hello to all

Yes it has been a while since my last blog. I do apologize for I do want to stay in contact with the classmates from our class. We had a very special group and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of that class. The sad part is that you spoiled me into thinking all of my classes could be like that one. My new class is fun just not as interactive as we were every week. I hope all is well with everyone and I hope to run into here at my blog and at yours, Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and see you later.

Dave

last mandatory blog

Well here we are at the end of this part of our journey. Yes I know it is my blog and I am talking about our journey. I feel very fortunate to have had all of you helping and guiding me through out the trip. As per our assignment I would like to make one assessment, to compare week three rankings with todays rankings is alot like comparing apples and oranges. I have such a different outlook on who and where I am and what I want to become and where I want to go from here. It has been such an education and an eye opener the past ten weeks it is hard to imagine where I was just 7 weeks ago. I feel that my current rankings are much more accurate due to my better understanding of the whole me. I have implemented a good goal plan while incorporating some friends and family members as overseers to help keep me on the right path. I know for sure that the last ten weeks has changed me in all three phases of my life. I have had co workers ask me what is different, did you cut your hair different, what is different?
So thank you everyone it has been fun and I plan to continue blogging

project 9

1) It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically in order to properly help those who come to us for help. If we do not develop these three aspects of our life then it becomes a blind leading the blind and no one wins. We have to place a higher than normal value on ourselves, we tend to give all the time and disregard our health in order to help others, this will lead to burnout or worse, poor health and then we cannot help those who depend on us for help. We need to develop these areas in order to be able to guide our clients properly (Dacher pg. 81) and let them know what to expect on the journey to better health. We have to care for ourselves in order to care for those who want us to care for them, just like we have to love our self before anyone else can love us. The whole is the sum of its parts and we need to address healing that way, in other words address the whole person.

2) I feel that if I honestly assess myself I would be a C-, just because of the stage in life I am I feel that I am just under fair. I have known for awhile that I needed to pay more attention to myself but my time is usually heavily invested in others, that is just who I am and will always be. This course has shed some better light for myself (dacher pg93) May all individuals gain freedom from suffering. May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness. May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering. May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness. I have extended each line for my personal use to include me, I want to be part of those groups and then in turn help others to a better self. I feel physically I have let myself slide to a D because I don’t do what I know I need to do until this class and I now I have a plan. Spiritually I feel I have been lost or awhile buit I believe my vision has gotten stronger so spiritually right now a C- and getting better. Mentally without sounding as a braggart has been my strong suit which is a benefit of being a higher education instructor. In order to do my job properly I have to be razor sharp and always two steps ahead of my students, never let students know you don’t know. I pride myself in always being prepared and ahead of the class. I feel mentally I am probably a B- because I know I can be better just have not pushed the envelope as of yet, but willing to start after this class. This class had both a wonderful instructor who has our best interest and our education at heart. Secondly this class has some absolutely wonderful people who have made a huge impact on this person from south central PA.

3) Goals for me, we need to start with mental goals. My mental goal is to continue enhancing what I know and challenge me to demonstrate that knowledge. I am an Instructor so every day I have to meet that challenge or lose my class and I cannot afford to lose that much. My mental goal is to complete 15 hours of continuing education units for massage and fitness along with continuing my Kaplan education which means graduation in fall 2012. It is by continually challenging myself mentally that I can develop enough to pursuit better health, a fuller health. My spiritual goal is to quite simply become active once again in my church so I can go back to feeling connected and calm once again. It worked for my 5 years ago I believe it can work even better now with a fuller conviction to myself. The physical goals are as follows; I will run in a 5k race in May 2010 in Harrisburg; I will add 8 pounds of body weight while reducing body fat content down to 21% by my 50th birthday which is in June 2010. These are two goals which together should get me back to very good physical condition which is the ultimate physical goal.

