Unit 10~Final Post

As I rate my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being now as slightly different from that in unit 3. I actual took this into account in my unit 9 final project. Life stresses have affected my spiritual well-being slightly but I have improved my physical health by paying closer attention to how I eat.


My spiritual well-being is still rated higher than my other domains at an 8 but slightly lower than my previous score of 8.5.  My spirituality does make it possible to endure the long days, sleepless nights, doctors, therapies and daily needs of my girls. But with the long days it has been difficult to stay positive and my personal health issues have also affected this score but it will still is a priority to continue keeping strong in my faith.

In my physical well-being I rated slightly higher at a 4.5 from my previous 3.5. This has changed due to the change by improving my eating habits. It is no longer a daily habit to eat fast food, television has been cut out and I have added walks. I have also started a vegetable garden which is promoting family involvement and moving us closer to a healthy diet. These important changes are a start to a strong foundation for complete integral health and it will ultimately be beneficial for my entire family.

My psychological well-being is at a 6 which has not changed from previously. Overall my psychological health is good but the things bring the score down are the long stressful days along with family and health issues.

While I have established a great understanding of what it takes to reach complete and total integral health I still have a long way to go. The knowledge that this class has brought to me will help in implementing a true integral lifestyle not just the idea of one.

Good Luck and Best Wishes~

Daphne

 

Unit 9 ~ An Integral Plan

Sorry for the late post my daughter has been having seizures for the last two days.
An Integral Plan

Looking into the mirror, what do you see? You see what is on the outside ignoring that the body has more than one dimension. Looking outward ignoring the inner self will not lead you to integral health (Dacher, 2006, p.1). It is crucial as a health and wellness professional to look inward and implement practices in their own life that will help in teaching clients to flourish and to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. Professionals that implement integral health in their own lives before treating clients will know how to alleviate suffering and understand that flourishing is more than an idea (Dacher, 2006, p. 167). This understanding of integral health will give the professional the ability to connect with their patients and the desire to alleviate the suffering of their clients will be more than an idea.

The basic idea of integral health is not good enough as a professional you must take yourself and your clients to a deeper level to ensure a true integral health, authentic happiness, and genuine wholeness (Dacher, 2006, p.3).

1. True integral health is self-cultivated and self-generated leading to a comprehensive and holistic healing of the mind, body and spirit leaving you immune the adversities of life (Dacher, 2006, p.3). 

2. To authenticate happiness it must arise from within and be expansive, passionate, robust, and not affected by the experiences of life (Dacher, 2006, p.3). 3. Finally to achieve a genuine wholeness the experiences of life that connect us must be accomplished with an uninterrupted oneness, universal loving-kindness and the lightness of being (Dacher, 2006, p.3).
 

To achieve these goals it is necessary to work on and develop the inner-self so we can move down the path of human flourishing. With the issues of my family it is hard to find the time to work on developing the inner-self. It is important to prepare a foundation to build upon and to progress towards the development of the mind, body and spirit. Building the proper foundation can help in the success of human flourishing (Dacher, 2006, p. 131). The goals for my life includes changing my diet, starting a daily exercise regimen and incorporating daily meditation exercises in order to relieve the stress life and improve my physical health. These strategies will only be the beginning, but in order to move forward this will be a good way to achieve a foundation in building the inner-self and developing the mind, body and spirit.

There are six principles that guide us through the integral assessment and these goals are necessary in achieving and transforming my health from ordinary to precious finding the potential source for ultimate human flourishing.

