Complete the following and post in your blog:
Your mental fitness practice this week incorporates the concept of the subtle mind (Dacher p.75). This week, replace the Loving Kindness exercise of unit four with Practice 2: The subtle mind exercise and listen to track #3 on the Dacher CD.
1.Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.
2.Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.
3.Participate in the Blogs of at least two other students. Provide them with feedback on their experiences (Do you have any suggestions or support for them? How does their experience compare to your experience? What have you learned from their blog?)
The image of true love is the calmness that centers me or should I say the center that calms me. This was the one of the loving kindness exercises I did. Focusing on my grandmother and alternating that with focusing on the idea of who Jesus is as a loving pefect person.
This week I replaced that practice with the subtle mind practice and I had a lot of sucsess with it. I was able to eventually just be a witness the thousands of thought running through my head at any given time. I was able to release them as mere thoughts and the strangest thing began to unfold. I started to connect with my natural surroundings. Not just like noticing how pretty the flowers were but actually feeling and believing I am part of that flower, part of the trees and the birds etc. I have always believed we are all made by the same Great Creator and know that one of things in natrue affects all other things but in this meditation I began to see myself as a tea rose. Small dainty fragrant yet strong and powerful. I am not sure why a tea rose of all things is what I felt like I became and you can laugh if you want but I felt as if I took on the thoughts of the flower the opening to the rain the tilting my head toward the sun the ability to just be what the Great Creator made me and nothing more or nothing less. I was just simply being.
I loved this exercise and that will be my second meditation. I still want to continue to the loving kindness to help me ease from this exterior life to a peaceful loving state and then go further into the meditation with the subtle mind meditation. The two are similar in that you goal is to quiet the chatter that goes on in your mind and there by stilling your mind. The two practices teaches you that through love kindness and mindfulness you can change your thoughts and behavior. The loving kindness gets you to focus on someone besides yourself then take in that love the subtle mind exercise allows you to look at things without feeling the need to hold on to them. Both have a similar goal in mind and that is to produce a quieted mind with loving actions. The first connects you to just one other person and the latter connects you to all of creation.
As you all know I practice a differnt type of spiritual beliefs. Incorperating the Native American Indian ways with the Christian beliefs. It is funny to me and so true the statement that Ghandi made something to the affect that he has never met a true Christian. That was in a response to the question do you belive in Christianity. Now I would have to do research to find an exact quote and I am sure it is probably a misquote at that. With that said I would have to agree. I have never really met someone that follows all of what the bible teaches. I do not personally believe that the current day bible is the true scriptures that Jesus spoke of anyway. I do belive however that the Great Creator made an example of true love by giving His son as an example of love. I have in the past experienced major anxiety attacks and I know what calms my mind is meditating on the perfect son of our Great Creator. I believe that by calling on his powerful name you can banish demons. That being said I also believe that we have to train our mind to focus on truth, love and compassion this in itself is what brings your peaceful destination. Relaxing your physical body, calming your mind and becoming fully aware of your spritual self is the connection that heals all three areas of your being. One can not be healthy if the other two are sick. It is the way of the great hoop of life. One leads into the other there is no begining no end simply a circle or as you have read in an earlier post the Lakota teaching of the Medicine Wheel.
I love both of these exercises and feel already a great sense of calmness and well being. This class just gets better and better! My ancestors taught us to meditate to clear your mind, the bible teaches you to meditate on that which is lovely and the both combined teach you just what we are being taught in class.
Love
Angel Running Deer Dobson
I love reading your posts! You always have so much to say and you are very insightful. While we have some differing opinions, we also have some similar beliefs. I do believe that the Bible is the unfaltering word of God. However, I agree with you that no one lives up to all of its charges. No one is perfect. Only Jesus was perfect. We are to strive to be like Him in how we treat others and how we live our lives. I love hearing how these exercises affect you, because they don't affect me in the same way. I think your picture (description) of the flower is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHI Angel, great post. I really like reading your posts you have some really nice thoughts that is inspiring to me. I am learning to train my mind as I train my body to be healthy and strong. I have learned a lot about how they are connected and the work together for complete wellness. I have not experienced the same connection that you have with nature. Do you have any suggestions on how I would do that? I recognize all of the thoughts in my mind by have a tough time making them go aways and calm down. I find your background very interesting. I do have some canadian indian in my father side of the family but, I dont know much about it. I have always felt a connection with the indians and their culture and have been very interested in it. I will also use this exercise as one of my meditations as well. I just need to practice at it. I am the type that needs something specific to focus on. Thank you for your thoughts
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Angel,
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a very nice post! I am glad that you have shared with us that which motivates and calms you; perhaps others who need more help in centering can take your ideas to help them. You are also correcct in saying that the Bible of today is not the original book - the original book in Hebrew has lost a lot in the translation, and over time. The overall message, hoewever, is to love each perosn unconditionally, and that means yourself as well. The Great Medicine Wheel is a path we all follow, whether or not we are aware of it; the ability to focus the mind to get rid of the chatter, to exists in a calm, loving peace, is something we can all do, we just need to slow down, and do it! Namaste'
Chris
Hi Angel, I really enjoyed reading your post. I am able to read about how these exercises affect you, which is different from how they affect me. It gives me an insight on your personality and you as a whole. As usual, great post.
ReplyDeleteAngel,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your posts. You seem so grounded and open to things. This week was a difficult one for me and I don't know that I got out of it what I wanted or needed so I think that I will continue to use this meditation next week so I can really evaluate. This may sound a little cheesy but reading your posts is very calming to me, because I am able to see where I can go and want to be. Thank you again for sharing.