Unit 9: Final Project

My Path Toward Metamorphosis

By: Rhonda Schrock

Kaplan University

HW420-01 Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Unit 9 Final Project

 

 I. Introduction

            Integral health is being able to attain a balance between the spiritual, psychological, and physical aspects of oneself. It’s about a holistic approach to prevent disease, not just treat it, which is caused by an imbalance in one of these aspects. As a healer, I can attest to how important it is to maintain my own integral health and I’m sure other health and wellness professionals would agree. It is important because if the healer is out of balance they can’t give 100% of their attention and energy to their patients. Imbalance can cause anything from mental distractions to disease which can leave little energy to help other people. Healers are important because they are the gateways and guides to integral health. I know my own journey has been halted at times because I wasn’t caring for myself the way I know I should be. My goals are to increase my health in all three areas by various means which I will discuss in detail in a later section. I believe there is always room for growth and I am dedicated to keep working forward along my journey.

II. Assessment

            Self assessment is an important tool for self discovery. I try to look at myself rationally, but I know I’m hard on myself because I have very high standards. My generally use my overall health, sense of wellbeing, and reaction to life events as a tool for measuring how well I am working towards my goals. I know that if I feel good, my mind is focused on the positive, my emotions are not overflowing, and my life is running pretty smoothly, then I know I’m doing a good job at staying balanced and centered. It’s when I start to ignore the warning signs and keep pushing that I run into trouble. I score myself physically by my strength, flexibility, pain level, and overall feel. If I’m waking up every day exhausted and drained, then I know I need to change something. I score myself spiritually by my sense of peace and level of intuition. My belief is that my intuition works best when I am connected to the universal whole, so it is a good marker on my spirituality. I score myself psychologically by paying attention to my emotional states. Being a fluid and emotion-based person, I know that my emotions are an important guide to my overall wellbeing. This is an area that I am doing some very detailed work in and I have made some vast improvements. On a scale of 1-10, my physical score would be a 4 because I don’t feel very strong, flexible or healthy most days. My fatigue and pain levels have been elevated. My spiritual score would be a 6 because my stress has been interfering and I am not progressing like I want to at the moment. My psychological score is a 4 because of elevated stress levels. Moving to a new area and finding a stable job has been taxing and my whole self is feeling the strain after the couple months.

III. Goal Development

            Spiritually, I want to find a group practice possibly in yoga or meditation where I can expand my knowledge and share in group energy; however, I also want to be more dedicated to self practice as well. I generally practice some form of meditation on my own 2-3 times a week, but I would like to increase that to every day. Psychologically my goal is to immerse myself in group activities at least a couple times a week. I have a tendency to seclude myself in my apartment where I feel safe, but I recognize that this won’t help me heal. Lastly is the physical aspect which I feel is intertwined with the other two goals. Many of my group activities involve hobbies like dancing, hiking, and walking and I have already started looking at local groups to join. I also want to include passive activity like yoga and stretching into my weekly routine because I greatly enjoy these activities and they are very healthy for me. Overall, I want to decrease my stress and increase my social interactions and physical activity.

IV. Practices for Personal Health

            My biggest strategies to foster growth and achieve integral health are knowledge and variety. Knowledge is important because there are so many different paths to integral health and I want to find what really resonates with me and my journey. Variety is important because I tend to get bored when things get stagnant for too long. I can achieve growth physically by taking time to stretch, do strength building activities like Pilates, and increasing my endurance by doing cardiovascular activities like walking and dancing. My spiritual growth activities are exploring meditation and following creative pursuits like coloring mandalas and needle felting. For psychological growth activities I plan on getting out and meeting people through various activities and groups so that I can find new friends and open myself up to new experiences and to get out in the wilderness so I can connect with myself and my environment.

V. Commitment

            My progress will be tracked by how my life is doing overall in 6 months. I will use the assessments described above to track my progress as well as look over my journal entries for improvements and downfalls. In 6 months, I plan on being in a stable yet happy environment with a balance of work and personal time and a growing circle of friends and activities. The most powerful strategy I know for keeping me on track to integral health is to surround myself with the people and environments that promote it. I have tried too many times to do everything alone and I know that is not the right strategy for me. This move to Portland is part of my strategy to surround myself with like-minded individuals and place myself in a beautiful, clean environment. For years I have had goals that involved moving to this area and now I am working on achieving them, however, I won’t forget what I have learned about keeping myself balanced and healthy while I work on these goals. I will keep learning, keep practicing, and remain open to new experiences and lessons.  

