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