Creating Wellness Unit 9: Final Project

For our final project, we were asked to complete five sections covering all of the information we have learned in this class and what we have gotten out of this class. Listed below are the five sections and my answers to each question.

I.                   Introduction

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically so that not only they can reach integral health but also be able to teach others a better way of living than we have ever known. It is essential now that we have been taught these truths, that we share with others and help them to grow and become psychologically healthy, flourishing spiritually, and finally, achieving total healing from a physical standpoint. Some of the main areas that I need to develop to achieve the goals I have for myself are from a physical realm.  I have been working on becoming emotionally mature and have recreated my spiritual belief system in hopes that I can now follow the path set forth by this class and others I have recently learned about. I feel that I have the tools to achieve integral health and that I am the only one standing in my way from here on out.

II.                Assessment

  I have assessed my health in each domain and I feel that after looking back at the beginning assessment and then surveying the changes I have been trying to make, I am in a much better place than I was. I feel that I while I am not near what I want to be, I am closer to finding my center and the person that was on their way to integral health before I got sidetracked by stress and by life itself within this last year. I wonder how many other struggle with the ups and downs of this journey and who fight through it but then give up eventually because they feel that either they have no support, or that they are the only ones fighting these same demons to not only reach the goal of complete and total healing, higher levels of consciousness, and raising their awareness, but just by simply trying to stay afloat on a daily basis. There is so much more out there for us if we only reach for it. As I said earlier, we have the tools now so we just need to apply them. How wonderful the end result will be when we have reached our goal! I would change my scores just slightly when assessing my wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically. (Dacher M. E., 2006) In the beginning, I assessed my numbers as the following:
Spiritually = 6

Physically= 4

Psychologically= 6

Now, at the end of this class, I would say that psychologically I would rate myself at 8, spiritually at 8 or 9, and remain at a 3 or 4 physically. I feel that the most growth I have made would be spiritually. It is more difficult for me to concentrate on my physical health and keep that a constant focus. It tends to be the least of my concerns on a daily basis and this is what I am working on changing.

III.             Goal Development

The goals that I have for each area are as follows:

Physically: I want to lose weight overall but most of all, I want to learn a healthier way of eating altogether and learn to nourish and sustain my body without overindulging or eating things that are not edifying to my wellbeing. This has always been a harder thing to do in my life and it’s a battle I face every day. I do know that when I eat better, I feel better all the way around and I am free from pain and have less headaches, etc. I also want to learn more about Ayurvedic Cooking and how to incorporate more foods for my entire family based off of our individual Dosha’s. This is exciting to learn more about and I look forward to it.

Psychologically: My goal is to become more emotionally mature and to practice some of the guided meditation exercises such as the Loving Kindness exercise, the Subtle Mind Practice, and the Meeting of Ascelepius. (Dacher E. S., 2006) I also want to teach others in the future how to become stronger in dealing with psychological aspects of their being. People feel that they are often defeated by stress, trauma, and grief and that they have no alternative but to give into mental health issues and to just give up. I want to be their light and help guide them along this new path. I want to show them that I by no means have all of the answers, nor am I perfect, but I want to teach, even as I am still learning.

Spiritually: My goal is to flourish spiritually even more in this next year. Now that I am finding my center again and completing some of the visualization exercises, I want to move further into different levels of brain waves which function at different levels of meditation and of consciousness (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). I want to increase my awareness and knowing. I will continue to do Reiki and Chakra practices as well as incorporate even more new things that I have learned in this class. It is a true gift that we have been given and I intend to cherish every minute of this new-found knowledge.

IV.             Practices for Personal Health

Physically: Two exercises that I can incorporate from our reading and also from other sites that I have researched are yoga and tai chi. These are both aspects that I would like to partake in to foster growth in my physical life. I will also not start a diet, but I will seek to change my eating behaviors and lifestyle to reflect a healthier physical being.

Psychologically: Two exercises in this area are ones we learned about in this class as well.  I will continue the Loving Kindness exercises, and also the Subtle Mind practices (Dacher E. S., 2006).  I will continue to listen to these and live them out in my daily life while adding more that I can find on the internet. I feel that if I remain strong in this area, the psychical aspects will be easier to achieve as well and I will be a healthier, happier, more well-rounded person.

