Universal Loving-Kindness Exercise

I found the universal loving-kindness exercise to be less effective than previous ones practiced.  I was focused and relaxed for the first five minutes, but after that my mind began to wonder. I think it was out of boredom and repeating the same four lines over and over. However, after completing the exercise it helped produce an affective shift from more negative emotions to more positive emotions.

The Integral assessment process provided a change to reevaluate myself.  I chose to develop my biological health. I have been in the action stage of my exercise plan for six months and now I need to focus on the maintenance stage.  I always seem to fail when it comes to motivation.  I will continue to work out 5-6 days a week, as well as eating healthier (3 small meals and 2 snack daily). By staying focused, I will have a greater outlook on life and feel better about me and my life in general.

Exercises or activities that I can implement to foster greater wellness in this area is meditation, prayer, and deep breathing as well as practicing forgiveness for myself and others.

Unit 5: Mental Fitness Presentation

Mental Fitness PowerPoint Presentation

The Subtle Mind

After completing and comparing the the Loving-Kindness and the Subtle Mind practices, I found both to be a positive experience; however the Subtle Mind was easier for me.   Even though I tried both exercises 3 different times, I was able to relax and focus better all three time with the Subtle Mind.  The Loving-Kindness CD focused on my feeling of other and during that week, my life was chaotic and full of arguments; which may have made it harder to focus until I was completely exhausted after an intense physical workout. This week was a very good week not as much stress and I was able to focus on myself more which is not always practical. During each of my attempts, I was able to quiet my mind each time and clear my mind giving me a positive outlook.  I enjoyed this exercise.

I believe the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is all about balance.  For example, being physically healthy influences mental and spiritual health, and vice-versa. As I become more aware of physical ailments or a sense of overall bodily well-being, I come to realize that it's connected to my greater sense of wellness. It took me a while to figure out that eating right and exercising weren't just about achieving superficial results but benefited my well-being in ways that I didn't even think of. For example, eating healthy and exercising leads to sleeping better which leads to less fatigue and a greater level of concentration during the day, leading to a deeper sense of wholeness and inner peace.

Loving Kindness Relaxation Exercise

I practiced this exercise three different day and times; morning, afternoon, and night and each was a difference experience.  The first time I preformed this exercise was in the morning after waking up.  During this attempt,  I could not stay focused, my mind wanted to wander continuously.  Even though my body was relaxed, my mind was already thinking about things I needed to accomplish.  The second attempt was much better and the best experience.  This meditation was done after a high intensity workout.  I completed the meditation in a hot tub  with Epsom salts with only candles and no lights on.  I was able to totally relax and clear my mind.  After the meditation I felt revived.  The final attempt was completed just before bed. This had similar results as the morning attempt.  my mind again wanted to wander on events that had happened or thing I had not finished.  However, I was more relaxed at night than in the morning. I would recommend this experience because any meditation is worth trying. However, I believe there are better exercises a person could use.

Mental Workout

The concept of Mental Workout is an inward focus of oneself in developing our psychospiritual life.  As we go though life, we accumulate negative experiences in our rash mind and as  a result, they gradually wear us down, having a negative impact on our sense of well-being, happiness, and overall outlook on life.  With the mental workouts a person improves their self-efficacy and mood, reduce anxiety and mental tension leading to a happier, healthier and wholesome life. 

Research shows that these mindful exercises boost reasoning skills, memory and mental processing speed staved off mental decline in middle-aged and elderly people. These skills can strengthen the mind the same way physical exercise protects and stregthnes the body (Vedantam, 2006).  Exercisng different parts of the mind can help a persons overall mental clarity, alertness, and concentration.

As I continue to strengthen my body through physical exercise, I continue to strengthen and improve my psychological health though meditation, breathing exercises as well as playing games the exercise the mind, better known as "Brain games".

Reference:

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Psychospiritual Flourishing, Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing.  Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publication, Inc.

Vedantam,S. (2006). Short Mental Workouts May Slow Decline of Aging Minds, Study Show.  Retrieved on December 4, 2010 from http://www.washingtonpost/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121901431.html.