Mind & Body in Sync

Dr. Rajesh Bhola
India
Sep 14, 2013


Due to my close interaction on a daily basis with Cerebral Palsy-afflicted persons, I have realized that even for a physically normal human being it is important to have an effective synchronization between the mind and body. Traditionally we describe a person afflicted with Cerebral Palsy as a person with ‘an intelligent mind caught in a disobedient body’; the body does not obey the commands given by the mind. Contrarily, in a normal human being, the body may work normally but the mind, which is giving the commands, may work in a perverted manner. Synchronizing the mind and body is helpful as a technique for self-improvement. The body is like a camera, and the mind is like the film inside the camera. The idea is how to best use them together. When the aperture and the shutter speed of the camera are properly set, in relation to the speed of the film, we can take good, accurate photographs - because we have synchronized the camera and the film. Similarly, when the mind and body are properly synchronized, we can have a clear perception – and not have any doubt or anxiety

The mind is the central command post for each activity in the body; a healthy mind denotes a better functioning body and overall positive bodily responses. Our everyday experiences tell us that it is not easy to keep both the mind and body in sync. We are in the habit of getting distracted. Our mind, every now and then, departs from the here and now; when we are talking to somebody, our mind is often somewhere else. It generally requires effort and concentration to keep the mind and body well synchronized. If we are not able to keep the mind and body well-tuned, we are not able to focus well on the present moment, and things start falling apart; as a result frustration, and even a feeling of defeat, strikes us. When our attention has separated from our body and/or our environment – by, say, being absorbed by fear, wild hope or fantasy - we become vulnerable. We then fail to notice or respond to our immediate situation with any accuracy or effectiveness, and so our troubles begin to mount. This may also be attributed to an intra-psychic conflict; the idea that it is ‘all in our heads’, leads to confusion and a lack of clarity on what to do and how to respond. At any given moment many of us are stuck in our heads, disconnected from our bodies, living a step removed from our immediate situation. Often it also involves some kind of revenge - or whiplash – from the unconscious mind. Because unconscious material has not been integrated into our personality, it wrecks havoc in the form of some negative symptoms. At times this is due to a failure in our psychological development or a lack of personal motivation and responsibility coming from our mind. Many fantasies and emotions assail us every moment: some are violent, some lustful, some terrifying and some tempting. We are all afflicted by the same mental perversions whenever we stop censoring ourselves. Not only do we experience all these emotions, thoughts and fantasies flooding into our minds and bodies, we also realize how they arise and experience how insubstantial and impermanent they are. 

It is illuminating to see how the mind works, how the body gets impelled into behaviour by the mind, how a person thus builds an unauthentic identity of himself and how the continuing defence of this identity enslaves and hurts us. Basically the body is the source of all our suffering, and so the body must be overcome. In the traditional Indian and Eastern spiritual systems, overcoming the body is attempted through asceticism or penance. This means going against what the body seems to want; of asserting the mind over matter. One of my colleagues married a boy from Rajasthan. Before her marriage she was hardly ‘religious’; after her marriage she seems to be on a fast every second day. However, modern nutritionists tell us that happiness is not going to be achieved by torturing the body - any more than by indulging it. 

Meditation helps in the synchronization of the mind with the body; it is a method for synchronizing the body and mind in the present moment. When the body and mind are in sync, we are naturally relaxed, alert, open and aware, and experience the world and ourselves in a direct, unmediated way - without conceptual filters. Let us enjoy every moment of our lives here and now, with the body falling in line with the mind. We should be able to feel the tenderness of the new-born leaves on a tree, savour the sweet smell of a Champa flower and experience the quality moments of the very early hours of the day. In metaphysical terms, such experiences never existed in the past and nor may they exist in the future - they exist only in the here and now. It is this direct experience of the fullness, vitality and splendour of life that is the gift of meditation. When the soul is peaceful and the mind is clear, the body is healthy.

Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities for more  than 20 years

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