My experience with the loving-kindness exercise was a good one. I can really feel relaxed when I listen to the CD, no matter which exercise it is. I don’t know if it is the narrator’s voice or the ocean track or what, but it gets me where I need to be. I was thinking about my grandmother for the duration of the exercise. She is battling the late stages of emphysema at this time, and is not doing too well. I really tried hard to take her pain away, and give her wellness in return. After the exercise I called her and talked to her. It was a really good conversation. Maybe I wouldn’t have called her if I didn’t participate in the exercise…either way, the exercise made me feel better about her and myself. And I’m sure that she felt better after our talk too.
I didn’t think that the exercise was difficult…all you have to do is listen. The most difficult part for me was to believe that I am actually accomplishing something here. The main thing for me is that I feel like I am making progress here, and that’s how I know that I am accomplishing something. I have opened up my heart to the world, my friends and enemies, and those who are very close to me. I am not filled with hate anymore, but instead I look at my former enemies in a different manner. I have not made a move to mend the relationship yet, but I feel that I am making progress here too.
A mental workout is any exercise that attempts to train the mind. For instance, during the living-kindness exercise, we are training the mind to open up and feel for others. Mental workouts are shown to increase brain activity and improve concepts such as memory and critical thinking skills. It can reduce negative thoughts and disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt (Dacher, 2006). On the other hand it can increase positive emotions such as loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness (Dacher, 2006).
Reference
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications.
Mitch,
ReplyDeleteIt is so sweet that you called your grandmother after you completed the exercise; I bet she really enjoyed hearing from you! I am truly sorry she isn't doing well right now, I will say a prayer for her :-)
I too find the narrators voice to be very soothing; it is very easy to relax while he is speaking. It is wonderful that you are opening your heart more to everyone. Trying to mend your relationship with your enemies will probably be tough, but may be really worth it.
Great blog!! I enjoyed it very much :-)
-Natasja
Hi Mitch, I wanted to ask you if you thought that the forgiveness that you feel towards your enemies is enough or do you need to mend the broken relationships? Just wondered. It really sounds like you had a positive effect from this weeks exercise and made your Grandma's day. I thought about my Mother during the exercise and I did call her that day too. The power of suggestion is strong, and maybe that is something we need to take into consideration when preparing and completing our mental workouts. Never know what positive thing will happen.
ReplyDeleteDina
Mrz Stainbrook,
ReplyDeleteIn regard to my enemies, there was really only one person that I had in mind. I also imagined that there were others who may considered me an enemy. During the exercise, I imagined all of these people in a field in which I was atempting to breathe their pain and suffering in and breathe out joy and happiness. I do feel that forgiveness is enough...for now. I feel that I am doing my part and it feels good to me. Whether or not the relationship is mended or not realy has nothing to do with it. This person does not play a significant role in my life, nor do I make contact with this person very often. However, had this enemy been someone that was very close to me then I think that I would have felt the need to mend the relationship.
Good things that happen form these exercises, such as the fact that we both called the person that we were thinking about, are a part of the whole loving-kindness mojo. Reaching out to the person is obviously the next step in spreading the loving-kindness that is building in our hearts. I am beginning to see the benefits from this exercise, as I am feeling more considerate of others in this world. There is only so much that we can do physically to help others, we are are very limited in that aspect. But psychologically and spiritually we can reach out to a greater number of people. I think that's what it is all about.
Mitch,
ReplyDeleteGood post this week. Its nice to read that the exercises are making a difference. I feel like mine are just a 15 minutes break in my hectic schedule. Thats not a bad thing, at least I'm getting some time to relax and focus on wants and needs like you were able to. I also think you are on the right track with you "enemies", I feel that its really up to you to decide to hold on to that problem. Its not your responsibility to mend fences. Its how to accept it and move on to really flourish your mind/body spirit and attitude. Nice post, look forward to your next week's insights.
-Shanna