Hi Everyone,
Below is my final project and my final thoughts on the material summarized into a blog. Enjoy!
I. Introduction:
It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically in order to be the best provider of holistic medicine. Without developing in these ways, professionals lose credibility and the ability to understand their clients. How can someone explain what winning a gold medal feels like, especially after years and years of training and goal setting, if one hasn't ever had to train and achieve this level of completion? Also, in order to be able to support a patient/client, the professional would need to recognize and understand the pitfalls (or valleys) while training. By not having empathy, the professional risks losing the client's progress up to that point! For example, a non-smoker is not a great support to a person trying to quit smoking simply because they don't understand the cravings and mind-altering affects of nicotine withdraw. Last, but most importantly, professionals need to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically in order to keep the progression of holistic medicine moving. The Western world has already experienced what modern medicine looks like when the mind and spirit are lacking in the treatment process. Therefore, professionals who incorporate their development into their practice will be the forefront of future medicine.
For myself, I need to focus on developing my spirituality. This is the one area that has taken the biggest dip in my overall health over the years. By finding ways to re-connect to my spiritual side, I believe I will be a lot more balanced in my overall being. Physically and psychologically, I feel like I am tackling these each day. Running has helped my body and even my mind and spirit. I am watching what I eat and carefully watching the effects it has on my mood and body. Healthy food makes me not only feel better, but I also like the positivity that comes from the nutrients. Fast food and sugar foods have definitely proven to dampen my mood and affect my running. These are reasons enough for me to stay on a better diet. Psychologically, I am practicing clearing my mind and clearing out all the judgments, arguments, assumptions, etc. that fog up my clear mind and make for a rougher day.
II. Assessment
I have assessed my health in each domain, physical, psychological, and spiritual and have realized that although I was higher in two categories, spirituality was the domain in which I lacked. With spirituality, I am having a harder time with the loving kindness portion and feeling like I have a connection to my inner wisdom. I must say that I do feel like this is developing more so as I get older, but I believe a lot of it has to do with not taking the time to practice my mental exercises each day, such as yoga, visualization, meditation, etc. According to our text, I am being motivated through "instinctual, reactive, and ego-centered" feelings and thoughts (Dacher, 2006). Where I need to set my goals is developing the spiritual side and finding my inner wisdom and peacefulness. This will not only help me in a spiritual way, but also in a psychological way and also improve my health biologically.
As for physical, I am doing very well in choosing healthy food over grabbing whatever I believe I want. There are definitely ways to make healthy food tasty and exciting, and I love the overall feeling afterwards. When grabbing junk, not only is my blood sugar spiked from the sugars, but I also feel the heaviness and believe it turns into unwanted pounds. This makes for a depressed spirit as well. However, when I choose healthy foods, not only does my body suddenly feel refreshed, but I am happy knowing that I won't be needing to run extra long to burn off the useless calories and I am proud in knowing I had control and did something good for myself. I do believe I could take the food portion of the physical to a whole new level. For instance, I can choose where I will buy my food from and support my ethics when it comes to whom I support and what I believe in. Beyond food and fitness, which I have been really working on for a few years and I feel like I am only getting better at it for myself, I am also very heavily into preventive health care. I not only get regular check ups and monitor my different numbers, but I also request extra tests, research how and what I can do to remain as healthy as possible, and find ways to integrate even healthier lifestyle choices into my daily life.
Psychologically, I feel like this domain is one of the hardest to work on since I am not at the level where I can let the outside world not invade the inside mind. I am getting much better at this and especially since using the mind exercises provided I am learning how to clear my mind more so than ever. However, I feel like the spiritual part definitely impacts my psychological (although I understand mind, body, and spirit are connected). At this point the physical is what is keeping my psychological and spiritual as developed as they are. However, this also causes an unbalance and can throw off my physical side as well. I have much more development to obtain in my psychological domain, and I think I am on a good track with the mental exercises.
III. Goal Development
Physical - My goal is to be more active and not only see weight loss but also keep a healthy body.
Spiritual - My goal is to find a sense of spirituality and find a way to bring a sense of empowerment to my life.
Psychological - My goal is to have better focus, clearer thinking, and continue learning.
IV. Practices for personal health
Physical - I am going to do more cross training in my exercising. Not only will I be experiencing new exercises and helping my body, but I will also be reaping the effects of trying something new (keeping my mind young and healthy), and meeting new people (a plus for the spiritual side).
Spiritual - I am going to start researching different customs and traditions of many different spiritual practices and choosing which ones I value and bring me a sense of happiness. I am also going to make more time for my friends and family.
