The subtle mind was a difficult one for me. There were so many distractions that I was unable to give the proper amount of concentration to the exercise...at first. Then after threatening to add the extra heat ( hot pepper) to dinner tonight....nah really just had to put the ears in and close my eyes.
This still took a little doing but finally managed to do the exercise. Well I fell asleep! This is amazing that I was able to let things go to that extent. Even from the events of the day. My husband asked if I had a good nap....lol
The loving kindness allowed me to relax...then the subtle mind...I suppose that I finally just let everything go...even though my nap was short I have not felt that rested in years...
I also let a friend of mine listen to it to see if she could gain some relief from the stress that she has in her life at the moment...maybe not sleep...but a rest from the stress of the her day. The exercise gave her a sense of calm, then I gave her her my normal listening medicine! Now we shall see what she thinks! ahh ha...she enjoyed the spirit dreams as well....almost fell asleep listening to it! It has such a calming effect on her as well..
I believe that a calm mind and spirit is essential to help guide those in very difficult situations. Meditation allows the mind to relax, gain perspective on difficult problems, allowing the mind to find solutions that may not have thought of before. When the mind is free...the brain can relax...the mental stress can be put aside...and the physical well being can be gained....the decrease in the stress can decrease the chance of high blood pressure, in turn can lower the chances of heart disease...and the decreased reasons for stress eating...these are only a few of the benefits that can come from allowing the mind, body and mind to relax and decrease the amount of stress that is placed on the body on a daily basis.
Jeni,
ReplyDeleteI started laughing and shared your experience with my husband because I had the same result....I started to doze off during the exercise too! The subtle mind exercise was certainly very relaxing and very calming. The loving kindness exercise required more effort, but loving myself and others was a great feeling too!
Did you get startled like I did after dozing off when the person started talking again?
Elicia,
DeleteMy husband just asked me how my nap was! A couple of times! my handy was ringing off the hook, dogs barking, tv on...he didnt understand how i fell asleep with all of that going on...which normally it would not happen. I am the ref with the animals...mom is in charge...lol ...I told him that I was not only one that had that experience with the nap....that is why when I was searching for the title i added the ZZZZZZZZZZZ! LOL
The loving kindness was difficult...It was alright but I still struggled a bit with it....I still listen to "my" music when i need to some down time...and the animals know that when mom has her "ears" in to be good!
See you in class later!!
Jeni S.
I had similar experiences. My house hold is crazy with two cats and two dogs creating havoc with two tweens running around the house with a wife competing for my attention constantly. When I was finally able to listen to the audio without a german shepherd begging for love and a tornado of family harassing me, I totally zonked out into a deep trance which was AWESOME! Unfortunately the audio ended and I was ripped back to reality of tending to a job, family and of course Kaplan. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteAaron
Btw, your comments in the seminar last night made it a lot of fun. Cheers!
I am sure that by now Aaron you know that I am dubbed a class clown for a reason!! LOL You have to make that association with something to understand and clarify things that are right there.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of adversity in life..not saying mine is more difficult than others, but I suppose that I am more open about it hoping that someone may be able to learn from my experience so that they will not have to experience the situation first hand.
I have dealt with the chronically ill and dying for many years and the one thing that I have learned over the years is that I learn more than I have ever thought possible. Each journey is different, wonderful, and tragic all at the same time but it still gives me the determination to be a better person than before, maybe my future clients will benefit from my learned lessons.
I hope that the competition drops down a few levels for you! I have 2 dogs and 5 cats in the house...one I am still sitting for...but there has never been a dull moment...and as soon as you say that "Q" word...its hell in hand basket!
Best of luck
Jeni