Nature of the Mind & Body

The mind and the body have opposing natures. The mind can process information quickly and craves/requires variety to be engaged whilst the body needs repetition for it to understand information and convert it to muscle memory and the subconscious.

These opposing natures can cause a chaotic internal environment/state. When the mind grasps (a bit of) knowledge it wants to move on to the next thing. This can cause anxiety and frustration in the body as it (the body) does not have time to do the repetitions needed to understand the same bit of knowledge. On the flip side, when the body is in the process of doing the repetitions needed for understanding the mind tends to get bored and anxious. A feeling of frustration and resentment towards each other may occur as the mind is constantly saying to the body, “hurry up” and the body to the mind, “wait for me”.

So how do you calibrate things to have the mind and the body work together and support each other? 

A good (and easy) place to start is to consciously include the body in the thinking process. For example, if you need to figure out a solution to a problem, do so whilst going for a walk or engaging some kind of physical activity. What helps tremendously is to be clear on what needs figuring out before engaging the physical activity. To be clear, this is not an escape technique. Though the mind can rest during the physical activity it needs to be open to the (likely) possibility that a solution will arise during the physical activity.

Once you get a feel of how to align nature of the mind and body, be creative in your cultivation. Seek out practices that understand and cultivate this alignment and relationship (there are many… both ancient and contemporary).

The goal is to have the mind and body work together and build a trusting and supportive relationship with each other. Both have a deep capacity to process information. When both are working together and supporting each other, new perspectives, insights, and capacities become available to you. This also lends itself to a peaceful and thriving internal environment/state. Remember, the body needs repetition so take your time and cultivate this alignment as frequently as possible.

Enjoy your cultivation and all that you do.

SOCIAL

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