Psychological - I am going to practice clearing my mind, visualizing, and meditating, in order to have a more peaceful and clearer mind. I am also going to be taking yoga as well, as this will help with each area. I am continuing my education as well, which will help my mind in growing.
V. Commitment
In six month, I will look at my goals and my progress to see how far I have come (or lacked). In certain ways, I will be able to see this more clearly. For example, physically my weight will be less and I will see a toner body. Also, my health screenings will show healthy results and I will have confirmation that my progress is working. Spiritually, I will feel a sense of a higher power perhaps, and I will be able to feel as if I am thinking and acting form a place of loving kindness instead of instinctual. Psychologically, I will know I am making progress by feeling a lot lighter and I will find myself not stressing out as badly because I will have made progress through meditation and yoga.
I will be using a variety of strategies to keep me moving forward. One is to have goals, short and long term, that will be met along my journey. Second, I am going to keep my text on my desk and review a few chapters at a time to remind myself why I am doing this. Third, I will have motivational sticky notes hanging on my bathroom mirror and fridge. And last, because there is no negative recourse to pursuing this journey, but there is a negative consequence to stopping. That in itself is a great motivator!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Unit 8 -- Picking 2 mental exercises
Hi Everyone,
The 2 mental exercises I would choose to keep in my daily regimen are 1) Meeting Aesclepius and 2) The Subtle Mind Practice. The reason I like these is because I appreciate the practice in clearing the mind and learning how to keep a quiet mind for longer periods of time. And, I also like the idea of sitting across from a person that I admire and being inspired by their traits. I enjoy knowing that we are all alike, therefore, what we envy in others, we have in ourselves.
I have found that when I wake up late at night and I am thinking about everything that needs to be done the next day, I instantly practice the Subtle Mind exercise. A lot of times, I find that the silence in the night only helps those chaotic thoughts become bigger and more overwhelming. I believe this is due to not having any distractions to help ease the mind. So, Subtle Mind helps me keep those thoughts to a minimum, while I practice focusing on the peaceful part of my spirit.
I have also found that when life gets tough, I look towards the people who seem to have it all figured out and are happy all the time, and wonder how they do it. By practicing that they are across from me, sharing their words and their love, I can almost feel the unity in all of us and I find myself taking on how I believe they see the world. This helps me not only cope, but also to remain hopeful that there will come a time when I will just see the problems of the world in a peaceful manner, instead of being tormented by them.
I sincerely appreciated the exercise in the book this week. As my DB said, I pictures three very happy times in my life and I am finding that when I think about them, I am recalling my happiness, lightness, and health. These are great qualities to not only focus on, but to also practice feeling all the time. Why should we wait for moments to be happy when we can train ourselves to be mostly happy? Does this mean we will look for moments of sadness then? HA! Can one ever be too happy? (Some do seem to have this annoying quality, ha!).
I loved and appreciated every one of these exercises. Even though I was ill for at least 2 of them, I still learned from them. These are exercises that I will incorporate into my runs, my daily routine, and my sleepy nights. Only positivity can result from these exercises!
I loved this class and it came at the perfect time!
Have a great week everyone!
Good luck on your final projects next week!
The 2 mental exercises I would choose to keep in my daily regimen are 1) Meeting Aesclepius and 2) The Subtle Mind Practice. The reason I like these is because I appreciate the practice in clearing the mind and learning how to keep a quiet mind for longer periods of time. And, I also like the idea of sitting across from a person that I admire and being inspired by their traits. I enjoy knowing that we are all alike, therefore, what we envy in others, we have in ourselves.
I have found that when I wake up late at night and I am thinking about everything that needs to be done the next day, I instantly practice the Subtle Mind exercise. A lot of times, I find that the silence in the night only helps those chaotic thoughts become bigger and more overwhelming. I believe this is due to not having any distractions to help ease the mind. So, Subtle Mind helps me keep those thoughts to a minimum, while I practice focusing on the peaceful part of my spirit.
I have also found that when life gets tough, I look towards the people who seem to have it all figured out and are happy all the time, and wonder how they do it. By practicing that they are across from me, sharing their words and their love, I can almost feel the unity in all of us and I find myself taking on how I believe they see the world. This helps me not only cope, but also to remain hopeful that there will come a time when I will just see the problems of the world in a peaceful manner, instead of being tormented by them.
