Universal Loving-Kindness Meditation and Integral Assessment

Universal Loving-Kindness Meditation and Integral Assessment

To be honest, I was fine with the mini loving-kindness meditation…close your eyes for a minute and two and rest into the natural ease of my mind and body. No problem! But, how was I supposed to repeat the suggested phrases for 10 minutes if my eyes were closed? Really, I had to open my eyes at this point in order to repeat the phrases. I tried memorizing them, but that was not successful…I kept forgetting words or mixing up the order. Frustrated? Yes, I was…after all, I believe Dacher’s practices require more time in order for one to achieve the goal of taming one’s mind and controlling it. Personally, I have not gained the skill of taming my mind yet; I am still struggling with disruptive thoughts that constantly bombard my mind. Even if I attempt one contemplative practice and can achieve a calm mind; the peace of mind disappears once I resume my activities and the realities of life take over.

That said, the assessment did not reveal anything new about myself of which I was not already aware. I have a clear idea about my strengths and weakness, and it is just a matter of finding what really works as opposed to being a temporary fix. On a good note, my biological life is strong and the main focus of my daily activities. I engage in daily physical activities to work on endurance, flexibility, strength, and agility. In addition, I respect the environment and do not believe in animal cruelty; therefore, my diet reflects a concern for my beliefs as I maintain a sustainable diet of plant based foods; such as legumes, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Likewise, I am working on maintaining a balance in my life with meditation, visualization, and deep breathing exercises to foster a sense of calmness, intentional focus, and awareness.

On the other hand, my psychospiritual life is weak as I have a tendency to keep my feelings to myself and not express myself verbally. I hold my emotions inward, which causes me to be angry and frustrated…mostly toward myself, and I have a tendency take my frustrations out on those close to me. However, I am working on being less reactive and more responsive by recognizing my body’s stress and anger cues, restructuring my thoughts in a positive manner, reducing my expectations of myself and others, and forgiving the past. At the same time, I am engaging in yoga, meditation, and contemplative practices so that I can learn to tame and control my mind of the constant chatter and negative thoughts and achieve stillness, clarity, and inner peace.

This is the one area that I realize requires my focus in order to achieve growth and development; but this too will take time. Besides, I have learned that this area tends to be underdeveloped and is the source of mental suffering and premature disease. Furthermore, it is the one area of my life that will improve other areas of my life so that I may discover inner strengths and qualities of wisdom and compassion to flourish instead of survive. Inasmuch, I am doing this not only for my health and wellness; but to teach others how they can also experience health, happiness, and wholeness. It just requires an intentional choice, patience, determination, and faith.

Be well!

Allana

Subtle Mind Practice Reflection

Hi everyone,

I am not sure about the subtle mind practice; the sound of the crashing waves was soothing; but somehow, my mind kept moving; just like the restless waves, which I found to be somewhat of a distraction. I kept my focus on my breathing; which helped me to clear my mind; but the guided prompts interrupted my stillness…even to the point of startling me once or twice.

When I compare the subtle mind to the loving-kindness practice, I recall how difficult it was for me also to initially engage in the exercise. In the loving-kindness practice, I had to intentionally release distracting thoughts so that I could focus on the suffering of others. Then, I was I was able to experience loving-kindness as I sent out feelings of health and joy to others in exchange for their suffering. I found that the loving-kindness practice allowed me to use my mind to visualize a process as opposed to the subtle mind practice which required focusing on the breath to remain anchored, observing the mind and its distracting thoughts, and trying to release those clinging thoughts…this was a difficult concept to grasp the first time around.

