Unit 3 

Hi Everyone,

Wow!!! What a day! What a week!  Extremely busy, a bit stressful, but overall quite fulfilling when looked at through my optimistic glasses!  This hamster wheel of activity has me feeling like my warm night gown and Tempurpedic bed are my best friends in the whole, wide world!  Despite a crazy week, it was encouraging to read Unit 3's texts, discovering I'm already applying most of what I am reading, and can see where improvement is needed.  Being part of a spiritual group for the last 5 years that teaches so much of what we are learning in class helped me grow.  

 Rating my physical well-being I would give myself a 7, because although issues do exist that can cause bad days that I might rate as a 3, they are less and less, as I continue my spiritual transformation.   My spiritual well-being is currently rated at a 7.   My ability to consistently respond with loving-kindness to a few people has held my progress back.  However, the development of the witnessing mind is helping me improve in this area.  Psychologically I am doing better than I was a month ago by distancing myself from the people I just referred to.  I’d rate myself at a 7 in that area, too. 

My physical goals include: continued weight loss, yoga at the gym, and some nice fall bike rides.  Spiritually, my goal is to find a way to more deeply connect with Spirit, or God. Meditation is a practice that should help me with this goal.   I have been deeply wounded by religion, to the point of being disowned by my father, and shunned by former friends.  My spirituality is going to stay below the 10 rating until I can reconcile my feelings.  I’m not lost or adrift anymore, but do have a blockage, so to speak.     My psychological goal is to incorporate silence and stillness of the mind into my life; attaining this goal will elevate my well-being in the other two areas.   Again, meditation will assist in accomplishing this goal.

The relaxation exercise for this week was another step toward being able to train myself quiet my mind. The most difficult part of relaxation exercises for me is the deep breathing, because it feels uncomfortable and unnatural.  As a young child, I never learned to “breathe right” due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids.  Being a mouth breather, I actually feel a sense of anxiety when trying to do deep breathing.  I realize, though, that I have to those feelings, and that it will become easier.  It is easier than it used to be, but still uncomfortable to an extent.  Despite a few interruptions, I really liked the relaxation exercise, was able to manage the breathing, a found the visualizations of the spectrum of colors, corresponding areas of the body, and the descriptions of what was represented to be meaningful for me.  It is an exercise I will do again; especially when no one else is around to interrupt me!

Peace to you all,

Misti