Unit 6 - Loving_Kindness

In practicing the loving-kindness exercise first I was sad.  Not everyone will gain freedom from suffering and not everyone will find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.  My parents died several years ago.  Maybe I miss them because it is Memorial Day.  I just know that today I miss them very much.  I may not like how they handled things and some of the things they did, but today I believe that they did the best they could with what they knew.  I was 15 when dad died of a heart attack and 20 when mom died of cancer.  I learned a lot of things from them, mostly of what not to do.  I don't ever remember hearing a simple phrase like "I love you" from either of them.  I can't change the past but I can change what I do.  I tell my kids every day that I love them and I am proud of them.  As I continued the exercise I also felt confident and loving.  I can assist people in gaining freedom from suffering and finding sustained health, happiness, and wholeness. 

During the assessment I discovered that the area I have chosen to focus on is my emotional health.  There has been a lot of fear and negativity at home and work lately.  I have let it get to me and I have let it dictate how I feel and how I react to people.  I need to refocus my mind to be positive and happy.  I need to focus on showing loving-kindness and compassion.  I need to focus on what I have and less on what I don't have.

 I plan to meditate and pray more.  I also play to listen to quiet music more.  I believe that if I can get some physical exercise such as walking or riding my bike that will help too.  This weekend was a very stressful one because my daughter got hurt roller blading and we were at the hospital twice.  I finally realized that I needed to step back and relax.  I sat in my back yard swing with my headphones and music on.  It was not long and I found myself laying in the swing and actually fell asleep.  What was more amazing was the kids were quiet and let me sleep.  That was the best nap in a long time.  I woke up rested and ready to tackle whatever I needed to. 

Unit 5 - Subtle Mind

I think this exercise was much easier to listen to and much more relaxing than Loving Kindness.  the voices were softer and easy to listen to.  I liked the breathing exercises that were involved.  They were much easier to follow and focus on.  I had a much easier time relaxing and this time there was no frustration involved.  This exercise is one I will go back and do again and again.  I believe that the physical, mental, and spiritual wellness work hand in hand.  They sort of compliment each other. I think at the beginning of these exercises I was trying to hard to relax.  In the back of my mind I would tell myself that I had to relax.  The more I tried the more frustrated I got.  This time I waited until the kids were in bed and the house was quiet.  I think timing is important too.  I started doing these exercises just before I went to bed at night.  I found that I was much more relaxed and able to go to sleep.  More important, I found that I was able to shut off my mind and get to sleep faster.  I had been having a difficult time sleeping.  Now I am getting more sleep and an easier time getting up in the morning.  For this I am grateful!

Loving Kindness and Mental Exercises

After listening to the Loving Kindness exercise I was pleasantly surprised to be a little more relaxed.  I had to listen to it three times before I could concentrate and focus.  It has been a very stressful week and relaxing even a little has been nearly impossible.  I found his voice to be very monotone and almost annoying.  He was very hard to listen to.  I did enjoy the water sounds in the background though.  I have a couple of CDs of nature sounds that I enjoy listening to at night.  I had trouble with my mind wandering as I listened to this exercise.  I do not think this is one I would listen to on a regular basis. 

The more I practice this type of exercise the more it can help strengthen my mind.  Exercise for the mind is just as important as physical exercise.  Our bodies need to be in shape and our minds need to be sharp.  As we get older this becomes harder.

Mind and Body

Based on my reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being optimal wellbeing) I would rate my physical wellbeing 5 because I have weight issues and high blood pressure issues.  My goal for improving my physical wellbeing is to start exercising. I would like to start walking even for 30 minutes every day.  I could do this with my 14 year old daughter.  This would get us both up and moving and give us special time together.  It might even lower my blood pressure and help me lose weight.  My spiritual wellbeing I would rate an 8.  I am very involved in my local church.  I have a great deal of faith and trust in my God.  I listen to worship music and read in my Bible daily.  As with all things there is room for improvement.  I would like to increase my time in reading the Bible and listening to worship music to 30 minutes daily.  In my psychological wellbeing I would have to rate this also a 5.  Lately I tend to be somewhat moody, stressed and overwhelmed a lot.  My goal to improve this is to not look at the big picture.  I need to only look at one little piece of the picture at a time.  Work on one assignment at a time.  Tackle one chore at home at a time. 

The Rainbow Meditation was very frustrating for me.  I have not done anything like color therapy before and it was just too different.  It was very hard for me to concentrate and relax.  I did try to listen to the entire meditation.  There was no relaxing though.  My mind just could not stay focused.  My mind kept going to things that needed to be done, what are the kids doing, what am I going to fix them to eat, . . . . .  It was just too frustrating.  I am open to trying it again though.