Unit 4: The Mind-Body-Spirit Paradigm

Hello class,

Upon reading chapter 6, which was on psychospiritual flourishing, and listening to the Introduction and Loving Kindness mp3 I’m able to describe my experience as follows:

1.     Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

·      While I was doing the Loving Kindness exercise I felt very relaxed and calm.  I felt a sense of peace and joy come over my body, which took me by surprise.  I must admit at times I would get too relaxed that my body/mind would want to sleep.

·      I found the Loving Kindness exercise very beneficial due to the fact that I felt peace and stillness to my body and mind; however, the one thing that I found difficult during the exercise was trying to take the suffering of the loved ones around me.  It was hard to grasp the pain that they were going through.  Other than that I learned a lot about myself and enjoyed the sounds of the ocean tides crashing.

·      I would definitely recommend the Loving Kindness exercise because it provides a deeper sense of what love is and how to find that love within ourselves, which might be difficult for a good amount of people to tap into.

2.     What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

·      The concept of “mental workout” is the idea that we need to workout our psychospiritual life (much like working our physical body for the Olympics) to access its capacities and resources, such as, health, happiness, and wholeness.

·      The research indicates that the proven benefit of a mental workout is the development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities.

·      The best way that I found to implement mental workouts in order to foster my psychological health is by spending time (about 20 min a day) allowing my mind to be subtle and using the loving kindness exercise for a deeper insight about myself.

Unit 3: The Mind-Body Connection

Level of Wellness

Hello class,

            The following are reflection on my own level of wellness; physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

1.    Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

A.    Physical well-being: I give myself a 5 on physical wellbeing.  The reason for this is because in the last two years I have let myself go (gained some weight), which has reflexed on my work performance.

B.    Spiritual well-being: I give myself a 7 on my spiritual well-being.  I do my best to listen to spiritual leaders to get some insight on deeper philosophical ideas.  Also, I do some praying to have a peace of mind and to get my day going.

C.    Psychological well-being: I give myself an 8 on my spiritual well-being.  I do my best to stay positive and to surround myself with positive people.  I also remind myself to live in the present in order to enjoy the moment, that way I do get lost in my thought of thinking of the future or the past.

2.    Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

A.    Physical goal: My physical goal is to exercise at least 4 times a week for about 30 minutes and to learn how to count my calorie intake and to have more fruit and vegetables in my diet.

B.    Spiritual goal: My goal so far is to continue to pray and to get into the habit of meditating and listening to some peaceful relaxing music.

C.    Psychological goal: My goal is to learn how to express my thoughts better to others, to deal with any unresolved anger I might not be aware of, and to stay connected with more uplifting people.

3.    What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?  Some activities and/or exercises that I can learn to implement in my life in order to assist my in moving toward each of my goals are the following:

·      Walking up stairs, carrying grocery rather pushing a cart, dancing, and mall walking while shopping.

·      Join a spiritual group, attend a bible study, and spend some time with seasons of spiritual reawakening.

·      Develop a mental exercise (thinking positive thoughts, listening to peaceful music, and read on the human psychology) in order to experience more joy, happiness, and healthier life.

4.    Relaxation exercise: Describe your experience (what is beneficial? Frustrating? Etc.)  Upon doing the relaxation exercise I was able to sense a feel peace over me and a stable and calm mind.  This simple relaxation exercise was very beneficial and relaxing.  I’ve been using this relaxation exercise before I go to sleep and sometimes before I go to work, in order to get centered before I start my day.