The Loving Kindness exercise officially kicked my butt. This was not easy for me, I lost focus and found myself frustrated then uncomfortable with the whole thing. I find it really hard to be sympathetic or empathetic of others. I tend to feel desensitize myself to the suffering of strangers because I feel like they are just feeling sorry for themselves. To me that is a waste of valuable energy you could be using to "save" or "better" yourself. The list goes on. If this exercise is right, I think I owe some people an apology for my insensitive thinking and feelings. I would not recommend this exercise to others as I struggled with it, and wouldn't want to see others suffer that way either.
The idea of Mental Work-Outs is like conditioning for the mind. Research shows that condition your mind improves outlook, eases stress, and prepares you for life's different challenges. I find that the Nintendo DS games specific for mental challenges is a good place to start (fun too) or you can also use Yoga or Pilates to strengthen your body, mind and soul. These help me focus better then breathing or meditation exercises as they keep my hands busy.
This exercise was a little bit of a challenge for me too, but that just goes along with the whole idea of mental fitness. When a person who is physically out of shape starts going to the gym and tries to do a pull up and struggles with it, we don't tell them not to try to do pull ups anymore because they are hard, we tell them to continue trying them until they get easier, along with other strengthening exercises. So don't give up just yet, these exercises take practice and it is a workout in itself to learn to calm and quiet your mind.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I am both sympathetic and empathetic, however the idea of taking on strangers suffering or pain is too much. My body is mine, as well as my intention. I would wish their pain away,I would listen to them and be present.I would provide hands on treatments to help reduce their pain, but inhale it? Really? I struggle with the idea of how to let it go if I actually did attempt to take in a strangers pain. I wouldn't take a bite of a strangers sandwich, and I dont want to breathe in their pain.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't difficult for me to empathize with strangers, however, the idea behind wishing well to enemies is. Its like my mind is screaming yes and my body is kicking and screaming no. The book doesn't address how to change your feelings from wanting karma to bite someone in the butt for doing wrong in exchange for wanting them to be happy despite it.
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