I've been doing a lot of thinking about both the Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind exercises for the past few days. If I wanted to do a base comparison of the two, this blog would likely sound something like:
"They both require a quiet, relaxed environment. They both require a peaceful and accepting mindset. Etc..."
The fact is I don't think that would properly address their purpose. I could probably get credit for this type of response but the application of it would lose its meaning for me. What I have noticed is that both these exercises require a good amount of honesty and are really, really personal in nature. Asking somebody to quiet their minds and focus on thier thoughts and emotions can bring some unexpected things to light. My experiences with them were frustrating at first because I felt myself resisting the instructions to be aware of my thoughts. To me it's a little harder than it sounds to remove yourself from the immediate situation and possibly follow up with feelings of love and kindness. Is there anything more personal than allowing yourself to feel love for something? For me, it is asking a lot, and I'm not entirely ready to give that portion of myself up yet.
In the search for total wellness, there will come a time when we need to face our spiritual health. This, I think, is far more difficult than either mental or physical health in terms of addressing. My immediate reaction is to feel that spiritual health is more closely tied to mental health than it is to physical. There are, of course, studies showing how spiritual health will tie into physical life through prayer/healing but I think that a person cannot address this issue until they are mentally healthy. At a minimum, I think we can improve them both simultaneously but I can't visualize a scenario in which someone is spiritually healthy but mentally/emotionally unstable.
"They both require a quiet, relaxed environment. They both require a peaceful and accepting mindset. Etc..."
The fact is I don't think that would properly address their purpose. I could probably get credit for this type of response but the application of it would lose its meaning for me. What I have noticed is that both these exercises require a good amount of honesty and are really, really personal in nature. Asking somebody to quiet their minds and focus on thier thoughts and emotions can bring some unexpected things to light. My experiences with them were frustrating at first because I felt myself resisting the instructions to be aware of my thoughts. To me it's a little harder than it sounds to remove yourself from the immediate situation and possibly follow up with feelings of love and kindness. Is there anything more personal than allowing yourself to feel love for something? For me, it is asking a lot, and I'm not entirely ready to give that portion of myself up yet.
In the search for total wellness, there will come a time when we need to face our spiritual health. This, I think, is far more difficult than either mental or physical health in terms of addressing. My immediate reaction is to feel that spiritual health is more closely tied to mental health than it is to physical. There are, of course, studies showing how spiritual health will tie into physical life through prayer/healing but I think that a person cannot address this issue until they are mentally healthy. At a minimum, I think we can improve them both simultaneously but I can't visualize a scenario in which someone is spiritually healthy but mentally/emotionally unstable.
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI agree that doing the exercises for our minds brings up some unexpected things--emotions, belief, past experiences. It is sooo challenging for me to quiet my mind! Sometimes I feel like there's about ten people up there just chattering away. You are right about it being very personal. Some people may have bad experiences with being quiet that may hinder their ability to do so. I think the deciding factor is the actual wanting or yearning to do the exercise or just to do something different. I came to understand the benefits of being still and quieting my mind the hard way--through an incurable disease. I hope that the people who decided to take this class see the benefit of mind-body-spirit wellness and that we'll be able to share the importance with others.
Christine W.
Danny I agree wit you, yes it is a bit hard to completely calm the mind during theses exercises. I attempted the subtle mind exercise three times before I was able to at one with myself. In a previous course that I have taken we were required to do similar exercises.
ReplyDeleteNieko