Seeking higher level of wellness!!!

Well a self reflection of my own wellness reveals the fact that I am far from "well". That is to say that I feel I have only just begun this discovery of self awareness and the desire to achieve it. On a scale of one to ten I would rate my physical as being a 9. I am a fitness instructor and exercise regularly. I do suffer from some chronic aches of pains of my determination to be physically healthy but I look at those as a testament of my commitment. My spiritual well-being...well that falls at the other end of the spectrum. I would rate it a 3 at this time in my life. Why? Well because I believe my spiritual development was waylaid by over zealous pastors and family members of my past who tried to force me to believe that their was only one way to truth and the light. I have since come to accept that that particular path did not work for me and now armed with that acceptance I am searching for the truth that resonates within me and gives me peace. My psychological well-being gets a somewhat higher score of 5 because, again,of the awareness that it needs to be developed has been the key in getting me to improve it. I believe it's all about a mature acceptance of who I am at this particular point in my life and recognizing what doesn't make me happy and searching out the means of changing that!

Creating goals to help me improve in each of the areas has not been a difficult task for me. On the physical side I am training to compete in a figure competition this coming August. The training is all about dedication and whether I will stick to it! My spiritual goal is to find a form or medium that connects me to that higher power I believe exists. I am participating in yoga and searching for a spiritual meditation center in my area. For the psychological aspect I am doing some recommended reading and just being open about where my thoughts and feelings are. I try to reach out to people I trust and respect for good advice.

The relaxation exercise was very nice and I enjoyed it. I will use it again. So far I have only worked on the breath but I get very frustrated because my thoughts tend to wander and then I get tired of "gently" bringing my thoughts back to my breath. I really think learning meditation for me right now will be a very rewarding challenge.

Adventures in Blogging

Just a year ago I didn't even know what the word blog meant. Oh who am I kidding...I still don't really know! But I figure if I follow directions carefully I will be a pro at whatever it is by the end of the week! I must admit I am very happy though to be learning how to keep up with modern day communication media.

For my relaxation technique I would like to share something I became aware of the other morning in quite a funny way. It has been a very cold winter here and I find that I have prematurely developed spring fever. The other morning when I walked out to my car I was delighted to see bright blue skies and to hear the birds chirping. But when I got to my car it was covered in ice. Perhaps scraping ice off the car is not so relaxing but it brought to mind a certain discord of nature. My senses, specifically my hearing and sight, were filled with the promise of a change of seasons that hadn't quite occured yet. At that moment I became acutely aware of my cold fingers and my cold breath visible in the chill air and I had to smile. "Mother Nature", I thought, "you're such a tease!"