I sincerely appreciated the exercise in the book this week. As my DB said, I pictures three very happy times in my life and I am finding that when I think about them, I am recalling my happiness, lightness, and health. These are great qualities to not only focus on, but to also practice feeling all the time. Why should we wait for moments to be happy when we can train ourselves to be mostly happy? Does this mean we will look for moments of sadness then? HA! Can one ever be too happy? (Some do seem to have this annoying quality, ha!).
I loved and appreciated every one of these exercises. Even though I was ill for at least 2 of them, I still learned from them. These are exercises that I will incorporate into my runs, my daily routine, and my sleepy nights. Only positivity can result from these exercises!
I loved this class and it came at the perfect time!
Have a great week everyone!
Good luck on your final projects next week!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Unit 7 -- Meeting Aesclepius
Hi Everyone,
This week's guided imagery brought up a lot of feelings and issues that I wasn't aware of (to this degree). When I pictured the person who I admire and respect and went through the exercises I found myself feeling somewhat reluctant and silly because I couldn't picture myself being that wise or relaxed. Although I know the person I chose has practiced for years (decades) and this is a result of all the practicing, I found it hard to believe I too could be like that. I think it came down to my ego stepping in the way. When I tried seeing the light go from their throat into mine and the light going from their heart into mine, I felt very vulnerable, like I wasn't worthy of this. My ego was flashing pictures of myself that were not conducive to the type of person I was seeing. For example, the person I admire doesn't drink. However, I enjoy having a drink with my close friends and I feel closer to my friends when we can have a few glasses of wine. I also kept thinking of things I have said, even in the past 24 hours, that were not what this wise person would engage in. For example, I was annoyed with my daughter's friend's mom, so I was telling another friend what happened and why I was so annoyed. I added a little more opinion than needed to be there. The person I honor would not have done this, or would have at least made it more productive.
So, with this new knowledge, I have a part of me that I have recognized as a potential obstacle. What comforts me is knowing that whatever this obstacle is, I will get past it if I keep up with my daily mental exercises. I don't believe there is really anything that can't be overcome with the use of mental exercises.
This week's guided imagery brought up a lot of feelings and issues that I wasn't aware of (to this degree). When I pictured the person who I admire and respect and went through the exercises I found myself feeling somewhat reluctant and silly because I couldn't picture myself being that wise or relaxed. Although I know the person I chose has practiced for years (decades) and this is a result of all the practicing, I found it hard to believe I too could be like that. I think it came down to my ego stepping in the way. When I tried seeing the light go from their throat into mine and the light going from their heart into mine, I felt very vulnerable, like I wasn't worthy of this. My ego was flashing pictures of myself that were not conducive to the type of person I was seeing. For example, the person I admire doesn't drink. However, I enjoy having a drink with my close friends and I feel closer to my friends when we can have a few glasses of wine. I also kept thinking of things I have said, even in the past 24 hours, that were not what this wise person would engage in. For example, I was annoyed with my daughter's friend's mom, so I was telling another friend what happened and why I was so annoyed. I added a little more opinion than needed to be there. The person I honor would not have done this, or would have at least made it more productive.
So, with this new knowledge, I have a part of me that I have recognized as a potential obstacle. What comforts me is knowing that whatever this obstacle is, I will get past it if I keep up with my daily mental exercises. I don't believe there is really anything that can't be overcome with the use of mental exercises.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Unit 6 -- Assessment
Hi Everyone,
Feeling *much* better! Hooray!
The assessment and exercise were very eye-opening for me this week. As I sat there speaking the phrases from the exercise, I felt myself opening up to the world and feeling like I had so much more to give than what I was currently giving. It was a pretty amazing feeling. I have to mention, though, my ego was going crazy with this realization. I kept having these thoughts of "Sure that all sounds well and good, but with what time would I be able to help anyone else out? I already have a big family to take care of. What time do I have left for that?". However, if my inner mind is saying I have the desire and ability than I believe I will make the time. Although I know this practice of universal loving kindness can simply be me meditating, something inside of me wanted to do something more. Perhaps this is revealing a path for me to pursue in life?
As for the assessment, I realized that my spiritual needs are the first and foremost concern. I have let a lot of things come into the peacefulness of my spiritual beliefs and it has left me tired and frustrated. So, for the first area to concentrate on, I am going to be looking into my spiritual self and finding ways (through meditation and mental exercises) to relate to a spiritual feeling again.
My family and I have been working on nutrition and fitness, so I feel like these areas are being pursued and are growing.
I would also like to continue finding ways to bring peacefulness to myself and those around me. It is time to open the windows, perhaps plant a few flowers, and get back out into nature now that winter is pretty much gone for the year. This not only sounds relaxing to my mind and body but to my spirit as well.
