Loving Kindness

After listening to the Loving Kindness lesson, I was left feeling frustrated.  I found it a bit difficult to focus on taking on or feeling the suffering of those who have hurt me and giving out feelings of loving kindness in return.  I do not harbor ill-will toward anyone, I try to forgive and move on.  To focus on hurts and to be forced to re-live painful experiences, in my opinion, does not do me any good psychologically, it just brings up negative feelings from my past.  There are areas where I will always have scars and to revisit them in hopes of some kind of further healing when I have already moved past them is more detrimental to my mental health than beneficial to me learning to practice loving kindness.  I don’t think I would recommend this to someone else.  I would suggest instead prayer or meditation on Scripture to learn how God expects and wants us to respond to others.  He does want us to love each other and forgive.  This exercise just did not help me move any closer to that.

The concept of “mental workout” is the practice of control over your mental state.  Since research has shown connections to thoughts and physical events, a method of keeping the negative out and allowing the positive to flourish encompasses the concept of mental workout.  This goes beyond meditation, relaxation and/or other stress reduction techniques, and moves to a contemplative state or higher level of consciousness.  The benefits are better physiologic health.  Such a workout requires daily practice and discipline in order to train the mind as you would train the physical body.  Setting aside a dedicated time frame in which to practice contemplative techniques is essential, according to Dasher, to reach human flourishing.

I am still “contemplating” what I think about all of these theories.  When asked, I find it hard to define “mental workout” because although Dacher throws the term around a lot, he never really defines what it is, it is just a lot of talk about nothing.  He never defines this higher level of consciousness either.  I am not at all impressed thus far and think in a course such as this that we should not be spending so much time on the teachings of this one man when there are a whole range of other spiritual practices out there that affect wellness.  

Perhaps we are too early in the course and we will get there.  I am finding it more and more difficult to hang with Mr. Dacher.  Perhaps I should go back to my exercise and practice some loving kindness toward him!

Personal Wellness Inventory

In assessing my physical well-being, I rate myself a 5 on a scale of 1-10.  I recently had a blood panel completed and my results were excellent with the exception of my blood sugar.  However, after only four weeks into my diagnosis of diabetes, I have improved my A1C from 10.1 down to 7.8 which is awesome.  Still too high, but I have modified my diet tremendously for the better so I am pleased that I am on the right path.  Now I just need to start my exercise regime up again…I have been pretty sedentary for the last18 months.  My goal in this area is to begin a moderate walking program again to ease into my routine again.  I have already talked with my doctor and have an appointment with our corporate fitness center to join.

Spiritually, I rate myself an 8.  I surround myself with positive things that encourage me in my Christian faith like listening to Christian radio and music, reading books that help me grow spiritually, and of course study the Bible.  I also attend church every Sunday and even mentor a group of high school students.  I have an active prayer life as well.  My goal is something I will do once my youngest goes off to college (he is a senior this year).  I would love to join the choir and become part of that community.  I am also going to return to Bible Study Fellowship, which is an intensive study of the Bible.  I have completed seven years, but they have added new studies and I can’t wait to start again.

Psychologically, I am recovering from the trauma of a divorce that I did not want after 23 years of marriage.  I struggle with a negative self-image and have my entire life.  I often feel as if I am screaming, yet nobody hears me, or even cares.  That is when my faith comes in and I just lay it all down at the foot of the cross.  So I would say I am a 4.  My goal is to learn to love who I am.  I want to be able to be healthy psychologically so I can help other women see their true beauty based on who they are in Christ, not who the world says they are or should be.  In order to do that, I need to believe it about myself.  Learning to replace the negative talk is my short term goal.

Relaxation Exercise:

I am not sure why this relaxation exercise is called the crime of the century, because it was all about the colors of the rainbow and relaxing the different areas of the body.  The most beneficial thing I find about these exercises is that is forces me to sit still for 15-20 minutes.  I close my eyes, and concentrate on my breathing, and that relaxes me.  I don’t really get anything out of imagining the colors, and thinking about what they represent in relation to my body.  I found myself wondering throughout the entire relaxation why is this called the crime of the century????   What did you all think?

Relaxation: Autogenic Training Technique

I just finished a dedicated time of relaxation with the Journey On mp3 which introduced to me the autogenic training technique.  This concept suggests we have the ability to make any part of the body comfortable and relaxed merely by suggestion.  It works as you concentrate on telling the flow of blood to move from the core, where 80% of the blood flow resides, into a specific body part, such as the arms and hands.  As the blood flow moves in to these areas, you feel a sense of warmness and heaviness, creating a sense of relaxation.

This is the first time I have used this particular relaxation technique, and it did not really work for me the way the audio suggested it should.  I did feel a sense of calm come over me, but I think that was because I closed my eyes and did the deep breathing when prompted by the narrator.  The music was soothing, but I never felt a sense of warmth or heaviness in my arms and hands.  Perhaps with practice I will get better at this power of suggestion to relax my body.

The fact that I sat still and did not concentrate on anything but the narrator’s calming voice for 15 minutes was enough to lower my stress level.  I think anytime we can “unplug” from daily life and close our eyes and take a few deep breaths is beneficial for our health and well being.

I would love to hear your thoughts on relaxation techniques that have been successful for you!

Sheila

Welcome!

Welcome to Ripple Effects!  My name is Sheila; I hope you enjoy the information I will share with you.  It is my hope to motivate and encourage you on your journey to wellness.