This week we have been asked to compare Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind. These are two different guided meditations.
Loving Kindness is just what it sounds like. It is about the practice of taking time to create love and kindness for everyone. In this guided meditation you are asked to take in everyone's suffering and pain, let it pass through you, and then let it go. This is a good meditation to help an individual work on forgiveness because you are asked to even take in the pain and suffering of those you may not like.
Subtle Mind is a meditation that focuses more on a persons self. You are to focus on your own breath and your calming your mind.. This is to help you focus on your own inner peace and take the time for you. It also helps a person accept the chaos that may be going on in their life and in themselves, calm it, and let it go.
Both are good meditations and can help a person in their life. The major difference is what is your personal goal. Are you doing a meditation for yourself and your own calming? Or, are you thinking you need to work on helping others and work on your own personal forgiveness towards others? Meditations are designed to help us.
We were also asked this week what the connection is between spiritual, physical, and mental wellness. During meditation we are allowed to more easily connect the spiritual, mental, and physical wellness also know as the mind, body, and spirit. If we are happy and healthy then in most cases we are physically well also.
An example of this is: When you are overweight and out of shape it is possible for you to start to feel depressed about how you look and feel physically. As this progresses you can develop full on depression. With depression comes isolation. You do not want to go out and be active. This lack of desire to be active can pass on to your spirituality. You may not want to be active with your spirituality and may even blame the deity of your choice or faith for your sorrow. In this example you can see how these feelings or energy of sadness and sorrow can be transcended to all aspects of your personal being: Body, Mind, Spirit.
I find that it is important to pay attention to all of these aspects in myself to maintain optimal wellness. It is easy to do if you listen to your body. Your body will tell you if something is not right.
---Anita Rachel Scott (Goehring)
References:
Dacher, E.S. (2006) Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing, Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Dacher, E.S. (2006) CD Companion to: Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. Loving Kindness Meditation. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Dacher, E.S. (2006) CD Companion to: Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. Subtle Mind Meditation. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Hi Anita
ReplyDeleteI found your comparison and differences in the Loving-Kindness and Subtle mind exercises very beneficial. It was a good summary of what each of them are. I suggest we all listen to our bodies like you said. It usually will give us some sort of sign that something is not right. I didn't really know what your experience was with the Subtle mind exercise from your post per se. For me, it was a very good way to relax the mind, except for the distractions that I had this time. I learned how important it is to listen to our bodies to maintain optimal wellness. Great post!
Danielle
Hi, Rachel!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how at the end you displayed the body-mind-spirit connection! I absolutely agree that we are intricately designed as a whole person. If one part is "out of whack" then the whole body feels it! This is one thing I hope to be able to convey to people as I continue in the field of Health and Wellness!
Have a great week!
Debi