Unit 10 Blog

In the unit 3 blog on a scale of 1-10, I said that my physical wellbeing is at an 8, or at least close to it because I’m in relatively good physical shape but do aspire to increase my physical well being. I gave my psychological well being a 7 because I basically recognized my need for growth in that area. And spiritually I gave myself a 10 because I almost always view myself in a positive way and I feel good about my capabilities, accomplishments, relationships with others, and my general place in the world. I of course do not proclaim to be perpetually positive, but the reason I gave myself a spiritual 10 is because I have a healthy expression of emotions, whether they are negative or positive in origin. I’ve adopted an optimistic attitude towards life and actively seek out new ways to improve myself.

Spiritually, although I have changed and grown because of the lessons in this course I still maintain a 10 for the same reasons I believed myself to be in the unit three blog. In my physical well being I do think that I have improved, I have looked into ways to improve my flexibility and am taking part in a tai chi program. This is what I mentioned I would like to work on in my unit 3 blog. I wanted to add a stretching element to my physical routine because it will not only help with flexibility it is also believed to improve physical shape in other ways. Taking part in a regular stretching program can also increases circulation to muscles being stretched, helps prevents problems with the back and spine, improves posture, and promotes graceful body movements and basically just makes me feel good. My psychological 7 was probably more like a 5 or 6 but I gave myself a little too much credit on that one. I called myself a 7 because I have a trouble recognizing my role in making certain mistakes and I don’t think I should. It’s like I know what I’m doing and I know that I don’t want it to happen the way its happening but I’m helpless to stop myself. An exercise I was looking to help me with that problem was something to help me recognize and react to my own behavior flaws in time to prevent them, I was hoping this class would help me with that and it did. The calming and meditation exercises I have been learning and practicing are really improving my inner peace, and as it turns out that is the key to controlling these types of situations for me. By remaining in a state of inner peace and calmness it slows down these situations giving plenty of time to properly react to whatever is happening.

My personal experience and growth throughout this course has totally changed the way I envision total human health. As I stated in my unit 10 blog excellent health and wellness goes way beyond fitness and the absence of disease to include an enormous spiritual element. I was beyond impressed by the effects of exercises we preformed in this class on my mental psyche, physical body, and over all state of mind. The excitement that I have to see how much I can improve myself from these lessons and the ones I will continue to seek out in the future is an incredible motivational factor for me. I’m so glad I took this class.  

Unit 9 Project/Blog

Edward Jay Capshaw

Unit 9 Project

Professor Dorette Nysewander

HW420-01: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

May 15, 2012

Unit 9 Project

               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? Combining the development of psychological, spiritual and physical health involves many aspects of life that help to keep an individual in the best all around condition of wellness. As a health and wellness professional this is important to understanding, because this can be the foundation of understanding an individual and gaining insight.  Building and developing from the inside at the inner core of a person will shine through to the outside.  For an individual to portray strong and healthy outside behavior, working from the inside first is necessary (Dacher, 2006). There really are numerous benefits a person can receive thought treatment from professionals who do develop healing techniques that combine psychological, spiritual and physical aspects of healing. “As medicine grows in understanding and capacity, practitioners must similarly evolve. In many instances, practitioners themselves will be the leading edge of change; in other instances, it is important for us to keep apace with change that is already in progress” (Dacher, 2006). A very important reason for health care professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically is that it can provide a strong foundation of understanding and knowledge for patient’s who are developing themselves in all areas of health and wellness. One area that I need to continue to improve and develop in my quest for optimal health is stress management. Living in today’s world is almost imposable to without encountering stress. Fortunately, there is good news that stress can be self controlled. Sadly, I think I have accepted stress as a part of my everyday life and have become accustom to facing and dealing with it. At times I don’t know how to cope with certain stresses effectively. I don’t think that stress should be avoided entirely, because a certain amount can be necessary or even helpful for motivation, performance, and maybe even optimal health and well being. The problem for me is when I allow stress to push beyond healthy limits, I allow stress to transform into distress and I begin to function less effectively or at the very least beneath my abilities. Thanks to this class and the wisdom of both the professor and my fellow students I have learned an important aspect of stress management. In short, stress management is more easily preserved by keeping a sense of control when high stress generating demands fall upon an individual. As I have made significant progress in this area it remains a work in progress for me and has need of further improvement.

               How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically? I find it a little difficult to evaluate myself, but in the realm of physicality despite being slightly over weight I am in good physical shape. I jog four or five times a week and strength train at least twice per week and to tell the truth if I was not over weight I would look unhealthily thin. In fact yesterday at work I ran some blood tests on myself just to pass the time. My liver enzymes were right in the middle of the reference ranges, my glucose (non-fasting) was 107, HDL of 48, Triglycerides of 145, LDL of 105 (near optimal), and a complete blood count (CBC) was all within normal limits. These are all medical characteristics of someone in very good physical health so I am confident in my assessment of good health, at least physically.

