antacid.  We soon find that the relief is short lived and we are in need of continuing the regimen of daily pills and antacids and watching what we eat.  When we realize that maybe there is a long term solution we are intrigued and listen closely for the answer.  Control your stress, respond instead of react, change your perspective, and learn to like what you do.   Sounds like platitudes and mumbo jumbo, or whatever justification we choose, and life gets busy, we forget how many pills we’ve taken and learn to live a satisfactory life, ulcers and all.  Then there are the rest of us.  We believe that health and wellness comes from being balanced psychologically, spiritually and physically.  One part of us touches the other parts of us.  We are more than just a body and a chatty mind. 

            It is important for wellness professionals to develop their own wellness psychologically, spiritually, and physically.  Practicing what you preach is the first step towards being able to bring wellness and wholeness to your clients.  My goal is to educate clients regarding the benefits of healing through the practice of stress relief, learning to respond instead of react, and diet and exercise.  Stress relief can be accomplished through meditation, goal setting, looking at ourselves and how we may be responsible for the creation of many of our stressors, and also through a healthy diet and staying physically active.  Meditation, diet and exercise, and being emotionally

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balanced, will decrease the level of stress and suffering that many in our society deal with daily.  I am a work in progress.  I am aware that my diet lately is not what it should be.  I know I can work on that.  I am physically active but should include an exercise plan into my daily activities.  My goals can sometimes be too ambiguous, leaning more towards ideals than an actual plan I can set in motion.  My life is evolving and developing.  These goals are set and within my reach.  Tomorrow I may become aware of another area in my life.  Every day is changing and I am flexible and dynamic enough to change directions when needed. 

2 Assessments:

            To assess my health in any area of my life depends on my attitude of the moment.  I may have become aware of a personal experience that I thought I had gotten over.  Another aspect of the past has come to light and must be worked on, dealt with, and let go.  I may have been exercising and eating well for a few weeks and feel great.  Two weeks later my diet and physical activity will be less than hoped for and I must again work on the physical.  Life may have gotten busy and my priorities have changed.  Today I am spiritually sound with more work to do, I respond instead of react and try to remember that my take on a situation may not be what it seems, and my diet and exercise is less than desirable due to finals, cold weather, and a priority shift.

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3 Goal Developments:

            My goal is to continue to meditate, (the subtle mind, loving kindness, and the Aeslepian) to continue my journey towards inner health.  I have a goal to return to my previous diet, mostly vegetarian, and to make yoga more of my daily routine.  My experiences (though personal and justified) are only my opinions, delusions, belief systems, and denials and may have nothing to do with truth.  My goal is to continue to realize how small and limiting I have created my world.  My goal is to expand my world, to express myself and know myself enough (or better) to relieve my own suffering and so to relieve the suffering that I unknowingly extend to others.  This life, this journey, is evolving.  There are many layers to peel back and many aha moments to come.

4 Practices for Personal Health:

            All areas of my life, no matter how satisfying they are, have room for improvement.  I am physically strong and am lucky enough to not need prescription medicine.  I also know that I will soon be 54.  My strength and health of today is not a guarantee of health tomorrow.  As we age we must let go our belief that we can start tomorrow.  A regular exercise program, flexibility and strength, are necessary if I wish to be as well at 60 as I am at 54.  Proper diet is more important today than when I was 20 or 30.  These two practices are strategies that are needed to foster growth and implement my physical health.

            When I implement my plan for my physical health this will reach into all the other levels of my life.  My psychological and spiritual areas are more responsive and less

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reactive today than when I was in my teens, twenties, and thirties.  I raised five girls and succumbed to the drama queen syndrome that surrounded me.  I had to grow up along with my children.  Sometimes there is a lot of fun when the passion of the drama is in full swing.  Learning to laugh at myself and being able to recognize when a daughter is manipulating me into her drama was a blessing.  The reaction (from my daughters) because I did not go along with their ploy, was worth the hard work of wanting something more by relinquishing the drama that was holding me back.  The psychological and spiritual aspects of my life were transformed when I began breaking the mold of mom.  Through meditation, journaling, deep breathing and becoming interested in outside subjects I began the journey of remembering who I was and what I wanted.   Children are only yours for a little while, when they are grown and gone you need to have a life of purpose and meaning.

5 Commitment:

              My journey begins again each day, moment by moment.  Everyday lessons to learn will be shown to me.  I have found that journaling is a great way to assess where I was, what I was up against, and where I go.  Journaling helps me to see how strong my foundation is and how many obstacles, or walls, that I have climbed, knocked down, or at least chiseled into manageable chucks.  Every life is a story and everyone has an amazing story.  To be human is to know pain, to know joy, and to figure out how we got to where we are.  Writing something down allows us to express that which is hidden

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from others and makes us see the futility of denial.  Journaling is a helpful practice that will remind us of the work that we have done physically, spiritually, and psychologically.

