Unit Nine-It's been a great Ride

Introduction:

     By incorporating the integral process into our own lives, I am certain that we will each discover the profound possibilities of integral health and healing. (Dacher, 2006). This statement made me really come to grips with how damaging the statement “do as I say, not as I do” can be to both the health professional and the client. How can we possibly know the benefits that integral health plays in the life of someone if we ourselves do not have a clear understanding, the personal practice, and the ability to honestly share in the obvious benefits  of incorporating this into our own lives. This is one thing I try to pick up on even when I am at the doctor’s office. Is she/he just giving me book advice or are they really looking at me as an individual and giving me advice based on that. I can tell when they are on a time crunch or just cookie cutter treating me.  Like Dacher (Dacher, 2006) goes on to explain, by incorporating what we know about integral health into our own lives we truly come to the realization that it is far more than book knowledge. We can have the same experience we are sharing with our clients, which then allows us and them to create a whole new and better world for themselves and helps us to realize that good health and healing are very much alive and well when we integrate mind, body, and spirit.

     For me, the area I most want to work on at this point is my health and wellness from a physical standpoint. With spending the last couple of years sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day which was the polar opposite of any other job I have ever had and the surgeries and recoveries I went through this past year, I can safely say I feel like and probably look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy for the first time in my life. I am a very healthy eater and now that I am fully recovered and on my feet again, I am planning my goals for physical recovery to be becoming fit thus sharing with my clients that no matter what curve balls you might get thrown in life, you can always make the choice to do all you can to gain back what might have been lost or not maintained properly in not only the psychological and spiritual, but the physical as well.

Assessment:
     If I were to use a scale of one to ten with one being in desperate need of attention and ten being fairly confident that I am on the right track, I think this is how I would rate the following

     Spiritually, I think I would rate myself an 8. Spiritual growth is a lifelong journey. I feel that I “get it” in my own spiritual awareness and I feel that I am very open and accepting of whatever spiritual means to someone else. We are all different and we all have our own ideas on spirituality. Mine happens to fall under the category of following Jesus Christ. I would hope people would respect that and I would like to know that I exude the exact loving kindness that Jesus shared with others. I also want to make sure that if someone else is Jewish or Buddhist or a naturalist that I would respect that just as much if not more.

     Physically, I feel I am currently at about a 4. That is not okay with me. I explained above about the reason for this but everyday that I do nothing to get back on track is another day I am taking a hit on my health, my self esteem, and my ability to relate to others just how important to our integral well being physical health can be.

     Psychologically, I would say I am a strong 9, maybe slightly nudging towards a 10. I think I have my goals, priorities, understanding, and stress level under better control than ever. After I struggled and stressed out to get caught back up with school work after Hurricane Sandy, I think I just took a deep breath and looked back and worked through it and learned a lot about how to handle that type of a situation. I have loved learning the meditation techniques in this class and have been using them on a regular basis to look inside and then focus outward instead of trying to just battle to get through another day. I am paying attention to my surroundings and the people I share life with in far greater detail and have absolutely loved spending the time to remember times, events, and people that have gotten me this far and I want to have my kids look back and think the same about me.  

Goal development:

     Again, physical is my biggest hurdle at this point. I do have free membership at the gym where I work. I am at one end of the campus and it’s at the other making it about a mile long hike to get there so I tend to procrastinate when it comes going there. Once I am there, I am always so happy I am and leave there feeling great. So my goal in the physical area is to make use of that gym membership at least three times a week until our Cleveland winter weather clears up and then get back to riding my bike like I used to.

     Psychologically I have recently set the goal of being keenly aware of what my thoughts and actions based on those thoughts are. Like I mentioned earlier, I do not want my kids looking back and thinking that mom was a crazy loon, always struggling and stressing about how to balance school and work and the family. I want them to look back and say wow, mom really kept her cool when she had so much on her plate. I do not want to back burner life because of all that I have going on right now.

     Spiritually, my goal is to get back out there and do what I love, which is serving. We go to church and I spend time with the Lord but I want to get my sleeves rolled up and be out there helping others. Sharing the loving kindness and the ability to take what I have and share it the way I always feel so drawn to do. I am not a religious person per say. I think being spiritually sound is such a simple thing and people tend to make it way more complicated than necessary. If someone is in need, help them, if they are going through a rough time, pray for them and with them, if they are celebrating a joyous occasion, don’t be jealous or envious, celebrate with them. We all have a story and it is so much easier to live it out in love within ourselves, our families, our friends, and that total stranger that you might meet today that may change your life and/or his forever.

Practices for personal health:

     To foster growth in a physical domain, I plan to get back to a regular routine at the gym and my husband and I have recently starting going for walks after dinner. I also plan to get my beloved bike back out of the dusty corner in our garage where it has spent the last year and get going on that. I also think I want to look into yoga. It’s free where I work and people just love it. I think it will help me a great deal with getting my flexibility back. From a nutritional stand, I feel I eat healthy now but I also love trying new recipes and learning what I can about how to alter my diet to suit my physical needs. For example, now that I am ready to be more physical I need to make sure that I adjust my portions or various ingredients so that I am still attaining the correct amount of nutrition to help cover the extra energy that will soon be needed.

     Fostering a psychological domain for me will to continuously learn and grow. I have learned quite a bit about how to become aware of my attitude and how that can affect not only me but those around me. I love little pick me up saying or funny quotes. Happiness and contentment are fostered in so many ways if we are in tune with them. When or if I start feeling stressed or negative, I will replace those thoughts with the above mentioned and for me, I soon get over negativity and look for positive in my life and the life of those around me. I’m not saying I will not have times of trial but I will definitely try to train my brain to look for the bright side of things.

