Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

In unit 3 I scored a 2 in physical well-being, a 8 in spiritual well-being, and an 5 in psychological well-being. I would say that I have made major improvements in my life scoring a 4 in physical well-being, an 9 in spiritual well-being, and a 6 in psychological well-being. They have changed because I have made adjustments in my life. I started to walk more and eat healthy. I am still working on the meditation exercises to help me relieve my stress and to deal with my pain. My spiritual well being is because I have focused on being positive and staying that way. My psychological well-being is definitely better because I am more focused on making myself healthier and better for me, and I am also seeking help with my depression.

2. Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

My goal in all areas is to be healthier, feel better about myself, and be happy. I have been logging the things I do in a journal entry. For example, I log the things I eat, my moods, and the things I did that day. In doing so, I can reflect on the things that need improvement so that I can reach my goals. I still have a way to go, but I am making some progress. It will take me some time to fully accomplish the goals I have set forth for myself.

3. Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

Yes, I have implemented activities in all areas. I have been watching my calorie intake, and I have also been walking more until I can get to the doctor to okay any type of exercise regimen for me. I have also accomplished my brother, nephew, and my son to eat healthy too.

I feel a little better with eating healthy, and I have notice some weight loss.


4. Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

I definitely have improved my well being from this class because I have become a better person as well as a healthier person. I have learned to be more patient and not stress out about everything, still a work in progress. It has been rewarding in the fact that I feel good about myself as well as improving my overall health. In the beginning it was difficult in meditating because my mind would tend to wander and I had trouble focusing on my meditation. This experience will improve my ability to assist others because I can tell them the benefits of these exercises and how it could improve their lives.

PERSONAL APPLICATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF HEALING
Jean St.John
Final Project
HW420-01




I. Introduction: Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?


Allowing our mind-body and spirit to interact in wholeness will bring great healing and wellness to all humans involved. This will also allow any individual to be able to deal with any type of situation that comes into their environment. Professionals must have a complete understanding on what health and wellness really should contain for their clients to receive the full benefit. Spirituality actually offers benefits to your life, psychologically and physically. Once you develop your spiritual you gain a sense of purpose being able to figure out where you are most passionate in, whether it is your profession, social, and or personal life. So if the health and wellness professionals develop in these three areas they will most likely be in a better position to understand the needs of others. No one is perfect; I will have to continue to develop in all three areas on a daily basis. Physically would be my more challenging task.


II. Assessment:


How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?


I started becoming aware of the sources of my needless suffering, distress, and dissatisfactions I may have. I need to focus on what it will take in order for me to get the resources necessary for my future development and flourishing. Spiritually I would give myself a score of 6 out of 10; Physically 3 out of 10; and psychologically 4 out 10. I am not perfect, and I will always continue to grow in all three areas daily. As a reference I would use Dacher’s six principles of integral assessment as a reminder of not missing any important steps during my process towards human flourishing.


III. Goal development:


List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

Physically – I need to incorporate a daily regimen of exercise and stay active in doing this daily. I have been approved for a scholarship membership at our local YMCA, just need to come up with the money to start membership, and once I do this, my son and I will benefit.


Psychologically – I need to continue changing my perspectives on situations that may bring stress into my life. Stay focus on positive things instead of negative, and learning how let go and not hold emotions in. This is will be hard for me because I am always thinking negative, so I believe this will be a challenge and the hardest part for me.


Spiritually – I will continue my growth in God’s Words, my faith, and prayer life. This is not an option for me; it is a must. Through any situation I experienced this was my strong suit.


IV. Practices for personal health:


What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.


I want to be able to loose some weight so that I do not have to feel out of breath or tired when I have to do some amount of walking. I want to have sufficient endurance to exercise for at least an hour each day. I will access my physical goal by the lost of some weight. I am planning on eating smaller portions of healthy, well-balanced meals to achieve this goal and to determine if I have attained it, I plan to have myself weighed every weekend. I will also know if I have reached this goal if I feel better physically and psychologically.
I would also use meditation because the practice of meditation daily would lead me to a deeper level of relaxation and contemplation. There are many important benefits of meditation; the most important is being able to release the stress from my body. In order to be free of constant worry, pressure and stress, practicing meditation will give me a life of calmness, peacefulness, happiness and relaxation.

Each morning I will dedicate at least 10 minutes for meditation and breathe work. I will use my time to initially focus on my breathing and I will allow my mind to be quiet and still. I will make this time most effective by not setting any expectation for my mind during this quiet time.

