The two practices that I find to be the most beneficial to me at this time are the Loving Kindness and visualization.  One visualization practice that I connected to almost instantly is the color relaxation process and when I practice the loving kindness I think of my grandfather.  I also thought of my grandfather with the Meeting Aesclepius in unit 7, although I liked it fairly well I will incorporate it less frequently than the other two.  I truly feel that I have expanded my ability to bring together my mind, body and spirit. With continued practice I am sure my life and my health will flourish.

To implement these as habits in my daily life I will let my needs for the day dictate which mental fitness activity I will complete.  My goal is to add one of these somehow throughout my day.  This will be in addition to my daily physical activity that I may achieve.  One example will be next week while I am away from home teaching and staying in a hotel.  I am sure the fatigue and tension I will feel from the long days that I mostly likely might need to utilize the color relaxation process.  Not wanting to predict or plan, I will let each day unfold and listen to what my mind, body and spirit will need in addition to my workout. 

Candii

Unit 7 - Meeting Aesclepius

I had such success from the start on this activity and I appreciated the focus on wisdom for this meditation.  I found that it did not take as much time as it has in the past for me to quiet my minds chatter.   This is either from the fact that I am more relaxed today or that my work with stilling myself for mindful activities is starting to pay off.  I have spent time every other day focusing on some meditative practices.  I will continue to use this one and the loving kindness activity frequently.   

I have started to rely on these activities to keep me grounded in my pursuit of my psychological and spiritual wellness.  I have been feeling full, no long unsure of the knowledge of a higher level of living.  I know there is a greater purpose and I am experiencing calmness I have always strived to feel.  I will continue to utilize many of the activities that I have grown to enjoy like the loving-kindness and clearing mind activities like meditation or imagery.  These will help me to continue to foster a greater level of health and wellness. 

I relate the saying “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” to walking the talk.  If you do not model this type of fulfilling well-being how can you encourage clients or patients to engage?  I equate not modeling the higher level of flourishing and expecting patients/clients to do so like the practitioner who smokes, coaching patients that they need to stop their tobacco habit.  I do have an obligation to my clients to continue to improve myself personally and professionally in all aspects of a higher well-being.  I won’t know how to guide my clients unless I travel the path myself.  The authenticity will not be there for my clients to see or feel.  Implementing psychological and spiritual growth in my personal life can take on different forms but is necessary for my flourishing and being able to model this for clients.  This can begin by my practice of removing ego and judgement from interactions and removing negative internal dialogue that is so easy to do.   Candii

 

 

Unit 6 - Personal Growth Experience

I did appreciate the Loving Kindness meditation exercise.  Although it took me a about five minutes to memorize exactly what was written in the book, I realized that it truly was not  about being exact.  I guess that is the black and white part of me.  Once I got past that it did not have to be exact I was able to release my mind and complete ten minutes of the activity.  In no time at all it actually went fairly fast instead of the usual dragging feeling that I get.

The Integral Assessment plus what I have experienced in the last two weeks has helped me discover that I want to give enough time and energy to my worldly flourishing.  I gave up a “good” job 8 months ago.  I have continued to work on-call but continue to find myself being relied on in capacities that I am tired of after 19 years.  I discovered that while I feel respected and appreciated for my skills and abilities, this no longer fulfills me.  I am at a place in my life where I can have the luxury to make choices.  I want to get back to the feeling that I do what I do because I like doing it, not because I have too.  In the short term one activity that I am going to implement is that when I apply for jobs I will only apply for those that I know I really want.  I am also going to implement some clear expectations with my department about thier expectations around my free time, or what they perceive as my free time that is available for their needs.  In the long term I am going to finish my degree, work on getting a certification to help treat people with drug and alcohol problems.  I want to be a spirit in action once again to touch my clients, customers, and patients with this level of giving that I have not been able to do for a long time. 

I would also like to give time once again to my interpersonal relationship with my husband on a deeper level.  We are happy and have been in love for a long time.  There is nothing that would disrupt our progression forward; I feel that I do need to provide focus toward being mindful of this union.  Going to school, farming and work responsibilities don’t put this relationship first, it should be. 

This has been a great couple of weeks for me regarding the work of these units, I hope it has been for others too.  Candii

Unit 5 - Subtle Mind vs. Loving Kindness

I did have a harder time with the Subtle mind exercise than I did the Loving Kindness.  It very well could have had to do with the fact that the Loving Kindness exercise kept my mind active and the subtle mind exercise really required me to work on keeping my mind clear.  My thoughts are that the subtle mind exercise should be accomplished once someone is very practiced at this activity and the loving kindness activity could be performed and perfected leading a person to the position or standing of the level that I felt the subtle exercise takes. 

 

Physical wellness encompasses a routine expenditure of calories, nutritionally sound dietary intake and reduction of bad habits.  Mental wellness is the ability to open our minds to new possibilities, connections to people, coping with challenges that we are faced with on a daily bases.  Spiritual wellness helps to bring peace and harmony to all areas that binds or connects the mental, physical and spiritual all together.

 

I think the biggest connection in my life is that I have been trying to bridge the three areas of mental, physical and spiritual daily.  I am not perfect.  I am working on it and hopefully will continue to make progress.   I feel that it has manifested in my life in the physical aspect, the mental and spiritual are a work in progress.  I am not going to stop. 

Happy day, Candii