1.        Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas. How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

Based on my inquiry on unit 3 blog assignment I noticed that I scored myself a six for physical wellness, 8 for psychological wellness, and seven for spiritual wellness. I feel that my scores have shifted and developed in many ways, however, I believe that the development, growth, and healing is not completed, there is always room for improvement. It’s a journey of practice.  Physically I have enhanced in the right direction by joining a adult- coed league to keep me motivated in maintaining an exercise routine.  Psychologically I feel that this course has really enhanced my psychological well being by helping me to navigate through a lot of the sources that brought me distress by learning how to be conscious of my thoughts and feelings.  Spiritually I have grown as well by becoming more aware and wise about the surroundings, environment, and people that contribute to my spiritual state. I will be starting a new year of teaching religious education for third grade and this time I will be taking the journey with my husband as we will be teaching children how to live in loving- kindness through scriptures, exercises, games, and community devotion.

2.        Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I feel that I have made progress toward my goals in physical, psychological, and spiritual well being.  I have incorporated different activities in my physical well being to keep the exercise regimen exciting and fresh by incorporating soccer and increased the practice of yoga during the week.  Psychologically, I believe that I have made tremendous progress in obtaining my goals by becoming conscious of the turmoil and distress that clouds my psychological well being and more importantly deciphering what is needed to free me from the negative energy that drowns me and prevents me from achieving integral health.  Spiritually, my development has increased by becoming wiser about my “inner self” through personal inventory, reflection, and practice of meditation.

3.        Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

I feel that I have implemented the activities that I chose in my physical, psychological, and spiritual state by adding a different activity into my physical regimen. I have learning to dig deeper into my emotions and feelings, learning to decipher the distress in my life by obtaining a subtle mind and allowing intention to take control of my thoughts and feelings.  Spiritually, I have implemented certain activities as meditation and visualization to enhance my spiritual state by practicing loving- kindness.

4.     Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

 

My personal experiences throughout this course have been very beneficial for my physical, psychological, and spiritual well being.  I found loving- kindness to be very rewarding as it focused on being positive and healing while serving others. It highlights for one to inhale the distress in one’s life by exhaling joy, love, and peace by practicing on others.  The most difficult journey for me was obtaining the subtle mind and establishing a quite mind.  However, I have learned not to get frustrated if my clutter wins on a specific time as one must practice and practice to achieve it. My experience in the course will improve the ability to assist others by becoming a student and client of obtaining the personal journey for growth and development. My experiences and trials will make me a wiser professional by acknowledging that each individual is different and realizing that each has different needs and necessities.

 

Running Head: The Path to Flourishing Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                      The Path to Flourishing Life

                                                                      Ana Hifko

                                                                Kaplan University

 

 

                                                                      HW 420- 01

                                                                       Dr. Aguilar

                                                                 September 1, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

“The healer is the key to evolution and fulfillment of integral health” (Dacher, 2005, p167).  It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically to properly heal and aid the client.  When the health and wellness professional commits to a “self” exploration through psychological development and contemplative practice, the professional learns the paths of practice to the process of transformation.  One learns and has a front row seat about “unnecessary suffering” and how it impedes growth and development.  One gains a sense of personal satisfaction and appreciation about the power of alleviation of suffering and confidence in the power of transformation. The personal journey transcends into becoming not just a healer for an individual but also to create a better world by using our soul and putting or person experiences and practices into effect.  The areas in which I need to develop to achieve my personal goals are to relinquish or become free of grudges and learn to let go of past experiences that way me down from further development and impede interpersonal growth with others. I need to practice loving- kindness by inhaling the damage and hurt that was caused by an individual in my family and exhaling peace and forgiveness.  This will create a better energy for myself where my growth and development can begin and continue to grow for optimal health. 

Assessment:

“An integral assessment is a tool needed to transform our health and life from conventional to integral, from ordinary to precious” (Dacher, 2005, p105).  I have made a personal inventory of my psychological domain by investigating the aspect of my life that brings the most turmoil or distress (personal experience of damage and hurt from a family member), and acquired that in order for my personal growth and development I need to relinquish from the pain by excluding from the grudges and learning to let go.  I also faced reality that this process is not going to be resolved or fixed by one trial; it is a process of continual practice.  Spiritually, my assessment highlights that I need to focus on myself and my personal needs. Acknowledging my individual needs and paying intention in areas where I can gain more knowledge and support is where I will find my focus to help me pave my way though the path of human flourishing.  Physically, I need to be conscious about my body and health. I need to make sure that I eat, exercise regularly, as well, as practice yoga or meditation to cleanse my mind from impure thoughts that cloud my positive energy and cloud my heart and impede in my personal development and growth.  My score of spiritual, physical, and psychological development has changed, shifted, and evolved in many ways from the beginning of the term. I score myself higher in the psychological development due to the fact that I am more conscious about the turmoil and distress that affects my psychological state. I also score myself higher in my spiritual domain as I have learned effective tools that help me bring balance into my life by clearing the clutter in my head and gaining a quiet mind through yoga and meditation.  My physical score has not changed as I continue to work and practice a better lifestyle through proper nutrition, mental clarity, and soul detoxification.   

