Pondering...and Beyond

The thinking mind is not separate from body and soul. Making the "mindbodysoul" connection can enrich our lives, bring us out of stuck or patterned places, and positively affect our overall well-being.

We are always thinking about something. Thinking about what to have for breakfast, what to do with our day, what items on the checklist need to be completed and so much more. the workings of the human mind are vast and intricate and continuously being studied. It is often studied as a separate entity from the body and from the soul. Yet our minds and thinking are connected to our physical and spiritual essence. They are always connected, but the thinking mind is often in control and wants to keep control. This is the ego part of the mind, there to protect us, to be assertive when we need it. Beyond ego, there is the part of us that "knows" not with just our thought processes but also with feeling and intuition, the part that is connected to the larger Universe.

We are capable of sensing many things with our intuition. The thinking (ego) mind likes to step in and say, "Are you sure that's what you know? Let's think about this for a minute, look at it from all sides". Or maybe it says, "No, that's not right, I know better, I have experience to back me up and it's best just to play it safe". Our doubts and fears can get attached to our experiences and keep us from being open to new possibilities. Like, if we have a love affair and get our heart broken. Our, ego thinking mind might say, "Well, we won't do that again!", and we will close off to the potential of a new experience. The heart break might be a learning experience for us, revealing someplace within us that needs to get worked through, so going slowly might make sense, but we want to be able to process it and move forward, not stay stuck in that place. We want to be able to think, too, of course, to make rational decisions and not put ourselves in harmful situations.

So, there is this fine line, a kind of back and forth dance that happens between our ego and our intuition. Sometimes it's an outright struggle between the two, our ego wanting to assert itself, and our intuition wanting to find stillness and be guided. Whenever we have any kind of experience, we are being guided, we're just not always listening to what's being offered. If we incorporate time in our lives to find stillness, to practice quieting the ever-thinking mind, we can move towards connecting with that inner voice, that place where we can listen with our heart and our gut, not just our minds. Once we make those connections, our thoughts can be a wonderful tool that assist us on our journey of understanding and true knowing.

Take some time this week to find some quiet moments for yourself, creating space without interruption to let go of thoughts and just listen to your intuitive voice. Focusing on the breath, let your thoughts just float through, and come back to the breath whenever they start to take a front seat. You can bring your focus to your heart or to your lower abdomen, wherever you can feel connected internally and move towards trusting your inner voice instead of just your thoughts. Even just 2 or 3 minutes each day, can have a profound effect.