Final Thoughts

My...how 10 weeks can fly by! I am looking forward to developing my own well-being as well as others. I am 4 terms away from graduating and it's tough to believe I've been back in school since January.

As I look back to the goals I set for myself in Unit 3, I have been mostly successful in reaching those goals.  My first was to eat only organic apples...well, I haven't stayed completely true to that. They are EXPENSIVE but I have been washing all of my apples very well! I have been having at least two a day and feel great. Physically I rated myself as an 8. I would say that I would still be an 8.  I am one week in to an elimination diet to identify food sensitivities and I am feeling great.  I have dropped weight and fitting back into my old jeans! Women, you know how great that feels! Continuing to exercise and eat well for my body.

My second goal was to reconnect with my spirituality and refresh my attunement.  With the help of the daily exercise of the subtle-mind I have reconnected with my spirituality and am very thankful for it. I am more conscious of my connection to the spirit world. Spiritually I rated myself a 6. I now rate myself at an 8 in this department. I have been actively working on this area.

My last goal was to work on training my mind to respond to stressors that are out of my control in a more calm and peaceful way. I have been very successful in achieving this goal.  Many circumstances have come up over the last few weeks that would have resulted in a response of frustration and undue stress.  Being mindful of my surroundings and the response appropriate to each situation has been very peaceful and calm.   Psychologically I rated myself an 8. Now I would a 9.5. Loving-kindness exercises have been very beneficially in this aspect.


Before taking this course I thought that I had a positive handle on my mind-body-spirit connection.  It was through the exercises and readings that I was able to introduce other ways of achieving integral health that I had not investigated on my own.  This course has opened my eyes to greater possibilities and improved the way I treat for my patients.  I am more in tune and sensitive to others and the challenges that they face.  I am asking different questions that have been leading me to make suggestions to patients that will help to nourish their health.

Best of luck to you all in your future. Maybe I will "see" you again in the upcoming terms.

                                           Love & Light

Unit 9: A Plan For the Future

One Must Have a Plan

                 The health and wellness field is vast in its treatments and modalities.  To become an effective health and wellness practitioner it is necessary to become familiar with the opportunities that are available to for others to utilize.  An important point is that the practitioner is most effective when they themselves have developed their own psychological, spiritual and physical health.  There is an essence that is given off that can also be used as a motivational tool.  When others see the practitioner happy, healthy and full of vitality, they start to believe that achieving those goals for themselves can be possible.  Those people that are in the contemplation stage of developing all aspects of their health need to be able to see that all of the work they are about to dive into will have a positive, healthy and loving payoff.

                My psychological well-being has always been a goal of mine and I have worked extensively to improve it.  Through cognitive-behavioral therapy to reframing and loving-kindness exercises, I have been able to gain higher psychological consciousness.  My ultimate goal is to emancipate myself from negativity in regards to thoughts and feelings. I believe that I am well on my way.

              Over the past 4 years I have been actively practicing Reiki energy healing on my patients and me.  This requires me to connect with my spirit guide and truly learn to trust him and his knowledge.  It has not been the easiest task for me thus far.  I feel there are tremendous benefits to this practice; however, I have found my mind wanders while in treatment.  With the integration of subtle mind practices I have been able to quiet the mind and remain present in the moment.  I love to connect with the divine and know that it loves me.  I will continue to strive to further develop my spiritual health. 

             Further development is needed in the physical aspect of my health.  I educate others on how to abide by a healthy lifestyle and find that I don’t follow it perfectly myself.  I have a deep understanding that no one can do everything perfectly and that life is a series of ebbs and flows that make it what it is.  I have spent a lot of time and energy developing the other areas that I sometimes neglect my physical health.  I eat foods that help nourish my body but exercise has been infrequent recently.  I find that when I exercise more regularly I am able to focus more clearly on my work, and when I focus on my work I lose the time to exercise.  This continues to be a cycle that has been difficult to break. 

            On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being optimal wellness I would rate my spiritual well-being at a 7.  I like to think I rate higher but that is not the case.  I am very close with the spirits that are around me all of the time.  I can feel them and I can hear them but my intuition wavers. I am reminded often that I have a great energy but sometimes I let my environment overshadow my feelings on that.  Everyone has this ability but needs to be practiced. Intellectually I know I need to spend more time on this subject but emotionally I am stunted.  I believe it to be a fear that I may uncover things that have been repressed while at the same time I know that needs to happen in order for me to no longer be a slave to my spiritual emotions.

            I would rate my physical well-being as an 6. I won't get into the details but I will say that I eat fresh, exercise sporadically and don't smoke. A friend once told me that the number one thing you can do for your health is to put down the cigarettes.  I would like to pass that on to everyone I meet and hope that people continue to pay it forward.  