I enjoyed being able to focus in on areas that I feel need attention and finding out what that looks like and having ideas on how to fulfill it. I also enjoyed realizing my untapped potential in the area of helping people!
Have a great everyone! : )
Feeling *much* better! Hooray!
The assessment and exercise were very eye-opening for me this week. As I sat there speaking the phrases from the exercise, I felt myself opening up to the world and feeling like I had so much more to give than what I was currently giving. It was a pretty amazing feeling. I have to mention, though, my ego was going crazy with this realization. I kept having these thoughts of "Sure that all sounds well and good, but with what time would I be able to help anyone else out? I already have a big family to take care of. What time do I have left for that?". However, if my inner mind is saying I have the desire and ability than I believe I will make the time. Although I know this practice of universal loving kindness can simply be me meditating, something inside of me wanted to do something more. Perhaps this is revealing a path for me to pursue in life?
As for the assessment, I realized that my spiritual needs are the first and foremost concern. I have let a lot of things come into the peacefulness of my spiritual beliefs and it has left me tired and frustrated. So, for the first area to concentrate on, I am going to be looking into my spiritual self and finding ways (through meditation and mental exercises) to relate to a spiritual feeling again.
My family and I have been working on nutrition and fitness, so I feel like these areas are being pursued and are growing.
I would also like to continue finding ways to bring peacefulness to myself and those around me. It is time to open the windows, perhaps plant a few flowers, and get back out into nature now that winter is pretty much gone for the year. This not only sounds relaxing to my mind and body but to my spirit as well.
I enjoyed being able to focus in on areas that I feel need attention and finding out what that looks like and having ideas on how to fulfill it. I also enjoyed realizing my untapped potential in the area of helping people!
Have a great everyone! : )
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Unit 5 -- Subtle Mind Practice
Hi Everyone,
Although I am still not feeling 100%, I am feeling a lot better this week! Hooray! : )
I found this week's exercise to have been the hardest one for me yet. The reason this one seemed harder than last week's (minus feeling super sick), is because last week we were told to focus on specific things. Although my mind wandered a lot, I felt like I was still getting some of the relaxation benefits. When I had to focus on someone I loved, I was able to do that (especially when I imagined him bringing me chicken noodle soup!). When I had to focus on those who challenge me, I was able to do that, simply because I was already feeling fired up. However, this week, it was to focus on breath and basically let the mind relax. All I can say is 1) I definitely need to practice this every day and 2) I have already felt the differences within me!
So why do I need to practice this every day? Like a lot of other people, my mind is racing 24/7. I will even go as far as to say that even while I sleep my brain is scurrying from thought to thought. The reason I say this is because even my dreams revolve around grocery shopping, work, appointments, etc. What ever happened to those fun dreams where you can fly? Ha! Even though I make lists and have my Google calendar accessible wherever I go, I find myself reviewing all my obligations, my appointments, my lists, etc. Overlapping those thoughts are personal predictions on what those obligations are going to lead to (more obligations), listing out everything I need to remember to say and bring to the appointments, reviewing my lists for anything forgotten, etc. On top of that is thinking about the people involved in those activities and my past experiences with them, wondering what certain comments meant, what their body language was saying, etc. As I am going through these thoughts, then there are all the other thoughts going on in my head, reviewing my feelings, recalling things I heard on the news, thinking of family and friends, being nostalgic, etc. Of course I can't write out all my thoughts, and I realize this was quite a rant, but it just goes to show the layer upon layer of busy thoughts going through my head. What scares me is each of these thoughts, memories, predictions, analyzations, etc. have an emotional impact on me. Those emotions then signal to my body to respond in a defensive way. So, I could be driving along in my car, and although I am having a nice relaxing drive, my body and mind are twisted in agony from all the unending thoughts, various emotions, etc. It's exhausting just writing about it, let alone imagining how much deeper and what bigger impact this is having on my body and spirit!
With this exercise, I found it harder because of everything mentioned above. My spirit and body were more than happy to participate in this guided exercise, but my mind had a harder time. Last week I was told to focus on something, so my mind seemed at ease, but this week, to notice but not buy into the ongoing stream of thoughts was driving my mind crazy. There were times, when focusing on breath, were I felt the calmness and peace, and then suddenly I realized that along with feeling, my mind was trying to frantically attach images, memories, etc. to this feeling. It was actually quite humorous.
