Hi, everyone.
I think the area that I am struggling with the most is with interpersonal relationships. I tend to take my responsibilities very seriously (work, school, military, bills, etc) and often forget to make time to spend with my family and friends. Additionally, I know that I set very high expectations for myself and others with a tendency to be hard on people who do not meet my expectations, regardless of whether they were reasonable expectations or not. I know that this has led to difficulty in dealing with people in the past and is an area that I need to work on.
I think the best way to improve in this area is to practice love and forgiveness as described in the reading this week. I also need to realize that everyone is different and has different capabilities. I need to be more appreciative of people for who they are and not for who I want them to be.
-Joy Clark
Friday, December 16, 2011
Universal Loving-Kindness
Hi, everyone.
This exercise was a bit more to my liking as it didn't require having to listen to someone else describe actions that I should be taking; however, I had to work with this one quite a bit in order to memorize the phrases necessary for the activity as I kept making mistakes which disrupted my concentration. I found it quite frustrating to miss a word in the phrase or to not be able to remember the next phrase. Additionally, I found it difficult to achieve a good state of relaxation when I tried the activity holding the book and reading the phrases.
I do recognize that this particular activity is less aimed at relaxation and more aimed at opening up my personal perception of the world; however, it is hard to focus on an activity when there is concern about trying to get it done correctly in addition to making observations that are going to be graded. Perhaps it is the added pressure, minimal that it is, to "get it right" that makes it harder for me to really focus.
-Joy Clark
This exercise was a bit more to my liking as it didn't require having to listen to someone else describe actions that I should be taking; however, I had to work with this one quite a bit in order to memorize the phrases necessary for the activity as I kept making mistakes which disrupted my concentration. I found it quite frustrating to miss a word in the phrase or to not be able to remember the next phrase. Additionally, I found it difficult to achieve a good state of relaxation when I tried the activity holding the book and reading the phrases.
I do recognize that this particular activity is less aimed at relaxation and more aimed at opening up my personal perception of the world; however, it is hard to focus on an activity when there is concern about trying to get it done correctly in addition to making observations that are going to be graded. Perhaps it is the added pressure, minimal that it is, to "get it right" that makes it harder for me to really focus.
-Joy Clark
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Subtle Mind
Hi, everyone.
I found the subtle mind exercise to be far more tolerable than any of the others we have worked with so far this term, probably because the main focus was on allowing stray thoughts to move through your consciousness without dwelling on them. As my main problem with guided meditation exercises has been the intrusion of thoughts (largely related to the exercise in question), I found this one easier to listen to and did not experience the same level of frustration that I have with previous activities. Unfortunately, I also did not experience the sense of relaxation that the author clearly believes comes with the meditation; however, I think this one is closer than any to an exercise that I might find useful.
The connection between spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness is an interesting one and largely open to interpretation. Some people equate spiritual wellness with religious belief. I equate spiritual wellness with a sense of belonging and purpose within the universe, regardless of religious belief. To be spiritually aware is to be aware of how one's actions impact the surrounding world as well as oneself: to this end, it is important to consider each conscious choice and how it will not only reflect upon and effect the individual, but how it reflects upon and effects the individual's affiliations, relations, friends, and community. Not having a grasp of spiritual awareness leads to an imbalance in psychological functioning as the individual flails around (sometimes without knowing it) to try to find his or her purpose in life, leading to an increase in stress and a decrease in coping mechanisms. As we have already learned, poor coping mechanisms with regards to stress can have lasting physiological consequences.
-Joy Clark
I found the subtle mind exercise to be far more tolerable than any of the others we have worked with so far this term, probably because the main focus was on allowing stray thoughts to move through your consciousness without dwelling on them. As my main problem with guided meditation exercises has been the intrusion of thoughts (largely related to the exercise in question), I found this one easier to listen to and did not experience the same level of frustration that I have with previous activities. Unfortunately, I also did not experience the sense of relaxation that the author clearly believes comes with the meditation; however, I think this one is closer than any to an exercise that I might find useful.
The connection between spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness is an interesting one and largely open to interpretation. Some people equate spiritual wellness with religious belief. I equate spiritual wellness with a sense of belonging and purpose within the universe, regardless of religious belief. To be spiritually aware is to be aware of how one's actions impact the surrounding world as well as oneself: to this end, it is important to consider each conscious choice and how it will not only reflect upon and effect the individual, but how it reflects upon and effects the individual's affiliations, relations, friends, and community. Not having a grasp of spiritual awareness leads to an imbalance in psychological functioning as the individual flails around (sometimes without knowing it) to try to find his or her purpose in life, leading to an increase in stress and a decrease in coping mechanisms. As we have already learned, poor coping mechanisms with regards to stress can have lasting physiological consequences.
