My Final Project

Introduction to Integral Health:

 “What if the question is not why am I so infrequently the person I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person I really am?”    ~~The Dance

 

The four reasons for exploring Psychospiritual Flourishing

The main reason to explore Psychospiritual flourishing is that it is the most underdeveloped aspect of our lives. Many also believe it is the root reason for mental suffering and premature disease and it is one area of our development that will most directly catalyze the full development of our life (Dasher, 2006). The final reason is the most profound; the development of our inner life is an opportunity to alleviate suffering and to gain health, happiness, and wholeness. To ignore the opportunity to heal the human suffering would be a detriment to society. As a healthcare profession it is important to understand the implications of ignoring the use of any tool that would help heal a patient. If developing a stronger spiritual belief can help someone heal from heart disease, then we should feel obligated to teach the tools necessary.

The four levels of Psychospiritual Development

Each step of the Psychospiritual development builds on the previous one and is inextricably related to the growth in consciousness. We are first born into the primal, sensor-motor consciousness; also know as the primal unity. It is the oneness and interconnectedness with all of life. As a newborn there is not separation between the inner and outer world, but this inevitable separation is necessary for further development.

The next level of consciousness is witnessing consciousness, which allows us to stop, see, understand, and make choices about our thoughts and feelings (Dasher, 2006). We become intentional in our reactions to life. To develop this level one must become psychologically literate and healthy, meaning learn to identify and change destructive emotions and dysfunctional patterns. 

For myself this is an area that I am constantly working toward, obtaining the mastery of the mind. Learning to make a conscious choice rather than responding to circumstances based on my past history. Learning to create my circumstances.

The third level is calm abiding consciousness, which is where our intentions mature. To develop this area we must explore the deeper nature of the mind and uncover our natural wisdom, inner peace, and loving kindness that will provide well-being. By practice alone, I have learned that in order to continually reach this level one must have a daily practice to include meditation, prayer, and other contemplative practices.

The final step requires the expansive and pure awareness of a unity consciousness, where we develop the most subtle mind and re-experience the simplicity, oneness, and unity of the child (Dasher, 2006). This level is reached by obtaining a level of understanding called, “matured innocence,” a sort of rebirth of the child, but with wisdom and consciousness. Often one does not find this level or remain at this level until years of contemplative practice, for which I can only desire to obtain.

Benefits of developing our higher consciousness

Biological body benefit of using the mind body connection and the practices suggested by Dacher are many. Many of us are far too busy, stressed out, with negative emotions running our day. We are often anxious upon waking in the morning before we even start our day. Often we find ourselves having headaches, circulatory abnormalities, and gastrointestinal disorders (are just a few). With mental training, such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, and many other forms of energy work, we can enhance the effectiveness of the immune system. It is as simple as breathing, calming the mind down, and learning to let stress go. The effect can be reduction in blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and in the end lower your risk of a heart attach.

Mental self-benefits are just as many; reducing the constant chatter in your head is a start. With practice you will find that you have more control over how you react to life, with intention not out of control emotions. Your anxiety will be reduced, you tension gone, and you have more energy to get things done. Negative emotions, rumination, and what I call the spinning mind takes up most of your daily energy to keep going. Learning some simple steps to take control of your own mind will bring you a sense of peace that is amazing.

As our consciousness grows, we will progressively discover our deepest calling. To live our work whatever it may be with great integrity and spirit as we move toward the consciousness and inner truth from which our authentic calling will naturally arise in its own time (Dacher, 2006). We first prepare for our work by preparing our life each day, through daily practice of stabilizing our mind and opening our heart. The preparation is necessary to allow the space to ask yourself important questions, such as how our work can serve others and how we can become the healing presence for them. By including practices such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and other exercises and activities, we create a new opportunity to view our life in a more peaceful and accepting manner. By preparing ourselves in this way daily, sometimes moment-by-moment, we begin to cultivate a new relationship to our work, a relationship of soul and spirit (Dacher, 2006). 

