When Mind And Body Are One
November 14th 2008 · Read More · No Comments
You’ve probably heard/read about the notion of mind and body becoming “one”. It’s an intuitive concept, but depending on your paradigm or worldview, the idea may not make much sense to you.
For the benefit of readers who are new to spiritual pursuits I’ll define here what we mean when we talk of the mind and body being one. It’s actually very simple, and not tied into any particular religious or philosophical school of thought.
The mind and body are one when action is right and spontaneous. You don’t think before moving, nor do you need to, because you are in the flow of life and pure creative energy is being expressed through your bodily actions.
Mind and body are one when you find yourself moving or carrying out any action without the need to plan or consider your next move. If you’ve ever been absorbed into an activity like sports, gardening, creative writing, or your daily job and then “snapped out of it” minutes later, not remembering how you completed the task at hand, you have experienced oneness of mind and body.
And certainly everyone who has driven an automobile can relate to the experience of arriving safely home but not remembering the last half hour of driving through heavy traffic. We seem to be hard-wired for synchronicity of thought and action, and only through negative conditioning have we become neurotic and bogged down with the endless duality and choice-mindedness of the ego.
There’s nothing especially “wrong” with thinking every move through and analyzing all possible choices. But this is definitely not our optimal level of function.
We are at our best when the thought process is streamlined and expressed through spontaneous action. We are most productive and effective when our body carries out our will without the need for decision, or when we seem to erupt from direct inspiration.
Regarding the last statement there is debate as to whether, when mind and body are one, we are acting on our own individual will or moving as a vehicle for divine or Universal consciousness. This is the stuff of an extraordinary discussion, but frankly not relevant in the most practical of terms.
What is relevant is the fact that we can condition ourselves to function with the ease, accuracy, freedom, and joy of mind-body-oneness. And by so doing we allow ourselves to literally flow toward our own highest good as a daily engagement.
We are not doomed to live out every day of our lives in the wretched state of indecision and fretting the mainstream media sells us as “the way life is in these fast-paced times”. Pardon my bluntness to follow, but:
The idea that clutter and chaos are the natural human state in the technological world is absolute and fabulous crapola! We are NOT destined to live in this absurd manner, and anyone who desires to escape the prison state of separated mind and body can do so with practice.
Daily meditation, the allowance of mindfulness, and the habit of surrendering to this present moment are all one needs for continuity of the mind-body connected state. And it’s not even a journey you should measure, keep track of, or attain through the completion of goals.
Just let go, here and now, and continue to practice letting go moment to moment.
You will become distracted. And you will slip back into the state of chaos modern humanity calls normal.
This is wonderful. It’s proof that you’re alive and it gives you further opportunity to let go and allow the present moment.
All we have is here and now. Your nature is that of flowing and your desire to return to source will carry you.
