Review Post:

     Well, I have reviewed my post for unit 3 and I said that my physical health was at about a 7, my mental at a 2, and my spiritual at a 9. Sadly, I do not think those numbers have changed very much, however, I do believe that some progress has been made in my overall health. I think that now I am at a 6 in physical well being because I have not been eating as well as I should be. I have fallen out of focus when it comes to that and I need to re-focus myself and work harder at being aware of what I eat. I do think that I have progressed from a 2 in mental health to about a 4. That may not seem like much but to me it means the world! I believe that my desire coupled with the encouragement from this class has helped me to motivate myself to get my mind into the healthy state it should be in. My God has helped me overcome some of my worry and anxiety and has showed me how to begin on my path of mental healing. This goes along with my spiritual health as well. I believe I am still at a 9 because I believe things are going very well because I am learning to trust and love my God more and more but I know there are still things I need to work on and be more diligent in.

     As far as goals go, I have spent more time with my God which is the most important part of all integral health practices I believe, but I have flunked when it comes to trying to find time to meditate and just rest my mind or focus it on a particular thing. I always stay busy and I don't like to be still to be honest! : ) I like it when I do it and think to myself "Oh! I need to make time for this, that was great!" but when it comes down to it I don't make time. I just need to jump in there and do it because I now know how important and helpful it is to take time to rest and heal your mind and make your mind into a mindset that is always calm and at peace even in the turmoil. Meditation also helps you have a discerning mind, which I believe is of great importance! My exercising has gone nowhere as well. I am having a hard time getting motivated!!! At least I am focusing more now on my goals but now is the time (well, the time was a long time ago but...) to start acting on what I know I need to do. I hope I can accomplish this in the months and years to come!

     I have absolutely loved this course! It has been very encouraging and it has brought things to light that I had never thought of before. For instance, I knew that meditation was good for relaxing but I didn't know that it was good for developing a more discerning and calm abiding mind. These two things are great treasures that are worth fighting for and I didn't really understand what the tools where for doing that until this course. I also don't think I grasped exactly how important the healing of the mind was. Now I know that it is just as important to integral health as the body and the spirit. It has been difficult for me to implement these practices since I do not like taking time to be still but the good thing is that this course has instilled in me the desire for mental health which I believe will drive me to action. All of you in class and Professor Maule, have been wonderful and your views have been very insightful and helpful. Thank you for a wonderful semester and God bless you!

It is so very important for health and wellness professionals to have integral health in their own lives psychologically, spiritually, and physically. The reason for this is that without that experience of having built up to integral health themselves, practitioners can only speak from principle. Yes, principles are the foundation for everything we do, but we are not going to be able to convince others that something is the right thing to do unless we are dedicated to doing it ourselves. If you don't show that you think it is important than why should they think it is important? Actions speak louder than words as it concerns a healthcare practitioner.

For myself, I know I need to really work on the physical aspect of my integral health. I love eating healthy, so that is not an issue for me at this time, but I do not like to exercise so that is a real road block for me. I have a hard time motivating myself to achieving that goal in my integral health. I also know that I need to really work on my psychological well being as well. I cannot seem to quite my mind very easily. I always have to be accomplishing something with my hands or with my mind and I often times have a hard time falling asleep because I am constantly thinking about one thing or another. I am getting better at practicing having a good spiritual life. I am reading my Bible every day and I am trying to have a very active prayer life. However, I am still struggling with the fact that I worry so much and am afraid of everything! I am always thinking of things that could happen and trying to figure out ways to prevent it. This is exhausting and a very unpleasant way to live and I know that God does not want me to live that way. I am working on giving everything to God so that I do not have to worry about things anymore. I know that if I can learn to give everything over to Him that He will take care of ALL of my worries no matter what they are and that He will always do what is best for me and my family. So, I guess I would say that I am doing worst in my psychological health since I am not finding the time in the first place to work on it which is one of the goals of being psychologically healthy, and that physical health would be the next worst, and that spirituality would be the best rated of all three of these aspects of my integral health but all of them need to be continually worked on and built up.

My goal in psychological health is to first set aside a time to where I can actually practice meditating so that I can clear and still my mind. If I can do that I have no problem practicing and I know I always feel better after I do and I know the benefits of long-term practice. Exercising is a hard one for me since I like to be at home with my young son and then my husband when he comes home from work, so I guess I don't really make time for that either. I'm hoping that my husband and I can develop an exercise program at home so that we can do it as a project together after my son is in bed so that we can still spend time together but still reach our fitness goals. Spiritually, I know I can remedy my worrying by keeping up my prayer and Bible reading regimen and by also doing more research on how to give my trust over to God and overcoming my issues about being fearful. I think that resources from other writers can be extremely beneficial in offering advice on how I need to proceed from the state that I am in right now.

Tracking my progress seems a little hard in some areas such as the spiritual aspect of my integral health but I know that once I am free from the burden of worry and fear even for one day or even for half a day I will know that I am making progress. If I start to exercise a little more each week I will know that I am doing better concerning my physical health since I do not set any time at all apart for it right now. For my psychological health I will know that I am progressing when I take time EVERY day to practice having a calm, discerning mind. I know I will feel more at peace and I will probably sleep a lot better once I have achieved progress in this area. I also need to make sure that I keep up the progress that I have/will make. I think that reviewing why I need integral health will help keep me motivated to keep on keeping on. I need to continue to seek out books and lectures on this point to continue to grow in my knowledge and to review what I have already learned. I KNOW I can do this if I just go out and do it!