Our intention is to use work as another practice, as spirit in action, as engaged spirituality, as a path to integral health. No matter the circumstances, we can take on our job as an opportunity to serve others by making it a spiritual practice. Your intention makes a difference. The final step is transforming our relationship to work. When you take it on as our own, bringing to it integrity, consciousness, compassion, and soul, what was previously seem as an imposed is now reshaped as a choice. Giving us more freedom, peace, and a deeper sense of spirit.

Mindfulness practices means paying attention and act out of awareness and intention. In using mindfulness in my work gives me an ability to actively listen to my clients, be present for them. It also means taking the extra time needed to give them what they need. Upper management doesn’t always look it upon fondly, when the goal is to get clients in and out as quickly as possible. By being mindful of both, I attempt to get to the heart of a clients distress and accomplish my goal within a short period of time. Which makes everyone happy.

Integral health is self-generated and self cultivated (Dacher, p.3), which means it is up to each of us to decide that is what we want and take the steps to ensure our own optimal health. With the knowledge and understanding that to have optimal health one must not only treat the body, but the mind and spirit as well. In treating the body in the medical profession one cannot ignore the psychological issue that arise when the physical body is ill. Such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Or the spiritual beliefs that guide the individuals belief in the ability to recover or heal. 

Authentic happiness arises from within an individual and circumstances will not alter this state (Dacher, p.3). It is the knowing that you can have happiness even when circumstances or events are happening around you. We have a choice in the matter of how we perceive our world. Each of us can choose to be happy even with our current circumstance, the circumstance are not who we define ourselves to be. 

Genuine wholeness is the expanded experience of a sense that you belong to the whole of mankind. We are all attached to each other in some way and we have compassion and loving kindness for the whole. In understanding that our actions and beliefs can have an affect on the world around us. If I choose to abuse the environment, then it will cause others to suffer. If my choices take into account how my actions will affect others, then I am living my life with more compassion and loving-kindness.

Final Goal of Integral Health

According to Dacher the final goal of integral healing is human flourishing-a profound, hardy, and sustained health, happiness, and wholeness (Dacher, 2006). What this means to my profession is that we must treat the person as a whole, not just one part of them. Such as myself, when treating clients for mental health disorders, I assess them for other issues. When conducting a full assessment I will cover the medical, family structure, their work/career, intimate and interpersonal relationship, children, cultural views, and their spiritual beliefs. 

Per the integral health approach when we treat the mind we also need to make sure the other areas are working. So if someone is having psychological issues, then we need to make sure their biological/worldly areas are working. Often what we find is someone who comes in with mental health struggle, say anxiety. We will upon further review find that they are also having stomach or eating issues. Distress or disease does not only affect one area of a persons functioning. When treating them we may look at the anxiety, but we need also to look at the stomach or eating issues. Treating both or looking to see if one is causing the other. Having a holistic approach means we look at it from a whole, not just pieces of a part. 

A genuine holistic approach respects the multidimensionality of the human experience and the interconnectedness between all aspects of our being (Dacher, 2006). It addressed the whole person in not only the physical body (Biological), but in the Psychospiritual, interpersonal, and worldly. 

In a expansion and transformative approach to medicine focuses on a holistic approach that reaches out to all aspects of the human experience and transformational in its upward evolutionary movement from body to mind to spirit (Dacher, 2006). It is the expansion of consciousness, which enables the transformation of medicine. It is a change in the consciousness of the whole that will lead to new revolutionary thoughts of medicine. 

The biological aspect is important in understanding the genetic makeup of each individual and how heredity plays into health. The spiritual is the foundation of a persons belief system. Within their belief system is how they will cope with circumstances. With a strong spiritual foundation a persons circumstances will not cause the physical aspect to break down.

The interpersonal aspect of a person is what they believe about themselves and how they cope with intimate relationships. Our inner beliefs about whom we are and what we can and cannot do has a direct affect on our health and happiness. If our belief in ourselves and those around us is weak, then it can cause us to cope poorly with circumstances in our life.  

