Unit 6 Personal Experiences

Overall I think of myself as a very caring, compassionate, giving person and I enjoyed the universal Loving Kindness exercise, because it actually made me take time out of my day and consciously think of other people and how I can help others.  Sometimes life gets too hectic and I find myself constantly playing catch up that I forget to think of others outside of my own little family (my husband and two kids).  I am really close with my Mom and I talk to her almost every day to see how things are with her and the rest of the family, but outside of that I get caught up in my own personal things and forget others at times.  This exercise allowed me to expand my mind outward and think of others.

When I did the Integral Assessment exercise I chose to focus on growth and development in my job.  I recently changed jobs and I got a new job that I thought was better than the one I had and now I’m sorry to say I was wrong.  I do not like my new job at all and I am now looking to find another job.  I am so frustrated with myself for changing jobs.  However I look back and I thought I was doing the right thing in the moment when I took on this new job.  I like the job itself, but I do not care for the people I work with.  I can get along with everyone so that isn’t the problem.  Let’s just say I hold myself and my work standards to a certain level and this office I’m working in does not require their employees to hold themselves to the same level as I do and it’s very frustrating.   I am now spending my extra time looking for a new job and I am so mad at myself because I do not want to be the type of person that keeps moving from job to job, but I also think life is too short to be working a job that I do not enjoy going to.

Some exercises I can do to foster greater wellness in this area is keep focusing on what I need to do and keep asking myself what else I can do personally to make this situation better.  I can also have a positive mind about the situation and not beat myself up over this decision I made that turned out not to be a good one.  I just have to remind myself that things happen for a reason and sometimes doors close and new doors open.  I just have to tell myself to be patient and something good will come out of all of this and if nothing else this has been a learning experience.

Comparing Subtle Mind vs Loving Kindness

Personally I think I enjoyed and benefited more from the subtle mind exercise.  I enjoyed listening to the water and the exercise made me feel relaxed and brought a calming emotion over me.  I did have a bit of a problem keeping my mind focused because I thought there was too big of a gap between the person giving us directions on what to do next.  Overall though I thought this exercise was easy to do and I felt better when I completed the exercise.

When I did the Loving Kindness exercise I found the instructors voice to be annoying and for some reason I got frustrated with that exercise and wasn’t able to complete it.  I don’t know if I was just feeling anxious at that time in my life and I wasn’t able to relax and let go, but I know it didn’t work for me.  My mind kept wandering and I was thinking negative thoughts and just couldn’t wait for the exercise to be over.

I think there is a big connection of spiritual wellness to my mental and physical wellness.  If I am at peace and in good health in the spiritual aspect of my life it allows me to be at peace in the rest of my life to include my mental and physical well-being.  Personally I find if I attend church regularly and take an active role in my church by volunteering in church I feel better about myself and I feel a deeper calmness and peacefulness deep inside.  I feel fulfilled because I feel I am doing something to help others and it makes me feel good about myself.  In order for me to be at the top of my game and have optimal health I have to have balance in all aspects of my life to include my mind, body, and spirit.  If even one area of my life is “off” I will not be at the top of my game and therefor will not be in the best health that I could possibly be in.

Unit 4 Blog

Hello,

I found this experience very relaxing and beneficial.  The lady’s voice was pleasant and she spoke clearly and was easy to understand.  The lady’s directions were easy to follow.  The crashing waves was kind of relaxing, but I also found them kind of annoying after a while.  I will say that my mind kind of wandered away from time to time.  I found myself thinking of other things.  I think there was a little much time between one set of directions to the next.  I know this was done on purpose, but like I said my mind tended to wander.  I would recommend that others try this exercise, but I know that this type of relaxation is not for everyone.  I am always open to new things and new ideas so I would suggest that others try this and if it isnt’ for them that is fine they can perhaps find another method that works for them.

The concept of “mental workout” is making your mind work by putting it through exercises to open and stretch the mind beyond its current capacity.    Mental workouts help us concentrate and help us rid ourselves of egoism, and achieve higher goals, which opens our minds to the truth and wisdom of our human existence.  Mental workouts help us get on the path to Human Flourishing.

Taking My Self Inventory

If I would reflect on my own physical well being I would have to give myself a 7 because after years of being overweight I have lost over a 100lbs and am now within normal weight limits with a healthy BMI and off all my medications for hypertension and high cholesterol that I used to take.  When I go and get all my blood work drawn for routine tests to check my cholesterol, glucose, and vitamin levels I fall within the normal limits.  The one thing I'm lacking when it comes to my physical well being is the physical aspect of it.  I do not consider myself physically fit.  When it comes to my spiritual well being I would give myself an 8 because I consider myself a spiritual person, on a personal level I pray, believe in God and celebrate all religious holidays and days of observation.  The reason I don't give myself a 10 in this category is because I could attend church more regularly and be more active in my church.  Lastly when it comes to my psychological well being I would give myself an 8 because I think I'm a pretty well put together person with rational thoughts and feelings, but I know I have some negative inner thoughts about myself that I could benefit from talking to someone about to help me feel more at peace with myself.

Some goals I could set for myself in the area of my physical well being is exercise regularly.  When it comes to my spiritual well being I could make a bigger effort to attend church more regularly.  Lastly when it comes to my psychological well being I could find someone on a professional or personal level that I can talk to about my thoughts and feelings. 

Activities I could do to implement moving toward each of my goals in each area of my life are I could set aside at least thirty minutes a day three times a week to take a walk around the block to benefit me in both the physical and spiritual aspects of my life.  This would allow me to exercise and clear my mind.  When it comes to my spiritual well being I always use my three year old son and his behavior during church as an excuse not to go because I feel I'm always watching and correcting his behavior during church and that I'm not fully able to participate or enjoy church.  I could work harder with my son to help him understand he needs to be good or come up with some sort of reward system to make him behave during church.  Right now I will admit I have been lazy and it's just been easier for me not to go and not deal with his behavior.  If my son's behavior doesn't improve I could also arrangements for my husband to stay home with my son while my daughter and I attend church and hope with time my son will realize he needs to straighten up so he too can go to church.  When it comes to my psychological well being I could make time to sit down and talk with someone about my thoughts and feelings to help clear my head.  Also as mentioned above I can make time to exercise to vent my frustrations and clear my head.  Also I can find time for myself to decompress and recharge my battery and help me deal with life and all of life's events that come up.

I completed the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century and I personally found the guy's voice really annoying, but once I got over that I learned to concentrate and follow his directions.  I liked this exercise and how it used different colors to represent certain feelings.  I also liked the visualization of light aspect and focusing my thoughts and imagination on visualizing the light beam as suggested.  Overall I found this exercise beneficial. 

Thanks,
Kelly Kearns