The Loving-Kindness meditation is one practice referred to in Dacher’s explanation of the mental workout, a necessary step in creating a healthy and strong inner world and part of the psychospiritual development of the individual. It is a contemplative or reflective practice which I would best describe as a reminder. The Loving-Kindness exercise may act as a prompt for taking yourself out of your head, your worries and problems which can make us insular and forget that other people too are experiencing worry, angst, fear or the pain of an ominous or damaging relationship. It helps us to bring care and concern to others thereby bringing it to ourselves. The most difficult part of this mediation is remembering who really want to do it and getting yourself to the point of feeling the absence of the practice when it wasn’t done.
The integral assessment is a process to include six principles, all of which come together to provide an outline to follow, set personal goals, take pleasure in the results and share with as many others as we can. This is a lifestyle choice similar to those discussed in relation to people needing to change poor habits with regard to eating and physical activity, perhaps more critical as it is possible that overeating and being sedentary is connected to a personal void. This void can be filled by taking this process up as a commitment to oneself. The integral assessment and practice which follows can be a catalyst for change in individual health and healing.
Without some commitment to develop one’s inner world (emotional and mental health), relationships, physical condition, and attitude towards or the way they ‘work’, personal growth is not likely to be available. An evaluation of one’s wellbeing in each area of existence is the first step to taking on the commitment of loving yourself enough to do the work involved.
In connection with the Loving-Kindness mediation, for me this was very close to personal prayer and I was satisfied to be reminded of how uplifting and hopeful praying for others’ situations as well as my own can be.
An area of development I have been working with but need to make more time for is Preparation 3 Silence and Stillness (mediation) as described by Dacher in The Preparations (p. 50). I have chosen this because of the overall benefit the practice of inner silence and stillness will bring for example, it being an important entrance to a better consciousness which lends itself to integral health.
The activity I mean to make more time for so as to increase my mental clarity and emotional stability going forward is simply sitting mediation in the early morning as a means of preparing for my day. I am soon to transition to some degree of self employment while maintaining my current job along with my schoolwork all of which will require a substantial amount of steady mental and emotional energy.
WIshing each of us great progress going forward, Kathleen
1 comment:
The loving Kindness exercise benefits us in so many ways. I have noticed that I no longer take things people say and do personally because I recognize both that I have a choice and that they have their own demons to fight. When I look at people with loving kindness I see beyond the words and facial expressions, I actually can see with a heartfelt desire to help. I listened to some of the women in my women's group this morning and was surprised at the amount of pain reflected. It just makes you want to hug and say everything will be alright.
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