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.