                                                     Goal development:

            Physical, I am striving to enhance my biological state by working out 5 times a day for an hour with intervals of swimming, jogging, and weights.  My psychological (mental health) goal is to make a visual board of pictures, words, and objects that bring positive energy into my life. The visual board will enhance my spiritual state during times of mind clutter. I can look at the visual board and re-gain intention and focus on where I need to be and what is needed to be practiced while appreciating the wonderful things around me, such as, my children, dogs, my husband, a reminder of graduation date, my favorite color, favorite quotes, poems, etc.  Spiritually, my goal is to practice meditation at least once a week and work on increasing the practices of meditation in the future as mastery evolves.  I also plan to enhance my two daughter’s clarity by taking them to a yoga class once a week to detoxify their mind and soul and bring them closer in order to enhance their communication.  “All shall be captured by delight, transformed:  in waves of undreamed ecstasy shall roll, Our minds and life and sense and laugh in a light other than this hard limited human day, The body’s tissues thrill apothesised, It cells sustain bright metamorphosis” (Dacher, 2005).

   Practices for personal health:

The strategy that I can implement to foster the growth of my physical domain is to penetrate on the “mental workout” by cultivating wisdom through the practice of subtle- mind.  The subtle mind penetrates on the stillness of the mind (powerhouse for the significant healing) by removing the wandering mind (ceaseless mental activity of thoughts, feelings, and images).  Subtle mind allows for one to evolve by letting go of random movements and observe and witness the motions of our thoughts and feelings.  Intention increases and we gain freedom while becoming liberated from the lifelong slavery of mental darkness.  One then becomes a master of choosing where their attention and focus penetrates while accessing a clear and still mind and creating the foundation for human flourishing. Foster of psychological growth can be enhanced through the implementation of calm- abiding practice.  Calm- abiding penetrates on “inner life” and conscious acknowledgement of the modern day epidemics of mental suffering that prevent one from gaining optimal health, happiness, and wholeness.  According to Dacher (2005) “the psychological process focuses on identifying destructive emotions and dysfunctional patterns and replacing them with a new set of healthy attitudes and behaviors” (p61).  Calm- abiding allows one to stop, and reflect about our thoughts and feelings and allows for intention to replace unconscious reactivity.  It allows for one to explore their deeper nature of the mind.  The mind becomes a springboard for spiritual development.  I plan to foster the growth of spirituality by implementing loving- kindness into my life.  Loving- kindness can be practiced through our thoughts, prayer, life coach, healer, priest, or someone significant who has planted respect, admiration, and wisdom into our lives.  Loving- kindness refers to the practice of minimizing distress that agitate our mind and filling it with joy, love, and kindness.  One must learn to inhale the distress and exhale with a warm heart, patience, acceptance, and fairness.  “A bucket is not filled with water by the first or last drop.  It is filled by the collection of a very large number of drops” (Dacher, 2005, p58). 

     Commitment

                    My physical commitment will consist of implementing a chart to keep track of my goal progress by listing the dates and times that I fulfill my commitment.    This will enable me to accurately acknowledge where I need to increase my participation to complete my goals.  I commit myself to focus on my mind, body, and spirit throughout my daily week and not stray away into the everyday hustle and bustle of other responsibilities.  I plan to commit to my psychological state by enhancing my practice of meditation at a specific time per week to maintain in a routine schedule.  This will allow me to stay focused and complete with my psychological commit to help detoxify my mind and soul. My spiritual commitment will focus on looking at my visual board every morning before I wake up my children for school and take 5 minutes to reflect and appreciate on all of the wonderful aspects of my life and bring forth positive energy into my mind, body, and spirit. 

