Unit 9 Final Project

INTRODUCTION:

It is extremely important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically. This is mainly because the health and wellness field focuses on the individual as a "whole" person, which focuses on these three aspects, as well as the "worldly" aspect. People look at health and wellness professionals and expect them to "have it all together" in their own lives so that they can better teach others to get it together, too. Also, if people are at their own personal optimal health, they can better serve others to reach their highest potential in this area. The areas that I need to develop are mostly physical. I really want to look into some oxygen therapy and ozone therapy for the tumor in my leg. Psychologically and spiritually I feel that I am where I need to be. Physically, I just want to get rid of this tumor. I do a body detox about 3 or 4 times a year. I haven't done any in the past year, though, and I can tell by the way my body feels that I am overdue. I am also looking into doing a Chelation (heavy metal) detox, which I have never done before. That was also suggested to me for my tumor.

ASSESSMENT:

I feel that there is always room for improvement, even for the most psychologically, spiritually, and physically sound. Having said that, I know that I said I feel that I am where I need to be, spiritually and psychologically, and I DO feel that way. I know, though, that I could always find ways to improve my health in that area. The one thing that is constant in this life is change. We can not grow if things do not change. Therefore, change is good. Spiritually, I would give myself a 9 on a scale of 1-10. Psychologically, I would give myself an 8 and physically, I would give myself a 6. I would give myself a 6, physically because of the tumor in my leg. I take care of myself, for the most part. I don't smoke, drink, do any drugs (legal OR illegal), and I am not promiscuous. I am very clean and a bit of a "germaphobe". I am a very positive and up-beat person. I am 5'2 and weigh 214 pounds. The tumor in my leg, however, has been estimated (due to MRI scans) at about 45 pounds. So, this is no small tumor. I have had five surgeries and am trying to approach it purely holistically now, because I am sick of being poked, prodded, and cut. Other than that, my health is good. I COULD get a little more exercise, and I plan on implementing more of that into my daily routine.

GOAL DEVELOPMENT:

Spiritually I am very strong. There are times, though they are few and far between, that I have to catch myself getting upset about things that are not worth it. My goal, spiritually, would be to reach a level that I am able to totally stop this before it starts and not have anything to "catch".  Psychologically, I would like to have a better MEMORY! If I knew everything that I know when I should know it, I would be dangerous!  For example, I was riding down the road with a friend the other day, and I was telling her something and MID-SENTENCE, (I swear this is true) I looked at her and said "What was I just saying?" In MID-SENTENCE! What I was talking about VANISHED from my head in mid-sentence. It came back to me a minute later but that is SO frustrating! Physically, I want to get rid of this tumor. It is very costly, though, as insurance won't pay for it because none of the methods are approved by the FDA. (Of course, as we well know, that doesn't mean the methods don't work!) That's frustrating too.

PRACTICES FOR PERSONAL HEALTH:

Physically, I can get more aerobic and anaerobic exercise. My boyfriend is all about the gym and, when he moves down here with me, I will have him to motivate me to fit time in my day for exercise. I know that sounds horrible and I should be able to motivate myself. In many situations I CAN motivate myself, but for some reason I have never been a self-motivator where exercise is concerned. The second thing that I can do, physically, is get more REST. I should not go to bed so late when I know that I have to get up early. Much of the reason that I can't rest, though, is because of the tumor. I toss and turn throughout the night and NEVER sleep more than 30 to 45 minutes without waking up. Then, it could take me as long as an hour to go back to sleep, depending on how "awake" I become. Psychologically, I have already learned to pick my battles. Sometimes, though, I find myself distracted by things that really don't matter, in the bigger scheme of things. I would like to not get distracted so much. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I would love to have better memory. I am thinking of taking something, maybe Gingko, to help with that. Also, I play brain-training games sometimes and do crossword puzzles. Those are said to be a big help with memory. Spiritually, I would like to be able to reach my highest potential. I want to be able to meditate more easily. I also want to have more time to use the visualization techniques that I have learned.

