Unit 7 Meditative Practices

After doing the Meeting Asciepius practice I was not sure that I liked this practice. It made me sad that I had to think of bringing someone else (even if it was someone you loved very much) into my inner self. It made me feel like someone that I am not, I can take the persons qualities in but it does not feel right that I am replacing these good feelings and qualities with my own. 


I have been doing the loving kindness practice everyday this week. I find that it keeps me at peace. I am looking forward to doing longer practices because I am back at the gym. I plan to do these practices while I am on the treadmill so this will give me more time. 


The phrase, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is very true. An example that I think of right off the top of my head would be some that read extensively about cars and how to drive one but has not actually driven themselves. You can tell someone what to do but the minute you get in that car you are not sure just how far or long you have to turn the key in order for the car to start. In the health care profession people have a right to expect that the trained experts they are seeing actually know and live by the same standards that they want patients to live by. To implement growth in my own life I have begun a fitness program and have been practicing mind calming exercises daily. I am seeing renewal in my religious spirituality also. I am now very interested in finding others in my community that are like minded in order for me to get as much as I can for my mental wellness.

Unit 6 - Integral Assessment and Development

The loving kindness exercise is very rewarding; it really makes me see the positive side of life, even if it is only for a while during the day. As time goes on I will be able to develop my mind and learn to see things like this all the time. There are a lot of gossipy people who I work with and I really do not like this but you can get caught up in the emotions of the moment. I am hoping the practices will strengthen my ability to control my thoughts.

After stepping back and looking into all four aspects of human experiences, I have chosen to focus on the biological development in my life. I can see that getting back into a regular exercise routine, this will be build on the other aspects such as healthier eating and shedding a few pounds. I can see by choosing this one area to focus is a better way than looking at weight loss first.  I may eat healthier or I may exercise but possibly not both. By choosing exercise I will begin to lose weight because I will not want to eat all the heavy foods that I have been eating.

Mental Fittness (Unit 5)

As I compared the Loving –Kindness practice with the Subtle Mind practice I felt that with both of these you can come away with a peaceful, restful attitude. They both deal with the breathing aspect of healing and this really helps keep you focused on your emotions throughout the day.  Personally these two practices work really well for me and I will continue using these techniques in the future. Comparing the two practices, I think that some may feel intimidated by the fact that they need to take in someone else’s pain and angers.  For someone who is struggling with their own stress and emotions this practice may not be good for them.

I believe the connection of spiritual wellness is directly related to mental wellness, in that once you have trained your mind to sort out all of the noises, thoughts and feeling that are cluttering your mind, this gives way to really understanding your spirituality. This will also lead to wanting to keep your physical body in as good of shape as your mind. I think it is easier to see your goals of what you want if you keep your mind clear and focused. In my case I have a long way to go in training my mind to clear the clutter. One day I can do this but the next day may not be as good. Stress is a huge issue in my life right now and it is a big red stop sign for me. It is not allowing me to get back on track of exercising regularly and thoughts and fears cause me to be more emotional.

Psychospiritual Flourishing (Unit 4)

Loving and Kindness

After experiencing the Loving Kindness CD I felt very calm and at peace with myself. I had a tense day at work due to events that happened around me. These events seemed so large and intense but after the exercise, they no longer matter because I took all of the anger and meanness into myself and gave back love and kindness. The anger went away the events seemed to disappear and I feel as if I had a beautiful day. This was so beneficial and welcomed. I would recommend this to other people that want to experience true kindness and love.

Mental Work Out

It is hard to think of working the mind like you would your body. The mental work out is a concept based on repeatedly practicing the exercises that help you turn into yourself and focus on you. For you have to have full attention on your emotions in order to give back to others the kindness and loving. We must train our mind to go farther and to the next level of consciousness. To get to these levels of psychspiritual flourishing and to actually get to our inner self, we must practice on a daily basis.