Unit 10: Lasting Impressions

1.      In Unit 3 I rated myself as a level 8 in all areas of development. Reflecting on the progress that I have made, I would still rate my physical area as an 8 mainly because I have not been able to progress as fast as I would have hoped. I can see the benefits beginning to work, but it is an ongoing process. I know that part of this is due to me taking on a second job that will allow me to utilize my degree. I need to adjust to my new schedule and manage my time to add in more exercises. Spiritually I now rate myself an 8.5. I am growing and developing as I practice meditation and relaxation exercises. I will continue to improve as I learn. Psychologically I am at an 8.5 as well. I feel much better about myself. My self-esteem is beginning to rise. The more that I practice the exercises we have learned, the more confidence that I am building.

2.      In reviewing the goals and activities from Unit 3 I am making some progress in these areas. The more that I work toward them and believe that I am making progress, the more I accomplish. I know that once I reach these goals I will have to continue to condition myself to maintain and exceed.

3.      I have implemented several of the activities that I chose for my well-being in each of the areas. I practice several of the meditation and relaxation exercises from this unit on a daily and weekly basis. I have added a little yoga into my routine along with more time outside as the weather is improving.

4.      I feel more knowledgeable about integral health and wellness upon completion of this course. This has been an eye-opening class for me personally. I have grown personally, professionally, physically, spiritually, and psychologically. As a person, I am much more conditioned in every area that I wanted to be. Everything about this journey has been rewarding. The research has backed up several claims regarding the benefits of integral health. In following these practices myself, I am also beginning to see the results as well. What has been difficult is to find the time to put everything into a plan. I do my best and know that one day, with persistence and belief, I will overcome this obstacle. I will use this experience as a testament to the benefits of integral health. I will implement many of the activities learned to help others foster their health and wellness. I have gained resources that I can share with others who are considering this path as well. Overall, I am completely satisfied with everything that the integral path to health and wellness has to offer us all.

Unit 9: Personal Application

Personal Application

I.                   Introduction

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. Practitioners must be transformative, comprehensive, and able to evolve as medicine grows. They must change themselves if they are changing the medicine they are practicing to be closer to the soul of healing and to develop themselves into talented and rich healers. They are the key to evolution and fulfillment as they are agents of a more expansive health. Practitioners have to be willing to explore aspects of their own inner life to discover the profound possibilities of integral health and healing. In doing so they gain the confidence to teach others and create a better world (Dacher, 2006).

I personally need to develop in all areas to reach goals that I have for myself. Since all areas are interconnected, any exercises and studying that I am involved in will help to educate me and allow me to grow and develop. My consciousness needs to be thoroughly conditioned and trained so that I may flourish in health and wellness.

II.                Assessment

I have assessed my health in each domain through personal integral assessments. There are different needs throughout life. As we reach these goals, we may move on to the next. I am average in fitness and nutrition but know that my mind needs further developing psychologically and spiritually to be able to excel in all domains. All lines of development take me toward my goal evolving from body to mind to spirit. Spiritually, through meditation practices, I have become much stronger and know that to continue to flourish; I will need to continue to condition myself in this area. Physically I am strong and healthy but there are aspects in this domain that need working on. I would like to be stronger and gain endurance and flexibility. I can obtain this with some relaxation and meditation exercises such as yoga and Tai Chi. Psychologically I have grown so much through this class. Stress no longer takes control of my mind. I can continue to utilize the practices I have learned and research new exercises to continue to build on my strengths. Creating an integral practice program for myself, and continuously transforming my daily routines and interactions into my integral practice will allow me to practice all of the time (Dacher, 2006).

III.             Goal Development

Physically I have the goals of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Psychologically I have the goal of increasing my self-esteem so that I unconditionally love myself. I need to love myself in order to love others. Spiritually I have the goal of obtaining a unity consciousness.

