“Change how you see and see how you change”

Zen Proverb

I will discuss this from 2 perspectives as they both offer unique insight and guidance on how your “state of Mind” dramatically impacts your physical and emotional health.

From the Perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Thoughts and emotions are normal and healthy and there are no “bad thoughts” or “bad emotions.” Phrased another way there is no more value in being joyful as there is in being sad, they are all a part of the experience of being conscious and simply experiencing any of them does not contribute to any dis-ease.

They can become causes of dis-ease when they are intense, prolonged, or unexperienced (avoided). Recall for just a moment that the brain and body influence and interact with each other and that thoughts and emotions are simply “energy in different forms” in the same way as healthy digestion, a beating heart, or a headache are. In the same way that poor diet and exercise can weaken or damage your physical body overtime, thoughts and emotions can do the same because of the interaction between the physical and mental body.

This concept leads to phrases used in Traditional Chinese Medicine such as “Anger can lead to headaches” or “Grief can lead to fatigue.” Any emotion in excess (as described above) can cause many different types of dis-eases; however certain emotions tend to create more tension in the body in specific areas than do others. For example when you feel angry it is more common to experience tension in the neck and headaches compared to feeling grief which is often experienced more in the chest with a feeling of tension or hollowness.

Finally, recalling from earlier: “The body brain monitors the “outside world” through our 5 senses and our “internal world” through our thoughts and feelings, then activites the body to physically respond.” If your internal and external worlds are not in agreement the brain can fail to give the body the correct signals. Remember the example of whether to signal the body to digest or signal the body to run? This is perhaps the most important missing aspect in the modern person who is so often focused on too many different “aspects of reality” such as TV, thinking, eating, and driving all at once.

From the Perspective of Tantric Yoga:

In this system things are described more eloquently and less analytically. This passage from “The recognition sutras” by Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis sums things up beautifully:

“When something is pleasurable we get anxious it won’t last, and when something is painful we get anxious it won’t go away. This anxiety is an expression of resistance to reality, when any experience is resisted it does not dissolve completely but leaves behind a trace of itself.”

In short; anytime we don’t fully “show up” for the moment happening right now and instead grasp at pleasurable experiences trying to make them last, or turn away or “tune out” of unpleasant experiences in an attempt to avoid them they leave behind impressions of energy in the body which can lead to dis-ease.

Bringing It All Together. Using Your New Understanding to Heal and Thrive:
No matter what perspective we take whether it be “western science,” “Traditional Chinese Medicine,” or “tantric yoga philosophy” integration is key.

The Mind/Brain consists of 3 primary “organs” which need to be in balance. In-fact simply creating this integration and improving communication automatically begins to bring about a state of thriving.

In Chinese Medicine it is said that the “Shen” of the brain (referred to here as the self-aware/conscious brain) is capable of balancing, and harmonizing the Hun and Po (referred to here as the body brain and the thinking/emotional brain) simply by becoming aware of them. To put it more poetically; from the Tantric philosophy “everything seeks the light of awareness.”

We spend so many years grasping after “good” experiences and avoiding “bad” experiences that we lose the ability to accurately judge our reality. This is true whether it is through our external 5 senses, or through our internal thoughts and emotions. Many of us become so over identified with our “Hun” (thinking/emotional brain) or our “Po” (body brain) that we have lost connection with our actual “Shen” (self-aware/conscious brain) which is where all balance and harmony is developed. When we become lost in our internal thoughts and emotions or how we feel/see our body (illness, pain, fatigue etc.) we unintentionally rob ourselves of our greatest power to correct either.

There are many effective techniques to bring about this integration and heal the Mind. Top among these are awareness cultivation and emotional digestion.

Options for awareness cultivation (a term borrowed from Hareesh Wallis) techniques can be found in the following pages further detailing the 3 “organs” of the mind (Body, Thinking, Self-Aware), are available in 1 one 1 sessions via zoom, and are covered in amazing depth and clarity through all the programs available on https://tantrikainstitute.org/. Awareness cultivation is perhaps the single most vital component to the spiritual path of Tantric Yoga and for that reason I respectfully direct you to the institute for access to any deeper teachings.

Options for emotional digestion techniques are more relevant to the health and wellness aspect of the Mind and are much more my specialty. For that reason they are covered in great detail throughout this blog in the relevant “pick my struggle” section, in the emotional digestion section, and is the primary focus of our 1 on 1 sessions via zoom. There are of course also great sources available at Tantrika Institute as well.

Where To Next?

Discover more about each “organ” of the Mind:

Up Last: A special note on Tantric Yoga and disclaimer (optional)

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