Unit 6

The loving kindness exercise was interesting.  I found myself thinking of all of my loved ones, even some who have passed on.  Between thinking of them I kept thinking of all those who died in Connecticut and those who it directly affected.  Different people kept popping into my head, even some whom I despise.  I can see how this repetition could help to open one’s heart.

The assessment process is hard because you have to be honest with yourself.  There were a few things that came to me which are rather personal.  I have chosen to work on my psychospiritual health because I realize that many times I don’t think I am deserving of good things.  I believe my therapist related that this is a result of having an alcoholic parent.  It is just amazing that after 43 years I don’t completely have a handle on that.  I need to keep practicing the loving-kindness exercise toward others and myself.  In my life I have generally always put others first.   Because of my studies with Kaplan I have learned that sometimes people do this out of dependency issues.  This means if I am always doing things for others they will always need me and I will be validated.  It is important to serve others, with the right underlying motivations.  I want to work on being my authentic self.  In order to do that I will also do the subtle mind practice to quiet my mind down observe my thoughts and then incorporate positive ones where I need to.

Exercise 5 Subtle Mind Exercise

During the subtle mind exercise, I enjoyed listening to the ocean, because the beach is my very favorite place and if anything can get me to settle down, that's it right there.  It is very challenging though to keep my mind on my breath.  It seems like every 20 to 30 seconds I have to bring myself back.  I was a little distracted though because I was hungry.  This isn't frustrating, it's definitely exercise though.  It is a little easier than the loving kindness exercise though.  During that exercise, I felt that it was a little harder to focus.  I look at this the same way as physical exercise or even going to a therapist.  Sometimes you don't see or feel results for a while.  However, over time great results can occur with consistency.  A little bit every day can eventually go a long way.

Over the years I have been very physically active in dance and other things.  Because of this I have many aches and pains at the young age of 43.  I wonder now if some of the back and knee pain that I experience is because of emotional issues that I've had a difficult time with.  I look forward to practicing mental fitness so that I can alleviate some of the symptoms that I feel.  I know that if I am stressed, sad or worrying, my immunity gets low and I tend to get sick.  I want nothing more then to be able to exercise a witnessing mind, subtle mind, and unity consciousness so that I can reach my full potential and not get caught up in the stress of the day.

Exercise Week 4

Blog Week 4

Loving Kindness Exercise:

The first man’s voice was a bit agitating.  The women’s voice was more soothing.  I found it challenging at first.  I noticed myself clenching my teeth at some point, which is something I do when I’m stressed.  I had to tell myself in the middle of it to relax.  Maybe I was concentrating too hard.  I believe that it could be beneficial in the same way that the first day that you exercise, you may not see any physical results even though you have burned some calories and are training your muscles.  Also when you are in the middle of it you may want to stop and give up because it’s challenging or you are bored or tired.  However if you press through and continue with consistency, the results will be evident.  Once I have practiced and seen my results I could make a recommendation to others regarding this exercise.

The concept of a mental work out corresponds with what I just discussed in that repeated, consistent practice is needed in order to strengthen those figurative mental muscles.  The benefits are great.  A healthy mentality also can enhance or create a healthy spiritual existence.  It can also lend to our physical health.  When we are mentally and spiritually whole, our physical health can flourish as well.  This loving kindness practice suggests doing this two times a day.  I will have to set aside time when I wake up and before I go to bed to do this.