Unit 6: Loving Kindness Exercise & Integral Assessment

Hey Everyone!

            The Loving Kindness Exercise was a little too weird for me. As a Christian I feel that praying for those around me is way more effective than me meditating and repeating phrases about everyone around me feeling healthy and happy and that I may assist them into those feelings. I can’t wait to hear what you all thought of it.

            As far as the Integral Assessment; that one was more interesting and enlightening.  I discovered that I was having difficulty interpersonally (and more specific within my family). I am very overwhelmed right now with homework and work and I am just feeling disconnected from my husband and my kids. I would say that it is also this area of my life that is ready for growth and development and I am going to make growing and developing these relationships a priority after I graduate next month. I can implement one on one time with each of my family to help grow these relationships. It is very important to get time with your children one on one so you can really get to know them individually. As far as building my relationship with my husband I will make a weekly date night a priority again. It is important for couples to go out and just have fun together on a regular basis; it really helps to build the relationship.

-Rachel Harris

Unit 5 Subtle Mind Exercise

Unit 5

Subtle Mind Exercise

            Compared to the Loving Kindness exercise, I loved this one! It was very relaxing and I found it very enlightening to just witness my mental activity with out grasping any one thought that came to me. However, like the Loving Kindness exercise it was a little long and there seem to be too much time in-between instruction (to the point where I almost fell asleep). I will use this exercise in the future (probably without the narration) because it really helped me to feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

Spiritual Wellness/ Mental & Physical Wellness

            I believe that holistic wellness (Spiritual, Mental, & Physical) is the key to living a healthy and happy life. Each of these areas are all connected and when one is neglected the other areas will be negatively affected. Depression is the perfect example of how connected each of these elements actually is. Depression is primarily, mental meaning it is a chemical reaction that affects our mind, mood, and motivation. When a person is depressed (from my experience) they feel disconnected from God and not interested in taking care of themselves physically. If this goes on for a long period of time there will also be many biological (medical) issues. For me personally, I feel that as I mature spiritually my mental wellness is more positive and focused and my physical wellness is also healthier (I have a strong desire to eat healthy and exercise).  Would you all agree? I would love to hear your opinion!!

Have A Great Week!!

-Rachel Harris

Unit 4 Loving Kindness Exercise

Welcome to my Blog!

Loving Kindness Exercise

I did not like the Loving Kindness exercise. It was difficult because there was too much time in between each instruction which made it hard to stay focused and the terminology loving kindness was a little vague. Maybe you guys can help me out with this…How would you really send someone loving kindness???  I also really did not like the idea of “breathing in” other people’s suffering. That’s just a little too weird for me.  With that being said I would not recommend this exercise to others, unless I get a call from my husband telling me that he felt like I was sending him “loving kindness” telepathically while he was at work today J  That would  be amazing and then I would probably recommend that those around me should try the exercise.

Mental Work Out

The concept of “mental workout” is referring to intentionally accessing our psychospritual life by testing its capacities and resources. This is taking meditation a step further. It is not just deep breathing relaxation; it is intentionally exploring our inner self through guided practices such as “Loving Kindness.”  It is called a mental workout because it is a workout for the mind, like exercise is a work out for the body. If we want to develop our minds we must regularly work on expanding them through guided practices until we can reach that place on our own. I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health through meditation and prayer.

I can’t wait to read what you guys thought of this exercise!!

Have a great week!!

-Rachel Harris

Hi Professor and Class!

Current Self Evaluation:

I would rate my physical well being around an 8. I am healthy because I exercise regularly and I eat healthy foods. I would also give myself a 7 or 8 for my spiritual well being. I maintain my spiritual health daily through prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, going to church (this one is bi-weekly not daily), and having spiritual conversations with others.  I would give myself a 5 or 6 for psychological well being because I do have some issues where I do not perceive myself as those around me do. I suffer from mild depression and self doubt.  For any of these categories I would never give myself a 10 because I feel that there will always be room to grow as priorities and goals will shift and change in life.

Goals:

Physical: Increase my work outs (to 3 days strength training & 4 – 5 days cardio) to hit my weight loss goal of 10 pounds this term. This will be the grand finale in my weight loss journey (almost 65 lbs lost). It will also be a launching point in my career as a personal trainer because I will have my degree in health and wellness and I will be at my “ideal” weight.

Spiritual: Daily Quiet Time

Psychological: To feel more energy

Specific activities or exercise to move me toward each goal:

Physical: 3 days strength training & 4 – 5 days cardio

Spiritual: Read my Bible and Pray Daily

Psychological: Exercise 5-6 days per week, take my vitamins, and meditate

The Crime of the Century relaxation exercise:

            Why in the heck was this relaxation exercise called the Crime of the Century? Because of this title I kept waiting for something bad to happen or to be startled out of my meditation. However, with that said I really did like the exercise, it was very relaxing. I love how it takes you to a place of almost sleep, but then by the time it is over you really feel more awake and clear headed. What did you guys think of the exercise?