Unit 6 Post

The universal Loving Kindness meditation exercise was a very rewarding experience for me. It allowed me to think of others and to feel as if, with my thoughts, I was helping them even in the smallest way. It is an amazing feeling when you give every bit of yourself in order to help someone else.

The integral assessment helped me to focus back on myself and the areas in which I personally needed to focus on.

These exercises made me realize more about who I am as a person. It allowed me to reach within and connect even further to my spiritual beliefs. I have chosen to focus on my interpersonal development. The reason that I chose this particular area is because I often have a hard time giving up control and allowing others to take charge of a situation. I’m not sure if I do not trust others enough to relinquish control, or that I just like to know that they are done right, so it is easier to do them myself. Some things I can do in order to work on this are to delegate a little more, let others help me when I need help and not think that I can always do it all.

Unit 5 Blog

Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

The subtle mind exercise was easier for me to get into and follow along. To me, the loving kindness exercise was too emotionally draining. So, I would have to say this exercise was a better experience. I was able to just focus on myself and to relax; it did bring me to a calm state of mind.

Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

Spiritual wellness is connected to physical wellness because the two go hand-in-hand. If you are not able to relax your mind and be in a peaceful place, then you are not able to physically be in a good place. An example of this would be when I am emotionally drained it carries over to my physical body and makes me feel tired and not able to rest.

Unit 4

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

My experience with this exercise was both positive and negative. Although I did have some amazing positive thoughts about my children I had more of a negative experience with other parts. I could not seem to get past when it asked to take in all of a loved one’s suffering and pain. I was so overwhelmed by this that I literally had to stop the exercise, I almost felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I know that it said to bring in those negative feelings but then to release positive ones, I just could not get past the negative emotions. I think the rest of the exercise went downhill from there. I do not feel as if this was very beneficial, just because I could not get past this. I personally would not recommend this to others, however, I know that someone else might benefit from this, I personally could not.


2.       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 to keep your mind alert and sharp. Research on the physical results of thinking has shown that just using the brain actually increases the number of dendritic branches that interconnect brain cells. The more we think, the better our brains function – regardless of age. (The Human, 2004)

I can implement mental workouts in my daily routine by playing games that stimulate my mind and reading more. This will help to keep my mind sharp and to continue to read and add to my daily vocabulary, having a 2 year old and a 4 year old, it is easy to forget about grammar.

The Franklin Institute. (2004). The Human Brain. Retrieved on October 13, 2012 

http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html