Psychological/Spiritual Check-up

How Are You Really Doing? Is a question that I ask myself quite often. The worst thing that a person can do is lie to themself. I know this all too well. I have lived years in deep denial and deep depression. Last week I went to see my mental health professional and I researched the lastest information on how to handle depression without triggering weight-gain with certain medication. I felt empowered by being informed when I went into the office. I left satisfied by the chosen treatment plan. I am truly a 3-part being. When I am too anxious, my life is unmanageable.

So, how are YOU really doing..... only you really know.

Assessment: Where Am I Really?

Six Principles of Integral Assessment∞
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-The goal of integral health is to alleviate needless suffering and promote human flourishing

1. Which aspects of our life are the most significant sources of distress? If I had to make a true assessment of what causes my distress, I would have to admit that being a single parent who has a limited income would be my answer. There are limitations on my time, due to working and attending school. I am only one person and I often have obligations with my children, as well as other areas. I often find myself frustrated because of a lack of resources and the amount of pressure that I have to endure. SOLUTION: Be able to ask for help and accept the help I receive. Have an attitude of gratitude and apply as much love and tolerance as I can during the difficult moments. Prayer is essential for my continued spiritual growth and mental stability. I must be mindful of the negative self-talk and strive to have an optimistic attitude.


2. Where is our greatest possibility for growth and development? Being a mother who is organized and possesses a higher level of patience and tolerance. Through mindfulness and incorporating stress reduction techniques, such as meditation and visualization, I will be able to better handle the stressful moment. My ability to practice meditative breathing will help me to clear my mind and develop tools that can be used in many different areas of my life.

3. Integral Health recognized the distinction between immediate pleasure and long-term flourishing. – There are times in my life where instant gratification is all that I want and that is all I can see. For instance, I love chocolate and I will often crave it late at night. Regardless of the fact that I know it is high is sugar and calories, I will toss aside the long-term health benefits. I also understand that earlier this week, I had an invitation to attend a jazzercise class and because I was a little sleepy, I didn’t go. I am completely aware that the immediate satisfaction that I got out of taking a nap was done in lieu of exercising and possibly feeling energized for the rest of the day and night.

4. Psychospiritual development is an essential component of integral health. – I understand the importance of a strong spiritual life-style. I attempt to live my life from a spiritual perspective and make intention to regularly pray, read devotional/motivational literature and meditate. I find that when I take the time to pray or meditate, I feel more in line with the universal power of our planet.

5. Integral assessment relies on deep listening and guidance – Listening is a communication skill that many people do not put enough emphasis on and therefore, conflict and negativity result as a direct result of pseudo-listening practices. Deep listening takes skill and intention to be done correctly. An individual who listens deeply does not judge the information that they receive, they listen to it objectively and open their minds to incorporate new information and guidance. A highly intuitive individual will recognize that guidance will come in many different forms and from many different places. I have found many answers to life’s dilemma in my dreams, while in prayer or meditation.

6. Integral assessment addresses the aspects, levels, and line of development that are relevant to our current circumstances. – There have been times in my life when I didn’t work and I had more time to read, rest, pray, meditate and write. Therefore, I spent more time doing all of those things. With my current busy schedule, I have to be more intentional when it comes to relaxation and mental health. I use the time at work to practice my deep breathing and listening to brain entrainment downloads. It is currently summer and I am trying to spend as much leisure time outside in nature.

Quieting the raging thoughts.

I often will find myself caught up in the grip of racing thoughts, and I will often notice that when someone is talking to me, I will analyze their conversation mentally. This creates an enormous level of mental chatter that will cause me to interupt or practice a form of pseudo-listening. Many times, I have recognized that this chatter is a result of some type of disturbance in my spirit and this disturbance can cause me to have a headache or a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The one thing that I noticed about the loving-kindness meditation and the subtle mind meditation is that they both focus on making the individual more aware of themselves the world around them. They both promote a glimpse of "what is possible into a way of life" (Dacher, 2006, p. 74).

