Unit 10 Final Blog

Hello All

Since this is our last blog, I want to thank each of you for blogging with me.  Sharing this learning experience with each of you has been one of the best.  Best wishes to all of you.

Initially in unit three my ratings were as follows: physical well being 6, psychological well being 8, and spiritual well being at 8. These scores then were based on the lack of knowledge I had about myself and living habits at that time.  I am not a perfect person but I do love myself so the scores would be favorable even if they should not have been.  In other words, they were a little high at the time but now I know better after 10 weeks in this class.   Part of the information for this course focused on knowing yourself and searching inward rather than just looking at the outside and the need to go deep in the hidden areas in order to initiate lifestyle changes.  Presently, I would score myself different because I have become informed now and have searched and discovered things needing attention to bring health, happiness and wholeness.  I have a genuine desire to make changes for better living and human flourishing.  Outward appearance confirms my physical well being and the need for immediate attention which should have been rated at 5, psychological well being should be at 6 because there is a need for more learning and improvement to develop human flourishing; and, with my spiritual well being I downgraded to 6 also.  I must remember spiritual is not religious although they connect and it is more about being in tune to and in touch with our inner being.

In my final assessment, which I am comfortable with, I have begun making progress and have initiated change in all the areas noted.  My primary problem is being consistent.  I believe I am off to a good start to initiate and implement the changes.  Since my classmates have read my assessment and given supporting suggestions, making change will be easier but will take time.

This course was a great eye opener to areas needing my attention in order to be a help to someone else.  It is amazing to me how a course that teaches practices with your eyes closed can give you so much awareness with your eyes open.  I can see and feel health, happiness and wholeness much clearer now.  I appreciate a home where you only hear the clock ticking but it no longer gets on my nerve but reminds me to use the time to journey to human flourishing.  Learning how to meditate, be still and quiet to move away from the chatter and to experience loving kindness was very rewarding for me.  It allowed me an opportunity to begin transition to a higher level of peace.  I have incorporated a new slogan in my life "Just STOP".    Some of the practices were difficult but most of them will allow me to be of help to the women I plan to assist in the future.

 

Overall the class, the teaching and learning, and my classmates were quite beneficial and will go with me for a long time.  I pray for the best for everyone with their journey to human flourishing.

 

Dru Van Wright

 

Unit 9 Final Project

Unit 9

Hello all,

I am submitting and sharing my Unit 9 Final Project for reviewing and suggestions.  The spacing and font size is messed up and I don't know why.  It happened when I copied and paste into blog, sorry.  Hopefully you will read.  I am looking forward to your comments and thoughts:

Introduction
There has been a loop hole between modern medicine and ancient wisdom regarding healing and a need to shift our focus from outside to inside to derive at the connection of mind/body to healing and well being.  The shift and focus is found in integral medicine and health approach which is a journey of self-transformation to a life of health, happiness and wholeness (Dacher, 2006).    The gravity of healing shifts progressively from physical to psychological to spiritual, from outer reliance to inner development (Dacher, 2006).  The theory and aim of integral medicine is to use a complete and comprehensive approach to treat any illness while being constrained by realties of time, insurance limitations and office management (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).  While it is a more effective and efficient way to help patients it also helps the health-care professional handle professional problems and painful dilemmas.  It is important for professionals to shift their focus or gaze inward to find the ever present source of exceptional health and healing.   

 

Assessment

At the onset of this class we were instructed to complete an assessment and score our wellness spiritually, physically and psychologically.  On a scale from 1 to 10 my personal assessment of mind/body/spirit was: physical well-being at 6, spiritual well-being at 8, and my psychological well-being at 8.  As I am at the end of this course and taking a look back and reviewing the initial assessment, I believe there has been improvement but there is more transforming needed for real lifestyle change.  The information and learning process has brought an awareness of needed change and improvement.

