In the Body

Our body is our instrument for living in this physical world and is also our temple for our spiritual work. We need it on both counts. To say that we live in our body seems utterly trite, but that reality has many layers to it, some not at all obvious. How much of the time are we actually in our body? Where do our impulses come from? What do our perceptions perceive? Do we have latent perceptual abilities that we need to develop? What do we concern ourselves about? What or who do we believe we are? When I think of myself, what am I referring to?

Perhaps all of us, at least at some stages and at some times, believe we are our body. It's a precarious and shallow existence. If we are only our body, then its needs and appetites outweigh and even preclude other considerations. If we are only our body, we tend to lack sensitivity to other people and their needs. If we are only our body, we have no sense of spiritual possibilities.

Yet handled well, in light of our spiritual obligations, living in our body can move us toward a deep and timeless inner life, while fostering the natural joy of being in this body. Handling it well includes giving our body the care it needs, while not mistaking it for who we are.

Our body is not only a remarkable instrument, our instrument, but also our trainer, with its non-negotiable demands for care and feeding. Along with that are the demands of living in this material world and the obligations that imposes on us toward our family, our society, and Mother Earth. Fulfilling these never-ending obligations sharpens our attention and our ability to notice. It enhances our being through the development of grit, patience, and persistence. And it chips away at our egoism, by requiring us to do things we might prefer not to do. Fulfilling our physical duties provides an arena to develop skills and talents, to sharpen our attention and ability to notice what is needed, to be creative in how we approach our duties, to be responsible, reliable, and trustworthy, setting the stage for deeper spiritual practice.

Our physical duties call us to not identify so that we can play our many roles freely and thereby be able to enjoy this life, its obligations, and its opportunities. To wash the dishes or engage in some other routine or unexpected chore, without the inner grumbling about it, without wishing it was over, without wishing we were doing something else, while bringing the appropriate quality to the task, reveals our self-centeredness and chips away at it. This builds equanimity and freedom, setting the stage for deeper spiritual practice.

Our body gives us a place to practice presence. This constant companion can remind us of the ever-present opportunity for that fundamental inner work of body presence. Our body teaches us how to relax deeply to release ourselves inwardly to explore the spiritual depths and transform energies.

Sensing our body, rituals of worship, and sacred dance are all gifts of our body, alongside the ability to see, hear, touch, and the rest. We may rightly understand that we are not our body. Yet we are truly blessed to have these remarkable bodies, whose complexity and refinement far surpass our understanding. Our body is where we live much of the time, though as our spiritual practice continues and we develop our soul, we create another body, an inner body, to live in. To come toward that point, we need to make optimal use of this physical body. And one prime aspect of that is to actually live in our physical body, to sense it, to be present in it, to honor it.

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