Mind & Body

The mind & the body have a deep connection with each other. The mind can easily control the way the body feels, because the 'feeling' part is carried out in the mind. Here is what I have experienced from time to time:

Last year I started getting these severe back-pains and had to quit the Gym for some time. Then, whenever I began weight training, the pains would re-surface. A lot of doctors proposed a lot of theories. Some doctor said that I may be suffering from 'Fibromyalgia'. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome, wherein, the patient feels wide-spread pain, especially at particular points. Cutting the long story short, I was sure I had it. Otherwise, there is no formal diagnosis available to check.

In a recent car trip, I was a bit skeptical about the amount of driving, because I usually get the pains if I drive for more than a few hours. I drove 13 hours on the first day and there was no pain at all. I didn't even notice it that time. Then at one point in the trip, I was really worried about my car's underside hitting the road (very bad roads). I had just been driving for about an hour or two when I felt the first pain. And then I realized that the pain had little to do with physical stress ... it was all in the mind.

In the advanced course, I asked that girl out. She didn't call me and then when I asked her out again, she postponed it by a couple of weeks. I didn't even realize how anxious I was. I lost my appetite. In the 6 days that followed, I had less than a meal each day. And I didn't even realize that it had anything to do with it. Then, one day, the realization hit me, that I had such a huge crush on her and that I was so anxious about it. Immediately I felt better. My appetite was back and now I am fine (still not ok with the things with her though).

The point here is that the mind has a firm grip of the body. And if your act controls the mind, then it can control your body too. And you'll never even know.

I read some amount of text on Vipassana meditation. They made it sound magical when someone claimed to have treated diseases by meditating. Now I believe it to be possible to a certain extent. Both the mind & body are very powerful. It is just the question of realizing the power and using it.

I read some text by Sri Ramana Maharishi yesterday. I then realized that even though I have been able to push the act to the background, it is far from gone. It is still lurking there. But it is a start! Self realization or enlightenment will follow when it is gone completely. I have just started on this path .. but I'll reach there.