The worldly aspect of a person is expanding our awareness to include self, each other, our environment, and our cultures. Using a multiple cultural perspective can give us a new path toward healing not only ourselves, but also the world around us. 

My Assessment: 

The path to integral health requires that we at least become aware of the sources of needless suffering, distress, and dissatisfaction and the possible sources of future development and flourishing (Dacher, 2006). 

The integral (mindfulness) assessment is a process that takes time to 

discover, we must look at our current circumstances, identify the aspects (Psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly) of our life that require attention, determine the specific changes we want to address, and establish a program of integral practice that will enhance these changes. It is like taking an inventory, looking for your strengths and weaknesses, and then we envision our most far-reaching possibilities and assess the obstacles to attaining them. The assessment process is a tool we need to choose to transform our health and life. 

I used the process Dacher explains to reflect and evaluate my health in each domain. Without the understanding of where you are in each area, we are not able to full develop and will not see growth. First, you must still and silent the mind. Then focus your attention on the four quadrants of the integral map (Psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, worldly). While reflecting you ask your self which of the four aspects of my life are suffering, focus on that area. Exploring where you are at in this area and where you can see yourself growing. 

It is important to take time to reflect on each domain before shifting your focus to the second level of assessment, which is focused on promoting integral development. What area of my life is ready for growth and development, often it is the same area that is suffering. As you practice your enhanced awareness will serve as an informal and ongoing assessment tool. Daily I can ask myself, how can I use my circumstances to be a better person contributing to a better world.

Upon further reflection on my personal level of wellness I would have to share that I am feeling pretty good about it. I have been taking classes that focus on all the areas of a person including my physical body, spiritual, and psychological and have made many changes over the last year.

My score of my overall wellness is an 8. My physical well-being would be an 8, my Spiritual well-being would be an 8, and Psychological well-being would also be an 8. I feel my mind and body connection is working better than it has been in years. I have learned to pay attention to it and make sure that all areas of my life are working.

Goal development:

My goals and activities to help obtain my goals are simple:
A~Physical Well-Being
Goal: To continue to get daily exercise
Activity: To have more fun with it, biking, hiking, camping

B~Spiritual Well-Being
Goal: Broaden my knowledge and Improve my practice to daily
Activity: Daily meditation and prayer, read to broaden knowledge

C~Psychological Well-Being
Goal: Continue to Create New Possibilities
Activity: Continue with Landmark Education teachings

I have other goals that I set at the beginning of the year and have already accomplished them. When I do that, I add more to the list. I will be completing my Bachelor program here at Kaplan after this term (another goal done:). I have already established the next goal, to complete my Masters degree. I have established the steps to accomplish this goal and am well on my way. Look out graduate school here I come!

Practices for personal health:

The advice Dacher gives he calls simple and consistent, but the success comes with practice and patience. The steps three simple concepts to achieving lasting holistic health are as follows:

1. Become aware. By being mindful and listening to your inner voice you will become aware of what is causing you unnecessary suffering. Knowing what to cultivate in your life and what to abandon.

For me, this means learning to become more aware when my stress level has reach a critical level, which could be harmful. By using the calm-abiding process and contemplative practices I can learn to relax my body, mind, and spirit. Using meditation, breathing, exercise, yoga, and other mindful practices will assist me. Learning to change my focus on the moment rather than stressing on the future.

2. Train your mind.

For me, this means changing my negative thoughts into positive. How do I do this, by creating the possibility that will empower my future. By replacing my negative thoughts with loving kindness, compassion, and universal love, I can create the future I choose. Using the meditative practices of loving kindness, calm abiding, and the witnessing mind, I can learn to identify the negative thoughts and behaviors. With the possibility of creating a positive future I then create my intention. Stating it will send the positive energy out into the universe to support my intention. When creating my intention from a space of love, compassion, and trust, I then have a sense of knowing that guides me.