As such, this exercise practice is going to require patience and continued practice in order for me to experience calm-abiding. Maybe I am being too hard on myself, but I could not fathom the concept of witnessing my mind as being still and not visualizing or focusing on an object is not an easy task for me. This is quite frustrating as I frequently engage in yoga poses and guided meditation, which requires deep breathing to keep the mind focused and still. However, breathing in this exercise was more of a tense effort as I followed the prompts. It did not come easy, and I found my breathing to be labored; not all soothing or relaxing. While my body did appear to be calm and relaxed, my mind was on a different plane. I kept wondering if something mystical or mysterious was suppose to happen. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was moving colors, shadows, and shapes. Was this the still part of my mind? In all honesty, whatever distracting thoughts or images appeared in my mind only remained temporary. I literally had to force my attention to my breathing; which happened quite a bit. I admit that I have a long way to go; but at least I am willing to keep trying. This was my first practice; I imagine that each session will get better as time progresses.

What I have discovered from the contemplatives practices is that we do have the ability to tame our mind from its endless chatter. As such, when the mind is calm; the body is able to respond accordingly. Likewise, when we use our breath in a controlled, rhythmic manner, we learn to stabilize our minds and eventually; we find ourselves at a place where we can explore the deeper part of our minds. While I have not experienced the levels of calm-abiding or unity consciousness, I feel them there waiting to be discovered. If I have the ability to instill calmness to my body with rhythmic breathing and focused attention, I can only imagine what other possibilities are available within me.

As such, the mental clutter that bind us to ill-health disappears when our spirits are relaxed and are at peace; and this creates a balance within, which prompts healing and well-being. In any event, I have observed this connection in my life. What I have realized is that I have developed a sense of calmness and awareness in my life. For example, I have noticed that instead of instinctively reacting to stressors, I engage my brain to find a positive outcome as opposed to flying off the handle. In addition, I have learned to reduce stress by being more understanding with my kids as I choose not to have unrealistic expectations of them. Likewise, I find that engaging in mind-body practices, such as yoga, meditation, guided imagery visualization, etc., allow me to find quality time to attend to my inner life. The more I attend to my inner life, the more I learn to take control of my health in a positive and creative way. I also believe that being responsible for one’s health does help to alleviate endless suffering and pain. When you take charge of your health, you find your purpose in life as you create a healthier world around you. Therefore, more than ever; we need to use our minds to get us on the path to health and wellness.

Stay healthy and enjoy the rest of your week!

Allana

A “Mental Workout” is Good for the Mind…

As an individual engages in physical exercise to improve his or her health, a “mental workout” is required for psychological health. In other words, we cannot expect to improve our physical health just by thinking about it; we have to move the body in some format to work the muscles, heart, lungs, etc. In the same manner, a “mental workout” exercises the mind in order to develop “consciousness and its healing capacities” (Dacher, p. 65). But this process requires diligence, perseverance, and patience if one expects to see a positive change. As Dacher explains, it is not possible for us to evolve our psychospiritual life and access its capacities and resources without daily practice (Dacher, p. 64). In as much, research shows that a trained mind can influence one’s physiology, hormonal system, and immune system. Likewise, recent studies show that the proven benefits of a “mental workout” include positively impacting attention, memory, perception, imagery, etc. (Dacher, p. 63). Further reports and studies also show that a mental workout can “transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt and enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness” (Dacher, p. 63).

As such, one way I could implement mental workouts into my daily routine is by making an effort to do them first thing in the morning while my mind is still and not bombarded with my daily activities. Even if I am unable to practice mental workouts in the morning for some unexpected circumstance, I could manage to do at least one short session during the day. My goal is to develop my mental health in order to broaden my awareness, gain wisdom and understanding, and access my mind’s healing abilities to transform negative emotions into positive ones, such as patience, acceptance, and happiness. And who doesn’t want to improve their memory and attention? I also want to practice loving-kindness more often so that I can open my heart to others and be better prepared to progress toward psychospiritual flourishing.

Reference:

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

Loving-kindness Exercise Reflection

The loving-kindness contemplative practice was a bit of a struggle for me…even though I was up early to avoid disruptions and maintain a relaxed state of mind; however, my mind was far from calm. It was my daughter’s 20th birthday, and I was feeling a bit guilty about my commitment to another school assignment and not spending quality time with her. Moreover, it was Sunday, and I kept thinking of the promise I made to myself about getting back into the routine of attending church services…but here I was once again doing another school assignment.

