Unit 7

Meditation is something that I had always talked about trying, but not something I actually went and did. I had suspected it would be a good practice for me, not just psychologically, but physically also. I think the one best thing that I can say it has done for me is that I now step back from conflicting situations and try to have much more intention in how I react. I have especially seen a big change in this aspect of my professional life. I need to continue to do this in order to maintain any type of relaxation and peace at my job. The best way for me to continue this is to take a deep breath, pause and then allow the words to come out. It is impossible for anyone to lead, or to be followed, if they have no idea where they are going. Chaos ensues and chances are everyone gets lost. A location, attraction, concept or idea can be explained, but until you have experienced it, been there, done that, you cannot give firsthand knowledge, understanding, feelings or emotions about it. It would difficult to convince anyone they should do or not do something that you have not at least tried to do or have experienced. How could you convince someone to stop smoking when you had a cigarette in your hand or that meditation is calming and beneficial if we cannot give them an experience to relate to? It is important that we lead by example, especially when someone’s health is at the root of the leadership. I believe I have implemented psychological and spiritual growth in my personal life just by taking this class and taking it to heart. By practicing the exercises in my daily life and truly trying to grasp and understand the concepts that have been presented show a growth and desire to improve in these aspects of my life. Julie Couillard

Unit6 Integral Assessment

This week I struggled with the meditation exercises.  Not because of the exercise, but because I had a difficult time letting go of all the happenings in my life this week.  Although this was frustrating, it was also a learning experience.  I have learned that although I have had great experiences with meditation, I have most definitely not conquered all of my road blocks.  For the few moments that I was able to let things go and was able to focus, I found that it did not take long for my emotions to flow during the universal loving-kindness exercise.  The imagery that appeared when repeating the line regarding freedom from suffering for all individuals was very moving for me and surprising how filled with the emotions I became.

The other exercise, which focused on the integral assessment was not so difficult.  It was very easy for me to come to the conclusion that psychospiritual is the aspect of my life that I need to focus on.  This becomes very apparent to me at my job.  I find that I am still at the conative line when handling my work.  It seems every time I think I have made progress, I have not.  This class has made me take a hard look at what this job is doing to me and it will be a difficult journey for me to get to the emotional line with respect to work.  I feel I have made and continue to make progress in my personal life regarding this, but because of work, I am really not sure that this progress counts.  Until I can get all areas of my life in sync regarding my psychospiritual health, I believe I am lacking in the whole aspect.

After reading the material this week I believe I need to start working on life as  practice.  I feel my biggest obstacle at work is that I do not respond with intention to situations, I react instinctively.  The only way I am going to overcome this is to stop, clear my mind at that moment and then respond.  I have actually regressed in this because of the retirement of my previous boss.  Having a mentor was brought up in our discussion this week, and I can attest that having a mentor makes a huge difference in ones life.  My previous boss took many hours to talk to me and teach me how to be more compassionate and understanding to situations and people.  He taught me to slow down and try to appreciate the differences in people.  My current boss is just the opposite, and due to my personality, I find that I am using his type A, bolder personality to justify to myself that it is ok to go back to my previous ways of dealing with work situations.  This is not the person I want to be and realize that it is up to me to make these changes.  It is a struggle, but I feel that realizing I am reacting instinctively and want to change this is the first step to making the changes.

Julie Couillard

Unit5 Subtle Mind

The meditation exercise this week was again one that I enjoyed. I surprised myself in that I became so relaxed and so in tune to my breath, that I was actually startled when the woman's voice come back in the audio clip. I would still say that the loving kindness exercise was the most enjoyable for me. I struggle with trying to come up with reasons why, but I will start with because it was the one that moved me the most. It was very emotional and made me look at myself in ways I have not done in the past. It also made me realize how strongly I felt about things that are changing in my life and how comfortable I am about those changes. These are aspects that I would not have looked at so deeply had it not been for that exercise.
  This week's exercise was wonderful and made me realize for the first time in my life that I can let go of thoughts and stresses. I really did believe this was impossible for me. So again, an experience that taught me something about myself, which at my age, really makes me take pause realizing I do not know everything about myself. Sometimes this can be overwhelming, but it has been an experience that I should have taken on many years ago.
Spiritual health. to me, is the completes total health. One can be physically fit, eat right, have no questions about their mental capacities, their position in life, no stresses about anything, but still be unhealthy. Spiritual health gives you a piece of mind and calmness that nothing else can. It teaches you the most basic aspects of being human: kindness, compassion, love, understanding; the things that truly matter. You can own any material thing in this world, but without the ability to appreciate and share with someone, you really have nothing. Just how I feel...
I hope everyone has a great week, and I look forward to sharing...