Spiritually: As mentioned above, the exercises that I will partake in to foster growth in this area will be Reiki and Chakra practices along with meditation and finding different levels of higher consciousness. I want to learn more about intention setting and increasing my awareness.

V.                Commitment

I will continue to assess my personal growth in these areas by keeping track in a journal I have recently started again. I write all the time, and I even started what I hoped would be a book that I hoped to publish one day. When my laptop crashed last year, I lost all of it and I was devastated and I stopped writing for a while. Now, I see that I was only hurting myself and even hurting others by not sharing those valuable experiences that have changed my life and have proven to me that I am right where I need to be in my life.

One of the strategies I can use to implement in maintaining long-term practices for health and wellness is to remain positive. One goal I have in this area is to learn more about negative energy clearing, setting positive intentions instead, and then remaining in a higher level of consciousness even in the midst of turmoil and chaos. I know it can be done because I have done it before, but I fell short and gave up on myself too soon. I have allowed negative thoughts and feelings to creep back into a life that was well on its way to integral health. I am so thankful that this class was one of the ones we were required to take, because in the long run, it is again setting me on the path that I want and need and desire for my life. I wish you all the best of luck on this journey and I hope that you all see what a rare and precious opportunity we now have to go forth and teach others. Good luck to you all.

Namaste

Kris Sinclair

Creating Wellness: Unit 8 Blog: Loving Kindness and Meeting Aesclepius

After going back and reviewing some of the exercises that we have done in this class over the past several weeks, I looked at both visualization exercises and meditation exercises. I feel that two of the most beneficial exercises in this class have been "Loving Kindness" and "Meeting Aesclepius".

I will continue to use the loving kindness exercises to foster the traits I need to move from one level of consciousness to another. The loving kindness exercise has taught me to focus on many things, be they negative or positive, and change my heart so that it always reflects an attitude of loving kindness and compassion, no matter who I am dealing with or what type of situation I may be in at the time. The world would be a better place right off the bat, if we would begin by doing this simple exercise and changing and softening our hearts towards one another.

Meeting Aesclepius was probably my overall favorite exercise. I have done exercises like this in the past while doing Reiki attunement and others from long ago have spoken through the practioner and given me advice and comfort. This might sound strange to those who do not practice this, and it felt a little strange even to me the first time it happened. But as I learned to open my mind and my heart, it felt right and it is now and important part of my psychological and spiritual flourishing.  I will continue to use this exercise as well to learn from those who are wise, to continue to learn myself, so that I may be a light being and a healer to those who are in need.

Kris Sinclair

Creating Wellness: Unit 7 Blog Assignment: Meeting Aesclepius

WOW! That is how I'm going to begin! This was my favorite of all of the practices we have done so far. I felt that it incorporated many of the different aspects that we have talked about and read about throughout our reading this far.

My meditative practices have fallen short lately, mainly because of time constraints and I realized just how much I have missed the connection I have in a meditative state to my inner self. Because I have received Reiki Attunement before, I have had others who have "spoken" through the Reiki practioner who have helped me through differen times in my life. Because of my intense connection with her and the wisdom she has shared with me through the past several years, I chose to focus on her for this exercise. We practice things like this when we are in session, but I have never done this form of distance healing and intention. It was remarkable to say the least. I felt a drastic temperature change in my body and I felt at peace and more focused when completing this assignment.

Mindfulness has restored not only my emotional but my spiritual connection. Both of these areas have felt depleted lately and I did not feel whole. Because of the peace and the feeling that I am centered once again, I will continue to incorporate these practices on a daily basis to help move towards integral health and healing.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is a very profound statement and I believe that this can apply to many areas of our lives. It is why when someone loses a child to SIDS, they join and advocate the SIDS foundation. It is why when a parent loses a child who was killed by a drunk driver or the child was killed because they were the ones drinking and driving, that they join MADD. It is why recovering alcoholics continue to attend AA meetings long after they really need to. We learn through adversity in our lives, and we grow from the despair that shakes us to our core. Only by going through these things ourselves can we truly help others and say "I know how you feel, let me help." We can then guide others through difficulties in their life. This is why we must focus on and achieve integral health ourselves. We may then lead others down the same wonderful path of healing because we have achieved it ourselves. We can then be the guider, the healer, and the person full of wisdom that we just focused in on someone else during this exercise. How awesome is that?

