The body speaks. A mind which recognizes no other language than thought cannot but perceive the body as a mute instrument, a capricious vehicle for the intellect’s designs. Such a mind is always seeking escape from the body (and thus, from life) in its own productions. Its escapes are ideas, ambitions, beliefs, and every kind of “-ism” on whose altar we would sacrifice our wholeness.
But the body speaks. It is speaking all the time in the primeval tongue of experience. A tightness in the chest, the tingling of arousal, a headache that won’t go away, the love and silence that follow tears… Each of these is a scripture housed in the ancient library of the body. A library whose doors are always open but low, so that only a humble mind—a mind that has learned to bow—can enter.
Only in humility can the mind discover that what it calls “body” is but a different kind of mind, and what it calls “mind” is a different kind of body.
May the body-mind awaken through each of us,
Simeon
“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Suggested Reading
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
“In The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust.
“He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.”
Order here to support SEEKER TO SEEKER at no extra cost. You can also browse my personal list of favourite books here.
How Buddha Solved Life | His Greatest Teaching
In this piece, we trace how the Buddha’s teaching points beyond ideas and systems toward a direct intimacy with experience, where mind and body are no longer opposed, and understanding becomes embodied.