I found the subtle mind exercise to be much easier than the loving kindness exercise because focusing on breathing in and out did not seem as abstract to me as trying to visualize feelings. I was surprised at how often my mind wanders! At first I was trying so hard to focus on my breathing that I was not thinking of anything, but once I felt comfortable...my mind started to wander. It was difficult at first not to dwell on thoughts popping into my head. I found myself thinking for a few seconds before I could get back to my breathing, but by the end of the exercise I found it much easier to shake off other thoughts and stay attentive. I did try to do this exercise one night when I was very stressed, and it was nearly pointless. The worried thoughts in my mind were much harder to push away and made me lose my focus countless times.
Spiritual, mental, and physical wellness equal total health. If one part of your self is not healthy, then overall you are not healthy. I notice that when I am not feeling good in one area, it has the ability to affect every area. When I feel depressed or stressed out, it often makes me feel tired and worn out. Feeling stressed out also causes me to have headaches.
Lately I have not been attending church, which I feel is very important to my personal spiritual health. Things have come up, one of the kids is sick, life gets in the way, and I have not been making time for church on Sundays. Normally Sundays feel like a day to mentally and spiritually recharge. I go to church, and almost feel physically reawakened as well and ready to start the new week. I think it is important to make time for church as I do for workouts, sleep, meals, and other aspects of my well-being.
I too found the exercise this week easier than the loving kindness exercise. Actually, after some practice I was able to do the exercise without too much trouble, until my four year old came and kept asking me questions. I was able to tune him out for a short while until finally I had to give in. He just kept repeating himself "mommy, mom, mom I have a question for you, mommy, are you listening mom?" I learned quickly to practice this exercise after he went to sleep. As for attending church, I'm with you. I always feel better when I attend church. Nice post, keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have that same problem with my dogs interrupting, lol! I usually wait until the kids are at school or asleep to tackle this kind of thing, but yesterday when I was trying to complete the exercise..the dogs were barking at every little noise. It is definitely easier to tone out the "noise" in my head than things going on around me. =)
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