I do practice the Loving Kindness exercises everyday through prayer by giving thanks for the many blessings that I have, not only in my life but in the lives of friends, family and those individuals I work with. I have found that a person cannot be helped from being touched by even a stranger. When you go out you see many different situations like a mother struggling with her children, or a car accident and you may send up a silent prayer to give the mother patience and hope for the person or family that the individual in the accident will be okay. This is sending out good feelings through Loving Kindness.
As health and wellness professionals we try to practice and pass on the knowledge we gain to not only to ourselves but to those our life touches. By doing this we are able to open our mind and heart to the endless possibilities of healing. When I open my mind and heart to helping and sharing with others and myself my life becomes brighter the days are no longer there to dread but to look forward to and enjoy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Subtle Mind Exercise
The subtle mind exercise would be excellent for me when I am trying to go to sleep after getting off at 8:30 in the morning and driving an hour from work. I would be afraid to do this any other time as just breathing in and out caused me to relax enough to start yawning and the muscles in my body started to relax with each breath I took. I really enjoyed this exercise.
Compared to the Loving kindness exercise I found this one more relaxing. I tried the loving kindness again and aimed it toward myself and was still frustrated as I began feeling guilty and selfish for I live with two other loved ones that really need the benefits of the loving kindness more than I do. Yet, even knowing this I still had a hard time concentrating on one person.
For me spiritual wellness is having faith in the unknown, turning over my frustrations, heartaches and trails along with my thanks to a higher power. Being able to walk outside and pray or just give thanks allows me to become focused on the things in my life taking away the sense of being overwhelmed. I have found that on the days I do not do this mentally and physically I feel drained. By taking a few minutes out of my day to turn my face toward the warmth of the sun or to gaze at the stars overhead in wonder allows me to feel regenerated and renewed. If I am mentally and physically drained I cannot focus on what needs to be taken care of or what needs to be accomplished daily.
Without a sense of spiritual wellness I believe that the mental and physical aspects of a person are thrown out of balance. In order to reap the benefits of mind, body and soul all the aspects of spirituality, mental and physical need to be in harmony with one another. A person can be mentally fit and physically fit but if they are lacking in spirituality they will feel that there is something missing in their life.
Compared to the Loving kindness exercise I found this one more relaxing. I tried the loving kindness again and aimed it toward myself and was still frustrated as I began feeling guilty and selfish for I live with two other loved ones that really need the benefits of the loving kindness more than I do. Yet, even knowing this I still had a hard time concentrating on one person.
For me spiritual wellness is having faith in the unknown, turning over my frustrations, heartaches and trails along with my thanks to a higher power. Being able to walk outside and pray or just give thanks allows me to become focused on the things in my life taking away the sense of being overwhelmed. I have found that on the days I do not do this mentally and physically I feel drained. By taking a few minutes out of my day to turn my face toward the warmth of the sun or to gaze at the stars overhead in wonder allows me to feel regenerated and renewed. If I am mentally and physically drained I cannot focus on what needs to be taken care of or what needs to be accomplished daily.
Without a sense of spiritual wellness I believe that the mental and physical aspects of a person are thrown out of balance. In order to reap the benefits of mind, body and soul all the aspects of spirituality, mental and physical need to be in harmony with one another. A person can be mentally fit and physically fit but if they are lacking in spirituality they will feel that there is something missing in their life.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Mental Workout
The concept of "Mental Workout" is to train the mind to think differently, change the perception of situations to help benefit the body and spirit. By practicing different forms of mediatition and relaxation or other centering techniques on a regular basis we can effect our state of health and wellness. Much like an athlete has to focus their whole being and train regularly, we as individuals need to learn to focus and practice these techniques daily to help relieve the harm that we experience through daily stressors.
Studies as to the benefits of a mental workout have shown that by performing a mental workout allows for changes to the physiology of the inner workings of the body, better control of emotions, offers more mental clarity, helps to allow the mind/body to cope better with daily distress, helps the body to become more resistant to illness, aids in resisitng illness, and also helps to acheive higher states of well-being.