I believe because of what we have now been taught, that we all have an obligation to share this information with others, and to become guided mentors and healers to those in need and teach them how to reach psychological, spiritual, and physical wholeness in their own lives. What a journey we have begun and what a wonderful place this world will be, if we can learn and grow from each other until we have all reached integral health!

Kris Sinclair

Creating Wellness: Unit 6 Blog: Loving Kindness & Integral Assessment

Hello all! I hope you have a wonderfully long relaxing weekend!

I listened to the Loving Kindness Meditation Exercise Again and found it to be even more beneficial than the last time I listened to it. I love focusing on the four sentences from this exercise and I think that I am going to place them at random places around my house so that I can see them, and meditate on them whenever possible. The four sentences that I find most beneficial from this exercise are:

"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." (Dacher E. S., 2006)

While reading Notes from a Fellow Traveler in our text, I was able to also benefit from the exercise because I already had myself in the right frame of mind from listening to the first exercise and I was still in a meditative state. However, if I would have just had to read this assignment and not be able to listen to the meditative voice instructions along with the background music or ocean waves playing, I would not have been able to have reaped as much benefit from it. When I have to hold a book and read what I am supposed to be meditating on, it is distracting to me.

What I discovered about myself is that I am falling back into an easy state of meditation. I had gotten away from it for a while and I didn't realize how much I had missed it and how ungrounded and uncentered I had been feeling lately without it.

The area that I have chosen to be a focus of growth and development in my own life is my own emotional development. Because there has been a lot of negativity around me lately where I work and even in my life in general, I have been letting it get to me and cloud my mental and emotional judgment. I have forgotten to put the protective coating of white light and peace around me. In the process, I have fallen into some negative patterns as well. I will choose to focus on positivity, joy, and peace in the midst of this struggle because I want to move into new higher levels of consciousness and not backslide as I work towards integral health.

The main exercise or activitie that I can implement to foster greater wellness in this area is to continue my meditative practices as well. My husband and I are redoing our back yard (1/2 an acre) and have started a trail down to the woods and put some meditative stones at the center of it. I hope that this will become my peaceful haven and my zen garden of sorts where I can go to meditate, reflect, worship the earth, my creator, and the universe, while I continue to grow and learn to fill myself with light.

Creating Wellness: Unit 5 Blog: Subtle Mind Practice

Creating Wellness: Unit 5 Blog: Subtle Mind Practice

For this week’s blog assignment, we were asked to complete the subtle mind practice exercise.  I was very distracted when I first began this assignment and I had a time focusing quite honestly. There were many things going on in my home at this time with my kids, the dog, the phone, etc. and I found that I had to go in my room, light a candle, and even use some of my focusing essential oils in order to move myself from a state of chaos and unrest to the first stage of a witnessing mind in order to be where I wanted to be to begin this exercise.

The gentle waves and laps of water were not as easily heard at first in this assignment and I found the stillness soothing while I first settled and stilled my mind. I have been told that I am drawn to water and that within its coolness is where I find the most peace.  During this time, I did feel the shift in thoughts and stillness as I went from an active mind into a witnessing mind consciousness. One of the issues that I am working on is that during the large gaps of “nothingness” in this assignment I either start to let my mind wander and have to get it back where it needs to be, or I get so into what I am doing, that when she begins to speak again, I have a startled reaction. This confused me because I was expecting to hear her voice again, but I guess maybe I was further away in my mind that what I thought.

The loving kindness exercise was one on focusing and feeling different aspects of what we were guided to do, and this exercise was more calming and focused on being still and living in the aspects of a witnessing mind. It was interesting to see and feel the differences in a similar exercise with very different results.

Spiritual wellness is an extremely integrated part of physical and mental wellness. If we cannot move through the stages of psychospiritual flourishing, we will be unable to achieve physical and mental wellness in its fullest degree.  It would then be impossible to reach integral health.