At least, there was the sound of crashing waves that provided some relaxation so I could attempt to clear my mind. Throughout the exercise, I followed the prompts with good intentions; however, I still had to struggle with disruptive thoughts and feelings. I had to literally force myself to fight off the “demons”; I even thought how is this going to make me relax? Then, I recalled reading that contemplative practices are not about rest and relaxation; they are more of a mental workout; or as Dacher states, “the progressive development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities” (Dacher, 2006, p. 65). No wonder I was experiencing such discomfort! I was expecting some external stimulation to provide relaxation.

Initially, I felt a tad uncomfortable trying to practice loving-kindness to those who are suffering as I did not think that I was able to help them. I realized that I was initially focusing on my immediate thoughts, feelings, and worries; somehow, I had to shift the focus away from me so that I could open my mind. Eventually, I was able let go of those feelings and focus on other people. I even realized that I do possess an authentic concern and compassion for others who are suffering; and by focusing on their suffering, whatever thoughts, worries, or concerns I had were suddenly not that important. I visualized their problems, insecurities, fears, pains, etc. and allowed them to enter into my heart with each inhalation, then to vanish on each exhalation. In the process, I sent out a prayer for happiness, health, and a brighter 2011.

I admit the exercise did take some effort on my part…as with anything meaningful in my life. If I could discipline myself to work out six days a week, eat healthy meals, complete my school assignments in a timely manner, and so on; why could I not apply the same discipline and effort to my mental health? And in spite of my initial discomfort, I felt the exercise was beneficial. While reflecting on the exercise afterward, I have to admit that whatever worries or concerns I had before were gone; I actually felt calm and looked forward to a positive day. Also, I was still able to spend quality time with my daughter later that day as we celebrated her special day. With that, I learned that by practicing loving-kindness, you get back what you give.

Reference:

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

Level of Wellness and Crime of the Century Relaxation Exercise

Based on my reflections, I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 that I rate my physical being as an 8, my spiritual being as a 7, and my psychological well-being is a 5.

My physical being is very important to me, and I make it a daily habit to eat healthy meals and engage in physical activity six days a week with one day to rest. I enjoy running, cycling, swimming, playing basketball and tennis with my kids, kickboxing, yoga, Pilates, strength training, and weight lifting.

While many people claim to be spiritual, I wonder what they mean when they toss this word around. For me, being spiritual is spending time alone to find inner peace, time to reflect and resolve difficult life issues, and focusing on building relationships. I enjoy my time spent engaging in guided imagery, yoga, meditation, and monthly massages from my personal masseuse. I also love to spend time outdoors in nature to reflect on personal issues, or to be awed at the beauty of God’s gift to man. In addition, I enjoy volunteering in my community to feel a sense of self-worth and connected to other people…and for the days I am my wit’s end, I call out to God and pray for strength, guidance, and patience.

I admit that my psychological well-being requires lots of work. I have a tendency to keep my emotions to myself and not share my feelings with others. In addition, my husband has been working out of state for the past 8 months, and it has been a very difficult time for me emotionally and spiritually; but I have been learning to manage on my own through running, prayer, and yoga. I have been trying to journal, but that takes work which frustrates me as I enjoy writing, but do not enjoy writing about my feelings as I prefer to think and reflect about my feelings and thoughts. As such, l also lack social support other than my long distance husband and my teen kids.

My goal for my physical health is to maintain the current activities I participate in to keep a balanced exercise program of cardio, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility exercises. I find that this keeps my workouts refreshing without becoming stale and stagnant. For example, lately I have been working more on developing my upper body strength with target exercise to build my arms for preparation of my first pull-up. Likewise, being physical keeps my mind alert, focused, and relaxed when I feel stressed.

For my spiritual wellbeing, my goal is to keep prayer a daily routine and include a scheduled time to meditate daily so I can learn to tap into my inner wisdom to keep me centered and balanced in times of stress, in addition to feeling relaxed and at peace. I would love to get back to my daily devotions where I can spend more spiritual time being connected to God and get back into the routine of going to church on Sundays instead of spending my time doing school work.

