Hello Everyone,
To me, the loving kindness activity focuses on one’s spiritual
wellness by working toward having positive feelings toward others, no matter
who they are, what they do, and how difficult it may be. In order to do this, you must love yourself first. Negative emotions will affect your overall
well being, mind, body, and spirit. I
know that for me, I have held on to hate and dislike for others for what they
have done to me directly or indirectly although I am a Christian. However, I am human and it is something that
I work on every day, praying for others as well as myself. Today, I do love myself more and am very
thankful for everything that life has given me, no matter how difficult times
have gotten. I am a firm believer that everything
happens for a reason but I am continuously trying to refocus my spiritual wellness. It is an ongoing process in my daily life
The subtle mind activity focuses on mental wellness. It allows you to calm your thoughts and
control your mind activity. For me, this
was much easier for me because it just involved focus on me, not others. With the loving kindness, I constantly need
to recheck myself because the outside world distracts me from ultimately
obtaining and sustaining spiritual wellness.
Spiritual, mental, and physical wellness all link
together. You cannot be whole unless you
focus all aspects. Spiritual wellness refers to your feelings and
emotions. Mental wellness refers to
healthy thoughts and intentions while physical wellness refers to an individual’s
biological health. Just because someone
is physically fit does not mean that they are healthy. Just because someone is a Christian, does not
mean they are spiritually well, and just because someone is smart does not give
them mental stability. All three of
these areas need constant attention and focus.
They all connect and if one area is being neglected, it will affect
other areas of wellness preventing one from being whole and complete.
Jacqui
I’m happy to read that someone else felt that the reason the Subtle Mind activity was easier was because of the focus on self! I felt like it was easier to focus on myself then on others in meditations like the Loving Kindness exercise. I felt selfish at first, but realized that it was probably just easier because I was more tuned into my own thoughts and feelings. I think the more I practice meditations that are focused on others the more I will be able to accept and use those exercises. At least I hope so!
ReplyDeleteJacqui,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you tied the spiritual, mental, and physical wellness together. It was very well said! I found the calm-abiding technique much easier than the loving kindness because it was just concentrating on the breathing and seeing thoughts, but letting them go to clear and de-stress the mind. The loving kindness exercise was a little more difficult because like you indicated, it was about ourselves and others. It did not remove the thoughts per se, but it did allow me to feel very good when I was done because it allowed me to show love for myself and others which makes me feel good.
Like you, it is a challenge to love others sometimes even when we choose a foundation to love one another through religion. Even though its difficult to do the loving kindness exercise, the exercise is well worth the effort. Both exercises have great benefits to our overall health and wellness and I hope to do them often. Thanks for sharing your experience.