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There is a profound wisdom in the body, in the pulsing of the blood, the rhythm of the breath, the turning of the joints. Once we are aware of its subtle power, the body becomes a sensitive antenna for tuning into nature and other people. It can serve as a metaphor for every human thought, emotion, and action. It is the royal road to the unconscious. It is a small, handy model of the universe. All the books, computers, and electronic networks in the world contain only a miniscule fraction of the information it takes to create one human body….It is also a master teacher.
The LIFE WE ARE GIVEN. by George Leonard & Michael Murphy
After the initial discussion of how absent we can become from the body, Master Ken Wilber, in his book NO BOUNDARY talks of the fears that the ego has with what I call re-entry. “Although the ego cannot control the body’s involuntary sensations, it can and does learn to withdraw awareness from the body, to globally deaden and desensitize it. This is what Aurobindo called “vital shock”—the shock and recoil of awareness from the vulnerability and mortality of the flesh, a recoil that numbs the flesh and distorts awareness.”
Further on in page 97 Ken says; “This disruption accompanies, to one degree or another, even the healthy ego. For as long as you are identified exclusively with the ego, then by definition your self does not include or integrate the spontaneous processes of the organism.”
After this brief discussion Ken gives some excellent advice for working with breathing. A sample on page 98 is; ….lying with your arms alongside and legs slightly parted, eyes closed, breathe very deeply but slowly, drawing the inhalation from the throat to the abdomen, eventually filling up your entire midsection. Imagine, if you like, that your entire chest and stomach are lined with a large balloon and that with each inhalation you are totally filling the balloon.” The manifold purpose of this breathing exercise is to become more at home with the body, emotions, and energy at play within us.
In, The Life We Are Given, page 68, another form of breathing practice is given, by George Leonard and Michael Murphy, also while lying down, that has a different emphasis; “Start by taking in a deep breath through your nostrils, with your mouth gently closed, being sure to let your abdomen expand. After you have inhaled fully, part you lips slightly and consciously blow the air out. But do it noiselessly, as if you were blowing a small ball of cotton away from you. Continue blowing the air out consciously until you have fully exhaled. Then gently close your lips and simply wait, fully relaxed, expecting nothing. This is your moment of surrender. The incoming breath will enter your nostrils of its own accord. You need do nothing at all. If you are in a complete state of surrender, the precise moment of inhalation will come as a slight surprise.”
This form is used to develop ones concentration for giving affirmations a solid outcome. I have worked with this form and found it to be interesting and powerful for setting intentions. This is part of the ITP, integral transformative practice, that the book introduces.
A third form, that I have presented in other articles, deals with working to maintain and develop body alignment. The phrase Breath Virtuosity, which I came across in George and Michaels book struck me as a wonderful way of seeing and working with the many forms we may come across on our journey.
We could also say the idea of NO-BLAME, which is a constant idea presented to us in the I Ching, or book of changes, may have application here in the sense that we haven’t had a coherent or integrated expression of body, mind and soul as we do today. For that matter, much of the integration of knowledge that has gone on in the last 30 or more years points out how NO-BLAME, may be useful for us to have in place, instead of putting blame on something in us for not seeing potentials.
An element I find in the theme of many books on body, both old and some new, is an assumption that we already understand everything about the body. This is but a presumption that can hide from us the exciting task of exploration and discovery. When presenting body work and introducing some simple truths about breathing, and developing a friendship with the body, within a short period of time, the vast majority of people brighten as they start to feel both the sense this makes, as well as realize that they can understand and work with their own bodies.
So our evolving knowledge of body is growing and many references to the physical form can be broader and deeper as a result of understanding the ingredients that make up our being in the body. I feel that as knowledge becomes more accurate, useful, and directly applicable there will also be a conscious shift away from ego to natural being.
“Extraordinary life often emerges as a gift rather than as the product of striving, because it is already there.” Michael Murphy
Peace
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