“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”
~Confucius
Introduction:
We become health care professionals to save the world; to become heroes among men. However, in order to save another, we must first save ourselves. We must become our own hero. Yet, this is not an easy task. Granted our world is full of turmoil and strife, but we in general are “safe”. What we must save ourselves from is ourselves; our negative thoughts, emotions, psychological, physical, and spiritual ailments. Once we do this, we as health professionals will be in the right mind and have adequate capabilities to help another.
As poet Edith Wharton stated about one of the first physiologists in recorded history, in her poem Vesalius in Zante, “There are two ways of spreading light - to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it” (Wharton, 1564). This is how we spread our healing gifts. As health care professionals, we must heal ourselves to allow ourselves to heal others through our knowledge and our examples. In traveling the same road that our patients desire to take, we know of the limitless possibilities and potential goodness of the healing sought. We can know firsthand the challenges and rewards. Thus, we become better guides to those that seek our help.
Achieving my Goals:
Upon finishing this Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing course, I would have to say that my ultimate goal is now “profound, hardy, and sustained health happiness and wholeness” (Dacher, 2006, p. 35). In other words, my goal is integral flourishing. To be free of pain or discomfort mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually is the goal. But, the goal doesn’t end there. Integral flourishing also consists of having hope, faith, love, joy, contentment, creativity, and eternal development and growth, including all things positive in my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms. These areas I will place in Dacher’s four quadrants of the integral map, which are psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly aspects of my life (Dacher, 2006, p.36).
My beliefs are similar to the Navaho people in that they believe that all things are connected (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). They believe that the mental and physical aspects of life are inseparable (Schlitz et al., 2005). They also believe that one’s thoughts and speech have a deep impact on matter and energy (Schlitz et al., 2005). When all physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life are in balance then the individual will have “good health” (Schlitz et al., 2005). However, Navaho believe that healing is a lifelong process (Schlitz et al., 2005). So, unlike the western thinking the Navaho believe we are never in perfect health, but are on a path to achieve it (Schlitz et al., 2005).
Just as the Navaho, I believe we are never perfect in this life. So, I believe that although I am doing relatively well in the four quadrants of my life, I am not perfect. I still need improvement. For example, in my biological quadrant I could improve my nutritional habits. That will improve my physical health. I also need to improve my sleeping habits. In the psychospiritual quadrant I need to spend more time meditating. I think that will bring greater enlightenment into my mind. In my interpersonal life I would like to have more fun with my children. To improve this I could be more carefree and continue to work on my patience and listening skills. In my worldly quadrant, I need to work on my creativity and service giving.
Assessment:
After sitting in a quiet room, void of any distractions, I was able to meditate on the domains of my health and wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically. When I consider my spirituality, I give it a rating of seven. I believe I am fairly strong, spiritually. I have a strong faith in a God, or what others might consider a “greater power”. I feel His power radiate through me and all around me. I know that every good thing comes from Him. I also know who I am and what my purpose is. However, I know I have much to learn in that domain.
When I assessed my physical health, I gave it a rating of seven also. I am a very healthy person, yet I feel tired and have bumps and bruises that affect how I feel. My muscles are sore. I would like skin and hair that is less dry. Mostly, however, my physical health problems are superficial.
My psychological assessment of myself is that I need work. I give this domain a rating of a 6. I am an upbeat person; fairly positive. However, I have a lot of stress in my life. The majority of it comes from gaining an education and trying to be a full-time mom at the same time. I also have a large amount of stress because of my family’s recent move to North Dakota. I am experiencing a drastic change in climate, environment and my social life. I miss my friends from where I moved from a great deal. My husband and I are also in the process of trying to buy a new home. However, I understand that these stresses won’t last long and am relieved by that understanding. That knowledge buffers the harshness of the stressors for me.
Goal development:
Near the beginning of this course I had 3 goals that I decided to work on; one for each domain. My physical well-being goal was just to remain healthy and have movie star good looks. However, today I am fine if I never have movie star looks. Don’t get me wrong. I would love to be gorgeous. I would just rather have something more real. My new goal is to be as healthy as I can possibly become; to be free of pain or discomfort, and to feel light and strong.
My old goal in the domain of my spirituality was to remain spiritually solid, but to be more consistent in reading my scriptures. I have since met that goal. So, my new goal in this domain is to continue to remain spiritually solid. However, I have also added a regular regime of meditation to deepen my spirituality and gain further enlightenment.
My psychological goal is the same. It was, and still is, to endure to the end. In doing so, I will get through these stressful times and I will triumph. I will be stronger.
