Unit 10

My assessment of my psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being hasn’t really changed much. This class has, not only validated the beliefs I had before the class, but turned me in a different direction professionally. There is one significant personal change that has occurred towards the end of this class: Last Wednesday was my last appointment with my therapist. I didn’t walk into the appointment knowing this, but by the end of the appointment I looked at my therapist and said, “This is goodbye. I’m ok and don’t need you anymore.” He replied, with a tears in his eyes, “I know.” And he told me that I am a success story. This feeling of total independence is the greatest feeling in the world.

Unit 9

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically to be able to lead by example. I have many goals in my development. I believe that no one is a picture of perfection, and there is always room to grow. My favorite quote is, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” To me this means there is always more to learn and more to experience. So, my goals in all areas is to search and learn and experience everything I can.

On a scale of 10, I score my spiritual wellness at a 9. I am one who loves to find out new and exciting thing about myself and the powers that be. Not only do I spend time getting to know myself, but I study all religions and ancient religions to get to know God/Goddess. I see this Higher Power in every religion I study. I don’t limit my relationship with God/Goddess based on organized churches. I believe He/She is everywhere.

I rate my physical wellness at a 6. I really need to work harder in this area. I have been smoking for 35 years, and for the past 3 years I have been trying to quit, without success. I have even tried Hypnosis and Acupuncture. This is the one area of my life that really scares me. I have made another appointment with the acupuncturist; the last time I had the treatment I quit smoking for three weeks. The other thing I need to work on is my weight. I am about 25 lbs overweight.

I rate my psychological wellness a 10. This is an area that I have really worked on. About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with major depression after I fled from domestic violence. For many years I took medication, but it wasn’t really working. So, I decided I needed to approach this in a different way. I went off my medication and found a wonderful therapist. For the past 4 years I have been seeing him. At first it was a once a week appointment, now it’s a once month, and only because I like having this outlet. I love myself now. And, not just love myself, but I really like who I am. I know that it is said that there is no cure for major depression, but I strongly disagree. With a lot of hard work it can be cured.

My goal for my spiritual wellness is that I never stop searching inside and out. My physical wellness goals are two; quit smoking and drop 25 lbs. The only goal I can think of in regards to my psychological wellness is to keep exercising my brain. And, to keep my mind wide open at all times.

My daily practices for my physical health will be to never give up trying to quit smoking. I have an appointment with my acupuncturist to try it again. Last time I quit for three weeks. Also, I am making a commitment to go to the gym every day. I will not make excuses and I will keep a positive mind set about working out. As for my psychological practices, I will keep doing what I am doing now; exercising my brain on a daily bases. I love to learn and enjoy reading about different things. My spiritual health is the most important to me. I have learned so much in this class. Loving-kindness has helped me deal with everyone I have come into contact with. At first it was hard to treat everyone with loving-kindness, but with practice it has become part of who I am.

How I will assess my progress will be to do it every week, not after six months. What I have learned in this class is too important to be left unattended for that length of time.

Unit 8

I couldn’t pick just two. I picked three; Loving Kindness, Visualization, and meditation. Since I have been practicing loving kindness I have made several (4) new friends. I usually try to stay away from my children’s friends parents beyond keeping track of them. But lately they have been coming to me for advice and support. I have realized that that is not a bad thing or uncomfortable. Having people to talk to about parenting issues, especially the parents of the kids that hang out with my kids, is very comforting. Visualization is another one I really like. I visualize myself at the gym and some time that day I’m there. Well, that’s one way to utilize visualization. I meditate daily. Sometimes more. Meditation keeps my mind calm while my household seems to be in chaos. My daughter is showing signs of being a drama queen, so it is imperative that I always stay calm and use reasoning to teach her by example. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I am sure it will help her.

Unit 7

I had to create a wise woman for my meditation. This wasn’t very difficult because I had previously done a similar meditation a few years ago, so I just recalled her to me. Having this person there with me always calms me. And, again, I have to say that water background is my favorite. After a few years of practicing visualization meditations a friend of mine asked if she could do a meditation with me. She wanted to see how far my meditative abilities had progressed. After I was in a meditative state she asked me to visualize an apple in my hand. Then she told me to “take” a bite of the apple. I swear on my life that what I’m about to tell you is the truth. I could taste the apple!

Unit 6

This week was a good week to practice loving-kindness. My daughter is in 7th grade and last Thursday two girls took pictures of her changing in the locker room after PE. It has been really hard to project loving-kindness. Especially since the girls aren't taking the situation seriously. And their parents aren't either. But I finally came to the conclusion that the most kind and loving thing I can do is to make sure they are held accountable for their actions. Me turning the other cheek would do absolutely no good to the girls.

Unit 5

I really like managing my breathing. It does have a calming effect on me. I always breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Lately there has been, right at the edge of my consciousness, this feeling of inadequacy that I can’t seem to get rid of. Usually, I can work through negative feeling effectively. So, I had some problems with this week’s exercise. I can go for a few minutes doing well with it, but then, here comes this feeling again. I think I’ll keep doing this exercise a lot more over the next couple months.

Unit 4

I really like this exercise. I like the background noise. And the woman narrating the exercise has a good voice for this. Observing ones thoughts and feelings is not easy. This was a different experience for me. I have been taught to recognize and acknowledge my feelings so they can be let go. I had to be able to show compassion to myself before I could truly show and feel compassion to others. This is a good exercise to once a week. I would recommend this to others.