Unit 4

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

I thought this exercise was interesting and relaxing. I had a hard time trying to make sense of some of the things they were telling me to do but I tried my best to follow along. I’m curious to know my experiences with the more I practice this exercise.

2. What is the concept of “Mental Workout? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a Mental Work Out? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

“Mental Workout” is basically conditioning the mind and pushing it beyond its regular mundane experiences. The more you practice, the deeper you can go and encourage more of a psychospiritual flourishing.

I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health by practicing different meditation techniques in addition to using Dacher’s exercises on his CD. His book suggests maybe starting out by practicing it for five minutes once or twice a day and making it a part of my daily routine.

Unit 3

1. Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

My physical well-being is probably a 4.5 because while I am very knowledgeable about the things I should be doing in order to create a healthier body, I am not in a place in my life right now where I can make big changes. My family and I just make a big move from one not so great living environment to an even worse one. So, I'm finding it hard to maintain a settled state of mind and it is definitely reflecting on the outside of me.

My spiritual well-being has been under construction for quite some time. I never cease to wonder about where I stand in that area. I know that I would to develop that area much much more. Spirituality excites me. I yearn to know more about my place in spirituality or spiritualities place in me. I score myself at a 5 in that area and I can't exactly explain why except that it is my spiritual path and mine alone. I don't think anyone else could understand.

My psychological well-being is connected with and the product of the states of well-being that my physical and spiritual self is in. I suffer a lot of the time with depression and I know its because of one aspect of my inner and outer life affecting the other. While I'm not completely mad or insane, I can't rate my psychological well-being very high either. Its about a 3 or 4. It definitely needs improvement.

2. Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

Physical goal - when I get my life settled, I want to get rid of eating processed foods, sugary foods and bad carbohydrates that offer me a so-called temporary moment of satisfaction and replace them with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and home-grown and home-made products. Also, I want to set aside a time to do an exercise I like at least 30 mins a day 4-5 days a week.

Spiritual goal - Again, when my life is settled and we are living in our own place, I would love to read more about spirituality. Also, I would like to meditate daily and leave time for contemplation and creative activities that seem to feed my soul.

Psychological - I believe that once I get my physical and spiritual goals squared away, I will definitely see progress in my psychological well-being. But in order to keep myself in check, I really want to get back to journaling and perhaps even finding a supportive friend to talk to.

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

Physical: 1. better eating habits - meal planning, growing own fruit and veggies, cooking home-made 2. physical exercise (I love belly-dancing), walking, etc.

Spiritual: 1. meditation 2. reading about & understanding spirituality 3. get involved with a spiritual community.

Psychological: 1. Journaling 2. finding a support system 3. Learn to not allow myself to get down so easily.

4. Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

I enjoyed The Crime of the Century exercise. I enjoyed visualizing the different energy points in my body and reciting what they mean to me. I think it was empowering to recite which area means what - the root meaning grounding, the navel meaning being centered and so on. I would like to recite these affirmations as often as possible to remind myself on a deeper level and on a conscious level so as to encourage a sense of homeostasis through my body. In addition, I felt relaxed and refreshed when it was all said and done. This is something that I will definitely tell my friends about.

Journey On

I can never tell what my experiences will be like with relaxation exercises. Sometimes I get so bored I sit there and yawn. Other times I'm itching to go so that I can start dinner, run errands or whatever the day might require of me. Then were a couple times, like this one, where I actually felt myself relax and unwind (at least partially).

In this exercise I closed my eyes and tried to go unnoticed by the roommates sitting on the couch in front of me (their backs facing me). My slight sense of awkwardness would only be intensified by simple the turning of their heads wondering what the heck I'm doing. lol I'm weird like that. But with the occasional peeking through eyes, I was able to get through the exercise undiscovered!

During the exercise, I did indeed feel the warmth - mostly in my palms. Actually, they felt on fire at one point. Also, I felt my arms get heavy and I had to giggle when I tried to lift them but couldn't or wouldn't... Towards the end of the session, my hands cooled which I was totally intrigued by and my arms did become lighter. And while I didn't feel energized, I did feel clear and alert upon finishing the exercise. Its something that I would like to do again.

My first blog

I'm happy to announce that my blog is set up for HW420-03AU: Creating Wellness-Psych. & Spirit. Asp. of Healing.
Can't wait to write and read other's blogs!

See you in class!