The Body in Charge

An interesting realization which is still in the formative stages, so I probably won't be able to comment on it very articulately: it seems to me that the mind (ego) is more or less in charge of the reactions of the body. Now, I have gotten to the point where at the very least I question what the mind says because I know how extraordinarily loopy it can be, but I seem to have a tendency to believe what my body tells me. For instance, my shoulders are tense right this minute. The mind is using this (or so it seems to me) to communicate to me that I should be doing something else, that this tension in my shoulders is a Problem which must be Solved. If the mind had simply told me I should be doing something else, I could easily countered ("no, I thought it over and I shouldn't"), but if I buy into what my body is communicating without question, even though it comes from the same source, I can come to think I must take some action to ameliorate this discomfort. A fascinating insight! Yes, both the mind and my body can give me useful warnings, but quite often these are just vestiges of a bygone time when my progenitors were under much more frequent threat and their reactions were essential to their physical health. Whereas now my lack of reaction often is integral to my mental health. Interesting. I look forward to investigating this further.

A story to illustrate this: Joseph Goldstein tells of a time he was doing walking meditation and suddenly a feeling of doom came upon him. He began to question things, to the point where his spiritual path was up for review and he began to consider whether he perhaps was on the wrong path altogether. Then he burped. It all went away.

Listening to my body must be done with as much care, love, skepticism and humor as listening to the mind or to others who may try to convince me that something or other is the truth. In the final analysis, only I can judge what is true for me.

I will surely want to write more on this topic later.