THE BODY, MIND, AND EMOTIONS ARE INTERLINKED
Our bodies, minds, and emotions are intrinsically linked together at a deep level.
I first learned this lesson in a unique way. In a previous life, I was deep in the study of theatre and under the guidance of (my now friend) Leonard Kelly. I had been aware of Method Acting for many years. It can be thought of as a way to create a character, including thoughts, worldview and physical characteristics by embodying the emotional nature of that character. Simply put, if you can create the emotional nature of the character, the mind and body will follow.
In Acting III, I believe, Len taught us Laban Movement Analysis, sometimes called Laban Efforts. Again, there is more to this concept that I’m going to use here. Simply put, it is a way of manipulating the body while allowing the thoughts and emotions to follow, in order to create a full character.
(Yes, my theatre friends, there are much more to these concepts – though these simplified and bastardized definitions work for our purposes here. I’m happy to explore in more depth with you when we can have a conversation.)
So in my mid-twenties, I became aware that these systems were interconnected. By affecting (or manipulating) any one, you could impact the other two. By affecting two, you could have a substantial impact on the remaining one. I believe this is why state change is such a powerful tool when dealing with psychological and emotional issues.
After a while, this knowledge slipped into my unconscious and it wasn’t something I was aware of day-to-day. Until this recent episode of extreme pain. When I read Dr. Sarno’s book, Healing Back Pain, I instantly recognized and appreciated the mind/body connection that he described. Since I had already seen the effects for myself, I already believed in it. He was able to put a finer point on it and help me understand exactly what was happening physiologically, which reduced my fear.
There are many lessons that I’ve learned through this bout with pain, many of which I will share, though not in this message.
Right now, I want to help you plant a brain seed, which will flourish when you need it. That brain seed is that the body, mind, and emotions are deeply linked. When something happens to one, it has an impact on the other two. Also, sometimes we feel a symptom in one and the root cause is within another.
P.S. An update for those that have been following this experience of pain. A little over a week ago, I was unable to stand. I nearly puked and cried due to the pain. As I explored the causes, physically, emotionally and psychologically, I found moments when the pain went away. As I began to de-tangle them and address them, those moments began to expand and I had periods of time (minutes and hours) of little pain. As I went deeper, guided both intuitively and by the technique of Digging with Why, I found the confluence of all of these events were amplifying the pain. I found that they were all connected to a root fear. One of my deepest. Perhaps the deepest. As I have continued to explore and address that root fear with care, the pain has dropped substantially. I spent much of yesterday and all of today with very little pain. What is left feels more like the echos of it continuing to ring out. So – thank you for your care. Know that I am well, am continuing to heal and that the lessons of this experience are priceless to me. While I don’t want to go through this again, I know that I am capable of it and that I am gratefully better for it. Big Love.
P.P.S. Not all pain is psychological or emotional in nature. Not all of it is linked to Trauma. From the experiences of myself and others, I do believe that a vast amount of it is. It is worth the effort to treat the root cause rather than just the symptoms.
P.P.P.S. If you are currently experiencing back or sciatic pain, I deeply recommend Dr. Sarno's book, Healing Back Pain, to help you understand what may be occurring. You can also search “Howard Stern Dr. Sarno's” for his testimonial as well.