I am so excited about both of these practices, but for two different reasons. During and after the loving kindness practice, I felt happy, slightly energized and excited about life. After doing it a few times, I even felt a bit ready to bury the hatchet with some old grudges (of which I really only have about one or two...I try to not live that way). After the subtle mind, I felt peaceful and somewhat centered. I did have some issues during the latter, however. Some of the times I was doing it, I would be able to really focus, while others, I would catch myself after some time drifting off to thoughts. I am really working at not having emotional reactions or attachments to my thoughts, feelings and images. It works sometimes, while not so much during other times. I really enjoy both of these practices and plan on continuing them in the future.
I believe that the mind, body and spirit are all interrelated and that by increasing the health of one will absolutly increase the health of the others. By doing some mental workouts before actually going and doing my physical work outs, I'm in a better place and I have a better result. I also try to calm my mind and just focus on the run while I'm actually working out now. It helps quell the panic that sometimes still arises in me from my childhood when I was very sick for a very long time and breathing had become an issue. It helps me relax now and push through the hard parts of the workout. I feel that, by trying to live my life without stress and with a greater focus on what's important, my spiritual side is coming back into focus. I have always considered myself to be a spiritual person, but now I'm finding that I am excited about it again and finding peace from it again, which is absolutely amazing!
Victoria
Hi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteSettling the mind prove to be somewhat difficult for me when I first tried the 2nd exercise, but with persistence I was finally able to actually control my thoughts. I never thought that would be possible without drifting to sleep. I actually listened to the loving-kindness audio first, waited a few minutes (about 15 mins) and listened to the other one. I think that the loving-kindness had me in a relaxed state of mind and the sound of the ocean triggered that feeling allowing me to concentrate on my breathing. I really did enjoy the experience. Good post.
Teal
Hi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteGreat post to your blog! I'm so glad the exercising are helping you. :) I found both the loving-kindness and subtle mind exercises to be therapeutic and felt much more relaxed afterwards.
It is a shame the Western medical society doesn't treat the person as a whole, which included the mind, body, and spirit. I think if they did we would have a lot more healthier people today. However, we are not getting the education to teach others the importance and show individuals how to take their own mind, body, and spiritual health into their own hands.
Great post and see you in class!
Teri
I found loving kindness was a lot easier. I think maybe because I have so much going on my mind and I are moving so quickly it was hard to stop and randomly focus. But I was able to focus on just one person instead.
ReplyDelete