Saturday, May 1, 2010

Creating Wellness-A New Way of Life

From Unit 3, I scored well in spiritual and psychological aspects, but I feel like my score has gone up to a 9 in that area now. I feel like the meditation practices we learned in this course have catapulted my sense of well-being.


As for my biological aspects, I had to work on that because I am 30 pounds overweight. I have begun a weight loss program that is not just weight loss, it is being more aware of what I eat and why. When I watch that, and stop the snacking late at night, and when I stop myself from eating when I feel stressed, and instead, meditate, I have cut my calories and carbs way down. Consequently, I have made a gallant effort to get to the gym 5 days a week and go back to yoga and pilates. I have done all of that this week, and am pleased that I have already shed 5 lbs. and my clothes are fitting better.


Creating Wellness and the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing has been a pivotal point in both my personal health and wellness, as well as the professional services I am providing.


I learned how to provide loving-kindness meditation for someone who is suffering whether that person is sitting right next to me, across town, or in another city, state or country. I also learned how to provide that loving-kindness to myself and that has helped my stress levels. I just think about the fact that I am surrounded by white light, that I am grounded, that I love and I am loved, and that I have a special purpose on this earth, and I am able to come out ahead of my previous self, with no self-pity, no worries, and a calm and peace that propels me to the level I want to be at.


In my profession, this ability has already helped me with my clients and colleagues. I use this same meditation on them, and I have become a better listener. When my client understands that I care by virtue of my listening skills, they are more prone to comply with my recommendations for a better quality of life. When I come across a client who is not quite there and needs to work on their spiritual side, I do some kind of loving kindness meditation for them, and hope for the best.


I got married during this term, last Saturday, April 24th. Chuck has been my sweetheart for 23 years, and we have a 20 year old son together. Why did we wait for long to get married? It's a very long story, but I can tell you this, even though we have been together for years, we now feel "together." We feel closer, and I am proud to be his wife and say my new name, "Mrs. Hilbert." If not for the lessons I learned in this class, I don't know if I could've pulled off the wedding with what resources I had as well as I did. My friends and family were pivotal, but I changed. I am more peaceful and have a better outlook. I am no longer afraid of failure, and in my professional career, I am no longer afraid of failure either.


Some say people are afraid of success. I think that was me to a great extent. I'm no longer afraid of success now either, because I'm just plain no longer afraid.


Thank you Dr. Susan Johnson and Kaplan, and thank you classmates.


Cheers!


Paula McClellan-Hilbert