     Fostering in a spiritual way is so easy but somehow I can just as easily place that on a back burner until I “get the right amount of time” or I “can be still and focused” I think my two most important plans for this area will be to get back into a small group with my husband and others for the support, friendship, accountability, and flat out people to travel the journey with. We were in a group for years and years and slowly other priorities crept in and we have felt something missing ever since. My second response to this would be to realize that God doesn’t care if I am sitting in a quiet room with a pretty little cup of tea and my Bible, pen and paper. He wants a relationship with me. I don’t treat any of my other relationships like that, so I want to start making Him more of a priority in my day. Whether that means chatting it up with Him on my hour commute to work or spending time with my husband just praying together, I’m not sure but I do know that if I continue to wait until everything is perfect, it will only become a more and more distant memory for me. Oh, and one more, I need, need, need to get back out there and serve others like He has done for me.

Commitment:
     If I don’t think this through and write out a goal and plan to reach that goal, I know how quickly I can get to tweaking it just for today until I can get back on track tomorrow. I really want to write it in a journal and not every single day, but often, I want to pull that journal out, read the goals, read what I have written so far and jot a few notes down. How quickly we forget how we thought or felt or reacted until we go back and read about it six months later. It think that if I am setting goals and I am following through on the  plan, that my clients will clearly see that there is something about me that makes them want to listen and learn and work with me to be completely healthy and well in the way we were intended to be…integral approach and follow thru. 

References:

Elliott S. Dacher, M. (2006). Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing. Lagun Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.

Unit Eight-Pick Two

This class came at a perfect time for me with all that is going on in my just get through today life that I have been living for the past couple of months. I think my two favorites, at this point, are Guided Meditation and Loving Kindness. At this point for me, to just sit and be still and meditate is such an overwhelming challenge that it just stresses me out more. I am very easily distracted right now but with the guided images etc.  I find myself calmly and completely following along and focusing on only that which I am hearing during the guidance. I am able to block out all that is going on around me and I find myself feeling like I just had a brand new battery put in and I am off and running, feeling good and not stressed out. The Loving Kindness keeps me in check with those around me. After all, I am by far, not the only one that has a lot going on right now and by practicing loving kindness, I not only help myself but I am able to reach out to those around me and offer them a bit of what I have learned in this class and hopefully they will in turn do the same for someone else they encounter. The most positive pay it forward action I can think of.  

Unit 7

     I chose to focus on my Mom for this weeks exercise. She came to mind while I was on the discussion board and then again for this exercise. She has been gone for a little over ten years now and I still miss her everyday, especially at this time of year. She brought the magic of Christmas into the center of our home for the whole family and spread it outward from there. I still bake her cookies and make all of her recipes. She had a huge heart and a love for her family like no other. She taught me so much about patience, sharing and caring and was always available for me and our kids, which also made her, of course in my mind, the best grandma ever! My older children were fortunate enough to have her in their lives the whole time they were growing up and I still wish my younger children would have had more time with her.Because of her, I think I have a very healthy set of guidelines both mentally and physically to guide me through all of life's twists and turns. 

     As far as leadership, the same thing. My mom led the family completely side by side with my dad. She would never expect us to do or say or try anything she herself had not. Treat others the way you want to be treated. This was installed in us at a young age. As for me, now heading into the world of health and wellness, I will take those lessons with me. Treating others the way I would want to be treated. Not expecting anyone to try or do anything I myself had not done or tried or was completely trained in.
     

My Parents-when they were dating. They were married and had six children together. I was number 5 in the line up

     I think this exercise for this unit was excellent! I think this whole class is reaffirming my reason for pursuing this degree. I have always been so busy teaching my kids to be kind and have manners or nudging my husband with the reminders that we don't know what is going on in the lives of others so it is far easier to just cut them a break and take the high road. (Mostly while he drives, hee hee) Anyway, my husband had just built a fire and so I sat in front of it and just took some time to shake out the cobwebs and rest into my natural ease of mind and body as the text recommends. Then I began the little mini practice for 10 minutes. This reminded me a lot of our prayer time both individually and at church services.But to sit there totally relaxed and just keep repeating it over and over in a slow manner with nothing but the crackling of a fire in the background was so darn refreshing! I'm a server by nature, I love to host the parties and cook the meals and jump in on the service opportunities in the community but this just felt like I was sending a personal invitation to everyone I knew to feel better, be happier, and feel whole.

     The next activity was made easier because of the above. I did these a day a part, but was glad because it gave me the opportunity to chill out and focus again before really thinking what my answer would be. At this specific time in my life, I am really trying to focus on the one aspect that needs my attention to keep the balance and gain the benefits of integral health. For me I think it is in the biological range, more specifically physical fitness. I have just spent the last six months undergoing and am still in recovery from two surgeries. Needless to say, when your feet are the object of the surgery your activities can become surprisingly limited. I feel better, sleep better, eat healthier, am happier etc. when I am able to be physically active. It's not like I am a long distance runner or a weight lifting champion, I just like to be on the move. So when I look inside, all I see is frustration and now after so long of a time, I am actually not feeling very motivated. I will focus on that because it is so much a part of who the healthy, happy, me is.

In fact I just put two shoes on both feet for the first time for an entire day this past weekend!

Good to go!

I think I am starting to get this figured out. I have never blogged before so I had a few hiccups in the beginning. I'm kind of a stubborn person and will keep trying until I can get it right. In this case, that trait came in very handy. So now I am up and running and I see all of you have made it as well. I'm sure this will be an interesting ride. I definitely think my favorite part is that we don't have to cite and use references. That always makes me procrastinate on getting a paper written knowing I have to do that. I actually need to focus on the work and not the worry so much about the APA requirements. Part of balancing it 24/7 I guess.  And so off we go...........