COMMITMENT:

To assess my progress, or lack thereof, over the next six months will take conscious effort on my part. Also, I have a 10 year old son who won't let me get away with anything if I tell him to get on me when I am not doing a certain thing that I am supposed to be doing. Kids love the chance to reprimand their parents, so I definitely have support there.  I will also tell others what I am doing and make myself accountable to them. They will most likely ask me on a daily basis what I did to work towards my goals. Me being the honest person that I am, I will tell on myself if I don't do what I am supposed to. That will motivate me to stick with the program because I don't like being lectured.

Unit 8 Blog

All exercises have been beneficial in their own right. The two that I
feel have been most beneficial to me are the loving-kindness exercise,
and the subtle mind exercise. I have already been implementing these
practices in my life for the past year or so. I didn't know them by
these specific exercises or names, but have been using the steps that
are in these exercises. For instance, I have been meditating and
practicing sending love and healing energies to others who need it
and opening myself up to receive those energies in return. What we
put out, we also get back, so when we send something out, we must
be ready to receive it back. This is the good AND the bad, so be
mindful about what you send out to the Universe. Don't send anything
out that you don't want to receive. Also, I use visualization. My
favorite visualization is anything to do with water, ie, waterfalls,
oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, etc. Water has SUCH a calming effect
on me. As a matter of fact, when I feel nauseous, I often go in the
bathroom and sit down and turn the sink on and just listen to the water
running. Sometimes, if I'm REALLY nauseous, I lay in the bathroom floor
and listen to the water. After a few minutes, I usually feel better.
I also dink MetroMint Water. It's AWESOME! If you've never tried it,
you should see if your grocer carries it. Not all grocery stores have
it but it's wonderful for upset stomachs and it's natural. (NO MEDICATION!)
It's just purified water and mint extract. :) Ginger is also good
for soothing the tummy, but it is VERY strong and can BURN if you
use too much.

Unit 7 Exercise

I was very relaxed during the Aesculapius mp3. Although I have had some
difficulties with previous exercises in this class, due to the fact that
the meditations are guided, I feel that I have had the most success with
THIS exercise. I could actually see the Dalai Lama and the white light
penetrating his head, throat, and heart. I could FEEL his presence. It
was an indescribable feeling! I felt love, peace, and joy from him. I
plan to revisit this exercise many times in the future. However, when
it got to the part of taking him into myself and "becoming" him, I decided
not to go along with that part of the exercise. The reason being that
we ALL are unique in our own way. I am ALREADY a great and wise healer
and don't need to turn myself into someone else to be so. Therefore, I
chose to hold onto my own uniqueness.

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is
self-explanatory. Obviously, you can not take somewhere where you haven't
been because you don't know how to get there. The book uses the example of
having a map of Hawaii doesn't mean that you know the territory. The map will
point out where certain destinations are, but if you are at all familiar with
map reading, you will know that not ALL destinations are on the map. There are
a lot of things that you can only find be being there and experiencing it
first-hand. For instance, everyone reveres Duke University and it's medical
center as top notch and this is reflected by their stats and surveys. However,
I have had two surgeries there, and one of them was to cut away necrotic tissue
due to a staph infection that I got while in the care of DUMC. It turns out that
someone did not sterilize the instruments properly before using them and, as a
result, several people (including me) got staph infections. You can only TEACH someone
or "lead" them to something if you have had the experience of it yourself,or at least
first hand knowledge of it.

How does this apply to the health and
wellness profession? Well, I think it applies to everyone, in every situation.
That includes all aspects of your life.

I feel like you have an obligation to
YOURSELF to be developing your health psychologically, spiritually, and physically.
It IS possible to teach someone and help them through something without actually
having experienced it, IF you are well versed (have witnessed it) in what to do.
Therefore, I would say, NO. You DON'T have to have it all together and be working
on yourself in order to be able to help others with something. It definitely HELPS
to have the experience and know what it is to have gone through what you are helping
others through, but it is not necessary to have gone through it to be able to help
them. As I said before, if you have witnessed a situation and saw what was done about
it and witnessed the outcome of those decisions, then you know what should and should
not be done in that situation in the future. For instance, if you know that, in a certain
part of your town, there are gang members and they wear certain colors and you know what
those colors are and you find yourself HAVING to go into that part of town for some reason,
you will probably be conscious of what colors you wear, not wanting to set off one or the
other gangs. That is a rough example, I know, but you get the jist of it. Anyone with half
a brain or any sense at all will know that, if it is common knowledge that a certain herb
cures 8 different types of cancer and your cancer is not on the list but you have no other
alternatives, it may be a good idea to give it a shot anyway. I mean, what do you have to
lose? Let's look at the choices.....take this herb that MIGHT save you, is safe and effective
on similar illnesses, and has no side effects; OR do nothing and die. I think I will take
the herb EVERY TIME.

