The loving-kindness practice this week was a nice mantra to repeat to myself and focus on. It did bring some feelings of peace, purpose and focus. My mind strayed and 10 minutes was too long for me, I will try starting with maybe 5 minutes :)
After performing the assessment on myself which had me look closely at the areas of my life that need attention and what I can aim for I found my mind settling on the idea of calmness and patience. I need to find myself calming in the face of stress. I need to address the calm in my mind at home, with a big list of things I want to accomplish for my kids and household I need to be patient and calm and focus on one thing at a time! Being more calm and patient will help me to see clearly what I need to change and what is going well. I want to try to slow down and enjoy my children while they are still little!
Nice post! As I was reading your blog, I realized that I had been thinking those exact thoughts a few minutes ago. As I am doing this homework, my mind is running with all of the things that need to be done today: housework, errands, billing, etc. I could actually feel my stress level rising. I need to learn to let things go. The housework will still be there tomorrow. I have been better about not stressing about the little things, I just with I had done this years ago when my daughter was small. A life lesson well learned, but one I still struggle with today. This post was just what I needed today. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to hear that you are the same as the rest of us with that busy mind. I find that keeping a pencil calendar next to me so I can write things helps a lot. I can keep the list and not have to keep going over in my head what I need to do. If you learn how to slow down please share the secret. Every time I think I get the chance to slow down something else happens.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts
Jodi
I agree, the mantra this week was nice to focus on. Although, at the beginning of the meditation I felt silly for continuously repeating the sentences. After I focused on what I was saying, changed my attitude, and opened my mind, the meditation was a much more positive experience. I have to agree with you again though, 10 minutes was a long time to repeat four short sentences.
ReplyDeleteI think slowing down and focusing on one task at a time will be a very effective strategy for you. From my experience that helps me if my mind is being pulled a hundred different directions.
Kimberly, I had a hard time with doing this exercise for 10 minutes as well. It seems like a very long time when there's so many other things that need to get done, but it sounds like you got something out of it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy being able to look within myself and seeing what needs work. This course has definitely taught me a lot about myself.
One of the things I had to deal with when I first started taking classes again was time management. It's taken me over a year to reduce my stress, but I feel like I have a decent hold on it. Like you, I am very busy. I have kids, husband, a full time job, a student full time, and a large close family. I had to start repeating to myself that "things will always get done on time; they always do". This has helped me tremendously. I always manage to get my work done on time, and I need to keep reminding myself that I can't be stressing over it. I have also had to teach myself that it's ok to have a messy house. I hope some of this will help you. Good luck!
Amanda