Within my own life, I have been focusing on mental and spiritual wellness recently and have taken the focus off of physical wellness. However, I have gone through stages of physical illness, including shingles because I was ignoring the warning signs that my physical body was sending out that says I needed to deal with many underlying mental and spiritual issues from the past before I could move on. This was a painful lesson to learn physically. Sometimes I feel that this whole process is completely overwhelming and I begin to doubt myself when I have setbacks. I forget that my  mind is in control and that I can change or intend for things to be different. I get overwhelmed, frustrated, lonely, anxious, scared, hurt, and completely stressed before I realize that all I need to do first, is still my mind and enter into a state of conscious peace and begin to let my mind heal my body, spirit, and soul. This is definitely a learning process and I want so much to achieve integral health. But some days I question myself more than others and wonder if others struggle as much as I do to succeed at this whole process.

Kris Sinclair

Creating Wellness: Unit 4 Blog: Part 2: Mental Workout

The concept of a mental workout is every bit as important as physical activity. If we do not continue to work, train, and transform our mind, we will not ultimately reach complete integral health. This can also be termed "contemplative practice" according to our text . This process first adds benefits such as stress reduction and relaxation, but after some time and practice and adherence to the meditation process, we begin to realize that it is so much more. We are gaining the ability to expand our consciousness and reach higher levels of total healing (Dacher, 2006).
Some of the proven benefits of mental workout are: an opening of the mind, gaining knowledge and wisdom, experiencing human flourishing through loving-kindness, and obtaining peace within our subtle minds (Dacher, 2006). 
I can implement mental workouts to foster psychological health by continuing these types of exercise, by going even further with my studying of different levels of meditation such as alpha, gamma, theta waves, and learning more about the aspects of transindental meditation and other areas of mental workouts that I believe will ultimately help lead me to complete and total healing of the mind, body,
and spirit.

References:

Dacher, M. E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Creating Wellness: Unit 4 Blog: Part 1: Loving Kindness Visualization

For this week's blog assignment, we were asked to listen to two different exercises and discuss what we thought about them. During the introduction, I felt that Dacher's voice somewhat detracted from the experience. I felt that he spoke in a sort of monotone way and had this been what we were doing our assignment over only, I don't think it would have captured my attention. I then listened to the Mp3 segment entitled "Loving Kindness." Again, I found him somewhat hard to follow as he tended to ramble at the beginning and I did not feel a connection to his voice. I love the book we are reading, but did not like his voice. I was rather pleased when the woman's voice came in and began the actual exercise!

I loved this exercise overall! It was very calming and I felt a sense of peace, as I used my husband as the source of the visualization of someone we deeply love. I also especially liked the water flowing in the background and found it very soothing. Listening to the second portion and focusing on myself was a little more difficult. It is harder for me to "self-focus" sometimes than on someone else. My mind kept wandering to other things, but I was able to quickly re-direct myself back to the guided exercise. My favorite part was letting go and releasing myself to welcoming loving kindness and creating stillness in that moment. My least favorite part was when we had to focus on a loved one who was suffering. Many different people came to mind at once and I had a multidimensional feeling of their suffering. At first it felt overwhelming and I began to cry, but I was able to follow the guided visualization and give back joy through this experience. This was again a very cathartic experience.

Overall, I did find it beneficial and I would also recommend it to others, however, I would also invite them to read passages from our text in conjunction with this exercise or they might miss some important parts and not truly understand the contemplative aspect of living through loving kindness.

Creating Wellness: Unit 3: Crime of the Century Relaxation Exercise

Based on my reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), this is how I would rate my physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being.

A-   Physical Well-being = 4

B-   Spiritual Well-being = 6

C-   Psychological Well-being = 6

I do not feel my physical well-being as at the top of my list of priorities, which it should be. This is the last area of my being that I focus on and truly take care of and these are areas that I need to change. I need to lose weight, reduce my sodium levels, and maintain a healthy exercise regimen which will not only promote weight loss, but will also enable me to become physically healthy and strong as a whole person.



I would say that my spiritual and psychological well-being is what I am focusing most on at this time in my life. My psychological well-being is being test currently because of the loss of job situation with my husband. I (we) must remain positive, encouraging, strong, despite the odds and in the face of whatever comes our way in the next month. We will be tested every day and we know that we can make it through the challenges to come. As far as my spiritual well-being, it is stronger than it has been in quite some time. We have gone through a major transformation within this past year and have shifted from focusing on “religion” to focusing on our re-establishing our belief system on a spiritual plane that is more in tune with the universe, and not just what fits inside of a box drawn up by a church or a theologian.





