Subtle Mind Exercise

Today, I listened to the subtle mind exercise.  I had a good experience - it really relaxed me and took me to a different level.  This exercise is very different from the loving-kindness exercise.   In the loving-kindness exercise, we were exploring feelings of love for others, ourselves, and forgiveness.  This helped work on many things.  In the subtle mind exercise, we were exploring our own inner awareness.   Much of this exercise is about focusing on the breath.  As Dacher says, “peaceful breathing pattern leads to a peaceful mind” (Dacher, 2006, p. 75).  While I was doing this, I was visualizing the space I wanted to keep clear (in my mind), as a white smooth circle.  When other thoughts started creeping in, I made a mental “broom” sweep those thoughts to the outside of the circle.  Things did keep coming up, and I did brush them aside, which helped me focus on the clear space of stillness I was wanting to be in.  I sometimes play with my thoughts, that way, just to help me visualize ideas.  The subtle mind is described as the stillness in our mind, between 2 thoughts, or just upon rising from sleep, or when we receive a sudden shock or a surprise:  when all mental activity is stopped (Dacher, 2006, p. 72).  I believe that if I practice this exercise, more often, I can get in touch with the subtle mind for longer periods of time.