4) Practices for each area would be as follows; mentally, I have a full schedule of classes here at Kaplan to keep me busy right up to my graduation date. My graduation from Kaplan is proof of accomplishing one goal mentally, that I will continue to expand my knowledge of my profession and to stay ahead of my students. It will mean I have accomplished the bachelor’s degree I have wanted for many years. A sign of commitment and accomplishment. The CEU certificates and the continued national certification are examples of the other part of my mental goals, a commitment to enhancing my occupational education and diversification. These practices will keep me in line with accomplishing the mental goals for me and provide proof of what I know and can do within my profession. My spiritual goals are almost as easy to maintain the course. I have talked with other members of the church and have told them of my goal, they are the ones to call me when I miss a Sunday and remind me of my commitment. The other practice is a solitary one; I am receiving daily scripture readings for myself to read on a daily basis. I have to be accountable to myself and diligently read them each day. It is this self commitment that I pray will make me grow even more mentally by telling my mind we are going to do this because I said so and it is good for me anyway. Physically it is simple, my wife and are convinced I need to get a better grip on my physical health and because of this we made a two part plan to help me physically. First I am using my YMCA membership at least twice a week and working out with my trainer to get me back in the system of training myself. The second part is we just went and purchased a new home gym and we are going to use it together at least twice a week which will get me training at least 4 times a week to start and make the possibility of running that 5k race in May a lot easier. It will also provide the start to reducing body fat and helping to build muscle mass which is the 8 pounds I am looking to gain. This will all take commitment , but then again that’s what this class has been since the beginning. By implementing my strategy from the second part of this answer above, including me, I should be able to stay on track and never look back to my old self just continue to blaze the new and improved DaveNeff.

5) Assessing the outcome of my goals will be easy for two reasons; one I am planning on journaling and blogging my progress. This will involve other people besides me which will promote some accountability. By recording I can monitor how much weight I have gained, how much body fat I have lost. There will be somewhat of a diary as to when and where I lifted weights and did other physical training. We have a sign in sheet in each pew and if my signature is not there they will call me to see if everything is alright with Lori and I. Lori is my wife and by writing these goals down she will be watching and encouraging me to achieve each step. By writing down the above goals I have made a written promise to myself to be better to me for everyone. A small bit of responsibility laid on me by me. It is all about accountability and responsibility to me. By involving others I can accomplish all of my goals. It is all about taking care of everyone including me.

chapter 8

I can say thet for me visualization and meditation are what are changing me for the better. I have for along time talked to my clients about meditation and or yoga. I have taught that it is truly a plus to give to yourself. I now know better as I have traveled the trip and can now better describe what is there and what to expect. I can now be a better guide to those who come to me for help and guidance. It is also a time for me to collect and calm my inner self while letting go of things I have no need for at this time. That is what meditation does for me. Visualization is a time of quiet exploration for me. It is a time that I can picture god and or bad whatever is on my mind and deal with it internally and making the outside world a little bit easier to navigate by having a plan derived during visualization. I have been able to practice and teach, "if you can visualize you can probably realize".

week 7 still

Something really happened yesterday. I mean I felt relaxed all evening and sorry to say but really did not feel like doing any more school work. I wound up going to bed early for me around 930 and fell right to sleep, which is really unusual. The really strange event is that I remembered my dreams. I very rarely get deep enough in my sleep that i can remember anything that I dream let alone the whole dream. They were bizarre in that they had old high school friends that I have not seen in over 25 years but they were in my dreams last night and I remembered them. Wow What an exercise!!
Feel really good and ahead of things today. The day seems simple and it has been nothing but simple but yet everything has been handled with no panic.