Those goals necessary in assessing my health in each domain of integral health are:
1. To assess and alleviate my needless suffering I must identifying the areas of my life were the most attention is needed. There a two question which will determine where the attention is needed in my life. The first is which aspects of life bring the most distress? Secondly where is the greatest possibility of growth and development (Dacher, 2006, p. 105)?
2. Then I must recognize the difference of short-term relief and permanent relief of needless suffering and a consideration for both while assessing my needs (Dacher, 2006, p. 105-106).
3. It will also be necessary to recognize the difference between immediate pleasure and long-term flourishing. I must set priorities for long-term flourishing to achieve the ability to enjoy worldly pleasures with and without suffering (Dacher, 2006, p.106).
4. In the development of the psychospiritual component my consciousness must become expanded while strengthening the capacity for attention, focusing on intention,
revealing wisdom, opening my heart, and bringing to life human flourishing (Dacher, 2006, p.106).
5. I must rely on the integral assessment for deep listening and guidance (Dacher, 2006, p.106).
6. The assessment also needs addresses the aspects, levels, and lines of development relevant to the current circumstances of my life (Dacher, 2006, p.106).

This process will make me aware of the unhealthy sources of suffering and the potential sources of flourishing by envisioning the possibilities to improve life my life and flourish. The integral tool of assessment is used to transform health and life from ordinary to precious (Dacher, 2006, p. 105-106). To be able to score each domain and access my spiritual, physical, and psychological wellness these principles are essential in achieving a healthy integral life. In my reflection on a scale of 1 to 10; ten being optimal I will rate my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being. This has change slightly since unit three when these domains were first explored. 1. My spiritual domain will still be rated higher than the other domains at an 8 but slightly lower than my previous score of 8.5. My spirituality does make it possible to endure the long days, sleepless nights, doctors, therapies and daily needs of my girls. But with the long days it has been difficult to stay positive and my personal health issues have also affected this score but it will still be a priority to continue to keep strong in my faith. 2. The physical domain will be rated slightly higher at a 4.5 from my previous 3.5. This has changed due to the change in my eating habits and some of the daily bad habits that have been changed. It is no longer a daily habit to eat fast food, television has been cut out with walks being added and we have started a vegetable garden promoting family involvement moving towards a healthy diet. This is only a beginning with these important changes to improve my health and a start to a strong foundation for complete integral health it will be beneficial for my entire family.3. My psychological domain is at a 6 which has not changed from previously. Overall my psychological health is good but the things bring the score down are the long stressful days along with family issues and health issues.

Establishing goals to improve myself in each domain of health and wellness is very important. Without improvement of my physical, psychological and spiritual health it will be impossible to move towards integral health and wellness and flourish.  

The goals I must establish are as follows:
1. In the physical domain it will be my goal to incorporate a daily exercise routine into my life. To keep this goal my daughter’s will be my inspiration. This will be a great beginning of a foundation of physical health improving the health of my heart, lifting my spirits, while strengthening my bones and maintaining my weight.
2. In the psychological domain a daily meditation routine will be the goal put into place. This will help in relieving life’s stress’s and aid in the Olympic training of my mind. Training my mind to be free of mental chatter will benefit me as I move through the psychological domain towards the final level of psychospiritual flourishing.
3. In the spiritual domain my goal will be to become closer to God. Becoming closer to my spiritual beliefs and opening my heart I will find an inner peace while balancing my mind, body and spirit to gain an understanding of my conscious self.