Unit 8: Reflection

I think the two most effective practices for me this term are loving kindness and meditation. Of course, meditation kind of includes everything in its definition....

As I have talked about before, I love walking meditation and this is the activity that I turn to first when I get upset, stressed, or overwhelmed. I started doing this type of practice about 3 years ago when I was going through a divorce. Not only does it help to keep my mind free it also helps me strengthen and tone my physical body. Since I moved to Portland a couple weeks ago, I have made it a point to walk at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes. Then there's the cleaning meditation that I tend to do quite a bit as well. Those of you that read my blog about this would be happy to know that my new job is cleaning houses. :)

I try to practice loving kindness every day by approaching all my social interactions with an open heart and non-judgmental mind. The life that I have been working hard on building the last few years is full of so much love that it amazes me when I stop to look at it. I am grateful for the love and return it in kind. I believe love to be cyclical by nature and I let it flow freely through me and my environment.

In addition to these, I also try to sit in silence for at least a few minutes a day to just be a part of myself. The world can be a very noisy place and I find the silence very relaxing. It gives my mind a chance to take a break from all the stress and responsibility and just be still.

Unit 7: Inner Aesclepius

I went very deep into this meditation for several minutes and I was very surprised at the teachers I found waiting for me there: DaVinci and the Dalai Lama. I was surprised and delighted by these energies! The exercise wanted us to focus on one and it was Leonardo that came across first and was the closest to me, but the Dalai Lama was insistent on his essence being present as well. He was further away, but very present. This was a very exciting exercise because I realized that in order to bring these masters to me, I must resonate with their energies. I am a creative thinker and love the art and beauty of the world around me which both of these teachers also are but in expressed in different ways. This gives me a new found belief in myself, what I can do, and who I am. When I start to feel lost, I just have to remember this exercise and join with my mentors in order to work out a solution.

I believe in mentors and I have had many in my life. Gratefully, I have been able to learn much from these mentors, whether from direct contact or from their teachings in books and online lectures. It is these teachings that affirms my own beliefs and strengthens my reserves when I start to doubt. The reason I find myself trusting them is because they speak from their own experience which parallels mine. I can learn from the lessons they have already learned. In turn, I use my own experience to help others through their struggles. As a massage therapist, I constantly find myself being a mentor as well as a practitioner. My massage table doubles as a therapy couch during many, many sessions. I believe that by developing and working on my integral health, I am able to offer more guidance and assistance to my clients, friends, and family. I just have to keep working on myself and keep focused on finding my peace. The process will continue to evolve and adapt, but it has been an interesting ride so far and I am no where near done yet.

Unit 6: Assessment

Boy am I having a hard time getting motivated to do my class work this week...


The first exercise, Universal Loving Kindness, was really uplifting. Being a natural healer, I long to help everyone I can. Although this is an impossible feat physically, it is a simple task energetically and this exercise was a great tool to be able to open my heart to the universe and send positive vibrations out to everyone. There is strength in the collective, and if everyone were to do this exercise every day, just imagine what an amazing world we'd create!

The second assessment, I felt, was a good description of what I like to call "checking in with me," and with every other exercise we've done in this class, it brought this moment and my life into clearer focus. If you've read any of my previous posts, you probably know that I made a huge life change over the last couple weeks by moving to Portland. Today is my 1 week anniversary of the move, and a few days ago the reality of what I did set in and I was overwhelmed by a deep depression that brought me to a standstill. I have been prone to depression the last few years and this was no where near the worst that I've ever been through, but it's still hard being in a new place with no friends or support and it can be scary. However, I did pull myself out of it (by scrubbing floors and cabinets if you care to know my secret) and this assessment helped me better understand why I was depressed.

Since moving out of the comfortable and protected environment I was in, I have been focusing on healing all the patches I've put it to my energetic quilt. Everyday I make sure I am eating fresh foods that nourish my body, mind and spirit. I'm also paying attention to how much activity I'm getting in a day - making sure I am getting enough, but not overdoing it. This assessment pointed out that these tasks were a good foundation to getting my life back on track, however, there are still many levels to go before I get to a point I'm happy with. It was some of these steps, especially in the worldly quadrant, that had me stressed, worried, and depressed. Yes, my life is going to be restricted until I get a couple key factors in place, however, I need to keep a positive attitude and an upward focus instead of feeding negative energy into the situation. In addition, I will keep walking the neighborhoods and getting to know my new environment, keep my apartment clean and organized, get back into the swing of journaling, explore some spiritual outlets, and increase my physical activity.


