Saturday, December 14, 2013

Growth and Development



Hi
This exercise was not as easy for me as the others because when I have to read the meditation I am not able to connect as well as if I were listening to it. Anyway I did the best I could do so what I learned is that I need to work more on nutrition and community although all areas can use some sort of improvement. These were the two that really grabbed my attention.  Nutrition is an area that really calls out to me. I work so much on all the other areas and my eating habits are not as good as the others areas of my life. I do eat healthy most of the time but I eat way to much sugar knowing that it is making me feel bad mentally and physically. It is funny that after I did this assessment I knew that I have to address the nutrition more seriously because I have been telling myself for a while that I need to change my eating habits (sugar). Community is another area because I would like to reach out more to the community than I do. I feel this will help me to grow more as well as helping others.  

To assist me more in these areas I can me more mindful of what I feel like when I am craving the sugar and eat a piece of fruit instead of chocolate. I think that becoming more mindful will really help me in changing this. As far as community I can volunteer to help out in our community. This is a good way to learn about the needs of our community. If any of you have more suggestions I would love to hear from you.   
Love, Light and Blessings
Barbara

8 comments:

  1. Hi Barbara - I thought it was harder to do this meditation for the same reason. I listened to the first loving kindness one in it's place instead. Nutrition was one of my areas for growth as well. I am sure you are like a lot of us who get caught up in their busy day and just grab what is available - SUGAR! I thought preparing food the night before to bring to work and keeping cut up fruit and veggies in the fridge might help. We will see... What part of your community do you like and what is your skill that you can share? I volunteer with the homeless either feeding them or doing health screenings. It rewarding and now I can put some names to faces that I have seen roaming the street. They have interesting stories that give me excellent perspective on my life! I am sure you will find something your heart desires. - Patty

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    1. Hi Patty,

      Thank you for sharing. I love that you volunteer with the homeless. I know that it has to be very rewarding know that you are helping others heal. I too love to help out when I can. When we take the focus off of us we truly learn what life is about.

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  2. Hi Barbara,
    My experience with the universal loving kindness exercise was very moving as well. I had a difficult time describing how I felt about it, but after reading your description I feel that I definitely felt a unique level of contentedness and as if each of us as classmates were more connected and working toward a common goal. How cool is that? Sometimes I feel like problems are so large I don't know where to start, but I think the thing to keep in mind is that if we don't make any changes, then nothing will change. At least if we are making an effort, even as an individual attempting to impact the world at large, there is an opportunity for change to occur. I like that you included your children in the subtle mind and loving kindness exercises. I think I will try them with my children as well. It's hard not to feel guilty about the time that you don't have with your kids when you work, but I think it makes us value the time that we do have that much more.

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    1. Hi Jermaine,

      You are right that we at least need to make a effort so we can make an impact on the world for the better of all. Doing nothing creates nothing and we all know what happens than. I have learned that if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other we will make a change. Keep your focus and you will see the small steps becoming much larger.
      Thanks for sharing!
      Barbara

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  3. Yes, this one was a bit more difficult. I improvised and just made up my words that were similar and along the same lines of what this meditation exercise asked. I'm getting the hang of these meditation exercises and just to find the peace and quite is a great thing for me!

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    1. Hi Melissa,
      Peace and quite is so wonderful ! Keep going and it gets much better. Some days are easier than others to meditate but stay with it and you will see a huge difference in how you feel each day.
      Thanks for sharing.

      Barbara

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  5. Hey Barbara,

    I couldn't agree with you more that this integral assessment was much more difficult to connect with. What I found helped me was to read it allowed not once not twice but three separate times. So when I began the assessment, I was not rushing to find out what was coming next.

    I also wanted to share this with you. when you are craving sugars try swapping the foods you are craving with some of these.

    Retrieved from http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10244/constantly-craving-sugar-salt-or-fat-read-this.html

    SENSORY SWAPS

    What are you Craving? Examples Try instead…

    What are you Craving something Chewy like Cookie or brownies try Oatmeal bars or dried fruit

    What are you Craving something Bubbly like Soda or beer or Champagne try Kombucha or water kefir or sparkling water;

    What are you Craving something Crunchy like Chips or crackers try Crisp veggies like carrot sticks

    What are you Craving something Cold like Ice cream or Milk shakes try Frozen bananas or smoothies

    What are you Craving something Creamy like Pudding or Creamed soups try Greek yogurt or avocados

    Mallory
    What are you Craving something Tangy Salad dressing or Ketchup try Lemon juice or salsa

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