The loving
kindness exercise is easier to do compare to the Subtle Mind practice. Loving-kindness exercise the focus is
on opening your heart to love and forgiveness by taking in the suffering of
others. Which opens the heart to others and diminishes self-centeredness and
the second is the subtle mind exercise; which means taming and training our
mind to diminish the ceaseless mental movements of thoughts, feelings and
images. This task can be a challenge especially the mind’s constant tendency to cling to
random thoughts, movements, images and emotions. Obtaining a witnessing mind is having the ability
to stop the mind’s tendency to cling to random thoughts, movements, images and
emotions. According to Dacher (2006) having the control and a
witnessing mind “ will liberate ourselves from lifelong slavery to our
mental movements, gain the capacity to choose where our attention goes, access
our clear and still mind, and create the foundation for calm-abiding and
integral health” (p.73). I
think that once we evolve from the witnessing mind to calm-abiding we start to
see the transformation of our self through all three; mind, body and spirit even
after so many years of meditation practice, I still have problems calming my
mind and accomplishing mental stillness.
The best way to control your thoughts and
achieve Calm –abiding mind is by focusing on your breath. Every time you mind wonders you need to redirect to your
breath. This is very simple exercise but at the beginning can be a challenge
until the mind becomes used to it. As indicated by Dacher with practice and
patience, the active mind is gradually tamed and subdued. It is transformed
from busyness to sustained and effortless stillness. I have tried this exercise
of focusing on your breath to redirect your thought and in my personal
experience there are some days that I can do it easily and others that become
almost impossible. There is a connection between spiritual, mental and physical
wellness. These are essential for integral
health. The
rewards are worth the effort, like: intention replaces reactivity, peace,
serenity, wisdom, and loving-kindness.
Ivonne,
ReplyDeleteI struggled with this exercise. And like you commented I believe that for everyone this is a practice that some days may be more productive then others. For me this was a stressful week, a week that these exercises should of been most beneficial but I just could not focus my mind. Last week I was in a much better place emotionally and the exercises came very easy to me. I will keep plugging away at this because like you said the rewards are well worth the effort.
Laurie
Hello Nirvana,
ReplyDeleteThe subtle mind practice for me was easier than the loving-kindness. I think the subtle was easier for me because I already spend time meditating and focusing on my inner self. The loving-kindness was a little distracting with the sounds of wave crashing for me. The subtle practice I would have to say appealed to the calmer side of me, because I am a person who already enjoys silence and the ability to clear thoughts from my mind.However both practice I that both practice were definitely beneficial as apart of human flourishing and integral health. Great Post!
~Linda Jackson