Integral Assessment

Oddly, before I read the assignment this week, I put the four statements of Universal Loving-Kindness on a 3 x 5 index card and fastened it to my bulletin board right in front of my desk.  Although I believed previously that I was a kind person, I fall down a lot with my criticisms of the general public.  I believe for the most part I have the biological aspects of my life down pretty well; I exercise 6 days a week, eat clean, and can resist things that are not good for me.  The other 3 aspects need some work.

Within the Interpersonal, the level of development in my family life is not necessarily the urgency.  Community efforts, attention, and attitude needs improvement.  All realms of Worldly need improvements and kind of goes along with Community.  I am often annoyed or put-off by behaviors of our society and sometimes vocalize them inappropriately.

If I gave a concerted effort to work on my Psychospiritual, I believe the rest would fall into place, or would greatly improve.  Mindful practice, such as meditation, is something that I am committed to developing even after bouts like last week where I could not quiet my mind.

Carol

Subtle Mind

I had difficulty with this exercise.  I could not concentrate … there was either too much noise going on outside, or too much noise inside my head.  I have a lot going on right now and the mental lists keep rolling through my mind.  It is obvious that I have a need for meditation and the practice of quieting my mind!  My fear is that if I don't create enough time for my spirit that my body will begin breaking down and I cannot afford to do that!  I hope to try this again.  I can only pray that my school work time will no longer be plagued with construction noise outside!

Carol

Loving Kindness

It is always a challenge to first quiet my mind.  It is usually racing with "to-do-list" items and scheduling my day.  At first, I could hear the outside noises, but as I got further into the recording, the noises left my hearing.  My mind moved toward an image of my sister as the waves washed over my soul.  What great love I felt!  I felt completely connected to her as I saw her before me.  I began to feel bad that I don't see her as much as I would like, but then I forced myself to feel the love we share.

I think meditation can be difficult for me and probably difficult for most people.  We busy ourselves so much during the day and probably do not give much thought to developing our inner selves.  The benefits for mental workouts are far reaching.  According to Dacher, when one gives love, they receive love back.  Calming the mind can help refocus the mind in order to concentrate on what matters most in life.  Making an appointment with yourself, if not for only 10 minutes each day and bring about a more harmonious relationship with the mind-body-spirit.

Carol

Unit 3 - Questions/Answers

My physical well being, on a scale of 1-10, is a 7.  I am recovering from a shoulder injury I sustained in January and I am almost back to full range of motion.  I exercise daily, but during the week I do not get enough sleep.  Between working a split-shift and the current classwork load, I probably average around 6 hours a night.  I generally get 8 or 9 hours on Sunday.  Other than that, I am pretty healthy.

My spiritual well being, on a scale of 1-10, is a 5.  It has been somewhat neglected the last couple of years, but after starting this class, I have dedicated a bit of time to meditation.  Today I took a 12 mile bike ride which made me feel very relaxed.

My psychological well being, on a scale of 1-10, is a 7.  Between school and working a split-shift, I feel the stresses of life everyday.  I am very anxious to be finished with school so I can dedicate more time to my new career and my home and family life.  I feel like I seldom have time for loved ones and it bothers and weighs on my mind.

I already have been working on a plan for my body … through physical therapy and massage, I have come a long way since January.  I hope to have fully restored range of motion by the end of the year.  I can live with the amount of sleep I currently get for now.

The plan that I plan to establish is more time in meditation of a relaxed state.  Even if it is only 5-10 minutes each day, I will strive to eliminate the outside noise to allow my mind to communicate with itself and my body.

When I connect spiritually, this will also help with my psychological state of feel stressed.  Calming my brain and reviewing the day of events will help me understand where I need to make adjustments in my attitudes toward life and the people I come in contact with.  I feel I can be a more positive influence if I work on it.

The Crime of the Century relaxation exercise was again wonderful.  I saw and felt each of the seven colors as I lay relaxed and focused on the colors and the areas of the body where each light projected.  I was surrounded by white light as if I had a warm blanket wrapped around my body.  I shall use this exercise in the future when I try to quite my mind.

Carol