WOW

What a good day. The birds were singing and the sun was shining and I had the afternoon off from work. What a great oppurtunity to do class exercises and Blog. well the meditation exercise was very different today and I think in a very good way. As you all know I am a Massage Therapist and today I may have cheated a little bit but it was very interesting. I set up my cd in my massage room at my house and got very comfortable on my massage table and let the cd play. I had no problem relaxing and my ability to visualize and focus was uncharacteristically very good. Infact when the cd was done I decided to just stay still and continue relaxing, wow, I was there for 45 minutes and when I became conscious again was I ever zoned out. I was so well relaxed that I really did not care if I did any school work or not, so I didnt for about 2 hours. What a great afternoon it was, and what a wonderful feeling it was for awhile after the exercise.
The statement that,"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” simply states the very obvious. If you have not been there how can you give directions and explanations of what you will experience or how can you discuss what they go through when they go there. Always practice what you teach or preach and as always its about progress not perfection!

this was good

Working with the meditation and working with myself, I had a new experience. I was at my accupuncturist finally and decided to try something different. I have found some of the most powerful experiences while receiving accupuncturist but yet thursdsay was different, I recited to myself the little piece that our instructor read to us a couple of times on wednesday about wanting to help everyone. I added at the end of each line, including me. I did this for about a couple of minutes and was transported into a very calm and peaceful state for what turned out to be about 45 minutes. When I returned I was very calm and very refreshed and I also felt really good about who I was. This was much needed after the day I had experienced. I had started the day with taking a small group of students to a grand opening at another campus to celebrate a new medical assistant wing and lab. They were going to be giving massages to those who were inclined to get one. One problem was on the way three of the students were involved in a multiple car accident, a hit and run, the one who took the brunt of the accident just happens to be 5 months pregnant. She was taken to the hospital and was there for 3 hours before we knew anything, very stressful as her instructor not knowing how she was doing. Happy to report she called me later and told me she was a little sore and the baby was just fine. Quite the day and not one I planned but I was able to calm myself back to normal I believe by focusing and repeating those four lines about reducing bad health for everyone including me. I feel we need to take care of ourselves and practice what we preach, in other words practice what we teach so we can accurately advise others of what to expect and what to experience. A number of us have described feelings they have had while doing these exercises, wouldn't it have been great it you would have been alerted to these and known that you are not alone with these feelings. Thats it for now just wanted to share the event of the day

my apologies

I am returning to the world of BLOG. I was unfortunately very under the weather last week and actually missed most of last week. I went to visit my son in Pittsburgh and to go see a ball game and unfortunately missed that due to being ill, in fact I spent the visit on his couch not really visiting. On the good side I am back and hope to have a couple of posts this week and hope to catch up with everyone else. I saw some of the blogs already and I can see were Adam has his plate overfull with all that is going on with his life. I wish you all the best. Everyone else I would like to say that you, you have made seminar a real treat and something I look forward to each week. The meditations just take time and I have had experience with these from my teaching eastern philosophy at school. Give them some time and you will see that they can have aprofound effect to your life. Good luck to all and see you next time

unit 4

This exercise is one that required more time than previous exercises. It is a good exercise and one that really brings a focus to yourself. It brought back some interesting moments in my life, some great and some maybe not so great. It even engaged some memories I had not recalled in a long time. These kind of exercises can be difficult depending on your mind set and the current list of events that seem to be occuping our thought space. It has been an interesting week in that school work actually helped me get through the week. I know it sounds pathetic but this unit required a lot of thought and it kept my mind of the terribly nagging toothe that finally got fixed today. Yeehaw it fels better and yet worse due to the swelling and bruising from the procedure but they assured me that I would be fine in a couple of days. So thank you class for keeping me occupied in blogs and discussion and also the wonderful exercises we had to do. Hope all are well and we shall see you all in seminar tomorrow night.

wow

I dont have any comments on the meditation exercise or the weeks readings. I just wanted to note to myself the past week and how things are fairly good. The seminar this week was just a great and fast hour. I really enjoy the exchange between classmates and the incredible support shared towards everyone. It is a great feeling knowing that there are people you know who are there to help when and if you need help. I am really looking forward to the rest of this class the only downer is that it will be over way too fast. Just looking to grow and to become a better therapist thanks to this class. So thank you to all of my classmates in this class and our instructor for making wednesday nights my bright spot of the week. I truly like the whole integral health approach and the power of the mind principles. well everyone have a great day and see you later with answers to this weeks blogs

chapter 3

1. Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?2. Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).3. What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal? 4. Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