To obtain growth in the physical, spiritual and psychological domains there are exercises and practices that will be needed in my life to succeed in achieving integral health and wellness.
1. In the physical domain the exercise I will incorporate is yoga. Suffering from fibromyalgia and arthritis this will be very beneficial to my physical health. It will create a toned, flexible, strong body while improving my respiration, energy and vitality. A daily yoga practice will promote cardio and circulatory health while relieving pain which will help dealing with the complications of having fibromyalgia and arthritis. The practice that I will incorporate into my physical domain is to start eating healthy and quit the habit of drive-thru eating. This will be a project that will be part of a family initiative. Healthy eating will be supported by growing our own produce in which we have already started our first garden and are very excited to eat the organic vegetables that we are growing.
2. In the psychological domain to achieve growth I will use the two meditation practices that I have found very helpful from our past lessons to lay the foundation of training my mind. The two exercises that I found beneficial for my psychological wellness are the subtle-mind and the loving-kindness exercises. The loving-kindness will be the exercise I use to begin my day with and the subtle-mind exercise will be the exercise I use to end my day with. Both of these exercises will be beneficial in achieving integral health and human flourishing with the foundation being set to open my heart and calm my mind from all of the chatter.
3. The spiritual domain is where I am the strongest but to achieve growth the practice I would like to begin is to practice forgiveness. In order to achieve the practice of forgiveness I must learn to live my life by taking my pain and turning into love, beauty, kindness and amend the grievances. I must choose to forgive turning off the replay button and focusing on the positive. Most of all when I become upset I must practice stress management and control my body’s fight-or-flight response (Schlitz, et. al, 2006, p. 340). The other practice I would like to participate in is to volunteer in the community. The type of volunteer work that I am interested in is to volunteer at the day program for adult with disabilities. This will open my heart fill it with compassion and help me learn things to help my daughter’s as they grow older. This part of my spiritual growth will also be beneficial in my desired occupation as an occupational therapist.

In accessing my commitment to continue to grow in the area of health and wellness and flourish the next six months will be a learning process. I plan to keep a journal and schedule my activities just as I would a therapy or doctor’s appointment for my girls. Keeping track of my progress or lack of progress will be a must in order to achieve and maintain my goals as I travel the integral path. These next few months will lay the foundation needed to move down the integral path and grow in my physical, spiritual, and psychological domains. Most of all I commit to myself to not settle for the ordinary life but to seek the extraordinary life adjusting over time to fulfill the ultimate goal of true integral health.
References Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. Elsevier, Churchill Livingstone: St. Louis, MI.

Unit 8 - Moving Towards "Mental Fitness"

The two exercises that I found most beneficial were the Loving-Kindness and Subtle mind meditations. Both of these meditations worked hand in hand for the stage of integral health I am in at the moment.

The Loving-Kindness meditation put me in a happy place remembering a time in which life’s problems seemed none existent. This exercised opened my heart by focusing on a time in which things seemed much easier; before “D” day (diagnosis of both my daughter’s disabilities). The focus on softening our mind and heart and removing the self-centeredness from my life taught me how to maintain an open heart no matter how tough things seem to be.

The Subtle mind meditation was a great exercise to use in teaching the mind to remove all of the unnecessary chaos, and to find a peace and focus in order to move closer to health, happiness and wholeness. Incorporating meditation in with a prayer schedule would be an excellent idea for me to work towards removing the chaos of my daily life. This could also help in assisting with my spiritual connection. In the subtle mind meditation exercise I was able to free my mind of all chatter this could be very beneficial prior to praying aiding me to focus during prayer. This meditation exercise could also be beneficial prior to bedtime clearing my mind of all the unnecessary chatter aiding in a peaceful night’s sleep.

I do find it very difficult to incorporate meditation into my life but after all I have learnt over this term it seems to me that it is beneficial and I must find the time for my integral health and human flourishing.

Using the Loving-Kindness and the subtle mind meditations in my life would definitely bring me closer to integral health.

Daphne

 

Unit 7~Meeting Aesclepius

The saying, “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself,” applies to all aspects of our lives. As a health and wellness professional it would be difficult to guide clients in developing their health psychologically, physically and spiritually if you did not understand and practice integral health yourself. For example if you were a smoker how could you guide and advise another to quit smoking if you did not know how to quit yourself.

 

In this meditation exercise I was asked to choose a person to guide me through it. This person could be someone who was from my past or present. I chose my father who has always been my strength even though he left this earth 20 years ago I carry what he taught me growing up close and can always find comfort in his memory. I was skeptical at first of this exercise but I was able to find great comfort and a connection with my spiritual self. In order to grow in my psychological and spiritual wellness the Meeting Aesclepius exercise would be very beneficial.

