The mind wavers from thought to thought, from past to future, always fluctuating, worrying, desiring, looking out for identifications, validations, pleasure and threats. Stillness is gold, peace of mind, detachment, an awesome positive emotion.
I have been learning about myself since I was born but rather intensely since a burnout and panic attack I experienced in 2013. This was followed by a really tough journey across the world and into myself which brought about an awakening and transformation. Since then I have been developing an expanded view of reality as well as a whole new lifestyle in Thailand.
I wrote about Mind-Body-Spirit before but I feel there is more I want to share on the 3 distinct and yet united aspects of the self.
It is great to have a more refined philosophical framework to help make sense of what this is all about. I need a story, an evolving framework and related ethics that my mind likes to treasure and identify with, as a source of meaning. Logic and intellect are so valued in our civilization and I always felt a predisposition for intellectual work, reading, writing and thinking big picture style.
I can now make a well defined cognitive distinction between the body, which I love and still like to identify with, the mind which includes the conscious, psychological realm, and the soul, energetic or spiritual aspect of myself.
Without going into technical and pedantic definitions from different esoteric or religious traditions, I simply imagine the mind in between the body and the spirit, in a sort of hierarchy.
If the body gets hurt, the mind suffers too and so the soul. If the soul is depleted, the mind hurts and in the long run, the body gets sick too. More spirit, more energy or vitality, more health, more life.
All 3 elements are important and need to be taken care of, brought into balance. On a day to day basis, the wavering of the mind is the biggest challenge for me, the mild cravings, stresses and disappointment the mind feels form the majority of negative emotions, the biggest loss of spiritual energy.
A big picture and holistic philosophical perspective, a good solid story of who I am, allows the mind to be a little more at ease. With an overall feeling of direction and alignment to a personal model of the world, well defined values and ethics that form a basic structure, the mind can zoom out from the details of the moment and relax a little, rationalise some sort of detachment and find an eventual solution to the contingency.
Anything happening today is a trifle in comparison to the entirety of my life. Even smaller compared to the mighty whole of the Earth and the billions of people living in it.
I can move the focus away from the mind and into the body through physical activity, this reduces the burden of the mind and creates a rebalancing with endorphins like positive emotions. Sport is a way to harness and freshen useful energy in a mechanical and obvious fashion.
I can also move negative energy away from the mind and sublimate it through the spirit with meditation and other practices of transcendence. Once again, this calms and detaches the mind from whatever energy consuming issue it was fixated with and eventually grows my perception of inner wholeness and positive emotions. A freshened mind always finds innovative solutions.
Other ways of growing the soul include connection with nature, playfulness with animals, making art and reaching states of flow through creativity.
These 3 fundamental parts of myself, united but felt as distinct, contribute to the perception of who I am and form my state of consciousness.
I continuously refine an understanding of my psychological drivers and predispositions through the exploration of patterns and automated reactions to stimuli. At any given time and multiple times through the day, I can focus on the connection with the body or the presence of the spirit and lessen the burden of the mind.
I perceive an hierarchy of importance here, where the mind is generally superior to the body and somewhat leads the wellbeing of the body. The spirit is relatively superior to the mind and so leads the easiness or uneasiness of the mind.
In this context, if I am spiritually wholesome, I feel psychologically relaxed and the body loves it. In a spiritually elated state, I am also prone to take care of the body and mind through balanced nutrition, physical activity, avoiding media and negative narratives, and through the pursuit of meaningful and healthy occupations.
When I have an inner feeling of high energy and positivity, this creates a higher resonance subtly felt by people around me too. I am easier to be around, more successful in keeping harmony and connection with the external world, less prone to injury or ailments, more healthy as a whole.
If my soul hurts, my spiritual energy is depleted, the mind is more prone to suffering and I reach for sugar or unhealthy stimulation, I am more likely to feel annoyed and bicker with my partner, I don’t flow so much externally either.
One of the major differences in consciousness between me today and myself 10 years ago is therefore this strong awareness of the 3 parts of myself and the possession of a set of self-help tools to connect with and rebalance each aspect.
This new sort of awareness also brought me to a lifestyle that is, generally, enhancing inner spiritual peace, conducive for mind wellbeing and supportive of body health. That’s the realisation of mind-body-spirit to me.