This week’s Subtle Mind exercise was quite a new experience
for me. To be honest, this is what I expected meditation to be about, before I
started listening to guided meditation podcasts. I thought it was about sitting
there, and forcing your mind to go completely blank for an extended period of
time – which is quite impossible for me, hence my refusal to attempt meditating
for so much of my life. I’ve found, through this class and elsewhere, that many
meditation techniques do not do this at all. The Subtle Mind exercise was the
first I’ve ever encountered that focused on loosening all attachment to thought
and observing thoughts from an outside point of view. It was easier than I
expected, although still somewhat difficult.
I found myself thinking on Isaiah 30:15 - In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
I found that biggest difference between the Subtle Mind
exercise and the Loving Kindness exercise was the length of time in which no words
were spoken. There is a period in the mind of the Subtle Mind exercise in which
the narrator is silent for several minutes, and during the quiet time I became
completely engrossed in the meditation and utterly oblivious outside
sensations. When she spoke again, it startled me very badly, and quite frankly,
I couldn’t get back into it after that.
Physical wellness relies on mental and spiritual wellness,
and mental wellness relies on spiritual wellness. Our ultimate overall health
and wellness is totally contingent upon our spiritual life, which is the
component of our health that gets most overlooked. It’s not hard to notice this
in my personal life, if I take the time to look – when I am joyful, I feel
better. When I’m in despair, I feel lousy. It doesn’t take a PhD in medicine to
notice the connection there.
Hello Mary,
ReplyDeleteI must say that I didn't know what to expect when listening to these exercises, I'v never been big on doing this type of meditation technique. I've seen others do it and just thought it was something I might try one day. Listening to these exercises is causing me to change my veiw on this type of relaxation exercise. This wasn't the first time I've ever sat in a session and let all of my thoughts go and feel totally relaxed, but it's not often that I get to do or feel the way this subtle mind exercise made me feel. It felt great, I'm just wondering if you felt the same?
Love the cross reference to the verse in Isiah. Quite frankly it has been through the deepening of my spirituality that I have finally reached some inner calmness. Even friends and family have noticed a more subtle me from days of being young and drama filled. I feel that when I am by myself and can reflect on what God has blessed me with and even without I am able to expand my inner self.
ReplyDeleteMy meditation goes much better when I am concreting on a scripture than someone's voice. There were long pauses in the Subtle mind exercises but very helpful for me to rid my mind of some stressful events. I think if there was a mixture of the loving kindness and subtle mind exercises to fill in the long pauses the exercises would be more meaningful.
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