Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 1

ElizabethHaynes5

Unit 9 Project

HW420-01

5/22/2012

Professor Dorette Nysewander, EdD

Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 2

The theory of integral medicine described by Ken Wilber simple states “as the desire to

do lessen the harm done by both of those sins, and therefore much more effectively set the stage

for extraordinary miracle that, 2000 years later, none of us yet fully understand: healing (Schlitz,

M.; Amorok, T.; Micozzi, M., 2005). Integral medicine is a system of medicine that seeks to

provide safe, effective, and appropriate care for the health, illness, doctor and patient, and

sickness and healing. It takes the approach of integrating complementary and alternative

therapies with conventional care and medicine. It takes into account the wholeness of the

person’s body, mind, and spirit. When trying to obtain and implement overall wellness, the

whole package, the mind, the body, the soul, and the spirit, one can use and practice the three

components described by (Dasher, 2006, p.3); 1] Integral Health- self generated and self-

cultivated; that leads to a comprehensive, holistic, and far reaching healing and body, mind, and

spirit and that is immune to life’s adversities, including disease, aging, and death. 2] Authentic

Happiness- arises from within and in expansive, robust, passionate, and unaffected by

circumstances of daily life. 3] Genuine Wholeness- experiences the interconnection of all life, a

seamless existence and uninterrupted oneness that is accompanied by ease, universal loving-

kindness, and a lightness of being. To have physical health one needs to maintain optimal health

by getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising regularly, and changing unhealthy habits

through a healthier lifestyle. Some examples of physical wellness (the body) would be working

out (aerobics), strength training and yoga, dancing, or just getting up and taking a brisk walk. For

the overall wellness of (the mind) which is interconnected to the physical wellness one might try

getting a massage, meditation, and maintaining a positive attitude. Having a spiritual life of

wellness integrates our beliefs and values with our actions of a sense of purpose along with

direction and an awareness of things not seen and sharing those same beliefs and values with the
Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 3

community and society. Having a spiritual wellness is having a healthy well-being, which can

manifest a healthy body, a feeling of strength and happiness. One must make a conscious

decision to seek optimal health or a holistic wellness which is a blend of physical, mental, and

spiritual awareness that takes commitment of what might be a life long journey. The journey

began two years ago for me and since then I have been coming up with a wellness program that

fits me and my new healthy life style. I say life style because I wanted to commit to a plan that

would stay with me throughout all the changes that life brings. Trends and fads are just that; here

today but gone tomorrow same for diets it is only a temporary fix to a life time of issues that go

much deeper than the physical. One of the areas, I see developing and needing growth is my

physical. Exercise has not been my friend nor has it wanted to be my friend. When trying to

develop a wellness plan one has to have the whole package in order to achieve optimal health of

the mind, body, and spirit.

Physical- is about a five, only because I have just recently began to walk more and

longer, take the stairs whenever possible, and park away from the front of the stores and walk

further. When I was younger I played sports then I grew-up and real life began and anything

physical went to the back of the line, but now (last two years) I made the choice to make some

lifestyle changes and with diet alone I lost 112 pounds then exercise came into the picture and

another 16 pounds has disappeared. I still have a way to go but I have a goal to reach by July and

I will make it. My goal that I have set is to lose another 50 pounds by this July. With a great

support team I have in place, they all help to encourage me to not quit.

Spiritual- here I am about seven, I believe that everyone needs spiritual guidance in order

to achieve optimal well-being. I have always had spiritual awareness and very strong in my

beliefs and faith. I have a three day conference and I am one of the speakers for this event so I
Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 4

must prepare for this day. I have been working on my notes but have not quite got them finished.

My goal here is to have my notes complete by next month (May, 2012) so that I will have

enough time to make any adjustment to them before the conference. The title of my speech is "I

Took the Garbage Out!" it's dealing with the wellness and wholeness of the persons', mind, body,

and spirit. I am excited to see how it will turn out. I will keep you all posted of the outcome.

Psychological- I give myself a rating of six, only because some days my mind is on top of

things and I am full of joy ready to take on anything giving to me, then there are other days that I

am struggling and it gets very frustrating. I have been in school since 2010 and have not stop to

take a break and I think I deserve a break to try and relax and reflect back on what it is I am

trying to accomplish, which is to finish school and get my degree of Bachelor of Science in

Health & Wellness. I know and very aware of the things I have to do in order to achieve this

goal. I just keep pushing myself and know my limits. This is the score I gave myself at the

beginning of this class but now the scores have changed. Physical is now at a seven since I have

started putting exercise into my life a little more, Spiritual I rate myself at about eight or nine, I

have become more aware of things in my life that in the past I really did not pay much attention

to or put other things ahead of what truly matter more. Psychological is at an eight also due to

the fact that I have learned techniques to have my mind focused and ready for the day. Tools for

the subtle mind, to clam the mindless clutter and quiet the mind to relax and stay focused on the

task of the day.

When I started my journey I wanted to lose some weight and start getting healthier with

little changes; in some cases it is hard to start a plan and be able to stick with it and see it through

to the finish line but not in my case. I had people cheering me on giving me the support I needed

and all those that wanted to be negative I simply closed out and refused to listen to the negative
Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 5

energy (breathe in the positive and breathe out the negative) that they want to try and give me. I

started to make small changes in my life, the way I thought about what I was doing to my body,

mind, and spirit; if I had not change my lifestyle I would have killed my own self within a few

years time. One of my goals is to see myself reaching my goal of being less than 200 pounds

which I am almost there at that time it will be important for me to revaluate my goals. For my

spiritual growth I am stepping out of my comfort zone this June to tell my story to people that

has not even heard it. I am hoping to inspire just one person to want to change their life for the

better. Psychologically changing things in my life so that I can achieve true happiness, joy, and

wholeness I must continue to find tools that will help my mind and to keep it sharp. The last goal

set for myself is to find great exercises that are fun and will help me to continue to be able to

reach my ultimate weight lose goal.

