The Subtle Mind Exercise

I am realizing now that just doing these exercises once for this course is not really enough.  These exercises need to be practiced a few times a week, if not daily.  That being said, I have completed the Subtle Mind Exercise (Dacher, 2006) one time so far this week.  I intended to practice it a couple of more times, along with the Loving-Kindness exercise as well.

There were some similarities between the Subtle-mind practice and the Loving-Kindness practice.  Both focused on the breath.  Both encourage deep, rhythmic breathing to connect to the mind.  However, there were some differences between the two practices as well.

The Loving-Kindness practice encouraged intentionally thinking about a loved one, oneself, strangers and the world, where as the Subtle-Mind practice asked us not to intentionally think of images or people, but instead to intentionally focus on the in and out of the breath.  As thoughts enter the mind, we are reminded to acknowledge the thought, but to return the focus back to the in and out breath, and to let the random thoughts evaporate.

http://juliaharwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/create-healing-place.html

I actually enjoyed this exercise.  To be honest, I had just grabbed a cat nap, and when I woke up, I decided to try this exercise.  I figured that this way I would probably not fall asleep!  It was really amazing to do this shortly after waking, because I didn't have a lot on my mind, and I really was able to connect to the concept of acknowledging when a thought or image was passing through and then to let it go.   

I had a thought as I was finishing this exercise.... I likened this to a desk full of paperwork.  When the desk is full of work, cluttered, and out of order, all that you can think about is the work on the desk, each task that needs to be done, (random thoughts and images),etc.  But by using this practice, I imagined each of those tasks (thoughts and images) as a piece of paper that needed to be filed.  I imagined on the in breath, a folder opening up, and on the out breath- the thought or image going into the folder.  On the next in breath, I imaged the folder being filed away and on the out breath, the file cabinet being closed.  That way, my thoughts are in a safe place, ready to be accessed at the appropriate time, and I could clear the "clutter" from the desk in my mind.  That mental image really helped me to have clarity as I was practicing.  I can see where some days, there might be a whole lot more paperwork to be filed than other days, but  I think this worked for me!  Try it!

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