Final Unit & Assessment

Going back and looking at how I rated myself physically, psychologically and spiritually, I am happy to say that my well being has improved greatly!

Physically (was my worst rating!) I have made drastic changes and improvement!  I joined a gym and work out atleast 4 times a week.  I have chosen a program that includes a cardiovascular workout as well as a toning and strenghtening workout.  I've been at it for about 1 month and already see major changes happening to not only my body, but my mind as well.  I don't feel like I 'drag' anymore (despite getting proper sleep) and am generally happier.  I have always been slim, but I'm gaining more strength and stamina.  This has been the most rewarding transformation for me.  Today, I would rate myself an 8 (I was a 5) because I know I must sustain this for a lifetime!  My goal physically is to get to a point where I can comfortably run again and hopefully (with the help of other holistic avenues) get rid of my asthma altogether.  I will continue working toward more time on the treadmill and adding other exercises as I go along.  I am happy to say that I exceeded my goal from Unit 3 by actually joining a gym and getting right into a program of exercise.  I am still looking for a yoga class that is close to either my house or the gym.

Spiritually, I've made some decisions, but haven't acted on them just yet.  I've been researching information on Kaballah and all that it has to offer.  I've found a center in my general area, but there's so much information out there that I feel the need to research more and find where Kaballah fits into my life.  I feel a deeper spiritual connection every time I meditate and found meditation to truly be the one practice I know will continue in my life.  I am excited in this process of finding more about myself spiritually and one goal will be to seek out the one practice that suits me best, whether it's religious based or not.  Today I would rate myself a 7 (I was a 6) because I feel I am heading in the right direction...just not quite there yet.  While I've always had a little difficulty in this area, I feel that since Unit 3 I have made a real effort to dig deeper into a practice that will fulfill me spiritually.  I feel that I have exceeded this goal because I have been working dilligently in my search.

I think this picture says it all about the way I feel today!  Psychologically I feel so much lighter and able to cope with a whole lot less stress involved.  I've always been strong psychologically, but as I said before, there's always room for improvement.  I think just through improving physically and spiritually, I have made more positive steps toward wholeness psychologically.  I intend to keep growing in all 3 aspects, knowing that one affects the other.  Again, meditation has made the most impact on my life.  My plan is to greet each day with love and kindness and the notion that I will make a difference each day.  I will approach bumps and roadblocks as learning experiences and adventures.  I will remain positive and continue meditating.  I rated myself an 8 previously.  Today, I will rate myself a 9.  Since Unit 3, I have met my goal of practicing meditation, although I have to continue and make it an integral part of my life.  

My personal journey through this course has been one of true enlightenment and adventure.  It has opened my eyes to a happier and heathier life and the tools to help me continue the adventure.  I have begun showing my children techniques and sharing with them my experiences in this class.  This entire class has been rewarding and fulfilling in ways I never imagined.  As I wrote in the end of the unit survey, this class should be a mandatory one!!  Through my experiences, I will be able to help others seek wholeness, guiding them to practices that work for them.  I have begun this journey and will have the experience to help others start their own journeys.  I know now what it's like to be enlightened to a whole new life...only now can I help others discover the same.

peace signs....pink....palm trees!!!!  my 3 favorite things.

here's to a life of enlightenment and integral health!

love and kindness...
~Roz
 



Personal Application of Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

I.  It is very important for heath and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because as healers, integral health requires us to first bring this approach into our own lives.  This is about changing medicine as we know it and as the "holder of the tool kit," healers must transform themselves before they can change the medicine being practiced.  We are the keys to the growth and achievement of the integral healing process.  We would never truly be able to connect with a client or patient without knowing how to connect, but more importantly, how to recognize that deep, loving, caring connection.  We can never know what it really means to live in loving kindness if we don't learn and practice it ourselves.  We could never pass on the healing of wholeness if we were not wholly healed...integrally.
     The areas I need to develop so that I may achieve personal goals are interpersonal and worldly.  I have always thought of others before myself, but I know I need to take this further.   I need to shift my thinking to include "all of us" not just "we."  Adult relationships for me have been a challenge, partly because they force me to think and develop my inner and outer life.  I need to let these relationships bring me joy and rid myself of the ones that only bring suffering.  As I begin to develop my inner life, my outer life will also become healthier.  I do participate and contribute in life, but I want to make more of a difference.  I am very conscious about bringing compassion and love to my patients, but I want something more meaningful to the world.  I am developing this through my education and goal to work with underprivileged children.

