PERSUADING THE BODY 1

 

 

 

The first person you need to persuade in order to achieve and sustain self-transformation is your body. This is a very deep and, once understood, liberating concept. Describing the body as a person is simply a way of helping you conceptualize the relationship between spirit, mind and body. Far too often the healing traditions compartmentalize the self in packages that are convenient for their theories and ideologies but which bear little resemblance to the true story of the self. That is a story of fluid integration (a system where each aspect has its own particular role and whilst playing its part, intuitively understands its relationship to the whole organism).

 

When seeking to understand the self there are no nice neat compartments with definite beginnings and endings. What you have are various systems that cannot and do not stand alone. For example, how would the endocrine system (responsible for the production of hormones) carry out its role without the digestive system to provide a nutrient and energy basis for it to function? How would the immune system (responsible for our biological defences) function if the lymphatic (detoxifying) system were not removing waste? In fact the more you look at the whole organism, the more you see that each system is completely dependent upon what other systems of the body are doing.

 

The other ‘persons’ in this equation are the mind and the spirit. The primary tug of war exists between mind and body and the spirit is influenced by what takes place between the two. When mind and body are in harmony the spirit is uplifted. There is joy in the heart and the individual believes in her own talents, abilities and strides confidently towards her potential and purpose. Unfortunately this is rarely the story because the relationship between mind and body is not generally understood and therefore what you have is a mind full of hopes, ambitions, aspirations and dreams but a body that has collected the evidence, not of your intentions, but of your actions. Biological processes are driven and shaped by what we do. In modern parlance this is currently described as cell intelligence or body memory. Cell intelligence, or body memory, describes how the perfect record of what we have done influences the patterns and processes within the body. Those actions in turn unravel our genetic potential. In other words, how your genetic material will play itself out in your life is determined not by what you intended but by what you have done.

 

As awesome as the mind is, to try and pull it in the opposite direction against the evidence that the body has collected, takes Herculean determination. It’s not that it can’t be done but the price that you pay in order to achieve it is often far too great. The task is made unquestionably easier if what you think and say is what you do. This creates a state of co-operation between mind and body. If intention consistently becomes action, the body’s processes and patterns will be like a gale force wind blowing at your back and will push you up any mountain towards your solution. Equally, when intention falls to the wayside and is simply further evidence of a mind that holds high ideals and a mouth that speaks fine words, but nothing is ever actualised, then the gale force wind of the body will continually blow you off course making that mountain climb almost impossible.

 

Once this subtle aspect is understood the opening statement makes perfect sense because the first ‘person’ you actually need to persuade is your body. The reason your mind falters, struggles and more often than not loses its way is because the body does not trust it. The body hears the mind thinking fine thoughts and producing wonderful promises but because nothing materialises the body is left confused. The evidence says that the mind thinks one thing, will even say that thing but doesn’t translate those ambitions into action and this is the only thing the body respects. The body only listens to (records) consequences because it doesn’t have the power to discriminate, it is unable to think, “this time you really mean it”.  The body does not have conscious thoughts, it is driven by experience and until you say what you mean and mean what you say the body will continue to mistrust your intentions, which will bring the spirit to its knees. It’s time to persuade the body that you are telling the truth by making your intentions… actions.

 

 


Also see: Persuading the Body 2