Unit 9 Final. Chea.

Health and wellness, and the professionals who dedicate themselves to helping people achieve it should embody, practice and teach the primary components that constitute actual health and wellness. In order to do this, professionals must understand much more than just the body; they must understand the mind and the spirit. In the age of never ending technological entertainment, unhealthy foods and unethical behavior, the health of the average person is declining. Many mainstream media sources claim that Atheism, or the non-belief of any higher power is the fastest growing “religion” in world. Combine this idea with the sentence before it, and it appears as if the entire world is suffering from a serious lack of the mind-body-spirit connection. It is important for the professionals to health care to understand these aspects because of not for these healers, who else would be able to bring integral health to the world?

Assessment

In assessing my own health through the three levels of integral health, the mind, body and spirit, I believe that I am doing quite well in all areas. I will be the first to admit that I need work in all of them; but I believe that I am on the right path. In the mind domain, on a scale of 1-10, I would give myself a solid 7. I make it a daily practice to expand my mind and learn new things. I do not watch TV, so I use books to flew my mental muscles, and create pictures and movies in my mind’s eye. Through mindfulness based practices, I have been able to understand my own mind even further, and be an active participant in my life instead of a casual viewer.

            In the body area, I would rate myself at a solid 8. After having completed a personal training certification course, I have added a much needed deeper understanding of the body to my life, and can now work through my own pains and continue to seek physical improvement through daily exercise. I have been working out for the past 10 years on a daily basis, and will be the first to admit that workouts had begun to get a little old and stale. With their being so much information online to sift through, I felt lost in a never ending maze of trends. This course gave me exactly what I needed to light my way towards the end of this maze.

            When it comes to the spirit, I would give myself an 8. I am a highly spiritual person, but follow no organized religion. I have decided to let life be my teacher of religions, instead of following the words of others like me who have interpreted books, visions or otherwise to be the end all be all of religions. A solid belief in a higher, infinitely wiser power has humbled me and destroyed much of the ego that I formerly possessed.

Goal Development

            I do have three goals as a matter of fact. For my physical goal, it is to understand my body much more than I do now, and take the steps to make sure that everything I do for myself keeps those facts in mind. I want my physical body to radiate health, and I understand that it isn’t just mental aspects that influence, but diet and exercise. I am in great shape, but I have pains. I want these pains gone and my muscles strong and lean. My psychological goal is to be a warmer individual to all people, strangers included. No one smiles at one another anymore. No one greets one another randomly on the street. No one holds doors for others, offers their seats to people who need it and give up their spot in line to an individual with less items to buy. I want to be the person who can do all that for a complete stranger, and not do it to make myself feel better, but because I want to do it for them.

My spiritual goal is to connect on a deeper level with my higher self. On clear nights, I like to go outside in the backyard with my dog, put a chair in the middle of my yard and sit back, looking at the stars while drinking a hot drink. I had the most incredible thought and feeling come to me the other night, when out of the blue, I thought “My higher self it out there somewhere watching me”. I don’t know why I thought that, but I felt completely at ease and totally loved, secure that everything was going to be alright. I want to make sure that I am fine tuning my spiritual body so that it can affect everything else in my life and provide me with a greater connection to all things.

Practices for Personal Health

Physical: (1) Daily stretching (yoga) and (2) light workouts. I have found that stretching feels incredible, especially after a good workout. I believe that most of the pains and problems I have today are a result of my refusal to properly stretch during the last 10 years of my heavy workouts. I’ve injured my body, and as a result I have to almost start over again. I don’t look at it as a bad thing, but as a rebirth of sorts, allowing me to do it right this time around.

Mental: (1) Daily studying of the human anatomy and (2) continuing to read each night before bed. After having just completed my personal training certification course, I’ve come to realize that the body is truly a large, biological machine with an integrated super computer as a “head”. If you really study the body, it’s energy systems, the muscles and all, you will be shocked at home it all runs. I believe the key to understanding the Universe it to understand my own physical vessel. I will also continue to read before bed because fostering a good imagination is the key to all of these integral health practices. It all takes imagination, one thing that TV and computers are killing.

