While I reapeated this exercise, it really helped me understand that I have to think outside of my own selfishness and self-centeredness. Saying this out loud really helped - there is something when you give positive words of affirmation. I think that when we have been through certain types of adversity in our life, it can help us better understand what others are going through. By putting others before ourselves, therein lies the key to becoming a servant-leader. After reading through our chapters, I am realizing how very little of myself I really know. There is a saying "you don't know what you don't know." I'm glad this material has been able to open our eyes to other possibilities.
Cheers!
Rebecca Ott
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Unit 5 Post:
1. Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle
mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations
etc.
Both of these exercises really helped me focus and calm down so that I can learn to distinguish what feelings I have and where I want to be. The Subtle Mind exercise helps us to realize that this is a daily goal that needs to be accomplished in order to reach a certain mental state. The Loving Kindness exercise helps us to know how to reach back to gain a certain consciousness when we start to slip back to a place we don't want to be. I call this exercise "being in my prayer closet", and have been working towards this state of consciousness for many years. It is definitely a learned experience.
2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and
physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal
life.
I truly believe that spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness go hand-in-hand. One compliments the other. If our bodies aren't functioning correctly, our mind perceives it, and our minds sometimes cannot distinguish the difference between pain and discomfort. So, being able to train ourselves to reach a certain level of awareness can actually help us get through physical discomforts or pains. I believe that my mind is something that needs to be "worked out" no different than my body needs a physical workout. Learning how to be kind, compassionate, loving, and be at peace, helps our body feel physically stronger and more liberated to face new challenges and to keep growing mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Cheers!
Rebecca Ott
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Unit 4: Loving Kindness
I found this experience to be a better one than the others, as I have had the most stress in my life right now than I have ever had in my life. That being said, it was, for lack of a better word, therapeutic for me and really helped me get focused, calmed down, and put back on track. I would recommend this exercise to anyone. I also enjoyed the woman's voice prompting me as opposed to the other man's voice we have been hearing.
A mental challenge is a contemplative practice, where we train ourselves to reduce/eliminate negative thoughts and feelings, which can be destructive to our overall health. I think that we all need to figure out what our triggers are and how to best deal with them. I live on an amazing beach on Lake Michigan, so it's easy to catch a quiet few minutes when I'm really stressed and sit and watch the sun go down, focusing on letting my "crap" of the day roll out with the waves on the water.
Cheers until next week!
Rebecca
I found this experience to be a better one than the others, as I have had the most stress in my life right now than I have ever had in my life. That being said, it was, for lack of a better word, therapeutic for me and really helped me get focused, calmed down, and put back on track. I would recommend this exercise to anyone. I also enjoyed the woman's voice prompting me as opposed to the other man's voice we have been hearing.
A mental challenge is a contemplative practice, where we train ourselves to reduce/eliminate negative thoughts and feelings, which can be destructive to our overall health. I think that we all need to figure out what our triggers are and how to best deal with them. I live on an amazing beach on Lake Michigan, so it's easy to catch a quiet few minutes when I'm really stressed and sit and watch the sun go down, focusing on letting my "crap" of the day roll out with the waves on the water.
Cheers until next week!
Rebecca
Monday, May 7, 2012
Optimal Wellbeing
Unit 3 - Optimal Wellbeing
Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why? For my physical wellbeing, I would make myself about an 8, since I am pretty active and eat a well-balanced diet. For my spiritual well-being, I would probably also give myself an 8, as I have a strong faith and always strive towards the goal of hearing "Well done, my good and faithful servant" when I pass through those pearly gates! For my psycological well-being, that is a good question. Overall, I am balanced mentally, and secure in myself and my life. We are always striving to be a better person, better parent, better spouse, and stronger in our faith.
Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological). I have a goal of being able to spend more quiet time not doing schoolwork. I work a lot of hours each week, and have three classes a term, so there isn't much time to do many of the things I really love to do. In the physical, I would love to exercise at least one hour a day. For spiritual, I would love more time in my "prayer closet" and reading my Bible daily. For my psychological, spending more time with my husband and more time reading is where I am my happiest, therefore, making me more psychologically fit.
What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal? Getting off the couch from doing homework all night after work! I live on the lake, right on one of the most pristine beaches in Michigan, so getting in more beach time and just being outside will really help.
Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. This had the same feeling to me as the last exercise we did last week. I am doing this homework late at night, so this really got me ready for bed. I like the analogy of the rainbow and the colors that we have to focus on. It was relaxing, and I didn't even have to focus on my breathing to do what he wanted us to do. I think these exercises could work for clients, as we (in general) are always very busy doing everything but being still and taking time to just breath.
Cheers!
Rebecca Ott
Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why? For my physical wellbeing, I would make myself about an 8, since I am pretty active and eat a well-balanced diet. For my spiritual well-being, I would probably also give myself an 8, as I have a strong faith and always strive towards the goal of hearing "Well done, my good and faithful servant" when I pass through those pearly gates! For my psycological well-being, that is a good question. Overall, I am balanced mentally, and secure in myself and my life. We are always striving to be a better person, better parent, better spouse, and stronger in our faith.
Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological). I have a goal of being able to spend more quiet time not doing schoolwork. I work a lot of hours each week, and have three classes a term, so there isn't much time to do many of the things I really love to do. In the physical, I would love to exercise at least one hour a day. For spiritual, I would love more time in my "prayer closet" and reading my Bible daily. For my psychological, spending more time with my husband and more time reading is where I am my happiest, therefore, making me more psychologically fit.
What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal? Getting off the couch from doing homework all night after work! I live on the lake, right on one of the most pristine beaches in Michigan, so getting in more beach time and just being outside will really help.
Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. This had the same feeling to me as the last exercise we did last week. I am doing this homework late at night, so this really got me ready for bed. I like the analogy of the rainbow and the colors that we have to focus on. It was relaxing, and I didn't even have to focus on my breathing to do what he wanted us to do. I think these exercises could work for clients, as we (in general) are always very busy doing everything but being still and taking time to just breath.
Cheers!
Rebecca Ott
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Just Chillax!!!
Hello Friends,
Ok, I just got done listening to this taped session in relaxation. As I said in a response to another classmate, my friends say I make coffee nervous! So, it was really hard to sit through this full session (yes, I got through the whole thing). And, it's also not a good idea to listen to it after taking allergy medicine. I woke up towards the end of the assignment, and had to virtually listen to the whole thing all over again to understand what the narrator had said. I can understand why this technique works! I don't stress easily, but I think that has a lot to do with the kids being gone now :-). I do think it's important to understand how this whole relaxing thing works so that we can help someone else that might need it.
Ok, I just got done listening to this taped session in relaxation. As I said in a response to another classmate, my friends say I make coffee nervous! So, it was really hard to sit through this full session (yes, I got through the whole thing). And, it's also not a good idea to listen to it after taking allergy medicine. I woke up towards the end of the assignment, and had to virtually listen to the whole thing all over again to understand what the narrator had said. I can understand why this technique works! I don't stress easily, but I think that has a lot to do with the kids being gone now :-). I do think it's important to understand how this whole relaxing thing works so that we can help someone else that might need it.
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