The goal for my physical health is to begin a path of eating healthy once again, lowering fat and carbohydrates, eliminating pop, reducing sodium, and eating more fruits and vegetables. I need to add on more physical exercise as well to my regimen of becoming healthy. I want to continue to add yoga, etc. to this as well for a more rounded approach at becoming healthy.


The goal for my spiritual health is to continue to study Chakra, Reiki, Ayurveda, and eastern religion practices and find the center of our spiritual world through alternative methods than we have done in the past.



The goal for my psychological health is to also continue to think positively, to set forth positive intentions each day to live out and to continue to learn how to be emotionally intelligent and mature as a whole person, intertwining physical, spiritual, and psychological health.



The exercises that I can establish which will help foster a growth in each of those three areas is: Yoga, Meditation, Chakra, Reiki, positive self-talk, intentions, and I want to delve deeper into newer practices that I am still learning about such as crystal healing, channeling, and developing levels of higher consciousness as a whole.



I LOVED this "rainbow" meditation. This is my favorite type of exercise because they are using Chakra Principles through the color therapy in order to promote relaxation and healing. I am doing this exercise on the heels of a very stressful week, not only at work, but also in my own life. My husband lost his job the beginning part of this week as well, and we have tried our best to be positive. I felt as though I was doing a good job on the outside, but I was definitely holding most of the stress in and I was not allowing myself the ability to truly relax and be where I needed to be in a positive state in my mind. This exercise helped me to bring my focus back to a more positive state, so that I can create the new reality that is before us and we can move forward into this new future that lies ahead of us. This experience was very emotionally cathartic for me.

Creating Wellness: Unit 2: Reflection

We have been asked to reflect on the Journey on Relaxation exercise. First, I must say that these are my favorite types of visualization,guided imagery, and meditation exercises. I found the man's voice to be very soothing and comforting. I had never heard of "autogenic" training, but I love the concept behind it. I had a very stressful day at work, so this was a much needed escape from the stresses of the day. I felt not only relaxed and felt the stress melt away by the time it was over, but I began to be more focused and felt that I was concentrating better while finishing the remainder of my homework.

I also liked the "word pictures" such as his example of a sponge saturated with water and how it becomes very pliable and bendable, just as our muscles can be in a very relaxed state. I could feel the warmth and heaviness from the flow of blood filling back up my arms and legs and into the core of my body. By the end of the audio clip, I was disappointed that it had ended and wanted more. I did have a hard time bringing myself back to reality and having the energy to begin my homework at first. After a few moments though, I felt more focused and was able to continue and finish.

Kris Sinclair

Creaing Wellness:Unit 2: Welcome

Welcome to my blog! For this week's blog discussion, we were asked to create a welcome statement for this class. I am new to blogging, so I hope you will be patient as I figure all of this out. I hope that you will also take a moment to look around. I want this to be a fun experience for us all, and I want you to get to know the real me in the process.

So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit down, relax, and enjoy!

Kris Sinclair

Colton Dixon: Everything - Top 9 - AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 11

My Grandbaby!

My grandbaby is 2 years old. His name is Charles Henry Thomas Green, Jr. and we call him CJ. I absolutely adore this little guy! My daughter lives in Alabama now so he is way too far away and I miss him sooooo much!

My kids

My kids are my world!

Missy is 17 and in 11th grade!

Josh is 15 and in 9th grade!

Megan is 11  and is in 6th grade!

Mackenzie is 8 and is in 3rd grade!

Jenny is 19 and is out of the house now and lives in Alabama!



The Love of My Life

My hubby Andy is the love of my life. We have been married for almost 13 years. It hasn't always been easy, and times we thought we would lose everything we had, but we fought through the hard times and have learned to appreciate life more in the process.  We are learning to not take life for granted and make every second count. Throughout it all, there is no one I would rather be on this "ride" with!

