The Assessment

1. Practice the universal Loving Kindness (meditation) exercise on p. 93.

The mantra gave purpose to the meditation. Focusing on helping individuals and not self is not something I’m used to. During the two minutes I repeated the four lines about fifteen times. I found it cleared my head of those pesky random thoughts. The slower I said the lines the more meaning I felt was presented. This is another great mind exercise to continue throughout our health and wellness journey.

2. Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115).

The initial question was difficult to answer. What aspect of my life is the source of difficulty or suffering? I was torn between psychospiritual or worldly… Those are two new aspects of my life in terms of labeling so maybe I’m just confused. Psychospirituality to me seems like it’s the hardest aspect to master on the way to flourishing. Worldly is a vast subject and I find myself very active in the community and Air Force. I do feel more stress associated with being around other people and their negative thoughts.

The next question was about which aspect I felt was most important. What is my level of development in that area of my life? I feel biological is my biggest focus. Fitness, nutrition, and self-regulation are the three lines of development. I feel self-regulation is my shortfall. Giving my body and mind a break from work and school is a hard task sometimes. Rejuvenation is needed to flourish.

Next was, which areas are ready for growth and development? I believe all areas could use some work but, I’ll stick with psychospiritual. There are so many areas of our lives that spiritual development would improve. Mind, body, and spirit would feel the benefits of improving the psychospiritual aspect of our life.

I feel this class is full of tools we can use to improve our integral development. Meditation and mantras can be rather focused so we benefit each and every time we attempt these mental exercises.