I have noticed that when I pray or journal, I will increase my attention on something that will enhance my spirit, I notice my breathing changing, my heart stops beating fast and I am able to think clearly. The text explains that it is in peaceful breathing that a individual can produce a peaceful mind. I see peace today!!

Shertina

Meditation

I have found peace in practicing meditation. I have been in recovery for 8 years and the 11th step of my program says that "We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God..." So, I am encouraged to pray and meditate daily. I have meditated regularly many times in my life and there are certain types of meditation that I like. I like Chakra meditations especially.

The Loving-Kindness and the Subtle Mind downloads were equally beneficial. The Loving-Kindness one actually helped me to send love and healing light to a friend of mine that is struggling with addiction. At times, I have been angry at her and hurt that she has chose to relapse, however this meditation has helped me to send her light and love. The subtle mind download was especially beneficial to me because I have been on a rampage with my boyfriend the past 48 hours. I was consciously aware that I was attacking, aggressive and over-exaggerating. However, I couldn't stop myself. I had internal dialogue that said, "This is fruitless - just surrender and stop being so mean." I also took a look at my thoughts and got to the exact nature of my emotions which was fear that was disguised as anger. Once I was able to get to that point, I was able to breath and let go. During the raging dialogue that I was so engaged in I did take moments to breath and paid close attention to my breath and was able to use the techniques that I learned in the downloads to gain conscious control of myself and my thoughts. I have listed to them both again today and they have helped me to want to be positive, communicate effectively and eliminate stress.

Shertina

Mental Workout...

It is not possible for us to evolve without a daily commitment to study and exercise to evolve our pyschospiritual life. When I take time to breath and focus my attention on positive things, I get positive results. Even though I know this, it is often hard to practice consistently. The research has proved that if an individual would take one hour out of their day for contemplative practice, they would be happier and healthier. However, when we stop practicing, we notice a significant drop off in our condition. I have had personal experience with this as I exercised regularly and felt better doing so, but most recently, I have stopped and my energy has dropped and my weight has increased. In addition, I use to meditate every morning before work and I noticed an increase in my stress and lack of tolerance. A good mental workout does help to “…opens our mind and reveals penetrating wisdoms that knows the truth of our life and of existence” (Dacher, 2006, p. 65).

Shertina

Loving-Kindness

APPLICATION OF LOVING-KINDNESS

One of the smartest things that I done was to take this course while taking college algebra. The class is causing me a unique level of stress. I feel that the course work presents an opportunity for me to accomplish something that is out of my control. My ability to recognize that my thoughts have been negative and actually trigger more stress, has helped to pause and take some deep breaths or just stop working on the assignments. If I am upset or stressed, I can’t think my way out of a paper bag and therefore, whatever effort I put forth will be totally wasted. The only solution is an expanded consciousness that will allow for me to shift my attention from negative to positive. Then and only then, can I find true relief and solution with the possibility of being “in control.” According to Dacher, on page 38 of his book, he states that “We consciously choose to develop our life in order to realize our full potential” (Dacher, 2006, p. 38).

I was not at all difficult for me to stop and listen to the meditation because I know I would feel better. By listening to the ‘Loving Kindness” download, I made that my conscious decision to stop the progression of the stress, which was actually beating me up mentally, spiritually and physically. I welcomed the reprieve from the torture. And actually enjoyed the process of being led to a place in my spirit that was engulfed with love. Prior to starting the download, I drank half of a bottle of water and as I drank the water, I recited over and over (silently) “You are a pure as this water, make your thoughts as clear as this water and focus on the purity.” Reciting this silently, helped to prepare me for the meditation. The meditation experience was positive, relaxing and enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it or some type of meditation that will help a friend to stay focused and apply more loving into their life. I agree that we should look for opportunities to alleviate needless suffering, as Dacher points out in Chapter 6.
Shertina Mack

Mentally, Physically & Spiritually....

