Chapter 4 Assignment

Getting prepared and finding that quiet and peaceful place to perform this exercise was a challenge, but once I got settled and started to listen to the cd, I started to unwind.  I listened one whole time, just to do a test run, in order to calm myself and open my mind to the relaxation.  There are too many thoughts going through my head and clearing them from my mind was the difficult part of this exercise.  Once that happened, I closed my eyes and drifted to those relaxing places that the voice had us go to.  What was interesting was that my boyfriend walked in my room and started to listen to the voice on the cd and was able to relax and rub my feet.  That part, refelexology , helped calm my nerves as well.  It is always special to have that person to share life's good and bad things with you and walk beside you and not drag you down.  It also helps to have that someone to bring the best of you out into the world.  This exercise was hard to get into, but I would recommend it to anyone who DOES have a lot of different open issues going on at the same time and needs to focus and find that calmness to get them all done, one by one.  I feel that practicing this exercise each day can help you to achieve that inner peace that we all, as human beings strive for.

The "Mental Workout" concept has to do with reaching the health of the mind/body balance.  Not only do we have to accomplish physical training for our heart and other muscles of our body (Dacher, 2006), but for our mental and spiritual in order to achieve that wholeness and reach our optimal health and wellness and happiness.  Practice and perseverence with both the mind and body are important to understanding this method and getting comfortable with these exercises of Loving Kindness and the Subtle Mind.  Getting the most out of theses exercises will take practice, so that we will receive the healing capabilities of the work that we do (Dacher, 2006).  The way to implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health is through practicing thse exercise, praying more for patience to accomplish them, understand them and finding the time to relax, so I can be a calmer, happier and more easy going "me".