The exercises in this course were harder than anything I've done yet here at Kaplan. I had a hard time getting relaxed enough to get a great deal out of the lessons. I understood the reasoning, and often got frustrated at myself for being unable to 'relax' enough to concentrate on the lessons.
The loving-kindness exercise was very soothing after a busy week. I got a bit overzealous with the feeling lights. I looked it up later, and read up on auras. It was an unexpected topic I enjoyed. I had no problem projecting love on most people, but had trouble when I got to some people I had problems with. It made me realize I actually had problems with certain people I obviously need to mend.
The subtle mind more difficult for me. My brain goes at 100mph, and I had a really hard time getting into the mood. My random thoughts kept creeping up, and I realized that my busy mind made my hectic day slightly worse. I do so many things each day it's overwhelming for people who try to help. I have had to lower my activity levels to reduce stress. This exercise was a big slap in the face to slow down.
I really enjoyed visualization. My father is my hero and was easy to ficus on. It was easy imagining turing to him for advice because I do that anyway.
Meditation was my favorite exercise. I started listening to meditation when I was in the desert the last time. It made the time easier to bear. Following the instructions was hard at first, but I got through it. It really takes a lot of practice to focus.
I can implement the subtle mind more in my life. I need to slow down a bit, and really get myself centered. It was easy when I was younger to juggle tons of things, but now that I'm older I need a rest. The inability to get a calm mind during the exercise means I really need to work on it. I need to spend a bit of time each night quieting my mind to prepare for bed. I often stay up until 1am, and am drained the next day. It continues day after day, and developing the ability to clear my mind will help so much!
Amanda
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that these exercises were definitely hard to completely get comfortable with. I never really did these types of mediation and mind exercises before so I think that made it difficult. Throughout this class though I can confidently say as the weeks go by my progress and focus while doing an exercise has increased. I look at it like many other things it takes practice. As you mentioned subtle mind was difficult, I had problems to. I think this is one of the main exercises to really focus on because sometimes we run around like a chicken with its head cut off and we really need to slow down and take a mental breather. Good post!