Spiritual: (1) Daily meditation and (2) more time in nature. Meditation is my break from the outside and time to focus on Me. I find that taking every opportunity to focus on my breath and become centered has become a way of life for me. It has enabled me to concentrate longer, without getting distracted and it eliminates all sources of stress. I also feel that spending more time in nature will help me to really understand how life should be lived. We are so unnatural in our lives; it’s sad really. The more I get outside, the more I realize that life is so continuous, and that life exist in all places, under all conditions, even in the darkest and scariest depths that you can imagine. The laws that we believe bind us to life are completely ignored by some creatures such as the ones that live on the bottom of the ocean, miles under water, being pressed by thousands of pounds of pressure, without sunlight and warmth. How is this possible?

Commitment

I will assess my progress or lack thereof by constantly being aware of how I feel. That is the only way. You must be conscious of all the things in your body; the sublte energies buzzing in and around you, the way your heart beats, the small aches and pains, the feelings of hunger or thirst, the sleepy feelings in the middle of the day or after a long rest, your posture while you are sitting typing a long paper…everything. I will also gauge my progress by consulting with my twin flame, my sister. My sister and I live on two opposite sides of the continent, but our lives mimic each other’s in every way. When I have a bad day, she has a bad day. If I get sick, she doesn’t feel well. When I have a spontaneous moment of happiness, it’s because she had a great moment. She will let me know how she feels, and I will always feel the same. That is another way I will know how I am doing.

Heartfelt Loving kindness and meditation

This is going to be a rather long post, but I am going out on a limb and will pour my soul out because of some past issues that crept back into my mind and have been bothering me since. These incidents take place when I was sent to Haiti after the earthquake in 2009...


When we got to Haiti, there was nothing standing in the area they drove us to on the way to the "camp". Thousands, upon thousands of tents everywhere. No one had anything. We got to the camp which was a cleared out area that was surrounded by four foot thick concentrina wire, that rounded wire with barbed hooks all over it. It was about chest high, and about a body long, too high to jump over; and that was it. They sent us in to do security on the place. The first day we got there, they showed us around and got us acquainted. The second day, the stood  guard. That day I witnessed grown men offer their daughters to us for sex..or to keep..for only a little bit of food. People crowded around these fences all day long, standing there, watching us watching them. They watched what we were doing, and begged for food. We were told we would be NJP'd or court martialed if we gave them food, so we didn't...

On my third day, I met this young boy named Johnson. Sorry, I'm tearing up now that I'm typing this out. Johnson was wearing a shirt, dirty shorts, sandals and was carrying a backpack..a small blue on that looked empty. I was surprised to walk up and see him talking to my Marines, he knew English very good. I approached him and began talking to him. He told me that he was all alone, and I believe he was all of 13 years old. Johnson's mom, dad and baby sister were killed when the earthquake struck; his house had collapsed..he was the only one who survived. I was shocked, and after a while asked him what he had in his bag. He opened it and told me it was all he had...it was a small English phrase book. I almost cried on the spot, but held it together because of my Marines. He wanted a job, and asked me if I could help him. There were Haitians working on the base, but I knew he wouldn't be able to work..I lied and told him I would see what I could do. He took to calling me "Bossman".

The next day, one of my Marines approached me and said a boy was looking for me at the fence. I went out to see, and it was Johnson. He was being harassed by a a group of about 4-5 boys, all older except one. They were trying to rob him, so he was pacing the fence with the Marines on patrol because he felt safe. I forgot to mention that he was sleeping under the lights illuminating the fence all night..on the ground because he had no where to go. I went up and began talking to him. He was so scared, and didn't want to say why, although the boys around him didn't speak english. I understood and began to get angry, and pointed my rifle at the boys, and told him to tell them to go away before I lost it. They finally did, and I was able to give him a cookie out of my bag. His eyes glowed with tears and he thanked me..shaking my hand with both of his...I sent him on his way, and never saw him again.

