Unit 10 Moving forward

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?

My original Assessments were 7 in Psychological and physical and 5 in spiritual. My current assessment would be 7 still on physical because I have not changed physically. I would give myself a 7 still in Psychological because while having new tools I have not mastered them enough to say that I have changed. My spiritual score has increased to 6 because I have become more spiritual. My morning loving-kindness exercise is the equivalent to morning prayers to me. They have made me more centered and more connected to my fellow man.

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

I have only half met my goals physically. I do walk more but I have not made hacky a priority. The walking is good for health and peace but I must do better on playing hacky or make a new goal.

I feel that I have made great leaps in my spiritual self. This was and is my weakest area so it is the easiest to improve. Just by actively looking at my spirit and looking for ways to increase spiritual competency I have started on the road to getting stronger in this area.

Psychologically I have made some strides. I have found some of my inner demons and currently am working on ways to “exercise” them. The ability to close the world out from my mind and focus on learning who I am has helped this.

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

See Above in 2.

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?

I feel that I have grown much through this course. I have new goals and habits and tools to make those goals happen. My biggest challenge wil be to keep up with my exercises after this class is over. What I have learned in this course is worth knowing for its own sake. It will also help me in my professional field as an x-ray tech and as a teacher.

My well-being has improved, especially in the area of spirit. This has made me better for my working environment as well as my environment better for me. Psychologically I have become calmer which helps everything else. Physically I have not really changed as this is the least of my focus right now.

The success at meditation has been rewarding. My success at loving-kindness has also been rewarding. This has been my largest success.

Admitting my faults and weaknesses has been the most difficult part of this course. Knowing that I am imperfect and naming the imperfections are two different levels of honesty. I have always believed that I know myself. This has been a hindrance in improving myself. Knowing is the first step.

Going through the steps of learning to be calm, assess myself, and form plans to change has given me the foundation to help others through these steps. I feel that I can begin to know what they are going through as they make these steps. Teaching is a goal of mine. I will add these skills to my teaching arsenal whenever I can work them in.

Final assessment Unit 9

This is my assessment and plan for teh future. I hope I can live up to it all

 

To have credibility in any healthcare profession, it has to show to the patients that you take what you teach seriously. This means that you have to show your patients that you take your own health seriously. For example it is difficult to take nutrition advice from someone that eats hostess cakes for meals.

The easiest to tell is the physical aspect of health. Even if you are not “fit” it helps to show energy and stamina. This can be obtained without having a six pack stomach. Simply being able to move with confidence gives the patient confidence in your physical health.

Psychological health is harder to portray to patients but it is still possible. Those who are psychologically sound can show confidence and poise in any situation. By being in control of one’s self, one can control the situation. This shows to patients as much as a frenetic hyper-energy personality does. Being in control can make the patient(s) feel better about you being their provider.

Spiritual health is the hardest to reach and to understand. A provider that is spiritually sound can let go of their “self” and truly come to understand what patients need. This can give better end results for the patient and makes a much more comfortable patient-provider relationship.

My personal areas that need the most work are in the physical category. I am 40 pounds overweight with some physical health issues such as a bulging disc in my lower back and a slow healing tendon tear in my shoulder. The back and shoulder make it difficult to exercise like I used to but there are still options that I can take advantage of. I have started walking and next week I will get the Bow flex out of storage. Before each Bow flex session I intend to go through a stretching regimen to obtain better flexibility.

 

Assessment

This week I did another self-assessment as described in chapter 11 in the Integral Health text and came up with the following. In all areas the scores are on a 1-10 scale.

In the psycho-spiritual quadrant I scored 8 in cognitive, 7 in conative, and 6 in emotional. I gave myself an 8 in cognitive because I have been seeking larger truths for more than a decade. I have come to many conclusions concerning the human condition and feel that I am strong in this area. I gave a 7 in conative because I have not yet reached the spiritual level here. Most if not all of my drives in life are still in the psychological range. I have gotten beyond the reactive and ego driven lifestyle and do my best at all times to act, not react. When I have truly mastered this I feel that I will be ready to move into the spiritual realm. I gave a 6 in emotional because this is my weakest area in this quadrant. I still have some issues that I have not mastered. They still come to me in my dreams and when I am feeling weak. I have however overcome the uncontrolled rage and desires of my youth. This takes me out of the beginning stages and puts me in the middle of development.

In the biological realm I gave myself a 5 in fitness, 6 in nutrition, and 5 in self-regulation. I scored fitness at a 5 because I have started walking to obtain better fitness and I make daily decisions like choosing the stairs instead of the elevator. I also have made an active effort to work on my house and in the yard myself instead of hiring out. I gave a 6 in nutrition due to my efforts in choosing a balanced diet with some sugary treats, but I have not reached the level of choosing my diet based on environment or world hunger. A 5 in self-regulation is because I have just begun the mind-body practices that are necessary for this area of growth.

