Hello all.
This week we were ask to compare the subtle mind technique with the loving kindness technique. To be totally honest I enjoy them both a great deal. I will say this the subtle mind technique is a bit harder to accomplish. Focusing strictly on my breathing in order to reach the inner mind is much more difficult than thinking or envisioning somone I love very much and honing that feeling of love in order to heal myself. With the loving kindness technique it takes less time for me to get involved than it does with the subtle mind technique. With the subtle mind technique I find myself fighting to force my mind to abide. I am constantly having to pulling my mind back to focusing on my breathing. However, once I am watching the inner mind both techniques leaving me feeling fulfilled.
As far as the connection between the spiritual wellness, mental, and physcial I am not totally sure how the spiritual relates to either. This is because I am not totally in the know about the spiritual aspect of human experience. On one hand I see it as a general attitude, as if saying he is in good spirits, but then I look at that as just part of the mind. Therefore, I am under the impression that the spiritual is nothing more than the inner mind. After all isn't it through the mind that we reach the spiritual? As far as the mental and physcial connection, they are inseparable. The mind controls the body and it is the mind that will always quit before the body. I remember when I was in the military and we would be forced to jog for miles on end. One of my commanders would always tell us how the mind will always quit before the body, so keep a strong mind and your body will follow.
Hello Sean,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I definitely agree. The subtle mind exercise is harder than the loving-kindness. My experience between the two is that I felt the sound of water in the loving-kindness exercise would have been more effective for me with only the soft sounds of music. The water to me was distracting. The subtle exercise on the other hand,the water was calming and helpful to maintain my focal point. I think that is so interesting. It is truly amazing how the mind receives and interrupts information. The statement you make about the mind quitting before the body is a very true statement. The mental state of a person to keep moving forward is the drive of the mind to say don't quit keep going. Though the experience of soreness can be overwhelming at times after the exercise. There is a feeling of great accomplishment afterwards, I think.
~Linda Jackson