                                                                  Conclusion          

            Optimal health is a collaboration of the mind, body, and spirit.  Similar to an automobile needs a driver our life also needs a driver. Without the driver the car would not be able to start or to go to its designated locations.  Consciousness is the driving force that navigates one to integral life and health with the help of subtle mind, calm- abiding, and loving- kindness.  They are the street names that help us lead to our destination while strengthening our inner self. “Butter is the hidden sweet essence of milk. But for butter to emerge from milk, the milk must be churned” (Dcher, 2005, p139).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            References:

Dacher, E. S. (2005). Integral health: The path to human flourishing.  Laguna Beach: CA. Basic

Publication Health, Inc., pp58- 167

Loving- Kindness & Visualization

Loving- Kindness allows for an individual to feel alive with the sprouting of new growth and development.  One becomes full of the sense of gratefulness and feeling of being blessed, while allowing one to realize the possibilities that can change the course of one’s health and life.   The practice of Loving- Kindness is a simple but yet complex exercise that consists of one making a connection to a particular person who brings love and tenderness to you.  While the body is emerging into a sense of tenderness and joy, one must try to be conscious of the disturbing interruptions and let the tenderness over compensate them with joy.  Let the focal point be your “inner self” and welcome it with the same sensation of loving- kindness. While you are in this blissful state visualize someone who is suffering and inhale their pain and exhale enough love and kindness to shower them and their sufferings.  Let the constant state of joy and tenderness be of a continuous music that plays throughout your mind, body, and spirit. 

Visualization is another way in which our minds can become quiet and clear of mental or everyday interruptions.  It is practiced by making a personal connection that brings one a sense of comfort and joy through a personal, athletic, or emotional achievement.  When we gain mental clarity it helps one to guide or navigate themselves through the roadblocks that impede growth and development of integral flourishing. 

I can implement the practice when feeling overwhelmed or in distress.  I can implement loving- kindness and visualization to detoxify my mind and bring it back to a state of calmness and serenity.   I can implement loving- kindness and visualization in my personal life to foster “mental fitness” by continuing to practice the exercises until mastery is achieved.

“Butter is the hidden sweet essence of milk.  But for butter to emerge from milk, the milk must be churned” (Dacher, 2005, p139).

 

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2005). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: CA. Basic Health Publishing, Inc., p139

The Subtle Mind, A Wise Healer...Aesclepius

Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

I really enjoyed this week’s meditative practice! I think I might be becoming more conscious about my inner self and how to eliminate my distractions, negative thoughts, and become for in tune with the meditation process.  I found the narrator’s voice to be soothing and appreciated her guidance through the process. I enjoyed the oceanic background sounds and the instrumental music. It brought a relaxing sense to me, as well, as a comforting feeling that led me to the choice of my wiser healer (my grandmother). She passed away at the early age of 42, but I have many memories that bring me joy and comfort.  I chose her because of the huge respect that I have for her. She was a single mother who raised six children. Witnessing my mother be a single mother and raising my brother and I on her own I can sympathize, understand, and appreciate her struggle.

I recall many memories of her and the times we spent together gazing at white butterflies that surrounded my garden in Lima, Peru. This past weekend I saw a white butterfly and remembered her and I smiled at the comfort that her memory brought to me.  During the meditative exercise I grew wiser as the images of my grandmother came into my mind. I tried to concentrate with intention to listen to her voice, but sadly could not grasp at her voice. The sadness followed by some distractions that tried to steer me in a different direction- a negative trail, but like the waves crashing in the background I learned to eliminate them and regain focus.

Mindfulness and meditation has fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness by teaching me how to release the stressors in my life and focus on the positive aspects that keep me focused and bring clarity to my mind. I can continue to apply these practices in my life to foster greater health and wellness by continuing to practice meditation, asana yoga, and breathing exercises.

Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p.477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” refers to the fact that one cannot show or teach a person how to utilize or practice a specific method without actually trying, and mastering. One must become the student before having the proper equipment or tools to show or lead someone else to the path of healing. Healing must begin with one before practicing healing onto others. This applies to health and wellness professionals the same way an advertisement may be inconsistent with what they describe in the offer but in person gain something different or of less promised. It would be false advertising to instill false practice when one has not mastered. One would not be a “wise healer”.  Yes, as a professional one has an obligation to provide the best health for their client. False practice can lead to severe psychological effects and physical impeding in human flourishing.  I can implement psychological wellness and spiritual growth in my personal life by taking inventory of myself and focusing on positive aspects of life. My inner self can grow through the practice of yoga and meditative state.

Integral Assessment

After completing the meditation exercise on p93, I found myself in a calming and peaceful set of mind.  Ready to embark on the integral assessment!

                                               Integral Assessment

What aspects of my life- psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or wordly is the source of difficulty and suffering?

2007 event

What line of development is most essential for me at this time?

Inner peace

What is my current development and what can I aim for?