 

Goal Development

Beginning first with the lowest scored area of wellness and probably the easier to make change would be in the physical well being (scored at 6).  Our exterior body must be fit and in synch with interior organs to bring harmony in the body in order to maintain and house our wellness.  Being overweight slows the processes down and hampers my ability to have wholeness.  My Goal first was to join a fitness club and begin daily walking, on my own, to become physically active and fit.  This effort will progress to weight loss, forty pounds, and feeling healthier physically.  My psychological well being (scored at 8) needs strengthening.  Initially, when assessed, I set a goal of daily task assignments and devoting time solely to the items listed and not take on other stuff thrown at me.  It has been working.  My spiritual well-being (scored at 8) needs attention and commitment.  Initiating a Sabbath Rest was my goal for lifestyle change in this area.  Setting aside one half day of quiet time with Master has been implemented but have not been consistent.  This needs improvement but it is working.

 

Practices for personal health

Spiritual well being – I will implement strategies of prayer and meditation.  I will use Preparation 3, silence and stillness, a toning down of outer activity, letting go of the unnecessary and trivial distractions in order to become more in touch with the primary source of my being.

Physical well being – exercise and diet are two entities that usually are connected and are very much required for better physical well being.  Healthier diet is the center of focus for a large part of America today.  We are what we eat and in order to have a healthier lifestyle we must eat healthier. 

Psychological well being - With many things going on the mind needs down time to clear and recharge to skillful behavior as learned in Preparation 2, skillful action.  Also, Preparation 3, silence and stillness, offers a source of toning down of outer activity, letting go of the unnecessary and trivial distractions in order to become more in touch with the primary source of my being.

 

Commitment    

Assessing progress or the lack of progress will be a task that requires diligence and determination to accomplish goals.  Before the lifestyle change is implemented developing a chart with domains and goals listed will help to keep me on the path of my journey.

I will use post-it notes to remind me of tasks.  There are task reminders on the computer and they will be set up and implemented to accomplish goals.  The final tool will be keeping a journal or diary to log progress and feelings along the journey to human flourishing.

In order to maintain long-term practices for health and wellness I have printed out a statement read in our text that had a profound impact and gave me much awareness of health, happiness, and wholeness -- "we must stop doing what hurts us before we can move forward" (Dacher, 2006).  In order to have a lifestyle change, there must be change in all areas of life.  

 

Unit 8

Hello all,

I am sorry for posting so late.

The two practices determined to be most beneficial to me was Unit 1 Relaxation and Unit 4 Loving Kindness.  The Unit 1 Relaxation journey and meditation exercise was a first time experience.  I enjoyed it and found it to be very relaxing at a much needed time.  This exercise allows me to slow down, relax and focus on self.  It gave me time to breath, inhale and exhale, remove myself from the frustration at that time.  I would use this exercise daily in my personal life to unwind and let go of the stressors.  I would chose a time of day, a special place, with no music but maybe soft light and scented candles.  I would close my eyes, becoming fully relax with my feet elevated for a period of time 30 to 45 minutes and let my mind float away into peace while I totally surrender my body to the technique and time.  I would use the final 15 minutes of the hour of time to float back into the here and now. 

In Unit 4 the Loving Kindness exercise was also a first time challenge and experience.  It was different but included relaxing.  The instructions given made the exercise thought provoking and required that I channel into a specific area.  This exercise was a great task to channel in my spirituality.  It is like doing physical exercise for the body but is a mental workout instead. Spiritual development is a process of freeing your consciousness from the scars of untruths that normally accumulate over a lifetime. Unifying my inner spiritual awareness with my practical everyday challenges is a life changing.  I would attempt to do this exercise at least once a month initially to get in touch with those areas in my inner self that have held up progress in my here and now.

 

I think with these two I will be able to make "healthy lifestyle change".  What do you think?

 

Dru Van Wright    

Unit 7 Meeting Aesclipus

Hello all,

This experience was different in that we had to chose a specific person and follow directions.  The person I chose was perfect for the 5 phases and modeling the qualities given.  She is an older woman who is quite mellow and has defined qualities in all the areas of meditation.    She is a person I consider my surrogate mother because my mother passed 5 years ago.  My person is a retired Pastor, full of godly wisdom and sound advice.  She was there immediately and continues to be in my life. 

