Hello everyone
Welcome to my Unit 8 Blog regarding
exercises in mental fitness, that I have incorporated into my daily routine. When I first started this course, I have to
make myself sit and be still, not fidget and mindfully practice the
exercises. I thought, “These are tedious
and they will never work for me”. I am
here to tell you, I was wrong!
The first exercise that I have incorporated into my daily
routine and now do it almost unconsciously is the act of Universal Loving
Kindness (Dacher, 2006). I am very task
oriented each day so I usually do not deviate from my routine (OCD, you know
;-)). I let the dogs out in the morning
and I step into a nice warm shower. I
used to sped this time to ruminate over all of the future daily tasks that I
had no control over. That was an act
that was not beneficial to me so now, I have replaced the rumination with
mental exercise. While going through my
routine, I repeat the mantra from Dacher (2006):
May all
individuals gain freedom from suffering.
May all individuals find sustained
health, happiness, and wholeness.
May I assist all individuals in
gaining freedom from suffering.
May I assist all individuals in
finding health, happiness, and wholeness.
Now, I know you might think I am a little eccentric for
doing this, but I have to tell you it
beats rumination over crap I have no control over and it just kind of clears my
mind and puts me into a more positive state of awareness that I probably do
have less suffering than most and I need to get it together, and get to the
nursing home and start serving others (Dacher, 2006).
The second exercise I find myself practicing a lot is the
exercise of the Subtle Mind (Dacher, 2006).
While I will admit that I do not find a comfortable place to sit and I
do not practice it for fifteen minutes, I have found it to be the best exercise
for immediate stress relief. Instead of
encountering a problem and chewing it until my jaws are sore, I visualize it
and then let it go, giving it only the attention that it deserves. Perhaps one day I will be able to sit and practice
it in earnest to move myself toward Calm Abiding and eventually Unity Consciousness
(Dacher, 2006). Until then it serves a
more immediate and calming purpose so I will hang on to it.
I hope to continue evolving as I grown older. I do think that part of the process will be
to continue this Blog and continue, mindfully updating it with my progress. I hope that some of you may do the same as
your growth, documented, helps me along the path of my journey.
Stay safe, sane and centered,
Rufus J.
Reference
Dacher, E.S., (2006). Integral
health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health
Publications, Inc.
Hello Rufus,
ReplyDeleteI think you have done a great job so far with the exercises each week. You've definitely come a long way. One reason why you've done so well is that you've gone into these exercises with an open mind. You may have at first thought that this kind of thing would never work for you, but you were willing to give it a try, and now you've found out how much it helps. This is something that you will not learn overnight. These exercises take time to learn, but the more you practice, the better they will work for you.
I do agree that even after this class is done that we all should continue our blogs. I think it helps us greatly to post our feelings and what tips and techniques work for us, and in the long run, we're helping each other grow. With time, practice, and support from each other, perhaps we will all be able to find a true centered balance, free of stress and a calm consciousness.
You've done extremely well so far. Keep going and don't give up. We all have a long way to go on this journey, but it's going to be worth it in the end.