Unit 10 Blog

I have learned a lot over these past ten weeks. I set some goals in week three and I must admit, I did accomplish one totally and truly. The other two somewhat, but not to the ability I planned. I have maintained my spiritual goals, even getting up early to have my morning worship (and I am soooo NOT a morning person). I placed myself psychoilogically as an 8 in Unit 3. I must admit i let some personal issues as well as a physical issue almost sway me. At this point however, I am back on track. I just had to look back on my goal and begin again. Physically? Now that's a different story. I think I need to set a smaller goal and work my way up to my original goal.

I will continue to utilize some of the exercises like loving-kindness as well as visualization. they worked the best for me and I truly believe that the techniques will continue to help me grow spiritually, psychologically, and physically. Some aspects are harder than others, but i am CONFIDENT!!!

Unit 9 Assignment

Introduction
It is important for health care providers to develop spiritually, physically, and psychologically to maintain complete balance. Being fully developed in all of these areas will make you the best and most effective provider you can be.
I think I need to work on my physical aspect most. I tend to eat small, but not well. I cannot provide nutritional information to patients if I am overweight and unprofessional looking. I need to learn to eat healthy and produce and maintain a healthy exercise regimen as well.

Assessment
I have have not done very well in assessing myself in each of these three areas. I do pray daily, but that is generally a part of my lifestyle. I am a true believer in prayer and I do so constantly throughout the day. I also try my best to practice a positive thinking mindset. This does not always work as well, but I do try to come back into that mindset when I feel myself swaying toward negative thoughts. Physically, I am just terrible. I don't eat any particular way, nor do I exercise regularly. I do walk a lot with my job, so I have to think inadvertently I get some exercise in at least 5 days a week.

Goal Development
My goal in the spiritual realm is to pray longer each day than I have been in the past. To find a "quiet place" where I won't be distracted so I can truly focus. I need to psychologically start my day with a positive frame of mind no matter how good or bad I may feel. Physically I think eating well balanced and healthy meals from breakfast until dinner will be a task for me since I generally lunch is my largest meal and it should be breakfast. So I need to learn to balance.

Practices for Personal Health
In the physical realm I think I would really get a strict and personal exercise program that I could follow with my busy schedule. Also change my diet. Spiritually pray more and utilize the mind-body concepts. Psychologically I would put the visualization and loving-kindness practices into my daily existence. This will also help me in the spiritual realm as well.

Commitment
I think I am going to have to keep up with this blog to see the goals I've written and see how far I've come or have not in the next six months. They are clear cut goals so I will know if I have or have not achieved them or not. Depending on how much I have progressed will determine how I need to re-assess. If I have reached the goals I've set, I will set new ones. If I have not, I will have to look at why, and reestablish them or continue to move forward with those previously set.

Unit 8 Post

I have really enjoyed learning and utilizing these different techniques on my path to human flourishing. I really enjoyed the loving-kindness and the visualization exercises best. I have recently gone through an experience where I had to undergo a breast biospy. I am a mommography technologist by trade and so I know the ramifications of the whole "breast cancer" thing. I had to go through this process as a patient versus a technologist. Keeping an open mindset, utilizing some of the exercises we've learned helped me tremendously. I, in general am a positive person. I chose to not let the possible negative outcome consume me, but I also knew that the outcome could be malignancy. The exercises we've learned allowed me to place myself in mindset of health and wholeness no matter what the outcome was. Happy to say however, I was notified of my NEGATIVE results on yesterday!

Unit 6 Meditation

The Loving-kindness meditation was pretty good. I was able relax while doing it, but i found I forgot the sentences I needed to repeat and keept haviong to look them up. Even still, continually repeating the sentences almost seemed subliminal. I truly believed I have achieved health happiness, and wholeness and am able to assist others in achieving the same. Positive thoughts and affirmations truly work as fara as I'm concerned.

Unit 5 Blog- The Subtle Mind

This meditation exercise, unlike last week was a little more difficult to get into. I did enjoy the breathing part of it, because it did help me to relax but I found I was not able to keep my thoughts from drifting all over the place. It has been a rough week for me and I have a lot going on with my family so perhaps this is one of the reasons for my lack of focus. I was able to get back in focus once i continued to focus on my breathing, it just never lasted very long and I continually had to remind myself to focus on my breathing. After a time it became frustrating. I think I will try it again tomorrow. Or maybe I will go back to the loving-kindness meditation, which I really enjoyed and just work my way back up to the subtle mind exercise.
When you think about it, these all go hand and hand at some point. Mastering one will help to put you in the right mindset to do the next.

Unit 4 Post: Loving-Kindness

I really liked this exercise. It kind of is the same concept as the others' only on a different subject. The key to these exercises to me is to have an open mind. I will say there was a statement made by the woman when she said "if you don't love yourself, how can you expect to love others?". Wow. As simple as that statement is, it seems to be so hard to do. Either that or the total opposite, you spend so much of your time loving others that you don't have time to truly love yourself. I liked this one A LOT!!! I have a few friends that I observe going through things, including fighting amongst each other and holding on to bitterness and past issues. They seem to let negativity and despair consume them. They live in it. To the point that they don't know any other way to live. NO WAY!!! I cannot do it, so I find myself distancing myself from them. They are really great people that I love dearly, and circumstances brought them to the place where they currently dwell so I think something like this can truly be an asset to them. Some are so deep in their despair that it will not be difficult to get them to at least listen. So though I don't know exactly  how I'm going to do it, this exercise will be utilized with them. I hope it will be soon so that I can let you all know how it worked.

Unit 3 Blog Journal

Hello everyone,

In thinking about my physical, spiritual, and psychological well being. I have to say my spiritual and psychological are far higher than my physical. I'd rate those two categories at about 8 or 9. My physical well being is not quite as high. I'd have to rate this around 7. Though physically I have lost about 20 pounds over the last 11 months, I wouldn't say I am in the greatest shape.

A physical goal I'd like to accomplish is to get into better physical shape. I would like to become a certified Zumba instructor. 

My spiritual goal is to spend at least the first 20 minutes of my morning in prayer for others. I will do this as soon as I wake up that way I will never forget.

My psychological goal is to try to keep myself in a continual state of happiness by being as positive as possible. Things just seem to go better when you have a positive attitude. Positive thinking is an amazing tool that can keep you focused no matter what's going on around you.

The relaxation exercise was awesome! Nothing about it was frustrating in any way. I have used a similar technique to help me quit smoking cigarettes. However, having gone back to this habit, I can truly appreciate these exercises and perhaps use them in the future to help me kick the habit once again.