This week's meditation was unpleasant for me. I had some difficulty radiating loving-kindness. Maybe it was because it was a little unfocused. Because I have trouble focusing and letting my mind rest, guided meditation is good to keep me on track and relax at the same time. This one was a little too general and I found myself wandering. Also, when I was focusing on breathing in suffering, I actually started to feel heavy and uncomfortable. I was trying to let it dissolve and breathe out love, but I did not feel any release. I breathed through the whole exercise, and I am willing to try again. I would also like to try something similar on my own to see if it will go better without the guidance.
This reminds me of the importance of a mental workout. Just like with a body workout, some attempts feel painful, uncomfortable, or just not right. The key is to stay consistent in order to progress and not be discouraged when an exercise does not go well. Research supports the ability to strengthen mental agility, so we know we are not stuck at a certain level. I will continue to practice more consistently, trying to take quiet moments at different times of day and under different circumstances to see what is most successful.
Hey Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry the exercise was unpleasant but you analyzed it right on point when you stated that mental workouts can be like a body or physical workout. Some days you are just not into it and it will seem that you are not getting anything out of it. I think you did get something out of it because you are willing to try again. You're obviously not going to give up on it. I've had days when I cannot concentrate when I am trying to meditate yet there are other days when I am so focused and I get so much out of the exercise. Hang in there, you will find what best works for you. :-)
I too felt very uneasy during this exercise. I had a hard time understanding and finding those different areas of the mind and thought she was instructing us to find and go. I think its good that you want to try again I think its good to always try something twice. I hope that yu have better luck than I did. I think I may try and find a different approach if there is one, Im not sure.
ReplyDeleteNatalie,
ReplyDeleteI do not think you were the only one that struggled with this exercise. Based on my own passed experience I know I have better success with the guided meditation so that I can stay focused. Long empty pauses when point focus is supposed to happen is difficult for me. I can understand how the heavy, uncomfortable feeling would be unpleasant. For me, I found myself literally envisioning the pain I perceived from other people and turning it into the love. I think my biggest struggle was that it was so personal. Your approach and perspective on trying something similar and looking at mental workouts just as important as physical workouts is great! I like the positive approach and will use that for myself. I think practice is the key. As I continue to investigate mental exercise, I see the theme of consistence and redundancy. I look forward to hearing how future exercise work for you!
Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time with this one too. It was extremely vague and some of the instructions almost seemed counter productive. I'm usually good at meditative practice but this one was very hard to follow. I think the fact that it had you focus on the negative as well as the positive was a big turn off for me. Dismissing negativity is easy enough but once you start focussing on it it is hard to get rid of.
Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI think that being able to recognize our faults in something help to strengthen our future attempts at it. Keep trying to become more disciplined at meditating and it will come. I had difficulty staying focused on one focal point but was able to redirect my mind with proper breathing. I hope the next session goes better. And everyone will benefit from various techniques of meditation since we are all different.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI can unnderstand how you can have a hard time focusing on this project. The only thing I had difficulty with was when the person was talking and I found myself so relaxed that I was falling asleep. I think that if it is something that is new and when your not use to it, it can be difficult to jump right into it. I think you said it best you should maybe try something on your own and see what works best for you, because lets face it not all these practices would work for everyone.