Unit 9 Final Project

            Professionals in the health and wellness should build a strong foundation in their psychological, spiritual, and physical development. These domains are pivotal for individuals to develop toward optimal health and flourishing. Once a professional has developed the foundation for their own personal path of human flourishing, they are then able to share personal experiences, positivity, and loving kindness. I feel I need to develop in each domain equally. I say this due to the fact that I am constantly moving forward then taking a few steps back due to situations that arise. I am obviously not as developed in each domain as I should be. I am not admitting that I am not developed in any of those areas but in order for me to achieve my goals, as well as those outlined by the Integral Vow, I have some developing left to do (Dacher, 2006). I understand development in these areas is an ongoing process. I just feel as though I have only scratched the surface and look forward to my journey ahead.

            I have always assessed my health in the short – term, trying the next best thing, healing only the immediate suffering, while not concerning myself with the long – term healing. I consider this type of healing “surface healing”, thus never getting down to the root of the issue; masking the issue with a drug or excuses, making it feel better only in the short – term. However, this year was the year that I discover more about myself, developing the inner me and focusing on each domain: spiritual, psychological, and physical. I now have more resources, energy, and focus than in the past. Now, I can assess my health in a more informed way. That being said, I would rate my wellness in spirituality about a 4. I was not raised in a religious home and so I feel a little broken regarding spirituality. I do, however, want to learn more about spirituality and take a stronger, more educated approach to the world of spirituality; this will unfold over time. Regarding my physical wellness, I think I could honestly say it’s a 7 rating. I’ve never really had to work out for weight reasons but as I age, I realize how important it is for our mental well – being. It also helps me stay on track with my nutrition, which is such an important aspect in our healing and well – being and is also something that is misunderstood in our society. As I have become more aware of my nutrition and nutrition’s vital role in my well – being, I have been able to say that I am a physically active individual. Psychologically speaking, I would rate myself a 7. Stress management is something I need to spend a little more time on repairing and correcting. I also need to incorporate more meditation throughout my day and learn to not make other people’s problems my own. Overall, I am feeling much better than this time last year and know my scores will only increase as my education and interests grow.

            My goal for my spirituality would be to simply learn more about it. I feel I have a very vague understanding of spirituality to fully incorporate it into my journey. Regarding a physical goal, I would just hope to maintain my current cycling routine, adding more mileage, and hopefully getting into a riding group or ride in my first criterium (bike race). I enjoy many different types of physical activity and can guarantee I will be able to incorporate them with the cycling as time progresses. To support my psychological well - being, incorporating more meditation is the goal. However, I do not enjoy the techniques of listen to music and focusing on my breath. I like moving meditation, such as Yoga, and will implement this into my routine. I typically do a few minutes a day of deep breathing meditation which does help especially if I have a rather stressful situation at hand. I also would like to keep myself active with different groups of people. I feel this is beneficial for my mental chatter, as I can get it out there to others. Having different circle of friends is definitely key in maintaining a healthy mind.

            A psychological strategy I could implement into my routine would be the Universal Loving Kindness Practice (Dacher, 2006). This would benefit me by allowing me to always think of others, especially when someone is not behaving in a fashion I deem appropriate. This mini - practice on page 93 of the Dacher text, states:

May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.

Mall all individuals find sustained healthy, happiness, and wholeness.

May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.

May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.

I feel I could benefit by using this as an “in the moment” practice but also in the evenings before bed. I constantly think of people, how they may have affected my day, or how I may have affected theirs; by doing the min – practice I think it would help me be less concerned, sleeping more peacefully. As stated previously, I think that keeping different types of people is really good for my psychological well – being. I am always very interested in many things at one time and more often than not, I feel lost in current events, obtaining certain information, or just a lack of time to really sit down and understand it. I’ve come to realize that keeping close to others, satisfies the interests I have but also give me opportunity to share what’s on my mind rather than constantly being in mind and dealing with school or work. It’s healthy to have healthy relationships.

            My physical goals are to increase my speed, time and distance in my cycling. With these in mind, I intend to continue my current routine, 3 times per week but increasing some element each month. I track my rides on an app and can make comparisons to each ride determining where my challenges are. Thus, I will be able to pinpoint what it is that needs to be corrected. Beyond that I will be able to implement a training routine in order to ride in my first criterium. I would like to incorporate at least a 1 hour Yoga session a week. Not only is it great for strength and flexibility, but also for the mind and spirit. It’s a great way to burn extra calories, tone the muscles, and relax the mind.

            My spiritual practice is not very intricate. I just want to learn a little at a time about the different types of spirituality and determine what would be a good fit for me. I don’t really know where to get started regarding learning more about it but from time to time I do find a good article to ready and have found a few things in my area to practice different types. It’s getting out there and trying it for myself.

