Body Mind and Spirit ..... exploring the connections.

The connection and relation of body, mind, spirit are exactly what holistic health seeks to explore. In this section we will define these connections more specifically much in the same way we explored the connections of the systems in the human body. Each of these parts of us ( body, mind, and spirt) have a proper resting place within us. Just as the heart sits beneath the rib cage, the mind and spirt have a proper resting place as well. Knowing the proper resting place of each allows us to recognize balance and imbalance within. With this recognition we can maintain or reestablish balance between body mind spirit. I invite you to experience these for yourself. Below and in the sections following this page, you will be lead down a path to experience what is suggested above.

Body ....the resting place for the spirit.

We can say that the body is clearly the place where your life energy resides. We can also suggest that the mind is the regulator of this life energy. Finally we can conclude that this life energy is the basis of life itself. This life energy is the spirit that animates the physical being. Each has its own place giving birth to the next. Without the body the spirit has no resting place and without the spirit the body is no longer alive.

Follow along below to verify this for yourself.

Questions to consider

Get out your pen and paper and answer the questions in the section below.

What does it mean to you when I say that the body is the place where the life energy resides?

Do you have any proof that this is true or false?

Is this something we can test for and know for sure?

Please answer before moving forward.

Experiment

Do this simple experiment (read through the entire thing before you being..……..

Sit in a chair for 1-2 minutes and monitor how your hands and arms feel. Write down what you feel. Do not write what you are thinking about, write what you feel.

Now after writing down your answer to the above....... Do 10-15 jumping jacks and immediately sit in the chair again. Sit again for 1-2 minutes. While siting there monitor how your hands and arms feel. Pay particular attention to how they feel immediatly after sitting down.

Write down your response before moving forward.

The animating energy within.

Did you feel it?

You just experienced the energy that your body is storing every second of every day. Exercise is one of the easiest ways to tap into and access this energy directly. This is the energy that makes you "tick", so to speak. The hundreds of millions of functions that are occurring in your body day to day and minute by minute, do so through this life energy. Your body is the store house for this energy. With out it you have no health, holistic health or other otherwise.

Mind... the regulator of the life energy.

When the mind is restless, it is reflected in the body. I'm sure you have witnessed that fidgety person in the isle next to you, or that person bouncing their foot as they read their book. These are all signs of "restless energy". When the mind is restless, anxious, and distracted, it wanders and is easily consumed with distractions outside of the present moment. You may experience this as a lack of focus and the foot bouncing is the external manifestation of this distraction. The body is saying, "I am doing this but I really want to be doing something else, so hurry up."

When the mind wanders and you being thinking, this process takes your energy away from the present moment making the life energy.... as restless as the mind. In other words, because the body is the storehouse of this energy the body reacts with movement subconsciously.

Questions to consider

Get out your pen and paper and answer the questions in the section below.

What does it mean to say that the mind is the regulator of the life energy?

Have you ever been really excited about something only to be let down? What happened to your energy during this time?

Have you every been really excited about something that you were waiting for and you could not focus on the task in front of you? What did this feel like? Do you remember?

If the mind were the regulator of the life energy, how would it do this?

What exactly is a regulator?

Please answer before moving forward.



Here is an example you may be familiar with. Suppose you are preparing for a really big test and you are worried about the outcome. The worry in your mind produces an uneasy feeling causing your body to shift an move. These shifting movements may even cause the mind to be unfocused on the material, further inhibiting your ability to absorb and comprehend the material in front of you. The shifting movements come about from the mind not regulating the energy. A distracted mind, leads to distracted life energy.

When the mind is focused on "how the test will turn out" instead of the subject matter, your chances of really learning are impaired. Having a clear mind helps focus the energy in the body for thinking and the tasks at hand, rather than shifting movements and future failures.

Easier said than done?

I never said it was easy but the practice of focusing on the one task at a time will not only improve your mood and energy, it will also improve your efficiency.

This is not to say that you can regulate your life energy by thinking about it. In fact, thinking about it will hinder any regulation process. We will explore this practice and these ideas more in future sections. For now, in your day to day activities, try to stay focused one task at a time.

Spirit ........ the driving force behind your life.

Questions to consider

Get out your pen and paper and answer the questions in the section below.

What does it mean to you that life energy is the essence of your life? That stuff that makes us alive and something else un-alive?

What do you think about when you think of spirit and spirituality?

Do your thoughts about spirit or spirituality change what it is?

Are you separate from your spirit or your spirituality?

Are you the possessor of your spirituality, that is, do you own it?

Please answer before moving forward.


What is being referred to when we say "your spirit?" Doesn't this phrase imply that there is ownership in some way........... but we don't actually own our spirit in the same way we own a house or car.

Still our spirit does belong to us right? It belongs to or with our body. The life energy or spirit is there so that the body can have life. This is why we say the body is the resting place for the life energy. This life energy is the driving force behind the vital functions of the body. Digestion, breathing, heart rate, and rhythmn are all occurring through this life energy. When this life energy leaves with death, the body deteriorates. Yet these processes occur without thought or will power and paradoxically the mind has a role in regulating this energy. How could it be that the mind regulates this energy, but does so without thought or will power? You probably won't get anywhere by thinking about the answer, but think about it anyway. See what your thinking mind can come up with.

This concept of life energy and spirt is a vast and complex topic. You cannot grasp these concepts by thinking about them alone. In the sections to follow we will attempt to both explain and help you experience your life energy. However, to truly grasp these concepts, one must drop thinking and experience what it is to experience. Only within this space can you begin to know your spirit.

The ancient zen masters had a special teaching known as a Koan to help assist their disciples in dropping the thinking mind. These Koans were mental paradoxes that forced the mind to give up thinking. In doing so the person was left to experience without judgement.

What is the sound of one hand clapping........... ?