Monday, March 29, 2010

Mental Fittness Practice.

Hello Friends,
It is my pleasure to share with you my recent mental fitness activity, and I wish you can enjoy discovering my findings and inputs about mental fitness practice. First, I need to write my comment regarding the title of the mental fitness practice. For example, during the last two weeks, I was supposed to call the activity I did for this blog a "meditation". This term has changed into "Practice". That is why I really felt like looking up two important words"meditation and practice". The term meditation which i found in my alternative medicine book suggested something to do with healing. Most meditative practices have come to the West from Asian religious practices, particularly those of India, China, and Japan. Others can be traced to the ancient cultures of the world. Although western meditative practice a contemplative form of meditation, there are also many active forms of meditation, such as the Chinses martial art, t'ai chi, the japanese martial art aikido, and the walking meditation of Zen Buddhism.
Meditation is thus a technique used to calm the mental activity, the endless thoughts, and ways of reacting to our circumstances. as long as these accumulated impressions linger in the inner recesses of the mind, nagging for attention, it remains difficult to experience an inner state of peace, calm, and health. Fast-paced Western society, filled with external stimuli, has conditioned us to push our minds and bodies to the point of exhaustion, often to the detriment of our own well-being. To be still, to experience the peace and contentment from this external materiality. Meditation is the process of calming and releasing the distractions from the mind for the purpose of opening up and awakening to our true inner natures(Micozzi,2006).
After I looked up the definition of "meditation", I realized that the meditation I performed last week had helped me released all the negative feelings. As a result of releasing the negative energy I had in my mind, both my mind and body experienced peace and serenity. I agreed with the author's definition of"meditation', because the meditative technique i did had absolutely calmed my inner recesses of the mind(Micozzi,2006). For example, for the first time in my life, I am starting to look at the past with an optimistic way. In other words, I really stopped blaming myself for my mom's death.
I think that three techniques I did so far in my blogs' assignments required healthy breathing. For example, when I started performing the rainbow meditation, the loving-kindness meditation, and the mental fitness practice; I took a deep breath. In addition, the three techniques required spending some moments focusing on the breath I took when I started the technique. Breathing was required in all the techniques I did so far.
The mental fitness practice enabled me to prepare my mind and clear mental chatter. As a result of doing the mental fitness practice, I was able to increase my attention span and both my short and long term memories. For example, my memories started retrieving old memories, positive thought, and deeds I have done in the past. I can definitely perform this kind of mental fitness practice before having any school assignments including tests, quizzes, and projects. However, I think that the best time to practice the loving- kindness meditation is before bed time. I read in the past that when people become depressed or angry at themselves, they tend to suffer from insomnia. That is why I really recommend the loving- kindness meditation for people suffering from depression or post- traumatic stress disorders including anxiety and chronic headaches.
Over all, I think that all the techniques I di so far were very beneficial and productive. For example, experincing loving- kindness meditation techniques helped me getting in touch with the sufferings of all the loved ones in my personal life. In addition, the last mental fittness practise I did this week helped me clear my mind from all kinds of mental chatters. I am looking forward to do similar activity in the near future!. I am very willing to boost my spirits and enrich my spiritual well- being when i keep an open mind to all kinds of therapies, metal practices, and meditative techniques.
Reference:
Micozzi, M.S.(2006).Fundamentals of Complementary And Integrative Medicine.(3rd ed.). Mind- Body Modalities: Meditation. St. Louis: Elsevier.(pp.293-294).

Monday, March 22, 2010

Experiencing Loving and kindness through meditation.

Hello Friends,
I really enjoyed practicing the loving-kindness meditation. It helped me release all the negative thoughts and feelings. I felt proud of myself when I started thinking about other people. I think that the loving- kindness meditation can make people more considerate and thoughtful. Thinking about others can help people forgive one another. In addition, when I practice this meditation, I wish happiness and prosperity for people who are not suffering. As I took in the suffering of many people I know, I really counted my blessing. I appreciated my health, my kids, and my good spirit. I really think that people who don't practice this meditation can feel upset when things around them go wrong. The negative feelings can trigger unhealthy psychological illnesses such as anxiety and depression. On the other hand, people who practice this therapy can experience peace and condolence . I really recommend the loving- kindness meditation for people suffering from depression. When people spend few moments thinking about other people's sufferings, they can question the causes of their own sufferings. In addition, when people suffering from depression think about themselves, they can start snapping themselves out of depression.
When I was a child, I used to blame myself for my mother's sickness. However, after I took in my mother suffering; I really started forgiving myself. I realized that I was not guilty because my mom was sich. My irrational guilt has finally vanished.
When I perform the loving and kindness meditation, I think about the foloowing facts:
After long and thoughtful consideration, I have come to a rather interesting conclusion.
Even though the global population is soaring into the billions, with thousands of religions, languages, philosophies, and cultures represented.
Ultimately, there are only two kinds of people.
There are those are certain the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and those who believe that the best is yet to come.
There are those who completely flip out at the very rumor of trouble and start screaming" The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"
But when you press them for hard evidence to explain their panic, they admit they have nothing better to back up their position than what "a little bird told them".
A far more reasonable approach is simply to put on the bravest smile you've got and admit that you are not the center of the known universe. Therefore, there will always be things you don't know and can't control(Tomorrow adventures in an uncertain world by Bradley Trevor Greive).

