I must say I am skeptical about doing the loving kindness exercise; only because these types of exercise generally do not help relax me. I think I am so use to rushing around it is hard for me to allow myself to fully relax while doing the exercises so they only end us irritating me. So while I sit here and wait for my computer to load the audio I am trying to allow myself to slightly relax so I can try to be open minded and benefit from this exercise. I guess I am realizing that I am truly in need of a mental workout. I try to remind myself to think positive and I try to see the good in every situation but at the same time I know I need to get my mind and body in balance so hopefully this class will help me to do that. My audio is almost loaded so once I complete the exercise I will return to let you know what I think about it.
I did so much better with this exercise than I had anticipated. I felt so uplifted and refreshed once the exercise was complete. I am not sure how to even explain the feeling that came over me but for the first time in weeks I felt at peace. I will say I also agree that you must first love yourself before you can extend your love to anyone else and although I believe this I have a hard time following through with it. I think I will try to do this exercise again soon.
Mental workouts refer to activities that will help with personal development and brain activity. Some things that you can do to for a mental workout consist of yoga, meditation, and listen to classical music. Studies have shown mental workouts to help with memory, listening better, stimulation and many other benefits. The benefits are not only short-term some of the benefits are long-term as well.
Hi Hilary,
ReplyDeleteYa know, I can completely relate to how you feel about doing these things. Especially being able to relax when trying any of them out!
I think you are absolutely correct that one must love themselves prior to extending outward. many times we forget to give to the self [me], and that can really wear the body, mind and spirit down!
I am glad you good benefit when you did the exercise. Feeling at peace feels pretty good huh?
Liam
Hi Hilary,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you were able to enjoy this exercise. When I started reading your blog I wanted to ask if you thought these weren't helpful in general or whether you just needed to practice calming your mind. I am definitely still a beginner when it comes to meditating but I think the best advice I was given when reading about meditation was to be compassionate with yourself and not to expect too much in the beginning. If your mind has a difficult time, start with very small period of time, like five minutes. Once I started and saw that my mind wandered quite frequently I knew not to get too frustrated because I was just starting and that I just needed to observe the thought and let it pass!
Hi Hilary,
ReplyDeleteWell I agree with you, that these exercises are not very beneficial, at least not for me so far. It seems though that you had more success than I did this week. I still got nothing.
I guess if I am going to spend thirty minutes of my time to try to center myself and get into a peaceful state of mind that I would prefer to spend that time reading the Bible or in prayer. Prayer always relaxes me and makes me think more about others than myself. It forces me to forgive those who have hurt me and lift up others.
These exercises all seem to center around making ones "self" the highest power, the goal of self-actualization. I just don't see myself pursuing this kind of spirituality because it is contradictory to my world view. I think that is why I so struggle with these exercises.
I want love and peace and harmony in my life, but I just don't think it is truly possible outside a relationship with God and this spirituality seems to focus more on self.
Hilary,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on love of ourselves must be primary before we love others. This concept is especially hard for me. I have had so many life situations that prevent me from loving myself. Thanks for a great read in your blog post. It was encouraging knowing that I'm not alone in these feelings!
Amanda Vaccaro