               Of the three aspects of healing we are being asked to evaluate ourselves in I think the psychological facet is where I score the poorest. I translate psychological health as the study of the spirit, cognitions, and perceptions, or knowledge of the soul. I think it to be the study of my personality which I do know well. To develop a healthy psyche with an intellect that can expand wholesomely and fully into something requires a great understanding of ones own mind and desires. For me it is difficult at times to properly act on and recognize what strengthens the psyche and what weakens it. I have not yet found a discipline and systematic understanding of my own psyche, the fears, angers, and even joys that influence my personality and behavior are often a mystery to me. Although this may sound dire I don’t grade myself as poor in the category of psychology, more accurately I would say average. I do as much as possible work towards the evolution of my psyche and contribute as much as I can for its improvement.

               I do think that in optimal spiritual wellness I am doing well in the development of my spiritual health to its fullest potential. As in any other aspect of health, the best spirituality requires developing it to its fullest potential. As a base for my continual improvement efforts for my spiritual health, I am a very positive person and able to find the proverbial silver lining to almost any situation. I think the biggest contribution to my strong spiritual wellbeing is a healthy expression and acceptance of emotions, whether they are negative or positive in origin. I think that acceptance in a key element to almost every form of emotional happiness. Like I stated in our week three blog “I’ve adopted an optimistic attitude towards life and actively seek out new ways to improve myself”. I believe these to be pretty justifiable reasons for my positive impression of my spiritual well being.

               List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual. A goal in physical health I have wanted to improve and increase in is the intensity level of my workouts, to better develop my cardiorespiratory system and work towards improved flexibility. I have often overlooked the importance of these two aspects and that for the best muscle development they must be over loaded to a given point. The biggest goal I have in spiritual health is the continued improvement in my meditation abilities. Although some techniques can be learned relatively quickly, I can be easily frustrated and must continue practicing in order to reap all the benefits meditation has to offer. As far as psychological health needs are concerned I would like to better deal with stress. It has a continuous theme throughout these assignments and remains the biggest element of my psyche that I feel requires the most attention.         

               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.  Flexibility is the best possible range of motion at a joint or joints without causing injury from the action. Some muscular and skeletal problems and injury can be related to lack of flexibility and the decline in these flexibilities could result in injury or chronic pain. While my desires to better myself in this physical activity is not due to any pain or injury, my recent attempts in yoga and tai chi have made me realize the need for improved flexibility. Luckily, flexibility can be improved by simple exercises like stretching, and continuing improvement in current exercises like the before mentioned yoga, and tai chi. Improved flexibility and stamina will also help with meditation, my most resent goal in the achievement of spiritual and psychological health. “Through the practice of calm abiding, or tranquility meditation, our restless, thinking mind subsides into a state of deep inner peace. The warring, fragmented aspects of our lives seem to settle and become friends; negativity and aggression are disarmed; frustration, tension, and turbulent emotions are defused; and the unkindness and harm within us is removed, revealing our inherent good heart” (Schlitz, Amorok & Micozzi, 2005). For me this is all the reasons I need to vigilantly practice a variety of meditation techniques but especially the tranquility and calm abiding methods. The most important tool to foster growth in meditation is dedication and practice through times of difficulty. Better coping with stress to improve my psyche is something I have been working towards for some tome now. I have incorporated a variety of practices to help me properly deal with stresses and one of the biggest is balance. The proper balancing of my family, work, and personal needs and responsibilities goes a long way in stress reduction. Getting the proper amount of sleep/rest is a valuable tool in stress reduction as well as daily physical activity. I’m focusing on trying not to worry about things that are beyond my control like the actions of others and if some lesser team defeats the New England Patriots. All kidding aside, I also prepare for foreseen stressful activity as best possible and actively strive to resole issues that cause stress. A phrase from “Consciousness & Healing” that I found insightful “Stress is not just what you do; it’s how you react to what you do” (Schlitz, Amorok & Micozzi, 2005). It is a phrase that occasionally helps me when stress begins to accumulate; it reminds me that I can maintain control of the situation.  

               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? I really haven’t put a lot of thought into tracking or even assessing my progress in any capacity, but I do agree that it’s a really good suggestion. I think that keeping a journal that starts with my current state of psychological, spiritual, and physical health and continues to track my efforts and activates over the next six months. If I kept detailed information on all of the activities I use to increase all three of these aspects of health, and the results from the various activates, it could become a valuable tool for examining the successes and failures of the activities. This journal could be used to determine what has been successful and therefore the activities I should focus on for optimal progress. Seeking out the assistance of trained professionals in some of the practices that show promising results to increase the effectiveness even more could be a helpful long term practice. I think the biggest help in long and short term success in health practices are good old fashioned hard work and dedication.

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications Inc.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness and healing. St Louis, MO: Churchill Livingstone.

