My 2 Faves

For myself, I have found the subtle mind and the meditation exercises to be the most beneficial for me. I get so relaxed in the subtle mind that I really feel a disconnection from my physical body. I am not talking about an out of body experience, but my limbs no longer feel connected to my body. It is very relaxing and I feel energized afterwards.  On the other hand there is meditation. I meditate on positive things such as scriptures that encourage or comfort me, and sometimes I get a personal revelation from thinking about what it says and then just listening ….and relaxing. I “hear” answers to what I am meditating on, at times. I get clarity and feel encouraged when I am done.

For example, I am doing a 30 mile bike ride in the morning. I have never ridden that far all at once, but I have been meditating on what I have accomplished and strategy for recovery when I get tired, and thinking about the hills and the flat places. I am preparing myself, mentally, for what I am doing, physically, in 12 hours. I do a lot of reminding myself of the great physical feats I have done and remind myself that if I could do that, I can do this…no problem J

Meeting Aesclepius

Wow...I was so relaxed at times that I almost dozed off. Envisioning the wise person, was amazing. I realized that I have always felt that I lacked wisdom in certain areas. I have a tendency (not so much anymore) to leap before I look. Which isn't always a bad thing, but it has gotten me into trouble. I have carried around inferiority because of this, and when I have acted on something too quickly, I would get defensive and lash out. I realized today, how far I have actually come in that "fault". I don't react in that way, anymore. I am more humble and willing to laugh at myself when I make a mistake. The person I chose was my husband, who is very wise and very even tempered. He has never purposely made me feel "stupid" or "un-wise", but I had felt that way when I would make a bad decision and feel attacked...and he wouldn't have to say a word to provoke those feelings. It was self-accusing statements I would say to myself. This exercise made me realize that I had actually become wiser, more patient, and more likely to look BEFORE I leap, now.
In describing he saying, "One cannot lead where one has not gone himself", I believe that the health and wellness professional should be someone who has walked through the places they are asking me to walk. It's a like most rehab centers' counselors are recovered addicts/alcoholics. I believe that empathy is greater,when you have been there and done that, and gives you a credibility that reading it out of a book or brochure cannot give. I think they should also be practicing what they preach, too. If they are expecting me to make healthy choices, they should have that in their own lives, as well.
I absolutely feel that I have an obligation to my clients to be developing my health psychologically, physically, and spiritually. I can only take them where I have been, and if my journey ends, then so does theirs. I implement psychological and spiritual growth by praying, reading my Bible, going to church regularly, meeting with my pastors/leaders to see if there are areas they see that I need to work on. I take care of myself physically, and give myself time to do the things I enjoy, that feed my mind and keep me smiling inside and out. Those things are as simple as having coffee with a friend, running/walking with a friend, or just spending time with friends/family.
That's just what I think :)

Integral assessment and exercise

For me the exercise was not very successful. The reason was the phrases I was supposed to say were too much… too many words. It wasn’t relaxing or revealing for me. It didn’t help me at all. In the assessment, I was supposed to ask myself, “What aspect of my life – psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or worldly – is the source of difficulty or suffering?” I am assuming this is for me personally, and right now, it would be biological, I think. I have been experiencing pain in my shoulders and neck, for days. I have had this before and nothing, including steroids, anti-inflammatory meds, and physical therapy reduced the pain. However, as I am typing this I am wondering if it could be tension from a lot going on in my world. It very well could be, and would make more sense than saying I have hurt myself in some way. So, that is something that I may need to work on and focus on for growth and development. Relaxing and meditating, and probably the subtle mind exercise would help, too. I have a stressful responsibility right now for the next 7 months, and that is compounded with my daily responsibilities with family, school, and work. So, it is necessary to relieve and relax my mind to release those muscles that are causing this radiating pain in this area.