As I went into this exercise deeper (and even repeated it because I enjoyed feeling relaxed), my body loosened up. I wasn't noticing the lingering symptoms of my cold. It was like a mental vacation. Granted my focus was interrupted a lot, but I just followed the guide and brought my focus back to my breath.
I am going to practice this each day. My best friend is very much into meditation and she says the more you practice, the easier it gets. I would love to "act with intention" instead of reacting in life (Dacher, 2006).
I am thinking this might be a great listening to exercise to do as I run as well. Each day (when not sick), I go out and run in order to clear my head, grab some alone time, and work on keeping my body healthy. I find that after a certain point of running, my head just clears and I feel calm. Using this guidance, I am wondering how this will deepen my calm or change my process. Along with running, I hope to use this, with meditation, in order to practice quieting my mind and enriching my life experience.
I truly believe that since the mind, body, and spirit are connected, it is imperative to keep these balanced and as healthy as possible. As I am witnessing, once one becomes out of balance, there is a ripple effect throughout the whole body/mind/spirit. I am hoping to get them back in balance again!
Have a great week everyone! : )
Although I am still not feeling 100%, I am feeling a lot better this week! Hooray! : )
I found this week's exercise to have been the hardest one for me yet. The reason this one seemed harder than last week's (minus feeling super sick), is because last week we were told to focus on specific things. Although my mind wandered a lot, I felt like I was still getting some of the relaxation benefits. When I had to focus on someone I loved, I was able to do that (especially when I imagined him bringing me chicken noodle soup!). When I had to focus on those who challenge me, I was able to do that, simply because I was already feeling fired up. However, this week, it was to focus on breath and basically let the mind relax. All I can say is 1) I definitely need to practice this every day and 2) I have already felt the differences within me!
So why do I need to practice this every day? Like a lot of other people, my mind is racing 24/7. I will even go as far as to say that even while I sleep my brain is scurrying from thought to thought. The reason I say this is because even my dreams revolve around grocery shopping, work, appointments, etc. What ever happened to those fun dreams where you can fly? Ha! Even though I make lists and have my Google calendar accessible wherever I go, I find myself reviewing all my obligations, my appointments, my lists, etc. Overlapping those thoughts are personal predictions on what those obligations are going to lead to (more obligations), listing out everything I need to remember to say and bring to the appointments, reviewing my lists for anything forgotten, etc. On top of that is thinking about the people involved in those activities and my past experiences with them, wondering what certain comments meant, what their body language was saying, etc. As I am going through these thoughts, then there are all the other thoughts going on in my head, reviewing my feelings, recalling things I heard on the news, thinking of family and friends, being nostalgic, etc. Of course I can't write out all my thoughts, and I realize this was quite a rant, but it just goes to show the layer upon layer of busy thoughts going through my head. What scares me is each of these thoughts, memories, predictions, analyzations, etc. have an emotional impact on me. Those emotions then signal to my body to respond in a defensive way. So, I could be driving along in my car, and although I am having a nice relaxing drive, my body and mind are twisted in agony from all the unending thoughts, various emotions, etc. It's exhausting just writing about it, let alone imagining how much deeper and what bigger impact this is having on my body and spirit!
With this exercise, I found it harder because of everything mentioned above. My spirit and body were more than happy to participate in this guided exercise, but my mind had a harder time. Last week I was told to focus on something, so my mind seemed at ease, but this week, to notice but not buy into the ongoing stream of thoughts was driving my mind crazy. There were times, when focusing on breath, were I felt the calmness and peace, and then suddenly I realized that along with feeling, my mind was trying to frantically attach images, memories, etc. to this feeling. It was actually quite humorous.
As I went into this exercise deeper (and even repeated it because I enjoyed feeling relaxed), my body loosened up. I wasn't noticing the lingering symptoms of my cold. It was like a mental vacation. Granted my focus was interrupted a lot, but I just followed the guide and brought my focus back to my breath.
I am going to practice this each day. My best friend is very much into meditation and she says the more you practice, the easier it gets. I would love to "act with intention" instead of reacting in life (Dacher, 2006).
I am thinking this might be a great listening to exercise to do as I run as well. Each day (when not sick), I go out and run in order to clear my head, grab some alone time, and work on keeping my body healthy. I find that after a certain point of running, my head just clears and I feel calm. Using this guidance, I am wondering how this will deepen my calm or change my process. Along with running, I hope to use this, with meditation, in order to practice quieting my mind and enriching my life experience.
I truly believe that since the mind, body, and spirit are connected, it is imperative to keep these balanced and as healthy as possible. As I am witnessing, once one becomes out of balance, there is a ripple effect throughout the whole body/mind/spirit. I am hoping to get them back in balance again!
