Loving Kindness vs. Subtle Mind
The loving kindness exercise "opens our hearts to others and gradually diminishes self-centeredness, priming our mind for further development....it diminishes the focus on ourselves and our own needs and enhances concern and compassion for the welfare of others" (Dacher, 2006 p. 65).
Whereas the subtle mind exercise requires the "cultivation of wisdom by taming and training our mind, accessing deeper levels, and exploring the essential nature of mind and experience.... while focusing on our breathing we diminish the ceaseless mental movements of thoughts, feelings, and images in order to still the mind and develop a witnessing consciousness that progresses forward to a mind of calm-abiding" (Dacher, 2006, p. 65).
I already shared with you in a previous post about my experience with the loving kindness exercise, so I will only tell you about my experience with the subtle mind exercise in this post.
I really enjoyed the subtle mind exercise. I was able to focus on the rise and fall of my chest while breathing and I noticed how certain thoughts entered my mind and began to make me wander off, but then I was able to bring myself back to focusing on my breathing again and being able to clear my mind. I had to refocus many times as I would find myself wandering off; however, I felt in control of my thoughts for the most part. In addition to that I was very relaxed but not so much that fell asleep unlike previous weeks. I found it interesting how some thoughts would pop into my mind and I would wonder why I would be thinking about that right then. By the end of the audio I believe I did reach a level of stillness in my mind. One last thing I found important for myself to note here is that when I began this exercise I had been fighting a migraine most of the day. After this exercise the headache was gone. With that being said, I will be practicing this exercise frequently especially when I have headaches just to test this out again.
Mind, Body & Spirit
The connection of spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is an important one in order for us to obtain integral health and human flourishing. The mind, body and spirit are interconnected and they have to become one in order to reach a complete wholeness. This is something I am working on in my life; to achieve balance in each of these areas. For instance, I can exercise my body to keep myself healthy and fit; but I also need to be exercising and training my mind. I can do that through meditation and mantra's I repeat daily, or yoga. Additionally, I can make sure I am fulfilling my spiritual needs through prayer and in attending church. When I have achieved balance in each of these areas I will be have created wellness and healing in my life.
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral
health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach :
BasicHealth Publications Inc.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us for the subtle mind exercise. I wish I could have benefited from it as much as you; I think I was in the wrong frame of mind to try it. maybe I need to re try it.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog made me think that maybe one of the bigger differences between the two exercises is the intention. One is focused on others (loving-kindness) while the other is more focused inward on ourselves (subtle mind).
ReplyDeleteHi Sherrie,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that you found a method to get relief from your migraines. Hopefully it continues to work for you. I think that focusing on someone else and praying for them makes me forget about any of my own problems I might face.
sidenote: I like the saying you have on the side, "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle". I had to think that together they are better and can light the world.
Hope you had a great weekend! ~Julia:)
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ReplyDeleteHello Sherrie, I enjoyed your blog this week. It really caught my attention because I suffer from migraine headaches as well. When I engaged in the exercise I noticed that my headache was not as intense as it usually is. To be quite honest, I thought that it was just all in my mind about not having such an intense headache. But now that I see your post about your experience with the exercise as it relates to your migraine, I do not think that it was in my head. I think that I will engage in the subtle mind practice more often especially due to the effect that it has on my migraines. I was actually able to function better, remember better and I felt less stressed. Imagine if I continue the exercise..it can cure the issue of migraines that I have been experiencing.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherrie,
ReplyDeleteI too had much more success this week than with the previous exercises. I found that I had to keep telling myself to focus on my breathing, but about 10 minutes in to it, they random thoughts did not come as frequently. I have to say this is the first of the exercises I actually enjoyed.
I think I will repeat it. I can certainly see how it would help alleviate your migraine, it was very relaxing. I would be interested to know if the exercise we did where we focus sending the blood from one area of the body to the next would have the same affect. Keep us posted if you continue having success with this technique. My daughter-in-law suffers from migraines on occasion and I will have to pass this along to her.
Hello Sherrie,
ReplyDeleteGreat work on your blog. There has to be a balance in everything we do and you seem to be doing well. I am glad you have been able to alleviate the migraine. Is it me or ? does your mind often wonder during these exercises? Because my mind wonders until come back to reality.
I look forward to reading your blog.