Unit 3 Post

On a scale from 1 to 10 with ten being optimal health, I would rate my physical wellbeing as an 8.  I have achieved a high level of health by making major nutritional changes to my diet.  I eat almost no grains.  The only grain I eat is sprouted quinoa.  I eat NO sugar. I do eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables combined with healthy fats, and protein.   The changes in my health and wellbeing have been profound.  It has been almost two years since I began to eat this way.  I was highly motivated to do everything I could to improve my health because I was fighting a very unusual disease that the medical profession had no name or treatment for.  I am ninety percent better from this disease just from making dietary changes and using herbs.  I feel that in most areas, I am healthier than I have ever been, even though I am not totally healed from the disease, so I feel confident rating my physical health as an 8.

Using the same scale I rate my psychological wellbeing as an 8 as well.  I appreciate this assignment, because it has caused me to assess these areas of my life and being.  I have spent MANY years working on my psychological health.  As a matter of fact, as I look back I was probably unbalanced since I put so much effort into this one area of my life.  I did so out of the necessity of living in a very difficult relationship.  I found that focusing on myself was the most helpful approach to handling a difficult situation.  Focusing on my own psychological health was ultimately the path that led me out of a destructive realtionship, and has brought me more peace and freedom that I ever knew was possible. I give myself an 8, because there is always room for further growth.

My sprititual health is an area that I am not sure how to rate.  I'm going to rate it a 5.  It is the last area that is undergoing reconstruction following my sickness.  A counselor I went to questioned my faith quite a bit, and one day he said he was doing this not to question my beliefs, but to make sure they were my beliefs and not somebody else's.  I told him that is exactly what was happening.  That shift was already happening without his push in that direction.  After experiencing personal suffering, I began to feel that many people who claim to know God, really don't know him.  I'm sorry if that sounds like harsh judgement on my part, but what I mean is not to judge whether or not someone knows God, but rather to say that knowing God is not an easy thing to do.  Certainly there can be no quick answers or explanations for a being that I believe is literally indescribable, and beyond our physical human experience.  In a way, I am also tempted to give myself a 10 spiritually, because I believe that being in this place where I realize I don't really know God, but am open to knowing all about Him that HE wants to reveal to me, is for me a powerful place to be in, and exactly where I am meant to be at this time.

My goals for myself include keeping myself calm and open to growth spiritually.  I believe that as long as I keep myself free from anxiety, God will guide me in the understanding he wants me to have.  Psychologically, I plan to continue to utilize appropriate positive affirmations that help correct any wrong beliefs about myself that I might have.  Physically my goal is to continue to increase my physical strength by exercising.

I have to admit I fell asleep a few times during the relaxation exercise for this unit ... and I was sitting!  I had to rewind it a few times to catch the phrase we were suppossed to be saying to ourselves when we exhaled.  I did like the idea of focusing on my breathing, and of feeling my body relax as I exhaled.  That is an excellent exercise that I plan to use in the future.   

Thanks for reading!
Kathy