Final thoughts...
In my personal assessment from Unit 3 I assessed my well-being as a 7 on a scale from 1-10. Today I would assess myself at 8.5. I am a work in progress!
When reviewing the goals I set in Unit 3, I have made some progress in my physical goal-I was able to start exercising again and have been making better nutritional choices. For my psychological goal I have been managing stress with exercise and mindful exercises. I have not been as successful with my spiritual goal-to set aside time for solitude. It is hard to not put everyone before myself when I have been doing it for so long.
My personal experience in this course has been a very positive one. I have developed an improved well-being as I make the mind-body connection and come to understand that my stress level can lead to illness. It has been difficult to quiet the "mental chatter" as there is so much of it at times-especially at work, but I have learned that through inner strength, I can handle whatever comes my way. This experience will improve my abilities to help others as I have learned how to help myself.
Alicia Maguire
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
When We Know
Better, We Do Better
Alicia Maguire
Kaplan
University
HW 420
Professor
Aguilar
February 9, 2012
It is important for
health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and
physically to pave the way for the patients in their care. As Dacher states,
“To become the agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own
life.” By taking a good look at our own sources of suffering and aspects of our
lives that need developing, we are in a better position to help others do the
same for themselves. As I look at my own sources of suffering and aspects of my
life that need developing, I have to be honest and say I need developing in
each aspect.
When assessing the
physical aspect of my life I consider the mind/body connection and how mental
stress can put me at risk for heart disease. When assessing the spiritual
aspect I considered authentic intimacy in my relationships with others. When I
assess the psychological aspect of my life I consider my capacity to observe
thoughts, images, and my feelings rather than being reactive. By developing
these aspects of my life I will be able to realize my goal of inner peace, calm
and integral health.
The goal I set for
myself physically, is to manage my stress and lessen my risks for developing
stress related illness through a greater understanding of my mind/body
connection. The goal I have set for myself, spiritually, is to work on my
authentic intimacy with others. And finally, the goal I set for my mental
health is to observe rather than react. Once I reach these goals, I will make a
conscious reassessment and look at sources of suffering and areas in my life
that can use further development. I know this will be a life-long process,
requiring adjustments as I continue my journey through life.
A strategy that I can
implement to manage my stress is to use exercise as an opportunity to release
stress as well as to find an inner calm and peace-this could be practiced by
taking a walk on the beach and really experiencing it with all of my senses,
being mindful and aware instead of going through the motions of exercise. I can
also use visualization by listening to an audio recording of an exercise before
going to sleep to quiet my mind from all the mental chatter. For my authentic
intimacy I can practice the intimacy and spiritual union exercise on page 92 of
our Integral Health textbook with my husband to strengthen our bond. I also can
practice loving kindness in my other relationships to provide strength and
inner peace. For my mental health goal, I can meditate to calm my mind and free
my mind from distractions. I also can practice loving kindness with others and
also with myself. As Dacher states “We cannot give to others what does not yet
exist within ourselves.”
To assess my progress,
or lack of progress in the next six months I can keep a journal with my goals
and progress notes. In this journal I can make notations of discoveries,
victories, and triumphs and at the end of the six months make a full assessment
and take inventory of where I am at that moment. The strategies I can use to
help maintain my long-term practices for health and wellness is to keep a
positive attitude, keep practicing the exercises until they become a healthy
habit, and to not be afraid to try something new nor be discouraged by
temporary setbacks. As I become closer to the goal of human flourishing, the
easier it will be to accept the changes for the greater good.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The two practices that I have determined to be the most beneficial thus far are visualization and meditation. I can meditate in my car at lunch to relieve some stress and get me through the rest of the day. I also can practice visualization to relieve some stress, although I am more comfortable with meditation. I can use both of these methods as tools to help me manage my stress by helping me find inner peace and calmness in this crazy world. I especially like the visualization mp3 exercises and use them when I am feeling especially anxious and stressed.
Regards,
Alicia Maguire
Regards,
Alicia Maguire
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Good evening!
The "Meeting Aseclepius" exercise was quite profound. As usual, I had a hard time focusing at first, but when I visualized my grandfather and the white beam from the top of his head to me, I truly could feel the warmth and energy from this experience.
