I enjoyed all of the exercises and practice sessions that were
assigned in our class. The loving-kindness was definitely my favorite of them
all. We focused loving thoughts on a loved one, then on others. This exercise
filled my heart with love and compassion. I use this daily, especially when
faced with a challenge or stressful situation. I stop what I am doing and focus
on the love that I share with this person and I am overwhelmed with a great sense
of warmth and compassion. This helps alleviate the stress of daily situations.
Increasing our loving thoughts can actually improve our brain function (Dacher, 2006) . The subtle mind
exercise also focused our loving thoughts on a loved one and strangers. This
exercise was more about breathing and clearing the mind. Sounds of the ocean
played in the background. This, again, is helpful in stressful situations: stop,
take deep breaths and focus your thoughts on a loved one. These two exercises
can be practiced daily in a quiet place or in the midst of a stressful
situation. I believe practice will increase the benefits of the exercises.
Teresa :-)
Reference:
Dacher, E.
(2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach,
CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Teresa
ReplyDeleteThe loving kindness exercise makes me feel love and compassion as well, and can be a great stress reliever or mood lifter. Subtle mind is another good tool we learned this term, I have a bit of an impatience issue so I actually prefer to do more self guided meditations, but am glad that everyone in the class can find something to help them in their personal lives.