The next day, while checking on my Marines, I hear a story from a Haitian that the food the army was giving out wasn't making it into the hands of the people. He said that the gangs had rigged the system, and were taking all the food. The Army had it set up so where you had to give them a ticket in order to get the food they were passing out. Someone in a gang had bought out all the tickets, and was letting his men take the food while these starving people looked on. I told my LT, and he invited me to go investigate the food handout site a short walk from our camp. We left, and walked into the area, but the army wasn't there. On the walk back, I was came up on two boys, one about 4, the other maybe 5. They had an old Nokia cell phone, like the original, and were playing a ringtone over and over again, dancing. They looked at me, bobbing their heads, and I started bobbing my head too. When I asked them what their names were (in French), they told me they were Jimmy and Pechucco (sp?) They were orphans too, and only had that phone. We got back to the back gate, and my LT made me leave them. They watched me and I slowly walked back to my tent..wishing there was more I could do for them.

My heart is breaking right now as I think back on all of those people we just left behind. Superbowl Sunday rolled around, and these bastards rolled out a HUGE big screen, and unloaded A FREAKING TRUCK FULL OF CHIPS. They had so many chips, that I was ordered to take a few boxes back for the Marines. Meanwhile, hungry Haitains stared at the troops gorging themselves on chips and sodas, watching football while they had nothing//NOTHING. I left Haiti after a week, and never saw or heard from any of them again...

I feel the deepest sense of guilt for not having done anything for those people. My guilt runs even deeper when I remember that as soon as I got back to the states, I partied so hard and not once did I think back on those little boys. I practice loving kindness meditations now because of my guilt, and when I do, I listen to African music and envision I'm taking all of their suffering away. I would give up everything I own to provide any of those little boys or girls a few moments of peace and love. The only reason I can deal with this right now is because of the meditation and words from my sister. I have promised myself to never allow the politics of governments to dictate my compassion towards a fellow living creature; ever. Thank you for reading

Meditating with the Masters

Haha that was so corny it's unreal. If you're here reading this, thank you! This is what went on for me this Unit:

I really enjoyed the "Meeting Aesclepius" exercise. Here is what my mentor looked like in my mind's eye. Have any of you seen the old show that used to come on Spike TV called Afro Samurai? Well he was kind of like that. I imagined this old, skinny man that was extremely muscular, just not in a body builder type way..like a Bruce Lee body or something. His hair was a dull grey, and he had a receding hairline. He was wearing a white, traditional Tae Kwon Do gi and had the sleeves rolled up. past his forearms. He was sitting cross legged in front of me, and I noticed (how do I "notice" something that I am imagining?) that he had on loose fitting black pants with no shoes or socks. His feet were also worn and calloused, showing years of training barefoot on various types of ground. He kept a slight smile on his face, and I knew in my head that this guy was the epitome of the peaceful warrior. I knew that he had all of the skill in the world, all of the wisdom, but what he chose to show everyone (or just me) was the calm, loving, yet disturbingly balanced and powerful quiet nature. When I was young and taking traditional martial arts, I had dreams of owning my own school, and being that super old sensei that was feared and highly respected. When my mind drifted, I would notice that he was still there, not having moved an inch. Haha I got IN TO this meditation didn't I?

By the end, I had decided that this old Master was truly the person that I wish to be in the "future"...and maybe I shall..maybe I shall.

In looking at the quote "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself", I believe that statement more than anything. I learned this early on as being a key principle in leadership. In the Marines, I would never, ever, ever make my Marines do anything that I hadn't or wasn't willing to do myself. It was because of this that my Marines didn't look at me as a guy who bossed them around, but as a man just as them; a man that would get dirty with them and not sit by on the sidelines and watch them do it. To lead another down a road that you have not traveled yourself makes you a liar to not only that person you are leading, but yourself. It's a shame that more people haven't realized this yet, and that they continue to deceive themselves on a daily basis.