I implement psychological and spiritual growth in my personal life by being CONSCIOUS of my
emotions, mood, and attitude. I am CONSCIOUS of how I respond to others and how they react
to my response. You must be conscious and aware of what you are doing to/for/with people and
how they are being affected, as well as how your decisions are affecting yourself, and how
THEIR decision affect YOU. Also, the same applies with nature. If I am going for a walk and
see trash on the ground (that is not too unsanitary to pick up with my hands and there is
a trash can nearby) I pick it up. I teach my kids that every day is Earth day and that
we MUST keep the Earth clean. We mustn't waste water and I try to get them to get out and play
and walk whenever possible to get our natural source of Vitamin D and fresh air. As I have
said before, this is the only Earth we have....she sustains US, not the other way around.
The LEAST we can do is to maintain and care for her in return.

Unit 6 Assessment

I did the loving-kindness exercise as I have done it in the past. I envisioned my loved ones
who needed something, whether it was health related or spiritual or whatever. I sent out
love and healing energies to them. That was the easiest part of this exercise.
With the assessment, I chose to go with my spiritual growth, when choosing which area needed
the most work. Of course, I need to also enhance the biological aspect too, (I have a benign
tumor in my right leg), but I feel that when I am in alignment spiritually and mentally, this
will come to me. I am expanding my enlightenment and awareness every day by connecting with
people and places that are very spiritual. I also seek out educational spiritual videos and
books. It will take time to get where I need and want to be, but I am putting the time in and
am seeing results, little by little, almost every single day. :) As for exercises that I can
do, I already meditate but need to do more of this. I can also do other brain exercises to
help me. One such exercise that I do is the reverse psychology trick. I trick myself into
believing that I am feeling opposite of how I really do. You wouldn't think this would be
easy to achieve, but it is. :)

Unit 5 blog

1) Both the "loving-kindness" and the "subtle mind" exercises use the breath
as the focal point. They both, also, place importance on acknowledging
distractions and returning the focus to the breath. They both stress the
importance of maintaining firm concentration on the focal point. One difference
is that the "subtle mind" exercise is more forceful pertaining to keeping
the mind focused. The "subtle mind" exercise concentrates more on taming
the mind and it's distractions. The "loving-kindness" exercise focuses more
on emotion and attaining inner peace and love and putting that energy out
towards others. I enjoyed both of these exercises. I enjoyed the "loving-kindness"
exercise more, though. It was tough to do the exercise when it got to the
point of sending out love to my enemies. It was also difficult to take in
my loved one's suffering and let it "dissolve in my heart". However, I did
feel more at peace and full of love after the exercise. With the "subtle mind"
exercise, I felt it was a lot more difficult than the "loving-kindness" exercise
because it was dealing more with training the mind. It was dealing with the
distractions (mental chatter) that is so difficult to control. I did get frustrated
at times because I can't get to the point that I think I should be by the end
of the exercise. Practice makes perfect, however, and I know that I WILL get there.

2) When a person is spiritually well, it will manifest physically by causing the
body to work more efficiently and properly. For example, the person who is spiritually
well will have a normal BP, heart rate, less (if ANY) dis-ease in their body or illness,
more energy, and over all physical health. The person who is spiritually well will also
experience great mental health such as mental clarity, a good memory, good focus
and a higher intelligence. In my personal life, it has helped me in most of the areas
that I have mentioned. I do have a physical condition that I am working on. Also, I would
LOVE to have a sharper memory. lol I'm working on it, though. :)

Week 4 Relaxation

1) Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why
or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

2) What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research
indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you
implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?


