The two exercises I have determined to
be most beneficial for me are Loving-Kindness and Meeting Aesclepius. Both allowed me to discover something about
myself I was not aware of prior to performing them. I did not know how to effectively turn my
negativity towards people I dislike around until the loving-kindness exercise. Being able to release the ill I feel and
mentally send loving-kindness makes me feel less stressed and calm when I am in
the presence of people I dislike. As of
late, I find I utilize this exercise quite often because I am currently working
on a work project team with a person I dislike.
I take a few minutes before each meeting including that person to do
living-kindness and it is working for me.
The Meeting Aesclepius from unit 7 made
me realize I had not dealt with the loss of a significant loved one. The realization was profound and since it
happened, I have focused on healing myself.
I am doing that by repeating the exercise and instead of stopping due to
feelings of sadness, I push through those feeling so I can just feel the
happiness that person brought to my life.
It not easy but, I am determined to continue to practice the
visualization of my Grandfather because I know he would not want me to
associate his memory with sadness.
I feel both exercises have made my “mental
fitness” that much stronger.
Do you feel that through allowing yourself to release anger towards people that might have done you harm you can feel better for yourself and be a better person? I find it very difficult for myself to let go of those feelings towards people who have done me wrong and I feel I carry a very strong grudge against them, and I think with time, it then will be released.
ReplyDeleteStephen, I am so happy that you are feeling a difference in your life with these exercises. I have simply not applied them enough but I found your post inspirational because I too have a hard time in letting go of angry. Put quite simply I an not a people person, have only a few friends but prefer to be alone. In my job I have seen so much uglyness that it is hard to appreciate the human race as a whole and really need to work towards Loving-Kindness. Thank you for your post because it is great to hear testimonials.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Cindy P.