II.    At this point in my life, I realize that how I create a life of happiness, wholeness and health will change from time to time.  I never thought of life as an ongoing process, but it makes sense.  When I originally assessed my suffering, it was due to stress caused by needing to find a new job (worldly).  I am still seeking a new job, but I've found a way to use that stress more positively.  I think I have moved this domain into a little higher position.  I've assessed my health by looking at each quadrant, adding more lines of development.  As I come to grips with one (or achieve it), I find another to replace it.  If one line is not so important at a certain time, I simply remove it and save it for when it becomes important again.  I am learning how to develop these areas and will chart my achievements (as they come).  My physical wellness has improved since I made the decision to join a gym.  It makes me feel better and improves my mood as well.  I am still working toward better nutrition and how to achieve that.  Spiritually, I am still in a very early stage of figuring this out.  While I grew up in an organized religion, I don't practice it on a regular basis, but have some interest in exploring a different aspect of my Jewish heritage, namely Kaballah.  So my spiritual wellness is still low on my totem pole score.  Psychologically, I am proud to say that I am making progress in this area as well.  I've found meditation has helped me in this area tremendously by giving me a more grounded and calmer outlook. 

III.   The first goal that I have for my self physically is to stick with my work out routine so that my goal of toning and increased endurance are achieved and maintained.  My spiritual goal is to learn more about Kaballah and sign up for a class (as a beginning) and see where that may lead me.  My psychological goal is a little more difficult to define.  I am learning a lot about myself through meditation and hope to seek additional contemplative practices.  I am learning what relationships are good for me and which ones are not...and how to let those go.

IV.    Two practices that I will achieve to maintain my physical health are walking as much as possible (parking further away, walking to nearby store) and to continue my workout regimen.  I must also remember that my mind has much to do with the health of my body.  Meditation will allow me to reduce stress and fatigue, allowing me to keep my inner body healthy.  My spiritual health must contain working on my consciousness,.  I will find  a practice that will allow me to control my mind and observe my thoughts and feelings.  Psychological practices cross into my meditation practices. 

V.  Assessing my progress will also take committment.  I will first make certain that I have integrated meditation and exercise into my daily life.  This will also include the conscious act of awareness and intention  I will have a "map" of my own to follow and can check my progress through this map.  I can use things like nature, art or volunteering to help my progress along.  As I add practices to my daily routine (or change them around).  While the map itself will not change, the ways I achieve may change.  I can take classes and find others who share my interest in order to maintain my long-term practices.  I can find a healer to help me stay on target as well.  I can attend retreats which will enforce my intentions.













Meditation and Visualization

I've enjoyed learning all of these healing practices, but the two that I found the most beneficial for me are Meditation and Visualization.
Meditation began as a challenge for me, calming my mind enough to then clear my mind was most difficult.  But as I found ways and time to practice, it became easier for me to clear my mind and meditate. 

Meditation has helped foster an incredible sense of well-being and contentment in my life, eventhough I haven't been doing it for very long.  I meditate for 20 minutes at lunch and just as I lay down to go to sleep every night.  Sleeping was never a problem for me, but I feel as if I get

a more restful sleep now. 

Visualization, as I discovered today, has been something that I've used many many years ago, but just never associated it with health and healing.  Thanks to Amanda O.'s discussion post, I had the realization that I used to visualize everything from playing sports to preparing for an interview to almost anything I wanted to succeed in. 

I am currently in an additional program of study (nutrition based) and find that I'm frequently stressed, but using visualization and meditation,
I can get myself into a place of concentration without all the other "noise" of the day in my brain.  Visualization will help me succeed by "seeing" myself accomplishing both my degree and my certification.

Inner Light - Integrative Healing

I think out of all of the exercises, this one has touched me most.  The person I chose to see and feel was my grandmother, and while she has passed over 20 years ago, I firmly believe she has been guiding me all of these years (as she did when she was alive).  I was able to become very relaxed, very quickly and really feel my grandmother and her wisdom, kindness and the way in which she spoke.  I found myself able to see the white light and actually envision it coming into me.  This was a palpable experience for me.  Really the first one since beginnng this class.

I've had some difficulty with calming my mind, so I've been practicing every day a lunch.  I'm able to sit in my car for about 30 minutes and practice wiping everything out of my mind.  I turn my radio on very low, ignoring the music or talking.  I was contemplating something important today and although my mind was completely clear and void of thoughts or images, I found a voice which spoke two very simple words to me and gave me my answer.  It was an amazing feeling and experience.  I realized the voice that spoke to me was my own, but it did not come out of my mouth.  Ihave to say, I've been quite relaxed today since then.

Practing meditation has helped me to become very calm in the face of adversity.  I tend to relax and think things through better.  I am less stressed than I was even a few weeks ago.  The obvious is that the less stress I have inside, the healthier I will be.  My heart, my organs, my whole body will benefit from less stress.  I will continue building on my meditation until I am ready to move on to meditations that take me deeper into healing.  Honestly, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to master this, but my "starting small" has paid off.

