Inhabiting The Body

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Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
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Habitar el cuerpo

--por Judith Blackstone

Vivir dentro del cuerpo es estar en contacto con el espacio interno del cuerpo. Habitar nuestras manos, por ejemplo, significa que estamos en contacto con todo el espacio interno de nuestras manos. Estar en contacto con todas las partes de nuestro cuerpo produce una experiencia de totalidad interna, una base unificada del ser.


Este contacto es la conciencia. Cuando habitamos nuestro cuerpo, sentimos que nuestra conciencia está en todas partes de nuestro cuerpo. Esta es una experiencia tangible. Sentimos que estamos hechos de conciencia. Este es un cambio de conocernos a nosotros mismos de manera abstracta, de tener una idea sobre quiénes somos que puede cambiar en diferentes circunstancias, a encarnar una base de conciencia inmutable y no conceptual. Como encarnación de la conciencia unitiva, conocemos nuestra identidad básica de manera experiencial, en lugar de conceptual.


El contacto interno con nuestro propio cuerpo es al mismo tiempo un contacto interno con nuestras capacidades humanas. Por ejemplo, el contacto interno con el espacio interno del cuello es el contacto con la propia voz, con el propio potencial de hablar. Si constreñimos el cuello y limitamos nuestra capacidad de vivir dentro de él, limitamos el uso de la voz. El contacto interno con el espacio interno del pecho es el contacto con la propia capacidad de respuesta emocional. Cuando constreñimos y limitamos la encarnación de nuestro pecho, también limitamos la profundidad y fluidez de nuestra respuesta emocional. Por esta razón, habitar el cuerpo es crucial para recuperarnos de heridas psicológicas tempranas, ya que son estas capacidades innatas de nuestro ser las que constreñimos en reacción a acontecimientos abrumadoramente dolorosos o confusos en nuestras vidas.


No podemos suprimir ni nuestra percepción del mundo que nos rodea ni nuestras propias respuestas a él, excepto si reprimimos nuestro propio cuerpo. Por ejemplo, no podemos evitar llorar, excepto si tensamos los músculos del pecho, el cuello y alrededor de los ojos. No podemos dejar de escuchar el sonido de nuestros padres peleando, excepto si tensamos la anatomía de nuestra audición. Por esta razón, no podemos recuperarnos a nosotr@s mism@s, la profundidad de nuestra capacidad de respuesta emocional, por ejemplo, o la agudeza de nuestros sentidos, sin liberarnos de estas constricciones corporales.


Estas configuraciones somáticas rígidas obstruyen nuestra capacidad de habitar el espacio interno del cuerpo. Por lo tanto, disminuyen nuestra experiencia de contacto con nosotr@s mism@s y con l@s demás, y limitan tanto nuestra coherencia interna como nuestra capacidad de intimidad. En el Proceso de Realización, el proceso de acceder y finalmente habitar el espacio interno de nuestro cuerpo facilita nuestra capacidad de discernir y liberar estas constricciones y recuperar la libertad y la profundidad de nuestras capacidades innatas.


Como antídoto a la negación de nuestra realidad que a menudo es un aspecto del trauma infantil, el libre flujo de nuestra experiencia a través del terreno inmutable de nuestro ser puede ayudarnos a saber lo que realmente sentimos, realmente percibimos, realmente sabemos.


Como encarnación de la conciencia unitiva, no experimentamos distinción entre nuestro cuerpo y nuestro ser. Experimentamos que somos el espacio interno de nuestro cuerpo. La conciencia unitiva se experimenta como quietud. Pero no es vacío; No es algo hueco. Se siente como nuestra propia presencia. Se siente como el contacto más profundo y directo que podemos tener con nuestro propio ser.



Preguntas semilla para la reflexión: ¿Qué significa para ti habitar el cuerpo? ¿Puedes compartir una historia personal de una ocasión en la que pudiste ver la conexión entre tu percepción y tu proceso fisiológico? ¿Qué te ayuda a mantener el contacto interno con tus capacidades humanas?
Seed Questions for Reflection

What does inhabiting the body mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to see the connection between your perception and your physiological process? What helps you maintain inward contact with your human capacities?

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10 Past Reflections
SS
Stephen St.Michel
Sep 3, 2024
Dear Judith, I tend to not subscribe, or agree with, belief systems that glorify or make the body real. YOU, are a Spiritual Being Created By God OF God. 
EH
Sep 3, 2024
My experience is consistent with how it was explained to me: "Unitive Consciousness" is a natural consequence of a lifestyle of daily contact with the Transcendental Field of Pure Consciousness. Emphasize the daily experience of self-transcendence and any number of uplifted experiences come naturally and automatically. The world is not plunged into suffering for lack of flowery words about our experiences, but for lack of daily self-transcendence. self-transcendence is union with the Self... ALL else follows. Jai Guru Dev...
GA
Sep 3, 2024
I am a Reiki master teacher. Once I real-ized my body is energy and everything is energy and intelligence, my world changed.
ST
Sep 2, 2024
Hmmmmm? Inhabiting my body implies a sense of separation. It would be like the Me that I identify with is living in a housing unit called my body. At this moment, I noticed my breathing. My hand resting on my belly rose higher and then lower as something breezy passed in and out of my mouth. I felt temperature and moisture changes on my lips, tongue, and throat. I heard a sucking and a whooshing. i noticed my pulse, a heart rhythm. i became aware of energizing of increase pleasure on my skin, in my fingers, my toes, my contact with the bed that is supporting me and the weight of my laptop on my ribs as they expand and contract. my middle finger on the letters of this alphabet creating these words that are appearing to my eyes and brain from this screen.
attention.
DD
Sep 1, 2024
For me, Blackstone's references to inhabiting the body imply separation between me and my body, and I have difficulty with that. I believe unitive consciousness embodies and there is no separation between being and body. The time is now that I see oneness, more than connection, between my perception and my physiological process. I think, similarly, that there is no separation between tree and what tree is made of, or tree perception and its physiological process. What helps me maintain inward contact is a sensation or some experience in my inner space catching my attention and my going with it. Belief in inner space and unitive consciousness help me to allow or embrace some amount of unitive consciousness at times. It helps me to sometimes get a little bit outside thinking and language which separate.
JP
Aug 31, 2024
Who am I ? Am I fully present with my body, with my breath, with my emotion? With my thought? With my being? All these parts of myslelf are inter- connected. This is an experience of unitive conscousness. In that state I feel one with myself, with nature, and with human beings. In such a state of consciousness, all man- made differences fade away and I feel oneness.
When I do Yoga and Meditation I feel oneness with myself and with others. We are capable of having such experiences. Practicing nonjudgemental midfulness helps me create and sustain the flow of unitive consciousness. It helps me to be connected with myself and with others in my life. It is a blessing.
Namaste.
Jagdish P Dave
VI
Aug 31, 2024
Thank you Judith for this article. When I am 'in' my body, I feel present, grounded and sensitive to who and what is around me. I feel alive and safe. When I'm not, I feel disconnected and unsettled. Something is off and I am not able to receive and/or discern as clearly.
The first time that I remember truly being in my body was when I took a yoga class many, many years ago.... When, at the end of the class, we laid down on our mats for shavasana, I, remember ...... I had never ever felt my body so relaxed, so alive and so aware all at the same time. It seemed as if every part of my body...finger, toes, knees, neck...all of me, was quietly and subtling saying, ' here'.....and I felt I had come home.
SH
Aug 31, 2024
Thank you for opening this conversation. Following it requires trust like most things in life. In my experience, mind must penetrate all crevices blocked by trauma …..to share a recent experience of realization of this conscious awareness of body in mind. As I try to strengthen my muscles so I can get up from floor without using my hands — I have realized over the past few years my girdle area snd upper thighs have slipped from my conscious awareness and this has reinforced the weakening of my core. It happens gradually and may be response to some other trauma in life and without knowing it we have cut of flow of pranic energy into certain regions. I am relearning and am grateful to the incredible resilience and fogiveness the body has. May we all heal ourselves!🙏❤️
MN
Aug 31, 2024
Very interesting contemplation and connections with how we are inside and how does it affect us in showing up in the world! Thank you.