Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.
I enjoyed the loving-kindness experience much easier exercise than the subtle mind exercise. With the loving kindness exercise I allow the feeling of loving kindness to flow within my heart as a faucet that’s been turned on. My heart was opened fully to experience the feeling of care and affection with both the pleasant and unpleasant entities. Peace was welcome within my heart and soul as I know how essential it is to love myself before extending it to others. All the emotions of loving kindness could be felt when I thought about seeing my mom for the first time within the trauma room at the hospital after she experienced a serious car accident.
With the subtle mind exercise, I had to train my mind to remain focused on what was occurring at the present moment, I also try to remain attentive at all times whenever my mind seemed to wander. It was a very forceful process in trying to tame the busy mind (Dacher, 2006).
Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.
The connection of the spiritual wellness and physical wellness are intertwining as they go hand-in-hand with the other. One cannot achieve the goals of human flourishing unless mental and physical wellness is implemented. Spiritual wellness allows us to maintain a constant line of communication between our Creator and ourselves through active prayer and meditation. Prayer is a communication process that allows us to talk to God. It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made. Prayer is also the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God. Prayer is the needful practice of the Christian. Prayer is the exercise of faith and hope. Prayer is the privilege of touching the heart of the Father through the Son of God, Jesus our Lord (carm.org, 2014).
Regular exercise and the consumption of a healthy diet can lead to a host of benefits, including increased energy, happiness, health and even a long life. Exercise and diet are pivotal to determining a person’s overall health, and making them both part of your lifestyle can make a dramatic difference in how you look and feel.
This connection is manifested in my personal life by engaging within a constant communion with my Heavenly Father. With all the pain, abuse, sufferings, disappointments, and humiliations that I have experience in life by implementing spiritual wellness alongside physical wellness I have experienced such peace, joy, humility, love, forgiveness, and appreciation towards myself as well as others. Spiritual practices tend to improve my coping skills and social support, foster feelings of optimism and hope, promote healthy behavior, reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and encourage a sense of relaxation.
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Hi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog this week. I really liked your description of how spiritual and physical wellness are connected. Regular prayer and spiritual practices always lead to greater feelings of happiness and connection for me, and helps me to better deal with life's challenges. Great post, and I look forward to visiting your blog site in the future!
April