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Optimal wellness

Optimal wellness is based on self transformation(academic data base, 2010). That is why I started changing my life style. For example, after reading Dacher's theory about Olympians of mental health; I began transforming my minds twards a more positive thinking. I am really looking forward to traain my mind. However, scientists discovered that Olympians of mental fitness have levels of activation of the left prefrontal cortex, the site that correlates with positive emotions, which are way beyond those of the ordinary individual(Dacher,2006). I think that self- transformation is a life- long process. In a matter of fact, a robust health can result from the systematic training of our mind through planned, systematic inner development(Dacher, 2006). The systematic transformation can take a while. However, it can lead to a real success. Changing my views regarding the hardships I was facing in my life made me understand the strength and needs I have as a human being. For example, I realized that my resilience and inner strength was very strong and solid. It enabled me to cope with the hardest moment in my life.
The failure in my first marriage had led me to understand my real nature. For example, I realized that I was looking after my physical well- being more than I needed. For the last ten years of my life, I was very careful in terms of what I eat. The food I bought was organic, natural, unprocessed, and very healthy. I visited my physicians regularly and checked my body thoroughly. When my doctor told me that I inherited breast cancer genes from my mom, I told my doctor that I will do all what it takes to fight breast cancer.
I think that the level of my spiritual well- being was on the rise after I was separated from my daughter. The separation took a real toll on my emotional well- being. However, it made me more thoughtful and considerate person. I became very sensitive to people's needs.I turned into a loving and caring human being. In addition, when I witnessed my academic success and progress at kaplan university, I started acknowledging my psychological well- being. I appreciate my outstanding performance, and I hope I can keep up the same good work.
My first goal is becoming more physically active. This goal can be achieved through exercising and watching my diet. My second goal is to improve my psychological well- being. This goal can be achieved through seeking counseling and professional help. The exercises which I used in the past to improve both my physical and psychological well- being included performing Bhangra dance and training my mind through the activation of my left prefrontal cortex(Dacher,2006). The exercise I enjoyed the most in this class was the rainbow meditation. I did the exercise yesterday at night. It made me think of the colors of the food I eat, and how these different colors have helped my body fighting stress and diseases. I really can not think of any frustration I experienced while performing the rainbow meditation. I hope I can learn similar techniques in the future.
Reference-
Unit 2 quiz (2010).Question on optimal wellness.Retrieved on March 16th, 2010 From http://kucourses.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3981291&Survey=1&47=4955030&ClientNodelID=405111&coursenav=2&bhcp=1
Dacher,E.(2006). Integral The Path to Human Flourishing Health.Consciousness And Health: Olympian of mental fitness. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc. (pp.21).

Monday, March 15, 2010

Rainbow meditation

Performing the rainbow meditation helped me relax and feel very eneretic. I understand that using this therapy requires great deal of imagination. For example, I was able to imagine several beams of light distributed on different organs of my body. As a nutritionist, I really like to imagine the colors I eat on a daily basis reaching different organs in my body. For example, the red color located in my spine can be derived from the red pigment of blood oranges. This red pigment is very rich in carotenoids, especially beta- carotene.In addition, it contains citrus flavones,athocyanins, and polyphenols. The red pigment I get from blood oranges can promote heart health, act as free radical scavengers, contain bone building calcium, and energy producing vitamin B1.
Beta- carotene is present in orange pigments. When I took a deep breath, I imagined an orange beam of light coming out of the lower portion of my stomach. This orange pigment can be found in carrot,orange, mango, and papaya. The body stores this pigment in fat tissues. That is why, I imagined the Beta- carotene pigment leaving my stomach and reaching all the fat tissues throughout my body. The second color which represented beta- carotene was located in my stomach. I really imagined two yellow squashes getting digested in my stomach.
When I moved my imagination towards my chest, I was able to visualize a green beam of light which represented the plant sterols I consume regularly. Plants sterols can be found in green plants such soy beans and artichoke. Scientifically, plant sterols can lower cholesterol and promote heart health.
When I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, I was able to imagine a light blue beam reaching my throat.This color represented an important mineral called iodine. It usually reminds me of the sea, because sea salt contains iodine. The sea can represent creativity. The light blue beam was getting darker when I transferred my awareness towards my forehead. At that time, I was able to imagine the positive flow of energy in my left prefrontal cortex. In addition, I realized that I was able to train my mind.
Finally, I imagined all the colors getting mixed. The new blend seemed white and brilliant. It represented the sense of calamity and serenity my body experienced.