I apologize to my classmates for not being here this week. I have been dealing with an infected tooth until this morning when I could see my dentist. Some antibiotics and the tooth will be better and we will save it next week with a root canal. So that will be good and I won't be so miserable, I am a wimp when it comes to my teeth.
Now my reflections might be a little tainted this week but I will try. My physical well being is probably a 6 which is not necessarily bad but certainly not a good thing. I am only 49 and should be a lot more physically active and with no excuse I just have to admit that my conditioning physically could be better. My spiritual well being is around an 8. If I would be a more regular attendee of sunday services I may go a little higher but then I also believe that i can converse with god from anywhere and any day so I feel spiritually I am better off than physically.
Psychologically I am not really sure, probably a 5 and that is due to the last couple of readings for class makes me realize that I can take a more active role in developing a better psychological well being
I have implemented a daily walk with my wife to both help physically and spiritual well being as we use the time to talk and enjoy time together. While together we share alot and it benefits us both all over. I am still trying to figure out a good psychological plan, the aching tooth this week has not enhanced my thinking at all. I will come up with a plan and will let all of you know when I know. I did not engage in the relaxation exercise yet but I will try before class tomorrow to give you some feedback from the exercise. Thanks for your understanding and thanks for the help in advance, we are trying.

wow!!

Just finished the exercises and what a wonderful group of readings. This is going to become so insightful and helpful to all of us in this class. It feels like the mixing of eastern and western thoughts, which is where I beleive we all win. Just had to get that of my chest before I go to bed and try to relax after that kind of exercise.
WOW!!

Everyone have a great night and see you tomorrow in seminar.

Dave

ok again

Well I made it back again so we are developing some form of habit. i have said before I need practice writing about myself and basically to myself for others to read. It is a strange scenario but one I think that can help me. I have read the comments to me and I must say thanks to all of you, I feel much better after reading your comments that I am doing this correectly. I am hoping to improve my stress management skills and also become more aware of myself and what I am and how I heal. Healing is a very important process of surviving and living and trust me those are two different items. I really enjoyed the initial part of the journey on the CD. It was enlightening and very relaxing both and yet promoted a definite inner focus. i found myself almost as calm as when I receive my accupuncture every month. I have not found anything as calming and focusing as accupuncture. I am blessed to truly have a very good accupuncturist who really is here for the help he can give to fellow mankind. He has helped me with numerous problems and if you never tried accupuncture you are truly missing a wonderful treatment. Well I have rambled enough for now, I hope to do this again tomorrow and really develope a habit

still not sure

Well I am back and still not sure what I am doing, but i am trying. I have never journaled or wrote done things about me or thoughts by me. I think this class will be good for me in dealing with myself and returning to controlling my diabetes. When you do well for so long I guess we can get complacent and sink back into the superman mode and go ........not me. i feel that when we learn more about ourselves the inner ability to maintain our health (homeostasis) becomes very easy.

here we go

Well here we are on our first blog ever. Yes I know it is 330 am and most sane people are sleeping but I have found the best time for me to be me is while everyone is asleep. I can freely think and have no interruptions. I apologize for not getting this up earlier but I must confess to having fun the last three days and no concerns for work or school. We have a small festival in town here every year called the corn festival and its a big craft show and eating frenzy. I choose the eating frenzy, all the foods I should not eat, roast pork, corn on the cob, fried catfish, blooming onions, smoothies of all sizes and flavors, fudge, pies, elk burgers just to name some. Oh my I forgot about the sausage with fried onions and peppers, all good. My stepfather is a vendor so I get a chance to see my mother and him for a couple of days which is nice seeings they live 6 hours away. Well enough for now I shall return with more later.