IV.             Practices for Personal Health

To foster growth in each domain, I will implement practices and exercises into my daily routine. Physically I will add mind/body approaches such as yoga and Tai Chi. I will add strength training more often throughout the week and will add more organic foods to my diet. Changing my individual mindset through meditation techniques, I can visualize the increase in strength, flexibility, and endurance. My mind can help me achieve this physical goal such as the Olympians train themselves (Dacher, 2006).

Psychologically I will practice the loving-kindness exercise several times a week. I can also add the mini-practice of universal loving-kindness a few times a week as I develop and expand my mind and heart. I will be able to transform my feelings of anger to a universal loving-kindness (Dacher, 2006).

Spiritually I will practice the subtle mind exercise daily. In doing so, I can progress through the levels of the subtle mind to reach unity consciousness. This practice will stabilize and tame my mind to master all levels. Additionally, I will practice the meeting Asclepius visualization throughout the week. This will tap into my wise inner healer to guide me through the preparation and integral process (Dacher, 2006).

V.                Commitment

To assess my progress in the next six months, I will continue to do personal assessments and track my progress in a journal. I have also found a nearby healer to assist me through my journey. Other strategies I can use to assist in maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness is to continuously see this journey as my direction and manifest it as my intention. If I am open to hearing new information from my healer, I am able to absorb what is being taught. I can use the references listed in the reading to find classes, retreats, and schooling to further educate me throughout my process (Dacher, 2006).

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic

            Health Publications, Inc.

                                                                                           

Unit 8: Optimal Well-Being

In this class so far, we have been exposed to several new exercises and practices. This week we were asked to choose 2 practices that we have determined to be most beneficial. In my opinion from the experience of my practices, all of the exercises have beneficial components. All serve a meaningful purpose, but I found loving-kindness to be one of my favorites. We can stabilize our minds by embracing others and loosening the grip on self-centeredness. The other exercise I feel to be most beneficial is the subtle mind. We can tame and train our minds to develop a witnessing consciousness, progress to calm-abiding, and naturally evolve to unity consciousness (Dacher, 2006). To foster mental fitness I have been applying these exercises several times a week. I began these as short intervals a few times a day and have progressed to longer and more meaningful sessions every day. I feel that my stress levels have been minimal and I have a completely different outlook on the world in general. I would recommend these exercises to anyone following the path toward integral health.

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 7: Current Trends and Research Supporting the Mind-Body-Spirit Paradigm

1.      MEETING ASCLEPIUS

The wise healer within each of us that guides us through the integral process is who the ancient Greeks called Asclepius. This week we were asked to complete the meeting Asclepius visualization. It provided access to our inner healer that is at the source of our being. This practice entailed picturing a wise person and transforming ourselves into that person. Beams of light radiating from their mind, speech, and heart transferred to us and consumed our being. Our inner essence heals our body, mind, and spirit, and is always available to support and guide us toward integral health (Dacher, 2006). I actually felt calm and wiser after this exercise. During the week I have done all of the practices that we have learned this far on various days of the week. I generally do one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. I break them up so that I make sure I do them each at least 5 times in a week. I also took a look at my inner being through another integral assessment. I wanted to make sure I was on the right path to start working on first. These exercises have fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual awareness. I am more at peace with myself and all situations. Stress no longer bothers me. I plan on working on these exercises daily to improve my inner being. I recently found a healer living 30 miles from me and I will be meeting with her very soon regarding mentoring me in my journey.

2.      “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).

Providers need to be educated about the integral model to be integrally informed in order to bring some awareness to each patient. Spiritual evolution must be worked on by providers to experience the representation of the model. The practitioner can be transformed to bring back the doctor-patient relationship in addition to empowerment to make sociocultural problem changes seen in medicine (Sclitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Health and wellness professionals need to be informed of the integral process in order to effectively mentor patients. I feel it is my obligation to my clients to develop my own health psychologically, physically, and spiritually to effectively help my clients. I feel a professional should practice what they preach and teach to be experienced and knowledgeable regarding care to others. To implement psychological and spiritual growth in my personal life, I will practice a path toward human flourishing. Integral assessments, exercises, studies, and assistance from fellow followers can assist me in implementing these things in my own life.

