Flourish Spiritually through a Subtle Mind

After a week of mental workouts in Loving-Kindness I have added the second exercise to my workout regimen, the Subtle Mind. The purpose of this is to first, tame the mind and cultivate a witnessing consciousness. In other words, to be able to witness the busy thoughts, feelings and emotions as they come and go without attaching to them. The second step is to sustain that mind control by achieving a still mind in what is known as calm-abiding. Lastly, to gain the wisdom of unity consciousness and stabilize the calmness and a sense of pure awareness.

This audio exercise was much more difficult for me than the Loving-Kindness one. In loving-Kindness, we are guided through how to breathe and what to think and feel. This was easier because my mind did not have as much wide open space to wander. In the Subtle-Mind you are left with large spaces of time to remain consciously in the mind and are challenged to keep your mind still. After the third time trying this I was finally able to actually witness thoughts that arose of recent conversations, current stressors and excitements of life without climbing aboard and letting them take me away. I could watch them come and then go. I got to the point where I was focused on the rising and falling of my chest with each breath and sustained that focus long enough to feel first my heart, then stomach, then entire core and finally my whole body fill with a warm sense of harmony and bliss. As my focus switched from my breath to only my still mind that warmth turned into a tingly high that moved throughout my body as I held that still mind for I would guess about three minutes without clinging to one single thought, image or sound. In the end I felt renewed and accomplished. Now, I can say that It took practice to reach even that short three minutes. Tips when trying this meditative practice is to not lay down, be sitting up and aware. Do not attempt this while tired because it will put you out! Lastly  try this earlier in the day at first, when you are a bit more at ease and have yet faced the daily stressors.

Overall the challenges of these practices in psychospiritual flourishing are overcome with practice and the benefits are huge. I felt immediately calmed and blissful during and after completion. I would recommend meditative practices like these to everyone on a regular bases. They enhance our spiritual wellness and thriving spiritually goes hand in hand with positively influencing our psychological or mental wellness. As we now know, like they have always believed in Eastern Medicine, the mind and body not only reflect one another but they are one. So when we flourish spiritually we also flourish mentally and physically. Personally I manifest this connection daily with relaxation exercises and meditations such as the examples above, along with yoga and occasional tai chi. 

Give it a try(: