Well this week's listening exercise was much more pleasant than last week's. I did gain really good insight last week into how I chose to ignore a big issue in my life rather than deal with it, but that ultimately left me sad. This week I was calm and relaxed and really enjoying the focusing on breath and really not paying any direct attention to anything around me until the random voice interrupted to give further instructions. I found this to be very distracting becasue there were such long pauses between instructions that when there was an instruction I was jolted back to here and now.
Overall, I feel really calm and energized right now as opposed to last week when I felt really sad. My only complaint is, and maybe it is because I need more practice, I did not like when the instructor spoke because it brought me back to normal time and I had to refocus myself all over again.
The connection of spiritual and pyhsical health for me is that when I feel connected to something greater than myself I just feel better overall. When I am sad or tense going to the ocean and being in awe of the immenseness of it calms me. I think about my tiny part in this huge world and all of my problems melt away. I feel connceted to the world at the ocean. For me there is no greater spiritual power than the connection with nature.
Rose
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI must agree that once the instructor left us to follow her direction it led to a peaceful place only to be jolted back to reality. While I understand why this is the way it is I was frightened more than once. I also have to agree that is was difficult to come and go so to speak.
Overall I, too, feel connected the most when I am hiking or exploring nature. I think I may try this exercise without the voice when I am out in the wild. We do seem like such small particles in this vast world but sometimes our problems seem so great that they consume us. Hopefully this will be something you can implement in your life in the future when it seems like your troubles are bigger than you and you can be reminded of how you felt in this exercise. Best of luck!
Jen
Rose, I felt the same way, too, regarding the interruption after long pauses. I was very content to just do what I had read and use the ocean sounds to soothe my mind. Maybe if we found those sounds on Pandora under meditations and just did what the reading told us, it would be a more enjoyable experience. I enjoyed it because I was totally relaxed and even felt a physical disconnection to my limbs and body, in general. I liked it much more than the loving kindness exercise.
ReplyDelete"Checking out" and relaxing like this can rest our bodies as well as our minds because we relax from the inside out.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I am glad you feel better this week, than you did last week :)
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI did like the exercise because of the long pauses but your are right about the voice coming back. I actually jumped because I was not expecting to hear a voice. I really enjoyed seeing how my mind would go back and fourth between thought and focusing. Last week I do remember being left with a little sadness too. I am glad this exercise left you calm and energize. I feel like it cleared my mind.
I too agree that the voice was rather annoying. i preferred this exercise over last weeks simply because the breathing helps me and can really help me to focus. The long pauses in between were a bit too long for me, but the out come of the exercise was very relaxing and pleasing for me. I would recommend this exercise to anyone especailly those who have a stressful and hectic life style.
ReplyDeleteHello Rose!
ReplyDeleteIt is quite a relaxing and great experience to be able to focus on the wellness of all three aspects: the mind, body, and spirit. And activity such as the Subtle Mind is one of the most perfect ones out there for such a deep focus. Being able to regain control, to hold that control, and to allow all of the activity to flow within your mind so that you can have a clear mind is beautiful! It's amazing how the mind itself can have such an influence on the body and the spirit, as all three are interconnected! What a great experience!
Hi Rose,
ReplyDeleteI too felt sad last week when we had to do the loving-kindness exercise. I was sad that I couldn't take the pain away from others in real life. This week I was able as well to relax a little bit more. I have to agree that the voice when it came back on in-between ocean waves, did jolt you back to normal life. I was nice and calm at one point until someone coughed in my house and then I lost all focus. I hope the exercises from here on out get better for you as well as myself.
-megan