I Was Here Lady Antebellum Lyrics

I Was Here

One of my favorite songs that mirrors my life is by Lady Antebellum. It is called "I Was Here". I have posted the lyrics below. Enjoy!

I WAS HERE

You will notice me
I'll be leaving my mark like initials carved
In an old oak tree, you wait and see

Maybe I'll write like Twain wrote
Maybe I'll paint like Van Gogh
Cure the common cold, I don't know
But I'm ready start 'cause I know in my heart

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I've been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?

I will prove you wrong
If you think I'm all talk, you're in for a shock
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/lady-antebellum-lyrics/i-was-here-lyrics.html ]
'Cause this dream's too strong and before too long

Maybe I'll compose symphonies
Maybe I'll fight for world peace
'Cause I know it's my destiny
To leave more than a trace of myself in this place!

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I've been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
And leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?

And I know that I, I will do more than just pass through this life
I'll leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?
I was here

Graduation Speech: Welcome to the Spirit of Change: April 2011

I’d like to welcome you all tonight, to a celebration of our graduation from Kaplan University and to a celebration of The Spirit of Change. Though our degrees may differ in the major we have chosen, and the steps we have all taken to get to this moment in time are most definitely unique, our voyage throughout this process has now intertwined our lives and bound us together for a lifetime. We have been changed forever, our lives touching each other for one brief, yet momentous place in time. We have encouraged, reassured, and definitely inspired each other to continue, when at times the whole process felt overwhelming and excruciating.

I have got to give credit to all of the staff at Kaplan, for without this team, none of us would be here today. From Nick, my recruiter and cheerleader in the beginning, telling me I COULD do this, to the financial aid office, the business office, and all of the staff involved in keeping Kaplan running and on its toes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity.

I would also like to thank the entire medical assisting department and all of my classmates who have stood beside me, who have laughed with me, and even cried with me, as we spent hours, studying with each other, taking those dreaded pharmacology and A & P exams, and using each other as human pin cushions to successfully get all of the necessary blood draws in to be able to advance to our externship sites.

I am excited to be able to say that throughout this process, I have also gotten hired on at my externship site as a Medical Assistant with Midtown Medical Group!

 And most importantly, I would like to thank my ever so patient and supportive mom, husband, and kids, who helped me study for many exams and encouraged me to keep going even when I felt overwhelmed. You are my inspiration for staying strong when things get tough. Thank you for allowing me to spread my wings and fly, while you were missing me and longing for me to be home with you. You had faith in me, when I didn’t believe in myself and I can’t believe I am standing here today, finished and graduating with honors!

      When I was asked to write a speech for our graduation, I was not only honored, but terrified of getting up here and speaking to all of you here tonight. I thought about my own life and the reasons why I should give this speech, and I knew that if I could reach just one person who is struggling in their life, one person who is trying to succeed and feels that they can’t go on, then I have done my job, and I have succeeded.

The symbol for my life has always been “the butterfly”. So in pondering this topic for my speech, I realized how appropriate it would be to equate this to our graduation. The butterfly stands for a period of rebirth, transformation and awakening. If you think about the butterfly, it begins as an egg and the larva, minute and almost impossible to see with the human eye. Weren’t we a little like this when we started our classes here at Kaplan? We were all a little scared, and we felt small and insignificant, and we wondered if we would ever make it into the person we hoped to become at the end of all of this.

The next stage of the butterfly is to become a caterpillar. How many of us couldn’t see this day at the beginning of our journey? We felt like the lonely caterpillar, slowly learning to walk, taking baby steps and hoping just to make it through another exam, another challenge, and not get stepped on in the process! So we trudged along, making a little further day by day, sometimes feeling like the walk was just too long, but somehow finding the strength inside of us, to put one foot in front of the other, getting through another day, and then another, and then another…

The next step in the process is the cocoon stage. Haven’t we all been in this stage in our lives? I’m sure some of us would rather stay in this very stage, warm, comfortable, and safe from the outside world. This is the stage I hit around our next to last term. I felt like I was accomplishing the skills necessary to become a competent Medical Assistant, but I was scared to take the next step in the process; scared to begin my externship and wander out into that big dark world, where I would have to start a whole new career and prove to myself and the world all over again that I could do this, I could succeed! But something inside of me told me to keep going that it would all work out in the end.

