I can honestly say, I didn't give the meditation exercises a chance. I was very skeptic about meditation since it is something I've never done before. Sure I've heard about it before and was told of the countless benefits it could bring but practicing it requires involvement and if you are not open to the idea and your heart is not in it then you won't benefit from it. The resistance held me back. However, I did like the Loving-kindness in particular. The lovingkindness meditation practice is learning to cultivate love for ourselves and others. I think in this exercise, I did not have to force myself to get involved. I am a very giving person by nature. But loving-kindness is not about setting ourselves aside by becoming martyrs, it's more about recognizing the needs of others. Accepting myself is loving myself. By learning to love myself allows me to extend love to others. Loving-kindness has no restrictions.... meaning it does not end with our family and friends and it does not depend whether one deserves it or not. We are all interconnected from a web of kindness whether it was given directly or indirectly and anyone who contributes to our happiness in any way deserves gratitude and respect in return.
Although the meditation exercises were not fruitful for me this time around, I can't say I shut down the idea of meditation completely. For as long as there is a spark of interest and motivation, I know I can pick it up in the future. Knowing the exercises is a benefit itself!
I can see how you were skeptical about meditation, I think that one of the biggest problems is that we are not used to meditation. It is difficult for me as well; it is hard to concentrate when I have done it the wrong way all my life. I do want to learn how to meditate more often but it is a little battle. This class has definitely opened a new curiosity about meditation and spiritualism for me. Good Post!
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