Body over mind

It seems that I have been having many conversations lately about the implications of "body over mind." A friend of mine shared with me her revelations while reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now (all about being in the present moment and living in our bodies fully) while another friend and I had a rich dialogue over the article she sent me at the Psychology Today What a Body Knows blog by Kimerer LaMothe, PhD. In this article LaMothe speaks about the value of the mindfulness instructions in the book The Religion of Thinness. Although LaMothe, like me, found this book extremely helpful she feels that something more is needed: the recognition of and attunement to our "bodily selves." She writes,

Sometimes practices of sitting and stillness can serve to reinforce the sensory education we receive in perceiving our bodies as material objects, there for us to control. To shift this experience at its root, we need practices that provide us with an experience of our bodily selves as something other than the mind over body self that the religion of thinness itself exemplifies. We need practices that help us learn how to discern, trust, and move with the wisdom of our own bodily selves—such as those I described in my last entry.  

My mind is an amazing tool, but in my experience, my body remembers more, responds faster and is a far more powerful healer than my mind will ever be.

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to go to New York to do some fund-raising investigative work for our non-profit. The opportunity arose on a Wednesday and if I was to make it to the event, which was the purpose of my flight, I'd have to take the "red eye" Saturday evening. I had numerous commitments in those next three days, the most important being a talk at a conference that Saturday. 

I went ahead and made a flight reservation even though I'd been feeling rather sickly on Tuesday and Wednesday. I figured if I still felt lousy the next day (Thursday), I would cancel my flight. I had a conference call in the morning at nine and so knew that I'd be up long before the 24-hour flight cancellation deadline at noon. At three the next afternoon I finally awoke and was barely able to crawl out of bed! I was stunned. I'd never slept through a commitment before. My body felt lousy--what a fix! How could I heal from whatever was going on so that I could speak at the conference and get on a plane to fly east a few hours later?

My mind was shouting, "You have so much to get done--you'd better get to work!" My body was begging me to return to bed. I listened to my body. I slept the rest of Thursday and was up for only a few hours Friday evening. When I awoke on Saturday I knew I felt strong enough to do the talk but I wasn't sure I'd have the strength to get myself to the airport that evening. I figured I'd let my body lead and do whatever it needed. I rested (again ignoring my mind's insistence which was now lamenting, "If you do decide to go you'll never have enough time to pack--you need to pack NOW!") I just kept following my body, moving at its pace and accepting fully each moment.

In what felt like a miraculous turn of events, by the time I was to give my talk I no longer felt ill. When I returned home I packed my bags and headed to the airport. I have no idea what was going on within my body the previous four days but I do know that had I listened to my mind and barreled ahead without heeding my body's needs I never would have made it to New York. It was a good reminder of my body's innate wisdom and my need to listen to it over my mind's far less intuitive demands. As LaMothe says, "move with the wisdom of our own bodily selves" and I would add, even when that "movement" is to remain still. 

Blessings until next time,

Doris