Whew that was a lot. Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

Unit 6- Sending some Universal Love YOUR Way

Hey class and Professor Maule,

The Universal Loving Kindness exercise was really simple and easy for me to do. I honestly felt that by doing this exercise, that I wanted to go out and actually assist people in becoming happy, whole and healthy; as well as help others to become free from suffering. I believe with every fiber in my little body that there are two types of people in this world, those that live to serve themselves, and those that live to serve others. To me, I serve myself by serving others, it makes me feel good to do something good for another, even if it's as simple as letting someone into traffic, or not laying on the horn because some bonehead shot out in front of me all of a sudden. I truly believe that good deeds are contagious, and that one little one can truly make someone's day. A compliment to a random stranger can put a smile on their face that last the entire day, while a rude gesture, especially in the early morning can ruin that person's day.

The Integral Assessment I found to be an easier version of something that I have been doing for quite some time now. I just call it Self Work. The process of sitting down and picking yourself apart piece by piece in order to gain a deeper understanding of yourself. I always stress that it is a painful process that forces you to look at yourself honestly, and to try to understand yourself OUTSIDE of how others see you. That may not sound like much, but most of us are nothing more than copies of how we think others perceive us. It's why we dress certain ways, why we style our hair this way, why we walk or talk a certain way, or why we drive the car we drive. We constantly seek validation in the eyes of others...but why? What does that say about ourselves if we are constantly worried about how others will look at us or how they will think about us? As much self work as I do, I still constantly find myself worrying about what people think, and have to stop myself and say 'why does this matter? Will their opinion change any aspect of my life? Am I walking the correct path or doing what's right, right now?' Sometimes I don't like the answers I come up with, but I have to deal with them and fix myself in order to accomplish my goals.

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you guys have a great week!

Unit 5 Wooty Woot Woot

Woot

I liked this exercise, but I had more fun (for lack of better terms) doing it from the book Integral Health. Nothing against the narrator, but I need a very certain voice in order to make these audio tracks work, and if I don't hear it, I'm thrown off. I will also say that still, I'm not impressed by the audio quality of the waves. Kaplan, for realz, these classes cost too much to be using audio tracks from my Super Nintendo days.

Any who, I found that I like this exercise more than the Loving Kindness one.I will say that the Loving Kindness exercise made me feel happy, especially when I visualized my Mom saying "Hello my baby boy", as she has done since I actually was a baby. I see my Mom maybe twice a year now, and when I do, I realize how much I miss her. Speak of the devil, as I typed this out, she called me...weeeeeird.

For me, getting to the Subtle mind is the best aspect of meditation. I've said it before, but I work in a bar doing security. Having done security when I was in the Marines, I found that having a clear and subtle mind is crucial, as getting caught up in the thoughts will put you crucial steps behind in any developing situation. Just this weekend, I was involved in several potentially violent confrontations. By focusing on my breathing throughout the night, and keeping my mind quiet, I was able to pick up on things well in advance, getting into the mix before they turned bad for my employer. Fights are bad for business. By keeping my emotions in check, having an extreme amount of patience, and treating others with respect and loving kindness, I was also able to kick out several patrons, without making them feel embarrassed or making it into a scene. People usually want to fight when I make them leave...I hate fighting..

Thanks for reading. Peace.

Loving Kindness

I don't think that I was a big fan of this weeks exercise. I didn't like the sound quality one bit, especially when it came to the waves. I have found videos on Youtube that can literally make it sound like you are sitting on the beach, maybe because of the bass or stereo headphones. This exercise was just like the one in our text. I tried this last night and found that I was extremely happy, especially during the first part when I envisioned my mother. After I had completed this exercise, I felt much more at peace and much more at one with everyone else. I had a strong desire to give back, probably natural seeing as I had spent 45 minutes visualizing me giving life, love and energy to everyone. I even "gave" to people I don't like, especially a group of guys at my gym. That was a big step for me, and I will certainly do this exercise at least once a week.


