Body, Mind, & Soul: Part 2
We are body, mind, & soul. None are more important than the other. None are of lesser value.
All are equal. All are good.
In preparing for this post, I kept running in my mind what I should say, what to write about, & if I should actually start saying “Body, Mind, Soul, & Emotions” or if I should include emotions in with the mind & just stick with “Body, Mind, & Soul”. I would run all of these over & over again in my mind. “I don’t know! I can’t make up my mind!” was my motto as a child…& let’s be real, it still can be my motto today as exemplified in this scenario. I kept looping around what I should write today, getting stressed & worrying over if I will say it all correctly or not. I started feeling anxious & a little sad. I started having some slight tightness in my chest. I tried going outside for some fresh air, but my loop kept going. And then….I took a step back. I giggled at myself over here wanting to write about the mind / body / soul connection with a focus on the mind, & here I was stuck in my mind, letting myself loop.
Have you ever experienced a situation like that? It’s times like these you really start to see the connection between body / mind / soul. It’s not so easy to separate out where the brain ends & the body begins. It’s not so easy to separate out where the body ends & emotions begin & so forth. It is so intertwined.
We are a messy, complicated, intricate, beautiful piece of art.
But, let’s try to separate them out today just for the purpose of focus. Let’s focus in on the mind.
Our mind is responsible for so much of our lives. It’s how we think, how we talk, how we create. Without our mind, we would not be here. Literally. So much good happens in our mind. But if we do not approach it with care, it can also cause a lot of harm. We can let our minds wander & we begin to question ourselves, create story, & a negative narrative.
There are so many tools out there to help us with this. Meditation, silence, journaling, & sharing with sisters (shameless plug for Women’s Circles: https://www.womxninthepines.com/events ) are all wonderful examples of that. But, really, at the root of all of these practices is mindfulness.
Mindfulness is simply, “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique”, according to the Oxford dictionary.
And, seriously, it is therapeutic. Taking a step back & seeing it as it is & not as the story we are wrapping ourselves up in is so healing. It centers us, grounds us into the now, & connects us back to ourselves. A great method to do this is called the RAIN Method. Here it is:
Step 1: Recognize
Recognize the thoughts or emotions you are having. Become aware & see them.
Step 2: Accept
Look at these thoughts or emotions without judgement. Accept that they are here & allow them to be. Take as long as you need.
Step 3: Investigate
Ask yourself questions with care & curiosity. Discover more about the situation & dig deeper. What brought these thoughts or feelings up? What stories am I believing around this? Etc. Finally, ask what it is you could use at this moment to feel cared for from yourself.
Step 4: Non-Identify
This is the result from the first three steps. You can now separate yourself from the thoughts or emotions & rest in self-love, nurturing your needs.
That’s it! If you haven’t tried practicing mindfulness, I would encourage you to give it a try! It’s a helpful tool that you can use as a pointed meditation to focus in on as you begin your day, or as a process you hold onto as you go throughout your day as thoughts or emotions arise in your mind. The steps are here as a guide. Be easy on yourself & approach RAIN with care & love for yourself & you will do just fine!
You can also walk through this process on paper as a great way to stay focused! If you’d like some journals to inspire you to get started, check out my hand-bound journal set here: https://www.womxninthepines.com/shop-in-the-pines/hand-bound-journals-set-of-3
Have you tried this method before? Which step sounds more difficult to you? Whichever it is, I believe in you. I know good will come out of implementing this. Keep up the work, Sis. You got this!