3. Develop you consciousness through contemplative practice.

From using the process outlined by Dacher, the four aspects of integral health, I have mindfully contemplated and assessed the areas in my life that need development. Creating an Integral Practice program is important to be mindful of where you are at and where you are heading. Becoming more aware will help me to create the level of consciousness that will provide a sense of peace and tranquility.

How well your spirituality helps you understand and deal with all aspects of life may have important implications for health. Spirituality and religions provide methods of coping, and struggles can help foster a transformation or personal growth. Research shows, however, that spiritual struggle is a strong predictor of declining physical and mental health. Perhaps, then, a struggle is like a “fork in the road,” the pathway one takes, either toward growth or decline.

When faced with life struggles, spirituality can be the pathway one takes toward growth. Having a strong spiritual foundation can provide the strength needed during time of struggle and when other more simplistic coping skills do not seem to provide enough support. Having a spiritual practice can be the answer.

Dacher’s three levels of the subtle mind 

During contemplative practice we progressively experience the three levels of what Dacher calls the subtle mind: witnessing, calm-abiding, and unity consciousness (Dacher, 2006). The first step is toward gaining control or calming down the mind to a witnessing consciousness. With mental control you will obtain a still mind of calm abiding, which will over time evolve into unity consciousness. 

Learning to practice witnessing the mind on a regular basis will bring calm within your spirit. Taking time to let the mind wonder without paying or giving it much attention allows for the mind to relax and just watch. Through the practice your mind will become still and stable, leaving you able to have a sense of knowing rather than confusion. Intention replace reactivity, wisdom replaces confusion (Dacher, 2006). 

With time and practice, we learn that it is a natural transition from witnessing consciousness to calm abiding to unity consciousness. When we finally stop clinging to the movements of our mind, we discover that what we feared to be emptiness is actually our essence-a still mind and open heart that is free, at ease, and one with all existence (Dacher, 2006).

An example of an exercise/activity to help create greater wellness is the physical activity of walking. Being active with our body is important to keeping it functional. Maintaining a good weight, getting exercise, proper sleep are all areas of the physical body that need daily attention. The idea of a holistic wellness approach means taking care of the body by treating how it should be treated, with kindness and care.

An example of what one can do for their psychological wellness would be meditation or prayer. Using guided imagery or other forms of meditation will help clear away stress, anxiety, while fostering calm, peace, and clarity. The holistic approach to wellness includes the mind, body, and spirit, meaning our psychological health is just as important as our physical health. 

Using meditation and prayer to assist in maintaining spiritual wellness has always been helpful to me. Having a belief in a higher power or an understanding of how the universe has an affect on our being is important. The holistic wellness benefit to having a healthy spiritual life will be evident in how we cope with life.

Mental Workout 

It is possible for us to evolve our Psychospiritual life and access its capacities and resources with daily contemplative practice. The value of obtaining this level of understanding and insight is a new level of consciousness. Learning to calm and train the mind, open your heart, and expand your consciousness can provide healing capacities. 

Loving Kindness Practice: An inner practice whose goal is to create a heartfelt loving kindness that diminishes your self-centeredness and quiets the mind. 

The Subtle Mind Practice: Using the breath, we learn how to tame and stabilize the mind by developing a witnessing consciousness. As witnessing replaces grasping and clinging, we progressively experience calm abiding, and calm-abiding gradually evolves into unity consciousness. 

Meditation can be a powerful tool for changing your outlook on life, as well as for improving your overall health, creating more energy, and simply feeling great. The techniques are not at all hard to follow, but they can be life altering if used in a positive way. By giving myself as little as 30 minutes a day to meditate, I have experienced benefits that go along with my goal of reducing my stress and taking a few moments just for myself. 

The Contemplative meditation practices by Elliott Dacher have benefited me in many ways. I have continued to use at least two of them every day (seven days a week). My favorites are the Subtle Mind and Meeting Aesclepius. Implementing them into my daily life has become a habit, a nightly ritual of allowing time for my body to calm down and reflect on the day. By allowing, rather than clinging to my thoughts, I found myself wandering to activities from the day, but eventually my mind would calm down and relax into the space of just witnessing without any attachment. Leaving me with a strong feeling of peace, joy, and love. I was able to enter then into a deep state of sleep, which provided healing.

