Hi Everyone,
The 2 mental exercises I would choose to keep in my daily regimen are 1) Meeting Aesclepius and 2) The Subtle Mind Practice. The reason I like these is because I appreciate the practice in clearing the mind and learning how to keep a quiet mind for longer periods of time. And, I also like the idea of sitting across from a person that I admire and being inspired by their traits. I enjoy knowing that we are all alike, therefore, what we envy in others, we have in ourselves.
I have found that when I wake up late at night and I am thinking about everything that needs to be done the next day, I instantly practice the Subtle Mind exercise. A lot of times, I find that the silence in the night only helps those chaotic thoughts become bigger and more overwhelming. I believe this is due to not having any distractions to help ease the mind. So, Subtle Mind helps me keep those thoughts to a minimum, while I practice focusing on the peaceful part of my spirit.
I have also found that when life gets tough, I look towards the people who seem to have it all figured out and are happy all the time, and wonder how they do it. By practicing that they are across from me, sharing their words and their love, I can almost feel the unity in all of us and I find myself taking on how I believe they see the world. This helps me not only cope, but also to remain hopeful that there will come a time when I will just see the problems of the world in a peaceful manner, instead of being tormented by them.
I sincerely appreciated the exercise in the book this week. As my DB said, I pictures three very happy times in my life and I am finding that when I think about them, I am recalling my happiness, lightness, and health. These are great qualities to not only focus on, but to also practice feeling all the time. Why should we wait for moments to be happy when we can train ourselves to be mostly happy? Does this mean we will look for moments of sadness then? HA! Can one ever be too happy? (Some do seem to have this annoying quality, ha!).
I loved and appreciated every one of these exercises. Even though I was ill for at least 2 of them, I still learned from them. These are exercises that I will incorporate into my runs, my daily routine, and my sleepy nights. Only positivity can result from these exercises!
I loved this class and it came at the perfect time!
Have a great week everyone!
Good luck on your final projects next week!
Hello Anne,
ReplyDeleteI have had a few nights like yours, waking up and staying awake as my mind turns on, churning over my to do list. That is a great time to practice any of the exercises we have learned in this class.
I too favored the Aescelpius exercise. My other favorite was the LovingKindness. There are a few people I love unconditionaly. Expanding that love to include everyone in the world has already caused a significant change in my thinking. Patience and understanding of others has replaced mental irritation and criticism (I don't speak the words, but know thinking them is not good either.)
Besides helping you regain your peace, what other improvements have you noticed from the exercises we have done?
Anne,
ReplyDeleteI think everyone can relate to you. Even those people who you feel that have it all figured out. I am pretty sure it has not always been that way. Everyone goes through trials in life, even if we do not show it. I used to ask my mother,"why does all of my friends keep asking my advice when I think I am more confused than all of them?" She would simply tell me that it is all perception. It is kinda like that expression "the grass is always greener". Well just think with a little time and work, we will be those people who seem to have it all figured out and others will be looking at us wondering how we do it. I can't wait for that. Good luck to you.
Stephanie
Glad to hear you are feeling better!! I too wake up in the middle of the night with this list of things I need to do. I have found when I play ocean sounds that remind me of the my trip to the virgin islands I am able to calm my mind and settle back into sleep. I do find those people who are overly happy a bit annoying, there's no way that you can be that happy all the time! But I guess if we practice these exercises it is possible.
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