First of all, both exercises may take several attempts in order to fully understand the purpose of the exercise. Also, in order to incorporate this exercise, takes lots of patience and focus. Therefore, my experience with the Loving Kindness exercise was a difficult exercise for me to follow. However the practice of opening our hearts to others by being kind, caring, patient, and generous to the needs of others, is a wonderful and compelling feeling. With that said, practicing loving kindness on a day to day basis is not difficult. In fact, many of us may have already shown some type of loving kindness and don’t even realize it. According to Dacher (2006) “Loving-kindness can be expressed in our thoughts, prayers, and advice or through physical assistance and generosity that connect heart-to-heart” (p. 51). In other words, actions of compassion towards your spouse, family and friends, supporting someone in need, or providing or donating items in needs are practices of loving kindness. Overall, the goal of the loving kindness exercise is to reach out to others.
As for the Subtle Mind practice, I felt disappointed that the exercise consisted of the same individual’s voice as well as the same background music. Struggling hard once again to get comfortable and relaxed as well as not allowing my frustrations overtake me, I am trying my best to stay focused on my breathing. I am focusing on my focal point which is a little insignificant crack on the corner of my wall, I started to think about how much this exercise reminds me of my Lamaze class I took thirteen years ago. Trying to stay on track with the exercise, I find my mind wandering back to when I was in the delivery room and the wonderful creation God has given me which are my children. I started comparing all three deliveries and how much the world has changed. Now I try to control my mind and focus back on the exercise so I can be able to tame it, yet I continuously find myself gazing off again. So I take control of my mind and decided to focus more on my rhythmic breathing. As a result, I feel more in control as well as relaxed and at peace.
Comparing both the loving kindness exercise with the subtle mind exercise, the similarities between the two is that they both utilize the same technique which is the ability to take control of our mind and tame it. Also both exercises uses the same concept as far as visualizing and trying to ease the mind. Also, both exercises have similar musical background as well as the individual speaking. In addition, both exercises were difficult to follow and I continuously find myself wandering off and thinking about other things such as completing all the assignments for this class as well as my other classes. My mind felt more disturbed rather than at ease and calm.
However, the differences between the loving kindness exercise and the subtle mind exercise is that the subtle mind exercise is more focused on controlling and taming the mind as well as being aware of your surroundings while loving kindness exercise is trying to reach out to others along with opening oneself to others when needed by the kindness of our hearts.
Above all, both practices and exercises are meant to help an individual take control of their mind and open up their mind to awareness. Although I know I may have to practice these exercises several times in order for me to flourish towards integral health, the benefits will sure be worth the effort. An individual will gain by practicing loving kindness are the wonderful and compelling feeling of fullness within the heart when we act or show some good deed to others. By doing or showing some type of compassion or kindness within our hearts, we receive the same actions that we practice to others. Dacher (2006) reports “loving-kindness attracts loving-kindness” (p. 65). We no longer think of ourselves but of others. As for the subtle mind, if an individual is to successfully accomplish this exercise, they will be able to control and train their mind to the fullest. An individual will benefit and gain control to help identify, train and manage the negative aspects of their life and incorporate healthy positive habits and behaviors so they can live healthy, happy, and fulfilled.
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA:
Basic Health Publications.
Hello Diana,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for your blog entry. I love the way you put your feelings and emotions into each entry. I really enjoy the information that you provide and the fact that you can open up to your classmates. I wanted to let you know that I agree with every statement that you made about the two exercises. I liked them both but really enjoyed the Loving Kindness exercise much better. I felt that the Subtle Mind exercise was much duller than the first exercise. Although, the Subtle Mind exercise was meant for training the mind on a focus point and didn't provide concepts such as visualization. But they both did what they were supposed to do and that is what the exercises are for.
Thank you again for your entry and keep up the great work.
Hi Diana,
ReplyDeleteI find myself drawn each week to read your reflective posts. You pour your heart and soul into your writing, and it is a pleasure to read about your experiences, thoughts, and comments. It is obvious that you take time to complete your school tasks; even with all the other commitments you are obligated to in your life.
That said, I had a good chuckle when you shared your reflection on your childbirth experiences; not that it was hilarious, but I could relate and encountered a similar experience. I suppose the breathing process can stir up such memories; especially if the breathing is difficult. I found my breath experience to be labored, which was not a pleasant feeling at all. While I didn’t reflect back to my childbirth experiences, I did think about my kids and how quickly the years are going by. What was I thinking when I decided to go back to school as two of my kids are preparing for college and will be leaving home in the next two years? They need me more than ever to help them with their preparations and whatnot; and it’s too much for me to handle with all of the demands that I have going on with my many lives… family, personal, school, home, etc. At times, it seems that I have too much going on and have to make too many sacrifices in order to gain accomplishments, which I feel are not that significant.
For what it’s worth, I agree that the loving-kindness and subtle mind practices are not meant to be a source of relaxation; however, the subtle mind practice emphasizes rhythmic breathing to help facilitate a calm mind. I find that deep, rhythmic breathing tends to relax me; so I may have been expecting to feel relaxed. However, all I experienced was frustration. Although my experience this week did not leave my mind at ease or calm; the breathing did seem to calm my body. At least, there was no tension or tightness in my body. Then, this made me wonder why my mind could not follow my body? I recall reading that when the breath is deep and rhythmic, the mind follows. Maybe I am being too hard on myself, but I cannot say that my mind was absolutely still or peaceful for that matter.
As such, maybe these exercise need to be done more often that just once or twice a week until the process becomes easier. For me, finding the time to do them twice a day has been too much; not to mention, trying to find time everyday to squeeze in an additional thing to do was overwhelming. I have tried but have not been consistent as the realities of life keep tapping me on the shoulder and telling me that I have deadlines to meet and priorities that require my attention (now); so I better get going. I think that because our minds are untrained and restless, we naturally struggle when we are required to sit still and empty our minds of distracting thoughts, feelings, and images. I plan on trying this one again; but today was not a good day. Perhaps tomorrow will be better when I have more quiet time to focus on my assignments. Some of the other students also recommended that I should consider doing the practices in shorter sessions. I thought that 15 minutes was short enough for me; it seems that I may need less time. Moreover, I’m an active person, and it is difficult for me to sit still for long periods….even it is only 5 minutes! I have to be constantly doing something. Perhaps you should consider this as it seems that you also have a lot going on and could benefit from shorter sessions. I am trying to remain positive about the practices; but this week’s exercise left me frustrated...I did say that already, didn't I? I hope future sessions will be better for both of us. Once again, great job on your post and thank you for sharing your heartfelt reflections.
Best of health,
Allana