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.