3 steps to bring harmony between your mind and body

Mind and body are the two gateways through which we experience the world. So if you want richer and more positive experiences in life, you need to understand them better. This post is an exploration of ideas to direct your thoughts towards harmony between your mind and body.

Interpreting mind and body

Mind and body can be thought of as two different forms of the same element. Your body is of purely physical and material nature while the mind is more subtle, which allows thoughts and ideas to move quickly inside of you.

If body is thought of as ice, then the mind can be thought of as a steam. You can hold an ice cube in your hands, but it is impossible to hold the steam. Steam has a tremendous force that can even move the train. On the other hand ice can be stabilized and shaped into beautiful solid forms.

Similarly mind has a nature of a tremendous force of ideas and wisdom. It can think, wonder, imagine the most fantastic ideas in the world, but because of its subtle form it can not materialize them in to this world by itself. It is the duty of your body to take actions as per the desires of your mind.

The mind is ‘wisdom’ and the body is ‘action’. Actions taken without wisdom lead you nowhere. On the other hand wisdom without action is also of little use. Therefore it is very important to bring harmony and make them work together.

The Process of Harmony

It is an astonishing dual nature of your existence, and it is most beautiful when both are in harmony. So here are some helpful ideas to work with the wisdom and action. I have reflected on these three steps to bring this harmony in life.

1.) Information

Information is the first step towards wisdom. All your senses are opening outwards. Every day you are absorbing a lot of information from your surroundings.  

Information is not only reading books. Every sense perception is a piece of information. The sound of birds chirping outside my house, watching the blue sky, the touch of the texture on the wall, the taste of a fruit all are various examples of information.

From the moment you are awake, all your senses start gathering information. That is why it is extremely important to be aware about the present. The more aware you are, the more you can use this information and avoid unnecessary garbage which fills up your mind every day.

Mindfulness is the best practice to become aware of these sense perceptions. After gathering information, we move on to step 2.

2.) Reflection

Information can be interpreted in many different ways. For one person, the sound of birds is a noise, but for a musician it is a beautiful melody!

With mindfulness practice you gathered many beautiful perceptions within you, but how are you going to use them?

The answer is reflection.

Your mind has a beautiful ability of abstracting forms. The meaning of one sense perception can be abstracted and translated into something else! That is the true beauty of the mind.

Reflection is consciously using this ability to process information into something useful. Without reflection, all your information will be just some useless data. Reflection allows you to translate the data into ideas! The more you reflect, the more ideas you can create.

The best way is to spend some time of solitude everyday and process what you learned in the day.

Ask this question: How can I use this information in my work and life?

So once you have formed the idea, you can move on to the most important step 3.

3.) Action

The subtle form has done its work, and now it is the time to materialize.

The ideas you created are the guide for your actions. Your body has to start taking actions immediately on these ideas. But this is where most people fail.

Why?

Because the mind continuous running and interfering even after the work is done! Once you have decided on to doing something, the mind has to stop, and the body must take the wheel, or else there will be endless thoughts leading you nowhere.

“Just as food eaten without appetite is tedious nourishment, so does study without zeal damage the memory by not assimilating what it absorbs.”

– Leonardo Da Vinci

Develop a sense of urgency. Create a habit of doing first and thinking later. This habit will save you many months of your life.

And you will find that step 3 is not the end. Taking an action led you to the most important aspect of this process: Experience!

Experience is the only way that the true learning happens.

“Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience. There is no other way to know.”

Swami Vivekananda

You will find that taking action would lead you back to step 1 with a lot more insights about the topic. You will be able to reflect in a much better way and form better ideas! That is the creative cycle and the most harmonious use of the wisdom of the mind and the actions of the body.

Conclusion

Take some time to reflect on things you have learned. Contemplate deeply on your mind, body and the relationship between them.

Ask yourself:

• How am I using my mind and body right now? Are they in good harmony?
• Do I take quick actions on my ideas or do I get lazy?
• Do I overthink even after the decision has been taken?
• What habits can I develop to find a better rhythm between my mind and body?

Questions are my most favourite words. With this post I decided to add useful questions at the end of every new post that I make.

Thank you. I hope this post adds value to your life. Feel free to add your thoughts in comments, I would love to generate meaningful discussions. 🙂