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path toward human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingston.  

Unit 6: Exercises for Mind-Body-Spirit Wellness and Healing

1.      Universal Loving-Kindness

We learned in previous weeks that loving-kindness involves empathy for others. We have the ability to take in others pain and suffering and breathe out to them health, happiness, and wellness. The concept of universal loving-kindness is similar, yet we take these feelings, our open-heartedness, sensitivity, generosity, and emotional intimacy and spread them into all of our relationships. Universal loving-kindness allows us to see one another, acknowledge and hear another, be present with another, and feel one with one another in regards to lovers, partners, friends, strangers, and enemies. To reach integral health, we must extend these capacities to all of humankind. The following universal loving-kindness exercise expands our hearts and minds, serves as an antidote for hatred and anger, and helps to shift our focus to a universal loving-kindness rather than personal love (Dacher, 2006).

Exercise

Closing your eyes for a few minutes, rest into the natural ease of the body and mind and repeat the following phrases over and over for 10 minutes: “May all individuals gain freedom from suffering. May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness. May I assist all individual in gaining freedom from suffering. May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness” (Dacher, p.93).

2.      Integral Assessment

With integral assessment, you place the focus on the four quadrant (psychospiritual, interpersonal, biological, and worldly) to identify the areas that you wish to work on. You identify any urgent areas of distress and create a plan for developing them (Dacher, 2006).

First Aspect of Integral Assessment

Resting into the ease and stillness of the body and mind, release mental activity until quiet. Then ask yourself which aspect of life is the source of difficulty and suffering. Focus on this area. What is the line of development that is most essential for you? What is your current level and what will you aim for? (Dacher, p.115).

Second Aspect of Integral Assessment

Returning to the stillness, shift the focus from healing to promoting integral development. What area is ready for growth and development? Is it the same that needs healing? What does the next area look like? (Dacher, p115).

3.      Reflection

What I discovered about myself is that I have a strong and eager base. I was torn between focusing on interpersonal and biological. The area that I chose to be a focus of growth and development is biological. I felt that I have a strong sense of universal loving-kindness as I try to instill feelings of love in all areas of my life. It makes life more meaningful to me. I can further develop these feelings through practicing the universal loving-kindness exercise. Biologically, I feel that most people could benefit from developing this area. I would like to increase my knowledge and awareness regarding nutrition, and progress my fitness into a deliberate program that encompasses endurance, agility, flexibility, and strength. To foster greater biological wellness, I can implement a nutrition and fitness plan. I can use meditation to develop my subtle mind into a unity consciousness. Yoga a few days a week will be beneficial to enhance all areas as well. I can create a program that is tailored to my nutritional and physical needs and abilities. The levels of self-regulation progress from homeostasis to subtle  mind/body practices to highly refined spiritual/mind/body abilities. Once we are progressively experiences, our awareness, now being enhanced, can serve as an informal and ongoing assessment that can be used throughout our life (Dacher, 2006).

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 5 Project: The Transformative Process

Unit 5: The Transformative Process

1.      This week’s practice was called “The Subtle Mind”. Focusing on breathing and creating a focal point to draw back to, allowed me to pull myself back to my breath whenever a random thought, feeling, or image came to mind. I was able to really see just how trained our minds have become to clinging on the flowing mental activity. It was difficult for me to clear my mind at first, but toward the end of the exercise my mind started to settle. This would be an exercise for me that I would have to use several times because my mind tends to be very active. I felt calm once I was able to reach stillness. Compared to the Loving-Kindness activity, I can see where both activities would need to be practiced throughout the week. I found loving-kindness to be very emotional at first, and the subtle mind was also difficult at first. The benefits between the two would leave a clear mind of unity consciousness and a compassion for all things.