Julie C.

This week's exercise was a brand new experience for me. We have done meditation exercises for this class in previous weeks, but this was the first one that I was able to relate to felt completely involved in. The other exercises were just that, exercises to gain experience and insight regarding what meditation was about. This loving-kindness exercise was much more then that. The emotions that I felt and the involvement with those emotions was almost overwhelming. The first portion of the exercise where we were to think of someone we loved and to open our hearts and allow those feelings to flow was amazing. I had no idea I could feel that deeply about anything. I had tears in my eyes. It was difficult to try to allow myself to feel that way about me, but I am working on it. One of the other sections that had use receiving the pain of a loved one on our inhale breath and releasing love and kindness to them on the exhale breath was difficult. I had no problems with the receiving, but I had a hard time letting it go once I received it, so it was difficult to let the love and kindness out with the exhale. I have to learn to take things in, and not just give love and kindness out, but to release the pain that I have taken in with that breath. Again, something I will have to work on. This exercise is one I can see myself repeating several times a day. It was invigorating and really put my perspective to where I think it should have been regarding what is really important in the outside world. Actually, the first few minutes did that for me. A mental workout is exercising the brain. It is training it to gain control of ones self and to reach a deeper understanding of all things. Some proven benefits of exercising the brain are reducing negative emotions, such as fear and anger and increasing positive emotions, such as love and compassion. It can also help to improve attention and memory, among other functions of the mind. One of the biggest ways to help implement this is any ones daily life would be to meditate and involve ones self in exercises as mentioned above. Julie C.

Unit 3 Reflections

Based on my relection of myself, I have qutie a bit of work to do regarding all aspects of my wellness. My physcial wellness is by far my strongest level of wellness, which I would rate a 6 or 7 out of 10. I exercise on a very regular basis and make it a point to exercise all regions of my physical body. I also am very aware of what I eat and make every attempt to take care of myself with no pharmaceutical intervention. Spiritual wellness would be my weakest apsect of total health. I have very mixed feelings about many believes, and struggle with which I feel the most comfortable with. I have struggled with this for many years and I am not sure if I will ever give myself the freedom to completly practice a spiritual healing belief, so a rating of 2 or 3 would be appropriate. That leaves the psychological apsect of wellness. This is difficult, because I would like to believe that i have it all together in this area, but reality states that none of us do. I try to recognize my shortcomings and to accept them for who i am, but make the changes that will make me a more generous, forgiving and understanding person. So, with all of this in mind, I would give myself a rating of about 5 or 6 out of 10. A physical goal for me would be to ride a 100 mile bike race. I have just recently taken up riding, and have found it to be one of the best thngs I have ever done. When I am riding is when I feel the most like me and the freest I could possilbe feel. It is absolutely amazing!! Spiritually, I would like to set a goal of medidating three times a week. I know that does not sound like a lot, but for me that would be huge. The final goal I would like to obtain would be to control my initial reactions to things better then I do. I have a tendency to react before thinking, which has not gotten me in trouble, but has made co-workers pause on occasions. An activity that would help me reach my physical goal would be to ride three times a week, increasing my distance by five miles each week until I obtain the distance of 100 miles. For the meditation goal, I could start with one session a week and increase that every week or two until I reach or surpass my goal. I also think that starting the sessions at a duration of about eight to ten minutes initially would help to keep me focused, and then increase the time every couple of sessions until I am confortable with 30 minute sessions. As far as controlling my reactions, that takes pratice and being aware that it is happening. I am very blessed that I have co-workers who work with me on this by tactfully letting me when I am doing it. I have been told that I have made huge strides in this area of my life, so I will continue to work with it as I have been. The exercise that was assigned was very relaxing at first, but then became stressful. I am a high energy individual and it is very difficult for me to settle and relax for more then a few moments. I start with telling myself how great this is going to be and how good it would be for me to make this a lifestyle change. After about seven or eight minutes I start to get fidgety and then after about 10 or 12 minutes I cannot stand it anymore and start doing other thngs while I listen. Any advice on how to overcome this would be greatly appreciated!

Journey on Relaxation

Wow, how interesting that was.  I have never tried a relaxation exercise before.  I think I need to do this more often.  I am thinking every evening before going to bed would be a good idea.  It should help wash away the stresses of the day and allow for a better nights sleep.  Boy, that would be nice!!

Welcome

Hello everyone.  Welcome to my blog!!  Feel free to leave any comments.   They will all be read and I appreciate any time that anyone puts into posting here.  I will do my best to respond and keep conversations moving forward.  I look forward to getting to know everyone in a less formal environment.

Julie