Reflections on the Subtle Mind Practice

As great as I thought the Loving Kindness exercise was last week, I know see that it pales in comparison to the Subtle Mind practice. I can only surmise that as we grow to higher levels of consciousness we can no longer find satisfaction in lesser states than our achived whole. In hindsight, I realized I struggled to bring people to mind in the Loving Kindness exercise. I used it twice daily for 7 days and found I was always sending out love to the same people. That can be very limiting in learning to love globally. Even at the time I recall forcing myself to choose a new person, but in the end, I was only loving about 4 people. When it came to loving enemies, they were all faceless, and when we expanded to all things, how did I end up on the same hill top in Austria where Julie Andrews sang and frolicked in the Sound of Music. Very odd in retrospect - entertaining, but very odd!!!

So on to the Subtle Mind practice. I find it is not an easy exercise for me use to start the day. This could be because I don't have much going on in my mind when I first awaken, so my mind wants to wander and exhibit sympoms of ADHD. If I wait about 90-120 minutes, it flows easier and allows me to realign my thoughts for the day, now that I actually have some. Each time it was easier and easier to fall into the simplicity of the witnessing mind and then to allow the thoughts to simply dissolve. I even experienced calm-abiding several times, and can I just say that I LOVED that more than I would have ever expected. I think we are sometimes afraid to be alone with our thoughts, and then we are afraid to be without thought. For me it was arriving home to a place I've never been. I was in the middle of time and space, free floating yet securely anchored to I didn't know or care what exactly. One day I actually completed the practice with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling in my office. That surprised me because I thought I had to close out everything and found that to not be the case.

So where does this lead me on my perspectives on the connection between spiritual wellness and mental/physical wellness? I've been on this path for several years now, and the essence of wholeness for me begins and ends with spiritual wellness. From what I had been taught, to what I have learned, to what I have had the privilege to teach others, the essence of life lies in the spirit. Who we are and what purpose we have in this time and space is found in spiritual wellness. As we go deeper and learn these things about ourselves we begin to live with intention. We desire wholeness of mind and body as the completion of ourselves. For me, the growing spiritual essence of me drives the desire to be well in mind and body so that I can fulfill my purpose. I have experienced periods of mental and physical illness/disease/distress. In hindsight I can tell you that the symptoms were most prevalent during times of spiritual malnourishment. Looking forward to going deeper and learning from the experiences of my past as I move closer to total wellness in the future.

In this together,
Anita

Reflections on the Loving-Kindness Practice

WOW - this is a very cool exercise!! I was able to get started on my reading for this unit very early in the week, so I'm on day 5 of this practice, and I've completed the exercise 10 times. At first I struggled a bit as my mind wandered periodically. As each day passed, I was more and more able to brush aside errant thoughts or even embrace them and allow them to dissolve. It it beneficial to me, and will prayerfully become one of my cornerstone meditations, not simply in focused times but throughout the day in loving myself and freely sharing that love with others. Now here's the interesting part. Since I read early on, I didn't realize there was a recording of the practice in doc-sharing. I hate trying exercises like this from a book where you have to read a bit and try it out and then just when it's getting good you have to go back and review the information in the text. Or worse yet, trying to recall everything you read and chasing down those thoughts rather than calming the mind and focusing on the exercises. So I recorded my own voice reading the instructions. Low and behold, I LOVED it!! I don't always like my voice on recording, but this time I got the right pitch, tone, timing, rhythm and it just flows effortlessly and directs my mind with ease!! It wasn't until today I found out the MP3 existed and I must admit that I hate the sound of that woman's voice. LOL!! One thing I've learned in this exercise is that there are times when a meditation should be recorded in the users voice. After all, isn't that the voice it instinctively recognized and responds to on a daily basis? This is a practice I would love to incorporate in my wellness teachings as a foundation for growth and development. Far too many don't love themselves, and therefore think they aren't worth the effort or attention required to restore health and wellness. This is a great tool for reprogramming those wayward and untrue thoughts.

