A good barometer of how you are feeling is to check in with your body rather than with your mind. Your mind might tell you one thing and your body something else. Which is more honest? The mind has a tendency to explain, complain, and conjure, to trick, but the body does not lie. Tune in to your body more often and ask it what it needs, what it has to say, and what it has to offer. It might decide that one direction is better than another, that one decision is better than another, that one plan is better than another. Of course, the body, like the mind, can quickly change, so be alert and go with the flow!
It begins with deep calm in the body, the soul’s physical extension into this life. The true father of all modern somatic therapy, Wilhelm Reich, brought intimate attention to the opposition between natural impulse and defense in human musculature.
The suppression of sexual and aggressive energies, as well as powerful emotions such as sadness, is executed through what Reich called bodyarmoring, the tensing of muscles that freeze the free flow of instinctive and emotional energy.
A tense throat constricts the vocal expression of emotion. A tense belly and solar plexus create a wall that short-circuits the natural energetic current of tender emotion, natural reflex, and instinctive movement that issues from the lower half of the body.
Love is the energy of union and wholeness, the glue that binds together all of creation. To embody it we must soften our armored muscles.
The standoff between impulse and defense creates pools of charged energy, which in turn generates fears of an uncontrolled tidal wave of chaos and eventual loss of control. Indeed, a cathartic release, such as a deep cry or scream, might be necessary before a natural balance between expressive and receptive energies can be established.
One can directly speak to the body and receive a response. “Stomach, relax and release tension,” or “Shoulders, let down, release tension,” are suggestions to the body subconscious that result in immediate relaxing of rigidity.
Be gentle and accepting of small increments of release with each suggestion. Allow the body to gradually let go and adjust to the influx of freed energy. As the body musculature releases, invite and allow the breath to flow gently, expanding and opening new channels. The key word here is gentle. Follow each gentle breath with a slightly more deepening next gentle breath. Force nothing; gently widen the channel over time.
On the mental plane, Carlos Castaneda’s suggestion to suspend judgment is foundational. When we judge we create separation; this is good, that is bad. Thoughts, feelings, sensations and intuitions that are ‘bad’ are suppressed, and the body responds by rigidifying against them; they are not allowed.
In a shamanic recapitulation, or in an end of life review, as reported consistently by many who have experienced near-death experiences (NDE’s), the salient feature is total acceptance of every experience and every person one has experienced in life, regardless of their abuses and failures. This is the mood of love embracing everything with equanimity.
Boundaries may be absolutely necessary in this life but love knows no boundaries, all is accepted. Love and boundary can coexist. That was Christ’s golden message: Love All!
Total acceptance of self and other, of every aspect of life lived, and lost, is the path to embodying the mood of love.
Stay connected to your own truth. Each day check in with your body and ask what it needs. What can you do for your body today? Find techniques to calm the mind and relax the body that work for you and that you are apt to do on a regular basis so that they become second nature. Stay attuned to what your body is telling you throughout the day, to its changes and needs, to its desires and urges. Your body is the vehicle for the rest of you, for your spirit energy and your High Self, and thus it’s important to pay attention to it and to maintain it with more than just food and sleep. Give it your attention in a good and nourishing way and it will reward you in turn.
Tune into your body’s messages. What is it telling you? How does it try to get your attention? Avoid stresses. Learn relaxation skills. Your body is your spirit’s clothing, what it has chosen to wear during the lifetime you are in. It is not simply an independent entity with a brain but a complex structure that houses more than you know or can imagine. Keep it in prime condition by tuning into it as only you and your spirit can, asking what it needs each day in order to function in an optimal manner. You might be surprised by what it tells you in its own way!
When it’s windy nature bows to the wind, when it rains nature absorbs the rain… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
This week’s audio channeling offers us insight into what it means to be in balance, within and without, in a healthy way. We may learn by our mistakes, but our bodies and our hearts know what being in balance and in alignment mean. Have a listen and see if the message resonates. In any case, have a great week!
