Unit 9: Final Project

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?

It is essential for everyone to walk towards the path of human flourishing but it is even more important for health and wellness professionals to walk this path. According to Ken Wilber, “One cannot lead another where one has not gone him or herself”, this, I believe, is the reason why healthcare providers must develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically (Dacher, 2006). In anything that you do in this world, for it to be believable, and genuine, it must come from our passion and inner wisdom. If a nurse has just lectured a patient on the danger of smoking and in the same breath turns around and smoke while she is on her break, she has no grounds, and has lost credibility and trust from that patient. She unknowingly harms that patient with her words. We all must strive to practice what we preach.

Personally, since this class, I have been making some improvements on myself. Don’t get me wrong, I am still a beginner and still have a long way to go. Thankfully, this class have given me a place and tools to start with. I am working on my spiritually and psychologically and that is going well, but my weakest area is my physical aspect. I need work on this. Summer is right around the corner and I am looking to being more active. I am dedicating my summer to becoming more active and physically fit than I am now.

Assessment:

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

The way that I have assessed my physical side is by looking at myself in the mirror and getting on the scale. I know this does not give me a true picture of myself but it is a good start for me. Even though my clothes are still fitting I know that I cannot gauge my physical health with this. I know that I am not as active as I can be, so I need to do better. On a scale of 1-10, I would give myself a 5 right now. Hopefully, after this summer, I can bump this number up.

The way that I keep tabs on my spiritual side is that I make sure that I get in some bible reading time. I realize that is more like a checklist and not really spiritual at all. I am trying to get rid of my old habit and replacing it with a new one, like bible reading. Since the start of this class I have been combining mini meditation/visualization after my bible reading. I’ve noticed that I am not as angry as I use to be and I am feeling a bit more relaxed than before. I would give myself a 7 only because I sometimes miss a day or two.

For my psychological aspect of my life I would say that I am somewhere between 6-7. I had thought that I was at a higher level but after taking this class, I know I have a ways to go. I will continue to work towards human flourishing. It is a journey.

Goal development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

Goal for Physical: To become more active this summer and to take up Tai Chi.

Goal for Psychological: To increase my time in my meditation and visualization as well as adding Tai Chi to my routine.

Goal for Spiritual: To set time aside each morning for my bible reading each morning (even if it is only 5 minutes). I realize that spiritual growth is more than just reading the bible but as this activity becomes a daily routine; it will become a part of me. This will help me to connect with God in a deeper and more meaningful way.

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.

My strategy to help foster personal growth in my physical aspect is to start getting outside more. I am planning on walking at least a mile three times a week and adding Tai Chi at least 3 days a week as well. In order to keep track of progress, I will ask my husband to take on this challenge with me. In addition, to keep ourselves accountable we will be writing our activity down on the calendar.

For my Psychological aspect, my strategy is to focus on loving-kindness and subtle mind activity. This is something I can do as a part of my daily bible reading routine. Taking a little time to get focused and clear my mind and praying for others’ well-being.

For Spiritual, I am integrating my Bible reading into my daily routine. Right now, I am reading a chapter a day. My goal is to read through the whole Bible. Tai Chi is an activity I have mentioned in my physical goal but it will also serve to foster my spiritual growth as well. I am planning on incorporating Tai Chi by using a DVD series.

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?

I plan on assessing my progress every couple of months depending how much I have improve or regress back to my old habits. I really like the idea of using a chart to help keep track of my progress. I am a visual person, so I believe this method will work for me. I also like the idea of keeping a journal that makes me rate myself every six months, very similar to what I am doing now.

Reference
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, California: Basic Health.

Unit 8: Optimal Well-Being

I love subtle mind and visualization. I hope to continue to incorporate them as part of my daily routine. I am planning on using subtle mind and visualization during my bible reading time. I am not sure if I can dedicate thirty minutes each and everyday but I will try my best. Each morning, I get up with my son and we have breakfast together, after breakfast while he is busy playing with his toys, this is the time I can read the bible, soak in God’s word, and let it permeates my whole body. Right now, I am only doing about 5 minutes for each exercise but I am confident that with more practice I will be able to fit in more time. I am still planning on adding Tai Chi into my daily routine; this will help with physical, psychological, and spiritual aspect of my health.

Maggie

Unit 7: Meeting Asciepius Exercise

For this week’s exercise “Meeting Asciepius”, I found myself enjoying this much more than any other exercises that we have done so far; although, subtle mind exercise is a close second. In the beginning, I had to figure out who it was that I wanted to use in this exercise but when I did figure it out, it was pretty easy. I love the instructions on the CD, very helpful. I also love the sound of the ocean in the background.

I feel that this exercise helped me to be more mindful and it enhances my spiritual well being. This is definitely something I can make time to do. I am not sure if I will be able to do 15 minutes everyday but I think that I can swing at least 5 minutes. I plan to incorporate this activity with my bible reading.

Now the saying “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” To me, this simply means that you cannot tell your patients to seek integral health when you yourself is not practicing it. In health and wellness, integral healing is vital but it is often the missing element in our current system. All of us, as a medical profession have an obligation not only to our patients but to ourselves to develop our own health psychologically, physically, and spiritually.

For an example, you if are a nurse who is working on an oncology ward and you smoke during you break, how are you able to help your patients get better? You will loose creditability and trust with your patients.

I am planning to integrate the subtle mind, the Asciepius, and Tai Chi exercise along with my bible reading to help further my psychological and spiritual growth.

Maggie

Unit 6: Loving Kindness meditation and Integral Assessment

Wow! This week was a really tough week for me. Last week I had two projects, two seminars, one exercise, a blog and two discussions; no problem. This week? I just had to do a blog, discussions, seminars and a quiz; I can barely catch my breath. Ok…deep breath…I am better now, just need to vent a little.

From all the blogs that I have been following, everyone seems like they really like the Loving-kindness exercise. I on the other hand have so much trouble staying focus; my mind just goes where it wants to go. I find myself adding the subtle mind exercise to help me reel in my mind and then I can continue on with my Loving-kindness activity. This exercise will require a lot of practice.

While I was laying on my bed doing the Integral Assessment on myself, my mind was running wild and free. I feel like I have no peace or control over my thoughts this week. Maybe it is because I am getting ready for my in-laws to come in from out of town for my husband’s graduation this Friday. I definitely think that I need to work on my psychospiritual, and interpersonal aspects. Above all else, I need to find a quite time for myself and get control of my mind.

Like I mentioned above, I really like the subtle mind exercise and I find that particular breathing method is a big help for me. So I think that will be my focus for the next couple of days.

Maggie