Answers:

Honestly, there are those who benefit from guided meditation and there
are those who do not. I happen to be in the latter group. Her voice was
calm and soothing enough. I just find it very distracting to have someone
tell me what to do during meditation. I loved the ocean waves sound and
the flute sound in the background of the "loving kindness" and "Subtle Mind"
exercises, though. I love to meditate to Zen meditations with sounds of nature.
It was very relaxing, I just couldn't get my mind to totally do what was being
asked of me because I found the talking distracting.

Mental workout refers to training the brain. There are many games that have
been created to train the brain to improve memory and logical skills as well
as other skills. According to the "Canadian Mental Health Association", it is
just as important for us to maintain good mental health as it is to maintain
good physical health. When we are mentally healthy, we can be more creative,
enjoy our life and environment more, learn, try new things, and take risks.
Also, we are better able to cope with different stressors such as the death of
a loved one, the loss of a job, etc. When we are in good mental health, we
can move on with our lives more quickly after these types of stresses in our
lives. The best way that I know to foster good psychological health is meditation
and other "Eastern" practices. I find it also helpful to try and stay away from
people or situations that you know BEFORE HAND are going to be stressful.
I do my best to only communicate with people who have a like mindset to myself.
As I like to say, I only deal with people who are "on my level". That's not to
say that I am better or worse than anyone else. Different people have different
types of mindsets, however, and are of different personality types. I find that
it is easier just to stay away from people who stress or upset you than it is
to try and force yourself to get along with them.  Having said that, I DO respect
other people's choices in their lives. I don't JUDGE; I just don't associate with
people who don't have a lot in common with me. That may sound harsh, but it takes
a LOT of stress off of me and the other person/people too. :)


Source:

http://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/benefits-of-good-mental-health/#.UQQ9rvJIrtk

Week 3 post

Question 1)

Based on my reflections, I rate my physical well-being at about an 8.
I do have a tumor in my right leg. Other than that, I am "healthy as
a horse", as they say. I have stopped eating meat and get a normal
amount of exercise. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit. I almost
never get sick. If I do, it is a mild cold. If I get a cold these days
it only lasts maybe a week at the most. When I was younger and got
a common cold, it would last 2 to 3 MONTHS. My son just had a stomach
virus last week. I took care of him and never got it. If that had been
the "old" me, I would have had it the very next day. I rate my spiritual
well-being at a 10. I am very in tune with myself and the universe, generally
speaking. I would rate my psychological well-being at about an 8. I say
an 8 because there are times when I do succumb to stress. I don't let it
get to me as often or as much as it used to, though.

Question 2)

My goal in the area of physical well-being would be to get more exercise.

My goal in the area of spiritual well-being would be to meditate more.

My goal in the area of psychological well-being would be to find ways to
stress less.

Question 3)

I would like to start back walking as much as I used to. I would also like
to learn some yoga poses. The exercises that help me the most, it seems, are
those that pertain to just calming the mind and focusing (mental).

Question 4)

"The Crime of the Century" seemed like a strange title. It did not seem to
correlate with what I heard. It was very relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hi All!

Hi all! I meant to comment on the Journey On exercise. I found it very relaxing. I do my best to meditate at least twice a day. Sometimes, though, (usually when I need to the MOST) I don't have time to do that. I had not meditated in a few days when I listened to this and I loved it. Honestly, I would rather have a normal (un-guided) meditation rather than a guided one (where someone speaks throughout the meditation). I feel that I can focus more if I just hear the music and not someone talking. Anyway, I look forward to sharing more in the future with you guys. I hope you have all had a good weekend. :)

I read an article in National Geographic today that said that only 1 of every 10 genes in the human body are of HUMAN origin. How about that! I would also like to share an excerpt from one of my books. The author is a man named Naazir Ra and you can check him out at naazir.com.  In his book "The Hidden Self" he talks about the power of the mind and how it works with our DNA to help us reach our full metaphysical and spiritual potential. In one section he states that when we are in our true state of consciousness, we can access and awaken parts of our DNA that allow us to be immortal, have lucid dreaming, trans-dimensional time travel, shape-shifting, telepathy, and even control the elements (earth, wind, fire and water).