Each day I will review my day and assess how I feel. If I am stressful, fearful or in any state of discomfort, I will take the time to do an inquiry of that discomforting thought.

Spiritually, I will attend church again on a regular basis, and join any bible study groups that are available. I always have my faith in God, but I need to broaden my horizons and get more involved with a church.

Overall, the changes I make to myself, I will benefit in the long run in all areas.



V. Commitment:


How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?


I will keep a journal of my process now that I am consciously ready and willing to take the necessary steps to practice long term health and wellness. I would also refer back to Dacher’s eight principals of integral practice. I would also see if any health centers or hospitals have any seminars that can help me stay focus and continue to help me through this process. This would be my support system for me to stay on progress. I am also in the progress of seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis and I am sure that will too help me along the way. He will also help me achieve a positive attitude on life and myself.

　

　

References:
Dacher, Elliott S. M.D. (2006) Integral Health the Path to Human Flourishing

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M.S. (2005) Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine


The Shambhala Centers; http://www.atlanta.shambhala.org
September 28, 2010
http://holisticrenewal.com/holistic-psychology/what-is-holistic-psychology.html

Unit 8

The Subtle Mind and Visualization are practices that I currently do frequently. I feel that these practices help me focus my mind and bring things back into prospective. I would try to implement these practices in my life daily in order to enhance mental fitness. The loving kindness exercise I would do at night time, right before I am going to bed due to me being in a more relax state of mind and it would be a little easier for me to focus on what I am trying to accomplish preparing me for the next day. Being able to serve others with loving kindness is a great reward in itself. Visualization exercise I would do any time of the day because I can become creative with my environment especially if I am not feeling where I am at in that particular moment.

Unit 7

I feel that all of them are great to keep in practice. I especially love the creative visualization and mindfulness practice. I believe that by setting aside an allotted time each week will assist in making this practice a habit. 

Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (P.477) How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

 I believe that this saying points out that it is impossible to help a person in a specific thing if you have not done it. For example, a person that has always been large cannot teach an individual how to lose weight, because they lack proficiency in the process. My master always says, "That you need to own the skill" and this is what he meant by that. Yes, you have an obligation to walk the walk and talk the talk. Otherwise, it is simply theory. I feel that stay on the path that I am on, keep setting goals and working towards those goals will help me achieve my desires.

Meditation Unit 6

I was unable to get any type of relaxation with this meditation exercise. I am unable to get any relaxation from these exercises, and I do not know what I am doing wrong, or what the problem could be? I am hoping to eventually find an exercise that I will be able to relax. I have so much stress that I am dealing with, I need some help.

As for the integral assessment the excercise involves deep breathing in a relax position and asking yourself "what part of my life is ready for growth and development". By doing this you can identify one of the four areas that you are looking to develop.  I also need help with dealing with the stressors in my life, so I need to work on training my mind.
Jean St.John

Unit 5

I did not care for this relaxation exercise. The voices once again were not soothing or calming. The best thing about this exercise was the background sound. This was the same as the loving and kindness. They need to have soothing voices to help a person relax. I did not benefit from this at all.
I have more spiritual wellness than mental and physical right now. I am trying to better all three wellnesses but it will take me some time. I have faith everyday in my life because I need the faith to keep me strong and going because of the health issues I have. My physical wellness is getting better day by day as I try to eat right, get the required sleep my body needs, and to get out and walk as my exercise. I have my good days and of course I have more bad days cause of the pain. I need to get the mental focus and program my mind and body to get out there and do what I can to fight the health problems. I can not be letting the issues win my body.

Practice the Loving Kindness

Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

I found this exercise to be very helpful for me. I was completely relaxed. I enjoyed the water and the gentle music. The thing I did not like was the women’s voice because it was not soothing. I also did not like the fact of taking the pain from others. I also did not like helping the enemies.  I think it was beneficial to me. I am not sure of I would recommend to others because the voices were not soothing. When you are doing this type of exercise, you need to have a soothing voice to listen to, so it will help you relax.  So I am undecided if I would recommend to others, but I guess they could listen for themselves and see what they experience because we all are different.

What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

The concept of mental workout is achieving self- help to have free spirit of your body, mind, and soul.  The benefits reduce your stress levels, and help you achieve the proper balance you need to be healthy.  I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health by staying positive and analyzing situations before coming to conclusions as well as doing the meditation and breathing exercises.  

 Jean St.John