Mindfulness has fostered an increase in my psychological wellness as I am more aware of the experiences I am having and find myself striving to have more meaningful interactions with the patients in my pharmacy. Although this is not my "dream" job, I am making the best of the situation and learning from every experience, good and bad. I can continually apply this practice in my life to enhance my experiences, give me wisdom, and lead me to my ultimate level of health.
The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself," means that you cannot be a leader in an area that you are not experienced in and knowledgeable about. You cannot tell someone how great it is to be a vegetarian if you have never experienced this lifestyle. This applies to the health and wellness profession by our obligation to be role models in the field we choose to work in. We can lead by example and share our knowledge with others so they too, can achieve their optimum health and wellness. I think we have an obligation to our clients as health care professionals to develop all aspects of our health to lead by example.
I can implement psycological and spiritual growth in my life by continual practices in mindfulness to manage my stress and by keeping an open mind and open heart to all the possibilities that are available to me. I can keep striving for my optimum health and wellness one day at a time, doing better as I know better.
Alicia Maguire
The "Meeting Aseclepius" exercise was quite profound. As usual, I had a hard time focusing at first, but when I visualized my grandfather and the white beam from the top of his head to me, I truly could feel the warmth and energy from this experience.
Mindfulness has fostered an increase in my psychological wellness as I am more aware of the experiences I am having and find myself striving to have more meaningful interactions with the patients in my pharmacy. Although this is not my "dream" job, I am making the best of the situation and learning from every experience, good and bad. I can continually apply this practice in my life to enhance my experiences, give me wisdom, and lead me to my ultimate level of health.
The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself," means that you cannot be a leader in an area that you are not experienced in and knowledgeable about. You cannot tell someone how great it is to be a vegetarian if you have never experienced this lifestyle. This applies to the health and wellness profession by our obligation to be role models in the field we choose to work in. We can lead by example and share our knowledge with others so they too, can achieve their optimum health and wellness. I think we have an obligation to our clients as health care professionals to develop all aspects of our health to lead by example.
I can implement psycological and spiritual growth in my life by continual practices in mindfulness to manage my stress and by keeping an open mind and open heart to all the possibilities that are available to me. I can keep striving for my optimum health and wellness one day at a time, doing better as I know better.
Alicia Maguire
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Unit 6 Exercises for Mind-Body-Spirit
I practiced the Universal Kindness Meditation and found it to be a pleasant experience once I quieted my mind and committed to it. At first I found it hard to remember the phrases, then I relaxed once I found a rhythm. After getting the phrases down, I really relaxed and had images of various individuals popping into my head-family, customers at work, neighbors, people at the bus stop, and so on. I do believe this mini-practice is quite powerful in that it forces you to focus and eliminate the unnecessary chatter-if you let it! This is a practice that is very mobile and can be used whenever a "refueling" of positivity is needed.
From the Integral Assessment I discovered that my area of focus is psycho spiritual. I chose this area because I believe that I am motivated by psychological needs often driven from fear as discussed on page 107. I would like to be motivated instead by wisdom and wholeness that come compassion and loving kindness. I also need to work on my emotional development as my emotional life is often dominated by anxiety and fear. I believe that with continued practice in meditation and mindfulness that I can calm my anxiety and fears.
Regards,
Alicia
I practiced the Universal Kindness Meditation and found it to be a pleasant experience once I quieted my mind and committed to it. At first I found it hard to remember the phrases, then I relaxed once I found a rhythm. After getting the phrases down, I really relaxed and had images of various individuals popping into my head-family, customers at work, neighbors, people at the bus stop, and so on. I do believe this mini-practice is quite powerful in that it forces you to focus and eliminate the unnecessary chatter-if you let it! This is a practice that is very mobile and can be used whenever a "refueling" of positivity is needed.
From the Integral Assessment I discovered that my area of focus is psycho spiritual. I chose this area because I believe that I am motivated by psychological needs often driven from fear as discussed on page 107. I would like to be motivated instead by wisdom and wholeness that come compassion and loving kindness. I also need to work on my emotional development as my emotional life is often dominated by anxiety and fear. I believe that with continued practice in meditation and mindfulness that I can calm my anxiety and fears.