            As my commitment to my assessment of progress (not lack, because I won’t lack in progress), I will start a monthly routine. This way, on the same day of the month I can sit down and look at these goals and make sure I am maintain and meeting them. In do so, I will utilize the Integral Assessment in the Dacher text as a guide. Once I have reached those goals, I will reassess and add new goals. Of course, done over time and making sure they are realistic. The book, Integral Health by Dacher, will be utilized on a regular basis. I am hoping to reread the book when this term has ended but before the next term. I just want to be sure I have a full understanding and a good grasp of the information.

Unit 8

These practices have definitely proved to be somewhat difficult to implement into my life. I just don't feel there is enough time in a day to incorporate everything I need to do. However, I do need to find a balance. In order to create balance, I know these practices need to be incorporated.

I found the Subtle Mind practice to be the most beneficial. Learning to quiet the mind, focus on my breathing, and allow myself to acknowledge each though entered my mind will be very helpful in my daily life. I feel that many times I am out of balance in a day, then the week. Allowing myself to create this time to sit and focus on my breathing will truly be a way for to bring balance into my life. I can't say today that this will happen each and everyday. But as time goes on, I think it will be easier to incorporate on a more regular basis, with hopes of it becoming a daily practice. The goal for this practice would be to generate a more quiet mind that allows me to reflect and balance my life.

I like the idea behind Loving - Kindness. I did not like the practices though. I do sit and ponder loving - kindness. I like that when I realize someone is not acting a certain way (like I want them to), all I say is "Loving Kindness" with a hand gesture that implies I have now bestowed loving kindness on them. I am sure this seems a little unconventional, however, it really brings me back to the present, allowing me to know that I cannot help the way they are behaving and putting me at peace. It also makes me laugh to myself, putting a smile on my face.

Enjoy.

Melanie Davis

Meeting Aesclepius

I don't think I met Aesclepius in this practice. I am truly having difficulty with meditation. I have a very active mind but when I try to "picture" someone it is difficult. I can't really even imagine a person. I see my father, to whom I value and respect. But the image fades when I have to imagine this "light" emanating from them. This type of meditation is not for me. I enjoy the practices when I have to focus on my breathing. That is not something that I have to imagine or picture. It comes naturally. I think I will practice more with that and then move to these types.

Mindfulness has definitely been easy to foster in my life than meditation itself. I am aware of me more than I used to be. When struggling with issues at work, which seem to happen more frequently, I can quickly assess my behavior and thought, easily correcting them. I am definitely able to redirect my thoughts to focus on more positivity about my work by asking what I can do today to serve others. I get so busy sometimes that I allow myself to get up and walk around, clearing my mind and returning back to work more refreshed. The rest of the day goes by a little easier and sometimes, a little more fun.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself", this should be posted everywhere! I truly believe in this. I feel guilty when I am not able to testify to something that I have given advice on. During these weeks for this class, I am starting to understand how "green" I am in this field. I am so conscious of my efforts and the changes I have made over the year that when I falter, I tend to judge myself and entering this field. However, I am more mindful of my actions and can only correct them. I want to share with others my journey, struggles and my overcoming the odds so that they can make some changes in their lives. But I have to be able to say "I did do that" to show to them it can be done. Sometimes these individuals have tried on their own to make changes and have failed. If a professional in the same field constantly failed to make these changes, the client will certainly be able to recognize that. Ultimately, one cannot live to serve others in that capacity without having been there before.

I really need to make these changes in my life for me. However, I need to make them today, not keep waiting for it to happen. We have to be the change that we want to see in the world. No matter how hard this may be, I am not where I should be at this point my life with my psychological and spiritual growth. At least I am mindful about this and can only take things one day at a time, incorporating something new each day, each week, each month, and so forth. But where do I start? That's rhetorical but please feel free to advise.

Enjoy,

Melanie Davis

Unit 6 Blog

The universal Loving Kindness meditation practice is definitely something that enjoyed! Of course it was difficult considering I didn’t have the lines memorized but I think over time that will come. I liked it because it’s a way to really consider others, friends, family member, coworkers, enemies etc., and really focus on sending them positive energy. I think this is very important for our self-discovery. If you can wish health, happiness and wholeness to others, why not yourself?