I believe it would be very difficult to help clients heal without having gone through the process myself.  I don't think I would have much credibility to suggest developing ones mind, body or spirit unless I had done so first.  There's such an unspoken connection between a healer and the one being healed.  The connection can only be made if the healer has the knowledge of actual experience and wisdom of having lived through their own healing.  So much of mind, body and spirit healing comes from establishing trust.  I have begun looking deeper into my own religion for some spiritual healing.  Meditation will be a very large part of my life and will help me to become a more loving person.  My body has already begun to heal because my outlook is different, my mind is beginning to heal as well as my spirit. I've also begun making nutrition and exercise changes into the healing of my body.

~Roz

Loving Kindness & Assessment

I really enjoyed the Loving-Kindness exercise.  I think about these ideals of freedom from suffering and finding health, happiness and wholeness for all people.  The exercise opened my heart even further and I felt very calm, satisfied and peaceful at the end.  I found it a little difficult to memorize the exact phrases, so I improvised a little.  But once I learn them, I believe I will use this exercise every morning before leaving the house.  I think it will inspire me to be more sensitive, caring and giving to others.  It definitely shifts any focus I may have had on myself to a focus on all others.

I did fairly well with the assessment and the complete honesty I had to have with myself.  Right now in my life, my source of difficulty (I wouldn't call it suffering) comes from the aspect of worldly...namely my job.  I recently found out that I am ineligible to complete a series of tests in order to keep my job.  This is a stressful situation for me, but I have found that it's opened up other doors and avenues for me to pursue my truer calling.  Although I am dealing with it in a very positive way, until I have signed on to another job, it remains a stresser.  My survival (and that of my children's), my creative expression, service and fulfillment are all lines that are essential, but for now survival is the most crucial.  Having a steady job that pays the bills is #1 on the list. I have begun looking and have several opportunities on the horizon.  I'm feeling hopeful that creatively I will find something that allows me to stay in patient care (service) which has always been a place of fulfillment for me.

Promoting integral development, in the form of biologically,would be the area I would like to explore toward growth and development.  (The one after this will be psychospiritual).  Once I train my body toward physical health and nutritional health, I will then turn to my mind/body health and spiritual/body health.  I feel like I've begun to take these steps already.  I am slowly changing our eating habits to include more nutritious and whole foods. I have recently joined a gym and am very excited to work on toning and stamina.  Once I feel confident that I have reached a level where nutrition and physical activity have become a part of my life, I will pursue the mind/body healing.  I have already taken small steps using meditation as a starting point.  I feel more confident today about my future and what I can give to my children and others than I have in a long time!

"Loving Kindess" vs. "The Subtle Mind"

For whatever the reason, I found the "Loving Kindness" (LK) a more difficult exercise than "The Subtle Mind " (SM).  It may have just been the timing, but it was difficult for me to quiet down the chatter in my mind with LK.  It was, as I mentioned in my post, very foreign for me to have images in my head of those I love, but without emotion.  I think the SM exercise allowed me a deeper concentration (when I wasn't fighting with my chatter), quieting my mental activity more quickly and certainly in a deeper manner.  I think I can use the SM exercise to master the LK exercise.


Spiritual wellness is a more difficult process to accept, especially in Western culture.  Spiritual wellness is connected to our mental and body wellness, giving us a an understanding beyond our "solid" bodies.  Understanding of a subtler body and mind.  It is fascinating to realized that our bodies continuously change because of the recycling of elements we eat (and have been eaten) or by the air we breathe (which has been breathed before).  Understanding that the miracles of life are not just about the body, but about a higher understanding of our bodies. Because the mind affects the body, and the body affects the mind, we are finding that spirituality also affects the mind and body, controlling aspects of our bodies.  Spirituality enables us to begin to understand extended human abilities and allows us to understand the nature of disease and death, without fear or prejudice.


This connectedness between spirituality and the mind and body has just begun in my life.  I've always considered myself "spiritual" but never really knew what that meant.  Now I'm beginning to understand how spirituality can coerce a healthy mind and body.  I am understanding the ability that I have to let go of the fear of the unknown, let go of the chaos that affects my body and mind, and find that inner peace that will direct my body, mind and soul toward health, happiness and wholeness.

AHHHH Feeling better!

After a tough almost 2 weeks of being sick, this picture really cheered me up! 

I had a severe case of bronchitis, which affected my asthma.  I honestly thought I had pneumonia, but thankfully no.  I haven't been this sick for a very long time, but I guess it just took this episode to knock more sense in me and stop my procrastination toward a life of health and wellness...mind, body AND soul.  I've researched about a Kabbalah class and also had a nice long take with my children about our up and coming lifestyle and nutrition changes. 

TIME TO WAKE UP AND THANK G-D I CAN STILL SMELL THE ROSES

p.s. I know my next tattoo(s) is hiding in there somewhere!!