Universal Loving-kindness & Integral Assessment

In practicing the universal loving-kindness exercise I found myself focusing on a particular movement I recently began following on Twitter and researching. It is called the A21 campaign and it is a movement to abolish human trafficking. The first line of the mantra May all individuals gain freedom from suffering triggered A21 in my mind and that is where my focus remained. It is hard to believe that there are still people, mainly women, that are kidnapped and sold for who knows what to this day. I extended all my energy to his campaign and hoped and wished everyone involved on all fronts freedom from suffering.

Moving on to the assessment process I still felt compelled to become more involved in the A21 campaign which then shifted my thoughts to Habitat for Humanity. I do not do enough in my community so my focus was on community and social activism. I have always donated money to causes and bought Christmas gifts for a local orphanage but my circumstances have changed as well as my relationship with my boyfriend (now ex) of 6 1/2 years. I have noticed, since coming back to school, that I have always focused on other people & tried to make them happy. My focus has been adjusted & my needs have turned to the reflection in the mirror.

For the last 6 months I have been asking "What is wrong with me?". I am learning and discovering that I am not whole. I have never been whole, especially in the last 12 years. So now I am able to begin to recognize the person I see is the person I want to be. The only way for me to get there is to focus on my desires to become a better person and the only road there in through integration.

My plan is to continue to practice yoga, branch out into the community, become a part of something I can be proud of. I don't want to be famous but I want to make the world a better place for my boys and hopefully teach them, through my life practices, to continue to make the world better.

Powerpoint Presentation Unit 5

Hw420 01-jennifercarmicha5-unit5 project from yogagrl52

Inspiration #1

When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness. - Joseph Campbell

The Subtle Mind

In this weeks exercise of the subtle mind I found it more relaxing than the loving kindness exercise. I found it to be more focused on my thoughts and myself. My mind was let go to explore the thoughts that raced then quieted with the ebb and flow of the ocean waves. I did at some point feel like I was grasping at my thoughts just to have something to hold onto, like letting go of the side of a boat in the deep end of the ocean. It felt safer to hang onto them. In the loving kindness exercise I was forcing thought of someone in my mind and breathed in their troubles then breathed out peace to them. This exercise was a focus on myself with a free fall of thoughts.
It was frustrating at times because I wasn't sure how to let go of the chatter in my mind because I was trying to listen to the instructor. When I found myself in free space her voice startled me as we moved onto the next step.

I began this exercise with a migraine that I had been struggling with since yesterday. While in this exercise I felt like it was nonexistent. It also gave me a feeling of being high, like my head was floating. To me this was a sense of complete relaxation without being asleep. This exercise is an example of inner peace, spiritual wellness, and with the example of the sedation of my migraine is an example of physical well being. The sensation that my head was floating and free of my body is an example of mental wellness. My whole being was in a state of complete consciousness but unaware of outside factors. I believe that by practicing this exercise at least three times a week will give the student a more clear vision of themselves and the world around them as well as where they want to be spiritually, mentally and physically.

Pyschospiritual Flourishing

In my experience with this week’s exercise was a bit difficult at times. I found it overall beneficial to me. I hope it was beneficial to the person whose dark cloud I took into my heart. I have actually prayed for this person before, even interceded in prayer and I believe it worked. It was a short term fix in the past and he is not very open to the ideas of prayer, let alone an exercise like this one. This, however, will never deter me from praying for him or meditating over him. The part I found most difficult was taking in other people's dark clouds or troubles that I didn't know. I guess that is an area I am going to have to learn to open myself up more on.

I would recommend this exercise to anyone who would take it seriously. So many people, I think, get tickled from the idea of meditating and concentrating. Part of me wonders if it is because they will feel foolish or afraid of what they will see or find.

I have not, since I started yoga, had a hard time feeling positive energy for people that don’t like me or are against me. I used to feel fear or angst or yearn for approval but these days I find myself more at peace. I am not where I want to be just yet but I am on a road that has no end in sight I plan on taking it for however long it is and wherever it may take me. Exercises like this make it a little easier.

A mental workout is just like a physical workout. It is a regimen of mental exercises that allows us to go beyond a regular state of consciousness and realize just what we are capable of in our life. In practicing loving-kindness we are able to go beyond our needs and the focus on ourselves and have concern for the welfare of others. This is a method of paying it forward. In any relationship you get what you give. A second regimen is diminishing our busy thoughts, feelings and mental images. Eventually, with practice, we will be able to quiet our minds and achieve calmness. Research has revealed that we can transform the mind by reducing emotions that cause anger, hatred, confusion, worry, doubt and fear and infuse positive emotions such as peace, openness, happiness and loving-kindness through mental training (Dacher, 2006, p. 63).

We can implement mental workouts to foster our psychological health by making time for ourselves to reflect and meditate. We should all take at least a few minutes a day to be still and quiet our minds, an exercise that will only facilitate a healthy mind.

Crime of the Century
 I will begin this week with a personal rating of my own well-being. When it comes to my physical well-being I will have to say with all honesty I am nowhere near where I would like to be. In this past year I have suffered many changes that have caused me to not only gain weight but to suffer in my psychological well-being as well. However by these radical changes that have caused me to slip a bit my spiritual well-being has increased more than it ever has. So on a scale of 1-10 I rate my physical well-being a 6, spiritual well-being an 8 (because I still feel I have a lot to learn), and a 6 for my psychological well-being. I have always been one to believe that everything happens for a reason so I am in the mindset right now that all of these changes have occurred to make me a better and stronger person.
 I have been working out and I plan to begin training for the mini marathon during the Derby festivities next April. I read my bible and pray often but have yet to find a church home. I was raised Catholic but no longer believe or practice their methods. I feel strongly that once I can get all my affairs in order I can then attend yoga classes more regularly.
 Upon completing the Crime of the Century relaxation exercise I found it to be very relaxing. I am very familiar with the chakras, or energy points that run up the spine and through the body, so it was not difficult for me to see the colors or focus on the regions he spoke of. I do plan on listening to it again maybe even twice a week to refocus and get centered and grounded.
 I trust that once I begin training for the mini marathon, attending yoga classes more regularly and stay focused on where I want to be in my life then my physical, spiritual, and psychological well being will be in a much healthier state.