            The support of family and friends is a great way to keep us on track.  With the integral practices my relationships grow stronger and deeper.  Old wounds are healed.  The health and happiness that I have strived for is a motivator by itself.  I may want to look like I did in my 30’s but never would I want to be that person again.  I am more comfortable in my own skin, more confident in myself, and have a deeper understanding that the universe does not revolve around me.  My long term practices include meditation, yoga, journaling, laughing, and expressing my compassion and joy that life truly is. 

unit 8 blog

There are many benefits to expanding your inner awareness.  The loving kindness practice helps me to put more attention on others and helps me to remember that my happiness is wrapped around the happiness of others.  The subtle mind practice relieves my worries, slows my mind, and helps me to have a better perspective of where I am.  Visualization is helpful when I have a set goal in mind.  Meditation is my anchor.  My main focus is on the subtle mind practice and meditation.  With these two practices my days are easier and I am able to flow from any situation that occurs.  These two practices are combined into one practice two times a day.  To start the day with a calmer mind and to end the day with a calmer mind are as necessary to me as eating and breathing.  I am grateful to have been given the gift of all these practices.  Visualization will be there when I need it. Visualization is something I use when I am nervous about something I am going to do or a situation I am not prepared for.    The loving kindness practice will be there when more compassion towards others becomes part of my awareness.  When I am feeling anger, resentment, or feeling hurt and rejected using the loving kindness practice towards those that I have perceived have hurt me, will allow me to forgive and let go of my suffering.  These are tools that are a necessary part of human development.  When my mind is focused, calm, and observant my emotions are not running the show and reacting to each and every perceived drama.  This keeps my physical body from having excess adrenaline rushes which keeps my blood pressure down, and I have an opportunity to lessen the suffering of those around me.

unit 7

I met my wise and loving sister.  She has been my mentor for many years.  This experience brought me to a deeper awareness of my inner self.  It has been awhile since I was so relaxed, calm, and present.  I am finding that my spiritual wellness is more than a routine or daily practice.  It is a time that I look forward to each day.  This practice also leads me to enjoy the benefits of eating better, exercising more, and enjoying life more.  The other day my daughter said "Your always laughing and seem so happy", I just said thank you.  Until I can "know" the benefits of meditation, healthy eating, etc., and have made them a part of my life I cannot honestly, sincerely, and confidently express their importance to another.  I am obligated to do as I wish others to do.  The cliche "do as I say, not as I do" never worked for a parent to a child and will not work for a client.  Finding what works for me and then continuing to use that technique or tool is the first step.  At some points in life meditation can be accomplished through exercise, dance, creativity.  At other times in life meditation works best in solitude.  Being willing to find what works and being flexible may just be the key to continuing.

Integral Accessment

The Universal Loving Kindness exercise:

May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholesness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.

This is my intention and has been and will continue to be.  I think being a parent allows us to practice and learn this lesson daily.  My integral assessment began at a point that I have been trying to come to terms with for the last year.  I decided to start here because this area is a daily occurance and a daily reminder of how I exclude myself.  This habit has kept me in denial of what is bothering me, and my greatest friend when it comes to procrastination.  Sometimes it includes me in social situations and at other times it will deny me the company of others.  It has been a way to keep me distant from family and friends.  This habit has kept me from truly being a part of anothers suffering.  Sometimes when it is hard to detach from the suffering of others I can exclude myself .  I am denied my health, my self esteem, my confidence.  I am a strong confident courages women except for taking on this one habit.  My health is very good, my outlook on life is very good and no one knows the depth of my despair on having and keeping this habit.  This habit is smoking.  Many times I will smoke and don't even enjoy it.  It is what has been my excuse, my refuge, my friend and enemy.  I am aware of the source of my suffering and know that if I can climb this mountain (make this mountain a mole hill) I can futher flourish and develop my inner life to help others in their struggle to release their suffering and help them on their journey to wholeness.  My daily intentions begin with being mindful of when and why I smoke.  I intend to continue with yoga and meditation.  I believe the shift will come and it will be easier than I am making it out to be.  I intend to change my perception of what quitting will be like and look at what being a non smoker will be like.

powerpoint

When you click on the link for my powerpoint it may not load all the way.  Right click and then click on reload.  That usually does the trick.  Enjoy

powerpoint project

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9ovJlOTa2BrODIyNGE3ZDktZDJiNy00MmY2LTkzNTktZmVlYzVkOTI2MmEz&hl=en


This has taken hours to figure out how to get this on this blog.  Hope you enjoy.  I am sooooo relived to finally get this.