-Joy Clark
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Loving Kindness Exercise
Hi, everyone.
I'm sure by now that few people will be surpirsed when I say that I didn't particularly care for the "Loving Kindness" meditation exercise. I just find that I have a significant amount of trouble actually listening and staying focused to the guided meditation activities, regardless of the situation I put myself in. I tried multiple times, in multiple different environments and just really struggled to "get into it."
I will say that the cadence of the narrator was much easier to listen to than the other activities we have done thus far, which was a pleasant surprise; however, the pauses were too long for me, though I recognize their purpose in allowing the listener to contemplate the previous set of instructions. I think this exercise might possibly benefit someone who is struggling with a viewpoint that there is no one who can help them with their problems becuase the focus of the meditation seems to be about recentering your perceptions of yourself and those around you. There is a saying that I have heard many times from many sources: pain shared is pain halved. I have always taken this to mean that the act of someone listening to another's problems and attempting to help solve them makes the burden seem easier to bear.
As a part of a mental workout, I would venture to say that this exercise is as good as any other, provided the individual undertaking it is temperamentally suited to utilizing guided meditation in order to achieve a goal of mental fitness. Much in the same way that no two physical workouts are the same, mental workouts should be highly individualized and tailored to the individual who will utilize them. While mental workouts can help increase the ability of the mind to venture down certain paths and to change mental habits into more positive ones, it is only effective if it is sustainable and tolerable for the individual.
-Joy Clark
I'm sure by now that few people will be surpirsed when I say that I didn't particularly care for the "Loving Kindness" meditation exercise. I just find that I have a significant amount of trouble actually listening and staying focused to the guided meditation activities, regardless of the situation I put myself in. I tried multiple times, in multiple different environments and just really struggled to "get into it."
I will say that the cadence of the narrator was much easier to listen to than the other activities we have done thus far, which was a pleasant surprise; however, the pauses were too long for me, though I recognize their purpose in allowing the listener to contemplate the previous set of instructions. I think this exercise might possibly benefit someone who is struggling with a viewpoint that there is no one who can help them with their problems becuase the focus of the meditation seems to be about recentering your perceptions of yourself and those around you. There is a saying that I have heard many times from many sources: pain shared is pain halved. I have always taken this to mean that the act of someone listening to another's problems and attempting to help solve them makes the burden seem easier to bear.
As a part of a mental workout, I would venture to say that this exercise is as good as any other, provided the individual undertaking it is temperamentally suited to utilizing guided meditation in order to achieve a goal of mental fitness. Much in the same way that no two physical workouts are the same, mental workouts should be highly individualized and tailored to the individual who will utilize them. While mental workouts can help increase the ability of the mind to venture down certain paths and to change mental habits into more positive ones, it is only effective if it is sustainable and tolerable for the individual.
-Joy Clark
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Personal Wellness
Hi, everyone.
I chose to separate the personal wellness inventory portion of the blogging assignment from the meditation activity.
1.Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?
I would rate my physical wellbeing as an 8 because I am generally healthy, though I have been somewhat rough on my body and can definitely feel the effects of multiple joint injuries. Additionally, while I know that I am healthy, I am still in the first trimester of my pregnancy and wow, it is really kicking my rear!
I would rate my spiritual well-being at an 7. I am comfortable with my beliefs and understanding of the way the world works; however, I continue to find it difficult when people try to enthusiastically share their opinions with me. in a way, it makes me feel somewhat threatened, which indicates to me that I may not be quite as comfortable with my views as I believe I am.
Finally, I would rate my psychological well-being at a 9. I am very comfortably in touch with the flux in emotions that everyone goes through and am fairly good at recognizing when an emotional reaction does not necessarily reflect the current circumstances. Additionally, I do not tend to have widely varying swings in my emotional status (though it does occur sometimes).
2.Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).
My physical goal is to be better about getting regular exercise and improving my dietary discipline in order to avoid the times that I eat too much in a sitting and end up regreting it later. Additionally, when I do keep a regular gym routine, I find that I feel much better.
