The Unit 6 Realization

I don’t know why but after the loving kindness meditation exercise I felt really good about things going on in my life. It’s funny that as I was engaging in this exercise I really thought that I was a forgiving person, that I didn’t hold grudges and possessed no anger towards people who have been less than kind or even mean to me. I was wrong; it was initially difficult to even imagine health, happiness, and wholeness for some people who have been a part of my life, not to mention wishing I could assist them with it. It was equally surprising that this realization was actually the key I needed to release the unknown animosity I was harboring for these specific few individuals. It was a very refreshing epiphany that I’m positive did far greater good for my own health, happiness, and wholeness than it ever could for them. Just for fun though, I may engage in a little sociological experiment of my own and find out what might happen if I make the effort and show them universal loving kindness as this exercise suggests.

The first exercise pretty much flowed into the second for me. The fact that I was holding more of a grudge than I had thought, and a little more anger for injustices done to me held on a little as I began the second part of this assignment. I was happy that it was my spiritual being that was in the most need of growth and that I am also ready for spiritual growth.  

The Subtle Mind was Hard to Find

I found the subtle mind exercise to be the most difficult of all the blog assignments so far. I was not able to achieve any kind of deep relaxation using this technique and I think it was because I was suffering from a minor cold. The biggest problem was that I was extremely congested and regulating deep repetitive breathing was difficult and frustrating. I did like the example and explanation of breathing creating a relationship between the mind and body. In the exercise the narrator made the association “still the breath, still the mind” perhaps this was the source of my problem. I was unable to control my breathing in any controlled way to still my breath so I was unable to still my mind, I really think that I failed the instant I became frustrated with the situation. The part of the exercise that talked about the mind being involuntarily pulled towards random thoughts is defiantly something I need to work on but I will continue my efforts to improve my results. I suspect that mastering these types of exercises could take years in some cases, and I may be one of those cases but my success with the other exercises has shown me the benefit they can provide for health and stress removal thus extending life. I will continue to practice stabilizing my mind as suggested by the narrator.   

Unit 4 Blog

It was interesting to hear the introduction of this exercise given by Dr. Dacher in person, for me actually hearing the voice of an author adds an element to the reading experience. I have always believed in and try to live my life with the belief that you get what you put into it, so I am admittedly attracted to Dacher’s attitude towards life. I didn’t find the exercise very difficult this week, at least not as difficult as the previous two were. I have been practicing so I think that it is becoming easier for me to relax my mind as required for these relaxation exercises, much easier than in the beginning of these blog assignments. The part of this specific exercise that had an effect on me was when the narrator said to turn the focused love back and into myself, I frequently give love and positivity outward towards others and never really realized how little I give to myself. It was an odd realization to stumble upon and caught me by surprise but I will make an effort to save a little for me because it really felt good. The long pause at the end almost made me late for work because I didn’t realize it ended and just continued to relax. The concept of a mental workout is basically the same as a physical workout, it requires frequent exercise to remain in or gain its best state of being. Some research even indicates that mental exercises can reduce the destruction of, or even grow new neurons in the brain helping increase memory and coordination. It sounds to me like the benefits of a routine mental workout are definitely worth the effort.

Jay   

Week Three Relaxation Exercise Epiphany

On a scale of 1-10, I would say that my physical wellbeing is at an 8, or at least close to it. I’m in relatively good physical shape but do aspire to increase my physical well being. I currently jog at least five mornings a week and strength training at least three or four times a week but an area I would like to improve on is flexibility. An activity that I could implement into my life that could help me with this is taking the time to properly stretch not just before exercising but as an exercise. I have looked into ways to improve my flexibility and taking part in a regular stretching program will not only help with flexibility it is also believed to improve physical shape in other ways. Taking part in a regular stretching program also increases circulation to muscles being stretched, helps prevents problems with the back and spine, improves posture, and promotes graceful body movements.

I believe my psychological wellbeing at probably a 7 and the only real reason that I don’t call myself a 10 is because I have a lot of trouble recognizing what I’m doing when I am making certain mistakes and I don’t think I should. It’s like I know what I’m doing and I know that I don’t want it to happen the way it’s happening but am helpless to stop myself. An exercise to help me with this would be something to help me recognize and react to my own behavior flaws in time to react to them. Honestly, I’m hoping to find something in within this class to help me with this.

At the risk of sounding pompous (and I am not) and hopefully not coming off as arrogant but I firmly believe my spiritual wellbeing to be a solid 10. I basically feel this way because I almost always view myself in a positive way and I feel good about my capabilities, accomplishments, relationships with others, and my general place in the world. I of course do not proclaim to be perpetually positive, but the reason I give myself a spiritual 10 is because I have a healthy expression of emotions, whether they are negative or positive in origin. I’ve adopted an optimistic attitude towards life and actively seek out new ways to improve myself.

My experience in this week’s relaxation exercise had a difficult start. I had some trouble focusing and calming myself which is generally the root cause of most of my problems and mistakes. After I was able to relax and keep my focus on the exercise itself it worked very well in keeping me relaxed, in fact I remain relaxed even now hours after it has ended. Oddly enough through this relaxation I may have come to the realization that I’m under more stress than I thought I was. Perhaps it’s the preparation for my first child coming in July, or that I’m moving soon combined with my work and school is causing me more stress than I had perceived. I am confident that I can effectively cope with this stress but as long as I’m now aware of it, why not try to eliminate as much of it as I can. This is not as simple as it may sound because in many of my situations it is not possible to remove the stress causing event. I will continue to practice the exercises in this class and any other stress management techniques I may discover to help me cope as effectively as possible with the added stress and to help me recognize any stress elements that could be removed without a negative effect on my life. This exercise caused an interesting turn of events for me and I am excited to use it to better my life and welcome the challenge of doing so. Thanks for reading.

~Jay