Unit Seven

Meeting Asciepius

When asked to think of a person I see as wise and caring the first person to come to mind is my Uncle Brian. Here is a man whose passion for life is infectious, just being around him makes me feel alive. He is a man that I sincerely look up to and aspire to be like. He knows what he wants and makes it happen. He practices compassion and gratitude. He travels all around the world, giving him an open-mind to multiple cultures. He is a great man and I am honored to have in my life.

It was easy to think of a person who saw as wise and caring, however it was difficult for me to imagine the bright light beaming from him and into me, making this a difficult exercise to get through. I prefer to practice meditations that allow me to think without trying to visualize something specific, it throws me off and I loose focus.

Being able to practice meditation and mindfulness has allowed me to remember to always look at the bigger picture. The stressors in life can definitely hide the bigger picture sometimes but it is good for optimal wellness to find outlets that allow you to recharge your battery, clear your mind, and create space in order to solve problems and keep moving.

It will be beneficial to my health and wellness to continue to practice mindfulness and meditation, making time for my mind will allow me to decide what I want out of and in life and assist me in finding healthy ways to achieve my goals.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself"

To me this saying is best described as practice what you preach and as far as the health and wellness professional goes, I think we absolutely have an obligation to our clients to develop our own health in all the same ways we try to help them develop their health. Why would we tell someone how important mindfulness is to overall health and wellness when we do not believe or practice it ourselves? It is just as important for the health and wellness professional to implement psychological and spiritual growth into their own lives as it is helping clients implement it into their lives as well. Teaching and/or learning how to practice mindfulness is the best and most beneficial way to implement growth, whether it be through specific meditations or just making 'self' time, both can allow the mind to recharge and create mindful wellness.

Peace,

Nico

Unit Six

Universal Loving Kindness Meditation

After practicing the loving kindness meditation I felt an overwhelming urge to want to help as many people as I can to find wholeness within themselves. Freedom from suffering and sustained health, happiness, and wholeness are amazing and powerful achievements.

I discovered that I need to obtain stronger development in my work, also that I have very strong feelings towards global suffering, which I am starting to think should be apart of my work in the future. With that I feel I could benefit from growth and development on the Worldly scale, I think it would help me find ways to be more confident in my work and also help me really find what it is that makes me alive so I can go and do it, as my favorite quote states, "don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you alive and go do it ~ because what the world needs is people who have come alive!" ~ Howard Thurman.

I believe with reading, study, and meditation I can grow and develop within all four quadrants, psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly. Meditation is a great way to search and clear your mind, I believe it can help me find and understand what it is I want my purpose to be.

Peace,

Nico

Unit Five: Project

Here is my presentation on Mental Fitness, please excuse the flaws, some things shifted and varied in color from the original copy, not sure why but hopefully you can get the gist.

Peace,

Nico

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_TPW0HaTPVzZGU2NWRlM2ItODYxYy00YWMxLTkxNjMtOTBmZmU2YmZlNzYz&hl=en

Unit Five

Subtle Mind

The subtle mind exercise was a little easier for me to get through, I was able to place myself in a comfortable position in the most peaceful place in my house; my yoga room. I was unable to do this with the last two exercises, I had to practice those exercises in a coffee shop in between jobs. This week, however, I was determined to try the exercise in complete relaxation. It was difficult for me to try and keep a position, I have developed pain in my back in the last week, so sitting or laying without pain is a difficult task. Overall I felt the experience to be nice and relaxing.

While I was laying on the ground, deeply breathing in and out I felt my thoughts move out with each breath, I could mentally visualize my thoughts slowly spinning in a circle above me and with each new thought that entered my mind I would not complete the thought I just simply let it leave my mind with my exhale. This allowed my mind to be clear and I was able to recharge and then let the thoughts back in.

After I was finished with the exercise I felt calm, relaxed and recharged. I was able to continue my evening and leave my stress behind. I felt it also gave me an opportunity to sort through some of my stressors, allowing me to figure out how to find solutions, kind of like finding some missing pieces to a puzzle.

Connection Between Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Wellness

Stress can be a major part of why we get some illnesses and/or diseases. When one has the ability to achieve overall wellness including spiritual, mental, and physical, it not only takes work but also an open mind. Knowing and understanding the conscience allows the control of the mind in order for the body to function with optimal wellness. It is important to know, understand, and practice utilizing mental fitness, training the mind in order to help the body. When training the mind it is important to remember to practice compassion.

For me personally, I can tell when I loose sight of my mind-body-spirit connection but when I am able to recharge with something like yoga or meditation, I am able to remember that it makes me centered, balanced, allowing me to live everyday, happy, healthy, and peaceful with compassion.

Peace,

Nico

Unit Four

It is weeks like this last one that make me think back to all that I have learned, in life and in the past two years as a student, especially the last two terms since I have been learning a lot about stress and how to handle stress in a healthy way. It is extremely important to me to be able to have a grasp on time management in order to keep me in line.

1. My experience with the exercises from tracks #1 and #2 were a bit difficult for me and I think it was mainly because I was completely distracted. Two weeks ago I started a second job and now I find myself working close to seventy hours per week plus school. During the exercises I felt myself wondering how much time had passed, if I was going to be late, and what I had to get done before I could go to bed. In between my distractions I could see some benefits to the exercises. I felt the presence of my wonderful uncle, whom I admire and respect. He is a major figure in my life, a true mentor, he holds wisdom, love, and a joy for life, he practices compassion and he is open and accepting towards other cultures. He has traveled to many different countries, which empowers me to see the opportunity I have to do the same, to see the world and the many things it has to offer. I fully enjoyed how this exercise allowed me to see and feel all those thoughts. I am also happy that we have access to the exercises at anytime, so when I get into my new groove and figure out my time management plan for my new schedule I have the ability to try these exercises again.

2. It is important that we give ourselves rest and relaxation, however it is even more important that we stimulate our brains as well. Mental workouts are just as important and beneficial as physical workouts, helping us keep our whole self healthy and balanced. I found an interesting article on the BBC website entitled, "Mental Workout 'boosts the brain' ", it states that "there is evidence that such stimulation promotes brain cells to start branching out and form new connections with other cells" (BBC News, 2008). From the Integral Health text it discusses the benefits to progressing with the development of expanded consciousness and its healing capacities (Dacher, 2006). I know by implementing mental fitness as much as physical fitness I will achieve overall wellness. My personal ways of implementing mental fitness is through yoga, meditation, and finding ways to stimulate and challenge my brain.

Peace,

Nico

References

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications: Laguna Beach, CA.

BBC News. (2008). Mental Workout 'boosts the brain'. Retrieved November 5, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7373026.stm