In the interpersonal quadrant I achieved scores of 7 in personal, 6 in family, and 6 in community. The 7 in personal is because I have reached a high level of understanding of self. I have not however reached growth in my ability to communicate with others in an unfamiliar environment. The 6 in family is because I have reached strong bonds and health with the family I created with my wife however I have grown distant from my parent and siblings. The 6 in community is for the fact that I have become comfortable in working with the public but have not engaged the public in a giving manner like volunteering my time.

My development in the worldly quadrant rendered the highest overall scores. The scores were 8 in generativity, 5 in social-activism, and 8 in work. The 8 in generativity is because I love to teach. I am a Clinical Instructor for Indian Hills Community College at the hospital I work at. I am part of the process improvement team at work also. The 5 in social-activism is only because I give blood regularly. I am socially inept in unfamiliar circumstances and must work to become better in these situations. The 8 in work is because I identify myself with my work and therefore put a lot of myself into it. I am constantly looking for ways to become more efficient or provide a better service. I believe this puts me high on the rank of work.

Goal Development

My goals in the physical area are to have lost 15 pounds and wake up every day with less pain.

My psychological goal is to have easy access to a still mind at will. This will help to foster the ability to do my practices such as loving-kindness, or meditation.

My spiritual goal is to learn my deeper self and who I am and can be.

Practices for Personal Health

To reach the goal; of weight loss I will continue to walk every day at least for 15 minutes. I will also set up and use the Bow flex 3 times a week and set up a stretching program before each weight training session. The stretching will also hopefully decrease the muscle and tendon pain I have every day.

To achieve the witnessing mind I will do the loving-kindness and subtle-mind exercises daily. This will increase my ability to abide in the calm and have it with me at all times. With this achieved I will be better able to assess the world around me and how I fit into it.

The calm-abiding that can be achieved will allow me to truly assess myself without prejudice. With this assessment I can begin to know my deeper self and then know what steps I need to take to reach flourishing. There are many barriers to reaching this lofty goal but by taking them one at a time and staying with it I can succeed.

Commitment

The first of December I will go through another self-assessment. At that time I will be able to compare where I am to the assessment in this paper. I will do this again in March. This will tell me quarterly what progress I am making and where I need to most focus my efforts. In March I will look back to see if I have met my goals and ask myself why or why not.

I will also look for a spiritual leader who has obtained peace and wisdom. By finding Mentor(s), I will have someone to answer to and make more likely to work harder as well as give me someone to learn from.

Practicing loving-kindness, subtle-mind, and exercising daily will help me to keep focused and create a habit/ritual to keep me going.

 

References

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications

Unit 8 the practices that help me

I feel that the subtle mind practice and the loving-kindness practice are the most beneficial to me. These practices allow me to separate me from my wants, needs, and expectations. I can experience things that feel illusory and unobtainable any other way.

I use the loving kindness practice every morning before work to extend good health and happiness on an individual I work with. This has changed how I see these people when I first get to work every day. It has improved my outlook toward them and the work I do with them. It has also changed a rocky relationship I have had with an individual that I thought never to see eye to eye. In the evening I use the loving-kindness practice for those that I love, wishing them health and happiness.

 

I use the subtle mind practice to counter the stresses of the world. I do this every night when lying in bed before sleep and when day to day events become overwhelming. By using the subtle mind practice I can become calm and centered and be ready for the task at hand or whatever challenge is around the bend.

Unit7 Meeting Aesclepius

The contemplative practice this week is Meeting Aesclepius. The power of this practice shows us that there is always a wise, loving, calm teacher inside of us. We just have to take the time to go in there and listen.

1.        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?

2.        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?

The Meeting Aesclepius exercise was relatively easy for me to get into. The visualizations help me get “into it”. I used mu biological mother for the wise entity in the practice. She passed on when I was 11 years old and I have yet to find a kinder soul. She gave birth to eight children but there were always dozens that called her “mom”. By using her as an example for this exercise I found a way of remembering her totally without pain. I hope to be able to use this to help me understand others around me and in so doing help me to see their good points instead of their negative ones. By practicing this it will make all of my relationships better and help to spread joy rather than the distrust that I have fostered in some relationships.

The saying “one cannot lead where one has not gone before” means that the leader is just as lost as the pupil if they are both in new territory. Even if someone has “been” to somewhere before how can they teach someone else how to get there if they have not made the trip there before. An important part of teaching is the route one takes to obtain the knowledge. I am an x-ray tech at a small hospital in Iowa. In this setting I have the opportunity to teach “safe practices” to my patients. My teachings have much more weight to the patients if I practice them myself. In showing that there is a proper way to move and lift as well as showing loving-kindness I give value to my words when I am moving patients that are already hurt.

