Unit 5 Blog
Hello Everyone ~
I found the loving-kindness exercise
to be more straightforward, captivating, and easier for me to relate to than
the subtle mind exercise.
In the loving-kindness exercise, we
had to visualize a loved one who was suffering while we were maintaining our
breathing. By allowing the dark cloud of
suffering to enter our body with our in-breath, we were able to let the
suffering completely dissolve in our heart. I liked
the idea of this exercise in that we welcomed loving-kindness into our heart
while lessening our self-centeredness, thereby being able to share this
loving-kindness with others as we breathed out health, love, and
happiness. I found it easier to stay
focused and really get deep into a natural, calm, and peaceful state.
In contrast, the subtle mind exercise
had us reflect on the levels of psychospiritual flourishing; the witnessing
mind, calm-abiding mind, and unity consciousness. The goal was to train the mind to reign in the
constant mental activity of our thought, feelings, emotions and images. I thought this exercise was more
challenging and took more effort for me to maintain my focus. I lost focus several times, due to the long pauses, and found it hard to get back to the state of relaxation I was previously enjoying.
The connection between spiritual
wellness to mental and physical wellness is crucial for an individual to
experience human flourishing. I believe
individuals can achieve a spiritual connection to any higher power, which can
be a God, an emotion, or a material object.
A spiritual connection can give an individual a deeper sense of their
spiritual awareness as well as benefit their mental and physical wellness. I think both are needed to truly achieve human
flourishing. I feel meditation and prayer, coupled
with proper nutrition, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle, all play key roles in
maintaining a healthy mind, body, and soul.
Peace,
~ Cheryl
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and the way you put things together. I think you are very right about how meditation and prayer along with nutrition, exercise, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are all key roles in maintaining a healthy mind, body, and spirit. It is crazy to think how much one aspect affects another aspect and how much of a difference it makes when they are all united together. Its a wonderful concept that I am going to work towards everyday.
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteHello. I enjoyed the subtle mind exercise more myself just because we didn't have to envision loved ones in pain and so many other things such as loving our enemies. I have some pretty awful enemies, made it hard to relax. It was nice just to lay back and kind of drain the mind during the subtle mind exercise but yes I am trying my best to let go of anger towards people that have hurt me especially after reading that forgiveness lowers the physical symptoms of stress. I do know what you mean by the long pauses. Sometimes they were way to long. I was actually really startled a few times when the voice came back on. Great Blog =).
Heidi Waldman
Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI actually like the Subtle mind exercise more because of less narration and background noises the pauses actually helped me remain focused. I agree with you that meditation, prayer, healthy nutrition and exercise is a way to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I really enjoyed reading your post.
Donna Phelps