        

             

Unit 8 Blog

I really think the first two blog assignments of Loving Kindness, and the Subtle mind had the most beneficial effects on me so far. These two exercises as well as the visualization one have each added a positive influence to my mental fitness. As I have stated before I have always believed in and try to live my life with the belief that you get back what you put into it, be it good or bad. As I have been practicing all three of these exercises I have noticed a residual positive echo remaining with me most of the time, I am able to remain much calmed during times of stress, but most valuably I have a greater tolerance for the things and people that once annoyed me. It gives me a very gratifying feeling of kindness and success for my ability to overcome some adversities and accept others I can do nothing about more easily. Although I have made great progresses I understand this is a work in progress and I am excited and encouraged for the future progress I could make by refining these techniques. By continuing to incorporate these practices into my daily life I foresee increasing the wonderful effects I have already experienced and possibly exploring some new ones. In some strange ways I am almost looking forward to adverse conditions in my life (nothing tragic of course, just challenging) so that I can practice my new found abilities of coping with them in a healthy and helpful way.  

Unit 7 A Relative Success

This week’s meditative practice was a relative success for me. I am getting much better at calming myself and relaxing very quickly and selecting a wise and honorable person whom I have great respect for was also very easy as I am fortunate enough to have had an array of respectable role models. In a slightly less successful aspect of this assignment, I was in no way able to become the wise person I had selected to experience what it was like. This part of the exercise was way to advanced for my current meditative capabilities, in fact I would say the unfortunately this entire class goes to fast in this area for me to advance with it. As the narrator said it will require time, much practice, and a lot of patience. Despite my feelings on the speed that this class is progressing, my spiritual health as absolutely thrived through the last month or so. I am very happy that I am able to remain much calmer than before when my work becomes chaotic, and with this added calmness comes more pleasure in a job I already love. If not for the exercises of this class I doubt that I would have ever found the insight or ability to accomplish this and for that I am very grateful.

I think the saying “one cannot lead another where one has not gone him or herself” is explaining as used in our text is explaining that in a teacher we must seek out an individual who has appropriate experience. It is wisely informing us that we cannot be thought how to advance our spiritual health by teachers who have not already achieved heightened spiritual knowledge and health.

~Jay    

The Unit 6 Realization

I don’t know why but after the loving kindness meditation exercise I felt really good about things going on in my life. It’s funny that as I was engaging in this exercise I really thought that I was a forgiving person, that I didn’t hold grudges and possessed no anger towards people who have been less than kind or even mean to me. I was wrong; it was initially difficult to even imagine health, happiness, and wholeness for some people who have been a part of my life, not to mention wishing I could assist them with it. It was equally surprising that this realization was actually the key I needed to release the unknown animosity I was harboring for these specific few individuals. It was a very refreshing epiphany that I’m positive did far greater good for my own health, happiness, and wholeness than it ever could for them. Just for fun though, I may engage in a little sociological experiment of my own and find out what might happen if I make the effort and show them universal loving kindness as this exercise suggests.

The first exercise pretty much flowed into the second for me. The fact that I was holding more of a grudge than I had thought, and a little more anger for injustices done to me held on a little as I began the second part of this assignment. I was happy that it was my spiritual being that was in the most need of growth and that I am also ready for spiritual growth.  

The Subtle Mind was Hard to Find

I found the subtle mind exercise to be the most difficult of all the blog assignments so far. I was not able to achieve any kind of deep relaxation using this technique and I think it was because I was suffering from a minor cold. The biggest problem was that I was extremely congested and regulating deep repetitive breathing was difficult and frustrating. I did like the example and explanation of breathing creating a relationship between the mind and body. In the exercise the narrator made the association “still the breath, still the mind” perhaps this was the source of my problem. I was unable to control my breathing in any controlled way to still my breath so I was unable to still my mind, I really think that I failed the instant I became frustrated with the situation. The part of the exercise that talked about the mind being involuntarily pulled towards random thoughts is defiantly something I need to work on but I will continue my efforts to improve my results. I suspect that mastering these types of exercises could take years in some cases, and I may be one of those cases but my success with the other exercises has shown me the benefit they can provide for health and stress removal thus extending life. I will continue to practice stabilizing my mind as suggested by the narrator.   

Unit 4 Blog

It was interesting to hear the introduction of this exercise given by Dr. Dacher in person, for me actually hearing the voice of an author adds an element to the reading experience. I have always believed in and try to live my life with the belief that you get what you put into it, so I am admittedly attracted to Dacher’s attitude towards life. I didn’t find the exercise very difficult this week, at least not as difficult as the previous two were. I have been practicing so I think that it is becoming easier for me to relax my mind as required for these relaxation exercises, much easier than in the beginning of these blog assignments. The part of this specific exercise that had an effect on me was when the narrator said to turn the focused love back and into myself, I frequently give love and positivity outward towards others and never really realized how little I give to myself. It was an odd realization to stumble upon and caught me by surprise but I will make an effort to save a little for me because it really felt good. The long pause at the end almost made me late for work because I didn’t realize it ended and just continued to relax. The concept of a mental workout is basically the same as a physical workout, it requires frequent exercise to remain in or gain its best state of being. Some research even indicates that mental exercises can reduce the destruction of, or even grow new neurons in the brain helping increase memory and coordination. It sounds to me like the benefits of a routine mental workout are definitely worth the effort.

Jay