First, I apologize for taking so long to post my blog. However, I have been traveling the past few days. I just returned from Durham, NC where I attending a convention for a 12-step fellowship. The purpose of the convention was to share the message of hope and cultivate unity in the fellowship. I was able to have personal one-on-one conversations with people about living life on life's terms. A large majority of people in my network are adult students and it truly helps to know that I am not alone on the path to higher education. I was able to hear woman and men share from the heart and it reached my heart.

There were times as the convention when I felt that my mental/psychological sate of being was at a 10, however, there were periods of time when I was sad and frustrated and I was at a 2. Some areas of my life have been difficult for me and when I stop to think about where I am in my interpersonal relationships, I am not totally pleased. I was also trying to work on some math homework and it has been frustrating for me and I got very angry and closed minded about it. The solution to the extremes of my mental state is to continue to feed my mind and spirit positive information that motivates me. I also have to surrender to the chatter in my head about math and my ability to be successful at algebra. I need to realize that I need help and then take the next action. I have asked my sister to tutor me because she is excellent at algebra.

My physical well being has been a 4, and therefore if someone gives my a compliment, I can't just accept it. Physically, I have been unhappy with my weight for some years and I have suffered with health symptoms, as a result. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been to the doctor's and she ordered lab work and a nutritionist. I attended the class and I felt as thought progress had been made as a result of clear information. I have been thinking about my commitment to well-being and integral health and I realize that I must do something different. At the hotel, I stood naked in from of a wall mirror and looked at myself and I didn't like what I saw. In order to move forward, I have decided to wake up earlier each day and exercise for 30 min before work. I have done this before and it works.

Spiritually, I have felt like a 7 who wanted to be a 10. I have noticed my lack of faith about many different subjects, and two of them are love and money. In order to built my faith, I plan to incorporate more prayer, journaling and reading. In addition, I have used affirmations and visualization in the past to manifest my deepest desires.

My goals are to physically loose 30 pounds, spiritually become more rooted and grounded in the truth and increase my faith and psychologically, I pray for balance of my responsibilities.

Shertina

Embracing the information in this unit....

Transpersonal psychology is an area of study that has interested me for year - it truly says that you must think outside of the battle box and see yourself as a spiritual entity. I have struggled with my personal level of faith. I often believe that God can - however, I also doubt that we will. This is a constant challenge for me.

Journey to Relaxation

Yesterday, Sunday, July 18, I was able to take time out to listen to a meditation download for Unit 2 in my coursework. I found the experience very beneficial. I had been running around all day and the opportunity to stop, pause and breathe was good for me. The exercise helped me to get in touch with the fact that I must take control of my mental and physical destiny by being intentional. My hope is that I will rededicate myself to living a more integrated lifestyle.

Today, I was able to take some time to search for download audio files on Marilyn Schlitz. I found a website called Consciousness & Healing and it listed several of her teleseminars and radio podcasts. I was able to listen to her explain the various approaches to mind-body medicine and the benefits of living an integrated lifestyle. I am encouraged by the information that I have found so far in this course, and believe that I will be forever changed as a result. As I am presented with this information, I hope to dedicate myself to living the rest of my life in a state of total reliance on my innate capacity to heal and be restored to a state of total health and well-being.

Shertina

Reaching for the Light - WELCOME!!

Welcome to my Blog!

This is my first official blog, however the subject matter is something that has been a life-long quest of mine. The ability to live life from an altruistic of consciousness that fosters a keen awareness of myself, the world, my thoughts, feelings, sensations identity and worldviews.

It is my personal belief that inside each of us is an inner-light that actually is our power source. When the light is on and shining brightly, we are able to move forward in the physical world. Often circumstances in life cause us to forget that we have an inner-light. This inner-light helps us to focus on our physical and mental selves. This light may get dim at times, but it never completely extinguishes. The desire to have peace, love and light is my only desire.

Shertina