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.
That was a really good post. The exercise probably worked really good for you because you used your own voice which probably helped to soothe you. I thought the exercise was good and very informative. I liked the fact how it not only focused on you, but also on the sick and the person that you do not like. It was a very good relaxation tape. I use to listen to a spiritual relaxation tape before I went to sleep, but it started to give me weird dreams so I stopped using it. I think that it gave me weird dreams because of the fact that I went to sleep with my mind completely opened and relaxed which let all kinds of thought wonder through my mind. I am glad that the exercise worked for you.
ReplyDeleteAnita ~ I thought this was a great exercise as well. I tried it three times during this week and each time it got easier and easier for me. Doing Yoga each week with my Mom, sister and 14 year old daughter has helped me learn great relaxation techniques.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience.
~ Cheryl