Week 5: Subtle Mind V. Loving Kindness

I found the loving kindness exercise to be much more beneficial to me. It was much easier for me to get started with it because so much of it asked me to think about other people; I find it very difficult to focus on my breathing.  The loving kindness exercise felt more like prayer to me.  I felt the subtle mind exercise had too much down time; I am not yet at that place where I can keep my mind from wandering.  It seemed that what focus I was able to get was gone with so much silence.

There is such a strong connection between spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness.  I believe that when you nurture and strengthen your spiritual mind it eases the tensions and pain you feel physically.  So often, our bodies manifest symptoms because of all the strain we feel because of unresolved issues plaguing our mind and dragging down our spirit.

Week 4: Loving Kindness

I will admit, of the exercises we have done so far, loving kindness has been my favorite. It wasn't hard to fill myself with loving thoughts about my children, (especially considering their grandma took them for the afternoon so I could do homework!!) but it was difficult to turn that focus back towards myself. It was a good reminder of what we have been learning, that if we do not take care of ourselves, it makes it more difficult to take care of others.
I have not been functioning at 100% lately, between major job stress and a nasty sinus infection. Once I get a few assignments checked off my to-do list, I am going to take a nap so I can kick this illness and feel better when my children get home this evening!

Week 3: Crime of the Century!

I am going to be honest...what I think when I hear the intro to these exercises and they are encouraging me to relax, I think "I wanted to relax, but I had to listen to this instead!" I have a hard time participating in these meditation exercises...I feel like I have too much in my head! Maybe that is all the more reason for me to practice this, but I just cannot get myself to a point where I can block out all that I have going on.

Week 3: Optimal Well-Being

The person-centered component of integral health and healing can be very difficult for some people, especially if you are used to taking care of everyone else in your life and taking a backseat!  One thing I have learned in this week's unit is that you have to love yourself and take care of yourself in order to do the same for others.  I suppose I always knew that, but it's hard to shift the focus from my family back to me now and then; I am sure I am not the only mother who struggles with this!

On a scale of 1-10, I feel that my physical well-being is about a 7. I am quite healthy, but I would like to incorporate more physical exercise into my life, as well as get into better shape.  Not only will this make me look and feel better, it will prevent future health problems that could occur from being above my goal weight.  My goal is to build 30 minutes a day of physical activity into my schedule.

I would rate my spiritual well-being a 7 also.  I am a very spiritual person and I do go to church. I try to live a Christian life and pass on those ideals to my children. I rated myself a 7 based on the fact that I feel I forget to take my frustrations to a more spiritual level and worry/stress unnecessarily when praying and meditating on these things would be more effective. If this were my initial response, I could save myself a lot of emotional frustration.  My goal is to take a break before I react to life situations and have a "spiritual moment" to pray, breathe, relax, or just find my "happy place" before I react.

My psychological well-being is about a 6.  Keep in mind, we have not yet completed our first week back to school and I have been off work all summer! It has been very hard to get myself back into my work routine, coordinate daycare/bus for my kids, and balance my school work with just being able to have a little family time.  Both my children and I are suffering from some slight separation anxiety! I know this will get better within the next few weeks, but is has been rough! My goal is to set a family routine to make getting out the door easier in the mornings.

Week 2 Assignment...Journey On...

Maybe I'll have time for meditation when my kids go to college?!? My experience with this was very frustrating! As relaxing as the music and the vocal prompts were, I was NEVER able to complete the whole exercise without being interrupted! Of course, I am invisible until I am either 1-on the phone, or 2-wearing earphones at the computer.  I've come to accept that this is just a law of the universe.  A few of the "emergencies" that I had to tend to were fairly valid and unfortunately as a parent of young children, you simply CANNOT just block it all out! So my journey with meditation will have to start in the morning before everyone else is awake or in about 16 years :)

Welcome!

Hello, Everyone! Welcome to my blog. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you, as we get to share ideas through our blogs with a little more personality! As I said, I have never blogged before, but this seems fun! I hope to be able to share course work, as well as articles of interest and things that simply inspire me! Enjoy....