Concept of Subtle Mind

1. Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.
2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

This week for me concentrating on the subtle mind exercise was really beneficial. I am learning that while I am concentrating and taming my thoughts, I am further looking into my mind to find my true integral health. The loving-kindness exercise was focused more on concentrating on my breath and letting my heart open to love and kindness while the subtle mind exercise is focused more on finding my “mind’s subtle essence-it’s silence, spaciousness, peace, clarity, timelessness, and oneness with all life” (Dacher, 2006, p. 72). This I can see is going to be very difficult for me and I am going to need to practice this a lot!! I not only need to tame my wandering thoughts, but once I have them under control I need to sustain my calmness and then look deeper into my thoughts to feel a complete fullness and openness in my heart/mind/body. This is then where I can feel my integral health flourish. While doing this exercise I almost felt a bit frustrated at first because I couldn’t concentrate long enough to keep my mind at ease. I think the more and more I do this I will get better at it and it will be something that will come easy for me.

Physical, Mental and Spiritual wellness are all connected with each other and all parts are needed to obtain our integral health. We will learn to function in the aspect of not only our body but our mind and body. “It is simply not possible to fully know or reach the subtler levels of the mind/body or spiritual body without psychospiritual development. Though it is possible for any individual to have a sudden breakthrough that embraces all levels of biological development, it is unlikely that this will be a stable experience. Stability results from a gradual process of development and as we reach toward the higher levels of consciousness and progressively experience the more subtle aspects of the mind/body, we finally get a glimpse of the spiritual body” (Dacher, 2006, p. 84). We have to work towards each level to have a full understanding of our abilities and how we can intertwine them to have an integral and flourishing life. I can see already doing these exercises that I can more fully manage my thoughts to decrease my stress, thereby decreasing any risk it may have on my physical body. By continually avoiding any mental and physical stressors and knowing how to manage outer thoughts and inner emotions, I can reach my spiritual health. My spiritual health can be fostered by also concentrating on my yoga thereby further developing all aspects of my physical, mental and spiritual health.

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.