This Subtle Mind of Mine

Comparing and contrasting the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise...explain the experience, the benefits, frustrations?

“Its like tying your mind to an anchor in the ground” Says the voice. This exercise is slow and relaxing, but it has more to offer.  It gives some great visual and mental aids to teach the act of letting go of those racing thoughts (something I personally struggle with).  “You are now witnessing the mental activity and spending less time absorbed in it.”  I am focused on the thoughts themselves.  Not what I am thinking about, but what they are made of, what they make me feel and where the mind travels and how it moves from thought to thought. “Where does the mental activity go?”

The Loving-Kindness exercise was about sending thoughts and feelings in a certain direction.  I sent them inward, to myself.  I sent them out, to others.  Here, I am not sending thoughts anywhere.  With the subtle mind, I am merely an observer.  I acknowledge the thoughts.  I witness them rise and fall and they do not affect me.  It is a very different concept than that of sending thoughts and feelings to other places.  It is more passive, freer and gives a light sense of presence with no responsibility. 

The connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness...how is the connection is manifested in your personal life?

When we think about health, we generally tend to think about the physical aspect of it.  We acknowledge our mental and spiritual parts, but we rarely give them the credit they deserve.  And they deserve quite a bit, by the way.  As a matter of fact, they are a critical part of our health.  If we are truly healthy (not just looking good on the beach but feeling great about ourselves in our mind and soul) than we must also have health in our minds and spirits.  Similarly, if we are lacking health in any one of these three aspects- physical, mental, spiritual- than we cannot be healthy in the other two.  To truly be healthy, we must be healthy on all three levels.  Thankfully, these levels happen to be much more connected than we seem to realize.
 Did you know that by merely thinking about loving-kindness instead of anger has instant benefits?  Did you know that it would slow your pulse, lower your skin temperature and shift your immune system?  We are talking about a thought!  Just a thought in the mind can systemically alter the body in its entirety.  What happens is that the brain produces hormones that travel throughout the body searching for receptor cells.  They attach and fit into the receptor cells, which activate them much like a key in a lock.  This causes a physical change.  The cells are altered, which is a physical change to the physical body- a change that started with a non-physical thought.  In simple terms: thoughts and emotions cause the brain to create hormones that change and affect every part of the physical body.  Being healthy spiritually will create positive thoughts and energy for love and compassion.  In turn, the mind will produce healthy hormones and the physical body will be ready to workout in the gym, to go for a run, to endure a long and stressful day, to encourage someone, to show love or to be a stellar example of health, all because the spirit inside was capable first.  That is how the spirit is connected to the mind and the mind to the physical body.  In reality, they are all one.