Unit 6

1.   Practice the universal Loving Kindness (meditation) exercise on p. 93.

2.   Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115).

3.   Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

So, it was kind of like praying but I don’t think I made it a full ten minutes. I did have a little trouble with the word “all.” There are just so many people in the world that it is hard to wrap my head around. The assessment was harder. For one thing, I do not feel like sharing personal stuff right at this moment. And for another, it is kind of hard to concentrate (not to mention type) with my finger throbbing. So, I am not going to post particulars of what I discovered about myself (although I think on some level I was already aware of it).

Area to be a focus of growth and development: interpersonal. I need to get out of the house and get involved in something in my community. I was thinking of looking for volunteer opportunities – there’s got to be a few good websites for that sort of thing. Something that pulls me out of my comfort zone a little bit which shouldn’t be hard because my comfort zone is pretty small. This last week I called an old friend that I had kind of lost touch with who was always able to get me to do things I wouldn’t otherwise do (but not in a bad way) maybe she will have some ideas too.

Unit 5

1.   Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

Loving Kindness: I do not like to say it, but the first half of this exercise is completely wasted on me. It does not seem to matter how many times I try it, I just do not get it. I have been doing a little better with the second half of the exercise. I still find the whole concept weird but as I said, it is getting a little better.

Subtle Mind: In general I like breathing exercises, even if they do sometimes make me a little dizzy. This exercise comes more naturally to me; I think because I have instinctively done something very similar for a long time now.

2.   Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I suspect that a lot of people instinctively know/feel that there is more to human life than the physical body and the mind; there are many names for this third aspect but spirit is the one that I have grown up hearing and using. I have a really hard time putting this into words. That spiritual, mental, and physical are interconnected has always been a given assumption/belief for me – how do you explain something that just is. I have dealt with anxiety and depression for many years now. I do not think I need to go into the physical or mental effects of depression here. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and I really do not believe that the fact that I still continue to have anxiety & depressive symptoms reflects a spiritual deficiency in my life (at least not a major one). I think if I was less spiritually aware/developed it would be worse, but I also believe there is still room for growth.

Unit 4

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?

1.    Describe your experience: I’m sorry but I have a really hard time with this sort of thing. I am not comfortable with it and therefore have a hard time taking it seriously. The relaxation/breathing exercises that have you focus on relaxing specific body parts etc are so much easier. The whole “faucet of loving-kindness” has no significant meaning to me. Once they start adding stuff about emotions and visualizations of suffering, wholeness, peace, etc I get completely lost. (If you haven’t yet noticed/figured it out – anything to do with focusing on emotions is hard for me. It is too vague and intangible) The best part was what sounded to me like waves on a beach and some faint pipe/flute music during the pauses. Would I recommend this to someone? That would depend entirely on the person and their needs.

2.    Mental workouts: Making myself do something like this particular exercise repeatedly is definitely a workout. I totally understand and agree with what Dacher says about many relaxation techniques providing short-term benefits only (that has always been one of my problems with them – shortly after completion the calm feeling is gone). In theory I can see how this exercise may prove to be more lastingly beneficial than some others I have tried. But for me personally…I do not know. I am trying to keep an open mind but that is the best I can say for it so far.

unit 3

1)    Ratings

Physical wellbeing would probably be around 6 or 7; in other words, a little better than average but still with room for improvement. Spiritual wellbeing is probably about the same as physical. Psychological wellbeing - I do not know what I would rate mine at. Some days would get a higher rating than other days. “Damaged people are dangerous – they know that they can survive.” I would say that this applies to me but I do not know what sort of rating to give it.

2 & 3) Goals and Activities

For physical activity I am somewhat limited in what I can do by bad knees so I recently began working on endurance and core strength (bicycling, walking and yoga/pilates). Spiritual goal/activity: it would be nice to be more involved in my church. I go every week but I have not been involved in any of the small groups in the last couple of years. Tomorrow I will ask around to see if help is needed anywhere in particular or if there is a study group that might be interesting. Psychological goal/activity: nothing in particular comes to mind for a goal. I think I would like to start seeing a psychologist again. I am not dealing with any specific issues right now but I know from past experience that I am better off when I meet with someone on a regular basis.

  

4)  Crime of the Century

Occasionally guided relaxation exercises are nice but lately I have just found them to be annoying and frustrating. I am not sure how to put it into words. The “soothing” voice that the person tries to use just gets my back up and makes me want to be stubborn and do the opposite.

still unit 2 - relaxation exercise

Finally got the link to work - something about missing a plug-in. I did not get much out of the exercise. Perhaps I am just in too much of a contrarian mood. Every few seconds I am getting that irritating error message again. So I am giving up for now and will try again later.