1. Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.
I choose Loving-Kindness and meditation as the two most beneficial practices. The practices of the Subtle mind and visualization cannot be excluded because they are interconnected connected as components to the total concept of wholeness. It is important for these practices to be implemented into personal life and practice because they contribute to the various aspects of health, physical, mental and spiritual.
The value of practicing Loving-Kindness, from a personal point of view, is that it eradicates selfishness and opens the heart to send out a kind and loving spirit which, according to (Dacher, 2006) will also return back to its sender. Sometimes patients are not always feeling their best and need to be helped areas of psychospirituality. From the concept of Loving-Kindness the patient can feel less mechanical-routine-professional pressure, in cases threat from the doctor, big guy in control, and the patient, the small guy, been excluded from participating in his own health recovery.
Meditation, in all its forms, aims to calm the mind and the spirit. As opposed to a busy, crowded and clogged mind, a clear and calm mind can function better. A mind which is subtle is free from grasping and wandering. In other words, meditation trains the mind to focus inwardly. This focus is valuable for improvement of memory and concentration. Even more important, a clear and focused mind which is evolved through meditation has an effect on the body’s state of health. The relaxed and peaceful state of mind can foster healing of anxiety, chronic stress related illnesses such as asthma, hypertension, skin and cardiovascular complications and mental disorders. (Dacher, 2006)
Wow! Great post! I believe that everyone has the need for further development of their mind, to one degree or another. As you said, a developed mind leads to great personal health.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week and good luck on finals!
Britt
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThere are so many people that do not know the healing benefits of meditation! I had no idea that a relaxed and peaceful state of mind could relieve anxiety, asthma, hypertention, and mental disorders...I also did not know that many of these are stress related illnesses.
I hope many more can learn the benefits of meditation and loving kindness, it is so needed in today's society.
Selena
Greetings Selena and All-
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, I discovered this class at the right time in my life. At a time when it seems like stress and tension is everywhere, isn't it good to know that we understand how to disconnect from all the foolishness and settle within ourselves so that we can begin our ascension to an inner calmness?
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to practice "walking meditation." I went to a park where I was alone, except for birds and squirrels. Believe me, the environment was certainly conducive to peaceful and contemplative meditation. Our contemplative exercises may not change the causes of our stress and tension but at least they change the way our bodies react and how we respond to all the "crazy stuff," in our environment, most over which we have no control anyway.