Breathe in Breathe out breathe in breathe out......breathe in breathe out....
I often use my breath as a source of focus. This works for meditation, physical exercise, and even simply calming my emotions. Like the loving kindness exercise the subtle mind exercise had a focus. However, in loving kindness the focus is outward towards others and pushing my energy towards a goal. The subtle mind took the focus inside to me, my mind, and the energy flow of my thoughts and feelings. Interestingly, no images. This is strange for me. My mind typically loves images. Anyway, I was pleased with this exercise. The color spectrum was purple, yellow, and briefly some blue. When the speaker wanted me to let go of my mind and thoughts the purples turned to pink and gray powder puffs blowing outward...really no joke! It was rather impressive. Interestingly, I could then understand the point. My mind was clear, quiet, and dark...Calm...Waiting...yes waiting.
I truly, 100%, believe (for as long as I can remember) that ones spiritual, mental, and physical wellness are like one. I cannot find a way to separate the concepts and I am not really sure I want to. If one aspect is unwell it will have a ripple affect on the other two AND the other two will try to compensate for the upset. This is fine, however, only for a brief time. Long term this will wreak havoc on health and wellness. To me it is important to nurture all three, mind/body/spirit. Sometimes together and sometimes individually in order to balance the whole me! In my world balance is crucial!
Good post, I have to agree I have always felt the mind/body/spirit are interconnected and yes you can interupt their flow for short periods of time, but focus to keep them together is how I've overcome some pretty devastating moments in my life. When my life gets so busy that I make excuses to not get physically active I can feel it affecting my mind and ultimately my spirit. When I've suffered from emotional tragedy it too wreaked havoc for the other aspects of my life. Until I could pull them all together and in sync did I realize the feeling of positive wholeness and then pure happiness within myself. I enjoy the way you think about life and the importance of the mind/body/spirit! kelsy
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelsy. And I agree. I have come to know that I must do the things that make me whole on a very regular basis becasue when I don't it is not pretty....I get grouchy, I cannot concentrate, I feel lousy etc...Even when I feel like I am so busy and I don't have the time I take it anyway because it makes everything else so much better and life so much happier.
ReplyDeleteWOW, I am really impressed that this exercise had that much of an impact on you. I wish I could let go of my mind enough to be able to witness the things you did. I have a problem with just listening to people talk, I tend to get really bored and my focus strays off. I don’t know if it is that I’m just not a very relaxed person or what it is, I have so much stuff going on in my life right now that perhaps that is the reason why this stuff is just not working on me. Congrats on this exercise being a success for you and I hope it continues on.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, the fact that you have so much going on is the reason you should keep trying these exercises. I also have better luck when I am not listening to another persons voice or instructions. I prefer nature sounds and breath for meditative focus. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteKelly it seems like you are so at one with nature and that makes me wonder if that is why your experiences with the meditations are so beautifully described when you post. I love your passion that comes through in writing about your experiences. It is very vivid and clear. I also appreciate the photos you post as well. It seems like you are on top of the world. I hope to one day be able to enjoy the outdoors as you seems to! I think a person who is connected with nature tends to be more spiritually grounded and very comfortable in their mind/body. Best of luck to you. Thanks for the nice blog:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nychelle, Perhaps you are correct in your observations of my experience. I have never thought about it in that perspective! I do believe I am working or climbing my way to the top through all of my expereinces and my studies in health and wellness. Finaly, I believe passionately that I am heading in the right direction....UP!
ReplyDelete