My spiritual goal is to become more comfortable with who I am and what I think, to a point where I do not feel the need to defend myself or my views in the face of adversity.
My psychological goal is to be better at recognizing that, while I feel that I am well grounded and balanced, sometimes it is easy to believe in one's own legend and get caught up in a feeling of "I don't need help from anyone." While self sufficiency is a good thing, it can cause difficulties if problems do arise.
3.What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?
To further my physical wellness goal, I need to be better about time management in order to leave time to go to the gym without feeling like I have to put something else off until the last minute. In order to further my spiritual goal, the best thing to do is to get in better touch with my concept of myself. To better my psychological goal, I need to open up a little more to the people that are close to me and not be afraid to take their advice when they notice something out of balance that I have not realized.
-Joy Clark
I chose to separate the personal wellness inventory portion of the blogging assignment from the meditation activity.
1.Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?
I would rate my physical wellbeing as an 8 because I am generally healthy, though I have been somewhat rough on my body and can definitely feel the effects of multiple joint injuries. Additionally, while I know that I am healthy, I am still in the first trimester of my pregnancy and wow, it is really kicking my rear!
I would rate my spiritual well-being at an 7. I am comfortable with my beliefs and understanding of the way the world works; however, I continue to find it difficult when people try to enthusiastically share their opinions with me. in a way, it makes me feel somewhat threatened, which indicates to me that I may not be quite as comfortable with my views as I believe I am.
Finally, I would rate my psychological well-being at a 9. I am very comfortably in touch with the flux in emotions that everyone goes through and am fairly good at recognizing when an emotional reaction does not necessarily reflect the current circumstances. Additionally, I do not tend to have widely varying swings in my emotional status (though it does occur sometimes).
2.Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).
My physical goal is to be better about getting regular exercise and improving my dietary discipline in order to avoid the times that I eat too much in a sitting and end up regreting it later. Additionally, when I do keep a regular gym routine, I find that I feel much better.
My spiritual goal is to become more comfortable with who I am and what I think, to a point where I do not feel the need to defend myself or my views in the face of adversity.
My psychological goal is to be better at recognizing that, while I feel that I am well grounded and balanced, sometimes it is easy to believe in one's own legend and get caught up in a feeling of "I don't need help from anyone." While self sufficiency is a good thing, it can cause difficulties if problems do arise.
3.What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?
To further my physical wellness goal, I need to be better about time management in order to leave time to go to the gym without feeling like I have to put something else off until the last minute. In order to further my spiritual goal, the best thing to do is to get in better touch with my concept of myself. To better my psychological goal, I need to open up a little more to the people that are close to me and not be afraid to take their advice when they notice something out of balance that I have not realized.
-Joy Clark
Crime of the Century
Hi, everyone.
After careful consideration, I decided to make two separate blog posts for this weeks assignment.
Once again I had trouble with the meditation activity, mostly because of the awkward pauses and strange inflections that the narrator indulges in. I find that sort of slow and broken speech pattern very hard to listen to at the best of times, and increasingly difficult when attempting a guided meditation activity.
Another thing that I struggled with was the use of colors to describe different body regions. The colors chosen are not the same that I would have chosen, which caused further mental conflicts as I tried to keep speculation to a minimum and just listen to the narrator; however, once again I can definitely see how this type of activity could be very, very helpful for people who have trouble focusing their own thoughts. This particularly activity was a little easier to listen to than the first one; however, I found myself more annoyed than relaxed.
-Joy Clark
After careful consideration, I decided to make two separate blog posts for this weeks assignment.
Once again I had trouble with the meditation activity, mostly because of the awkward pauses and strange inflections that the narrator indulges in. I find that sort of slow and broken speech pattern very hard to listen to at the best of times, and increasingly difficult when attempting a guided meditation activity.
Another thing that I struggled with was the use of colors to describe different body regions. The colors chosen are not the same that I would have chosen, which caused further mental conflicts as I tried to keep speculation to a minimum and just listen to the narrator; however, once again I can definitely see how this type of activity could be very, very helpful for people who have trouble focusing their own thoughts. This particularly activity was a little easier to listen to than the first one; however, I found myself more annoyed than relaxed.
-Joy Clark
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Journey on...
Hi, everyone.
I listened to the Journal On exercise multiple times, and really am not very sure what I think about it. I have never had much luck participating in guided relaxation or meditation techniques, though I see the value in them and have worked with several individuals who have definitely received great benefit from them.
