I would have to say that the Loving-Kindness and Meeting Asclepius exercises were most beneficial to me. The loving-kindness exercise taught me how to open my heart and mind more and to be more accepting of others. Most people only take their immediate family, extended family, and close friends into consideration when they pray. Loving-kindness asks us to take everyone into consideration when engaging in this activity, including our enemies. Meeting Asclepius allowed me to reconnect with my grandfather whom I miss dearly. But more than that, this exercise allowed me to feel what he felt all of the time. He was such a good person that I wish I could be more like him.
I can implement these practices into my personal life to foster mental fitness by using my grandfather as a grounding agent of sorts. When I feel myself getting upset or out of control I can take myself back to the exercise and remember what it felt like to "see" him and "be" with him again. The loving-kindness exercise can help me to keep my defensive reactions under control so that I move toward emotional intelligence and integral health. A lack of trust in people has made me a very defensive person and I would like to change that. I believe these exercises can help me with this. Furthermore, I can concentrate more of my time and effort toward mental fitness instead of just random thought.
Hello Malabri. Hope you are doing well. In the forgiveness section of our book Consciousness and healing, read page 339 and 340. I found this section especially helpful towards my goal of integral healing. You mentioned 'a lack of trust in people'. However, under #7 of the forgivenss section it states"Put your energy into looking for another way to get your positive goals met than through the experience that has hurt you". Also,it mentions not to expect things to come from people that they do not choose to give. Hope this section helps.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog this week, it was very insightful. We all tend to get upset and angry at certain situation but the more we practice ways to avoids these feelings or ways to look at it a different way the easier it will come and over time we will find that the moments we are upset will not last as long. Having one of these approaches to help us is a great start. Good luck with your path to integral health.
ReplyDeleteAnd on a side note, Maria's suggestion on the forgiveness section is a great one. I shared this with a friend and she found it very helpful.
Hello Manabri, I too enjoyed the loving kindness exercise. I found the concept very easy to imagine since I have always cared so much for others feelings. A recent example comes to mind as I was watching a young lady at the grocery store who was trying to get the attention of a much older gentlemen who was obviously a professor from her school. As she called him by his name repeatedly he continued his shopping and when she did not give up he turned to her and just stared. I felt so sorry and actually upset that this professor had made one of his students feel this guilty for trying to say hello outside of class. But at the same time I wanted to believe that there may have been more to the story than what I had witnessed. So of course I performed a moment of loving kindness for each of them, and then practiced subtle mind to bring me back from the negative reaction I had to the whole event. I am ever so grateful for the information we have now, and hope it works as well for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Loving-Kindness exercise as well is was very interesting to learn that how we interact with others plays an effect on our state of health. This information has really helped me enforce these techniques within my daily interactions.
ReplyDeleteLoving-kindness asks us to connect with the whole world and this is unique for many people. Imagine if everyone who prays prayed for the whole world...how much peace and goodwill this might generate. This exercise helped me to understand that everyone needs prayer even our enemies. To turn the other cheek requires loving-kindness and compassion; this exercise has given me the insight to think about others, pray for them even if they have wrong me. It's hard but good intentions may foster a better world to live in and help the one praying to open up their heart to the whole world.
ReplyDeleteHi Malabri,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post this week. I agree with you that having an attitude of Loving Kindness for everyone, not just friends and family is an important frame of mind to have. If everyone would practice having loving thoughts for all living things, there would be a lot more peace in our world for sure! THank you for sharing:) Beth