I kept taking those baby steps; I kept warm in my cocoon yet kept sticking my “feelers” out to test the waters outside; and before I knew it, I felt myself wanting to push just a little harder and I realized when I looked back that we were just around the corner from graduation and we were almost there! How had I managed to work full-time, take care of 5 kids at home, and still be a successful student? Where are all those reservations and fears now? They were gone! I had done it! I had reached the end of my goal and here I was, ready to graduate with honors! I felt free, like a butterfly ready to spread her wings and fly to the next stage of my life, my next journey.

I believe the butterfly signifies change in all of us. And from time to time, all of us must enter a period of intense change in our lives. Sometimes, this change is unwanted, unsettling, and the most difficult thing we have ever gone through. But the butterfly reminds us that it is a natural part of change, and that change although sometimes frightening, is only temporary. Sometimes in the depths of our deepest, darkest hours, is where we learn to grow new wings, to reach for things we thought were never possible. Each time we grow those new wings and stretch them to new heights, we push ourselves, just a little more, breaking down those walls that have confined us for so long, breaking down those words of the people who told us that we could not do this and that we wouldn’t succeed. Through our struggles, we have been reborn into this world, as a new, transformed and beautiful creature! Change is not merely an external force, it is also a vast potential for new ways of being that dwells within us all.

Tonight, as we part, I challenge each and every one of you, to become all that you aspire to be, in your own time. Never forget the memories we’ve made together not the ways in which we have changed each other’s lives. Be determined to not let tragedies nor obstacles define you. Always, welcome the spirit of change, as you never know where it may lead you and in which ways it will help you grow. Aspire to someday finish this process of metamorphosis so that you can become the butterfly, who is not afraid to spread its wings and fly to wherever the next path leads! I am a living example of what perseverance, hard work, and patience is all about on this journey through a college degree. In the end, it has all been worth it and I believe that you all have it within you, if you just open your minds and welcome the Spirit of Change! Embrace it, live it, and let it become your next journey in this life! Goodnight everyone!

Welcome To My Life

Welcome to my life! I hope you enjoy my blog. You aren't going to find an exciting life of travel, of fortune, or of fame here. What you will find is the story of a woman who loves with all of her heart, who is finding who she is for the first time in her life, who strives every day to find a peace within that she can spread to each person she touches in this life. I want to make a difference, I want to stand out in a crowd, and I want to leave my mark on this earth and make the changes needed for my children and grandchild to have a beautiful life of peace on this earth.

I am 42 years old. I love my job as a medical assistant/office manager at Midtown Medical Group in Omaha, Nebraska. I also attend school full-time at Kaplan University, earning my Bachelor's Degree in Health Sciences in the field of Health and Wellness. I am happily married and have 5 children and a grandbaby that I adore!

My  main passion in life is music and writing and of course my family.  I am happiest when I am outside in the middle of nature where I feel closest to my maker and the universe.

I believe that I am like a butterfly. I have been in my cocoon stage for years, in a state of stagnancy and I was comfortable here. Within the past year, I have begun to shed my cocoon and have learned to expand my horizons, while slowly growing my wings. At first, I was scared and it felt odd to be stretching beyond my comfort zone. But as I have grown and opened myself up to unlimited potential, I have begun to find myself, the real me, hidden underneath complicated layers of fear and self-doubt, and I have seen my future in a new and different light. I believe that all things are possible if we only believe. I believe we create our own reality by the things we think and feel, and our minds are the only thing holding us back. No one can stop us, no one else can steal our dreams and hopes for the future. Believe in yourself, and you can do anything you set your mind to!

Last year when graduating from earning my Associate's Degree in Medical Assisting, I was asked to be the valedictorian of our ceremony. The name of my speech was titled "The Spirit of Change." (Please see my next blog for my complete graduation speech.) In this speech, I challenged each of the graduating student to strive to complete the process of metamorphosis and grow into that beautiful butterfly who is not afraid to spread their wings and reach for the sky. I challenge each of you to accept the same path.  Walk with me, throughout this blog, as we learn about the ways we can continue to grow and change and become the true people we were put on the face of the earth to be. Let's make the changes necessary within ourselves to change our world!