Have a great week everyone! : )
Monday, March 26, 2012
Unit 4 -- Loving oneself and then extending kindness to others
Hi Everyone,
I believe my experience with this week's guided imagery was a bit skewed. I have an extremely nasty cold and with that comes a huge sense of self-pity and feeling miserable. My patience seems to be next to none as well. I want to try this one again, after I feel much better, because I loved what the guide was saying and I think it would benefit me tremendously!
As for this week's guidance, I had a rough time focusing on my body and its sensations. What I seemed to be drawn to was my sore throat, my coughing, my body aches, my swollen sinuses, etc. I found it hard to go much deeper than this.
I also had a hard time focusing on a loved one, even though I chose to focus on my husband who I love dearly! As I was trying to focus (which was hard due to coughing and a sore throat), I was thinking about him taking care of me, rather than just focusing on him as a person. I even tried deciding if I wanted him to bring me soup in a can or Chick Fil A chicken noodle soup. See what I mean? The repeated waves-crashing clip wasn't relaxing me today. Instead I actually felt chilled and closed off, simply because I don't feel good and the idea of being wet sounds miserable. The flute was nice. I actually appreciated the subtle music at times.
When it came time to focus on someone who was sick and I was supposed to breathe in their sickness and exhale with happy healthy feelings, I found myself being self absorbed and thinking of myself. Perhaps this wasn't all bad, because I was trying to give myself happy healthy focus. Maybe my cold will go away faster?
I found it...entertaining?..that when I was supposed to focus on people who I felt anger towards or didn't care for, I actually could visualize this quite easy. However, the love and kindness was not there by any means. I think I was already feeling feisty, so this was an image that perpetuated my feelings at the time.
I was happy to hear that we are supposed to do this a few more times for 2 weeks(?) because I really do feel like this would be a great exercise for me when I am feeling better and I am able to dig deep into my mind. I have caught myself, many times, focusing on the crazy parts of the day, the people that don't sit right with me, the careless remarks that were made, etc. instead of the good and positive of the day. I would love to get to the point where I had so much love and kindness towards myself, that I was easily able to extend that to people around me. I can only imagine how little chatter I would have in my head, and also, how little defensiveness I would have, if only I could send and receive the love and kindness instead.
I would recommend this to lots of people I know. I think it would be beneficial in the way that everyone would be a lot more relaxed and a lot slower in getting angry at one another. Just imagine what could happen to something like road rage, if people practiced this exercise more often?
To me, mental workouts are times of practicing various mental exercises, such as this one, in order to change one's thinking and be able to access different parts of the mind. For example, for a person who is very short tempered, practicing seeing a situation in a different way and extending loving kindness to whatever is angering the person, could help the individual react better to stressful situations. I believe after awhile the person would no longer be considered short-tempered because after so much practice, the mind would follow the relaxing and loving path it has become accustomed to, rather than flying off the handle like before.
Research has shown that with continuous mental workouts people can reach an "Olympian" status with controlling one's thoughts, feelings, and reactions. These people are also able to reach different parts of their brain to access deeper feelings and wisdom that was not previously known or understood. Along with this, people who are great at maintaining the discipline of mental workouts, research shows they are great at reaching optimal health and happiness.
Personally, I need to implement mental workouts and become very disciplined in doing them. I find myself carrying a lot of physical stress, solely due to not being able to control every situation, like avoiding accidents, not making mistakes, paying every bill early (or on time), not being late, etc. If I were to give myself the same loving kindness that I extend to others, I believe I could very easily let go of a huge amount of stress that manifests itself physically throughout my body. The ironic part is the hesitation that comes bubbling up when I think about taking this exercise on and learning how to change my thought patterns. Why wouldn't I want to be more happy and more relaxed? Yet when I think of taking on "one more thing" regardless of what it is or how it will help me, I feel tired and rundown. I find myself feeling the same way about organization. I love when things are organized and clear, however, I hesitate when it comes to putting in the time to do it. It's a self defeating thought. See! I found another thought pattern to work on for myself!
I can't wait to feel better and try this one out again! I will blog about those results, even if we are in a later unit!
Have a great day everyone! : )
I believe my experience with this week's guided imagery was a bit skewed. I have an extremely nasty cold and with that comes a huge sense of self-pity and feeling miserable. My patience seems to be next to none as well. I want to try this one again, after I feel much better, because I loved what the guide was saying and I think it would benefit me tremendously!
