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.
Sheri,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all thank you for sharing you experience with the two exercises. I think it is hard to be honest about ourselves (even to ourselves). This is the first step to integral health. If you can not be honest about where you are in your life then you cannot even think about moving forward and enhancing your integral health. I also though of the elementary school shooting during the loving-kindness exercise. I feel that this exercise could be a very powerful one.
Leslie