Loving-kindness vs the Subtle-mind...and what spiritual wellness has to do with physical or mental wellness.

When I reflect on the loving-kindness exercise and compare it with the subtle-mind one, I find some definite differences. The loving-kindness practice actually stimulated my energy. I felt more alive and rejuvenated...in a noticeable way. I did feel calm and relaxed but not as much as I was after the subtle-mind exercise. I think that this is good because both of these practices can fit in my life in different times. An interesting thing to note is that both of them involve deep breathing...this should tell us something! I know that both of these exercises are for my personal benefit but the loving-kindness practice will help me with the people in my little corner of the world. The subtle-mind practice will help me to ground myself and find what I am truly capable of...always a good thing.

I found it easier to do the subtle-mind exercise but I'm not sure why. Is it because I am becoming more focused and trained? Is it because I was at a point in my personal life that I really noticed the calmness? Is it because my mind was craving the peace I was looking for? I had a particularly tough few days and I was worried about even trying the exercise. After a couple of false starts...everything worked out well I did not feel energized but I was definitely calmer than I was at the beginning. I had trouble 'exploring' my mind but I think at the moment...I didn't really want to see what was deep in there. I had enough to deal with at the time. :-)) I think that if we take the time to really listen to our body...we will have more success with any self-searching exercises because our mind-body-spirit connection knows what we need at any given moment.

When I think about what it means for our spiritual wellness and the mental/physical connection...I realize that they are all connected and we need to strengthen all three for optimal health. All three are vital to our overall wellness so we should give all three equal attention. For wholeness and integral health we should exercise our mind as evenly as we do our body and our body the same as our spirit. When we finally connect it that physical illness comes from an unhealthy mind or spirit and vice versa...we can start to improve our health. I know that for myself, when I put on a little weight, my mind becomes filled with 'unhealthy thoughts' before I even know its happening. :-( I have to work on that!

Giving your mental self a workout...

Most of us have some idea of what a mental workout is...but how often do we practice it? A mental workout is where we give our brain the chance to build strength and memory. We can perform specific exercises, like counting or reciting the alphabet backwards, or doing mind puzzles (crosswords or sudoku). This is a form of mental workout that has long-term benefits as we age. We have all heard the 'use it or lose it' phrase but how many of us actually use our brain for things beyond our 'regular' needs? We use it for work but how many 'mindless' activities do we perform? We don't have to think very much once we get the hang of something. We need to use the creative side more often. My son and I used to practice creativity on a regular basis but we have gotten away from it. This is not good and I think it's time to bring back the practice. What we would do was to always 'think of another way' to do something. We used it all the time. If we were going to have spaghetti for dinner & wanted garlic bread, we would ask "how can we do this without the oven"? Once we tried the toasted & spread the bread with garlic butter after (eehhhh, not so good) but, another time we grilled it in the frying pan like you would a grilled cheese. This was awesome because we grilled both sides....yummy! Another time he wanted chicken ramen noodles for dinner & his brother wanted mac & cheese. I said 'what if we tried mixing them together' and believe it or not...it is still one of their favorites. I have to admit-it IS real good. I will say that not everything turned out well & more than one 'another way' ended up in the garbage & we called for pizza to be delivered. :-) All in all, creativity is a good way to work a little mental workout into a busy day...
But perhaps one of the best workouts we can give our minds...and therefore, ourselves, is to use positive affirmations. When we are bombarded every day by negative conversations, people and events...our mind can become worn out and drained. We can't avoid negativity unless we close ourselves up in our house with only positive family members. Ideal maybe but impossible, right? So, how do we best counteract the anger, fear or worry that we have experienced in any given day? When we have taken the time to 'use our brain' in a positive way, the bad is easily over-ruled and washed away. The positive mental workout includes 'boosting our moral' and self-esteem to improve our mind-body-spirit health on a day-to-day basis. Giving ourselves 2 positive comments for every negative 1 that is heard...a good start towards a positive mental workout. Good thoughts everyone...!

My experience with Loving-Kindness this week, and into the future...

Well, this week's meditation "Loving-Kindness" gave me a chance for some soul-searching. When I visited a fellow blogger's blog...I was given a different point of view and something to think about. Jesus Christ is my Savior and I trust Him with my life. I also believe that we must take measures in our lives to live the best life we can with all that is available on Earth. Obviously, this means blending East & West modalities with individual religious beliefs. I practice Ayurveda (India) & Yoga (Asia) along with some other modalities and including prayer/meditation. I have added ideas and practices to my mind-body-soul health in order to take care the temple God gave me. I really had to challenge myself to see if the idea of 'taking on the suffering of others' fit into my Christian beliefs. I then thought about the magnitude of suffering in those that I will be working with. And I prayed. After a few days, the answer was that I can use this meditation exercise on a much smaller scale to become more compassionate and empathetic towards my clients if/when I feel their pain. I think that we all take in the pain of those we love and care about. Who hasn't 'felt bad' for those who are suffering? I think that the key is to remember where we fit into the big picture. God is in control. Sometimes the answer to our prayer has been given to us in the manner of a meditation such as this one is. We can better appreciate what He has given to us...when we take better care of it all. This exercise showed me a way to apply this to my future career. The meditation itself was intense and worthwhile. I plan to practice it often enough to be able to utilize the it anywhere...especially before and after a client's appointment. When I work with an Autistic child (in the future) I will be able to accept the pain & suffering of that individual & particular client then work with my healthy self to release the negative energy from myself. This entire week was a reflective lesson for me and I embrace the experience!