2.      Spiritual wellness is connected to mental and physical wellness. An integral approach requires us to focus on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels of development to evolve the full potential of our biological life. Progressively evolving to higher levels of development takes us from body to mind to spirit. This shift brings us from the physical realm to the realm of the mental, which focuses on intention and interconnectedness, and then further progressing to the realm of spiritual awareness. This is a shift from outer to inner to innermost. Our bodies are sophisticated information systems that are interconnected. When we accept that we are more than just an anatomical system, our perspective changes and we are able to develop the capacity to control all areas of our being. Our trained mind can shape our biology. The body moves with the mind and our body is a manifestation of the spirit. We gain stability through development (Dacher, 2006). In my personal life, I plan on continuing with the increase of mental training. In doing so I am able to develop my inner being, control my mind, body, and spirit, and reach my goal of total wellness.

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 4: The Mind-Body-Spirit Pardigm

1.      Upon completion of the Loving Kindness practice, I was left a little confused with how I was feeling. This exercise began with focusing on someone I love and allowing the feelings to expand throughout my heart. Those feelings were to flow like a faucet of loving kindness being turned on. Those positive feelings were to then be focused on myself until I came at peace with my body and sensations, loosening any grip I had. When it came to the point of focusing on a loved one who was suffering, this is where I became emotional. My mother is suffering with congestive heart failure and for some reason this really touched me inside. My unconscious mind was telling myself to relax but my emotions took over and the tears just continued to flow throughout the exercise. Every person who I pictured standing there in front of me suffering created a deepened sadness within. I truly wanted to take in their pain, dissolve it in my heart, and give them health, happiness, and wholeness. Being that I was left confused as to whether this was an appropriate feeling to have after completing what was meant to be a peaceful exercise, I decided to give myself some time to unwind and I tried the exercise again. The second time around I was much more at peace. I could fully envision these people, taking in their pain, and breathing out to them everything good. In my mind, these people had their arms out to hug in the goodness I had to give to them and were left with glowing smiles. I feel that in completing this exercise twice a day for the first week as the exercise requests, I can exercise my mind and become more in control of my emotions. I am a very caring and loving person and this type of exercise will only further strengthen that gift allowing me to share all of the love that I have to give. I would recommend this exercise to others. It really allows a deeper focus on other people’s feelings and needs.

2.      The concept of a “mental workout” is similar to physical fitness for the mind. To evolve our psychospiritual life and access all capacities and resources, we need daily practice and exercise. Taking time to complete the mental exercises each day can show results in little time. Perseverance is a necessity to continue in the conditioning of our minds. The practices being used should be clearly understood and the contemplative practices are a progressive development of our expanded consciousness and healing. Undertaking in contemplative practices can allow us to find knowledge and capacities with a significance that extends throughout our whole being. This impacts our mind, body, and spirit resulting in a cross-training toward integral health. Research has indicated that mental training can transform our minds. It reduces disturbing emotions and enhances positive ones providing us with an enhanced resistance to mental distress, physical disease, enhanced healing, and the promotion of our well-being. Long-term mental changes offer us the opportunity to enter into a healthy relationship with our inner self. I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health by following the guide suggested by Dacher. Traditional instructions tell us that 5 to 15 minutes several times each day until comfort levels increase is best. He suggests taking part in these exercises in the early morning when our minds are more still (Dacher, 2006). Last week I stated I would be getting up a little earlier each day to implement more physical exercise in my day. I plan to start my day off with 5 minutes of “mental workouts” before the physical exercise. I will then do more meditation in the middle of the day as well as in the evening, increasing the duration every week.

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 3: The Mind-Body Connection

This week we were asked to reflect on our own personal level of wellness in the following areas; physically, psychologically, and spiritually using a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being optimal well-being. Physically I would rate myself at an 8 because I am generally healthy but I know there are habits that I could change that would increase my level of physical wellness. Psychologically I would rate myself at an 8 because I am very strong-minded. I generally have a positive outlook on everything that comes my way. There are times when I begin to feel down but I tell myself that things could be worse and that everything happens for a reason, therefore it is better to deal with what comes and turn it into something positive and productive. Spiritually I would rate myself at an 8 as well. I have taken steps over the past few years to try and get in touch with my spiritual side. I enjoy nature and the simplicities in life. The numbers are so close which shows me that they are very closely related.

