Review of exercises

I have chosen loving kindness and subtle mind as the two practices that I feel are most beneficial to me, although I found benefit in all of them.  Loving Kindness reinforces the mindset that I want to have in life.  It was one of the more challenging exercises, but I feel that the benefits are well worth it.  The subtle mind exercise is exactly what I was looking for in this stage of my journey. It allows me to be a witness to what is going on in my mind instead of clinging to thoughts and ideas.  It allows me to feel stress free and when it is over I feel like I have a more calm and clear perspective on all things.  I plan to continue these exercises and eventually develop a more advanced routine of meditation to foster my mental fitness. 

Meeting Aesclepius

I am just loving this class so much.  This week I did a meditation called “meeting Aesclepius” and it was definitely something very new to me.  During the meditation we are told to envision someone that is very wise and has all the attributes that we admire.  We are then taken through several steps where we are basically absorbing this person’s wisdom and love and kindness.  All of these meditations have increased my psychological and spiritual wellness, and I can feel it in my daily life.  I am much more calm, contemplative and aware.

The saying “one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” is similar to what we used to say in the Marine Corps.  Basically you can’t ask a person to trust in your advice or take their time to do something that you yourself have not done or will not do.  We do have an obligation to our clients to be developing our health psychologically, physically and spiritually if that is what we are asking and expecting from them.  If a client were to have a health care provider who is over weight tell them that they need to lose weight, or tell them that they need to quit smoking right before they leave for their smoke break, I doubt this advice will be taken very seriously. 

Personal Assessment

As I continue doing these meditations I find them to be getting easier and more enjoyable.  They still take devoted time and attention, but I am finding the benefits to be well worth it.  This loving kindness meditation asked us to repeat the following phrases over and over for ten minutes:

May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.

May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.

May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.

May I assist all individuals in finding sustained health, happiness, and wholeness. 

This meditation felt wonderful, and also felt like I was praying, which I guess essentially I was.  I also find that there is a noticeable difference in my daily attitude when I begin my day with a meditation, and especially with mantras that focus my attention toward love, kindness, giving and the wellbeing of others. 

During the assessment process I really just tried to clear my mind and allow my inner self to show me what areas of my life need the most work.  While they definitely all need work, I have chosen to start by focusing on the biological aspect of my life.  I want to improve my fitness, nutrition, and mind/body spiritual connection, and I want to do it in a conscious and mindful way.  Some activities that I will do to improve this area include additional, deliberate, exercise, being more aware of my eating, and spending time everyday to meditate and re-enforce my positive mindset. 

PPT on Mental Fitness

PowerPoint Presentation on Mental Fitness

Subtle Mind

The Subtle Mind practice from the book Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing by Elliott Dacher (2006) was different and informative in a way.  The Loving Kindness exercise from last week was this experience of being filled and overwhelmed with wonderful feelings.  This Subtle Mind exercise encourages you to let go of every thought and feeling and not cling to anything.  You become a spectator of your mind.  You begin to understand the difference between clinging and witnessing, and understand the way that your mind works.

There is a connection between spiritual wellness, mental wellness and physical wellness. 

Mental and physical wellness enhance each other, and mental wellness is essential to achieving spiritual wellness (Dacher, 2006).  For me, I have a lot of work to do to become mentally and spiritually fit, but it was interesting for me to learn some ways to improve my mental wellness while I am doing traditional physical exercise, like focusing on the breath or imagining greater strength or endurance (Dacher, 2006). 

References: 

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Intergral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach , CA: Basic Health Publications.

Loving Kindness

The Loving Kindness practice from the book Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing by Elliott Dacher (2006) was a new and great experience for me.   As I started getting into it I felt like my toes were getting tingly, in that normal?  It even made me laugh a few times.  I found that I was so focused on this exercise that I had blocked out the rest of my surroundings.  Focusing on love and kindness, I noticed sometimes that I had a smile on my face.  This exercise felt good and improved my mood after it was over.

Mental workouts do for our inner self what running and weight training does for our physical body.  A trained mind has the ability to influence our physiology, hormonal system and immune system.  “Research studies and personal reports have also demonstrated that mental training can transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt while enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness. This mental transformation, acting through the mind/body connection, provides enhanced resistance to mental distress and physical disease, expands our healing capacities, and promotes well-being” (Dacher, 2006).  

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Intergral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach , CA: Basic Health Publications.