Monday, April 9, 2012

Unit 4-Loving Kindness


I found loving kindness helpful to a certain extent. I found that it allowed me to feel the love in my heart which gave me a calming feeling. I would recommend this exercise to others when they are feeling stressed out. I also think it would be a beneficial exercise to do when you are upset with a loved one and trying to see the good and not the bad.

What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health? A mental workout works the deeper centers of our mind just as physical exercise works out body. There are many proven benefits of a mental workout. Physical exercise keeps the body healthy and helps reduce the risk of serious illnesses and diseases. Mental exercise provides the same type of benefit to the brain, as well. Mental stimulation helps the brain grow new neurons, which may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline, age-related memory loss or loss of motor skills. Even as we grow older, the brain benefits from regular mental exercise.

4 comments:

  1. Hello Ashley
    I am so glad you were able to do the exercise and feel good after doing it. I think I have some grieving to do. I lost four people in the last three years and I just could not get past that in the exercise. But I will keep trying and maybe I can get past the hurtful feelings. Good luck in class and in you future.
    Stacia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ashley,
    I am glad you were able to find the calmness in your heart for a loved one. I think we might have to practice this session a few times before we see any changes. I liked that you mentioned some great ways to challenge our minds and I have to agree that working out the mind is like working out the body in order to achieve our goal of human flourishing.
    Liz

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ashley,

    I too found some calm and relaxation in doing this exercise. It is good to know that I wasn't the only one who was able to achieve this aspect. I focused on the "one I loved" to be my son who I lost not long ago. It helped in some of my grieving process. It will take along time but I feel that what I am learning in this class will assist in healing my mental emotions.

    Patti Selbe

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Ashley,
    I am glad you were able to reap some benefit from this exercise. I am also someone that may take a little while to truly get all of the benefit and understanding I need from this course. I guess that I mean to say that it might take me a little while to truly understand myself and what my mind and my heart are capable of doing. I do think regardless of that, having some control over how I handle and process my emotions is incredibly beneficial in the mean time.

    ReplyDelete