This week we were assigned two guided meditation exercises to compare, one on loving-kindness and one on the subtle mind.
The loving kindness exercise had a lot more
long pauses than the subtle mind exercise. The loving-kindness exercise focused
more on expanding your heart and accepting love, kindness and forgiveness. The
purpose of the exercise being to adopt a more accepting lifestyle or positive
feelings and reject destructive feelings of anger or frustration. The subtle
mind exercise focused more on stillness and quieting the mind for inner reflection. The purpose being t clear the mind of “clutter”
and clear the mind so there is more focus.As mention in previous reviews, I am not the guided meditation type, I do not take well to it. But maybe by the end of this course I will be used to it ;)
Spiritual wellness has a
strong connection to mental and physical wellness. Loving-kindness teaches us
that when we practice love, forgiveness and kindness, our mind-span is opened
up to a greater sense of consciousness, the result of this is overall integral
health. These are critical components of spiritual wellness because they allow
a lightness to enter our life and clear our mind and body, preventing mental
distress and illness, recovery from disease and all around happiness and
wholeness (Dacher, 2006)..
There is no need to be a
Buddhist monk, a physician or mathematician to expand your spiritual health. Even
the smallest of changes can have a big impact on your psychological, spiritual
and mental well being. This can be integrated into my life by simply practicing
more loving-kindness in my life. Instead of complaining I have to work late, I
could be thankful I have a job. Instead of getting mad at my son for getting
bath water on the floor, I could be grateful I have such a beautiful little
boy.
Over time you will
strengthen the three goals of overall human flourishing – sustained health,
happiness and wholeness (Dacher, 2006)
Thank You for reading my
post this week, I hope everyone has a great holiday!
Pursue!
Michelle
Source
Dacher, E. (2006).
Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Chapter 4, Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications
Inc.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteAs always, I enjoy reading your post. Your message is always clear and lighthearted. My favorite part about this particular post is your reference to the things that annoy you,i.e. working late and your son getting bath water on the floor. Both of those things bother me as well. But also like you, I am learning to look on the bright side and be thankful for having a job and wonderful little children. Learning to be thankful has a lot to do with being happy. Until next time...
Stacey
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteDid you struggle with both exercises or did you prefer one over the other? I, too, have a very difficult time meditating. I can't sit still ever. Most of these exercises have been quiet difficult for me. Yet, I have to say, the witnessing mind has been my favorite so far. This exercise was the first one I actually started to relax in. I still couldn't sit through the whole thing, but I actually found myself calming down and relaxing. I loved the sound of the waves and the wooden flute is one of my favorite sounds. I found when the flute sound came into the background, it helped pull my focus back to my breathing and made me aware of what my mind had wondered off thinking about. This exercise I will enjoy doing again. The loving-kindness one, I did not care for. I do not think I am ready for that one yet.
Jen
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog. It is difficult to do a guided meditation because we are so used to being focused on all of the chatter. I agree that spiritual,mental and physical wellness are intertwined. If we are disconnected from our spirituality, there is no purpose, if there is no purpose we begin living for only ourselves and don't recognize the goodness and spirituality in others. We begin living for only ourselves losing loving kindness. This does have an affect physically as we experience more stress, anxiety and lonliness. I am always amazed and in awe of how our very being is so intricate and intertwined.
Healthy regards, Ann
Michelle
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about this weeks exercises. It seems as though you got a lot out of them and found the true purpose to them. I explained in another classmates post that I had trouble with this weeks guided meditation exercises. It was very hard to calm my mind. I am hoping by the end of this course I will have some mental discipline and fitness. There are many times where it is very difficult to clear the mind of clutter and to let your mind be completely vulnerable and open to love kindness, and stilling of your thoughts. This class has already taught me a lot though about mental fitness and way I am improve myself and my mind.
Hi Michelle, good post! I also have a hard time meditating, but I feel like if I practice a little more, and if I can get some quiet me time I might become better at it. I enjoyed the loving-kindess exercise a little more, but the subtle mind exercise may be helpful in freeing the mind of the clutter, as you said. I like the examples you gave on practicing loving kindness-focusing on the good and positive in any situation, rather than the bad.
ReplyDeleteKamala
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThese exercises are tough to follow. I have a wandering mind and find it difficult to sit long enough and concentrate hared enough for them to be effective. I did however enjoy this weeks exercise and feel that it is a great one to master to be able to do future exercises. I say that because this one allows you to notice your thoughts and then you visualize them disappearing, unlike other exercises where you have to clear your thoughts and focus on something else. If we master this one we will be able to clear our minds to do other exercises. Good luck in mastering these skills.
Leslie