Unit 8

The two exercises that resonated the most with me were the loving kindness exercise and the integral assessment.  The loving kindness meditation allowed for the use of imagination, which I like.  When I use my imagination I feel like it opens up new doors within my meditations, and I really enjoy exploring my own inner world.  The integral assessment was a little more black and white, however sometimes it is necessary to be able to identify areas in which we need improvement.  Both of these will be tools that I will use on occasion as I feel they are necessary.  I would guess that more often I would use the integral assessment, just because it is something that can be done fairly easily.

Unit 7

In Meeting Aesclepius I found the narrator to have soothing qualities that made it easy to relax and focus.  I did have my typical issue of having worked a lot of overtime, I found it too easy to fall asleep. My routine meditation practices are not guided, so when I listen to the guided meditations its far too easy for me to give in to my fatigue at times.

The statement, "One cannot lead another where one has not been himself" rings very true to me in every aspect of life.  To be an effective teacher in anything, a person should have a certain amount of commitment to what they are teaching.  For example, as a respiratory therapist, I choose not to smoke.  I think its horrible when you are counseling a patient on the important health benefits to quiting smoking, or treating a patient with advanced lung cancer when you yourself smell like a cigarette.  A health and wellness professional would be far more effective if they exude a confidence in what they are suggesting.

Unit 6

This weeks exercises were fairly simple and did not reveal a whole lot to me. The loving-kindness exercise seemed very similar to that of affirmation work.  The integral assessment felt very similar to what I tend to do in my normal waking conscious moments of thinking of my inner struggles.  The struggle that surfaced was a dilemma that I've been dealing with for some time now.  It deals with my relationship and how we are adjusting a recent major life change.  I know that this is something that demands a lot of my attention.  I think meditation and a power card deck have been a great way to address the issue and has helped me gain insight into the situation by probing for further information.

Unit 5

In comparing and contrasting the two exercises, Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind, I found that I preferred Loving Kindness.  I really liked how Loving Kindness was guided and allowed room for the imagination to work. With the Subtle Mind, it seems very rigid and strict.  I understand its point is in training the mind, however, it just isn't the best method that I respond to.  I like to be self-paced, when I first learned to meditate, I had to work through the fleeting thoughts, but I did it at my own pace.  As with most of the exercises thus far, I became very sleepy with the Subtle Mind.

It is my belief that spiritual, mental and physical wellness are all interconnected.  They are all affected by each other, and all must be in balance to obtain overall wellness.  In my own life, I make every attempt to balance all aspects.  Of course, being a human, many times I fall short.  I strive to practice daily meditation, I have a room in my house devoted to spiritual practice where my partner and I will meditate.  As far as mental wellness, I believe that being a student and the critical thinking involved in my job keep me sharp and always thinking.  In addition, I'm a voracious reader.  Physical wellness takes the form of hand wraps, boxing gloves, and a heavy bag.  I train in kickboxing 3-4 times per week, and its very challenging but incredibly invigorating.