UNIT 5 questions

Hello everyone.  I hope you all had a great and relaxing 4th of July.  Here are my responses to the questions this week.

1.       Hello class,  my experience with the subtle mind was interesting.  I found myself in the beginning starting to focus on my breath. Then my mind started to drift off on what I needed to get done for the day, frustrated I brought it back, then I started to drift off to images of work, then brought it back. I tried to keep my focus on my breathing and I had to force myself about every 2 seconds to bring it back. I liked this practice but, I need a lot of practice at it. My mind is always going all the time like a tornado.  I have to learn to stop all of these thoughts and just relax and take in deep breaths.  At one point I started to doze off and was doing the head bobbing thing until I brought my focus back.  I was a little frustrated with this exercise but, I know that I need to learn to put my focus on my breath and this will take time.  In comparison with the loving kindness track, I would rather do the subtle mind exercise.  The loving kindness one will take some time to get used to in that I find it difficult to take in others pain. I think that I need to first learn how to control and recognize my breath first before I can put my thoughts on the loving-kindness.  With the Subtle exercise, I did feel more relaxed when I was done. Even though I had difficulty keeping my focus, I still experienced a sense of ease and peace and I think with these exercises I am learning to calm down all the chatter in my mind when I am concentrating on a particular task at hand. 

2.       The connection of spiritual, mental and physical wellness is a complete wellness with mind and body.  Spiritual wellness is the meaning and a purpose in life.  It is the positive thoughts, happiness, sense of calmness, having joy, forgiveness, gratefulness and loving and kindness towards others and one self.  Practicing meditations and relaxations methods are good ways to achieve this wellness.  The physical wellness is when one is free of sickness and disease, is at a healthy body weight and is eating healthy foods.  These things are all in connection with each other and when one is not healthy then the other suffers.  I am learning the importance of having this connection in balance to achieve my healthy goals. Although I exercise daily and eat a vegan diet, I need to practice exercising my mind and spirit as well.  When I am angry or impatient I notice how it affects my physical wellness. Stress, tension and anxiety are draining to the mind and body and it allows sicknesses and illnesses to take over.  I was faced with again a situation at work last night where there tension was very high.  I work in a place where it is very fast paced and sometimes there is a lot of stress and frustration.  Instead of losing control of the situation, I made an effort to think about what I have been learning and consciously make a decision to handle it this calmness and patience.  I walked away and took a few deep breaths and stayed very calm.  When the situation passed, I felt so much better and at ease, my body was not tired, exhausted or tensed.