The Final Cut-UpWe humans may view our bodies as machines. And in a way they are machines, extremely sophisticated physical-chemical mechanisms that allow us to do work and experience the world around us. But machines, however sophisticated, are one thing. Temples and homes are quite another. What do you think of that? What is it that makes a temple a temple and a building just a building? What is it that makes a house a home? Do you have a car that feels like an old friend? If so, what makes it feel that way?
All machines need energy. So we put food into our mouths and fuel the engine so to speak. But does this feed the brain? Certainly our brain needs carbohydrates (sugar) to work. In fact one theory of the alcohol hangover says that lack of sugar for the brain is what causes your head to feel like sh*t after a raucous night on the town. Indeed, the metabolism of sugar and alcohol are intimately interrelated, that's why diabetics are advised to avoid alcohol. In any event, while our brains definitely need sugar for energy, does sugar by itself make us smart? Of course not. But, if you don't get enough exercise, it will make you fat and/or turn you into a Type 2 diabetic (especially if the bulk of your carbohydrates come from simple sugars, as in that great American staple corn syrup). So anyway, where was I? Phone ringing...neighbor visiting...my own tangents of thought...What is it that makes us smarter? We read books. We learn from each other. We watch TV. We go to school. Now, like sugar, do any of these things in and of themselves make us smart. Of course not. What makes us smart depends on content. What do the books that we read say to us? What are we telling each other and are we communicating effectively? What do we watch and TV and what do we get out of that? What do our schools teach us, and how? All these things and more, determine what we feed our brains, our minds.Over the years I've come to see my mind as part of my whole body. Sure, much of my "mentality" is located in those higher cerebral centers. But my nervous system pervades throughout my body. In fact our guts possess an extremely sophisticated plexus of nervous tissue (no coincidence there's such a thing as gut intuition). So when I speak of the mind, I am not referring just to the brain, but the entire body-mind. So what makes the body-mind smart? It depends what we feed it, what we put, or allow, into it. In a word, it's quality input that makes us smart. So what's quality input? I'll leave that one open for discussion as I now switch gears.
Take what I've just said above and now imagine your mind a great repository of information or knowledge. Not necessarily the source of knowledge, but a storehouse or bank of knowledge. What kind of knowledge does it contain? What kind of deposits do you put in your bank? Are they ample deposits? Are they quality goods? (There it goes again, the term quality...subjective territory for sure, but fun, enlightening and necessary to discuss.)What knowledge is in your bank account? Do you know for sure what's in there? Much of it is hidden in very deep wells and buried in hard to reach places? That's the basis of psychoanalysis. To bring this stuff to the surface. To see what's in there. To see what knowledge we want to keep in the bank. And what knowledge is just taking up space, even getting in the way. What may be standing in the way of your access to this self-knowledge? Perhaps lots of worthless paper blinds you from real gems buried in there. Perhaps your own "higher" mind "thinks" it knows better, and then just gets in the way. Maybe the cerebrum is more prone to conditioning than it would like to admit. What may help you access your bank account. A good teller-therapist for sure. That is, if they themselves are not hindered by too much paperwork. Ok, so much for our quick mind bank de/tour. The point is, information-knowledge goes into, and out of, our mind-body. Much of the knowledge taken inside needs to stay, because it helps us survive. Much of the knowledge inside is outdated or flawed to begin with, so it needs to go. body energy
mind energy
ultimately body-mind energy
As with writing, cannabis and the wilds of the outdoors, the practice of yoga has come to be a major form of therapy and exercise for me. And while I understand yoga is about connection, I have little idea what it means to be yogi. But I do know, as with my other practices, it feels good for me, for the whole of me, mind-body-spirit. Not about denying God, or what I prefer to simply call Creation, both a verb and a noun , an action and a thing, but rather seeing that Creation is much bigger than we imagined, that whatever box we place God in, Creation always proves itself bigger,
The Creative Principle-Force-Intelligence is beyond us, yet always, if we keep our eyes open, just enough within our grasp to enjoy and appreciate and integrate our own lives along with it...
To first explore and appreciate Creation is to honor the Divine Mystery, to define it to make sense of it, is understandable for us to communicate, but the purpose of our defining it is to better communicate, when our definitions stand as barriers to communication, definition has lost it purpose, for it has now assumed a precedent which by any logic, common sense or evidence, cannot be right