            I would rate myself at an 8 for my psychological health. I spend a lot of time on this section of my life since I returned from the war 5 years ago. Re-framing is the number one technique for this and I have found loving-kindness and the use of meditation to most beneficial in this development.  Being able to view negative events and interactions with a positive twist is like shining a light in a dark room...it provides hope.

            Having goals in mind that are attainable are essential in making strides toward health, wholeness, and human flourishing.  My goals in each domain are as follows:

11.)   My goal for physical health is to reduce my body fat percentage by 10%. I will make sure to not get so wrapped up in work and school work to make excuses to not exercise daily.  I will include my puppy in my workouts with me for motivation.

22.)   My goal for psychological health is to free myself of the past and the negative feelings and emotions attached to it.  I will continue practicing meditation and loving-kindness and be consciously aware of moments that I have not fulfilled this goal.

33.)   My goal for spiritual health is to obtain a closer relationship with the divine.  My goal is to attend every open speaking event to gain further knowledge and connection to the divine.

             Following through on the daily practice of each domain will ultimately lead to integral health and human flourishing. It is most important as a practitioner to have a clear idea of the practices to use and share with others.  For development of my physical health, I will walk daily with my puppy for no less than sixty minutes a day.  I will also continue to do Bikram yoga every other day as I have in the past.  It increases my flexibility and awareness.

            The practices to further develop my psychological health will be loving-kindness and witnessing mind exercises.  Both were introduced by Dacher (2006) and have already proven immensely effective.  Having the ability to love yourself and others around you, even if they have done wrong by you, is such an important step in healing the mind.  Those feelings of stress, negativity and harboring ill will create dis-ease within the body in turn manifesting in dysfunction.  I have created a space in my home as an area just for me to meditate and feel at peace with the world.

             Calm-abiding and transcendental meditation (Schlitz, Amorok, Micozzi, 2005) have been excellent tools to use achieve unity consciousness. Quieting the mind will turn my focus inward to each and every breath.  It will keep me from getting bogged down by extraneous thoughts. Using these techniques I will not only be able to become closer to the divine, but I myself will be a person of clarity, peace and wholeness.

            Accountability is the most important tool for me to use for personal growth.  Developing checklists and charts will keep my on track toward each of my goals. The goals that I have set for myself are reasonable and attainable.  I will break those long term goals down even farther into short term goals as stepping stones toward the larger picture.  I promise to not be hard on myself should I fall of track.  I will consider each of those moments learning moments and work to rectify them.  I will understand that life has ways of testing me on my journey and will maintain a positive attitude throughout.

            I have learned an incredible amount of valid and useful information in this class.  There are so many takeaways that increase my level of consciousness as a person, and help others as a practitioner.  The Integral Health model will change the future of health care in it’s beliefs and treatments ultimately leading to all peoples having a “more profound, precious, and enduring level of health, happiness, and wholeness (Dacher, 2006).”

References:

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness & Healing. St. Louis: Elsevier Inc.

Unit 8 Reflection

I have been maintaining daily practice of loving-kindness and meditation. These two types of psychospiritual healing have proven most effective for me.  Sending loving-kindness to others and to myself has been incredibly helpful in obtaining a positive light in my life.  Conflict resolution is done with ease and grace without residual ill feelings.  I have been practicing this since it was introduced earlier in the course and has increased my levels of empathy towards others.  I have passed out the Mp3's of both loving-kindness and meditation to my patients and co-workers for them to integrate both into their lives.  

A patient came to me the other day and when asked if there was anything further I could help him with, he mentioned that his finances were troubling him and wondered if I could help him with that.  I respectfully told him that finances was out of my scope of practice but I was able to help the way he responded to the stress associated with his finance issues. I gave him the Mp3's and instructed him to take the time to familiarize himself with it.  He called recently to tell me that he has changed his thinking and is starting to feel more relaxed and calm. Excellent for him! 

Keep on keepin' on!

                                                Love & Light

Unit 7: To Aesclepius & Beyond!

This week has been a scattered week. It was my boyfriend's birthday, then the in-laws came to visit and I am off again on a road trip to my mom's for her birthday...all the while I am working and trying to stay ahead of homework.  It's usually not this busy for me so I really focused on the meditation this week.  I showed up to work a half an hour early this week and did the meditation before the massages I gave.  It was centering and calming in a hectic week.  It helped me stay focused and present during my treatments and I was not overcome with fleeting thoughts of the next place I needed to be. 

Most importantly, I was able to remain calm and peaceful when the in-laws were here...if you know what I mean! I have integrated meditation into my daily practice and I like how I feel!




I am not a mathematician so I would not attempt to teach someone else about physics. The same is true about anything...if you have not walked in the shoes that you speak of, are you really qualified to lecture on it? I don't think so.  Gaining hard knowledge and know-how comes from first hand experience. Having the first hand experience of what works and when is critical in helping others through their journey of integral health. 