I did experience different feelings throughout the entire practice and got chills when it got to #5 heart to heart.  This is an area that I want to be very genuine in so that people feel the kindness, love and compassion that I want to share.   Mindfulness and meditation have rendered increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness.  I am feeling more connected and am taking time to focus on areas to generate wholeness and lifestyle change.  I plan to continue utilizing the learned practices daily to continue my path of human flourishing.  Then I will share with others to help them foster greater health and wellness.

About the quote:  A person cannot  lead someone to a place or point they have not been.  Having a general idea is like being lost in a maze, trying to figure your way out.  This statement applies to health and wellness in that providers must work on their own spiritual evolution to actually experience what the model represents.  I have an obligation to my clients because I can’t expect them to get and understand what I have not tried and accomplished.  Personally, I will continue the practices learned in this class and seek to find a trainer possibly through the resources provided. 

Did everyone else have a pleasant experience?  Let's share!

Dru Van Wright

Unit 6 post

Hello All,

I am a little late with this post because I had some problems with my computer as well as connecting spiritually but I was determined.   I tried this exercise a couple times in the past few days and had no real reaction. Yesterday, it was hard for me too because of all the distractions was going on with me.  But repeating the phrase did bring relaxation although my thoughts were all over.   So, I got up this morning, rested and refreshed, and began the exercise again. This allowed me to focus and think differently and brought peace within about a personal situation that I have been struggling with and harboring. The peace came with the repeating of ...
"May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness and wholeness"

An awareness happened and I heard "let it go". As a result I am free from the bitterness I have been harboring since last year about the situation. In fact, today I realize this is why I was able to have a conversation with the person involved in the issue on Sunday after church.

The integral assessment showed an area of difficulty and suffering for me as biological and the line of development would be self-regulation focusing on moving and progressing from normal routine to subtle mind/body practices to highly refined spiritual/mind/body abilities. I have begun practing basic meditation tecniques and plan to continue because I like what's being revealed to me. It's helping!

As I recentered myself in stillness to shift from healing to focus on promoting integral development the area of growth and development was revealed being interpersonal in the area of community which exceeded the areas of family and personal life.  I believe the urgency in this area is related to establishing my future business of working with adult women in recovery and the desire to develop and fully birth a 6 year old, God-given vision.  It's coming!   

Dru 

Unit 5 Subtle Mind

Hello class,

This meditation was different.  I enjoyed the ocean and the wave sound in the background and the soft flute music.  In fact, I became quite relaxed.  There were less instructions to follow and we could chose our own focus point.  Just to close my eyes took me to calm-abiding.  The witnessing mind came along with the breathing in preparation for the meditation.  I don't know if it was because I had been doing school work and was ready for a break away or if the technique kicked in that quick.  I did feel and transitioned through the stages.  Mastering the transition was quick for me but I am not sure if it was suppose to be that quick.  In fact, I became so relaxed I felt a nod or sleepy feeling.  I enjoyed it.  By the way, today was the second time I completed this exercise because the first time was last week and was not sure what I experience.    

Unit 4 - Loving Kindness

Hello all,

I completed the Loving Kindness exercise.  This was an interesting experience.  Venturing into the unknown for the first time can be challenging.  It was different from any type of exercise practiced or tried before.  It was relaxing but also thought provoking because of the instructions to focus on specific ideas.  This made the practice beneficial because I had to tune out all other activity and channel into the area directed.  I would recommend this process to others but not sure if they would be able t follow if not familiar with contemplative practice or psychospiritual development.

The concept of mental workout is more than rest, relaxation and meditation.  It consists of exercising our mind with stimulating activities similar to physical exercise for the body strength and fitness.  It requires a moderate but sustained effort of clearing the mind of cares and worries practiced daily and with perserverance.

To begin implementing this process in my psychological health I would learn more about the technique, practice daily as instructed in this text reading, and search out available resources in order to become more familiar and acquire the needed tools or learn process to apply the process.  If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to share.  Thanks and happy blogging.

Dru