As a Health and Wellness professional it is important to look at all aspects of an

individual and gain insight and then build from that person’s inner core giving the professional

an opportunity to assist in alleviate needless suffering to gain healing, health, happiness, and

wholeness. For these reasons, it is essential to begin working from the inner life (Dacher, 2006,

Ch.6, pg. 59). Through prayer, meditation, and deep breathing exercises can start ones path to

exploring the inner being that exists in all of us. When it comes to matters of the mind, body and

spirit, one may possibly see it as a reason for being the most undeveloped aspect of an

individual’s life. With all that is happening in our world today, trauma, killings, murders and

tragedy’s, we have a desire to turn inward to look for guidance. This guidance comes from many

places of our lives through the most high God, prayer, meditation, dreams, awareness, intuition

and inner attunement, which is used to pursue of understanding. Therefore, showing and
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developing our inner life to be most unique and precious gift given to us as humans (Di Vilio,

2008-2012).

Psychospiritual development takes place on four levels, 1) primal unity (sensorimotor

consciousness); a simple oneness and interconnectedness with life. 2) The psychological life

(witnessing consciousness); this allows us to stop, see, understand and make choices about our

thoughts and feelings. 3) The spiritual life (calm-abiding consciousness); this process goes to a

deeper level of the mind to uncover the natural wisdom, inner peace, and loving-kindness that

takes the knowledge gained and matures the well-being of mind, body and spirit. 4) Conscious

unity (unity consciousness); this is where one has the awareness of one’s own self and others

around arriving at a matured level of consciousness with wisdom (Dacher, 2006, Ch.6, pg.60-

61). At this point in the journey seeing where one was and now reflecting back and seeing the

growth that has transpired there is a deeper understanding for human flourishing, the whole well-

being of the mind, body, and spirit. “By attending to our inner experience, we begin to transform

what is ordinary health into integral health.” Transformational process is internal process that

focuses on the “being” rather than the “doing” (Dacher, 2006). Taking and clearing the busy

everyday ever-changing moving mind of mental activity, thoughts, feelings, and images and just

still (quiet) the mind is essential for integral health. To transform an access its resources, we

must first learn to quiet the confounding movements of our outer mind. With practice and

patience’s, the active busy mind will be transformed from its usual state to a sustained and

effortless stillness. We train the mind to abide in the still quietness rather than the chaos. Peace,

serenity, and loving-kindness deepen our relationships and balance the physiology. Alternative

motivational therapies that focus on inner work, relaxation, and bodywork therapies, such as

massage, reiki, or Tai Chi (http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/transformational-

Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 7

coaching.html). These are just a few ways one can engage in as a personal development along

side practicing the subtle mind exercises that Dacher suggests. Finding a quite spot, such as a

comfortable chair, begin this practice with ten long deep breaths, relaxing the entire, body once

again. Easing the mind and relaxing the body while concentrating on a focal point or a picture

(mindfulness). While continuing to relax, one needs to clear the mind of the busy chaos and

clutters of the day, holding one’s attention only on the breathing. If one finds their self coming

back to the chaos, hold on to your breathing once again. This does take practice, as one eases the

focus on the breath; one begins witnessing the inner being rather than the outer being (Dacher,

2006).

There are many types meditation, most of which originated in ancient religious and

spiritual practices. Meditation is a mind-body practice in complementary and alternative

medicine (CAM), where the person meditating uses certain techniques such as specific posture,

focused attention, and an open attitude towards distractions (NCCAM, 2006). This article is an

introduction to meditation and reasons is can benefit one and improve the overall well-being.

Meditation refers to a group of practices, such as mantra meditation, relaxation response,

mindfulness meditation, and Zen Buddhist meditation. Mindfulness meditation is a type of

meditation that focuses attention on breathing to develop increased awareness of the present,

with the intent of reducing stress and to control emotion in order to improve health. The research

has shown the effects on meditation, how it works, and conditions for which can benefit

individual (NCCAM, 2006). Most of the types of meditation have four elements in common: (1)

a quiet location; (2) a comfortable posture; (3) a focus of attention or a focal point; (4) an open

attitude allowing the distractions to come and go but bringing the attention back to the focus.
Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing 8

Planning and organizing strategies and writing them down holds me accountable for my

lifestyle changes that will assist me in implementing and maintaining my long-term goal of

staying healthy and keeping the weight off by utilizing S.M.A.R.T. goals I will be able to

achieve integral health through transformation of the mind, body, and spirit into hopefully

human flourishing. We must take all of the practices from diverse cultural and practices and

make it a lifelong process of healing, health, happiness, and wholeness. An integral life is not

ultimately found in the informal practices, it’s found in living integrally day by day (Dacher,

2006).
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References:

Dasher, E. M.D (2006) Integral health: the path to human flourishing, Laguna Beach, California:

Basic Health Publications.

Di Vilio, Laura (2008-2012) "Introducing the PsychoSpiritual Approach."

Retrieved from 21 May 2012

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine NCCAM (2006); Meditation: An

Introduction; retrieved from 21 May, 2012.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., Micozzi, M., S. (2005). Consciousness & Healing: Integral

Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. Elsevier, Inc. St. Louis, Missouri.

“What Is Transformational Coaching?" All Psychology Careers. Retrieved from 21 May, 2012

http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/transformational-coaching.html.