A mental workout, to me is nothing more than any practice which helps to strengthen the mind and its abilities. Meditation, visualizations, these exercises we are doing in this class ALL help to build a stronger mind. I have heard of many people getting frustrated that they cannot keep their mind quiet while practicing. Many people do not realize that the mind is something that must be mastered. The more you practice, the better it gets. Many people also complain that they don't have the time to practice or that they are too busy. These things can be done anywhere. Something as simple as relaxing and focusing on your breathing and noticing the empty space and silence between breaths can by done while driving, doing the dishes, trying to fall asleep, anywhere. I have found that I can even ignore sounds that irritate me by switching my focus from something that bugs me to my breath.

Unit 3- My wellness

1). In looking at myself from a physical standpoint, I would give myself a 8 on the physical well being scale. Since I engage in over an hour of physical activity a day, eat a vegan diet consisting of almost all raw fruits and vegetables, and have no major (or really even minor) health complications, I would give myself an 8. There is always room for improvement, so I think that I could one day be a 9, but I don't believe that 10 is possible. Like I said, there is always room for improvement. On the Spiritual Well Being Scale, I would give myself a 7. I still have a lot of work to do in this area, but I make an effort to be conscious of all of my words and actions, every minute of every day. Sometimes I slip back into my subconscious habits, but when I catch myself, I focus on my breathing and try to keep my mind clear. The best moments of inspiration and insight have come to me as a result of practicing stillness of the mind. On the Psychological Well Being Scale, I would give myself a 6. Sometimes I am not as happy as I would like to be, and I understand that this is the case because of me. I am trying very hard to let go of the presumption that others provide me with happiness, and the more self work I do, the more I understand that this is not the case.

2). Physical Well Being Goal: Keep doing what I am doing, and don't slack on the diet. It..is..so..hard..keeping to this diet. I feel great as a result, but I live in a house of people who eat totally opposite of me. Staying on track can be trying at times.
Spiritual Well Being Goal: Meditate more, keep reading, using my now favorite audio books and keep expanding my imagination and creative potential.
Psychological Well Being Goal: Do more self work. Keep the things I have realized about myself in mind as much as possible. Stop relying on others for my sense of security and happiness. Understand for myself that truly, freedom and happiness is within.

3). I think to further my goals, I should go back to yoga. I loved it when I went, but my gym changed the day and time, and it threw me all off. The teacher was great and made it very easy for a newcomer like me being the only guy in the class to feel welcome. It would do me some good to return.

4). I liked this exercise. Towards the end, I really enjoyed the whole chakra meditation/ visualization portion. I know a lot of people don't believe in chakras and put them in that whole New Age category, but recently I have seen several videos that proved the existence of these electromagnetic centers in our bodies that are in the same areas that are being discussed in this audio. As I have said in the DB, the imagination is the most powerful thing in this universe, and using it in creative ways with the intent on improving your health does in fact work (well for me it does). Thanks for reading. Peace.

Relaxation Exercise

This relaxation exercise was quite different from the ones I have used on Youtube. This audio track, I found to be quite informative as well as fairly relaxing. I liked it because I am a very analytic person. I don't do well when given vague information. I like to be able to vividly create things in my mind and use those images to enhance my overall well being. I actually use almost the exact same techniques on myself every single night before I go to bed in order to heal parts of my body that may ache. I also do this to relax myself in order to go to sleep. In my mind, I breathe in purple mist and "watch" as it fills my body with each breath. Then this mist takes over, I feel the "warmth and heaviness"; and it relaxes me. Soon after that, I'm out like a light. I liked this exercise.

Test Blog

Very, very new to this. This feels like a super advanced Facebook. Minus all of the fun stuff..