HW-420 Unit 4-Loving-Kindness

This week in class we are working with a contemplative practice from Elliott S. Dacher, M.D. Integral Health. The exercise was on Loving-Kindness. It is the first step in the process of bringing Integral Health into your life. You must first show yourself loving kindness before you can begin to truly show it to others. This is the step where we leave our self-centered ways behind us.

I am not a fan of someone talking to me, however after practicing this exercise a few times I was able to not use the recording and just use my own ocean sounds. I definitely found this exercise most beneficial. Despite having to listen to the woman this is a process I have been practicing for years and I found myself more open to relaxing and following the process. I would recommend this to others. The book is easy to read and follow and the process is only as difficult as you make it. If they are ready for the journey then the process will work.

The concept of the mental work out is to begin to use our minds on a higher level. When this is accomplished we become happier, healthier and whole. Short and long term benefits of mental workouts are the foundation of our psychological health and can be implemented into our daily lives through meditation when we wake in the morning and before we go to sleep. Doing this will help to make us healthier mind and body.

Linda

HW420-Optimal Well-Being

For this week’s blog I am supposed to rate on a scale of one to ten (ten being optimal) my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being, then develop a goal for each and talk about an activity that will help me accomplish my goals.

During the winter I rate myself an 8 for physical well-being, because during this time I tend to work out less because it’s cold. I average about 4 days a week. During the other seasons I rate myself a 9 because I love the warmer weather and nothing not even rain keeps me inside. During the warmer months I average 6 days a week of 45 minutes or more of exercise. My goal would be to add another day of exercise to my winter routine. I could meet this goal if I added another day of yoga or possibly another day of rowing or cycling. I could choose one of those activities according to what I am interested in that day.

Spiritually I rate myself a 9. I am happy with how I nourish my spiritual self through meditation and the Tao Te Ching. I meditate at least 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes before I go to sleep. Doing this daily brings me closer to my creator and it helps to ground and balance me. I rarely if ever have a dooms day attitude. I have a positive outlook and rarely feel like things are out of control. At this time the only goal spiritually that I might find useful is a way to add more service into my life. To accomplish this goal I could look for an organization that needs volunteers.

I rate my psychological well-being as a 9 and I rate myself that because I don’t sweat the small stuff. I feel that no matter how bad things might be in the moment I can with thought, creativity and hard work turn it around. I truly believe that if it’s worth having I am ready to dig in and work hard for it. I honestly not sure of a goal for my psychological well-being. I am open to suggestions.

Finally I tried to follow the guided meditation The Crime of the Century. I find the voice guided meditation distracting. I found myself not relaxing especially when he explained the colors and their function. I would much rather practice my self-guided meditation with a mantra that I might need at that moment. I feel like I won’t find any guided meditation relaxing. I will however remain open to any exercise presented during the course.

Linda

Guided Meditation-Not for Me (HW420)

The Journey On guided relaxation technique was not too relaxing for me. I personally am not a fan of guided meditation. I find the talking distracting and my natural inclination is to tune it out and clear my mind myself. While doing this exercise I found myself falling asleep. When I do my daily meditations I use breathing techniques to relax my body and clear my mind. I also ocean, river or nature sounds for relaxation and my favorite is classical music. For me talking ruins the atmosphere I want to create for relaxing and decluttering my mind.

I tried this exercise on two different occasions and spent more time listening to the speaker’s direction than relaxing. This type of meditation may work for others but is not a relaxing meditation for me.

Linda

Doing Double Duty-HW420

Anyone who checks my blog out when I post knows who I am. However I will be using WIP That's Me to post to for a class I am taking. I will use HW420 in the title for my fellow classmates. I am hoping that this class gets me back into the habit of blogging.

That said I am Linda and I have been married almost 25 years and I have two wonderful daughters 21 and 17. It is because of them that I strive to be the best person I can. And since I am a huge believer in practicing what I preach, I went back to school to finish my degree to show my girls it's never too late!

My favorite quote and the philosophy I live by is from Albert Einstein-  “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

R.I.P My Wild n Wonderful Lucee

Lucee 8 months

It was about a year ago when I updated the health status of my beautiful shepherd/Lab mix Lucee. She was in amazing health which was a miracle considering she was born with chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately our journey with Lucee came to an end on October 31, 2014.

Life with Lucee was never a piece of cake. She was a handful from the day we brought her home from the Fredericksburg Regional SPCA. Two weeks after adopting her I was crying because I didn't think I could tame the wild beast I nicknamed Lucifur. We adopted Lucee on February 2, 2012 found out she had kidney disease April 2012 and by June of 2012 we were told she wouldn’t live out the year. I was determined to make whatever life she had left as healthy as possible. I created a diet that would take the stress off her partially functioning kidney’s. The end of 2012 came and went and Lucee was still thriving and becoming a wonderful companion.

Spring 2014

By the end of 2012 we started to think Lucee would be okay, she was playing ball and eating well and progressing in our training. She turned one that July and we were going to hit the anniversary of her adoption. Who would have ever predicted, not our vet. 2013 brought us a few highs and lows. The high was we celebrated a year with Lucee. The low was cicadas and the havoc they caused on Lucee's digestive system. As if chronic kidney disease wasn't enough she developed pancreatitis. This can be fatal in dogs and almost was for Lucee. It took us from the end of May to late November 2013 to get her healthy. Lots of love and a very bland home cooked diet got Lucee through.

Lucee watching TV

2014 arrived and we celebrated two years with Lucee a year more than our vet predicted. It was after February that we noticed Lucee slowing down, not wanting to play or jump at the fence. We started preparing for the worst, but then it was July and we celebrated her 3rd birthday on July 2. It's hard not to start thinking she'll live a normal life. The summer ended and so did Lucee's good health. The urinary tract infections started again and something new the possibility of lymphoma. All the blood work pointed to her having it. October arrived and it was not if, it became when?

Lucee would have soldiered on for us, but it became clear that she was in an immense amount of

pain, so on October 31, 2014 I sat with Lucee until she ran over the Rainbow Bridge.  I cried in frustration after I brought her home and in the end I cried again only this time I was heart broken for a life that was far too short. Rest in peace, Lucee (aka Lucifur).