Unit 8 Blog

Loving Kindness is the first practice that I can and would like to implement in my life. Everything bad you have ever heard about California drivers is probably true. I find myself to be an unkind person when I am driving and see other people do stupid things. I have even told myself that my thoughts or words are not following loving kindness. I do not like the way I feel when I get angry with others on the road. Maybe it is because they are strangers to me, but I know that it is not a healthy way to react. I need to learn to just accept others actions as mistakes and let it go without much thought or reaction.

The second practice I would like to implement is the subtle mind. As with loving kindness, I need to learn to calm my mind so I can calm my reactions. I often find myself dwelling on past situations that I cannot change and therefore am wasting my time thinking about. My mind is very busy and cluttered, so I would like to learn to let go of things that really are not important. I would like to train my mind to focus on more important things, especially my own well-being.

Unit 7 Post

"Meeting Asclepius" was not a difficult exercise to try, but I did not achieve a sense of accomplishment with it. I was able to imagine a wise person, but I could not reach any deep level of thought or feeling with the experience. I found the long pauses on the track left my mind open to wandering off too much. I know I still need to work on my quiet place and my focus with all of these exercises.

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” refers to the ability to teach others about integral health if you are not practicing it yourself. You won’t have the knowledge or experience to help others on this path if you have not been there yourself. In regards to the health and wellness professional, you want someone that “practices what they preach”. We once discussed overweight physicians telling you to lose weight. It is hard to believe in someone or to take them seriously if they do not follow their own advice. If you feel they are being hypocritical, you will not take them seriously and will not follow their advice either.

Unit 6 Blog

I have not made much progress with any of the meditation exercises. I have not been able to find a quiet, undisturbed place to practice them. I am either interrupted, or I cannot keep my mind from wandering off in other directions. It just gets away from me, yet I know how much I could benefit from doing them.

For my personal integral health assessment I will begin with my psychospiritual flourishing. I believe that my motivation is mostly based on survival needs and some psychological needs. I try to be sensible and grounded, but I let my instincts and reactions get the better of me at times. I am a creature of habit, and my first thought is to take care of myself, not others (unless it involves my loved ones). So, I am inwardly selfish, but I don’t think I portray that side of myself to others. I would like to think that I am neutral when it comes to my emotions, but I do not have a “poker face”, so there are times when my negativity is easy to spot. Honestly, I could use a lot of work on loving-kindness practices and learning to think more of others before myself.

For my biological flourishing, my nutrition is not bad, but there is always room for some improvement. I joined a gym last year, which I have not been to for months, so it is obvious I could use some discipline in this area. I enjoy the simpler activities like walking because I can combine that with being outdoors and enjoying the scenery or weather. I know that I should develop a regular workout plan and stick to it.

For interpersonal flourishing, I have always said that family comes first. Of course, having been a working mom most of my life, it was sometimes easier said than done. I have some friends that I have known most of life that I still keep in touch with, and just last year I joined a car club and have met and made some wonderful new friends. My work relationships are always pleasant, but I have a tendency to keep to myself and avoid some of the chit-chat and drama that accompanies a work environment. I think this gives some people the first impression that I am not friendly or approachable. I have made some good friends at other jobs, and then have lost touch when we weren’t working together, so I tend to keep workplace friendships at a distance now. I guess I could learn to be more open to and trusting of others.

Worldly flourishing is not a big part of my life right now. The car club I joined last year does community activities, and I sometimes participate. We collect food for a local homeless shelter, we raise funds for scholarships, we send food and supplies to the troops serving overseas, and we participate in local parades. I recycle at home, but I am probably more wasteful than I realize. I don’t spend much time thinking beyond what I need to do in the present. This is an area I could work on developing, but I need more hours in the day. Work, school, and life in general are keeping me quite busy lately.

Overall, I have a lot of areas I could improve in. I think the most important is to work on my biological flourishing. I think that if I felt stronger, healthier, and more energetic, it would give me the start I needed to work on the other areas in my life. Of course it sounds selfish, but we to be healthy ourselves to persevere and grow. Now, I am off to attempt another meditation exercise. Wish me luck!

Unit 5 Post

I was much more comfortable with the Subtle mind exercise than the Loving Kindness exercise. I could not capture the feelings of love that Loving Kindness required. It is not that I do not love the people in my life, but that overwhelming feeling was just not there. For the Subtle mind exercise, I found it simple enough, but I have not been able to find a place where I can truly relax. I lose my concentration quickly and am not able to focus, so I give up after a while. I get frustrated with my busy mind and would like to be able to calm it down. This just proves to me how much I undoubtedly need to learn this. I wonder if there is an exercise out there called “Relaxing for Dummies”!

Comparing spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is not easy for me, either. I originally rated myself a zero in spirituality, but I upped it to a two after enjoying a beautiful morning walk. I am not a big nature girl, but I enjoy the simple and natural beauty of frost in the morning, the sun shining, clouds blowing across the sky, a glowing sunset, waves crashing onto a beach, etc. These things make feel connected to this earth in a way nothing else can. I guess seeing the beauty in everything around you can be spiritual. If you can do that, be it in nature, or people, or everyday items, you have a healthy spirit. This can be a foundation for a healthy mental outlook, which improves your physical wellness in turn. I have a good appreciation for nature and people, and my mental well-being is not bad, but needs improvement, just as my physical health does.

Sally