Unit 5 Post

....REFLECTION....

ThE sUbTlE mInD eXpErIeNcE:
Personally, I enjoyed the loving-kindness exercise more than that of the subtle mind. I have had lot of unexpected financial burdens that I am dealing with lately. Therefore, during this exercise of the subtle mind, I kept found myself worrying about my money situation whenever we were given a chance to let our mind find random mental movements. Consquently, the subtle mind exercise was a bit disturbing for me.

However, I did not hate the subtle mind exercise all together. I enjoyed the part where we tried to focus our mind on nothing or "stillness". I also practice this whenever I do yoga. I like trying to clear my mind completely of all stress and focusing in on simple things like my chest moving or my breathing. My feelings seemed real once I released my mind and allowed it to float freely. I am quite the realistic person. In fact, I even hate watching movies that you have to use your imagination for because I constantly find myself saying, "that wouldn't really happen". I think this may have something to do with the fact that I am the youngest of three kids and I quit watching cartoons and doing little kids things before most of my friends, due to my strong influence of activities from my two older brothers.

tHe CoNnEcTiOn Of SpIrItUaL tO mEnTaL tO pHySiCaL wElLnEsS:
Physical Wellness is easily defined as the facts of our biology within the human body. This wellness connects with mental wellness through a more subtle level. Mental training allows us to shape our biology (physically). Spiritual wellness then connects to mental wellness through finding the deepest layers that lay within our souls and mind, not just our body. The interconnectedness makes us feel wholesome and one with ourselves.

Unit 4 Post

1. Describe your experience. Why or Why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or Why not?

I definitely found my experience of the loving-kindness exercise very beneficial. I believe it was beneficial because it opened my heart to others—not just ones who I do share love with, but also people who I do not know and people who I may consider my enemies. The only thing that I did not like about the CD was the author’s tone of voice during the introduction (Track 1). His voice made me feel annoyed. It was not a very calming voice. Yet, I was glad to see that he chose to have a female with a much more peaceful tone of voice read the exercise of loving-kindness.
I would most certainly recommend this exercise to others for their own experience. My recommendation would be given because of how different my body felt overall after I completed the exercise. Before I began I was extremely frustrated because I haven’t seen my boyfriend in over a week, and he was supposed to come see me tonight. Yet, something came up and now I cannot see him again. After I was done with the experience, I felt much stronger emotionally like everything is going to be okay. It made me think of the situation in a positive manner. For example, I just try to keep it in my head that distance makes the heart grow fonder.

2. What is the concept of “Mental Workout? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a Mental Work Out? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

The concept of mental workout is very similar to physical effort an Olympian gold medalist exerts, except in a psychological manner. During a mental workout, you engage in a contemplative practice that deals with loving-kindness and the subtle mind. Proven benefits of a mental workout can be a feeling of decreased self-centeredness and openness to others. As well, you will feel calm, open-minded, and intelligent. I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health through scheduling a 15 minute time slot in order to practice my exercises of integral health. During this time I will listen to the CD, and feel stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally.

...-*AWARENESS*-...

Where am I located within my "country" of awareness--regarding the "states" of physically, psychologically, & spiritually.......................???

1. If I were to rate myself on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being optimal wellness on my various well beings, where do I stand?

a. Physical Well-Being: 8

WHY? At this point in my life, I do not have and have not had any life-threatening diseases or illnesses. I am physically active, and have been my whole life! In addition, I rank my physical well-being as an 8 because I have always maintained a "normal" weight according to the BMI calculations.

b. Psychological Well-Being: 7

WHY? At this point in my life, I believe that my psychological well-being is a 7 because I have never had an major mental problems. I have been blessed with a healthy body and brain, and have always been able to achieve really high grades and make Dean's List. The reason why I don't give myself a 10 is because I have had times lately when I feel kind of depressed. My boyfriend works in the music industry so he is constantly gone, and I don't get to see him that much. Therefore, when I am home alone and missing him, and I tend to feel a little weak mentally. However, I am working my hardest at becoming a stronger person mentally.

c. Spiritual Well-Being: 7

WHY? I chose the number seven also for my spiritual well-being because I am Roman Catholic, and have always felt like I have a strong connection with god. However, since I was younger I have began to slack with attending church like I used to every single Sunday faithfully. Since I live in a new city, and didn't have anyone to go with I lost the importance. YETTTT...today I went back for the first time in a looooong time because I found a friend to go with!!! It felt so good to be back. Throughout the time that I did not attend mass, I did keep a strong relationship with my faith and spiritual side of well-being through prayer and worship.

2. My goals--->

a. Physical goal: I will keep my weight where it is now, and never allow myself to weigh more than 120lbs since I am only 5'2''. As well, I will keep up my high level of physical activity going in order to maintain my current weight.

b. Psychological goal: In order to keep myself sane, I will learn to deal with the fact that I can't see my boyfriend everyday.

c. Spiritual goal: I will continue to go to church every Sunday, even if I have to go by myself.

3.

***For my physical goal, I will take part in yoga more often, and work on my cardiovascular fitness at least 3 times a week.

***For my psychological goal, I will make certain to keep stress management tools close to me so that I can effectively deal with stress and life obstacles through learning to look at things differently with a positive interpretation.

***For my spiritual goal, I will continue with prayer, and force myself to go to church even if I cannot find one of my friends to come with me.

4. After I completed the listening exercise "The Crime of the Century", I felt both inspired and fustrated at different times. I felt ispired and relaxed during the beginning when the music was smooth and the breathing exercise was uplifting. I began to get fustrated a little bit when the author told me to think about various colors. Specifically I thought of blood when he told me to think of something's red, which gave me an off feeling.

My mind's reactions...

Hey hey everyone! How is everyone's Unit 2 unwinding?

**Anyway, I would like to take the time to explain how my mind reacted to the relaxation exercise that we listened to for this week!**

As I was instructed, I found the most comfortable place I could in order to get the most out of this exercise! My choice was nothing less of my bed! So, I took my mini Dell Inspiron (who is like my best friend, lol, just messing!) into my room, propped a pillow up underneath my laptop, and sat back late a night in order to enjoy my time while completing this homework assignment!

After I was done listening to this music and man who spoke, I could truly tell the difference in my stress level especially since I suffered a long, busy day of work! After it was done I just wanted to close my eyes, and fall asleep right there without moving my laptop or even brushing my teeth before I decided to really hit the sack. Anyway, I forced myself to get up and go do all of those things before I got some shut eye. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with this listening exercise for relaxation!