“The mind is complex, the body is simple”

Relaxing the mind by relaxing the body

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Months ago I have asked for help to a Zen teacher.
So that I could interpret my confusion.

An immense amount of frustration was surfacing.
And anger was piling up.

Anger journaling

He let me talk.
And replied with a simple question:

“Can you feel this anger in your body?”

“Yes”, I said. “I can feel it in my chest”.

“Well, then be with it”.

Stay with that feeling.
Without trying to push it away.
Without trying to understand it.

“Remember”, he said:

“The mind is complex, the body is simple”

“Why obsess over the complexities of the mind, when we can simply listen to the body?”

What he meant was that:

1. The body and the mind are connected

2. While the mind is difficult to understand, the body is easy to interpret

3. We can attend to the mind by attending to the body

Sense making is not needed.
Understanding is not needed.

What is needed is unconditional attention to the body.
And what needs to be known will surface when the time is right.

That’s why activities like yoga are so powerful.
That’s why somatic coaching is so effective.
As well as simple awareness of body sensations.

Since they bypass the complexity of the mind.
To connect us with our deeper wisdom.

How to integrate charged emotions

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Next time you feel overwhelmed by unpleasant emotions, try a little experiment.
Drop sense making and simply stay with what is there in the body.

Close your eyes for 5-10 minutes.
And accept what comes.
Trusting that insights will emerge when the time is right.

Have a heart-felt journey,
— Livio

22/03/23

P.s.: if you like my writing, feel free to click the ❤️ or 🔄 button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