I found the exercise to be very interesting, if a bit challenging. I had a hard time for three major reasons:
1) I'm sleepy. It was a battle to stay awake.
2) My cat kept stepping on me. That kept me awake, but distracted.
3) My brain kept engaging what he was saying. I was too busy thinking about what was supposed to be happening, and why, and how, to really get too deeply into the exercise.
I think the third stumbling block bothers me the least. This class so far is completely fascinating to me, and *nerd alert* I really enjoyed the readings, and thinking through all the implications. The strength of the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit, is greater than I thought it was, and the way those systems work together is just too interesting. I want to know more, and the wanting to know is getting in the way of the experience at the moment.
In the future, I look forward to being able to put my mind and rest and then more completely engage in the exercises.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your experience. I think your statement that "the wanting to know is getting in the way" is truly profound and honest. So many of us struggle to stay in the moment because we are preoccupied with other thoughts. Life has really become a race for so many people; we have so much to do that we forget to stop, breathe, and enjoy the moment. And, for me, life is really about lots of little moments: we can rush through them, or we can actually experience them. I am hopeful that through this class, I will learn more ways to experience life, to truly feel and treasure each little moment.
Happy blogging,
Laura
I understand your distractions-my dogs barked and kept coming over to check on me. I guess they are not used to me sitting still for too long:)It took a few tries but I finally made it through. I think in general we don't live in the moment; do we really remember driving home from work and the cars we passed the buildings we drive past or are we on auto-pilot.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to do a little bit more relaxation each week. Good luck!!
Hey! I had a difficult time focusing as well, but I think that's because I do not sit still easily. I am a busy girl and need to be moving constantly. I am on my feet all day and sometimes I have trouble winding down. I would probably try this again to see if I can concentrate better.
ReplyDeleteLeslie
Me too Lisa!
ReplyDeleteI have been really struggling with focusing on any one thing for more than a few minutes. Even then, in another corner of my mind, are whispers of other things that need my attention. I have realized recently my hang up is my fear of forgetting something important. I hae been late on bills, unintentionally. Forgotten birthdays, to return people's calls, etc. But I also became aware that my worrying was hindering my ability to remember.
I was uncomfortable with the relaxation exercise, until the end when he bathed us in white light. I guess that is my cautious nature coming through; to weigh what I hear with a grain of salt. I did, however, like the one we did the previous week. I think the combination of words and music filled my senses enough to calm my mind and allow me to focus on the exercise. This class has offered us a chance to develop that quiet time into a regular habit which then contributes to our new integrated health lifestyle.
There is a website recommended to me by a chaplain called 'relaxrelax' (exactly like that, no space between). It contains all kinds of resources for meditation and visualization, music, etc. It is very much worth checking out- an extensive, free tool to enhance your health.
Here is the link -
http://www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil/healthy_living/relaxrelax/index.html
copy & paste into a new window and enjoy :)
Angela