Integrating Ancient and Modern Wisdom for Body-Mind Balance

Whether we use ancient or modern wisdom to understand the body-mind system, they correspond, not coincidentally. Ancient wisdom discusses the energy centres of the body, while modern wisdom discusses the body's needs. Integrating both ancient and contemporary wisdom can be beneficial in assessing what is going on sometimes. Contracted energy in particular areas of the body can point to underlying issues of healthy, balanced nourishment of the body-mind.

As we bring the body into our awareness, we may find that particular areas of it are associated with the separate self, which we will notice because those areas will inspire many emotional stories about a person called "me." Unlike many progressive paths that promote practices to unblock these centres or needs, the direct path constantly asserts that the most fundamental spiritual blockage (that manifests as unpleasant resistance and avoidance emotions of desiring, seeking, avoiding, etc.) in those areas is identification as a separate self.

Though we may believe that being a separate self is essential to guide the body-mind, all this does is cloud our lives with neurotic self-consciousness and get in the way of the healthy functioning of the body-mind, which nourishes itself quite naturally. So, the first thing we must recognise is that we are the aware reality that we cannot know is dependent on the body-mind, and we can, therefore, be open minded to understanding is the source reality of all body-minds. This ensures we are the safe, loving parent of the body-mind and all body-minds.

This has radically positive effects on our human relationships, which, when we believe to be a separate self, are clouded with attachments and dependencies, unreasonable expectations of other body-minds about their behaviour, and restrictions that block the flow of love, which is the crucial thing. It is not the job of the body-mind to make us happy or the job of any other body-mind our body-mind is in connection with to make us happy. If we think that, then we will distort the natural flow of love and will put intolerable psychological pressure on our immediate body-mind and other body-minds. This would be like blaming a car for crashing instead of taking responsibility as the driver.

Therefore, we can conclude that the optimal way to listen to the signals of the body-mind system is to abide by the fundamental peace and security of our true nature, not identify as a separate self. Then, we can listen to our children, the mind and the body, with love and understanding, not resistance and avoidance. If we can genuinely say we are coming from this place, then we can hear any genuine discomfort of our body and mind and find that the actions to resolve these naturally arise without being forced self-consciously.

Love,

Freyja