 

In order to incorporate human flourishing into my life I must implement a lifestyle that promotes total psychological and spiritual growth. To begin this process, a daily meditation ritual, along with changing my diet and exercise habits will be the first goals that I hope to achieve implementing human flourishing into my life. This would be very beneficial in helping relieve the stress of taking care of two children with multiple health and emotional needs. Without taking time for yourself you cannot properly take care of those who depend on you. Taking these small initial steps will help bring me closer to achieving optimal health and wellness.

 

Unit 6 ~ Integral Assessment

“May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.”

“May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.”

“May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.”

“May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness and wholeness.”

 

In practicing the Loving-Kindness meditation I could only think of how to open my heart and bring a loving kindness into my life. If we are able to find health, happiness and wholeness in our lives we should be able to aid others in bringing health, happiness, and wholeness into their lives.

In evaluating my life at this time it is difficult to determine how to move forward in achieving integral health and healing. Looking at the four aspects of my life-psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly are all affected with the life issues I am faced with at this time.

1.      In the past month my daughter was fitted for her first wheel-chair (this is life changing). Along with her increasing health issues and seizures the days are long and tiring so there is no time to focus on much else than her and her sister’s needs.

2.      My son who suffers from mental illness and addiction issues has refused all help and is now wandering the streets (this is heartbreaking for a mother). He has chosen drugs and alcohol over his family and most of the time we do not know where he is at and there is a relief when the jail calls to let me know he is there. This is our only way to know he is still alive…this issue has made me loose much of my focus.

3.      My oldest son is on his second deployment…you always worry about our men and women who are protecting our freedom but when it is your child it does weigh a little heavier.

4.      Lastly I have a mass in my neck that is very painful and is growing.

With all of these issues I still am trying to focus on the positive by looking forward and trying to flourish spiritually. The positive things in my life are keeping the days bearable include:

1.      Having a son who is graduating from the University of Oregon with honors. He is focusing on his future as a special education teacher inspired by his sister’s.

2.      My daughter-in-law and grand-daughter are living with us during my son deployment. I am enjoying having them with us.

3.      My non-verbal daughter is learning to communicate with her new communication system.

4.      That same daughter who has been feed primarily via g-tube has begun eating…while she does not eat anything substantial she is eating (this is huge).

5.      My belief in God has grown stronger giving me the strength and the power to cherish the good things.

While the health issues are important and must be dealt with, focusing on the positive while dealing with the negative makes it easier to move forward.

As a family we are doing this together by changing our diet, beginning to exercise, and becoming stronger spiritually. I am learning that when the mental chatter becomes overwhelming meditation can relive many of the stresses for the moment and move me closer the health, happiness and wholeness.

 

"You must first learn how to dance in the rain"…

 

Daphne

 

 

Subtle Mind

The loving kindness exercise took my mind to a place filled with beautiful memories replacing the thoughts which brought stress to my life and the kind, peaceful thoughts began to bring peace to my mind. Being a parent is a difficult job and your mind always seems to be going in so many different dirrections….so being a parent of a child or children with multiple special needs your thoughts are moving at an accelerated speed allowing little time to shut your mind down and turn off the mental chatter. The days of caring for your child’s special needs are long filled with doctors, therapies, medications, and adaptable equipment and there is little time to train your mind much less start Olympic training of the mind (this is where spirituality balances my life).

At the beginning of the subtle-mind exercise I was very anxious and I could not turn my thoughts off. My breathing was rapid as the exercise began. The further into the exercise I got the better I was able to focus; gradually turning down the volume of my mental chatter. As the exercise progressed I was able to pull away from the distractions and free my mind of all of the chaos. This exercise was a little more difficult than the loving-kindness exercise, but I do see the benefits of freeing your mind of distractions in order to help you focus. I hope to work towards this goal adapting a way to train my mind and turn off the mental chatter. If I am able to tame my mind it will bring the witnessing mind into stillness, creating a stable mind and reach the final level of psychospiritual flourishing called unity consciousness.

