An Inspirational Poem

 Today I ...
Poet: Unknown Today I smiled, and all at once things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else, a bit of hope I had.
Today I sang a little song, and felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile, with not a cloud in sight.

Today I worked with what I had and longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds, were flowers at my door.
Today I loved a little more and complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself, I forgot my weariness.

Final Project

Introduction

       Everyone needs to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. The brain can be trained through meditation and practice. When you are psychologically healthy, you learn how to be more empathetic and compassionate. We all need more of these two attributes in our life. These capacities enable you to develop greater wisdom and effectiveness when dealing with problems. Spiritual health is an important component of an individual’s well being. When we feel spiritually connected and fulfilled, everything in our life including physical and emotional health are easier to deal with. We feel lighter and happier. Nourishing your soul is as important as food, exercise and water. Being physically healthy relieves stress, gives you higher self-esteem, and controls your weight along with many other benefits. I need to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. I have just begun this journey to finding a new me, so I need more practice.

Assessment

I believe that I have come a long way in just 9 weeks. Spiritually I am a 6, psychologically I am a 5, and physically I am a 7.

Goal Development

       Physically I plan to push myself more, and I will lose 5 pounds in the next two weeks. This will be done by doing more cardio and weight lifting. Psychologically I plan to be more positive, and go to counseling to overcome issues that I have from my past. This will be done within the next two months. Spiritually I will go to a Buddhist temple something that I have always wanted to do, and I will not let fear or others opinions stop me.

Practices for Personal Health

Physical strategies: I am going to do cardio exercises 4 times a week for 30-60 minutes each time. I will do 100 crunches at least 5 times a week. Psychological strategies: I plan to get cognitive behavioral therapy. I am not sure how many times I will have to do this. I will follow my therapists’ advice. I will also read the book Psychological Self-Help by Dr. Clayton E. Tucker-Ladd. This book will help me understand how to change defeatist attitudes. Spiritual strategies: I will do creative visualization exercises daily. I will also do meditations and exercises daily that will help me develop spiritual awareness.

Commitment

I will use a journal and a daily calendar to remind me of my commitments. I will record my progress in my journal. A strategy that will be useful is just reminding myself how far I have come, and this will be done daily.  

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Unit 8

One of the exercises that I like the most is the one from this unit A Taste of Human Flourishing. I can implement this exercise into my life by using this visualization exercise to feel happy and joyful. I will use it to bring happiness into my life. The second exercise I like is Universal Loving Kindness. By using this exercise, my capacity for empathic listening, seeing, and caring for others will increase.

Unit 7

Meeting Asciepius:
This meditation helped me relax. I will continue to practice meditation regularly, and I actually look forward to it. I have learned a lot from this class as I am sure all of you have to.

Mindfulness has fostered an increase in my spiritual wellness by helping to take life one day at a time, and simply helping me to relax. Spirituality is not something that you put up on a shelf and take down periodically -- especially when you are feeling desperate. It is a living, breathing aspect of who you are. And spiritual healing practices have application to every area of our life. Whether we are faced with challenges such as health problems, relationship difficulties, financial adversity, job loss, or legal problems – spiritual healing can help us. If you want to improve your life by increasing your prosperity, getting a wonderful new job, finding your perfect relationship, or any thing else that makes you happy -- spirituality can help in these areas also. Good luck everyone!

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" This phrase simply means that in order to help someone on a spiritual level we must be able to be comfortable with our own spirituality. In order to do this, we have to practice meditation on a daily basis.

Universal Loving Kindness Exercise

I loved this exercise. Dacher (2006) says to see another, be present with another, acknowledge another, hear another, be present with another, and feel one with another is a gift for oneself and the world. We get so caught up in our own "stuff" that we forget about everyone else. I will use this exercise the next time I feel angry, and maybe it can help me to control that anger.

Integral Assessment
I feel that my emotional development needs some help. I need to learn how to be happier. I also need to learn how to open-up more and not be scared to care about others romantically. I will do all of the exercises that I have been taught from this class to help me grow.

The Subtle Mind

"The human body is the best picture of the human soul." Ludwig Wittgenstein

This exercise focuses on breathing. "Peaceful breathing pattern leads to a peaceful mind. Still the breath and you still the mind." (Dacher, 2006). Ahh sounds so easy, but will take lots of time to master. lol I liked this exercise better. I felt more at ease. I did lose my focus many times, but with practice it will get better. I look forward to learning how to stabilize my mind so that there is total peace and serenity. I feel that this is the exercise that will help me to do that. The loving-kindness exercise has you using your mind to think of a loved one that you have lots of affection and love for. This exercise uses the mind while the subtle mind exercise concentrates on your breathing and not using your mind at all.

It is important to strive for increased wellness not only in the physical dimension, but more importantly in the spiritual dimension. Our health and spiritual wellness dimension is essentially the depth of ourselves. Not only does it refer to our values, our beliefs and our commitments that are at the very core of our being, our spirituality defines our personal code, which governs our emotional wellness and stability and ultimately how we approach and manage life's challenges.
It requires time, careful attention and a commitment to undertaking a health journey to total wellness. Unless it is nourished and exercised regularly, your spiritual wellness will not be able to support you when you need it most. It is important to have a healthy spiritual body in order to be strong mentally and physically.