Hmmm, how do I start? As I practiced the universal loving kindness exercise, I found myself changing the words of the phrases to words that I would normally say and keep the same meaning. I also started to pray to God during this exercise that he would continue to give me the strength to complete the tasks I was asking for help with. I will say that stilling my mind is easier than trying to remember phrases to repeat, and it is much easier to pray from my heart for the same things. I will practice this exercise or add it to my other exercises that I am trying to do each day, prayer for the world is beneficial to us all.
While reading over and completing the personal assessment, it became shocking clear to me that I need to work on interpersonal relationships with others. I have been so caught up in work and school, that it became easy to brush off relationships that were important to me in the past. With the death and funeral of my friend Nicky this week, I can clearly see again how important it is to tell people that you love them. I realize that to fix my interpersonal relationships, I first need to fix myself. I need to make a change in my life that opens up time for me to work on these relationships. I also need to be more open to new experiences with my friends and loved ones. I just need to stop saying no and go enjoy my wonderful family and friends. In this situation, there is nothing in the practice and only in the doing.
Dina
You made a very good point about needing to just do what needs to be done instead of trying to practice. We do get involved in life and forget about everyone else in the world. When it is too late, we wish we had done things differently. I found myself to be the blame for the lack of communication with friends and family recently. I realized the other day that I hadn’t spoken to my grandmother in almost a month. This is a huge mistake on my part and unacceptable. She isn’t getting any younger and she needs to know how much I care about her. I can’t show I care by not visiting or calling. We need to remember to not get so busy with life that we aren’t living it. We need to remind our clients the same thing. If they aren’t taking care of their health and wellness, how can they care for other people?
ReplyDeleteI found myself focusing on the correct words for the first few minutes of the universal loving-kindness also. What a pain....
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the loss of your friend. How sad it is that a tragedy is what a lot of us need to wake up and see that the relationships in our lives need improvement. I went through that when my mom died, also. Just like you, school gets in my way also. How ironic that what is takig us away from our family and friends is what is telling us to be closer to our family and friends...
Well I haven’t completed the meditation exercise yet but I am looking forward to it. It seems quite beneficial although trying to remember phrases isn’t that easy. I don’t pray to God but it is something I have read is also beneficial. It seems as though you get a lot from that practice so it is worth a try.
ReplyDeleteThe personal assessment can be a difficult practice. I to struggle with interpersonal relationships and this practice will indeed bring that out. You mention your friend died and I am sorry to hear that. I agree that it is important to tell those close to you that you love them which I need to do more of. Glad to see you are open to new ideas…..
Dina,
ReplyDeleteI also had a hard time just focusing on the phrase for 10 minutes; I too started praying for a little bit and then went back to the chant and just changed some words. Praying is easier for me because it is all what I want to say, not some phrase that someone is telling me to say. Is that how you felt also? I am very sorry to hear about your friend. We should all take a little lesson from this and tell those close to us that we love and care for them.
-Natasja
Dina,
ReplyDeleteI like your style! I also fell into a prayer with this one. I think that the more personal it is to a person the more they can connect on a deeper level with it. I totally agree with you on the prayer like meditation part. I think that when a person prays that still their own wants a needs to focus on the bigger picture. I also feel the same way about losing touch with relationships.I get caught up with work, school, upgrade training...my friends and family back home get put on the back burner quite a bit. I try to a least send an email a few times a week. Good post this week, your honest is refreshing :)
-Shanna
Hi Dina!!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems we all think the same way here! We change the words to suit us and we revert to prayer to get through the meditation. :-)
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend and I will meditate for you tonight with Universal Loving Kindness. I found that when I had a personal connection with the person I was meditating on, I was able to stay focused and felt more successful after the exercise. I find it very interesting that so many of us ended up in prayer with this meditation practice. I had changed my words from 'May I' to 'Help me' because I know that I am not the Master Healer and the power to heal comes from God alone. We are just his tools on Earth. :-)
The integral assessment is a great way to keep ourselves accountable to "ourselves"! I have already hung a schedule on my bulletin board to do this every 2 months. Maybe later I can change it to 4 or even 6 months, but for now I want to build the habit and stay aware of what's going on in my integral development and health. I refuse to let the information I have learned in this course to fall away, I deserve to get mind-body-spirit healthy and stay that way! Good health to you!