Ok folks, time to share what's on my mind...
In doing the exercise for the subtle mind, I found that it was a lot more difficult. When I did the loving-kindness exercise, I was able to focus on the things I loved and turn that outer love and focus it on my self. After that, I attempted to turn that inner love and compassion and direct it to those that were suffering, and even to those that I didn't really care for. That exercise left me feeling full of great feelings and invigorated. For this exercise, I had to focus on either my breathing or the inhalation and exhalation of my breath in an attempt to clear my mind of all the unwanted thoughts. Despite my greatest efforts to focus on my breathing, I wasn't able to calm my mind for longer then a minute at a time.
But I do know why it was so difficult. My step children and one grand daughter are visiting for the weekend and of course they are loud and obnoxious! Well not obnoxious, but they are super loud!
In trying to calm my mind, I was constantly bombarded with "can I have some juice?" "I need a towel," or "What are we gonna do today?" Since I was trying to be a good hostess, I was turned to every direction except to my breathing. Soooo, after many attempts, I managed to find 10 minutes to devote to my thoughts, or my "not" thoughts.
Once I was able to clear my mind, I found that it was just as invigorating at the loving kindness exercise. Since spiritual, mental, and physical wellness are all connected, its safe to assume that in order for a person to be completely whole, they must thrive in each department. I do believe, though, that to have a healthy physical wellness you must have healthy spiritual and mental wellness. One can be physically handicapped or deformed, but as long as they have love and compassion, and a strong connection to their spiritual self, they can overcome whatever physical shortcomings they may have.
I once did an experiment on myself several years ago. I had suffered from gallstones and I noticed that the more aggravated or anxious I got, the worse my pain would be. My ex husband and I were having marital problems and whenever I thought about how much I hated him, I would be in pain. So one day I was sitting in my bedroom and I allowed myself to calm down and think of the good times. I did that, and my pain went away. I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, it never occurred to hone those skills and continue to practice that exercise. Now, these many years later, it is all coming back to me.
I have been doing well with these exercise thus far, and I have every intention of keeping it up.
Hanan
The loving-kindness exercise gave me some confusion. Now that you mentioned it, that exercise was about being able to focus on the loving-kindness that is surrounding us and learning how to project that to ourselves. However, I still find the subtle mind exercise more beneficial for my own needs even though I am unable to successfully complete the exercise. I find it very hard to detach myself from my thoughts as well. I agree with you that in order to achieve total wellness, one would need to thrive in all aspects of wellness. How can someone become truly well without happiness? Or how can someone truly love themselves if they cannot accept themselves as a person? This is why it is important to learn how to be grateful, have forgiveness, show love, be able to find peace, and accept life for what it is because without these things we’re just leading ourselves to a life of unhappiness.
ReplyDeleteHello How are you
ReplyDeleteI found the loving-kindness exercise to be very confusing and hard to follow. There was so much talking that it was hard to focus. I really enjoyed the Subtle Mind exercise because there were large gaps of music and ocean sounds that allowed me to relax and focus more on my breathing.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that in order to achieve total wellness that one must understand how the mind works and be able to surrender themselves to help and understand others.