Loving-Kindness

This week I started to practice guided loving-kindness with the assistance of an audio instructor.

1.            Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

2.            What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

This experience was very difficult to start out. I had to try three times before I could “open the faucet” of my loving-kindness. I finally had to hold my puppy to get things started. Once there it was relatively easy to follow the rest of the instructions. Once I was able to start I did find it beneficial. When I was done with the exercise I was as relaxed as I have been for weeks. Also just by thinking of how I could help others, I came up with a way I could help my wife with certain difficulties she is having right now. This will benefit her and our marriage. I will recommend this to others because it is already helping me with stress and self-control. After the exercise there was peace, where chores and stress were prominent prior to it.

The idea of a mental workout is training the mind to develop expanded consciousness and its healing capacities. Just like Olympians and Scholars, this does not happen automatically. Time and effort has to be set aside each day to truly advance your mental abilities. Research shows that those who practice and become contemplative scholars have an increase in gamma wave activity in their brains. This could be indicative of increased organization and mental capacity. Every morning before my day gets crazy I will practice the meditative exercises that are being taught in my HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing class. This can be a start to increasing my mental strength and capacity.