Daphne

 

 

Loving Kindness

This exercise was very beneficial…the soothing sound of the waves took me to a very happy time. I imagined being at the beach with my daughter’s prior to their regression. With my eyes closed the images of my daughters were very vivid and the sound of the waves brought back pleasant memories which helped take away my stress which has been running very high lately. I was actually able to turn off the mental chatter and focus on relaxing and I imagined my girls giggling and playing in the sand as the sun shines down on their smiling faces. This exercise lead me to a place in which I needed to be right now in order to deal with the obstacles that have been put before me.

 

Before this exercise I felt that my heart was very open and loving kindness was something that I practice regularly; I was wrong. This exercise gave me a new perspective in achieving the ultimate loving kindness.

 

A mental work out such as this would be very beneficial in achieving a level of peace. By setting aside one hour a day I can and so can you learn to open your heart, expand your consciousness, and train your mind to work towards psychospiritual flourishing.

 

I would recommend this exercise to work anyone who wants to work towards achieving loving-kindness and wisdom….and to train aid in training your mind to achieve it. As an Olympian trains to become a superior athlete we must train our minds to diminish the focus on ourselves and learn to become compassionate to others.

 

Reflection and Relaxation

As I take inventory of my physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being I think of how my life has changed over the past 7 years. Being a parent of two children with multiple special needs there is little if any time to take care of your personal inventory. While I feel that I have a positive outlook on our family’s well-being when it comes to me I pay little attention to my physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being. I suffer from fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis’s and have recently developed a very painful lump in the side of my neck living with pain on a daily basis can be trying. Some days I have to dig in deep to make it through the day caring for my family and going to school.

Based on my reflection on a scale of 1 to 10; ten being optimal I will rate my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being.

1. Physically I would rate my well-being at a 3.5. This is because of the health needs I have ignored in order to care for my family. I will always put other’s health before mine while I know taking care of me is important to continue to care for my family.

2. Spiritual I would rate my well-being towards the higher end at an 8.5. My spirituality is what makes it possible to endure the long days, sleepless nights, doctors, therapies and daily needs of my girls.

3. I would rate my psychological well-being at a 6. Overall I feel that psychologically I am healthy. There are days when the stress gets to great and I begin to shut down since I have no outlet in order to release my stress.

As I reflect I would like to begin with a simple goal that I feel is achievable. This goal will be a beginning to achieve total physical, spiritual, and psychological health. I will set aside 1 hour a day begin a daily yoga ritual. Each day after I drop my girls off at school the first hour will be dedicated to yoga. Setting a time every day when my children and husband are not home to interrupt will help in my success of fulfilling this goal.

I find listening to the relaxation exercises very helpful. As I listen to the soothing voice it navigated me through the relaxation process helping me to slowly become relaxed. This exercise was very beneficial in the process of achieving the goal of total relaxation. I almost became one with my chair…

Daphne

 

Relaxation....

As the relaxation exercise began I was very tense. It has been a very long and hectic week and I was worked up from the worry I had about our quiz. As the exercise progressed I began to release the stress and anxiety I internalized throughout the week. Progressing through this exercise I became more and more relaxed. When I was finished my mind, body and spirit felt refreshed. It was as if I just had the best night’s sleep ever. This exercise gave me the realization that I carry much more stress than I even realized. Doing an exercise like this daily could bring much peace to my life. I would recommend this exercise to anyone who was feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Daphne

Welcome

When you have a child or children with special needs it is very difficult to find time for yourself. Free time is rarely available and when it is, it is not something that is used for you. This time is used to catch up on all of the daily duties you have fallen behind on. Keeping a positive attitude is very difficult in being the soul caregiver for children with multiple special needs. This is something that parents struggle with no matter what the situation is in their life. With this blog I hope to teach other’s how patient’s, and positive attitude has helped me become who I am today.  I look forward to learning from all of you also. Life is a journey.....a healthy mind, body and spirit is essential for the journey.

Daphne