Loving-Kindness

The loving-kindness exercise was interesting.  It started out asking me to focus my attention on a loved one.  I particularly appreciated the chance to focus on a loved one that was suffering.  I think it is important to have empathy for others.  It is not always easy for me to express love and empathy in person, so having a time set aside to relax and focus on others in comfort and privacy was an amazing opportunity.  I'll admit, I did struggle some trying to choose a circle of strangers to focus on.  The last one was by far the toughest. We were suppose to focus on all individuals, even ones we considered enemies.  For me, there was only one image here....my mother-in-law.  Because of the stress she has caused me in the past, she's one of those people I have had to let go. I did not want to expose myself or my children to the drama, lies, and negative habits that she is so well known for.  Being able to express loving-kindness to people I consider enemies is going to take time and practice. I would recommend this exercise to others because loving kindness is a necessary step towards human flourishing and its a great opportunity to reflect on areas or people you may need to put more effort into.

The concept of "mental workout" is that our minds need exercise too.  Just like when we want to increase our physical health, we have to exercise.  And its not enough to just exercise once or twice.  Its a daily commitment.  It takes time to see change; to see the progress we've made.  It is best to start off slowly, when implementing mental workouts so that you don't get stressed or discouraged.  Start with 10 minutes a day, at a time that is convenient, comfortable, and quiet.  If it helps, schedule it, like you would a hair appointment or lunch date. Commit to it.

Person-centered reflections

For our unit 3 blog assignment, we were asked to reflect on our personal strengths and weaknesses.

 On a scale of 1-10 ( 10 being optimal wellbeing) I would rate my physical wellbeing a 7.  I'm not fit by any means, but I'm working on it.  I make progress every day, and its something I will have to work at for the rest of my life.  I rarely get sick, I don't have any serious illnesses, and I don't take any prescribed medications.  The only reason I rate myself a seven is because I am overweight and I haven't had a wellness check-up in a while.  I would rate my spiritual well-being a 6.  I'm not where I want to be.  I don't take enough time out each day to spend growing as a Christian or practicing my beliefs.  I would rate my psychological wellbeing a 7.  I do get stressed out a lot (which is understandable given my current circumstances) and I would like to better handle stress.  However, I have done an excellent job at picking up the extra responsibility while my husband is away.  It is hard on so many levels when your significant other is so far away but I've been pleased with my progress and endurance so far.

Develop a goal for yourself in each area.

• Physical - My goal here is lose weight.  Losing weight will increase my health both physically and mentally.
• Spiritual - My goal here is to spend at least 5 minutes every morning in prayer, praying for the needs of others.
• Psychological - My goal here is to schedule at least 10 minutes every day to sit quietly in meditation and deep breathing.  Also, I would like to find a way to take a "time out" so to speak whenever things get overly stressful.  This time will be used to gather my thoughts so that I can restart on a more positive note.

What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving towards each goal?

• Physical - I plan on doing aerobic exercises 5-6 days at my target heart rate.
• Spiritual - In order to accomplish this goal, I'll need to wake up a few minutes earlier so I can spend time in prayer before my day gets busy.
• Psychological - I need to reassess my priorities. I could easily get in this quiet time each day during my son's nap time.  I normally use this time to clean or spend time on the internet, but 10 minutes meditating will be more beneficial to my wellbeing.

Relaxation exercise - Honestly, I didn't find the exercise beneficial other than just getting time to close my eyes and breath and be still for a few minutes.  The guided exercise wasn't that great.  I've done it before in another class.  What I found frustrating is why the title is "Crime of the Century" and why love was the color emerald green.  To me, love is red.

Just for fun

A Journey of Relaxation

During this first exercise, I listened to a 15 minute relaxation segment.  The main idea was that we could relax simply by suggesting to ourselves that we were relaxed.  By using the power of suggestion to create relaxation, we can help relieve stress, nervousness, or frustration.  The voice guided me through the steps. It was relaxing and I did feel warm although I never felt the heaviness described - just relaxed. Afterwards, I felt calm and refreshed.  Although this type of relaxation exercise may take some practice at first, it can be very beneficial to our well-being.  If we can practice quieting our minds and controlling our thoughts for just 15 minutes a day, we will start to feel more in control of other aspects of our lives.

http://www.kushs.net/kaplan/HW420/JourneyOn.mp3


"The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind". ~ Caroline Myss

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  As we go through this term I hope to pick up on some new knowledge about wellness of the mind, body, and spirit.  As I share the things I've learned or find helpful, I hope you are able to take away something positive from this experience and apply it to your own lives.

"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves" ~Dalai Lama

Enjoy,
Becky