Reflecting on past 9 weeks

1. Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas. How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

The assessment assignment for unit 3 had me to score myself in the areas of mental, physical and spiritual well-being. In the area of my mental health I scored a 6 and that presently remains the same score. The score has not changed because I feel that there are areas concerning my thoughts and patterns leading from my thoughts that I need to learn how to manage. One good thing that I probably could use to increase my score is the fact that I now recognize when my emotions are being controlled by my thoughts and vice versa. From the unit 3 assessment I believe I scored myself a 5 or 6 and now I score myself a 7 because I have been watching what I eat, I am sticking to a routine of exercise and I drink plenty of water. Spiritually I scored high in unit 3 and I will score high again now. I believe a 9 is the score for both unit 3 as well as unit 10. I have been practicing spirituality for many years now. This is a ritual that I will continue to partake in solely due to the benefits I receive.  

2. Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I have made goal progress in each area that I have set for myself. For the past month I have exercised but now when I don’t make it out to the gym, I place an aerobic DVD into my machine and I get 30 minutes of cardio fitness right in my living room. I have continued to wake up early in the mornings to meditate and pray but now I have included journaling the thoughts that enter my mind that I need to pray over. These thoughts are random and range from my neighbor next door to the trash collector that comes every Tuesday to collect garbage. By doing this I am doing a good deed and the person that I am praying for does not even realize it. Psychologically there has been some progress but this is an area that I have to spend more time. I have purchased other books relating to the battle that goes on in the mind. These books include words of encouragement, tools and exercises to apply and also Biblical facts for cross referencing.

3. Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

Yes, question number two provides detail as to how I have implemented the activities into my well-being. Briefly explaining again, I now workout with the help of an aerobic DVD in my home, I pray for others and I also look for other material to help me along the way of mental health.

4. Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

At the beginning of this course I really didn’t think I would benefit from it. Some of the exercises that we had to perform didn’t seem to work or worth the time trying to apply them. After doing the exercise on locating areas in my mind that identify serious stress I learned how to think situations over. I now redirect my thought pattern and question myself before acting or responding to an unpleasant situation. For me this is huge because I only know how to react off of my emotions. This is also an area that I found to be very rewarding on the same token I found other exercises to be difficult. Learning to still the mind has been a challenge for me with every thing personal I am going through right now. Just because it didn’t work for me does not mean it won’t work for someone else. The exercises that I learned I have shared with my family and plan to share with my patients in the future. This entire course has helped me to look past myself and to be more available to the needs and well being of others. I have gathered a wealth of information and it would be selfish of me to keep it all to myself.

Unit 9 Project

I. Introduction

            Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

            People place a great deal of their confidence in medical professionals. We tend to believe that they already practice what they preach. It is important for the health and wellness professional to develop psychologically, physically and spiritually so that they can actually lead by being an example for their patients.

            It is said that it takes small steps to achieve integral health but if you practice it with intent then you will gradually become successful in the domains of the mind, body and soul. Areas that I need to develop on a consistent basis to obtain my goals would be physically and psychologically. You cannot work on one of these areas without working on them all because all three are interconnected. For example, if something caused a disturbance in the mind eventually the physical body becomes affected. As a result of the unbalance, the entire body is thrown off and ailments begin to form. I need to work on controlling my thoughts, being comfortable with saying the word, ‘no’ and leaving the past in the past. Physically I need to work on being more active and controlling my sugar intake. I would really like to lose fifteen pounds.

II. Assessment

            How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

            My health in each domain is fairly good. Each domain however can be improved in order to keep balanced. The assessment on my spirituality comes pretty easy. I have committed my life to Christ for over ten years. I have learned to find time early in the mornings to pray and still my mind before I begin my day. I regularly participate in my church home where I am in fellowship with other believers. I have found peace and joy from living a life that includes spirituality. In this area I score myself a nine. Physically I can stand to lose an additional ten pounds to be at the BMI recommended for someone my height and weight. Because I have had cancer and suffer on occasion arthritis pain it has been recommended that I exercise several times a week. My eating habits aren’t the greatest but I have improved in certain areas. For instance, raw fruit and vegetables have been taking the place of potato chips and candy. Physically I score myself a six. And last, psychologically I would score myself a six here also. It is hard to admit that one doesn’t have it all together mentally but I recognize this is an area that needs improvement. My family is presently going through an issue that has caused division, memories from my past relationship are hindering any success at a future relationship with a man and I often fill like I have to be the responsible adult out of all of my siblings. Learning to say the word, ‘no’ to them would definitely help me.

III. Goal development

            List at least one goal that I have for each area, physically, psychologically and spiritually. Maintaining my prayer habit and extending it to others is an area that I would like to reach goal wise. Physically I plan to stay more active by exercising at home and in the gym at least three times a week and mentally I plan to communicate my feelings instead of letting the negative emotions build up and I become agitated or ready to explode.

IV. Practices for personal health

            What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; physical, psychological, and spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Exercising up to three days a week is a strategy focusing on strength training, flexibility and cardio health. I will walk up to two miles on one of the days; do light weight lifting and stretching on another day and some sort of aerobic activity on yet another day. These are examples of how I plan to foster growth in the area of physical health. A practice that I can use to implement psychological health is by meditating, praying and journaling. Being able to reprogram my thought pattern is vital for my mental health. By performing the following practices I can express myself, I can still and also quiet myself away from the mind chatter that seems endless. A way that I will implement spiritual growth is by continuing to practice prayer. I would also like to take up Tai Chi for mental cleansing as well as increasing flexibility and coordination.