As for this week's guidance, I had a rough time focusing on my body and its sensations. What I seemed to be drawn to was my sore throat, my coughing, my body aches, my swollen sinuses, etc. I found it hard to go much deeper than this.
I also had a hard time focusing on a loved one, even though I chose to focus on my husband who I love dearly! As I was trying to focus (which was hard due to coughing and a sore throat), I was thinking about him taking care of me, rather than just focusing on him as a person. I even tried deciding if I wanted him to bring me soup in a can or Chick Fil A chicken noodle soup. See what I mean? The repeated waves-crashing clip wasn't relaxing me today. Instead I actually felt chilled and closed off, simply because I don't feel good and the idea of being wet sounds miserable. The flute was nice. I actually appreciated the subtle music at times.
When it came time to focus on someone who was sick and I was supposed to breathe in their sickness and exhale with happy healthy feelings, I found myself being self absorbed and thinking of myself. Perhaps this wasn't all bad, because I was trying to give myself happy healthy focus. Maybe my cold will go away faster?
I found it...entertaining?..that when I was supposed to focus on people who I felt anger towards or didn't care for, I actually could visualize this quite easy. However, the love and kindness was not there by any means. I think I was already feeling feisty, so this was an image that perpetuated my feelings at the time.
I was happy to hear that we are supposed to do this a few more times for 2 weeks(?) because I really do feel like this would be a great exercise for me when I am feeling better and I am able to dig deep into my mind. I have caught myself, many times, focusing on the crazy parts of the day, the people that don't sit right with me, the careless remarks that were made, etc. instead of the good and positive of the day. I would love to get to the point where I had so much love and kindness towards myself, that I was easily able to extend that to people around me. I can only imagine how little chatter I would have in my head, and also, how little defensiveness I would have, if only I could send and receive the love and kindness instead.
I would recommend this to lots of people I know. I think it would be beneficial in the way that everyone would be a lot more relaxed and a lot slower in getting angry at one another. Just imagine what could happen to something like road rage, if people practiced this exercise more often?
To me, mental workouts are times of practicing various mental exercises, such as this one, in order to change one's thinking and be able to access different parts of the mind. For example, for a person who is very short tempered, practicing seeing a situation in a different way and extending loving kindness to whatever is angering the person, could help the individual react better to stressful situations. I believe after awhile the person would no longer be considered short-tempered because after so much practice, the mind would follow the relaxing and loving path it has become accustomed to, rather than flying off the handle like before.
Research has shown that with continuous mental workouts people can reach an "Olympian" status with controlling one's thoughts, feelings, and reactions. These people are also able to reach different parts of their brain to access deeper feelings and wisdom that was not previously known or understood. Along with this, people who are great at maintaining the discipline of mental workouts, research shows they are great at reaching optimal health and happiness.
Personally, I need to implement mental workouts and become very disciplined in doing them. I find myself carrying a lot of physical stress, solely due to not being able to control every situation, like avoiding accidents, not making mistakes, paying every bill early (or on time), not being late, etc. If I were to give myself the same loving kindness that I extend to others, I believe I could very easily let go of a huge amount of stress that manifests itself physically throughout my body. The ironic part is the hesitation that comes bubbling up when I think about taking this exercise on and learning how to change my thought patterns. Why wouldn't I want to be more happy and more relaxed? Yet when I think of taking on "one more thing" regardless of what it is or how it will help me, I feel tired and rundown. I find myself feeling the same way about organization. I love when things are organized and clear, however, I hesitate when it comes to putting in the time to do it. It's a self defeating thought. See! I found another thought pattern to work on for myself!
I can't wait to feel better and try this one out again! I will blog about those results, even if we are in a later unit!
Have a great day everyone! : )
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Unit 3 Goals
Hi Everyone,
So this week's guided relaxation was a little crazy, and perhaps revealing? I did as the man said and envisioned vibrant colors at different parts of my body. I was completely relaxed and enjoyed the break from a crazy day. However, after purple (or violet), I started to lightly doze. The only way I can put it is that state of sleep you are in when you are still aware of your surroundings but you aren't fully asleep and yet you are dreaming. I knew my husband was at his desk working, yet, I felt like I was somewhere else (dreaming), and listening to this man's voice. I honestly have no idea what the guy said after the purple/violet window in terms of comprehending it. I do know that I was extremely relaxed and I was dreaming that I was in different countries, admiring the scenery, ordering food, etc. It was like a mini vacation! When I woke up/was done with the listening, I had a small kink in my neck. Isn't this the aqua part of the color order that talks about your purpose in life? I have been struggling with this feeling/question for months (okay years), and I thought it was interesting that it was this area that seemed to be giving me fits when I got up. Perhaps my thoughts and emotions surrounding this really did manifest themselves physically. Yikes!
