Greetings Everyone,
I hope everyone had a good week and a nice weekend so far. I spent the day hiking in Manitou Springs so I am in a great place.
I think the Universal loving kindness exercise is one that a lot of people could benefit from. I know that I notice a lot of anger within people and this could be one exercise that could turn that attitude around. In order to really reach our integral health we are to reach this step which may take some time, but would give endless benefit. I personally enjoyed the exercise and found that it made me really think about others and their struggles. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in your own troubles and you can forget to take a look around you. I also think the integral assessment is a beneficial practice in order to take a look at yourself as a whole. I find that my spirituality is an area that I am lacking and to be honest not something I ever thought of before this class. I have recently started meditating on a regular basis and have actually started to enjoy it because I am now able to quiet my mind much more successfully. I also do not get frustrated if I can't get there, I realize it is a process so I'm trying to let it happen more organically rather than forcing it so hard. I recently did one of my meditations outdoors on a windy day and found that the sound of the wind blowing through the trees had almost a drug like effect on me. I was at peace, maybe for the first time ever. Truly amazing!! I think by continuing to practice my meditation and incorporating yoga, exercise, and visualizations I will become more in touch with this aspect of myself.
Lauren
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Subtle Mind Exercise
Hello Everyone,
I have to say this exercise was exactly what I needed. My week was rough and my mind was literally racing with a zillion thoughts. I found that it was very peaceful and helped me to really relax and take a break from all the chatter. I felt this exercise left me to explore the thoughts that were coming up without me becoming consumed with them. I thought that the reason I didn't like the Loving Kindness exercise was because of my state of mind, but today it was similar to the way I felt doing the other exercise. However my experience with the subtle mind was completely different. I am going to be sharing this exercise with a few of my friends as I feel it is a great centering exercise.
The connection between our spiritual, mental, and physical well-being is really bigger than I ever realized. Since the beginning of this class I have learned so much about myself and how my stress effects every part of me. I have seen the difference already since I started working out more regularly and doing visualizations. While of course my stresses haven't changed I feel I have gained a little more insight as to how to deal with them more effectively. I have also started making time for myself and the things that make me thrive. I love to do anything outdoors so I have been spending more time hiking and just staring off into the mountains. It's amazing what you can see when you just look at the mountains or even a tree. (how weird do I sound right now??? lol) I believe that you have to focus on all three aspects of yourself to really be a happy and healthy individual. I'm sure working on it!
Lauren
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Loving-Kindness Exercise
Hi there everyone,
I hope this finds all of you well and I hope you are having a nice weekend.
I have to say that I did not enjoy this exercise as much as the two previous ones that we have done. I found it hard to focus and really get into this one. I know that my stress level played a part as I have been a little on edge this week. I felt myself getting a little annoyed with the waves and kept waiting for the next guided visualization instead of being patient with the process. I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't think it was terrible. I keep thinking back to seminar and hearing Professor Maule say that we may like one and not the other and perhaps this is the one I don't like so much. However, I think my mood and other circumstances effected my opinion as well. I do think this exercise could be beneficial to some people it just really didn't do much for me. I think with more practice with training my own mind I may get more out of the exercise.
I think of a mental workout as being similar to training your body. You have to focus on muscle groups and make time to train and take care of yourself. In the same way our brains need our time and focus. We have to be able to check in with our metal health in order to keep ourselves balanced.
Lauren
I hope this finds all of you well and I hope you are having a nice weekend.
I have to say that I did not enjoy this exercise as much as the two previous ones that we have done. I found it hard to focus and really get into this one. I know that my stress level played a part as I have been a little on edge this week. I felt myself getting a little annoyed with the waves and kept waiting for the next guided visualization instead of being patient with the process. I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't think it was terrible. I keep thinking back to seminar and hearing Professor Maule say that we may like one and not the other and perhaps this is the one I don't like so much. However, I think my mood and other circumstances effected my opinion as well. I do think this exercise could be beneficial to some people it just really didn't do much for me. I think with more practice with training my own mind I may get more out of the exercise.
I think of a mental workout as being similar to training your body. You have to focus on muscle groups and make time to train and take care of yourself. In the same way our brains need our time and focus. We have to be able to check in with our metal health in order to keep ourselves balanced.
Lauren
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Reflecting on my own wellness
Greetings to all,
When I think of my own wellness I feel I have quite a bit of work to do. To rate them I would say my physical would be about a 6, my spiritual a 5, and my psychological a 5 as well. Clearly with this type of personal scoring it is obvious I have some work to do on myself in several areas.
