Unit 5

Wow! I really enjoyed this exercise much more than the loving kindness practice. Don’t get me wrong I am all for loving kindness but this subtle mind exercise really hit home and for once I can honestly say my mind was at peace. I have always said that it is hard for me to meditate because of the fact that my mind is too busy and constantly throwing thoughts at me, this time was so different. I don’t know if it was because I really needed some peace and quiet or that I am just learning tools to help my mind. At the beginning of the exercise I was very focused on the rising of my chest as I was told but throughout the exercise I realized that my breath was so low and I could barely hear or feel it. Because of the ocean waves I was visualizing myself on the beach , I know the voice tells you when a thought comes into play just focus on your breath again to bring your mind to silence, I did not do this but just seemed to bring my mind to the beach ( one of my favorite places). I am really excited for myself because this was really the first time I ever experienced true and utter mind silence!!!! I believe when we have wellness in all three aspects ( spiritual, mental, and physical) we can perform at our highest level in life. It is not an easy task to be ‘well’ in everything but with training we can succeed. I also believe that people are generally happier when they can have the mind- body connection complete.

Unit 4 Loving Kindeness

Two quotes from the exercise that I can relate with are “ the mind is calmer when we give back loving kindness” and “ loving yourself is essential before you love others”. I can relate and whole heartedly agree with these statements. This exercise as interesting to me, I could get calm and visualize most of what was asked, such as visualizing a loved one and their pan or suffering at the times, and I was even able to visualize a bit when asked to send loving kindness to a group of strangers. When asked to visualize all individuals this where it got difficult for me, maybe with more practice this will come easier, but I also felt that the time in between the visualization was a little long. I would visualize sending energies but after a while my mind would begin to wander off. When she (the voice) came back to suggest something new I was able to bring my wandering mind back also. This exercise is a great example of a mental workout as it makes you think of ways to train your mind to excel in loving kindness. It has been proven that you can train your mind to be more compassionate and also train your mind to handle stress better. I believe with mental workouts that you can be a happier, calmer, more giving person. After this exercise I am calmer and more focused, if this is something I am to do everyday I can see how this feeling of love, clam, and focus would stay with you all the time.