One of my favorite quotes is, “We are not humans having a spiritual experience; we are spirits having a human experience.” From this view, we are just visitors on Planet Earth, here to learn life lessons so that we may progress as spirits. In order to survive in this earthly environment, we’ve each borrowed a “spacesuit” that we call a body.
Most of the time, our spacesuits function extremely well, often without us even realizing or appreciating its highly advanced technology. Even just staying balanced upright, something we take completely for granted as a two-legged species, requires our brains to simultaneously synchronize information from our vision, sensory nerves, skin pressure, and inner ear. (Most of us have trouble doing even two things at once, like walking and eating.) It’s often only when our bodies break down and get sick or feel pain that we begin to take notice.
The other day, I was on my way back from the computer store after repairing my laptop. One minute, I was strolling toward the second story of the parking garage; the next, I was hurtling through space toward an iron banister and a set of cement stairs. As I was falling, my only thought was, “Save the laptop!” I twisted and contorted my body to ensure the computer stayed up in the air and wouldn’t get damaged. Interesting that I was more concerned about preventing a $1500 laptop from crashing into the stairs than I was about smashing my own body into the metal and concrete.
Unfortunately, I think that’s typical. Many of us frequently abuse our bodies, pushing them too hard during work and play, pumping ourselves full of caffeine, drugging ourselves up when we’re sick and should be resting, and overriding our body’s warning signals time and again, including pain, exhaustion, hunger, and nausea. Often, we get into the disconnected mentality of “it’s me against my body,” even getting angry at our bodies for not working properly. Other times, we go the other way and over-identify with our bodies, forgetting that “we are not our spacesuits.” For me, the truth lies somewhere in–between. Although we are not ultimately our bodies, for as long as we “inhabit” them, our bodies are a holistic part of us, along with our minds, emotions, and spirits.
I’ve been blessed with an incredibly healthy, high-energy body, so for a long time, whenever it broke down, I would feel betrayed and disappointed. “How can you get sick today?” I would complain, “I have a huge presentation coming up!” “What, you’re giving me a zit on my chin right now? I have a date with that really hot guy in two hours!” I used to joke that my body would act up as a way to get back at me for taking it for granted.
Eventually, I realized that when my body goes on the blink, it’s often trying to tell me something. Instead of ignoring it or feeling that my body is “letting me down,” I’ve learned to listen and pay close attention to its signals. First and foremost, I address the physical symptoms. I use a combination of Western and Eastern healing approaches, depending on what my body says it needs. Next, I close my eyes and ask whether the ailments are just physical or whether there is an emotional or spiritual message I need to hear. Sometimes, it’s just physical, like menstrual cramps. Other times, there’s a deeper message. For example, whenever my spine and hips twist out of alignment, my whole body gets out of balance, causing a chain reaction of pain into my lower back, shoulder, and neck. Each time this happens, it’s almost always a signal that I’m out of balance in my life in general, which tends to cause an emotional ripple effect. Similarly, after I dropped a stereo speaker on my foot a few years ago, crushing my big toe and landing myself on crutches for three months, I realized that I not only needed to slow down my movement, but to change my busy, stressful lifestyle overall.
So be nice to your spacesuit, even when it hurts. It’s the only one you have in this lifetime. When it seeks your attention, listen closely to any underlying messages. And remember: it’s on your side. Most importantly, You are inside.
© 2010 by Laurie Gardner