With the many benefits that a mental workout offers, I need to start practicing the exercises that we have done on a daily basis and learn more. As I get older, my body and mind are going through chemical and hormonal changes. These mental techniques will help me psychologically deal with my daily stressors and possibly keep me from going done the route of so many other individuals that have to depend on medications to help them make it through the day.
Studies as to the benefits of a mental workout have shown that by performing a mental workout allows for changes to the physiology of the inner workings of the body, better control of emotions, offers more mental clarity, helps to allow the mind/body to cope better with daily distress, helps the body to become more resistant to illness, aids in resisitng illness, and also helps to acheive higher states of well-being.
With the many benefits that a mental workout offers, I need to start practicing the exercises that we have done on a daily basis and learn more. As I get older, my body and mind are going through chemical and hormonal changes. These mental techniques will help me psychologically deal with my daily stressors and possibly keep me from going done the route of so many other individuals that have to depend on medications to help them make it through the day.
Loving Kindness
Hi All,
I tried the relaxation practice this morning and was a little frustrated with myself and the exercise. The frustration at myself came from selecting one person that I wanted to "take their pain in", as the reading material suggested, yet as I proceeded on with the exercise when asked to think about that person, other people came to mind and I had a hard time isolating that one individual. The frustration with the exercise came from feeling like I had to jump directly into the exercise without any preparation. The other exercises that we have done the first part seems to help with centering prior to actually beginning the exercise. I will definetly have to try this again.
One thing I have learned about myself over the last several years is I have the ability to pick-up on the vibrations from individuals who are in turmoil and can sometimes calm them with direct contact. This is to some a type of healing by laying on of hands. Yet to me it is more of absorbing some of their pain and trying to give them loving-kindness back. Maybe for this exercise I need direct contact with the individual, what do you think?
I tried the relaxation practice this morning and was a little frustrated with myself and the exercise. The frustration at myself came from selecting one person that I wanted to "take their pain in", as the reading material suggested, yet as I proceeded on with the exercise when asked to think about that person, other people came to mind and I had a hard time isolating that one individual. The frustration with the exercise came from feeling like I had to jump directly into the exercise without any preparation. The other exercises that we have done the first part seems to help with centering prior to actually beginning the exercise. I will definetly have to try this again.
One thing I have learned about myself over the last several years is I have the ability to pick-up on the vibrations from individuals who are in turmoil and can sometimes calm them with direct contact. This is to some a type of healing by laying on of hands. Yet to me it is more of absorbing some of their pain and trying to give them loving-kindness back. Maybe for this exercise I need direct contact with the individual, what do you think?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Unit 3 Mind Body Connection
I know it is hard for me to be honest with myself as to my own state of health and well-being. I want to think that I am doing fine in physically, emotionally and spiritually, yet if I take the time to do a self-evaluation I listen to what my body, mind and soul is telling me I will hear that I need to work on improving these aspects.
Rating
My rating for each of the following aspects of my health and well-being is as follows:
A.) Physical well-being is 6. I need to include different physical activities other than walking the dogs to my daily routine.
B.) Spiritual well-being is 6. I have true faith that there are higher powers that help govern our lives, yet I do not always take time out of my day to recognize the beauty that is around me or the many blessings that I have in my life.
C.) Psychological well-being is 6. I handle my daily stressors on a pretty even keel, however I need to work on not allowing myself to become frustrated or stressed out when I feel overwhelmed.
Goals and Activities
Setting goals even small goals can help me with a sense of accomplishment and make me feel good that I am trying to do something to help myself.
A.) Physical well-being goals and activities are to try and incorporate different physical activities into my life. These activities can be as simple as doing gardening.
B.) Spiritual well-being goals and activities need to try and practice some form of mediatation. Make sure that I add a few minutes each day to thank the higher powers for the life I have and learn to appreciate the positive aspects in my life.
C.) Psychological well-being goals and activities need to learn to let go of the things that frustrate me and realize that some of these things are far beyond my control. Learning to recognize these things will help relieve some of the daily stressors. The activities for this can be using stress releases such as averting the frustration into positive aspects. I can start jewelry making again to help avert some of these frustrations.
