According to Dacher, the healer is the key to the evolution and fulfillment of the integral healing process. By incorporating the integral process into the lives of the healer, there will be a discovery of the profound possibilities of integral health and healing. The practice of integral healing can begin as professional training but soon becomes more personal. As the ideas of human flourishing grow to be more as the healer experiences first-hand the healing, the healer begins to understand and believe that ultimate healing is possible, and there can be an end to human suffering. The work develops into a personal sacredness and a tool to create a better world (Dacher, 2006). I believe I need to develop my psychological aspect of healing. I am very motivated to do school and finish my bachelor’s degree in Health Science at the present time. I really want to continue on with clinicals for nursing and later obtain my Nurse Practitioning license. I want to make sure I prepare and discipline myself to continue on this path and work hard while I am doing it. I know that this path will take time. I want to pace myself and remember my goals and in the same way keep in mind the present time and enjoy it. I think I am on the path to this psychological way of thinking but as I said I will have to practice and discipline myself to continue on this long route.
I have assessed myself in each domain: spiritually, physically, and psychologically. If I was going to give myself a score in each aspect it would have to be a 6 in spirituality, 7 physically, and 7 psychologically. I rate myself a 6 in spirituality because I believe that I could be doing more in my spiritual relationship with God. I want to be able to share my faith with people by my actions. I would like to work on being more kind, sympathetic, caring, compassionate, and considerate of others. I believe if I can accomplish this, with the Lords help by praying, reading the Word, and meditating on the things of God, I will be able to accomplish a higher level of flourishing in the spiritual aspect. I gave myself a 7 for physical. I am very active and work out every day of the week and sometimes multiple times. I feel like I eat moderately but would like to change some of my diet habits. I have been researching the vegetarian way of living and have a growing interest. I would like to eat healthier and incorporate it into my workouts. I would also like to further my running capabilities in order to take part in more organized runs. My health is very good right now but I would like to take it to a level of excellence. In addition to my physical aspect, I also scored myself a 7 in the psychological realm. I feel as if I have control over much of my thoughts. The time I find it hardest to control my thoughts is at night when I am trying to go to sleep. I would like to practice more of the subtle mind exercises and relaxation methods to help me have a peace of mind and get the adequate amount of sleep I require.
One main goal I have for myself in the physical area is to start eating more vegetarian meals. I believe this would increase my vegetable and fruit intake and would help lessen the intake of animal protein. I do not want to jump into this type of diet without the proper knowledge and preparation for it. I think in order to successfully start and continue this way of eating I will have to: research the method further; gain insight from people I trust that are true vegetarians and have lived this way for many years; and plan carefully each week my meals.
Strategies I would like to implement in each domain, physical, psychological, and spiritual, to foster my growth towards integral health would all be exercises I have learned from the path to human flourishing. My physical domain would consist of the subtle mind exercise and meditation practices. I believe the subtle mind would help clear my mind before my physical activity to help me concentrate solely on the event. The meditation practices would help me during my physical activity to keep a calm and peaceful mind during exercise, helping me to concentrate on one central thing rather than my mind on other objectives that may clutter and distract it. For my psychological aspect, I would like to implement the same two practices as in my physical aspect. I would like for my mind to be clear and at peace at all times and be able to meditate and concentrate on one central idea. When speaking of my spiritual area of life, I would like to incorporate the loving-kindness practice and meditation. I want to exercise the loving-kindness practice in order to let my kindness, love, compassion flourish to other individuals other than myself and the people I am close to. I would also like to practice meditation in this aspect in order to contemplate on the Word of God, to help me throughout my day and continuously let my spirit grow closer to the Lord.
I want to assess my progress through journaling. I would like to have a journal specifically for recording my practices each day. I would like to set aside time each morning, afternoon, and night to use each practice for every domain and start out with 5 minutes. As the days progressed and I felt comfortable with 5 minutes I would want to continue on with adding 5 extra minutes for each practice. I would like to get to the place where I could practice the exercises for 30 minutes in each session but have a continuance throughout the day of meditation. Also, I would like to have an accountability partner who could help me on my journey. Even if they are not participating in what I am progressing towards, I would still like it if another person, that I trusted, was aware of what I was doing and could help motivate and keep me accountable to what I striving for. This could help me during periods of struggle when I am not feeling self-motivated.
Marissa,
YanıtlaSilWow! You have quite some change ahead of you. Well, I am certain we all have. However, you seem to have big goals in every area or domain of health. Hmm . . . I think I am a bit overwhelmed from your post. I hope you are not feeling the same. Nevertheless, if you are, I suggest taking small steps.
Yes, seeing the whole end result can be intimidating. However, breaking sections into small components is much more manageable. Wow, chnaging your eating habits, meditative practices (3 times a day) and physical activity is a lot to handle at once.
I like how you said you desire to enjoy the present. Yes, this is very important. If you find all these goals overwhelm, step back a moment. Maybe decide that you will incorporate a vegetarian diet into 1 meal every day and all snacks will be either a fruit or a vegetable. You can then decide that once a week, that entire day will be devoted to vegetarianism. This is a sure but gentle way to approach while you are still researching.
Additionally, meditating 3 times a day is quite a goal. However, if this is completely new to you, I would suggest sticking with once a day only. Yes, I know you only allowed 5 minutes with each session, there may be differing opinions in the regard, but I think focus once a day is the best way for a true change when beginning.
Hmm . . . I did like your comment about taking your health to a level of excellence. Again, though, step by step is the process. I may be "reading" into you a bit inaccurate. However, know that you are headed in the right direction and growth may seem like a slow process. As the years pass, you will develop into the being you desire.
Definitely enjoy the process, but keep it light. Added stress from goal pressure may push you back instead of forward. You are headed in the right direction, just take it easy and enjoy the ride!
That is great that you rate your physical aspects so high yet you want to do better. I admire people who try to push their self to do better. I also had a problem with clearing my mind when I sleep; the easiest way for me to fall asleep is with the TV on. I have found that total silence allows my mind to race which keeps me up at night, with the TV on it allows some noise for me to focus on and allows me to fall asleep much easier. I can’t really agree with you on eating more vegetarian meals though, I don’t think I could go without eating a big steak or a greasy hamburger every now and then. I also have to disagree with you on the journal, even though I know a lot of people love journals, I hate them. I hate just sitting down and writing out my thoughts so everybody can read them. I know journals are supposed to be private but try telling that to a group of nosey kids. Not only would they get into my stuff but they would also misplace it or write stuff in it their selves. I hope though that all your plans do work out for you and you achieve all the goals that you have set for yourself. Good luck with everything and I’ll be praying that you get what you want in life.
YanıtlaSil