This exercise didn't really do it for me the way the previous two meditations did, I think because of the words. I am totally on board with the sentiment, but I was uneasy having to repeat the phrases. I inherently get what they are trying to express, but I felt like verbalizing it took away some of the power and authenticity. The experience of concentrating on universal loving kindness feels a very particular way to me, and I prefer to keep that experience between my heart and the world, and not mix language up in it.
The assessment, on the other hand, I found comfortable and useful. I discovered that I'm not doing so shabby after all (lol), and that it really isn't that painful to admit to myself the particular areas of my life that could use work. I want to further develop the “community” aspect of my interpersonal relationships, and engage more in social activism (a worldly line) (Dacher, 2006, pp. 109-110). I chose these areas because I want to know that more than just having positive thoughts and feelings about others, I can make an immediate and measurable difference in the lives of real people with urgent needs.
Baby steps toward fostering greater wellness in these areas could be to finally get to know my neighbors, volunteer at local events such as the invasive plant workshops my dad runs or river clean-up days, and more consistently financially support and attend rallies for causes that are dear to me. Further down the line, two things I would like to be able to do are start a community garden and hold free yoga classes for the unemployed.
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Hey Rheyn!
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I am so happy to hear that someone else had a similar experience to mine with the loving kindness meditation! It didn't really do that much for me, either, and I think you have explained why. Even though the words used are pretty general and cover a wide range, I feel like it doesn't quite fit how I feel about my own personal sense of loving kindness to the world at large. I did find that repeating the words helped to shut off the noisy part of my brain, though. I felt kind of sheepish about the fact that I didn't really react to the exercise the way Dacher intended, so it's nice to hear that I'm not alone!
I have to agree with both of you. Having to repeat the phrase seemed to get in the way for me. It just wasn't the most comfortable or the exercises for me. I think I will stick with the previous suggestions for loving-kindness. Maybe it will just take practice, but I just didn't feel as comfortable with this.
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