V. Commitment

            How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long term practices for health and wellness?

On the days that I perform physical fitness I will jot down on the kitchen calendar the activity done, the length of time performed and follow those comments with a big star. When I look on the calendar and see the consistent number of days that I work out this will give me a push to add on one extra day of exercising or walking for 60 minutes instead of 45 minutes. I will also invite a friend to be my partner so that I have someone to keep me accountable for getting the physical fitness done.

It will be a big challenge for me to stay on track psychologically with everything that is going on in my life right now. Prayer will be the tool of choice on the days that I lack progress. In order to stay on track for the next 6 months, I will have to surround myself with people that provide encouragement. When I find my attitude is being guided by my emotions I will contact a friend that I can release those emotions freely. And assessing my progress spiritually is already a work consistently performed. I have a circle of friends that reach out to me if I am not present in my church or they notice that my character has changed. I believe that as long as I follow the plan as close as possible I will achieve my goals to obtain integral health.

Loving Kindness & Meditation

Loving Kindness and meditation are beneficial practices that I believe will be continued practices I will perform. Acts of loving kindness and meditation lessens the grip of destructive thought patterns that we have. When love and kindness pours out of us it in turn chips away negative emotions, jealousy, pride, greed and intolerance that harbors in other people. Even if you are dealing with negative emotions, being loving towards another really does alleviate those bad thought patterns.


A simple act of loving kindness would be complementing someone or encouraging someone that you don't necessarily know.


Meditation is a way to control random clutter that fills our minds constantly. When meditation is practiced regularly you obtain inner peace, serenity and balance of the mind and its natural healing resources.
A form of  meditation that works for me is praying. Praying for me is an example of releasing my concerns over to  a higher power. The higher power for me is Jesus. I plan on continuing to use these techniques because of the results I feel within myself as I participate. 

Asciepus Practice

This practice had you think of someone that was alive or living that meant a great deal to me. The person that I used for this practice was my grandmother. She passed away in 2008. While thinking of my grandmother or sitting in communion with her, I remembered her face. Thoughts of what she wore and how she smelled filled my space. I remembered how she taught the girls in the family how to quilt, and cook. I pictured her smiling and me braiding her hair. I was only able to visualize the white beam from her head and throat briefly and while doing this I recalled her wisdom. She spoke with authority, she spoke the truth with love for those she spoke truth to. I was in a good place while doing this practice even though it wasn't 100% successful, I was able to focus on her instead of other things going on in my life.

Mindfulness and meditation has helped me to think before I act or speak. Praying is another area that I practice often and it basically sets the tone for my entire day. When I pray I have faith that what I have prayed for will happen, I treat it like a guarantee.

"One cannot lead another where one has not hone himself" simply means you can not practice what you don't preach. If a person is trying to sale me something that they haven't tried themselves then I am not buying it. If a person is trying to get me to quit drinking but they are in my presence with a can of beer in their hand what they say is irrelevant. Those are just a few examples but I am sure you get what I am saying. Each health professional is different and their is no obligation that says one has to lead by personal example, it just works best for me. I will be a professional that leads by example. If I am teaching it then it is something that i am also doing. One example of me implementing this into my daily life is trying to include exercising at least 3 times out of the week with the weather changing. I have not been consistent so I wouldn't tell my client that I work out all three days, I would tell them that I am challenged but I make the effort. I believe you are appreciated more if you come across real.

Universal Loving kindness

I found some success when doing the loving kindness exercise. I was able to Take the focus off of my own self and put thought into the statements about others. Since I had been preparing myself mentally for a surgery I found it quite touching to speak out the phrases of all individuals to gain freedom from suffering. I didn't look at this being just physical suffering but suffering in all capacities.

For the integral assessment process, I chose personal and emotional development as areas that I need to focus and improve on. I discovered that I have many scars that are still open wounds. I am afraid to love whole heartedly because of past experiences. I just had surgery on the 31st and the thought of another surgery in the future always creeps into my mind (breast cancer). I managed to lay in bed this morning (only because I am very sore and need assistance) and allowed myself to reflect over aspects of my life that cause me to have personal and emotional issues. I know where to start but I won't have all the answers straightaway, I may not have the answers in a few weeks but I have recognized the root and that is a beginning.

I just have not been able to focus on these practices because of everything else going on in my life presently.

Mental Fitness

Subtle Mind

Hello all~

I listened to the cd for a good majority of the weekend. The practice failed me or should I say I failed the practice. I just can not get into keeping my mind still for longer than 5 minutes. Even though I would breath and concentrate on my inhale and exhale which worked for a short period of time, the busyness of my day or life situations would break up any silence going on in my mind. I thought that it was very true how we are enslaved by our thoughts. The images, feelings and unresolved solutions to problems take over. I exercised for a good hour on yesterday as well as today and I found the benefit of mentally focusing on my exercise routine. I often close my eyes when I am reaching a point of exhaustion or feeling the 'burn' associated with fatigue and I simply pray and this helps me to push on. I have been doing this for years and the benefits are self-gratifying.

While watching the football game today, Aaron Rogers quaterback for the Green Bay Packers said something (quoted from the commentator) that fit in with our units subject; "slow the mind & trust your feet". He shared this information with a collegeau and I thought is was great advice to give to another quaterback that was possibly doubting their own capability.

I hope everyone is finding their inner man and growing more holistically.