I am working toward psychological and spiritual growth everyday. I have been practicing yoga and meditation and my next plan is to attend a service dedicated to becoming closer to the divine in the next couple of weeks. 



                                                                   Love & Light

Unit 6 Exercises for the Mind-Body-Spirit

Hello everyone! Glad to have you back for another week. I hope things for you are happy and healthy.

This week I did the universal Loving-kindness meditation and have to say, I felt really good doing it.  My first thought was, "this is a little goofy," but after a few minutes of repeating the words out loud and then quietly I began to feel lighter.  I felt as if nothing could bother me well after the meditation was completed.

Not long after the meditation I had to have a conversation with a woman at work who had done me wrong yesterday. I thought of her as I was meditating and sent her peace. When I spoke with her, I felt a sense of calm and understanding.  She really messed up so initially I wanted to scream at her and make her feel as badly as I did....but I didn't.  I had made the conscious decision to send peace and love her way and mine. I was really happy with that decision.

The assessment process was very revealing for me. I have been working so hard on reframing and training the mind that I have left out my body.  I am nourishing the mind and spirit but have not done any work to body.  I am having pain in my hip and I find that that arises periodically when I am not paying attention to my physical self.  I typically receive weekly massage and exercise regularly...well, it's been some time since I have received bodywork and I have been exercising sporadically.

My plan for the next couple of weeks? I plan to return to massage and bodywork as that is very powerful for me. I will return to the daily exercise I was engaging in before. I am going to get as much rollerblading in as I can before the snow flies, and I am starting a community walking group. It will be great to keep myself and others motivated through this chilly fall season so that old habits of nestling in for the winter don't creep up!

                                                   Love & Light

Unit 5 The Subtle Mind

Greetings everyone!

This week was the experience of the elusive subtle mind. Last week I practiced the loving-kindness exercise that brought me back to loving myself and others.  It lifted a heavy load off my shoulders and I literally feel lighter!

The subtle mind practice is somewhat different.  It is used to begin to train the mind into a witnessing and calm-abiding mind. The focus was on the breath and becoming still with the breath to become still with the mind.

This week I was admittedly distracted by my "to-do list."  Each time I practiced I was unable to completely stop the mental chatter.  This week has been especially heavy with classes as it is midterm time and each time I sat to work on this, I thought, "this is 20 minutes that I could be studying."  I know, I know, getting around this is the main objective, but always a work in progress!

When I am consciously nourishing my spiritual health, I find myself being more motivated to exercise and I feel a mental clarity.  My focus becomes sharper and my ambition and intention grow stronger.  I feel at peace with the world and everything that surrounds it.  I do however believe that you can lose this feeling when you decide to put nourishing the spirit for a rainy day....Striving towards optimal health needs to be worked on daily....well, at least for me!

                                                 Love & Light

Unit 4 Getting to Know Loving-Kindness

Recently I have been feeling ill and all around fatigued.  Some would describe it as "down in the dumps." This exercise couldn't have come at a better time for me personally. I do not believe in coincidences.  I believe that everything that is experienced is at a specific time in my life to help me understand the path I need to be traveling.

This week I was to practice the art of loving-kindness. Loving-kindness brings about a peace in the mind, body and spirit.  I have been doing it for the past 4 days and feel it is getting easier to do.  I say it has become easier because my attention only lasted 8 minutes the first day.  Now, on my fourth day I was able to expand my intention and attention for the complete 17 minutes.  I noticed when I take a deep breath in my arms and back feel heavy.  I have been sitting on a pillow with my legs crossed and eyes closed.

I plan to do everything I can to get others to participate in their own spiritual well-being starting with the exercise.  If every human participated there would be a decrease in fear, anxiety, animosity, and hatred.  Leaving only room for understanding, confidence, love, kindness, and peace.

The concept of a "mental workout" is practicing and exercising the mind and training the brain to react with more compassion and understanding. Just as a top level athlete needs to exercise daily, psychological and spiritual well-being and loving-kindness need to be exercised daily.  It is true about nearly everything you wish to pursue...you do not become a world renowned chef for cooking once in a while.  A craft is cultivated with daily use, inspiration and the confidence to put into motion.

The research of "mental workout" has shown that those who actively participate by integrating practices that improve psychological and spiritual development have increased cognitive activity.  Also, they harbor feelings of love, respect, gratitude, and all over peace.

I want all of my readers to set aside 10-15 minutes a day.  This time can be any time that you find for yourself.  The morning is recommended because your brain has not yet been bombarded by what the day will bring yet.  Before bed is always a great time to begin coming down from the experiences your day has brought.  This will ease your mind into relaxation and improve sleep for you. Practice meditating and loving-kindness and things will fall into place in other ways.  I am a firm believer that the universe will give back what you give to it.

Copy and paste this URL into your browser and practice!

file://localhost/Users/Stevi/Downloads/Loving%20Kindness%20Practice.mp3

Love & Light