BODY WISDOM AND SPIRITUALITY

BODY WISDOM AND SPIRITUALITY

By Arthur Chang

“You only love me for my body and not for my mind.”

This familiar lament is evidence of how irresistibly the beauty of the body may affect us. The comment also fits into the concept of “One forbidden thing” motif of which there are several in our ancient myths. Two examples are that of the Eden creation story, and Pandora. Unsurprisingly, it is decidedly human to desire what is forbidden to possess.

Despite the tendency to regard the highly treasured gold of intelligence exclusively stashed away in the Fort Knox of the mind, the body has squirreled away an amazing cache of spiritual wisdom, seemingly, independent of the conscious mind. Moreover, without the body, what would serve as the vehicle for the mind?

Body-wisdom for spirituality comes without the prerequisites of credo and dogma, which are directives of the mind. Instead, the largely physical forms of yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, dance, and music, will bring us to a high spiritual state without theological preconditions. We have to neither believe nor disbelieve something to derive the spiritual benefit. In this manner, the experience is Zen-like.

Although unrecognized for its profound wisdom, the body knows how to function wholly without conflict or debate. No assistance of belief is needed from the mind. The Cosmic Intelligence is ever-present and active as the body’s instinctive knowledge. Whether in movements or stillness, the body is a vessel imbued with the consciousness of the Infinite Presence actively engaged with it in this process of living.

The body’s direct connection to the Infinite Mind is demonstrated in how the wisdom of trillions of cells, sentient beings as they are, communicate and cooperate to sustain each body as a viable being. There is no downtime in this activity, which these cells within the body accomplish with incredible speed and precision. At best, the body treats urgency with an almost dismissive ease that our faith struggles to find on its best days. The body is called upon to resolved life and death issues in every moment.

The body regulates our temperature, the rhythm of our hearts to respond to countless variations required for supporting us during periods of joy, fear and sorrow. It manages an amazing chemistry lab and does all this with very little help from the conscious mind.

Even more intriguing are our nights. Nights are calls for more than mere rest beyond fatigue. Lao Tzu’s line is apt: “Without doing anything, everything is accomplished.” At night, the body lets go of its upright day posture to lie prone for letting go into the sacred Mystery. From this anteroom, the body enters through the secret portals of the soul for spiritual renewal. Here, also, the mind finally remembers what the body does not forget, that it is one with the Wholeness of this vast universe and has everything it needs to be ready to meet our creative unfoldment with the next rising of the sun.

Blessing:

May you grow to appreciate how much non-verbal wisdom your body has to share by providing the disciplines and nurturing it needs to best serve you through your awesome spiritual journey through time.