As for the questions for the exercises: I feel like my physical well being is at a 6 or 7. I had a physical after almost 20 years of not having one (besides the tiny ones they give you when you are sick) and found out all sorts of things, that luckily are manageable, but I was completely clueless that this was all occurring in my body. I give my spiritual well-being a 3 at the moment. I have been struggling with faith and what I believe in, so I don't feel like my spiritual side has been very fulfilled lately. Oddly enough, just this morning I was talking to my friend about wanting to be more spiritual but not in the ways that I have been previous to this (religious). Last, I give my psychological well-being a 6 or 7. Every since having kids, I have been a wreck in terms of worrying and over analyzing everything. I need to relax more, however, I am a control freak (in terms of making sure everyone has what they want, need, etc..), so I run myself crazy, trying to please everyone. And it isn't working. Which means, I need to learn from this and stop. Ha!
As for what I can do differently physically, I can eat better and continue to try different exercises to keep myself heart healthy and happy. Spiritually, I need to make time to develop that side more and learn how to believe in something again. Psychologically, I need to say yes to more fun things and no to the mindless obligations that I seem to take on because nobody else wants to.
My goals for physical well being are to take advantage of the free exercise programs on tv (okay, I guess cable isn't free, but I don't have to pay extra for those) and try new exercises (I know I like Tae-Bo and kickboxing, who would have ever have thought that? ha!). As for spiritual well being, I am going to meditate more and see if I can find something that helps nourish that side of me. Psychologically, I am going to watch my thoughts and drop the induced drama that I seem to think up. It's silly and time consuming (and never correct).
So these are my goals and my experience with this week's imagery.
Have a super great week everyone!
So this week's guided relaxation was a little crazy, and perhaps revealing? I did as the man said and envisioned vibrant colors at different parts of my body. I was completely relaxed and enjoyed the break from a crazy day. However, after purple (or violet), I started to lightly doze. The only way I can put it is that state of sleep you are in when you are still aware of your surroundings but you aren't fully asleep and yet you are dreaming. I knew my husband was at his desk working, yet, I felt like I was somewhere else (dreaming), and listening to this man's voice. I honestly have no idea what the guy said after the purple/violet window in terms of comprehending it. I do know that I was extremely relaxed and I was dreaming that I was in different countries, admiring the scenery, ordering food, etc. It was like a mini vacation! When I woke up/was done with the listening, I had a small kink in my neck. Isn't this the aqua part of the color order that talks about your purpose in life? I have been struggling with this feeling/question for months (okay years), and I thought it was interesting that it was this area that seemed to be giving me fits when I got up. Perhaps my thoughts and emotions surrounding this really did manifest themselves physically. Yikes!
As for the questions for the exercises: I feel like my physical well being is at a 6 or 7. I had a physical after almost 20 years of not having one (besides the tiny ones they give you when you are sick) and found out all sorts of things, that luckily are manageable, but I was completely clueless that this was all occurring in my body. I give my spiritual well-being a 3 at the moment. I have been struggling with faith and what I believe in, so I don't feel like my spiritual side has been very fulfilled lately. Oddly enough, just this morning I was talking to my friend about wanting to be more spiritual but not in the ways that I have been previous to this (religious). Last, I give my psychological well-being a 6 or 7. Every since having kids, I have been a wreck in terms of worrying and over analyzing everything. I need to relax more, however, I am a control freak (in terms of making sure everyone has what they want, need, etc..), so I run myself crazy, trying to please everyone. And it isn't working. Which means, I need to learn from this and stop. Ha!
As for what I can do differently physically, I can eat better and continue to try different exercises to keep myself heart healthy and happy. Spiritually, I need to make time to develop that side more and learn how to believe in something again. Psychologically, I need to say yes to more fun things and no to the mindless obligations that I seem to take on because nobody else wants to.
My goals for physical well being are to take advantage of the free exercise programs on tv (okay, I guess cable isn't free, but I don't have to pay extra for those) and try new exercises (I know I like Tae-Bo and kickboxing, who would have ever have thought that? ha!). As for spiritual well being, I am going to meditate more and see if I can find something that helps nourish that side of me. Psychologically, I am going to watch my thoughts and drop the induced drama that I seem to think up. It's silly and time consuming (and never correct).
So these are my goals and my experience with this week's imagery.
Have a super great week everyone!
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