Unit 8 What I found that worked for me.

Looking back at the past 8 weeks and all the exercises and practice sessions, the two that I have found the most beneficial are the loving-kindness approach and the subtle mind. With the love-kindness approach, I try to treat everyone how I want to be treated. When I speak, I want my words to come from the heart even when I am talking to a stranger while standing in line at Walmart. I found by responding to a person or situation instead of reacting, has allowed me to think about what I want to say or do and do it with loving-kindness. This is especially value when  my nerves are frazzled and I am about to fly off the handle at any moment and lose my temper. I stop, take a few deep breathes in and out, allowing my frustrations to leave with the in breathe and release loving-kindness on the out breathe. The other exercise that I have working for me is meditation and the subtle mind. Using meditation with the subtle mind exercise, I have found my mind finally becoming a bit more still with each day. This has given way to better sleep, the hamster finally has gotten of the wheel for a while or at least slowed down to a crawl. I do not feel so stressed, I am smiling more and able to cope with my never ending daily duties. My plan is to incorporation some meditation in my TurboKick classes as part of the cool down. I want to share what I have learned with others so that they can flourish and do the subtle mind exercise at night so I will get a good nights sleep and be ready for the wonderful things and possibilities that are in store for me the next day.