Regards,
Alicia
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Unit 5 Blog
Good evening!
I enjoyed the Subtle Mind practice and found it easier than the Loving Kindness practice. I am not sure if it was my frame of mind or possibly the many steps involved in the Loving Kindness practice that made it more of a challenge. I found them to be similar in the waves in the background, the soothing voices, and the mindfulness that was required to practice both exercises. The Subtle Mind practice was more personal, and easy to follow.
Spiritual wellness is the belief system that we follow using the core values that have been instilled in us and serve as our "GPS" system, navigating us through life, giving us purpose and meaning. Mental wellness is having clarity and control of our thoughts. Our physical wellness is the condition our body is in. The mind/body/spirit connection manifests itself in my life as I gain clarity of how my mental state affects my physical state and my core values push me to do the right things to take care of myself. I am now aware that if I do not take care of myself, I cannot effectively take care of others.
Regards,
Alicia
I enjoyed the Subtle Mind practice and found it easier than the Loving Kindness practice. I am not sure if it was my frame of mind or possibly the many steps involved in the Loving Kindness practice that made it more of a challenge. I found them to be similar in the waves in the background, the soothing voices, and the mindfulness that was required to practice both exercises. The Subtle Mind practice was more personal, and easy to follow.
Spiritual wellness is the belief system that we follow using the core values that have been instilled in us and serve as our "GPS" system, navigating us through life, giving us purpose and meaning. Mental wellness is having clarity and control of our thoughts. Our physical wellness is the condition our body is in. The mind/body/spirit connection manifests itself in my life as I gain clarity of how my mental state affects my physical state and my core values push me to do the right things to take care of myself. I am now aware that if I do not take care of myself, I cannot effectively take care of others.
Regards,
Alicia
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Unit 4 Blog
The loving practice exercise was interesting. I found it easy to relax with the ocean sounds in the background and the soothing, monotone voices. I found it very easy to think about my loved one and experienced "waves" of those emotions profoundly. Those feelings about myself were harder to experience and found myself resisting those feelings at first. Thinking about someone suffering was easy and very moving. It was easy to empathasize with those feelings and emit positive feelings and thoughts in place of the ones of suffering and pain. It was harder thinking about people I did not know, as I found myself wanting to place the feelings in a particular location that needed it. Visualizing everyone needing their suffering and pain replaced with loving kindness was easier as I wasn't focused on a particular group. I would recommend this exercise to others as I found it helpful to be mindful of loving kindness for others including ourselves.
The concept of "mental workout" is preparing our minds through contemplative practice. This is done by pracitcing loving kindness and opening our minds to the wisdom that can lead to human flourishing. Research suggests that mental workouts are similar to working muscles and can lead to structural changes in the brain. These mental workouts can be implemented by practicing the exercises that are mentioned in our book. These exercises are easy to do and with continued practice can become a positive habit like brushing our teeth!
The loving practice exercise was interesting. I found it easy to relax with the ocean sounds in the background and the soothing, monotone voices. I found it very easy to think about my loved one and experienced "waves" of those emotions profoundly. Those feelings about myself were harder to experience and found myself resisting those feelings at first. Thinking about someone suffering was easy and very moving. It was easy to empathasize with those feelings and emit positive feelings and thoughts in place of the ones of suffering and pain. It was harder thinking about people I did not know, as I found myself wanting to place the feelings in a particular location that needed it. Visualizing everyone needing their suffering and pain replaced with loving kindness was easier as I wasn't focused on a particular group. I would recommend this exercise to others as I found it helpful to be mindful of loving kindness for others including ourselves.
The concept of "mental workout" is preparing our minds through contemplative practice. This is done by pracitcing loving kindness and opening our minds to the wisdom that can lead to human flourishing. Research suggests that mental workouts are similar to working muscles and can lead to structural changes in the brain. These mental workouts can be implemented by practicing the exercises that are mentioned in our book. These exercises are easy to do and with continued practice can become a positive habit like brushing our teeth!
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