The Universal Loving Kindness exercise I did like. To me it was almost like saying a prayer. As I was saying those lines over and over I thought of people in my mind that could use the freedom from suffering or health , happiness and wholeness. It was especially quiet in my house today since the kids are back to school so maybe that is why I was successful in this exercise. Once you memorize these words it is very easy to sit there for 10 minutes repeating them.
May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained health, happiness and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness and wholeness.
These are very powerful words to me and basically sums up everything people need in life.
For the integral assessment I basically thought of all the things I was happy with in my life and then what I was unhappy with. This is how I determined where I wanted help at. I realized that mostly what was coming up was I needed more work in the biological flourishing. My nutrition level is where I need more discipline. I am good at working out and being disciplined with that but when it comes to eating it goes out the window and then I feel guilty. I feel that my other areas do not need as much work as this one. I think that if I would eat better and have more healthy options available then I would not feel so bad. All around I would feel better with myself if I ate good on top of my good exercising routine. So then I would be feeling more positive.
In order to improve this area I could start a food journal to write down everything I'm eating. This way I can look and see how I am doing through the day. On my phone there are also lots of apps that are available for scanning a product to input into a journal or I can add my own. Only problem with this is that when you make homemade items it is harder to figure out. Writing down what I eat and maybe how much will be beneficial even if I do not know the calories because sometimes it is more about portion control and what you ate.
Renee,
ReplyDeleteI ended up with the same realization after my integral assessment. I am disciplined and go to the gym every week day morning. I know that when I am there I work hard, but my nutrition does not match. Although I feel like I need work in other areas too, I feel like biological flourishing will have a significant impact on the other areas. A food journal is a great idea! There is also an app called myfitnesspal that I use because it is easy. You can put meals in one time and save them as favorites. If you have home cooked meals that you make on a regular basis, you only need to enter them once. Your suggestion about portion control is a great one! I can certainly benefit from that and I am sure a lot of others could as well. One of my challenges with nutrition is that gatherings I have with family and friends always include food. Even if the majority of it is healthy, there are always temptations. This is such a difficult area to focus on for me as well! Thank you for sharing. It is nice to know there are other people dealing with similar challenges!
Ah, yes, the diet has always been my nemesis:-) I am in a different state this week, living in a hotel so that certainly doesn't help, but even at home, my eating habits are not stellar by any stretch.. I have tried food journals, but found myself forgetting to do them, or not accurately measuring foods etc... I have a smart phone, but tend to only use this as an emergency thing, or in the last few day,s figuring out where friends are in the convention hall:-) I may have to embrace technology and download an app or two eventually..It is nice to know that there are a few more like us out there:-)..
ReplyDeleteAndi
Renee,
ReplyDeleteI feel you on the eating healthy. It just seems hard when you have kids and are working and doing school. I know a lot of times I would just ask my husband to go pick something up because once I got home from working I had to feed and tend to the baby and then off to do school work I went. I didn't even want to think about cooking. Eating right is an important part of our health and hopefully we can both figure it out.
But I'm glad both of the exercises helped you in a way. I know they did with me. I was able to see what areas I need to work on, and if you do not do that process right than it can become over whelming as to which part you need to work on. But good luck with your future wellness.
Suzanne