P.S. - I wanted to add a comment about the cleaning in relation to depression. It really does work! Many of us project our inner state into our environment which is why the more chaotic we are internally the more of a disaster our living space turns into. I have run into this personally many times. The next time you're depressed, try cleaning your room. I promise it'll make you feel much better!

Unit 5 - A Subtle Mind

This was the exercise I needed so badly today! My mind has been racing with all the things I need to get done before I move to Portland this weekend, so it was nice to quiet the mind and bring it back to its peaceful center with this exercise. I enjoyed this exercise much more than the loving kindness exercise for a few reasons. First, I was feeling much better, so it was easier to focus on the mind instead of only on the physical body. Second, I am very familiar with this exercise since I've been practicing this technique for the last few years. And lastly, this exercise was easier because it was all about my own energy and mind and not working with the energies of other people. Let me explain a bit since that makes me sound very selfish. For the last few years since my divorce, I have done nothing but give everything I am to everyone else including family, friends, and perfect strangers. After three years of that, I hit my breaking point and had a complete emotional and physical breakdown that left me wasted, weak, and exhausted. My whole life I've been a giver instead of a receiver, so I've been working on shifting that energy to more of a balance. Life is more fulfilling when you give, but you have to receive in order to keep your cup filled as well. Today was not a day where I slipped into the unity consciousness, but I have many times in the past. However, I did reach the calm abiding consciousness where my mind was still and peaceful. There was a brief time towards the end where I focused on some loving kindness energy towards myself. I find that it's also very important to thank yourself for all the wonderful things you do, so I did some of that as well.

Unit 4 Loving Kindness

This was a very good exercise, but I had to stop it a little more than half way in. Although I am physically feeling better, my body quickly and efficiently told me that this exercise was too much at the moment. I took in the dark cloud from a friend and it constricted my chest and threw me into a coughing fit until I released the rest of the cloud, with love and light, back to the person. After that, I took time to breathe and re-center myself while still listening to the exercise, however, once I was instructed to take in stranger's clouds, I knew it was too much and I stopped the recording.

I have done and continue to do loving kindness work both on myself and those I come into contact with every day. Part of my work has taught me to honor my own sensitivities and my body. My body lets me know if it's able to take a task on or not. In this case, it wasn't healed enough to expand much beyond itself.

The beginning of this exercise reminded me a lot of Eckhart Tolle's work. If any of you have read his books, hopefully you found them as wonderful as I did. In the past, I have had real issues with staying in the present moment and aware. I used to live most of my life disconnected because I was living in the illusion of the future or the pain of the past. There was a lot of life that I missed. This exercise reminded me again that I need to stay connected to my body and my present awareness.

This exercise was a mental workout. I think mental workouts consist of expanding your mental capacity, just like an aerobic exercise expands your oxygen capacity. Guided imagery is one that I like quite well, but I also do meditation to give my mind that needed stillness and quiet time. Many times during meditation, I expand my consciousness as far as I can to see what I can sense. It is quite spectacular at times. 

Overall Wellness - Unit 3

At this very moment, I am fighting a bad case of the flu which is affecting all areas of my well being. It really is true that one area, like biological, being out of balance will throw all other quadrants out of balance. I'm having a really hard time focusing on anything so let's see if I can post anything sensible. :)

Physical well being - right now is probably a 3. I've been sicker, but not much and definitely not often. Normally I would rate myself about a 5-6. There are personal goals that I have in place for bringing this area back up to the 8-9 that it was a year ago.

Spiritual well being - I have been working hard over the last several months to help bring myself into balance in this area. I have always been a spiritual person, but as I get busy my spirituality generally got pushed to the back seat. I would rate myself about a 6-7 normally in this area and am working on increasing that number.

Psychological well being - I have also been working very hard in this area over the last few years. It has been a long, hard road, but I have come a long way. I would rate myself a 8-9 in this category on most days. I try to stay present and focused on positive intentions.

My goals to increase my harmony in all areas of my personal wellness are to start dancing again, find a group of like-minded individuals to spend time with, and move to a more forward-thinking community. Dancing is such an important factor in my life that I struggle in all areas when I'm not doing it, so getting back into it now that my body has had some time to heal is a definite must. Moving and surrounding myself with like-minded individuals is also important for my personal growth and development. Being in a community which is depressed and negative doesn't do me any good. I am already in the process of moving to Portland, where I think I'll be able to explore many facets of my own life and the world around me. Not to mention that a change of scenery always does the body good. :)

In response to the relaxation exercise, this time I was very frustrated because I couldn't breathe and was coughing which completely ruined the relaxation. Bummer. I'll try it again later when I feel better.