In terms of my psychological wellbeing, I plan to work on focusing on my awareness through my deep breathing exercises, practice being grateful; loving-kindness; and forgiving myself and others, not being too hard on myself or taking things personally. I also plan to practice on working on my self esteem through positive affirmations and positive thinking. I believe for the most part, I am slowly getting a better grip on handling my stress through my physical activity, deep breathing exercises, and yoga. I find that I am able to move on with my life instead of feeling sorry for myself and angry at life’s outcomes. I have learned that I am able to make the best of my situation by being positive and looking within for contentment and peace. Everyday has its ups and downs; I am learning not to stress out over the little things and to let go of the things that are not important. In addition, I have found that the Serenity Prayer has helped me through many tough struggles. I am becoming a stronger person from all the lessons I am learning from life and its many challenges.

The Crime of the Century relaxation exercise was a wonderful and beneficial experience. I thoroughly enjoy guided relaxation exercises as they help me to achieve a sense of peace and calmness without having to be physically active. As a matter of fact, the rainbow meditation is one of my favorite relaxation exercises as it allows me to use color imagery of the seven chakras to feel grounded, centered, loved, meaningful purpose, balanced, and connected. Throughout the exercise, I was able to visualize the seven colors and related parts of the body to foster a sense of relaxation and calmness in my body…not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. I experienced such a deep state of relaxation that my arms and legs felt heavy and numb, and I could not feel the chair that I was sitting on during the exercise. Afterward, I felt at peace, energized, and ready to face my day. I highly recommend this relaxation exercise to anyone who wants to experience a sense of peace and relaxation; not to mention the health benefits they will achieve as their body shifts into homeostasis.

Reflection Post

Hello everyone,

My experience with the Journey On Relaxation exercise helped me to create a sense of relaxation as I followed the guided suggestions. During the exercise, I found that I was able to use the power of suggestion to control my tense shoulders to become relaxed, which helped me to relax in the process. However, I envisioned a ray of warm light radiating from my abdomen up to my shoulders, and then down to my arms and hands. I can honestly say that my palms felt warm, however, I was not sure about the heaviness as I found that I could move my arms if I wanted to...but the relaxed feeling was comfortable, and I did not want to move my arms. I also noticed how calm my body felt; my breathing was deep and controlled as I focused on my breath and the guided suggestions. This exercise was beneficial to me as I have been experiencing some stress. I felt calmer and more relaxed afterward and was able to concentrate on my work.

The true test is when I try this exercise on my own without the soothing guided suggestions and calming music. I wonder if I would be able to recreate a similar experience simply by using my mind without music and guided suggestions to promote a sense of relaxation. Somehow I feel that it is possible as it is not really that difficult to promote a sense of relaxation. If you engage your brain to focus on deep breathing and awareness, you can clear your mind of distracting and disruptive thoughts. It does take some work; but it is possible. Other than that, focusing on warmth and heaviness was what worked for me as opposed to redirecting blood flow.

Welcome Statement

Welcome everyone!

My name is Allana, and I am pursuing a degree in Health and Wellness at Kaplan University. I am a mother of four awesome kids who are constantly motivating me to embrace knowledge and learn all I can to do to make this world a better place to live in. The man I have been married to for 18 years is a wonderful husband, father and friend who supports my dreams and passions. My interests include holistic health, nutrition and fitness from a professional standpoint, but I also enjoy running, yoga, creative writing, reading, listening to music, gardening, cooking healthy meals, and spending quality time with my family. In order to maintain a "healthy" and sustainable lifestyle, I decided to adopt a vegetarian/vegan diet, which has been working well for me and my family for many years now. As such, I make sure to include a variety of plant-based foods in my family's meals, which includes all the food groups. I try to balance family life and school by making it a priority to include daily leisure time for me, which has helped to reduce my stress levels . I also love nature and animals...after all, without them, life could not exist.