The
loving-kindness exercise was very relaxing. It is amazing how just the thought
of a loved one can fill your heart with joy and compassion. I felt very warm
and at peace when thinking of this person. I was able to bring those feelings
back inward and felt a deep sense of calm. It was a little more difficult at
the end of the exercise when it asked that you embrace strangers and enemies
and feel that same sense of love and compassion. I guess, like everything, it
will take practice to accomplish this task. I would most definitely recommend
this to others. The sense of joy and love that I felt is worth taking the time
to complete the exercise. I kept that feeling with me for several hours before
the stress of the day took hold.
The
concept of a mental workout is daily commitment. Like anything in life, we must
commit to do it every day for it to become natural and sustainable. Antione
Lutz performed a study involving scholars who increased their gamma brain waves
just by developing compassionate thoughts. This suggests a higher order of
mental integration (Dacher, 2006) . I believe that
forcing yourself to think positive thoughts as a mental workout will increase
your ability to be happy and share this happiness and loving-kindness with
others. This practice will continue to improve your overall health and
well-being.
Reference:
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to
Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Daily commitment is my downfall. It's not that I don't have the time, it's more that I can't find the quiet time with all of the activity in my life. Still, even with squeezing in a few minutes here and there, I've noticed an improvement in my ability to quiet my mind. It's already made a difference in how I feel.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Lisa... I'm horrible when it comes to "daily" commitment. The only thing I've committed to daily is sleeping and eating. :) I do have to say that I rather liked your post though. I appreciate the fact that you recognize that it takes practice to obtain something like this. I honestly couldn't listen to the recording as the ladies voice was like "nails on a chalkboard" for me but I did read it in the book and did the motions while reading; it was quite wonderful to think that the power of love and kindness could literally break the darkness/pain barrier we find ourselves trapped in.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa, I agree that the exercise makes you feel up with warmth and happiness while thinking of your loved ones. I especially enjoyed the part where you think of a loved one suffering and breathe in their suffering and release it and it is gone. I thought that was touching and beautiful and put my mind at ease when it came to others suffering. I agree with you on the enemies section, which is difficult, but the healing process is about forgiving, right? I mean how can we "love thy enemy" if we don't forgive them and move passed the pain, even if they don't ever speak to you again in life, at least you can say, I prayed for you and I sent my kindness to you, so now we can sleep better at night, the rest is up to them!
ReplyDeleteI had a sense of compassion when doing this exercise, but like you stated, the end was a little more difficult. Did you envision several strangers/and or enemies, or did someone in particular get stuck in your mind? That's what happened to me, which I assume indicates that there is an issue there that needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteIt is sometimes difficult for me to make daily commitments, but it is necessary in order to flourish. One thing that helps me to meet those daily commitment is to schedule it. I write it on the calendar. This may not work for everyone, but it does help me.
I am glad you enjoyed the love and kindness exercise.
ReplyDeleteMy idea of the mental workout is to practice and train your mind as you would your body; to practice as you might work on throughout physical training. Assuming that we are to develop our psychospiritual life we have to work at it exactly as we might for everything else. In my opinion, the objective of the practice is to advance towards a stretched cognizance and more stupendous healing capacities.
I enjoyed reading, thank you for sharing!