Dacher encourages us to evolve in our psychospiritual lives through daily practices like meditation. We can achieve wholeness by committing to daily mental practices to calm our minds just as we commit to daily exercise to trim our bodies. And just like exercise we can achieve monumental change only through that daily commitment, for once we cease to be committed we backslide. Research from Eastern medicine has proven the validity of these practices in enhancing mental capabilities. Contemplative practice teaches us to calm the mind - taming those wayward thoughts, and then allows access to new realms of thought. Practices like Loving-Kindness are a great place to start. I have a selection of meditation mp3s on my iPod for healing, clarity/focus, and sleep. I also have a series of gamma wave meditations. From this weeks reading I realize if I stay focused on utilizing these resources consistently that will become my mental workout that continues to foster psychological health wherein my mind is not cluttered with the past or the future, or irrational things in the present but working to bring health and drive the charge toward integral health.


On this journey together,
Anita

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Reflections on the Crime of the Century Meditation

Based on my reflections, I would rate my physical well-being at a 6, my spiritual well-being at an 8, and my psychological well-being at a 9. Things have been very stressful for the past 8 months, and it's as if I've been running a marathon. No matter how much we know about taking care of ourselves first and nourishing others from the overflow, but when we find ourselves in the trenches the, neck deep in the one thing after another, we slip effortlessly into survival mode. I, for one, eat enough to keep some fuel, sleep enough to bypass deprivation, barely find time for myself, let alone time to make an appointment to see my counselor for a tune up and check in. I pray to stay centered and focused - that is my sustenance. I simply haven't had time for me, and instead of making myself that priority I've slipped to the bottom of the list.

 

My physical goal is to begin to eat healthier, well planned meals, with consistency. Eating on the fly is not helping anything, so I must plan, shop and eat with intention. Once I am given the green light by my surgeon, I will begin exercising again - starting with baby steps of intention!!!

My spiritual goal is to continue to spend time in prayer, time reading my Bible, and tor spend more time each day listening to praise music. So often we have to remember to praise our way out of the darkness

My psychological goals are to utilize more of the relaxation techniques we are learning in this course as well as those learned in my stress management course, and to  make an appointment for a check up/in with my counselor in the next 2 weeks.

 

The Crime of the Century exercise was difficult at first. my mind kept wanting to fine tune the colors from each chakra. Once I had settled on the hue and intensity of each color it began to get easier to follow the meditation. I felt grounded and centered immediately. I struggled a bit with feeling loved, but was fully loving, balanced and connected to the oneness of everything. The one thing it reminded me is that healing, balance, connectedness all come from within. We cannot find peace outside of ourselves in a frenzy of exploration and activity. We have to calm down, find our inner peace and settle into our selves.  Not sure I'd do this one on a regular basis, but calling to mind the white light of balance and peace will be very beneficial.

 

In it together,

Anita

 

Journey On

Welcome to my little corner of the Internet. So glad you stopped by :-)

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I get caught up in the daily stressors and forget the simplicity of relaxation. It's as if I have convinced myself that there is no time for that nonsense, when in fact I do have time, as it takes little time, and makes more sense than anything else.There is an internal battle between the practical and the realistic...much to ponder in periods of intentional relaxation.

So, on to the Journey On exercise. LOVED IT!!! Was a tad bit skeptical when I first began, mostly because my extremities are always cold. I didn't necessarily feel much warmth in my arms and hands, but the relaxation was amazing. Before he even suggested moving my arms, my brain was challenging me to do just that and I could not. The mental image that accompanied the exercise was a siphon drawing the blood out of my abdomen, and then a waterwheel allowing it to cascade down my arms and into my hands, and then reversing the process to return the blood to my abdomen. As he was wrapping up and coming back to awareness, I was using the same technique and imagery to relax my brain, and it worked!! I had tension from reading for the past few hours, and when I had bathed my brain in all that warm blood, it felt warm and relaxed. When I returned the blood to my abdomen, I felt mentally at ease. Good stuff!! Looking forward to reading what some of you all experienced.

In it together,
Anita