Assessment

The loving kindness exercise seemed akin to prayer, which I am far more familiar and comfortable with. It was easy for me to get swept away in the beauty, simplicity and power of the statements. It was a very peaceful feeling overall. As for the assessment...I realized that I need LOTS of work. For me, I will start with first things first which means that I need and want to develop my psychospiritual aspect. I am still working on the witnessing mind. In light of recent issues that I have been dealing with I have realized that I have made more progress than I had thought in this area, but there is still a ways to go. I feel like if I can reach the level of calm-abiding, much of the other aspects will fall into place more easily. Biologically I know that my mind and my body are inextricably entwined. Interpersonally I know that we are all connected to one another and am very comfortable with the worldly aspect of love and service. My inner self seems to be the biggest hang-up. In order to do this I will certainly need to find a meditation exercise that works well for me as well as other possible outlets (such as joining a gym or finding a workout routine that works for me). I did find that lying in a hot tub with all but my nose under water, breathing evenly and deeply and envisioning all of the "bad" energy seeping out through my fingertips and breathing in all of the "good" energy seemed to work better than most. The water helped mask the day to day noise in my house which helped immensely so I think that I will try and make this a routine...probably not every day, but at least 2 to 3 times a week. If I can calm the chatter...I will be well on my way.