Unit 4- Loving Kindness

I loved this exercise so much.  In the beginning, it was a little hard for me to think of a loved one and just feel that all encompassing feeling of love and kindness.  There was love, don't get me wrong, but I have gone through so much in my life with my family, that a lot of pain came along with the love.  I moved from person to person in my mind and still, there was the pain as well....til I thought of my nephew.  This beautiful little boy is the one thing in this world that I love the most. (I'm sure his new little brother will equally join him on this list when I get to meet him at the end of February)  His image came to my mind and I thought about the changes he's going through with the addition of his little brother to the family and I thought about the time I flew down to SC to take care of him for a weekend and he got a fever and was just so sick.  The feeling of wanting to wrap him in my arms and hold him and make him feel better was overwhelming.  Then, as I spread out my thoughts, I kept getting this same image of wrapping my arms around those in pain and comforting them with warmth and kindness.  Then, when I moved to those that I may have seen as my enemy, I felt the same feeling.  I knew that this one woman was so horrible to others because she was really just so miserable inside. I even wanted to help take her pain away (the fact that I had just found out about something she was going through the night before may have helped bring out my compassion, but I'm glad that I was able to feel that way regardless).  I felt almost buzzing when I was done, my arm felt heavy and I had a smile on my face.  I felt peaceful, calm and happy.  I loved it!  I have done the exercise a few times and plan on continuing it in the future.  It just makes me feel so good and it really helps reset my mind frame.

A mental workout is just that, a work out.  Just as you would work out a muscle in your body to make it look and respond as you wish it to, so must you work out your mind.  This way, your thought processes can work the way that you wish them to and you can view life in a peaceful and calm way.  Practices like the loving-kindness exercies are good "workouts" to get your mind into shape.  After time, and LOTS of practice, you can work your mind into higher and higher levels of consciousness, eventually joining the spiritual growth that you may so desire.

Victoria

Unit 3-Prysm Meditation and Level of Wellness

I would rate my physical wellbeing at about a 6.  I have had times in my life where I was much more fit, however, my efforts in my nutrition are so much more focused and varied now that I am happy with the results.  There is always a way to improve, however, so I know I can get healthier and more fit.  My spiritual wellbeing is the one that I would rate the highest.  I would say that I am about an 8.  I have a very firm faith in God and I pray daily now.  I feel that there is a greater energy to the universe and that I am part of it.  My spirituality is one of the comforts in my life.  I am still focusing on it, however, and am always ready to improve.  It is a very large part of the journey for health and balance that I am on now.  My psychological wellness is my lowest rating, however, it is on the rise! I would rate it a 5.  Recently, especially during the holiday season this year, I had a set back in this area and the calm and happiness that I've been working on took a back seat to sadness, some overwhelm, and yes, some anger. I am regrouping and have really been enjoying this past month.

Some of my physical goals is to lose weight and improve on my running.  I plan to do this by training for a 10K that is occuring on tax day, April 15th! Spiritually, I am hoping to find a closer connection to everything around me as well as the power in myself.  I continue to pray everyday and, in these prayers, I am thanking the Lord for everything in my life.  I have been trying to do this before my feet even touch the floor in the morning so that I can start each day in a positive mind frame.  This brings me to my psychological goals.  I am currently working so hard to have a positive way of viewing things and to start to drown out my old "negative speak".  I want to look at the world in a positive light and see the learning lesson and hope in every situation.  To do this, I am making an effort when dealing with unpleasant things to stop myself from getting stressed or upset and rather, thanking the Lord for letting me have such a full life with so much to do in it, or thanking Him for letting me have that job that exhausted my body, or that boyfriend in my life who may be driving me crazy at the moment.  I want to see the bigger picture of things so that I don't let myself get bogged down in the little, annoying details.  It is really helping put everything in perspective and has really increased my mood and my energy lately!

This relaxation exercise was a hard one for me.  I coudn't really get into the colors until the emerald green over the heart.  Visualizing the windows in my body and light shooting out didn't work for me, so I adjusted it in my mind's eye and simply pictured a warm, bright glow of the light shining over the area of the body it was suppose to shoot out from.  This helped me a lot!  In the end, I felt very relaxed.  My body almost felt heavy at the end, but I was able to come fully awake and ready to blog! lol

Victoria

Unit 2- Relaxation Exercise

This exercise took me back to my youth, lol.  My mother really got into guided imagery for awhile and I used to participate with her.  I remember lying on my back on her bedroom floor and falling asleep almost every time! But, I did love it and remembered trying to keep myself calm.  It was sort of like that for me this time, only, instead of keeping my body relaxed, I was trying to keep my mind relaxed.  I'm one of those people who have a tough time quieting my mind.  It is a problem when trying to fall asleep or when I'm trying to unwind. My mind just keeps going...and going...and going.

The first time I tried to do the relaxation, my boyfriend's little brother and his friends were home on his side of the house that he rents.  Unfortunately, it's an old house and you can hear pretty much everything when people are being loud.  His enterance to the house goes right by my bedroom window as well, so I was distracted by them constantly and got annoyed.  The second time, I took my laptop into my bedroom as well, closed the door and gave it a go.  No one was home, so there was only the distraction on my mind, but I really was able to relax and get into it and found myself feeling better after it was done. I could feel my body and focused on my breath and the words.  I enjoyed the exercise so much!

First Blog for Creating Wellness!!!!

Hi everyone! This is my first post for this amazing class! I'm so excited to explore every aspect of health and wellness in this class and I REALLY look forward to getting to discuss it with all of you! Input and conversation is ABSOLUTELY welcome!