1.
Describe your
experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you
recommend this to others? Why or why not?
After completing the Loving
Kindness exercise and reading Dacher's book, I found the
exercise rather relaxing, although it was difficult to remain
focused. I have been extremely busy lately as I have mentioned with
caring for my sick father as well as household duties and school work so knew
that I couldn't put a lot of time into this. Despite this, I did
notice a reduction in my stress level after the exercise.
If someone is having issues with showing and feeling compassion towards others, this is a great exercise for them. I am human and have days where I do not feel love and compassion but this exercise made me realize that it is something that I need to continue to work on.
2.
What is the concept of
"mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven
benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster
your psychological health?
The
concept of a “mental workout” is exercising the mind daily just as
one would exercise their body daily or dedicate daily time to
studying. It is not possible to evolve
your psychospiritual life and access its capacities and resources without daily
practice. Research shows that consistent
daily practice will show proven results (Dacher, 2006).
Implementing
mental workouts to foster my psychological health is something that I really
need to incorporate into my daily life.
I do believe that a healthy mind is just as important as having a
healthy body. I strongly believe that if
you take care of your mind, a healthy body will follow. I have attempted making small
changes in trying to implement mental workouts in the past but have not
done so recently. I have had entirely
too much going on lately with caring for my sick father, caring for my son and
husband and taking classes.
I
know that I will continue to increase my focus on my mental health and soon
will be dedicating more time daily to this important aspect of my life once
things slow down.
Reference:
Dacher,
E. (2005). Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing Laguna Beach, CA:
Basic Health Publications
Christine,
ReplyDeleteListening to those exercises have changed my life also. I am now trying to implement the tasks into my daily life. I love the kindness exercise when I am finished I felt like a million bucks. The subtle mind was a bit more challenging. My mind is constantly going, from the moment I wake until my head hits the pillow at night. It was hard for me to concentrate, and my mind kept wondering. I never realized what a problem that causes. I am trying to be aware of this problem, and am taking steps to rectify this. Good luck to you!!
Regards,
Jill Gazelle