I think the biggest difficulty I had with this exercise was over thinking the instructions given by the recording. I found the tone and tempo to be very difficult to listen to. There felt like there were pauses in the flow of words that were awkward and forced, which broke up the mood for me. Additionally, rather than sounding sincere as though the narrator believed in the exercise he was describing, the narrator sounded bored as though he were wishing he was somewhere else.
While this is simply my perception of the recording, I found that I never achieved the state of relaxation that the narrator clearly expected his listeners to achieve. Rather than my arms feeling to heavy to move I found myself very restless and having to struggle to focus and concentrate on trying to achieve that high state of relaxation. I had trouble visualizing taking conscious control over the path and concentration of blood through my body and was not able to really visualize it settling in any one area or permeating the tissues "like a sponge" which is a term the narrator used frequently.
I think most of my problem with guided meditation is that I can never seem to find a recording that really encompasses the mood I am feeling at the time and have difficulty really letting go and following the instructions. While I do take time out for a bit of relaxation or unguided meditation just about every day (most people do, even those 10 seconds when we're begging a higher power to grant us patience), I find it works far better for me to simply let my mind wander and either contemplate or dismiss thoughts as they occur, rather than trying to force a specific state of mind.
-Joy Clark
I listened to the Journal On exercise multiple times, and really am not very sure what I think about it. I have never had much luck participating in guided relaxation or meditation techniques, though I see the value in them and have worked with several individuals who have definitely received great benefit from them.
I think the biggest difficulty I had with this exercise was over thinking the instructions given by the recording. I found the tone and tempo to be very difficult to listen to. There felt like there were pauses in the flow of words that were awkward and forced, which broke up the mood for me. Additionally, rather than sounding sincere as though the narrator believed in the exercise he was describing, the narrator sounded bored as though he were wishing he was somewhere else.
While this is simply my perception of the recording, I found that I never achieved the state of relaxation that the narrator clearly expected his listeners to achieve. Rather than my arms feeling to heavy to move I found myself very restless and having to struggle to focus and concentrate on trying to achieve that high state of relaxation. I had trouble visualizing taking conscious control over the path and concentration of blood through my body and was not able to really visualize it settling in any one area or permeating the tissues "like a sponge" which is a term the narrator used frequently.
I think most of my problem with guided meditation is that I can never seem to find a recording that really encompasses the mood I am feeling at the time and have difficulty really letting go and following the instructions. While I do take time out for a bit of relaxation or unguided meditation just about every day (most people do, even those 10 seconds when we're begging a higher power to grant us patience), I find it works far better for me to simply let my mind wander and either contemplate or dismiss thoughts as they occur, rather than trying to force a specific state of mind.
-Joy Clark
Welcome statement
Hi, everyone.
Pretty new to the blogging thing, so I guess I'll give it a go. Welcome to my blog for HW420. I think from what I've read so far that this class is likely to be pretty interesting, and I'm looking forward to see what questions our professor comes up with for us as the course progresses. The picture I have as a background for my blog is my dog, Jake, who is an 8 1/2 year old pug and one of the main sources I have of stability and stress relief in my life. There is nothing like having a beloved pet come running up to the door at the end of a long day, or settle into your lap with complete confidence that all is now right in his world just because you are there. It does a lot to keep me grounded and remind me that even the things that seem like they are the worst thing in the world are really small blips in the overall picture.
What sorts of things do you guys use to kind of unwind at the end of the day? Besides playing with my little buddy, my husband and I are huge fans of all kinds of board games and really enjoy curling up with an absolutely horrible low budget movie...the perfect evening in my opinion!
Pretty new to the blogging thing, so I guess I'll give it a go. Welcome to my blog for HW420. I think from what I've read so far that this class is likely to be pretty interesting, and I'm looking forward to see what questions our professor comes up with for us as the course progresses. The picture I have as a background for my blog is my dog, Jake, who is an 8 1/2 year old pug and one of the main sources I have of stability and stress relief in my life. There is nothing like having a beloved pet come running up to the door at the end of a long day, or settle into your lap with complete confidence that all is now right in his world just because you are there. It does a lot to keep me grounded and remind me that even the things that seem like they are the worst thing in the world are really small blips in the overall picture.
What sorts of things do you guys use to kind of unwind at the end of the day? Besides playing with my little buddy, my husband and I are huge fans of all kinds of board games and really enjoy curling up with an absolutely horrible low budget movie...the perfect evening in my opinion!
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