Integration with our selves
“It always comes back to the same necessity: go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.” – May Sarton
One of the most amazing women that I know is Emi Joy. She is one of the people in my life who has constantly encouraged me to be bigger and brighter than I thought I could be. About 6 months ago, she introduced me to a meditation that she created for herself. She calls it the Heart-Mind-Body Meditation.
HEART-MIND-BODY MEDITATION
* Rest comfortably in a quiet place.
* In your mind, picture yourself walking to a quiet place (for me, I climb into a treehouse).
* Enter the quiet place and sit down.
* Invite your heart, mind, and body to come and talk with you.
* Watch as your heart, mind, and body come into your space in whatever shape/form they take. Don’t force a form on them, just let them appear. For instance, the first time that I did this exercise, my heart appeared as a princess, my mind appeared as an old banker hunched over a desk rummaging through papers, and my body appeared as a grossly obese woman.
* Ask your heart, mind, and body how they are doing and if they need anything. In my case, my heart-princess asked for more warmth and gentleness. My banker-mind asked for more focus. My obese-body asked me to unzip the fat suit because it was uncomfortable.
* Reassure your heart, mind, and body that you are there for them and that you will do what’s necessary to take care of them.
* Thank them for expressing themselves to you.
Objectifying my heart, mind, and body has helped me visualize what my needs are. Over time, my heart, mind, and body have appeared in all kinds of forms. I note it down to keep track of how things change for me over time. I have found this meditation to be an effective way of checking in with the various aspects of myself. It helps me to integrate all the different components that are at work within myself. The meditation can take as much or as little time as I want (I usually do this while in Shavasana during yoga – or in the morning after writing my morning pages
Visualization has been shown to be a very powerful tool in many respects.
Visualization, a form of self-hypnosis, is a tool anyone can use to help foster healing. By providing positive pictures (creative imagery) and self-suggestion, visualization can change emotions that subsequently have a physical effect on the body.
Our belief system is based upon the accumulation of verbal and non-verbal suggestions that have been gathered throughout our life experience. Through patterns of repetition and its associated rewards and punishment we learn to create our own perception of reality. In essence, we therefore become what we think. In healing, repetitive use of positive visualization allows access to the mind-body connection.
Sounds simple, but does it work? Can what we think actually have an effect on healing? Bodies do react to the thoughts you make. Our psychological/emotional state affects the endocrine system. For example, the emotion of fear is related to adrenaline. If no feeling of fear exists there is no adrenaline and the same applies in reverse- no adrenaline, no fear. They work in relationship to each other. Wherever a thought goes there is a body chemical reaction.
The hypothalamus, the emotional center of the brain, transforms emotions into physical response. The receptor of neuropeptides, the hypothalamus also controls the bodyís appetite, blood sugar levels, body temperature, adrenal and pituitary glands, heart, lung, digestive and circulatory systems. Neuropeptides, the chemical messenger hormones, carry emotions back and forth between the mind and body. They link perception in the brain to the body via organs, hormones and cellular activity. Neuropeptides influence every major section of the immune system, so the body and mind do work together as one unit. – The Healing Power of the Mind and Visualization by Linda MacKenzie
We spend a lot of time trying to tune things out of our external worlds (car noises, radios, television, people, etc.) and we also tune a lot of things out of our internal worlds. Having conversations with our heart, mind, and body helps tune our internal listening skills, which, as a consequence, helps us to manage our external worlds. When our heart, mind, and body are aligned, we become a powerful force for ourselves.
I am endlessly grateful for my friendship with Emi. I think that the Heart-Mind-Body Meditation is a fun and brilliant way of listening to and aligning with our selves.
Thank you, Emi… for everything.
“The identification with the whole can only come when the individual has lived out the utmost of his aspirations and is at peace with himself.” – Anais Nin
Shine on!
*~Lighthouse~*
It is an honor to know you and witness your path. It has offered me the opportunity to expand my heart ~ Thank you!