Unit 5: The Subtle Mind

After taking a few deep breaths and focusing in on the rising and falling of my chest and stomach, I felt myself relax into a peaceful state of calmness. For a brief second, I felt as though I myself were still there, but that everything else was slipping away, like I was elevated to higher level of consciousness. I don’t know how else to explain it. I found this exercise a bit more challenging than the previous one, because my mind does tend to wander at times, whether it be to work, school assignments, or family and friends; when this occurred, I focused in on my breath a bit more, but I tried to observe how my mind would wander to different thoughts, feelings, and images. Instead of feeling stressed or anxious about a certain thought, I tried to analyze them with objective peace and calmness. Without spiritual wellness, which cultivates loving-kindness, compassion, peace, and calmness, we are unable to flourish with wellness of the mind and body, and the same can be said for the others as well.

Unit 4 Exercise: Loving-kindness

After listening to the guided exercise, I found it to be beneficial. Afterwards, I was relaxed, though also energized. As I imagined love and compassion pouring from my heart, I felt my chest warm up, which spread throughout my core. Directing health, happiness and wholeness towards others seemed a bit more challenging, though I felt comfortable doing so, especially after I had focused these towards someone whom I love and care for. I would recommend this to others, though I feel that for this exercise to take full effect, it must be performed on a frequent and routine basis. The reason I say this is because I found it a bit challenging to show the thoughts and feelings I was experiencing with the same loving-kindness, only because I was unsure of how to go about the process.

Shifting gears, the term mental workout means to stimulate and train the mind in order to progress its ability to further the health of the body, mind, and spirit. Training the mind to feel loving-kindness and compassion for oneself, for loved ones, and for strangers can help the mind to expand on its abilities, leading to the path of human flourishing. In order to implement this exercise and others like it, I must set a specific time during the day and be diligent and persistent. It may seem challenging to find the time to incorporate these activities, but I must keep in mind that with practice, mastering these exercises will become easier over time, which will prepare me for implementing these practices into everyday life.

Unit 3 Exercise Response

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my physical well-being at a 7; my spiritual well-being at a 6, and my psychological well-being at a 7. I consider myself to be relatively physically healthy. I get exercise while working and while participating in outdoor activities such as walking my dogs, hiking and bicycling. Though it has been a couple years since I’ve had a physical, my results were always normal; even considering that I was born premature, my growth and development maintained at a healthy rate, and once I caught up to the normal height and weight, I managed to maintain a healthy weight. Even my blood pressure is spot on: 120/80. I’ve recently became fascinated with nutrition and how it can affect one’s overall health, so I’ve been encouraging myself to incorporate healthier, nutrient-dense food options. During the day, I often feel energized, as though I am able to tackle any challenge handed to me and persevere after a long and tiring day. Because of the fact that I rarely exercise regularly during my free time, I aim to increase my activity level to the equivalent of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day. I’ve become increasingly interested at participating in yoga and I like to ride my bicycle (in the words of Queen), so I could strive to participate in those activities more often. As far as my spiritual well-being, this is slightly lower only because of the fact that ever since I’ve began school, I have found it somewhat more difficult to find time for my own spiritual practices. My religion is nature-based and flows with the ever-changing seasons and the lunar and solar cycles. Considering that many of my sacred practices are timed with the turning of the wheel, there are times when they must be neglected in order for me to balance school and work. Even so, my practices are suited to my own personal needs which I believe helps me to express myself openly in order to evolve and embrace change. As far as a goal in this aspect of my health, I aim to meditate more often – even if it’s only for ten minutes at a time. I feel that this could help to bring my consciousness into awareness with my subconscious, as well as the collective consciousness. I consider my psychological well-being to be healthy. I don’t suffer from any severe mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorder and I always manage to use proper judgment when making decisions and managing thoughts, actions, and perceptions. When concerned with my psychological health, I hope to develop a more positive way of thinking, which can help to promote patience, awareness, and compassion within myself so that I can in turn promote these within others.
After listening to the relaxation exercise, I found that my experience was very relaxing, calming, and also energizing. As I worked up each chakra, I envisioned each color and felt each twist and spiral with vital energy. Even though I felt a sense of relaxation as I envisioned the color of each chakra, I did not feel tired or sleepy; on the contrary, I felt revitalized, full of cosmic energy, as well as grounded. Even now, after the meditation, I can still sense each color and speak each mantra. I rather enjoyed this exercise and I feel compelled to incorporate this into my daily life.

Unit Two Response: Journey On Exercise #1

As I listened to the Journey On exercise, I felt a sense of calmness and relaxation wash over me; as I visualized my blood flow from my core to the outer extremities of my arms and hands, I felt a sense of tranquility wash over me, making my arms and hands tingle and feel warm to the touch. Though they felt heavier than normal, I did not feel as though I were uncomfortable; on the contrary, I experienced relief from stress within the muscles of my hands and arms, and felt as it spread throughout the rest of my body. Not only did I feel relaxed and at peace, I also felt rejuvenated and refreshed. I rather enjoyed setting some time aside for promoting healthy relaxation and meditative techniques and believe that this is something that I can easily incorporate into my daily life to promote overall health and wellness.

Greetings from within!

Warm greetings, and welcome to my blog, where you will witness a journey of self-discovery and transformation! :)
I'm 26, soon to be 27 years old, and would consider my own spiritual path to be different than most: I practice a polytheistic, nature-based religion where the changing of the seasons, days, and hours, as well as the moon and sun cycles are important to my own personal spiritual practices. My deities are Silver and Gold; the Moon and the Sun; the Lady and Lord. Nature and the natural world are respected and revered, and are used as a way to get in touch with deity, and can help to enhance spiritual workings and everyday life. I enjoy the fact that for my spiritual self to develop and evolve, it is up to me to put in the effort, and it's my decision on where my spiritual path takes me.
This blog will help me to reflect upon my progression in spiritual development, my studies in my health and wellness class, and to understand that integral health is concerned with not only the physical aspects of the human experience, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects, as well.