From the journal—Working with the body is the foundation for creating an open channel to expose deep, meaningful truths in ourselves. Using and expanding those truths in journaling and also in ordinary, daily life helps bring balance and peace to the whole self through connection and understanding. In a world where the intellect is considered to be the premier driving force in experiencing and interpreting life, so much is left unearthed without a connection to the body’s innate wisdom and unwavering honesty. The body contains the raw material of the self responding to all of the thoughts, beliefs, imagery, and everything else we’ve exposed it to, intentionally or by default. Beyond the mundane relationship of need and response, it is also a portal to our past, our truth, and even our higher self or soul. 

In the following few pages, you can learn and practice disengaging the mind and resting within—alert and curious, observing the inner landscape. You will practice cultivating a nurturing environment that gives caring attention to silenced stories that may contain clues to current struggles. You will practice patience and empathy for the loud voices of pain and tension you may rather avoid, but that won’t go away. You will be guided in inviting feelings and parts of the self that may have been disowned or have gone into hiding to share their perspectives on why we do what we do, and what we’d rather do instead. The truth is, it’s impossible to truly disown yourself. You ARE this body. This body has carried you through all the moments, good or bad (as you perceived by you), of your life. It’s your constant companion, closest friend, and strongest ally, waiting for you to create harmony within the whole self by learning how to both feel and witness the messages in your body.

The body is a neutral receiver of input. A miraculous organism directed by an infinite mind. In the search for purpose, meaning, and relief from struggle, the body can point the way toward change, offering surprising information that the mind often rejects if it is not in alignment with its chosen narrative. The communication breakdown between the mind and body comes from trauma, judgments of the self or other, stories of superiority or inferiority, subtle abuses or overt, and all the pain and programming of modern human life that leaves most of us in a contracted, sometimes unreachable state, where fears paralyzes us at its extreme—or leaves us out of touch with what we genuinely care about, at the least. 

How can we learn what the body has to teach us? The body’s language is subtle. It doesn’t compete with the voice of ego or personality and it takes effort and discipline to drop below the endless theater of the ego. To be clear, the ego is simply the cummulative narration of what you THINK you know. When in balance, it’s simply your changeable personality and the self that navigates the outer world. If unbalanced, it is our personality interpreting life through a lens of drama and victimization. Without intuition and access to feelings, it operates from a place of survival and tension rather than the trust and resilience stored within our true knowing. The inner truth held in the body is timeless and unaffected by the material world. Everyone has a channel to this internal wisdom and ultimate personal truth.