Loving-Kindness Practice

Finally, a successful meditation exercise!  I found the exercise to be very beneficial for my mind.  I enjoyed taking the time to really rest in the concept of loving-kindness and reflect upon its value and application.  In the beginning portion that said to think about someone who I love, I thought about my Savior, Jesus, and was brought to tears remembering His greatness, significant love for me and everyone, and the sacrifice He made to show that love.  He is the epitome of loving-kindness.  I was also overcome with emotion at the thought of the difficulties of a good friend, who is suffering greatly financially since the economic crash.  My deep-breathing and well-wishing turned into intercessory prayer for her and her peace.  I know this time is very difficult for her.  At the end, I was struck by the mentioning of enemies in context of "suffering."  It is so, so, so important to always remember that we are all people who are suffering and hurt.  It is out of our suffering that we respond in negativity and disrespect to others.  When we keep this in mind, and see people for who they really are (people who are hurt, scared, and lonely) we can express loving-kindness towards them no matter what they do.  It reminds me of Jesus' words on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).  It was a great exercise.

A "Mental Workout" is the process of intentionally training the mind to grow and become more capable, just as we would if we were intending to train our physical body through physical exercise (Dacher, 2006, p 64).  An athlete does not just sit idly and expect that their body would become physically capable of great feats of strength or efforts of endurance, but diligently works to persistently challenge their body to test and challenge its limits, reconfiguring them regularly as they are redefined.  Research indicates that the practice of the contemplation helps to move our minds to an "expanded consciousness and...healing capacities" (Dacher, 2006, p 65), which has been proven empirically through the millenia of Eastern medicine practice.  Implementing these mental workouts on a regular basis, whether through utilizing audio recordings such as the one provided in the class, which walk the listener through a guided contemplation, or engaging in a personalized time of contemplation and focus, would be highly beneficial for training my mind to act in loving-kindness and with wisdom.  This is the follow-through, or application, of "As a man thinketh, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).  The more I meditate on and feed my mind with the intention and practice of living in a way of loving-kindness and wisdom, the more naturally those behaviors will flow out of me.  If I focus my mind on frivilous, selfish, or anxious thoughts, I will react to situations instead of intentionally responding as needed.  These practices are definitely a workout for the mind to get ready for the daily battlefield.  I don't just want to win the battle; I want to win the war.

Dacher, E. (2006). Psychospiritual Flourishing. In Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing (p 64-65). Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

My Wellness Factor

What is my wellness factor?  Well, currently, I would say that my physical and psychological well-being are at about an 8, while my spiritual well-being is about a 6.  This term in school is pushing my mental capacity for the workload and I am finding it difficult to optimally function in all of my different wellness areas.  My energy has decreased because I am up later in the evening trying to finish reading assignments, so my morning workouts have fallen to the wayside as I am too tired in the mornings to wake up early enough to get them done.  My mind seems to not have time to shut off and just be still, since there are so many various tasks that need to be accomplished during this time, such as school with the kids, watching the kids, taking care of the home, homework, planting the garden, laundry, make food, prepare for government shut down, etc.  I am finding it difficult to just sit still and not HAVE to do anything else.  Because these other elements of myself are out of whack, I know my spiritual wellness is suffering too.  I just feel burdened and pressed, which results in a shorter temper, less focus, and increased emotions, none of which is beneficial for me or my family.  This is one area though that I have continued to focus on by diligently having my bible study in the morning to ensure I get some important things to focus on throughout the day.  It helps.

My goal is to go to bed by 10p each night so I get enough sleep to wake up by 5:30a to workout, which will boost my energy throughout the day.  I also have a goal to secure time to get schoolwork done without interruption, which will assist in releasing some workload stress.  Spiritually, my goal is to meditate on scriptures that speak to these areas of stress and worry and continue to turn them away from myself so that they are not my burden any longer.

I completed "The Crime of the Century" exercise, which was very nice...so nice in fact that I fell asleep about 10 minutes into it.  This is what happens when even just sitting down is a welcome relief to the go-go mentality of the day.  Prior to falling asleep, though, I was very happy that I could feel myself relaxing and the tension reducing, but sadly, the other thing going through my mind here and there was that I needed to be doing other things, not sitting still "doing nothing" for 20 minutes.   I think this is going to be a process....

Relaxation Attempt....

So, it has become incredibly obvious to me in my experience as a student/mother that the law of Murphy is always in effect.  Why is it that as soon as one tries to go through a relaxation experience all the noisiest and least relaxing sounds in the world become ever more apparent, if not increasingly loud and obnoxious?  Such was the case with my relaxation attempt this week.  As I sat down to listen to the directions of the audio, I soon heard the dog barking, kids talking and then yelling, and my baby crying.  As much as I tried to get through the rest of the audio, my time essentially became ironically more frustrating than usual, causing more stress and even a stress headache.  Apparently, trying to take "sit still" relaxation during the midst of chaos for me actually creates more of a stressful situation than not doing it at all.  Since I was unable to actually relax physically, I did not experience the heaviness symptoms described on the audio, but one thing I did glean from it was to intentionally slow my breathing and go through focused relaxation during stressful times, even if while standing and only for a moment or two in between managing children fighting or babies crying.  Maybe next time will be a better report!  =0)