* "It is always the simple things that change our lives.  And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen.  Life will reveal answers at the pace that life wishes to do so.  You feel like running but life is on a stroll.  This is how God does things."  - Donald Miller

* "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." -Plutarch


This has class has helped me to understand the importance of integrating  psychospiritual practices into a nutrition program.  True health and wellness comes from integrating the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of a person.  When we start to focus on just one area of our being we become unbalanced in our lives and stifles our growth causing unhappiness and disharmony in our life.

Looking back over the past ten weeks I have seen a progression in my understanding of integrated health and how to achieve it.  In week three we were asked to do an initial assessment of our physical, psychological, and spiritual life.  In week three I rated my physical well-being as an 8 and I would say that it is still currently an 8.  I am continually trying to improve my physical condition with diet and exercise, but the reality is that I am getting close to 60 and things slowly start to wear out.  My goal is to stay as fit and trim as I can throughout the rest of my life so that I can have the energy to serve others.  In week three I rated my psychological well-being as an 8, due to menopause and I would now say that it is a 9.  Through prayer and meditation I have found ways of dealing with the hormone fluctuations that come with menopause.  Finally, back in week three I rated my spiritual well-being as a 9 and last week I rated it as a 9 3/4.  As I Christian I know that my sufficiency is in God.  I am still a work in progress, but do try to read my bible and pray every day to learn, grow, and keep an open communication with Him.  I also continually try to do those things that honor the Lord with my life which includes ministering to and serving others whenever I can.  Philippians 4:7 says, "Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."  This has definitely been true in my own life. 

As for making progress towards my goals I would say that I am slowly making changes.  I am still juicing and exercising every day but haven't yet added time onto my exercise regime.  Praying is still a part of my daily routine and I have added a bit more time for meditation.   I have gotten better about sending notes of encouragement or making phone calls to people who are in need as soon as I hear about it and not waiting till I have forgotten and/or the time has passed.  My goal is to keep working on these areas and to make new goals as the need arises. Doing daily practices such as prayer, meditation, and possibly Tai Chi will help me continue to develop and grow in the direction of integral health and wellness.

This class has helped me to better understand the importance of integral health and has given me some tools for implementing it in my life as well as sharing it with others.  As I pray and meditate my well-being grows a little each day.  The most challenging aspect for me was figuring out how to take the guided meditations we were given and utilizing them in a way that fit my beliefs.  This was good, though, because the majority of the people I am working with right now are Christians, many of whom have been raised to steer clear of meditation and its "New Age" ideas.  I found several good Christian meditations that can be used and developed some techniques that can incorporate meditation into a daily prayer routine.  This class has also helped me see the need for implementing an integral approach to my nutrition counseling.  Life is a journey, and what a blessing it is each and every day.

* "Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." -Helen Keller

*"Happiness doesn't depend on external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude."  - Dale Carnegie

* "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." -Helen Keller