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.