Out of all the exercises I practiced this term, I most
enjoyed the Loving-Kindness and the Subtle Mind practices. I have actually created my own recordings of
both of these and intend to continue using them. The Loving-Kindness practice helps me to send
out love and peace, not only to myself and to my family and friends, but to the
world at large. I find this to be very
comforting and I believe in the power of sending positive thoughts out into the
universe. The Subtle Mind practice was
immediately attractive to me due to the component of using one’s breathing as a
focal point. I found this very easy to
do as I have previous experience with doing so.
Although I struggled with shifting the focus to stillness itself, I have
gotten better with it, and it feels very comforting and peaceful to me. The practice allows me time to clear my mind
and get to a more spiritual place. I
believe this will help me to sharpen my meditative skills and eventually enable
me to be successful at the Meeting Aesclepius practice.
To foster mental fitness in my personal life, I intend to
continue practicing mindfulness. I will
also continue to use the Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind practices (perhaps
alternating them) daily. I found that
for me, the best time of day for these practices is first thing in the morning
and I have actually adjusted my alarm clock so that I can wake up early enough
to enjoy them without being rushed.
Right now, my morning practices are about 25 minutes long, but I intend
to gradually increase the length to 60 minutes.
I find that with more practice, I can use the exercise longer, and as I
extend the length of time, I am finding that I feel better and better.
Wow - how inspiring! For some reason, I really struggled with some of the exercises, but your post makes me actually want to try them again. I'm impressed with your dedication and inspired by your passion for the practice. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteSending out positive thoughts and energy is great!!!! Recently a friend became unemployed. Several of us held her in our thoughts and sent positive vibes that something better would come her way. Within a week she had an offer for a better job than she previously had. It has showed a few friends of mine about the power of our minds.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your exercises! I think it is great that you send positive energy to others. I find myself doing this a lot lately. Its kind of sad yet funny the other day I was driving and there was a squirrel on the side of the road that had been hit by a car. My son commented on it, asking me what happened and I found myself sending the little squirrel positive energy (kind of silly-I know). It heartbreaking to see animals smeared all over the side of the road like that. Keep up the good work on your practices!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteThese two practices were my favorite ones as well. I agree that the loving-kindness exercise just gives you the feeling of goodness within by sending out the positive thoughts and feelings to the world - it just gives me a sense of peace knowing I was able to do this.
Great job!
Megan