#1
While reflecting on psychological, physical and spiritual well-being, I have seen my personal score progress from a rating of 6 to 9. The reason for this progress is that ‘seeds,’ in the form of new information, received through studies and practices, have taken root and finally to grow. My psychological well- being is more clear and subtle now than before. I have a different perception of how to deal with personal stress. Everyone is stressed these days. So, what’s the big deal about one more person suffering the same? Well, the big deal is this; since stress seems to be a given, these days, the question is, will I let stress shape my life, or will I take charge of my own life and manage the stress so that it becomes a blessing, rather than a curse? I have chosen to be the victor rather than the victim. My commitment is foster a healthy mind by maintaining a positive attitude. That is, my choice is to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.
#1 B
Reflections of improved physical well-being are from increased physical exercise,
on a regular basis. With a busy schedule, I had to actually ‘make time’ for practicing what I considered to be a very important ordeal, physical activities that can maintain and improve fitness of the body. Along with a healthy mind, I also need to maintain a healthy body.
#1 C
A healthy spirit is the third piece of the picture to make the concept of wholeness complete. Reflecting on contemplative exercises, including forms of meditation, learning to have an attitude of loving-kindness, forgiveness and gratefulness is helpful in obtaining a mind that is calm, free and peaceful. This directly affects one’s spirit can in turn affect the mind and its thoughts. I have seen in scientific studies that a calm mind, calm spirit and a relaxed body will live a longer, healthier and happier life. Confirmation of this knowledge has been expressed in ancient philosophies from China, Tibet, India and our own indigenous American Indians. (Schlitz, Amorok, MIcozzi, 2005)
#2
Looking back on goals established earlier and the progress made since, a fair amount of accomplishment has been achieved. This entire journey has been a remarkable education which has also been a memorable social encounter as well. The communication and sharing of ideas is comparable to a form of social therapy. Stimulated by the wisdom of writings by a number of great thinkers, additional thoughts and words combine to reproduce interesting viewpoints. From a spiritual perspective, our exchange of responses and comments is another way of inspiring one another.
Being able to connect spiritually, through physical means of communication, brings a
special kind of joy and happiness. This, I believe, was an unexpected find for us all;
Spirited joyfulness through communication and sharing. Either way, progress has been achieved. I am proud to have grown through the excitement, enthusiasm and motivation. With an inspired spirit, a mind can operate with exuberant vitality as it directs the body onto a path of human flourishing and integral health. (Dacher, 2006)
#3
I have implemented these three concepts into daily living by (A) deliberately projecting positive light on any situation. This does not guarantee that an ugly situation will suddenly turn pretty and all will suddenly become favorable. I take control by refusing to allow the negativity allow be to join sides. In other words, I take care not to allow my thinking to become contaminated with negativity, especially since I know it can cause my body to suffer physical consequences.
(B)
To maintain physical fitness, each morning before starting the day, I spend a minimum of 20 minutes doing stretching exercises. Again, later in the day, physical activities include bicycling or walk/run. Walk /run activities usually cover a minimum distance of 3 to 4 miles. Bicycling will cover a minimum distance of 5 to 6 miles. To benefit the most, I alternate these exercises, from time to time.
(C) In order to maintain a healthy spirit, I incorporate forms of meditation with my activities whenever possible. On other occasions, I retreat to a quiet place, such as a park or lake and meditate quietly. A quiet and peaceful environment is always helpful in “unwinding” and re-programming (training) the mind to absorb that which is positive and filter out negative thoughts. …easier said than done? Right. That’s why contemplative and meditation, as a practice, is such a challenge. It requires commitment, re-organizing and rearrangement of life in order to “make time” for practice.
#4
In summary, this course helped develop and improve my all around well-being.
My “all around well-being” is what I have learned to recognize as my whole being. The whole being is mind, body and spirit. As long as there are external distractions, confusion, disputes and confrontations, I will continue to focus on developing and improving my well-being. I must continue the ongoing process of developing a stronger “wholeness,” in order not to become another health statistic.
(B) The entire experience of participating in this course was more like an educational journey, which has been remarkably rewarding. The references, the inspirational conversations on the discussion board, the enlightening readings by our professor, the readings and not least of all, the research, have all been components of the “great reward,” expanded knowledge!
(C) The difficulty was balancing this course with another science course, both of which required a large amount of reading, writing and research. However, looking at the “bright side,” a point of view shared by the victor, altogether, these challenges have made me a stronger person. More specifically, this class helped to develop my thought processes, attitude and given me a broader perspective of developing the “whole me.”
(D) This experience, by the way, “experience” is an accurate description of this course, will improve my ability to assist others because I have a different concept of
“others” as I do of myself. From our studies, I learned the perquisite for helping others is ‘self - help’ first. Once the “whole” well-being of the helper is fit, then he will realize that he is a representative/ example of his own efficacy. In working with others,
I have learned the importance of listening with both physical and spiritual ears. Listening to hear what is said, suing the sum total of what is said to combine with what is unsaid in order to really hear the person. I can assist others with greater proficiency
because I can incorporate psychological, physiological and spiritual elements to reach out to the needs of the total person.
References:
Dacher, E., M.D. (2006) Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing,
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., Marcozzi, M., (2005) Consciousness and Healing, Integral
Approaches to Mind Body Healing.
