week 5 the subtle mind

with the loving kindness exercise the focus is on the feelings of others and putting others needs ahead of our own.  The subtle mind exercise focuses on contentment of the mind, it focuses on the breath and the workings of ones own mind.  this exercise promotes quiet, peacefullness and how things in the world affect the mind.  the act of breathing and concentrating on the breath gives the mind something to focus on and reduces the ability of worldly distractions to interfere with the mind.  The act of concentrating on the mind and the movement of the breath allows you to investigate the feeling of the still mind.  The subtle mind exercise is definately more inwardly focused than the loving kindness exercise and is meant to open awaeness to the needs and wants of others. spiritual wellness is connected to physical wellness through the mind body connection.  A healthy mind helps lead to a healthy body by allowing the mind to focus on the physical attributes and physical healing aspects of life rather than healing and refocusing the mind.   I have found that I feel the best physically on days when my mental attitude is good and i am having positive thoughts go through my body.  On days when i have a poor attitude it seems that my physical feeling is less than ideal, or i am having pain that i don't otherwise have.  it is really interesting i have not thought about this concept as a cause or contributor to these feelings but i definitely see how they are interconnected