Ahhhh--the Rainbow Meditation...nice!

When I first started this exercise, I confused myself a little. Years ago I became interested in chakra work and performed a few exercises. However, I fell away from the practice..even though I felt better with the time I had spent. One of the exercises I did with my chakra was color related, but it involved pulling the colors of each individual chakra in. So when I first started this meditation...I kept going back and forth.  :-)) I couldn't make up my mind...so I developed a strategy.
I went to my bookshelf and pulled out a couple of my chakra resources. I spent some time looking through them and reading some main points in order to focus my mind to what I was trying to accomplish. Then I started the Rainbow Meditation with a fresh viewpoint and old information called to mind.
The interesting thing about the Rainbow Meditation is that the colors match the colors for the chakras. I shouldn't have been surprised because it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Colors are so powerful and have a place in different alternative models. Colorpuncture (acupuncture without needles: instead uses glass rods with colored ends), meditating on a color, and color healing all use the power of color to heal the body. How many of us paint a room according to a feeling? In the future, when we get famous & are going on a live talk show...they will put us in a 'green room' which is meant to relax us. I painted my kitchen a 'good-morning-wake-me-up' yellow & now I love my mornings. We may not realize it all of the time...but color makes us feel better (or worse) throughout the day. I like red, but you never see it in a doctor's office--with good reason. It stimulates the body through sight. Us women know the power of a little black dress...but we really understand the fire behind a red dress!
I finally did master the skills this meditation was asking of me. I felt like my body was cleansed because of the colors 'pushing' the negative energies out. I felt like it benefited my body but I do also enjoy the 'bringing in' of color to benefit and heal weak or damaged areas. I have decided that both the new method and my old one will work for their own purpose at different times of my life. Sometimes it will be necessary to use the color to cleanse & sometimes to rejuvinate. Another lesson well learned!!

Where I am now and what I'm going to do to move forward...

As I sit here trying to rate myself, I'm finding it harder than I thought it would be. The problem is that I'm too hard on myself and expect more than people in my life do...
My physical well-being is a toss-up. When compared to five years ago...I'm a 10.But when compared to where I want to be in five years...I'm a 5. So, if I average that out, I'm a 7 1/2. :-)) And then I add in my attitude about where I am today and I'm up to a 9 or so. This doesn't mean that I am the physical equal to Arron Raodgers (yes, I'm a Packers fan), but in my mind...I know that I'm the best I can be today with the road I've walked so far. Tomorrow I will be better physically and I can stay at a 9 or so, as long as I keep the right attitude and not give up. With this in mind...my goal for my physical health is to exercise 5 more minutes tomorrow, and maybe add a new exercise.
My spiritual well-being is a little lower than I would like for it to be. At times I don't feel as grounded as I want to be. I pray and meditate on a regular basis, but there is so much time in my day that is open...I should increase my time. Today, I rate myself at a 6 and my goal for tomorrow is to pray more, meditate more and be sure to write in my journal.
My psychological well-being is definitely where I need the most attention. Although my attitude is great...it relates to where I want to be and includes the drive I have to get there. However...I feel like there is so much to change about myself that sometimes I get overwhelmed. For this reason I rate myself at a 5--for most of my day--with spurts of 4's and 6's. I need to just take smaller steps some days, and bigger strides the next. My mind knows what it wants and knows how to get there...but sometimes my mind beats itself up. My goal here is simple: no more name-calling or trash-talking!
When I try to think of an activity or exercise to improve and maintain my well-being in these areas, I think the best one is to walk more. When I walk, I like to pray and work out any issues of the day. Of course this is a great way for my overall well-being to get healthy and stay healthy. I think I'll go for a short walk now!!

Journey On

I really enjoyed this exercise, because one of my favorite sayings is "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" and this was a great journey. And I didn't have to leave the house--or my chair for that matter. After reading some of my classmates blogs I realized that I should find a quiet place and not be hungry or just fed. :-))
The first time that I tried my 'journey', I had some trouble relaxing and taking my time. I was thinking about the quiz I needed to take and feeling stressed. I stopped the exercise, drank some water and sat on my front porch for about a half hour. The second attempt was more successful and even enjoyable. I will definitely be 'journeying on' before every quiz that I have to take in the future...success is in my control! In addition...I think that it would do me a world of good to practice the 'journey on' exercise a few times a week. I would love to get to the point that I wouldn't need the computer link...I could just use my mind to accomplish the same relaxed AND rejuvenated feeling any time--any where. This is my ultimate goal for this particular journey.

I got through it by...breathing!

Well, obviously I had a little trouble figuring this out...BUT, I'm here now :-))


About a month before I turned 40, I took a good hard look at where I was--and I didn't like it. The first thing I did wa decide that by the time I entered my next decade I would quit smoking. Because of prayer and God's strength...I was a non-smoker by my birthday! Then I took a look at the rest of me...this is when I adopted my personal motto of "Breathe". I have lived by it ever since.


Now that I am over 50, although I have plenty of tools...I realize that I am still not where I want to be. With the knowledge I will find in this course and my other one here at Kaplan University (Stress Management), I will be better at the end of the term than I was at the beginning. I look forward to 'mastering' my mind-body-soul connection & health as well as improving my blogging skills.


The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...now, here I go! Journey with me?