We will need to establish another place to go for direction rather than our own minds. We will require a place that will be deeply honest with us, a place that is steadfast in its reliability – a comforting refuge, if you will. This place that we learn to come back to time and time again for perspective, clarity and wisdom will be our own bodies.
The simple discovery of stopping, taking a seat and shining a light inward to experience the body in its whole totality, not just its surface, opens us up to a new world of innate wisdom with immense possibility. It is awe-inspiring to contemplate that our bodies are literally made up of stardust and other particles found in the universe. Furthermore, each and every one of these particles has been around for millions upon millions of years, each carrying its own unique wisdom. It is here where we can clearly see that our bodies themselves are truly made of wisdom, a wisdom body.
The more we allow ourselves the time and space to tune into our bodies’ innate wisdom and to listen in a way that is open and receptive, we allow a capacity for something fresh, vibrant and new to emerge. This empowers us with a natural freedom to see beyond our normal dualistic ways of thinking, that solidify us in separateness, by ushering us into new, fresh pathways of thinking that cultivate wholeness and oneness. When we wholeheartedly listen to the wisdom body, we slowly come to realize that nothing in this life is actually for us or against us. Thus, we acknowledge a deep intimacy with oneself that flows beyond belief and doubt, operating as naturally as the breath. This permits us to navigate times of great abundance, times of great loss and everything in between with a natural rhythm and grace.
The wisdom body becomes a safe haven and a refuge to come back to time and time again to experience a felt sense of clarity and perspective. I encourage us all to take a leap beyond all fears and drop into the relaxed awareness of your body to see that life is really very good at taking care of itself.
“When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me fly around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard it goes away. But when all goes quiet….I see I am a little piece in a big universe and that makes things right.”
~Hushpuppy from the film “Beast from the Southern Wild”
Teddi Dean teaches all things Mindfulness here at MEA and has been with us from the beginning.