The steps I have developed to implement these practices into my daily life have been 1) to leave my MP3 player on the nightstand by my bed (a reminder) 2) I have all my meditations in a file that will play continuously until I turn it off, which allows me to listen to either one, two, three, or so on until I naturally come back to a state of awareness in the room. Ready for sleep. 3) I have the meditations all on my desktop of my computer. Allowing me to listen while I work (only to the mediation music practice), which provides me with soothing music providing a less stressful atmosphere. 4) Pay attention. I find myself more aware, more alive, more relaxed, and I get it. I am aware that the practices have provided many benefits.

It is important to establish a set of principles that help us understand and distinguish the essential characteristic of integral practice (Dacher, 2006). The eight essential principles of integral (mindful) practice do just that.

1. The evolution of knowledge, capacity, and abilities beyond what we know now is the goal. In order for this to occur we must address and support each aspect of live with the goal of fully realizing all levels of human potential at each specific time in their life. This evolution will take you from the body to mind to spirit.
2. Your integral practices must in some way support your inner development. Through expanding your consciousness you can transcend any past trauma, negative pattern of behavior, belief systems, and any other limiting understandings. Mental training and subtle consciousness practice will provide the opportunity to take you through the steps of moving the body to mind to spirit in each aspect of your life.
3. Your integral practices must be a focused in loving kindness. The contemplative practice will soften the heart and allow old impulses diminish and a larger meaning our own life to emerge.
4. Your integral practices must be infused with virtue; courage, creativity, patience, discipline, perseverance, openness, confidence, and enthusiasm are just some of the character traits that fuel our practice (Dacher, 2006). It takes daily practice to build strength of character to consistently stay the course.
5. Your integral practice must fit your life and needs. We each are at specific levels in each of our aspects of our lives. We must build up the weaker areas and use the strength of others to provide resources.
6. Your integral practice requires helper or mentors. Not all people have the same knowledge and understanding. Each mentor or healer will have their area of expertise and learning to use all resources available to us is important. With technology now we have the Internet, online education, seminars, and a wide assortment of other teachings to help us on our journey.
7. Our integral practice requires that we take responsibility for our own development. We are the only one that knows us and where we are at in our development. It takes our attention to make sure we get what we need to progress and not blame our lack of development on someone else. Being responsible means knowing and accepting your limitations, resistance, and accepting that sometimes we just need to be okay with where we are at.
8. Our integral practice must use activities that are broad base, simultaneously touching multiple aspects of our life (Dacher, 2006). Using contemplative practice such as meditation, yoga, tai chi can still our mind and expand our consciousness, which will affect all areas of our life.

Loving Kindness Meditation: http://www.youtube.com/user/1GautamaBuddha?feature=pyv&ad=9516896152&kw=buddhist%20meditation#p/u/0/zRDsbXr9CY8

Breathing Meditation for stress reduction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wFX9Wn70eM

Mindfulness of Breathing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCXSm0Jc3mI

Commitment:

Transformation

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” 

Transformation can only happen if you engage in the process. With knowledge we can know, with practice we can become. To help heal others from suffering is a gift and an obligation. To teach others how to heal, one must know how to help ourselves. When you have walked the path to healing both body and mind, you can then understand what it takes and only then can you teach others. It is my responsibility to understand what I am attempting to teach others. Without the personal experience it is only knowledge, with practice it become my experience. A great wise teacher teaches from experience. 

Commitment to be a helper means that I have an obligation to practice what I teach. For myself, my daily practice of meditation, prayer, mindfulness, and practicing Loving Kindness is essential. To help myself first, then others, then to offer to the all of humanity….

Through reading and practicing the daily meditations the questioning mind became calm and clarity of purpose returned. I had found myself again!

Reference:

Dacher, E. (2006).  Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications Inc.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M.S. 2005. Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. Elsevier Churchill Livingston Publications.