Papa Wisdom

It time to listen to Papa speak his wisdom so open your mind and heart to receive all that he is given you.

Introduction:
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

I don’t see how we can help another to choose health and human flourishing if we cannot put into practice what we espouse. We need to be authentic because it is in authenticity that our passion will become evident. How can we reach someone where they are if we have not been there? It would be like the adage-“The blind leading the blind”. I have gained many insights from this course and one of the primary ones is that healing begins at home or with me. It is this conclusion that is the basis for integral health. Western medicine always looks for the remedy to apply to the person, but integral flourishing uses the gifts we humans have hard wired into our beings. We need to start from a place of wellness in order to show someone else that it can be done. Showing is so much better than telling. I need to continually work on all areas of my well-being. The whole is made up of units and I believe that continuous focus to all areas will allow me to stay balanced. I believe it is not something that can be fixed once and then left on remote control, but I believe that daily adjustments, goal assessments and evaluations will be necessary to track and measure progress. I will record my goals in a journal and reevaluate them weekly. I think the most important strategy will be practicing mindfulness because this is where I struggle the most. Dasher’s (2006) Theory states that psychological growth is the catalyst for spiritual development and for me personally Spiritual development is the highest priority, I believe when the Spiritual and Psychological aspects of self are flourishing the body does not have a choice but to follow. Many times our approach to wellness in the West could be compared to a Captain trying to maneuver a massive ship without a rudder. Traditional medicine could be seen as focusing on the wind, the seas or the lifeboats, but Integral health would look inside the boat to find the equipment to navigate.
Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically? Before this class I was very unclear about with way my spiritual life was going and at that time I would have said about 4 or 5 and going down I was not read or studying the word but know I would say it on the way up. Physically and psychologically is always a journey I have some walls in dealing with stress on a regular basis. Therefore, a stronger base of meditation is needed. . A quiet, still and focused mind will produce good fruit in the spirit and body. I would rate the physical domain as a 7. I know that I need to implement more consistent exercise in my daily routine.

Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.  I pray and meditate daily. I have a special place and time to pray to start the day and I converse with God throughout the day. By the time evening comes, I am so exhausted and being grateful for sleep, I thank Him for the day and his blessings. I would like to give equal time to my devotions in the evening as well as in the morning. So the goal would be to take time to reflect on the day to bless Him more fully and completely. In the psychological domain, I would love to be able to draw upon the time that I spend developing the subtle mind and carry this into situations that I find the most stressful. In the physical domain, I would love to be at the place where a regular exercise routine is the norm rather than the exception.

Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example. In the spiritual domain, I can see that I will need to establish a time and a place for reflection and prayer at the end of the day. It will be the time and the place that will help me to establish a routine or habit. Like any habit that is formed familiar surroundings will help to support a routine. I know that I cannot be horizontal at this time of day because I will fall asleep. Strategies for physical growth are easy for me to determine. I can add more resistance training to my workout. I will add one exercise for each target muscle group when working that muscle group. I will add hiking to my exercise regime to get more cardio and enjoy the outdoors. Walking and hiking are excellent ways to get a good workout.

Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness? I recently bought a journal to begin writing down my thoughts and feelings each day. I will use this journal to track how I feel about my physical, psychological and spiritual growth. This way I can see if something is or is not working and make changes accordingly. The journal can also be an outlet for stress by writing down the negative thoughts and feelings and getting rid of them (Dacher, 2006). In order to maintain my long-term practices for health and wellness, I will ask for assistance from others. I will keep an open mind and try some of the other techniques. If the technique is not for me, then I will know. But maybe I will stumble across something that works great or someone who can be a mentor (Dacher, 2006).

References:
Dacher, Elliott S., M.D. (2006). Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing.

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