Sense & Sensibility

I know what you are thinking correction mind is not here

A better understanding of the mind's location in our body has deep significance when it comes to healing others and ourselves, says Rajiv Vij

While there is a broad awareness of the concept of mind over matter, do we know where the mind is actually located? Our bodies, our thoughts and emotions, truly mirror each other. When our mind is at peace, our bodies look relaxed. If our thoughts and emotions,comprising the mind, are located in the brain, how does our body reflect what we are thinking? There has now been extensive research on the presence of the mind in our entire bodies that suggests that the neuropeptides, molecules of our emotions, are present not just in the brain but everywhere in the body Every cell in our body is capable of feeling and expressing emotion.

Once we recognize that feelings are essentially felt in the entire body, it is easy to appreciate how emotional problems can manifest into physical disease. As Marshall Glickman explains in his book Beyond the Breath, "Neuroscientists have learnt that there is a sophisticated communication network between the various cells throughout the brain and the body Every time we deny or block what we are feeling, we restrict the information flow to an area, resulting in the stressed organs becoming more prone to illness." A number of traditional healing techniques, like Reiki, too have espoused that our thoughts and emotions have a direct impact on the physical state of our body.

Reikr practitioners advocate that at the time of birth, our bodies are conducive to freer flow of the life-supporting, universal energy through them. However, as we grow up and experience negative emotions, they impact the natural energy flow. Repressed emotions then create corresponding blocks that interfere with the body's synchronized functioning. For example, Reiki masters believe that rigidity in our outlook makes the body stiff and may cause joint pains, and so forth.

Now, all life forms have their own intelligence, akin to this universal life energy flowing through our body This intelligence forms the basis of functioning of all aspects of our body We don't govern our body, the intelligence does. Healing ourselves requires us to be better aligned to our inner intelligence, to create a smoother flow of the universal life energy

Rajiv Vij is a Life and Executive Coach