I can think of several goals on the physical level that I would like to achieve. I would like to increase my strength and flexibility, be able to run a mile without my knee hurting, and to incorporate more exercise into my life routine to 6 days a week instead of 3 so that I can feel better and reach a healthier physical level. On the spiritual level I would like to dig deeper inside to get more in tune with myself. I am always worrying about everyone else that I tend to get lost in what I am really wanting and feeling. I still want to embrace others, but to be able to sit and tune into my own mind when I choose to would be a fantastic accomplishment. Psychologically I would like to feed on my positive outlook and increase my self-esteem.

Having faith can motivate us to take our energy and re-channel it to an evolutionary and holistic approach. Loving-kindness can open our hearts and ensure the cooperation and help of others. Minimizing outer experiences that are disturbing can lessen stress and open space for development. Striving to have an oasis of solitude and silence every day will enhance the process (Dacher, 2006). To reach my physical goals I can increase my yoga exercises from once a week to twice a week. This can increase my strength and flexibility which will probably allow my knee to be able to handle more activity. To be able to increase the days of the week I engage in physical activity I can begin by waking up a few minutes earlier every day and then increase this time every week until I have a new schedule built that is comfortable and routine. To reach my spiritual goals I will spend more time outside with my family taking pictures and appreciating all of the beauty that life has to offer. To reach my psychological goals I will engage in more meditation and relaxation exercises. I can strive to do this every day so that I am able to have that quietness to block out stressors and get in touch with my inner being.

The relaxation exercise this week used a form of rainbow meditation. This required using my imagination to imagine my body as a prism and when a beam of light shines through it, seven colors beamed from different parts of my body. The process guided through relaxation, breathing, and introducing each beam of light in a different color of the rainbow. Each color meant something different. After all the colors showed, the colors were brought together to surround me in a beam of white light. Bringing myself back, I was surprised to feel awake and energized. This exercise really allowed me to focus on each part as the exercise went through. I did feel very relaxed throughout the process and could envision the vividly bright colors. When the exercise concluded I was able to feel energized and ready to complete the tasks that needed to be done. I think it was very beneficial and could have positive results if used on a regular basis.

“A bucket is not filled with water by the first or last drop. It is filled by the collection of a very large number of drops” (Dacher, p58).

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 2: Transpersonal Psychology

This week we were asked to reflect on our experience with the journey to relaxation exercise. This was an interesting meditation exercise where we were able to train our blood flow from the abdominal area to our shoulders, arms, and hands. In this exercise the speaker said that when relaxing, to think about our muscles in comparison to a dry sponge. As we direct the blood flow to them, just as a dry sponge, the blood flow to them will make them wet and relaxed. It was interesting to me that my arms and hands actually felt warm and heavy. It was extremely difficult to lift my arms during this exercise. Once I redirected the blood flow back to my core, my muscles started feeling cooler and lighter. We have the ability to redirect the flow of blood to any part of the body. The power of suggestion can be used to control our bodies. Reflecting on this exercise ties into the reading this week regarding training our minds. The motor cortex controls muscle function. I was able to use this portion of my brain to control my muscles and guide them into a relaxed state. Training programs such as this exercise can help us reach robust health. When properly trained, these changes in our minds can become permanent, leading us into human flourishing (Dacher, 2006).

References:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing, Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 1: Introduction to Human Wellness: Psychological, Spiritual, and Physical

Greetings! My name is Cindy Allen and this is a blog created for my class HW420: Creating Wellness. To create better health for ourselves and our world, we need to reach toward human flourishing. Achieving integral health, authentic happiness, and genuine wholeness will help to bring us toward the highest and best that is possible (Dacher, 2006). I am a firm believer that the key to health and wellness can be found within each and every one of us. I look forward to the coming weeks in this class and also sharing in this extraordinary learning process with my peers.



Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.