Trying to remove the negative energy and replace it with positive energy that will help navigate me to personal inner peace. Meditation, yoga classes, and recently have registered myself to play in a co-ed soccer team to help remove the negative energy.

What area of my life is ready for growth and development?

I believe there is always room for growth and development.

Is it the same area that also needs healing or is it another area?

I prefer not to specify or disclose too much information on the particular root of the distress that took place but instead reflect on the necessity to regain the inner peace that was lost during the event.

What would the next level of development look like?

Closure? ????

Have I been clear and unbiased in my assessment?

I do feel that I have been unbiased in my assessment. I have been pondering and reflecting over this distress in my mind for over 5 years. I have dissected from each angle and penetrated on looking it from different perspectives in hopes that I would gain a sense of peace.

Am I taking too much or too little?

I’m not sure if I am taking on too much or too little. Perhaps time will tell.

What did you discover about yourself?

Upon my reflection and evaluation I concluded that the event still penetrates on a lot of distress in my life. Time has not healed old wounds…

What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why?

This was a bit tricky since I have tried different focuses of growth and development and the distress is still very fresh. I think this time I will penetrate more on meditation in hopes of gaining more clarity and abide calming mind. Perhaps this will give me a different angle to re- gain my inner peace.

What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

There are several exercises or activities that I can implement to foster greater wellness in gaining clarity and abide- calming mind to regain my inner peace, such, as meditation, yoga (special hot yoga), and running. Also, the Loving- kindness exercise that penetrates on inhaleing the suffering and exhaling love towards the distress.

The Subtle Mind

1.        Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

I do not feel that I exhibited the same experience as I did with the Loving- Kindness exercise. It was harder to concentrate and keep a focal point. I’m not sure if it’s because I did not find the voice soothing and it penetrated a negative point in my mind that shifted the energy or if it was the time of day that I tried to practice "The Subtle Mind exercise".  Or, perhaps I am so used to having my children voices around that being in too much of a quiet area was a distraction for me.  I am not sure...

My experience with the Kind- Loving exercise was completely different. My reflections were deeper and I literally could feel the brother’s and father’s suffering being inhaled and exhaled with love, compassion, and patience for them.  I wanted to heal their suffering.  I was aware, and felt concentrated on my reflection and awareness, whereas, with the subtle mind exercise I felt a bit distracted and empty.

I did however, pay attention to my body. At first, I was a bit tense and sat leaning forward. As the exercise continued my body began to become into a more relaxed state of mind and my posture released itself and became more relaxed not leaning forward anymore. 

2.        Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life. 

Since I could not gain a sense of connection to my spiritual wellness, mental and physical wellness I do not feel I can contribute fully to a truthful answer. I did not experience a connection of spiritual, mental, and physical wellness. 

I would love to hear abou your experience and tips on how to make this exercise a bit more rewarding for me. 

Thanks in advance,

Ana H.

Loving Kindness...

Wow! What a frustrating week I have experienced trying to figure out how to post this week's blog.  But, I am finally here able to put/share some of my Loving- Kindness exercise to practice.

While listening to the MP3 on Loving- Kindness, I became a bit overwhelmed with multitude of feelings when choosing a person (loved one) who is now suffering. I could not decided, and since both of the people who are suffering correlate with each other- I decided to focus on both of them.

So, who are these two fantastic loved ones in my life? My brother and father!! I inhaled their suffering (and YES I became overwhelmed with lots of feelings) and exhaled the peace, joy, forgiveness, and happiness that they need to sustain a relationship. The way in which I can be an assistance to these two wonderful gentlemen is to be supportive by listening to their concerns, memories, frustrations, grudges, and honesty. Now, even though I would love to have a wand and erase all their struggles and hurt beween the two- I do not have the magic wand. I can listen, share my perspective, and suggest the two of them to meet half way and talk without wanting to cause pain or scared to hurt the other. 

When I went to a public area and inhaled "strangers" struggles and pain I experienced a sense of generousity release and found it to be less overwhelming than my  experience with my loved ones.  I inhaled their struggles and released joy, and tranquility.  I can support my fellow stranger by greeting them with a kind voice and sending them a genuine smile. 

My experience of embrace all living things (including one's who have hurt me) was astonishing easier than I expected. I inhaled their wrongful choices, and their ignorance and exhaled complete peace because I choose to be a better me and seperate myself from any negativity that will drown me and prevent my growth.  I can support all living things by being kind and respectful. 

I believe that this exercise has enabled me to get closer to a new growth, learned to be grateful about myself and my surroundings, and gain a new perception of my life and people around me.