The Key Role of Thought in Wellness and Healing

1.Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience, including the benefits, frustrations etc. 2.Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life. I did this exercise right before bed, with no distractions and a cup of tea. I didn't like the guy at the beginning, but liked the female who led the exercise. I liked the ocean sounds when she wanted us to focus on something. The imagery she used was much better in this exercise I think. Her voice was calming, her suggestions didn't seem crazy or weird. I liked this one better than the Loving Kindness exercise. I am not sure I am able to come up with things to compare and contrast between the two, other than maybe some of the visualizations in this one were a little better and easier to imagine and "put myself into." I definitely think there is a link between spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness. To me, spiritual means believing in a higher power, it may or may not be to just one all powerful Being. It means having faith, believing and knowing that there is more out there for you to trust and experience. Connecting spirituality to mental and physical wellness helps us keep a calm mind and a kind heart. When we have a loved one who is ill, we pray for them to get better, we ask for a higher power to intervene when and where medicine cannot. Some may view these things as miracles. Although it is highly unlikely that any of us will attain the levels of development described by the great mystics, we can gain a great deal by understanding the full spectrum of biological flourishing. When we are freed from the prison of an exclusively anatomical perspective, we attain the capacity to control aspects of our anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and perhaps even our genetic structure, (Dacher, 2012, p 86).

Getting a Mental Workout

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 liked the sounds of water in the background, I found it to be soothing and allow me to focus a little better on the task. The female voice made this one a little easier to get into than the previous one’s we have listened to. I found this one to be more beneficial than the others and would recommend it to others. I really liked this one. However, I need to pick a better time during the day and will try it again when I can really devote my full self and attention to the exercise. 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? Just as an athlete or student trains or studies and works towards becoming an Olympian or a Doctor, we to have to engage in daily practice in order for us to evolve our psychospiritual life and access its capabilities and resources, even if for only an hour a day. If we cease to train, just like with athletes, there is a decrease in our abilities and conditioning. By using comtemplative practices such as loving kindness and the subtle mind, we can achieve this workout.

Time to make some changes

If I really had to sit down and think about where I would rate myself in the 3 areas of wellness, right now I would probably give myself the following scores.. Physical- 6 Spiritual-8 Psychological-8 Physical Wellbeing relates to the ability to understand what can make our body the most efficient and effective, as well as the ability to recognize and respect our own limitations. A high degree of Physical well-being is achieved through the development of physical strength, flexibility, endurance, and optimal nutrition while utilizing safety precautions such as medical self-care and appropriate use of the medical system. The improvement of physical wellbeing can enhance the other wellbeing components. Enhanced self-esteem, a sense of direction, and other psychological benefits are some gains from developing physical well-being. Eat. Sleep. Move. http://wellbeing.wsu.edu/physical/ Spiritual Wellbeing reminds us to step back from the details and think about the whole. Spiritual wellbeing can come from living in the present moment and practicing mindfulness or it may come from reflecting on our past. The point is, is spiritual wellbeing is about finding meaning and purpose in our life and our place in the greater universe. Spiritual wellbeing can have a dramatic impact on various aspects of our wellbeing, particularly with respect to finding overall peace, harmony, and happiness with our life and surroundings. Imbalance in spiritual well-being can affect our sense of purpose and meaning in the world, which carries emotional, physical, social, and possibly even financial implications. http://wellbeing.wsu.edu/spiritual/ Psychological well being encompasses things like self, acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. I rated myself the way I did based on the information above. With physical, I am in the process of making some life changes, and losing weight, this will take time. But I made the conscious effort to be aware that changes needed to be made so I am working on that. With spiritual and psychological I feel I am a little higher, but not a perfect 10. Had you asked me this question a year ago, my scores would have been much lower on all 3 areas and I am sure if you ask me again a year from now, I hope each one will be higher. I already have goals in place for physical wellness and that is to continue to eat right, be active and lose weight. I will increase my activity, be more mindful of w"hat I eat and make other health conscious decisions that affect or impact my overall health. I will try and do better with sleep also. For spiritual and psychological goals, I will strive to continue to learn how to reduce stress, take a step back, learn to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. I will work to improve my meditation skills and find my place and purpose in the universe. I will continue to be compassionate towards others, I will learn to accept myself before I can be accepting of others. For the relaxation exercise, I found much better than the one from last week, I liked the use of the colors and our own imagination, his voice is calming. I did it early in the morning, when I was alone and no distractions were present. I felt really relaxed when it was over but I still need to be able to focus on the time frame of these, I think they are a little long for "beginners."

Welcome and Reflection

Welcome to my blog. I love blogging and this will be my third one. I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you and hope that we can all learn from each other during this experience. As it is the month of March and the month in which I turn 40, it is easy for me to reflect. I look back on my life up until this point, think about the choices I have made, mistakes I have learned from and things I have put in motion to change my life for the better. WhenI was younger, 40 seemed so old. Now I am looking forward to being 40. I love that I have waited until now to make the changes in my life that have lead me here. Health and wellness if such a big part of my life now and I can't wait to share that with others. I had to start the journey for myself first and from there it developed into my going back to school, deciding to get involved with health and wellness inititives in my community and state, and deciding how to use the degree once I earn it. I am proud of myself and know that I have finally chosen the right path for me to follow because I was the one who chose it. It was not chosen for me, forced upon me or handed to me. I am working for this. I am earining it. As far as my experience with the Journey On relaxation exercise. I did not like it and could not really let myself focus on the purpose of the exercise. The guy creeped me out when he was telling me to get undressed and then talking about the science and biology of the experience. I don't want to hear all that. I want the guided imagery. The music was nice and the males voice was soothing and calming but I just couldn't get past his words..