As far as goals to change these scores or better said my feelings about where I am in my life I need to decide what each of these things actually mean to me. My physical health is good, but I could do more to cultivate better health for myself. I already eat very well, but could add more exercise in my life to maintain strength and to improve my mental state as well. As far as the spiritual aspect I'm not sure where to turn in regards to this. This will be something that takes some research both outward and inward to find what I feel drawn to as far a something to believe in. My psychological health could definitely use some work. With this class and my class on stress that I am also taking this semester I see some pretty serious patterns that I need to change as far as the way I think about things. I am a dweller and tend to hold on to things for way to long and I am also extremely hard on myself. These are things that I would like to spend time working on so that I can ease up the tension in my life a bit. I think by incorporating regular exercise and relaxation techniques I can find a better sense of balance.
Upon starting the exercise, The Crime of the Century, I was feeling very tense and even a little upset so I experienced a little trouble letting myself get fully into it. Luckily it didn't take long for me to shift my focus to the colors and the areas of my body. I found it fairly easy to imagine each color and found the phrases somewhat comforting. In the end I found it to be relaxing and ended up being a way for me to let go of the issue I was dealing with. I have enjoyed both of our exercises so far and will be using them in the future to take little time outs for my own mental well-being.
Lauren
When I think of my own wellness I feel I have quite a bit of work to do. To rate them I would say my physical would be about a 6, my spiritual a 5, and my psychological a 5 as well. Clearly with this type of personal scoring it is obvious I have some work to do on myself in several areas.
As far as goals to change these scores or better said my feelings about where I am in my life I need to decide what each of these things actually mean to me. My physical health is good, but I could do more to cultivate better health for myself. I already eat very well, but could add more exercise in my life to maintain strength and to improve my mental state as well. As far as the spiritual aspect I'm not sure where to turn in regards to this. This will be something that takes some research both outward and inward to find what I feel drawn to as far a something to believe in. My psychological health could definitely use some work. With this class and my class on stress that I am also taking this semester I see some pretty serious patterns that I need to change as far as the way I think about things. I am a dweller and tend to hold on to things for way to long and I am also extremely hard on myself. These are things that I would like to spend time working on so that I can ease up the tension in my life a bit. I think by incorporating regular exercise and relaxation techniques I can find a better sense of balance.
Upon starting the exercise, The Crime of the Century, I was feeling very tense and even a little upset so I experienced a little trouble letting myself get fully into it. Luckily it didn't take long for me to shift my focus to the colors and the areas of my body. I found it fairly easy to imagine each color and found the phrases somewhat comforting. In the end I found it to be relaxing and ended up being a way for me to let go of the issue I was dealing with. I have enjoyed both of our exercises so far and will be using them in the future to take little time outs for my own mental well-being.
Lauren
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Welcome and Reflection
Greetings Everyone,
Welcome to my very first blog. I hope this finds all of you doing well. I want to say that this class has already changed so many aspects of how I see my own health and well-being and I feel that this eye opener will help me to make some better choices for my emotional health.
Reflection:
I enjoyed the journey exercise and was actually able to relax and feel the sensation of my arms and hands being warm and heavy. This was surprising to me since I usually can only keep my mind quiet about 30 seconds when I try to meditate. I actually do allow myself to get pretty nervous and worked up about certain situations in my life and think this tool will be a great value to me when I need to calm my nerves. I've also decided to pass on this exercise to my mom who could also use a little bit of peace from time to time. Having the ability to control and cultivate your own thoughts is a gift that we can all have with some time and practice. I am looking forward to learning to better control what my "hamsters" are up to.
Lauren
* I will open up and confess something weird and silly to help explain the "hamsters". When I get to over-thinking something I picture little hamsters in my brain with a white board trying to figure out a big math equation or something of that nature. :-) It's ok to laugh....I usually do and that is a big help.
Welcome to my very first blog. I hope this finds all of you doing well. I want to say that this class has already changed so many aspects of how I see my own health and well-being and I feel that this eye opener will help me to make some better choices for my emotional health.
Reflection:
I enjoyed the journey exercise and was actually able to relax and feel the sensation of my arms and hands being warm and heavy. This was surprising to me since I usually can only keep my mind quiet about 30 seconds when I try to meditate. I actually do allow myself to get pretty nervous and worked up about certain situations in my life and think this tool will be a great value to me when I need to calm my nerves. I've also decided to pass on this exercise to my mom who could also use a little bit of peace from time to time. Having the ability to control and cultivate your own thoughts is a gift that we can all have with some time and practice. I am looking forward to learning to better control what my "hamsters" are up to.
Lauren
* I will open up and confess something weird and silly to help explain the "hamsters". When I get to over-thinking something I picture little hamsters in my brain with a white board trying to figure out a big math equation or something of that nature. :-) It's ok to laugh....I usually do and that is a big help.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)