The assessment was easy for me. I’ve been working on something similar to this since April. So it came rather easily. I know where I struggle and it is a little in each line of development. Overall, I would have to say that Biological Flourishing is something that is most important to me and my development, at this time. Because I have Fibromyalgia, each of those areas are very important to managing my pain and flare ups. Any time I fall short in either nutrition or self-regulation, it sends immediate signals to my body, enduring the pain again. Self-regulation is very, very important to my pain management. If I have a stressful day or endure days of prolonged stress, I will then have a flare up. Being able to sit, quieting my mind and body, bringing back homeostasis to my mind/body is about the best treatment possible. I have recently ended a relationship due to the stress and unbalance it was bringing. I am the other person has no idea about this but I try to explain to no avail but I have to move forward and know I did myself a favor. Because of the nutrition and self-regulation, it has allowed me to incorporate fitness. I have lost roughly 20 pounds in a few months making it easier for me to do many things. I also realize that I have limited myself over that past 5+ years. I can do so much more without the side-affects a.k.a. pain. So this year has been great and next year I will focus on another line of development.

As far as exercises, I need to incorporate more Yoga and meditation into my life. Many times it’s the last thing I think of before going to sleep. Then I think what I could have done the day before to assist me in making that happen. So I try but I also try to keep those thoughts at bay because if I am stressed about not doing something then that spirals into a madness that can undo all I have done. So it’s definitely been a battle. I do however walk with my dog each morning and evening and have started incorporating cycling into my fitness regimen. It will all come full circle soon allowing me the time and energy to do what I have set out to do. 

Enjoy, 

Melanie Davis

Subtle Mind Practice

This week's practice, the subtle mind, was very nice and relaxing. I don't sit and try to quiet my mind often so this was very much needed. I drank a cup of tea, with raw honey to help relax me before doing this practice. I think that really helped. I have been fighting a cold all week so I thought it would be difficult to sit still and focus on my breathing since breathing has proven a difficult task in the past few days. However, this was all just "in my head". I had no problem sitting still, witnessing my thoughts, and clearing my mind. This practice was so much more enjoyable than the loving kindness technique from last week. I liked not having to think about anything, just relax and witness my thoughts and focus on my breath. I think of others often and realized how much those thoughts did come into my mind. I would practice this one more often then try to practice the loving kindness again.
At first it was a little difficult to just wait and see what was to come next. I finally let that go and was able to really focus my breathing and move away from the thoughts. The unity consciousness part was rather strange at first because I pictured my brain floating above me. Luckily, I focused on my breath and was able to just experience...nothing.
I can see this being very beneficial in wellness because if this becomes a true practice in someone's life it will eventually bleed into other parts of their life thus creating a sense of inner peace at most any time of the day. Having a clearer mind, a less muddled one for that matter, will help someone on many levels and create that inner peace that is so desperately needed. So many times one event in a day can wreck havoc on other areas of a person's life. Just being able to sit and not focus on those situations but rather acknowledge them and move on can be so beneficial. I highly recommend this practice.

Enjoy,

Melanie Davis

Loving Kindness and Mental Workouts

Unfortunately, the practice was difficult. I did manage to make it through to the end! It proved to be a challenge within me. The practice, maybe it was the speaker, seemed fake, not "into it". During the practice, I found it a challenge to really focus on the words and focus on what I was prompted to do next. My mind racing for that one person whom I care for so deeply; is it because I don't care about anyone or because I care too much about everyone? When asked to think about a family member or friend suffering, that was the easiest as I have a very sick brother - in - law. I had no problem taking away his suffering and breathing him "health and wholeness". I also had little difficulty in embracing a group of strangers and taking their suffering, wishing them "health and wholeness". I was relieved to be at the end of practice, annoyed with the speaker and the sound of the ocean. I was proud of myself though, struggling as I may have, to the end. What was truly amazing, from my struggle of this practice, I was able to go about most of the rest of my day, more relaxed and open to a new way of thinking. My mind more clear, even optimistic. I felt a sense of release, inner peace, even relaxed for a Monday, all the while struggling to make sense of a stressful situation in my present life. Overall, the practice was worth the 15 minute struggle! I would recommend this practice to others because of the end result which proved to be the most valuable of all: relaxation and peace within. I have read through some others posts this week; it was amazing to read the various ways in which we were affected. Some enjoyed it, others not so much. Hopefully, we all walked away with knowing something different about ourselves.

The mind is limitless in its development; what we need to do is work on its development. Consistent mental practices, meditation, prayer, contemplative practice, even positive affirmations, are critical for our mental workouts. It expands the mind to limits. Once we have mastered one of these workouts, we can then expand to something deeper, more meaningful. Dr. Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin, studied the brain activity of positive and negative emotions. He determined that we are born with a predetermined set of "brain activity". What his study shows is that training program can help inner development, enhancing our short - and long - term level of emotional and physical well-being. Implementing a mental training program will prove to be a challenge, at first, to many. In comparison to the results of a training program, it will certainly outweigh the start of a program. As long as we are challenging the brain and working toward new brain activity, the result of inner development will progress.

Enjoy.

Melanie Davis