My experience with the loving Kindness meditation was very enlightening.
The first phase of taking in the suffering of your love ones seemed very easy
and I was able to connect with them in a spiritual way. As I progressed to the
second phase of friends it was still easy to do it and the experience became
natural. As I did the last phase of taking in the suffering of my enemies and
practiced forgiveness it did became hard at the beginning, but then the weight
started to lift off my body and I was able to do it. Somehow I was able to
connect with them and I was able to offered forgiveness. Metal workout means
that we need to train our mind for psycho-spiritual conditioning and it does require
a repetitive practice and perseverance. There are two main contemplative practices.
The first is loving-kindness which opens the heart to others and diminishes self-centeredness
and the second is the subtle mind; which mean taming and training our mind to diminish
the ceaseless mental movements of thoughts, feelings and images. The ultimate
goal is to achieve witnessing consciousness and calm-abiding mind. According to
Dacher these two practices help us to tame and train the mind, open the heart,
expand consciousness, and progress us toward psycho-spiritual flouring.
Research has proven that contemplative practice reduces stress, improves health
and promotes spiritual well- being. The best way to promote psychological health in my life is to practice
daily meditation and connect to nature as much as possible. I love to feel the
energy in a plant, the sun, the moon and ultimately the beach.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI found that practice to be really relaxing! I had a really long day and after listening to that exercise I was totally relaxed. Forgivness is a big thing I really I believe that in order to move forward in your own life it is best to forgive, but everyone handles his/her situation in thier own way.
Thank you for sharing your reaction to the exercise! I love to read about the experience other people have because I feel like I gain additional perspective and insight that might help me to continue to progress on my path to human flourishing. I am thankful for the exercise because it gave me a different approach to diminish self-centeredness. I am look forward to tackling the subtle mind because I have a lot of mental movements, thoughts, feelings, etc… that I need to tame. Your explanation of the mental working is so true. Practice makes perfect… or in this case, practice makes progress. I like your idea of daily meditation and connection to nature. I think taking time to connect to nature would be beneficial to me as well. Thank you for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is easy to make a connection. Guided meditation is something I am working on and training my mind to focus is important to me as well. I feel it is very important for our bodys and our minds to be fit and healthy.
I was amazed at how easy it was to make the connection with those I loved and the strangers. When I heard her say to do this with an enemy I felt my body become alert. My first thought was yeah right, but I tried. By the end of the week I was more able to do so and had removed the thought of I can't do that. I just let go and went with it.
ReplyDeleteI think practicing loveing kindness is far easier than the subtle mind. Silincing ones thoughts takes a very strong force of will and definatly requires a lot of mental training. I can only keep my mind quiet for a matter of minutes but I feel so much better when I return to my normal self that it seems worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that connecting to nature is extremely important and the sensations you can experiance if you let yourself can be truly mind blowing. I remember the first time I touched a tree with a quiet mind...it was warm and it had a constant, subtle vibration. Was a very enlightening experiance.