Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius

Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

I was not a big fan of this week’s meditation exercise. It reminded me of the meditation we did several weeks ago where we had to picture different colored beams of light coming from certain spots on our bodies. Through these different exercises I have noticed what I do and do not like. I like the relaxing music and noise of the waves in the background, but I did care for what the meditation instructor was telling me to do.

Meditation has definitely increased my psychological wellness. After each exercise (even if I do not like what the instructor is telling me what to do) I feel calm and relaxed. I can continue applying these practices in my life pretty easily. I could simply sit down in a quiet environment and practice quieting my mind, or I could go on YouTube and look up a guided meditation exercise.

Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p.477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

To me, the saying “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that in order for me to teach someone about health and wellness I must practice what I preach. I cannot tell someone they need to do 150 hours a week of moderate intensity exercise unless I myself am doing 150 minutes a week.

I do believe that I have an obligation to my future clients to develop my psychological, physical, and spiritual health. Who is going to want to be told how to exercise from someone who is overweight? Who would want to be taught how to meditate from someone who is always stressed out? That is how I look at it. If I would not want to be taught from someone who does not follow their own advice nor would I expect my clients to.

I think there are always ways in which we can further develop our physical, psychological, and spiritual health. In my personal life, I could be more persistent in starting every day off with prayer and reading the Bible to develop my spiritual life. Taking time out of my day for meditation would be a good way to implement psychological growth. 

Unit 6: Meditation and Assessment

Although at the beginning of the meditation, I felt rather silly repeating those four phrases. On the surface they are just words that do not mean anything if you are only repeating them. However, if you pause for a moment, change your attitude to a more open and positive mindset, and focus on exactly what you are saying then it is not just a silly word repetition exercise. Instead, it is an exercise in which you are wishing others will experience health, happiness, and wholeness. Once I changed my attitude the whole dynamic of the meditation shifted in a more positive direction. 

During my assessment of myself I realized my biggest source of difficulty and suffering comes from not knowing what I want to do when I grow up. I only have another year and a half in the military, and for the last couple of years I have been wanting to pursue physical therapy. However, I recently looked into the prerequisites I would need to accomplish in order to apply and the lest included 16 classes! That turned a three year program into a five year program! And to make matters worse, even if I completed all of the required prerequisites there is not guarantee I would make it into the physical therapy program. So, now I am unsure if that is the profession I want to pursue after the military and it has caused some headaches. I know that God is in complete control and he will direct me toward the path He wants me to take; but letting go and trusting in Him is not always easy. Prayer and meditation both help calm my mind and relieve stress. 

Unit 5: The Subtle Mind Exercise

I enjoyed this weeks exercise. Although I have a very active mind and have a hard time quieting my mind, I found the exercise very relaxing. Like I said, I have an active mind so it was hard at time to dissolve the random thoughts that popped into my head, but having something to return my focus to (breathing) was helpful. I enjoyed this week's exercise more than last week's because this week we were focusing on quieting our mind whereas last week our brains were purposefully active.

Spiritual wellness, mental wellness, and physical wellness are all interconnected. One cannot be truly well (in a holistic point of view) if all three aspects of wellness are not in sync. This connection manifests itself in my life most plainly when I exercise. Physical exercise not only offers my the opportunity to exercise my physical wellness, but also my mental and spiritual wellness. For example, when I am lift weights I focus mainly on my breathing. During this portion of my day is when my mind is the most clear and calm. This time provides me with the opportunity to speak with God, practice subtle mind exercises, and physically exercise.

Unit 4 - Loving Kindness

I did not like this exercise much for a couple reasons. First, taking time to specifically open myself up to feelings of care and affection toward myself is something I have never done; I do not like focusing on myself so I did not particularly like this portion of the exercise. Another reason I did not like the exercise is because I did not see the point of "breathing" in the suffering of a loved one and "breathing out" healing and health toward the same loved one. I am completely for praying to God for help and heal people, but I felt like this exercise was implying I had power to take away suffering--which I obviously do not. Other than that, the noise of the waves crashing was very peaceful and calming.

A mental workout is something that stimulates the mind and promotes psychological well-being. Mental workouts can yield many great benefits. One of the biggest benefits of mental workouts is lower stress levels. And with lower stress levels the risks for many serious health problems are also reduced such as lower blood pressure, better immune system, decreased risk of heart attack and stroke, etc. In my opinion, the best way to implement a mental workout is meditation. Although, I think anything that clears your mind and is relaxing will do the trick.