Going through the Loving-Kindness exercise, I found myself quite uncomfortable with the requests that were made. I do not believe that “taking in” other people’s pain and suffering is safe or a good idea and so I refused to even attempt this. I instantly felt discomfort within me when the guide said to do this and I trusted myself and did not proceed with this portion. I feel that, in doing this, I would be endangering my own health (not to mention the health of the baby within me). I do not see anything wrong with “breathing out loving-kindness” to others and feel that it would be a great thing to practice but this is the only aspect of the exercise that I feel comfortable participating in. I would never recommend anyone to take in others’ pain and suffering, but I would absolutely recommend opening one’s heart to extend compassion to others.
Mental workout refers to the deliberate exercising of a specific mental focus in order to progressively develop an expanded consciousness as well as its healing capacities (Dacher, 200). Dacher has two exercises of contemplative practice that he teaches in his book: Loving-kindness (the exercise that we were assigned for this blog entry) and the subtle mind which are both on his CD. Dacher states that the aim of the two exercises is to “help us to tame and train the mind, open the heart, expand consciousness, and progress us toward psychospiritual flourishing” (Dacher, 2006). I can implement mental workouts in order to foster my psychological health in various ways. I could exercise control when faced with a challenge that invokes in me a negative reflexive feeling, I could take time to assess a situation before jumping to conclusions which may be unproductive or negative, and I could commit to a constant state of awareness of my inner thoughts and feelings so as to direct them to be more positive. These are just a few examples as there are an infinite possibilities of things that I could do to train mentally, improve my integral health, and have a positive impact on my environment.
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, California. Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThat portion of the exercise was very difficult and emotional for me. As the primary caretaker for loved ones who have gone through a terminal illness it brought back a great deal of pain I was not expecting to experience. I agree with you and I'm very happy that you chose not to do this part of the exercise. Although I felt that this exercise was therapeutic personally, I don't believe it is for everyone. I'm sure having gone through childbirth two times already you know of the many relaxation techniques that are out there.
~Mary
Wow, I didn't think of the loving-kindness exercise as you. It did put it in a totally new perspective. I don't want to take upon other's pains either. For me though it means that we need to see them as humans and they too suffer as we do, so we should only feel love toward them.
ReplyDeleteOn your mental work-out, you have some really good ideas. I believe that when we have control of our thoughts and feelings, we are then in control of our actions. A constant mental awarness is going to be a huge task for me. I let too many stressor take over in my life. Thanks for your ideas.
Cami