Hello, Friends and Happy Truth Thursday!
Thank you to everyone who responded to me with their desires. I know I promised last week that today I will talk a bit more on that topic, but I have decided that I want to spend a bit more time creating something that is both practical and meaningful for us to use moving forward. So I will be releasing that as a separate series of posts. This week, I am talking about something completely different. I do hope that it has a positive effect on the way in which we view our bodies and indeed our whole selves.
I have always associated the body with being a house of shame, a place of guilt and irreverent indiscipline. I have looked at my body and associated it with the figurative meaning of "flesh", not knowing that "flesh", in the way that it is used, is intended not as a word that condemns the physical body as a house of sin, but a word that simply refers to disobedience, disconnection and distance.
The body, on the other hand, is a Divine Temple that houses me in my entirety and gives me the ability to express myself as the human being that God created me to be.
Flesh is that which says yes when the body says no. Flesh is that which intentionally inhales smoke even when the body cries out for fresh air. Flesh is that which consumes copious amounts of alcohol, even as the body thirsts for life-giving water. Flesh is that which eats masses of junk, chemically produced and processed foods, even as the body cries out for whole, nutritious and balanced produce. Flesh is that which mindlessly satisfies its sexual urges with external stimuli with no thought to the body's actual response, even as the body calls for a respectful and present mind that will honour it and produce the energy that is created when a presence of mind, purpose and intention meet.
Flesh is the signal that we are not listening to our bodies and are consequently cut off and shut out from the Temple that it is.
There is nothing dirty about the body, yet it is the body we blame in the face of temptation, instead of blaming the culprit- a disconnection and disobedience i.e. flesh. The body, in its natural state, craves all things good- things that build it up and nourish and quench and produce. The body is a temple that houses the Divine- the Holy Divine Within. So how can it be anything but Holy? It is important that we rethink the body's place in our minds.
The body is part of the Divine, though temporary. It is as holy as your spirit and soul, in the same way that your mind is holy and should be kept so.
The body is the temple of God. The mind is its altar. This is why both must be kept clean and free from impurities. An impurity is anything that dirties the body or pollutes the mind. An impurity is the consequence of the act of mindless disobedience. A mind and body that are at one with God will be pure. Disobedience causes pollution and creates distance. Obedience cleans it up and closes the gap. However, how can you be obedient if you cannot sense or see or hear that which you must obey? This is why meditation is important. Mindfulness and the presence of mind are important. Listening in silence is important. All these are important so that you can be well guided. It is not about listening to anything or anyone outside yourself.
Though guidance comes in different forms and through different people, ultimately, you must be able to access the voice of the Holy Divine Within. This requires a patient search but results in tremendous wisdom.
Thus, it is important to build trust within yourself. It is not possible to obey if there is no trust. It is not possible to connect when there is no trust. It is not possible to be intimate when there is no trust. Part of treating your body as the temple that it is is learning to trust it and realise the power that it holds in getting you successfully through your earthly life. In order to trust your body, you need to understand it. You need to know it. You need to listen to it. Listening and responding creates a feedback loop that directs you to the right path. Look at the simple example of eating. We all, when we take the time to notice, feel bad (emotionally and physically) when we eat certain foods. Yet we repeatedly ignore these cues from our bodies and continue to consume said foods. We all, when we get off the chairs and couches, experience the pleasure of the rush of endorphins after a great workout, yet we continue to sit on our couches and office chairs day in, day out. I could go on and on, but the point is our bodies are speaking to us all the time, yet we consistently ignore and then blame when we feel bad.
Body, Mind, Soul and Spirit are all connected and at their highest levels of performance, are working together towards the common goal of a successful life. So to see your body as less than, is to see your mind as less than and to see your soul as less than and your spirit as less than. No part of you is less than. Be fully present to own that.
Focus on that which builds and nourishes and grows and empowers.