I have a huge capacity for carrying a lot of things, but sometimes I think I go beyond that threshold, unknowingly, and it begins to show up in my body, before it does in my mind or spirit. Does that make sense? When that happens, it is my sign to “back off” on some things, I guess. J

Subtle Mind Part 2

I am not sure that I sufficiently covered the questions we were supposed to answer in the blog exercise so here is Part 2 of the Subtle Mind blog entry...
My frustrations of the loving kindness exercise were based on the fact that the narrator's guidance was so vague. Vague terminology and what I was supposed to do made it difficult to follow what I was supposed to be doing. I only enjoyed the ocean sounds, and music. However, in the subtle mind exercise, I was able to follow along and understand what I was being instructed to do, and again the ocean sounds were very soothing. I believe that the connection from spiritual wellness to physical wellness is a foundation that has to be built in order to maintain well-being. We cannpt disconnect the two, because what we feel and experience in our spirit manifests in the physical...be it calmness/peace or stress/anxiety. If I am calm in my spirit, then I am easier to get along with, and my mind isn't whirring with all the thoughts of what I have to accomplish that day. I always start my day nourishing my spirit by spending time with God praying, meditating, and being in silence. It makes the day so much more enjoyable, even if things go awry. Have a great weekend!

Subtle Mind

Well, this one was a bit more enjoyable and do-able, for me. I was able to follow the instructions and eventually I was so relaxed that I could not feel the rest of my body...I know that sounds weird, but I wasn't in a really confortable position, but I was able to  move from witnessing mind, to calm abiding, and lost the "location" of everything attached to my body...it was very cool and very relaxing. The deep breaths at the beginning really helped to focus on just observing the thoughts and not grasping them. What an incredible exercise... I really enjoyed this, and plan to do this more often. The ocean sounds are very conducive to losing yourself and releasing thoughts to just pass...observing them rather than grabbing hold of them. I really liked this...can you tell? :)

Loving kindness

Well, I have to say this has been the most difficult and the least enjoyable exercise , so far. The reason is that I have a hard time folloing the directions of the speaker. I have trouble visualizing what she is instructing me to do. They seem so abstract. The most helpful part of the mp3 is the ocean sounds, which really relax me and take me to my "happy place". I did enoy the part about breathing in the suffering and breathing out joy and health. I could visualize that, and actually found myself praying for the person I was thinking of. I also found myself whispering "joy and health" as I exhaled, as if I were creating that reality for her. I am not sure I would recommend this particular recording to anyone, because I had some trouble "getting it". However, I believe if I changed the words to something I could understand, it would be beneficial to others.
Mental workouts are these types of exercises and can reverse and change the course of our mental trails...where our thoughts takes us. Just like an athlete has to train, which includes basic things such as stretching, our minds can benefit from something as simple as retraining our inner thought patterns. Mental workouts can keep our stress level reduced and help us respond to life instead of reacting all the time. It keeps us from living in crisis mode, which is what alot of us probably do.

Goals and Reflections

Based on my own reflections of my well-being in the physical aspect, I feel that I am a 9. I am very active, at least 5 days a week. I'm in training for my next half marathon, this month, and I eat very clean to maintain the optimum energy that I need for that training...nothing crazy and over-the-top, but just clean eating and 1750 calories/day. As for spiritual well-being, I would say an 8. I spend time each morning, reading my Bible, praying, and communicating with God. I don't view it as a ritual, but more of a relationship-building necessity...like talking and meeting with a friend to maintain a friendship and grow closer. Finally, for psychological well-being, because these other two are so high on the scale, it affects me psychologically, because I feel more in control, and feel a sense of liberty and freedom; no stress. I would say it is an 8 or a 9.
My goals in these areas, are to get back onto a training schedule of 6 days per week, fasting regularly for spiritual reasons, and releasing some of the inferior thoughts I have when I compare myself to others.
To implement these goals, I will write my training schedule on my calendar, as an "appointment" with myself, I will read a book on fasting that will encourage me to stay the course until I have completed the time I planned, and when those thoughts enter my mind, I will change my inner voice track to point out my strengths and good qualities, rather than my faults and short-comings.
The relaxation exercise was VERY relaxing....I almost fell asleep. I felt the things he suggested, and imagined the beams of light. As I exhaled, I felt tension leave my body, and I really almost nodded off. It was beneficial, and concentrating on the phrases was what I found more helpful than the colored lights.The only thing that was frustrating was the barking chihuahua laying on the window sill in my living room...but I didn't want to get up and put her outside and break my focus anymore than she already did, at times.
Have a great rest of the week and weekend! :)