Hello Professor and Class: I have really enjoyed this class and all the challenges that went along with it. I feel as though I have gained personal physical and psychological strength. About 4 weeks prior to starting this class I began a stage of life with my children that has been the most challenging experience in my whole life. The meditation skills I gained from this class have helped me stay calm and focused during the hardest times. As I type I am feeling extremely sad and discouraged as I have had yet another argument with my oldest son and as always have lost the argument. However, the loving-kindness exercise has helped me to overcome these challenging and defeating feelings by knowing that I can forgive him AGAIN and understand that my son is probably just as discouraged as me. I am working on calming my mind and moving forward to starting a new day with a positive frame of mind.
Visualization exercises are my best friend during situations like this because I can put myself anywhere but at home. Doing this allows my mind to calm itself by focusing on the things I love the most, the beauty of nature. In unit 3 I rated my spirituality at a7, psychological at 5 and physical at 9. My numbers are the same now. Nothing has changed because I feel like psychologically I need time to learn how to meditate daily to bring that number higher. It is a personal goal to accomplish skill and peace at meditation.
When reviewing my goals and activities I set for myself I feel I have made progress. I was not mediating at all prior to this class. I am using visualization exercises when I needed to calm down but my focus is really to master the skill of meditation by learning to hear my breath. I plan to continue working towards my goal and my daily journal is the key to accomplishing my goals.
I have implemented some very important goals I chose for my well-being. The most important goal was to improve my family life by bringing us together spirituality. My husband now joins me in church weekly and my youngest son is pursuing his goal of Confirmation. My oldest is still very distant from us in this area. I have also encouraged my husband to exercise for the sake of better health. My husband now gets up and attends Aqua classes at least three-times-a-week even without any prompting from me.
To summarize my personal experience throughout this class is easy. I gained so much knowledge in the area of meditation and how it relates to our body-mind connection. I have shared a lot of my knowledge with my Pilates students. I have also learned a lot from my students as several have stepped forward to share their personal experiences with meditation. The most difficult thing for me was finding time and quiet places to meditate. I do no think I ever accomplish that but have discovered that it is not in my home. I can use all of the meditation skills to help my family and students in the future for the purpose of self-improvement, health, happiness, wholeness, and most of all the MOTIVATION to be the best they can be!!!!!
Thank-You again to everyone for your support and comments throughout this class. Best of luck to you all. Bye Bye
Cherie
Hi Cherie! It seems like you and your family are on the right track to trying to better themselves, your oldest son will hopefully see the improvement that you guys are making and come around. I need to meditate more, and I am working on this. I wish you the best luck in the future to you and your family! :)
ReplyDeleteCherie your final post was very touching. My heart goes out to you and your family. I pray you all come together as a whole unit. I pray the blood covering over your whole family especially your sons that they are protected and their eyes are opened before it's to late. Don't be discouraged as we all as parents experience this to one degree to another. I will say it feels as if your whole heart is being ripped out when it is happening. I believe this is so because we love our children unconditionally. I'm so glad that you have found a way to channel your thoughts through meditation and the word of God. I know that you will over come all this and be blessed in the future to come. I pray God will continue to bless you and your family. I wish you much success in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteHi Cherie,
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful post. You will get through these years with your sons. Take one day at a time and continue to meditate. My oldest (now 36 and female) was angry and distant as a teen. At one point I felt her pain and learned to move past the slamming doors and yelling and see that she needed my unconditional love. A light bulb went off. I moved toward her and showed my love and paid little attention to hurtful things said by her. It worked so well. Wish I would have had meditation then, but I did have prayer and a vision in my head of what I needed to do.
Take care and hang in there,
Robin
Hey Cherie,
ReplyDeleteI really loved how you opened up in your last post. I remember seeing my mom struggle with my older brother when he was a teen, and how it would just tear her up. Just stay strong, and realize that he is trying to find his place in the world. Family is the most important and as he gets older he will realize that. I have a 5 year old, which I know does not compare, but for only being 5 she pushes my husband and I to our limits. It doesn't matter what is going on her and my husband are always going at it. I think a lot of it has to do with attention whether they are 5 or teenagers. My mom tells me that usually when it comes to attention they seek negative because there is where they get the most attention even if it's not most beneficial.
Just remember to be strong and be willing to talk to friends and family about what's going on to just vent. Even if you don't want their advice sometimes it is good just to let it all out! I think you are doing great using visualization and meditation to help get through it. Both will definitely allow to find the inner peace you need to stay sane! Hang in there it will get better!