Practices for personal health:
In order to foster growth in the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains I must work at developing these areas. The strategy that I have implemented to foster growth in my physical domain is to exercise. I plan on two forms of exercise. The first form is an aerobic exercise. This exercise will be spinning. I will participate in this exercise every Monday, Thursday, and Friday for an hour each day. It is a high energy, high paced bike riding class. The benefit of this aerobic exercise is that it not only strengthens my legs, gluts, and arms, but it will carry oxygen throughout my body. This is good for my brain, lungs, and muscle purification. It will also strengthen my heart. The second exercise will be an anaerobic exercise called yoga. I will participate in yoga every Tuesday and Thursday for an hour each day. This exercise is excellent for strengthening all the muscles and bones in my body. This exercise also allows me to focus on my breath, which will bring fresh oxygen inside my body.
To develop in the psychological area of my life, I will continue to write in my blog and journal. I will journal or blog daily. This will help me to improve my well-being my allowing me to clear my thoughts (Seaward, 2009). It will also allow me to express my thoughts, feelings, memories, and ideas in written form (Seaward, 2009). This will be very stress relieving. It is therapy which will promote self-discovery through active awareness (Seaward, 2009).
The second activity I will participate in to promote my psychological development is laughter through comic relief and humor. I will laugh everyday as I practice seeing the humor in life and surround myself with people who make me laugh. Laughter and humor promote positive feelings and thoughts which promotes an atmosphere of growth in the brain. It also relaxes the mind and eliminates stress. Humor stimulates the mind to discover and appreciate the “ludicrous or absurd ideas, events, or situations that bring pleasure or enjoyment to the individual” (Seaward, 2009). Likewise, humor is “an intellectual skill that requires an ability to view situations in a particular light” (Ayan, 2009). Humor “strengthens the psyche” (Ayan, 2009).
To promote development in my spiritual domain, I choose to meditate and pray. I will pray and meditate every morning and every night in my quiet room next to my bed. I love the quote from Yogi Bhajan which states, “Prayer is when you talk to God, meditation is when God talks to you” (Dacher, 2006). I can’t think of a better way to develop spiritually that to have God as a personal “mentor” in addition to having meaningful conversations with him. Prayer and meditation both bring enlightenment and growth because the heart and mind are open to receive all that God has to send. The mind will be focused and clear of all outside disturbances which creates a perfect atmosphere for enlightenment.
Commitment:
Over the next six months I will track my progress in each of these areas, or domains, that I wish to develop more. In order to do this, I will be consistent in all of my practices. I will exercise, pray, meditate, blog/journal, and laugh daily. However, to determine if I met my physical goal to be as healthy as I can possibly become; to be free of pain or discomfort, and to feel light and strong, I will see muscular development. I will have more energy. I will have greater physical endurance. To be successful in this goal, I will make my workouts part of my daily routine without exceptions. Right after I take my children to school, I will go to the YMCA. This will be the best time because I will already be out of the house, and won’t be put off by the task of getting the babies that stay home with me ready to go outside. For me, the biggest challenge of working out is the preparation in getting to the gym.
To determine if I have met my spiritual goals of continuing to remain spiritual solid and add a regular regime of meditation to deepen my spirituality and gain further enlightenment, I will see consistent prayer and meditation in my daily routine. I will recognize more peace and calm in my life. I will not only experience enlightenment during my prayer and meditation sessions, but I will also experience it when I am out and about throughout my days, as the enlightenment transcends into other parts of my life. To ensure that I succeed in this area, I will set a specific time for my practice in which I won’t be disturbed or forget to do it. This time will be right as I awake in the morning and right before bedtime at night. I will view this time not as a chore, but rather a time of opportunity.
To determine if I have met my psychological goal of triumphantly enduring to the end, I will be free of the major stressors in my life. Thus, I will graduate from Kaplan with my Bachelor’s degree. I will have my new home. I will acclimate well to the new climate and environment of my new home town. I will be happy, content, and at peace. To ensure that I succeed, I will take every day one day at a time so I won’t become overwhelmed. I will work hard. I will have a positive outlook. I will look to the future and all the good that it holds for me.
Conclusion:
Through my assessments, I have determined areas in my life that need improvement in order for me to achieve integral health. In doing so, I was able to create goals for myself to improve those areas. I have created plans of action to achieve those goals. I have also decided on ways to know if my goals have been achieved. In the end, when my goals have been met, I will be closer to integral health. I will also become a better health professional, because I will have walked the path that those who seek my help must also walk. I will be an enlightened and experienced guide on the path to integral healing.
References:
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.
Seaward, B. L. (2009). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and wellbeing (6th ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
I rated my pysical well-being equal to an 8 (10 being the best). I felt strong and healthy at the time, and I wanted to stay that way. Plus, I wanted movie star looks. By the end of the course, I rated my physical well-being at a 7. My score dropped. It went down because the winter months came and I am suffering the effects of the cold. I don't tolerate cold well. My skin and hair gets more dry. I have fallen several times on the ice. That hurts! But, I still exercise 5 days a week. I do yoga 2 days, spin 3 days, and I am now training for a half marathon. I also don't care if I look like a movie star...(Well, I sorta do. It depends on the day. Hehe...) Besides, I am a hottie in my own mind!
