Practicing the loving kindness exercise this week has been
difficult for me. It isn't necessarily hard for me to mentally picture feeling loving
kindness towards myself, loved ones, or strangers. I consider empathy as
one of my best traits, often being overcome with emotion simply because someone
else is experiencing it near me. It sounds hokey, but I always say that I genuinely
love
people...everything about them, the differences, the similarities, the quirks,
everything that makes us each unique. So mentally extending the feeling of loving
kindness to others and reducing their pain and suffering felt awesome in this
exercise.
The part I struggled with was actually just relaxing and getting my brain to
SHUT UP for once. I went back and forth from participating in the exercise to racing,
random thoughts of "AmIdoingthisright? Idon'treallyknowwhatIamsupposedtobedoingexactly.
Man,Ineedtopracticethis. CrapnowI'mnotevenlisteningtotherecording.
Ahhhhhhh!" Overall, I did enjoy this exercise and would recommend it to
others. I would also recommend practicing
often (but that is more just a recommendation to myself!)
I think of a mental workout as mentally practicing something that
does not come natural to you/your state of mind. Whether it is loving kindness,
inner peace or stillness of mind, these things take lots and lots (and if you
are me, lots more) practice. Research
suggests that the mental exercises of feelings such as compassion, loving
kindness and empathy can lead to actual changes in the brain's functioning.
When we continually practice these attributes we can eventually get to the
point where our mind is naturally in this state of compassion, peace, etc. I
obviously need to practice stillness of mind a LOT in order to improve my
psychological health. Too much chatter and not enough substance going on up
there if you know what I mean... :/
In health and happiness,
Hannah
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