Thought vs. Awareness

As humans we seem to take "new ideas" to extremes and try to fit everything into a particular box. If we are willing to be wrong then it's likely we will end up admitting that there are things that just don't fit into the neat little systems we've developed. However, no matter how much we want the mind to be in control there is just more to the picture than can be explained or even grasped by the mind. The new age version of this mind-as-all-powerful viewpoint is that our thoughts create our reality. I'm a big proponent of how important thought is in shaping our experience; and I recognize there is something beyond thought, which for lack of a better term I will call the unnameable. Since the mind can't fully conceptualize that force, how else can it be known? I will call that which understands without knowing how it understands--awareness.

I had a client in my office today who is struggling with figuring out what is wrong in his body. He is a proponent of intentional creation, i.e., our thoughts create our reality, and he is an artist. At the beginning of the session I asked him about his art and he described an intuitive process that begins with no intention other than to be present to what wants to unfold. He said he never knows where the process is going to take him.

He has been stressing himself out trying to resolve his physical predicament and has tried a myriad of both traditional and alternative modalities. At this point his frustration level is very high from attempting to figure out what product to try next, or what other treatment method to seek out. I suggested that he approach his body in the same way he does his art—be present, still, available and aware of how the energy is flowing and follow it. I said, “Let your body tell you what it needs.”

At some point the body stops communicating when we haven’t paid attention. It goes into an adaptation mode where it is focused on handling everything for us. The body is wired for vitality, as is all of life, and the system will do everything it can to deal with the stressors that come its way until it is so overloaded it just can’t do it anymore. Unfortunately, we’ve been cut off from a direct communication with the body because we were convinced that what we intuited wasn’t valid and that we required an expert to tell us what was wrong with us and what to do. I think medical practitioners play a wonderful role. I would just like to hear more real dialogue that validates what someone knows about their own body, because this could prevent a lot of things from progressing to a disease state. Similarly, many believe they can’t have a direct relationship with God and that a religious authority is required as an intermediary. Or, we’re told that we are having an irrational emotional reaction when we feel something is wrong with having our food genetically modified and full of toxins. If science determines it is okay then we are supposed to just relax and accept it. I would say that our obsession with the mind and putting it in control, at the expense of awareness, has created havoc on the planet.

Trying to figure out the body is like attempting to understand the mind of God. The millions of interactions happening each moment are more than my mind will ever fully grasp. Still, it is a wonderful use of the mind to make observations and to enjoy learning more each day. I like putting pieces of a puzzle together and being in awe of the bigger picture as it reveals itself. I also enjoy being actively involved in co-creating balance in my body. My part in the process is to be present to what my body is communicating, to respond in a supportive way, and to imagine or vision the outcome I desire.

Thought requires a context in which to create. Awareness arises from emptiness and requires nothing. It just is—a reality not owned or claimed by anyone because it is beyond separate identity. As with my client, we may be at a point collectively where we have exhausted the options presented by the mind and it might benefit us to tune in more to awareness.

A closing note: If each of us are responsible for creating this reality, then I want to know which one of you is in charge of the magnificent color of the sunsets, delicate flowers in the extreme cold and pressure on the ocean floor that humans rarely see, or things like the Polar Bear and Husky interaction that turned out to be play, when the first human interpretation of the exchange was that they were fighting. Whoever you are, you're doing a great job and I'm wondering if you could intentionally clone yourself, since most of us aren’t that good with the little touches :)