Personal Goals of Integral Healing

I. Introduction

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

As integral practitioners we need to walk through the path of holistic integral healing in order to teach and empower others.  It is crucial to flourish psychologically, spiritually and physically. We need to have personal experience to gain the wisdom perspective and be able to promote integral healing to other clients or patients. I need to work and improve in all three areas of integral health. Psychologically is the main dilemma that requires more attention in my life as I feel to be out of balance in this area.  I need to worry less and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. I need to train my mind to be calm, quiet and liberated from the constant chatters that is happening all the time.

                                               II. Assessment

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

Based on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest score and 10 being the highest score). Spiritually: I considered being at a 7, which is a medium score. I used to have time to visit the Buddhist temple almost every weekend and now I only have the time to go once every two months. I also used to go to meditation groups that to me was another way to connect psychological and spiritually to others, and now I only attend when I don’t have seminars from college. One practice that I am still doing is prayer.

Physically: I rate myself at an 8, but there is always room for improvement.  I continue to do cardiovascular exercise and eat a low carbohydrate diet, but I have stopped doing weigh training.  Since I started college it has been hard to manage my time and accomplish all my daily routines and obligations. I am lucky to have a free mini-Gym at my job, but it is very limited Gym  equipments. I try to maximize my time, by utilizing my lunch time to do 30-40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, as a consequence I eat my lunch at my desk.  I also utilize that time that I am working out to read my reading assignments from college. As you can see I am always multi-tasking, but I don’t have the time to do weight training.  One of my goals is to incorporate weight training to my physical training.  Also I need to loose 10 more pounds to be at my target weight.

Psychologically: I consider being at a 5 which, I know to be an extremely low score.  My mind is very hyperactive constantly with internal chatter and filled with negative clutter of thoughts and emotions. Another problem is that I over analyze and worry about everything too much adding more stress to my life. I need to change my negative perceptions of things and replace them with positive thinking. 

III. Goal development

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

My overall goal is to improve physically, spiritually and psychologically. I need to achieve balance in all aspect of life and reduce stress, negative thoughts and emotions and reduce suffering. I will be done with my Bachelor program this year. I am planning to continue to pursue my Master degree, but I am planning to take at least 6 months break and only take one class at a time. This action will increase my time to accomplish my goals.

Physically: My goal is to incorporate weight training into my exercise program. I am currently paying for a Gym membership, but rarely go so; I am planning to do weight training at the Gym at least 3 times a week. I am also going to incorporate dancing, yoga and spinning class into my workout routine.  All of these new routines will increase my physical health and achieve increase tone, reduce body fat, weight loss and reduce stress.

Psychologically: My goal is to practice calm abiding exercises to quiet my mind and reduce or eliminate negative emotions and clutter. I am also planning to alter my perception of stressors by replacing negative thoughts with opportunities and positive thoughts and emotions. I am planning to continue mental training like practicing mindfulness which means being a silent observer of your thoughts, actions and emotions.  The ability to observe yourself without judging yourself will promote to become a silent witness of your thinking thoughts and emotions. This practice will bring spontaneous positive change in my mind.

I need to start becoming consciousness of my breath, emotions, or sensation of my body or my thoughts. Mindfulness is the prelude to insight and  will give me  reassurance that  I am not  my emotions, thoughts,  but I am the observer of my body, thoughts and emotions . The observer becomes consciousness. Cultivating consciousness will promote to reach nirvana which means free from suffering and reaching enlightenment.

Spiritual: My goal is to increase my connection with God, my spiritual faith and beliefs. I don’t consider myself to have one specific religion, but definitely I am very spiritual and respect all religions. My philosophy and vision of life make me lean more toward Buddhism as is perceived as teaching of the Buddha and his followers, which indicate that by destroying greed, hatred, and delusion, which the causes of all suffering, man are can attain enlightenment which means free from sufferings.

                                      IV. Practices for personal health

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Physical: I will continue to eat healthy and eat a low carbohydrate diet. I have done multiple diets throughout my life however, the one that works for me and that is easier to do is a low carbohydrate diet. I will continue my exercise regimen and incorporate weight training, yoga, dancing and spinning classes. Having a variety in workout regimens reduces boredom and makes it fun to do.

Psychological: The most important contemplative practice that I can implement to improve this area is meditation, physical exercise, and calm-abiding and loving-kindness exercises. I am planning to continue mental training like practicing mindfulness meditation and become the observer of my body, thoughts and emotions activating consciousness. According to Dacher (2006)  having the control and a  witnessing mind “ will liberate ourselves from lifelong slavery to our mental movements, gain the capacity to choose where our attention goes, access our clear and still mind, and create the foundation for calm-abiding and integral health” (p.73). Once I am able to meet my goals my psychological wellbeing and interpersonal relationships will begin to flourish.

Spiritual:  I will continue to pray at night and in the morning for at least 5-10 minutes a day. As study shows prayers heals the body and the soul. I am planning to start going to my Buddhist temple at least twice a month to practice mindfulness meditation with the monks. I will go to my meditation groups at least once a week and be connected with them spiritually through meditation.

V. Commitment

How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

I am planning to create a visual board with picture of all my goals. I will try to acquire pictures of myself or cut and paste from magazine doing all of these activities. Hanging this board in my bedroom and see it every day will remind and motivate me to accomplish my goals.

Visualization helps to focus and internalize my physical, psychological, and spiritual goals. By internalizing my goals it will become my reality. Also I am planning to keep a journal of all of practices and activities promoting my goals. Every week I will read my journal and this task will facilitate and track my daily accomplishments. Goals need to be re-evaluated and adjusted to new needs or wishes periodically. The integral vow means caring for ourselves and others and abiding by sacred rules. Dacher (2006) emphasizes on self-development, profound and in-depth knowledge of the integral vision, a genuine desire for health happiness, and healing, treating others as sacred beings, uphold the ethical principles of a spiritual life cultivating a healing presence fostering self healing in others, holding life as precious and unique and serving others (pp.172-173). The path to integral health starts by making all the changes that you need and want in your life like fitness, spiritual or healthy goals. In order to really be able to assist advice or help our patients, we have to be educated and experienced in integral health and well-being. As healers we need to constantly incorporate contemplative practice into our life in order to advise and heal others. Best wishes and good luck in all your endeavors it has been a pleasure having this class and enjoying all of your wisdom and dedication. Thank you for reading my blog. Namaste

The following Pictures are from the Buddhist temple that I visit here in Miami, Florida