Loving Kindness Exercise

I actually did not enjoy this exercise.  I expected an exercise tientled Loving Kindness to have a good,warm, positive feeling, but that is not how I felt.  In the beginning we are told to shift our thoughts, feelings, and images that are both pleasant and disturbing.  Then we are asked to visualize a loved one who is now suffering and when we breath in to 'take in our loved ones suffering' and then it says to 'allow this dark cloud of suffering to ride the in-breath into our body'.  and continue this for several minutes.  Then we are told to breath in a circle of strangers suffering and finally to include even people that you may consider enemies and breath in their suffering.  I have to say concentrating on all this negativity did not make me feel good, warm, or loving kindness.  My boyfriend did the exercise with me and he had a different experience.  He said breathing in his loved ones suffering helped him understand how they must feel (to walk in their shoes per say).  Personally I would much rather prefer a more positive exercise and I would not recommend this exercise to others.

The concept of mental workout is much like working out a muscle, working out specific areas of the brain can result in structural change.  Their needs to be a daily commitment to study.  Like physical training, when we stop practicing we will see a drop-off in our conditioning whether physical or mental.  Research studies have demonstrated that mental training can transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt while enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness.  This provides enhanced resistance to mental distress and physical disease, expands our healing capacities, and promotes well-being.  I believe I can implement mental workouts by listening to positive, motivating cd's which will feed me with positive thoughts which lead to positive behaviors and I believe that when you 'put positive out' you will receive positive back. 
Kristine G.