The Crime of the Century
I found that this relaxation exercise did help to relax my muscles and relieve some of the tension. I wasn't expecting to see any of the colors even though I believe that every living thing has an aura. I was surprised to see the different colors of red, blue and green. One other experience I had was a line of warmth that seemed to connect each of the chakra points. This line just increased in length from point to point and faded toward the end of the exercise. I wonder if anyone else felt this line of warmth?
Rating
My rating for each of the following aspects of my health and well-being is as follows:
A.) Physical well-being is 6. I need to include different physical activities other than walking the dogs to my daily routine.
B.) Spiritual well-being is 6. I have true faith that there are higher powers that help govern our lives, yet I do not always take time out of my day to recognize the beauty that is around me or the many blessings that I have in my life.
C.) Psychological well-being is 6. I handle my daily stressors on a pretty even keel, however I need to work on not allowing myself to become frustrated or stressed out when I feel overwhelmed.
Goals and Activities
Setting goals even small goals can help me with a sense of accomplishment and make me feel good that I am trying to do something to help myself.
A.) Physical well-being goals and activities are to try and incorporate different physical activities into my life. These activities can be as simple as doing gardening.
B.) Spiritual well-being goals and activities need to try and practice some form of mediatation. Make sure that I add a few minutes each day to thank the higher powers for the life I have and learn to appreciate the positive aspects in my life.
C.) Psychological well-being goals and activities need to learn to let go of the things that frustrate me and realize that some of these things are far beyond my control. Learning to recognize these things will help relieve some of the daily stressors. The activities for this can be using stress releases such as averting the frustration into positive aspects. I can start jewelry making again to help avert some of these frustrations.
The Crime of the Century
I found that this relaxation exercise did help to relax my muscles and relieve some of the tension. I wasn't expecting to see any of the colors even though I believe that every living thing has an aura. I was surprised to see the different colors of red, blue and green. One other experience I had was a line of warmth that seemed to connect each of the chakra points. This line just increased in length from point to point and faded toward the end of the exercise. I wonder if anyone else felt this line of warmth?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Stressed Out
It is has been a really stressful week. I have had my granddaughter, Kylianna, all week and she has been ill, so my main focus has been on her. Received bad news about my mom's health, the doctor's have told her there isn't anything else they can do except keep her comfortable, her heart is contracting but not expanding back out as it needs to. I noticed yesterday that her mind is starting to slip, she is repeating the same questions over and over again. I understand that we are only here on this earth for a short while, yet it still is upsetting, hurts, causes anger and a range of other emotions to have to watch someone suffer and know that there isn't anything you can do.
It is Sunday morning and all I want to do is hide away in my room, Kylianna is with her mom for the next two days and I have to go back to work this week after being off for a month for my own illness. Yet, hiding away is not an option. So today I am going to be working on playing catch up in my housework and school work. My clean laundry is piling up at the end of the bed. I am behind in class and I am starting to really stress out about it. I know that if I set my mind to just doing things they will get done, yet right now I feel overwhelmed. I need to try to relax and focus my mind. I will try our exercises and see if they will help center me. Wish me luck!
It is Sunday morning and all I want to do is hide away in my room, Kylianna is with her mom for the next two days and I have to go back to work this week after being off for a month for my own illness. Yet, hiding away is not an option. So today I am going to be working on playing catch up in my housework and school work. My clean laundry is piling up at the end of the bed. I am behind in class and I am starting to really stress out about it. I know that if I set my mind to just doing things they will get done, yet right now I feel overwhelmed. I need to try to relax and focus my mind. I will try our exercises and see if they will help center me. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Life
As we go forth in this life trying to stay connected to God, Great Spirit, Buddha or if you just believe in a higher power can be really difficult. Yet, I believe that each of these dieties wants for each of us to not only turn to them but turn in to ourself. We have to also look within in ourself to find inner peace. We can do this by taking time to meditate, watch a bee in flight or sitting in an open field with the face turned toward the sun, taking a few moments out to pray or stand in a doorway watching a family member and giving thanks that they are still alive are all paths to inner peace. Each person will have their own way to find their own journey to finding inner peace and whatever way is chosen I wish everyone peace, love, and faith. Know that you do not journey alone for the angels and spirit guides will be with you.
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