Self Assessment Unit6

The loving-kindness exercise gets easier each time I do it. This time it took me only 2-3 minutes to find the calm inside and be able to observe my thoughts. At this time I began to ask where my strengths and weaknesses are and my weakest is in the biological arena of self-regulation. I am still at the level of homeostasis and wish to work on the mind-body practices so I can better know myself. I choose to start with the subtle mind practice and walking for exercise (combining them) for greater physical health and to have opportunity to practice in public. This allows me to remove the obstructions of a familiar environment (common distractions) and replace them with random distractions such as fellow travelers, animals, and plants that I usually do not come across during meditation. I will use dedicated running paths for safety in case I am not paying attention to my surroundings.

The Subtle Mind

This week’s exercise is meditating on the subtle mind. This teaches us to be an observer in our own mind so that we might learn about ourselves and be able to come to an abiding calm.

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

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

The loving kindness exercise was all about how I perceive the world. This exercise was about self-perception. It is to help me understand my inner workings. With this knowledge of my inner workings I will eventually be able to calm my inner self and truly be in control of my thoughts. The loving-kindness exercise opened my inner door to peace. Peace must be first attained before an inner calm can be possible. This exercise was much easier for me than the loving-kindness because of the focus of the exercise. It is much easier for me to become an un biased observer than is it to open up to strong emotions. I also find it more enjoyable because I can see the results right away where the loving-kindness results are almost secondary to the exercise.

Physical wellness is the health and happiness of the body. This is the easiest to measure and perceive. This has been the focus of western medicine for centuries. Mental wellness is the fitness and health of the mind. In the last few decades mental health has been becoming more prominent. This area is much more difficult to measure and perceive. Spiritual wellness is they fitness and health of the spirit. Where the mind and body are basically tools, the spirit is the driving force to use those tools. Where the spirit is strong the rest will follow. Olympians are amazing physically but to get there each and every on them needs a driving force. While some are pushed by outside forces, most are driven from within. This indefatigable spirit is who really make them who they are and pushes them to greatness. The opposite is also true. Those with weak spirits rarely ever move forward in life. Their life is stagnant and undefined.

Loving-Kindness

This week I started to practice guided loving-kindness with the assistance of an audio instructor.

1.            Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

2.            What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

This experience was very difficult to start out. I had to try three times before I could “open the faucet” of my loving-kindness. I finally had to hold my puppy to get things started. Once there it was relatively easy to follow the rest of the instructions. Once I was able to start I did find it beneficial. When I was done with the exercise I was as relaxed as I have been for weeks. Also just by thinking of how I could help others, I came up with a way I could help my wife with certain difficulties she is having right now. This will benefit her and our marriage. I will recommend this to others because it is already helping me with stress and self-control. After the exercise there was peace, where chores and stress were prominent prior to it.

The idea of a mental workout is training the mind to develop expanded consciousness and its healing capacities. Just like Olympians and Scholars, this does not happen automatically. Time and effort has to be set aside each day to truly advance your mental abilities. Research shows that those who practice and become contemplative scholars have an increase in gamma wave activity in their brains. This could be indicative of increased organization and mental capacity. Every morning before my day gets crazy I will practice the meditative exercises that are being taught in my HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing class. This can be a start to increasing my mental strength and capacity.

Learning to know ones self

Welcome world. Today I completed a self-examination and relaxation exercise. This is what I found

1.        Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

2.        Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

3.        What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

4.        Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

1.        

On a scale of 1-10 my physical well-being would be a 7. I am overweight (about 30 pounds), do not exercise regularly, and have high cholesterol. On the other hand I can still play hacky sack for an hour straight and (almost) keep up with my teenage kids. I can still lift 200 pound patients to their bed or wheelchair and replace my own roof.

My spiritual well-being would be a 5. This part of my life has not been a priority of mine as long as I am at peace, I am satisfied.

My psychological well-being would be a 7. While I feel that I know myself including strengths and weaknesses, my past sometimes comes back to bite me when I least expect it. This shows an inner turmoil that is still unresolved.

2.       

My goal for increased well-being will be to play hacky with my kids at least 2 times a week and take walks with my wife at least 2 times a week.

My spiritual goal is to learn from this class where I am lacking so I can find a place to start.

My psychological goal is to search into my past and see what areas are still bothering me and try to come to peace with the issues I find.

3.       

The physical activities are described above.

The spiritual and psychological activity is to find a quiet place and practice meditation to study my inner self. By doing this I can try to find what my needs are. I have long neglected these areas and must start from scratch to learn what must be done to build these areas.

4.       

In the relaxation exercise I was able to relax and visualize the colors and beams but they did nothing for me. There were only the ordinary feelings of quiet, peace and calm. In my life peace and calm is always welcome so I enjoyed the experience.

Welcome

Hello world I am Scott Yates. This is a blog that I set up for school and at first I was concerned about it but with all things as I learn to do this I will like it more.
Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy.

Relaxation

Today I tried the relaxation technique recommended for our class. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to shut out the world and actually feel what the narrator was speaking about. I have known for a long time that the power of suggestion was strong but in the world I usually only see it used for nefarious purposes. I will continue to try this technique for the next week and see if I can get better at it.