I once saw on a poster: "Remember you are unique, just like everybody else." I laughed out loud, but secretly I could feel the hurt pride of my ego. For me, there has always been a wish and a hope that I was unique and I had special gifts to bring to this planet. The conundrum of this thought is that on another level I consistently wish for communion, a feeling of togetherness, and that I am not a lone island. This has had me explore the difference between the messages from the mind and the messages from the body. The mind, I often feel, is where our ego lies. It tells us what we want to hear or what we want to believe or what we desire. It is our mind that often tells us I really want chocolate cake or sugar or ice cream or chips; it tells us we deserve these things, especially on hard and stressful days. On a body level, our bodies remind us that we are never alone. We are connected to ourselves every moment, even when we are not consciously aware. We are connected to really everyone and everything. When we exhale the trees/ the earth inhales and when the earth exhales we breath it in. It is our body that tells us what will nourish us on a more profound and deeper level. It will tell us whether we need vegetables, protein, what kind, how it wants it cooked or not cooked and it will be very specific about its desires and all we have to do is slow down and listen.
Beyond food though, our bodies will tell us when food is not the form of nourishment that we need. When we get out of the ego and the mind, we tap into deep desires of perhaps needing a hug, a touch, connection, understanding, a deeper understanding of ourselves. How is your body being fed by your relationships? your spirituality? your physical exercise? And I am not going to say something like it is all a matter of finding balance; I stopped believing in balance a long time ago as I am someone who lives (as my mother likes to say) on the outliers. I feel it is a matter of slowing down, coming back to the breath, and viewing life with child's eyes of curiosity, especially in the moments when we feel "out of balance." How can we sit with the feeling, the sensation of being out of balance (whatever that means or feels like to you) and get out of the ego of the mind that we shouldn't be there.
When we tap back into the body and stick with description of just what is then we begin to get out of the need to be unique and different than everyone else and there comes a realization that we are all one. When you help someone else, you are also helping yourself. When you reach out into the world the world will reach back to you. It is all a matter of our own perspective. We can view ourselves as being an "over extender" or we can view every action we make as an offering back to ourselves. I have been told too many times this past year of my life that I don't focus on myself enough. I'm not even truly sure what this means exactly because, for me, when I am helping someone else out or being present and holding space for another individual I am learning so much about myself and life in the process that I feel being in relationship with others allows me to come into a deeper relationship with myself.
How have you discovered the different and often contrasting messages from the body and the mind? And what have you done in those moments when you are not sure which one to trust?
Beyond food though, our bodies will tell us when food is not the form of nourishment that we need. When we get out of the ego and the mind, we tap into deep desires of perhaps needing a hug, a touch, connection, understanding, a deeper understanding of ourselves. How is your body being fed by your relationships? your spirituality? your physical exercise? And I am not going to say something like it is all a matter of finding balance; I stopped believing in balance a long time ago as I am someone who lives (as my mother likes to say) on the outliers. I feel it is a matter of slowing down, coming back to the breath, and viewing life with child's eyes of curiosity, especially in the moments when we feel "out of balance." How can we sit with the feeling, the sensation of being out of balance (whatever that means or feels like to you) and get out of the ego of the mind that we shouldn't be there.
When we tap back into the body and stick with description of just what is then we begin to get out of the need to be unique and different than everyone else and there comes a realization that we are all one. When you help someone else, you are also helping yourself. When you reach out into the world the world will reach back to you. It is all a matter of our own perspective. We can view ourselves as being an "over extender" or we can view every action we make as an offering back to ourselves. I have been told too many times this past year of my life that I don't focus on myself enough. I'm not even truly sure what this means exactly because, for me, when I am helping someone else out or being present and holding space for another individual I am learning so much about myself and life in the process that I feel being in relationship with others allows me to come into a deeper relationship with myself.
How have you discovered the different and often contrasting messages from the body and the mind? And what have you done in those moments when you are not sure which one to trust?
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