1. Review of Unit 4 and Introduction to Unit 5 1

2.  Initial Discussion questions due by Saturdays by 11:59 PM EST  All other assignments are due by Tuesdays at 11:59 PM EST  Be sure to have 2 responses to peers’ Discussion Board responses to get full credit for the forum  Start planning ahead for Unit 9 and the final project—look at it and we will talk more about it in the coming weeks 2

3.  Create a PowerPoint presentation that will “teach” the importance of mental fitness (thought process) and its implications to physical wellness to include: 1. Introduction: Discuss the main points of the presentation 2. Part One: Introduce the benefits of “mental fitness”. Include at least three [3]research studies that have demonstrated the healing qualities of mental and spiritual focus. 3. Part Two: Provide at least two examples of exercises, activities, or practices which can improve mental fitness. Give step-by-step instructions, explanations etc. and any other information that you believe is important to the development of mental fitness. 4. Summarize the main points of the presentation. 3

4.  1) Title Slide  2) Introduction  3) 3 Research Articles  4) 2 Exercises/Activities ◦ Step-by-step instructions/other relevant information about EACH exercise  5) Summary of Main Points  6) References ◦ Title slide is optional, no set number of slides (do whatever you need to do to have an effective presentation), must have a reference slide as well references need to be cited within the work 4

5.  Please upload your presentation to the Doc Sharing thread and not into your blog as it indicates in the assignment thread. It has come to my attention that this process is more laborious than is reasonable.  If you wish, you certainly may also include your assignment in your blog, but it is not required. I will check to see if it is in the Doc Sharing thread however 5

6.  2007 Power Point Help Website: ◦ http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/powerpoint/FX100648951033.aspx?ofcresset=1 http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/powerpoint/FX100648951033.aspx?ofcresset=1  2003 Power Point Help Website: ◦ http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/powerpoint/FX100648971033.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/powerpoint/FX100648971033.aspx 6

7.  What did you do over the past week to help your psycho-spiritual development?  Were there any obstacles that made it difficult for your or made it so that you had to change your approach completely?  What were some examples of loving- kindness that you showed over the last week? 7

8.  4 reasons of studying psycho-spiritual flourishing (Dacher, 2006) ◦ Most undeveloped aspect of human life ◦ It is the main source of mental anguish and premature diseases ◦ It is the area that will most likely help develop other aspects of our lives more fully ◦ The inner-self needs to be considered a gift and an opportunity for us to share 8

9.  1)Primal Unity/Sensorimotor Consciousness—sense of self which people have no distinction between themselves and outer world—instinctual  2)Psychological Life/Witnessing Consciousness—allows for observation and ability to act accordingly  3)Spiritual Life/Calm-Abiding Consciousness—things become more clear through matured thought processing which brings about confidence and unbiased approaches  4)Conscious Unity/Unity Consciousness— understand this rebirth of innocence and through our wisdom we use this processed information to help others and attempt to make a better environment which we are a part 9

10.  Three ways we explore and evolve psycho-spiritually ◦ (a)use this to stop wandering mindlessly with listless thoughts  What does a wandering mind mean for you? ◦ (b)through mental training, we develop and access witnessing, calm-abiding, and unity consciousness  What kind of mental training works well for you? ◦ (c)inner inquiry and self-cultivation then begins  What is self-cultivation and how do you use it? 10

11.  Reduce barriers to love such as negative feelings (greed, anger, hate, depression) as well as any other barriers (negative associates, unhealthy living conditions, et al)  Enhance loving attitudes such as gratefulness and being generous ◦ What do you do to enhance loving attitudes for yourself as well as in others?  Develop love through intrapersonal means— meditation, relaxation, self-imaging love actions  Understand that wisdom and love go hand in hand ◦ How do you think wisdom and love go hand in hand? ◦ Walsh (2001) as stated in Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi (2005). 11

12.  Intercessory prayer is taking it upon yourself to pray for others. It is the culmination of thoughts and attitudes and beliefs that you utilize to think of the well-being of others.  Do any of you have any examples of when you may have used intercessory prayer?  Was it helpful to you, why and how? 12

13.  Three levels of the subtle mind ◦ (a) Witnessing mind—impartial observation of recognizing feelings as they occur  What might be an example of this? ◦ (b)Calm-abiding mind—stable stillness of the mind—very rare as undisturbed thoughts are with this mind  What is an example of this? ◦ (c)Unity Consciousness—the ability to see how things actually are and not just the way they may have been perceived  What is an example of this? 13

14.  Cross-training actively involves the body and mind interconnectedness  Tai-Chi, yoga, pilates, martial arts, and any activity where the body, mind, and spirit are interconnected and incorporate oneness  Are there any other examples that you can think of in addition to the ones I have listed here that might your or your clients? 14

15.  (a)Love  (b)Forgiveness ◦ What is forgiveness? ◦ How do you show forgiveness? ◦ Are there any obstacles to showing forgiveness?  (c)Gratefulness ◦ What is gratefulness? ◦ How do you show you are grateful? ◦ Are there any obstacles to show gratefulness? 15

16. Dacher, E. (2006). Psychospiritual flourishing. Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Dacher, E. (2006). The subtle mind. Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. (2005). The practices of essential spirituality. Consciousness & healing: Integral Approaches to Mind Body Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Inc. 16