My Integral Healing Plan

My Integral Healing Plan

Unit 9 Project

Dana Simpson

Kaplan University

March 4, 2013

Professor Mark Maule

HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

    Introduction

Health and wellness professionals are often called the most caring and selfless people.  In times of crisis nothing is more calming than to hear the words “It’s OK, I will take care of you” from a nurse or care giver.  However, if those same care givers do not take the time to develop themselves psychologically, spiritually and physically then they may crash and burn and can no longer be productive care givers.  I have learned in this class that I must take the time to create an integral healing path for myself so that I can become whole.  I have to be well myself so that the love and caring that I want to share with others will be of the highest quality.  I will start with more self-love and loving kindness towards myself.  I must give myself permission to take the time and not feel guilty about developing my mind, body and spirit. 

    Assessment

In my initial steps on the path to integral healing I began to question what a “Whole Dana” looked like.  In that I mean that I began to really burrow into the nooks and crannies of my inner self to see what was there and try to glimpse a vision of what I could become.  As I assessed each domain, I discovered that after leaving a 25 year marriage I had lost myself  and I had to start from square one to find out who I am.  I used a 1-5 grading scale with 1 being the bottom of the well in wellness to 5 being an overflowing fountain ready to share all the love that I can.  Here’s my assessment:

Spiritual: I give myself a 2.  I still read my devotionals but not with regularity.  I haven’t lost my faith; I just don’t take the time to grow in it.  I stopped going to church because of a move and I miss the fellowship of a Christian community. 

Physical:  I give myself a 3.  Since I left my old life more than a year ago I exercise more than I did before.  However, I am still very sporadic and not consistent with my exercise plan.  I don’t regularly walk my dog which brings pleasure to both of us. 

Psychological:  I give myself a 3.  During this past year I have done a lot of thinking about where I was emotionally and where I want to be.  I’ve had deep conversations with friends about what happened to my marriage and I feel that I’m definitely on the path better mental health but I still have some baggage that I drag along and I need to address those issues.

    Goal development:

In my quest for integral health I must make a commitment to myself.  The best way to get to my end result of wholeness is to have goals and milestones.  My goals in the three areas are as follows:

Physical:  I will take my dog for a walk at least two days a week and play tug with her every day after work.  I will take my 15 minute walk in the morning at work.  I will go to the gym two days a week and continue my four mile walks with my boyfriend on Saturday and Sunday.  I always feel better when I exercise and it is important to keep exercising especially since I have a family history of arthritis. 

Psychological:  I will continue to read at least one book every two months which contribute to my mental well-being.  For example, I am interested in the book by Sharon Salzberg Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness as it suggests tools to help me learn how to love myself.  I feel it is important to continue reading books that I can use to help me understand myself better or help me heal my psychological wounds. 

Spiritual:  I will go to the new church that I found at least two times a month.  I miss the peace and calm that I feel when I am at a church service.  I have been a Christian all my life and I miss being involved in a church.  I also will meditate before I go to bed three times a week.  I have found that meditation really relaxes me, helps me sleep better and be more focused at work.

Practices for personal health

It is important that I have a plan to keep me on the path to integral health.  The strategies I plan to implement to foster growth in the three areas are as follows:

Physical:  If I write things down then I do them.  On Sunday I will pull my calendar out and put in my dog walking time, gym time and walking time.  I will schedule appointments around those commitments instead of dropping them for the appointments.  My boyfriend and I will hold each other accountable for our weekend walks.  I will track my progress of exercise and eating habits in My Fitness Pal daily.

Psychological:  I always read before I go to bed so I will set aside time every other night to read a chapter in the non-fiction book of the month.  I will also call my friend Jacqulyn and arrange more dinner dates with her.  She is a very dear friend and we laugh so much when we are together that it helps me no matter what type of day I have had. 

Spiritual:  I will move my bible to my night stand where I will see it every day and read it more often.  I will get up 15 minutes earlier to read the small devotional that I have.  I will make sure that my family members know which nights that I am going to meditate so that they do not come into the room. 

Commitment

When I was in eighth grade our English teacher made us start a journal.  At the beginning we all hated it.  But by the end of the semester we were all asking her for more writing time.  I miss journaling.  I will buy a pretty journal and start writing how I feel and what went on during the day.  Since I can type very fast the act of slowing down and actually writing words with a pen will make me contemplate what is really going on in my life.  I will wear my Fit-bit and sync it with My Fitness Pal so that I can monitor my exercise goals.  I will take the time to weekly weigh myself and document my measurements so that I can see my results.  It is difficult to measure my spiritual growth or lack thereof except by how I handle stress.  When I am meditating, praying and studying the bible I have a much better outlook so I guess my measurement for this will be reflected in my journal writing. 

            I am excited to begin this journey to integral health.  I feel somewhat like a butterfly that has recently left her cocoon.  Leaving a bad marriage, completing school within the next few months and getting a promotion are all changes that have stretched me and made me feel more confident.  I’m looking forward to see what new adventures lay around the corner for me.  Here’s to stretching my wings!