To Sum It All Up...

Introduction:

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically so that we are able to be a reflection of what our clients can become or at least a reflection of the path toward the end result; human flourishing.  Primarily, I need to develop some physical and spiritual aspects of my life.  I need to develop physically through making better choices of how I choose to nourish my body.  I need to develop spiritually by understanding the reasons why I believe what I believe, and not just following others.  I need to take the path in which I believe is necessary to develop spiritually.  While contemplative practice has proven to be beneficial for many, after some research of my own, I do not believe that it is the path to human flourishing, but rather a type of religion with roots in mysticism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.  I do not believe that I can incorporate these practices because they do not keep in line with my own spirituality and religion.  I felt incredibly uncomfortable during these exercises, and my only regret is that I did not do research prior to this week on the origin of contemplative practices.  

Assessment:

For the first time in a very long time, I can say that my psychological health is quite good.  Sure I go through days when I am down, but it does not last for weeks and months like it used to.  My physical health is definitely an area that needs work.  I know what I need to do.  It is a matter of doing it.  I just have to muster up the motivation, and push forward.  Nutrition is a big part of physical health.  Everything that I eat can have a positive or negative affect on my physical health.  I can have all of the vitamins and minerals that I need in order to thrive through nutrition, or I can deny my body the proper nutrients that are necessary in order to operate efficiently.  I really need to improve the choices that I make in that area.  Spirituality is a deeply personal area, and it is often influenced by religion.  The Bible and prayer are my direct link to God, and I need to study the Bible, God’s word, every day in order to develop my spiritual life.  I also need to spend time in prayer daily. 

Goal Development:

My goal to improve physical health is to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to try to get all necessary nutrients through a well-balanced diet.  Psychologically, my greatest goal centers on stress reduction.  As a military spouse, stress comes primarily from the unknown.  I know we will be moving within the next year, but I do not know when exactly or where we will be moving.  Of course, we have to sell our house, so financial stress becomes a factor as well.  Stress management is an integral aspect in promoting psychological health.  So taking steps to manage stress is my main goal in the next year or so.  Spiritually, I need to study the Bible every single day, and pray every day several times.  Prayer also helps in stress reduction.  The serenity prayer can be said, but also it serves as a gently reminder that I do not need to stress out over things that I can do nothing about.  I only need to act on things that are within my own control.

Practices for Personal Health:

At this point, I have a definite inner struggle.  Do I say that I am going to implement the strategies outlined by Dacher in his book Integral Health:  The Path to Human Flourishing or do I implement my own practices that I have been taught that are in line with my own beliefs and morals?  I could use the subtle mind practice because as Dacher describes “this subtle and still mind is essential for integral health and life (Dacher, 2006).”  How essential is this subtle and still mind?  Have those who used other practices never attained integral health?  Are the subtle mind practice, loving kindness practice, and all of these other practices and exercises the only way to achieve health in every aspect of life?  I certainly hope not, and I will press on with the belief system that I can achieve integral health through the reliance on God and the Bible, not by reliance upon myself.  So physically, I believe that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible says in I Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  While this is speaking in reference to sexual immorality, I believe that it also pertains to how we treat our bodies in general, and that I am to treat my body as a temple that the Holy Spirit dwells in.  That would require me to take care of my body by eating healthy, and staying in shape. 

Psychologically speaking, the Bible says in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.”  Emptying my mind of distracting thoughts is not how I plan to achieve psychological health, but through redirection of my mind with pure thoughts.  I also must recognize when faced with stressful situations that the Bible says in I Peter 5:7 to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”  So when I feel anxious or worried, I can pray, and tell God.  Talking to someone is always helpful when difficult situations arise.  That is probably why we see psychologists and talk about our problems.  Just as psychologists are able to give us direction in how to handle problems, God is able to speak through the Bible to direct our paths.

My beliefs are mainly spiritual in nature.  While I agree that loving kindness is an important attribute to have, I believe in a different way of receiving it.  I do not think that I am able to find it within myself, but through prayer, I can ask for help from God.  For instance, the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Loving kindness can be achieved through prayer to the One who is love.  Another way that I can achieve loving-kindness is through action.  James 1:27 states “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  By caring about others through service and sacrifice, we are able to develop loving-kindness as well as understanding.  So I plan to volunteer to help a community project aimed at helping those in need.  

Commitment: 

I will assess my progress on a daily basis over the next six months.  I am going to establish a daily checklist.  The checklist will include nutrition, diet, and exercise.  It will also include daily prayer and Bible study.  I will include prayer for those that I do not like as well as for those that I love.  I will look for an opportunity to serve others who are in need.  In fact, there are many volunteer opportunities in the coming months during the holidays such as the Angel Tree or giving to Toys for Tots. 

In order to maintain long-term practices for health and wellness, I must make a commitment to myself and to God to spend daily time studying the Bible and praying.  I need to bring only healthy foods into my home.  I will have to establish a schedule to exercise that best fits in with the life of a mother of four busy children.  Another great strategy is to constantly make new goals whether I have already achieved the old goals, or have found some obstacles in the goals that I have already established.  What I do know is that I am weak without God, so I will need to pay special attention to my prayer life.  I am optimistic in my plan towards human flourishing.  I believe that Dacher has developed ways for people with different beliefs than mine.  I have support from my Creator, the One who designed me, and wants to see me flourish.  It is reassuring that I do not have to rely on myself to flourish because the Bible states in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  It is comforting to know that I am not alone in my search for physical, psychological, and spiritual health! 

References

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health the Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA:

Basic Health Publications, Inc.