Mind Body Connection – Thinking, Feeling, and Becoming

This is Part III of a six-part series on the topic of Mind Body Connection.

The mind body connection can often times be compared with the famous saying, “You are what you eat.” In this case, you are what you most think about.

If you think happy and healthy, you will be that and conversely, if you think miserable and ill, you will be that as well.

You truly are a by-product of your mind.

The best way to describe the mind is like the central processing unit (CPU) or intelligence in the mind body connection. And it would only seem to stand that if the mind is the intelligence that runs the system, then the body would be the hardware, the unit that can be seen in action.

And what would the software be in this analogy?

Simply, your thoughts and feelings that make the system function. It should be noted that the feelings can never exist without the thoughts which generate them. Thoughts always come before feelings!

Now for those of you who are not too computer savvy, let’s use a less complex analogy and let’s use a DVD player and television to see the mind body connection in terms of technology. By the way, is it any wonder our minds and bodies are like technology? For your information, it is our minds and bodies which continue to create and re-create technology.

Having said that now onto the DVD player and television....

Imagine if you will that something can only be watched on the television if it is from the DVD player. The mind body connection within the context of this scenario has it where an individual can watch a movie or program if it is played from the DVD player. So without the DVD player on, and projecting a movie, the TV is rendered helpless. It’s blank!

Now imagine the mind is the DVD player and the DVDs are the thoughts it projects. If the mind isn’t thinking anything, then there are no feelings and the body is stationary as there are no commands placed on it. Hence, it’s like looking at your TV and DVD player when they are turned off.

Now…

Imagine you have a selection of DVDs and you decide to kick the “mind body connection” into action in terms of watching a movie.

The process is ready to roll. You have the movie ready to play, pop corn and soft drink in hand, and you are reclined in your most comfy and favorite chair. You sit back and relax and let the movie begin. Fifteen minutes into the movie, you realize it’s boring and just plain terrible.

You have other DVDs waiting in the wings. What do you do? This is where your options start, much the same way they would in the real world mind body connection.

Now, let’s weigh the options.

The harshest, most destructive option would be to reach for the nearest baseball bat and smash the DVD player and television. Obviously, this is a little drastic, if not insane! By the way, what did the television ever do wrong? It only played the movie the DVD player offered it. Therefore, if you didn’t like the movie the DVD player was showing, then don’t take it out on the television!

Furthermore, who was the one who chose the movie to play in the DVD player in the first place? Hmm, that would be you! So in essence, it’s not the DVD player which is at fault in this mind body connection technological conundrum.

This would lead us to the second possibility for resolving this technical mind body connection.

This would entail sitting there and watching the movie no matter how bad it sucked and bored you to tears. Instead of doing anything about it, you choose instead to sit and gripe about how bad the movie is. This in light of the fact you have other movies, perhaps more exciting ones waiting in the wings. You have possibilities which you are choosing to ignore. Why?

Perhaps you feel obligated to watch the movie in its entirety because you paid for it and want to get your money’s worth.

Maybe you are just too lazy to get up and change the DVD. This would involve change which means investing some energy into the process. Also, there is the possibility this is the way things have always been. You might have learned it from your parents and reinforced it to yourself—sit there and take it as things are and keep it at status quo.

The third and final option would be to change the mind body connection of the DVD player and television.

This option is based on the recognition for rational change—doing what is best and most productive. In this case, it would mean getting off your duff and moseying over to the DVD player and putting in another DVD. You might have to do this several times until you play a movie you really enjoy, one that puts you in a good place.

You become an actor in your world… you master the situation!

Still looking at the mind body connection in terms of the DVD player and television, you can see you have a continuum of options from destructive to productive.

Destroying the equipment for doing what you don’t want it to do does not resolve the problem, rather makes things exceedingly worse! Conversely, getting up and changing the DVD and watching a new movie is a positive approach which seeks a constructive resolution.

And then in the middle you have status quo—don’t rock the boat! In the second situation, things always seem to remain the same. Nothing changes, it is static.

Now what does this have to do with real-life mind body connections? Simple! Each scenario demonstrates a place where most people reside in terms of how they act on their worlds—how they use their minds to affect their bodies. We have central processing units (intelligence) which drives our own hardware. We also have a choice for the software we select.

In the destructive scenario, people engage in the same detrimental behaviors repeatedly, and when those produce negative outcomes, they look for more punishing experiences or punish and demean themselves for engaging in the experiences they have chosen. Even though they know that these experiences are wrong and damaging, they still do them and sometimes do worse.

Aggression and negativity are a part of their thought process make-up. They serve a detrimental mind set.

In the status quo situation, these are people who don’t embrace change because it’s threatening, too much work or they don’t know how.

Instead of engaging in new cognitive scripts which produce new and improved mindsets, they cling onto the old. There is no “out with old and in with the new” for them. For them, what is old is never new and what is new is never old because they don’t view concepts and experiences relative to one another. Instead, they are “option-less” or at least they believe that. They don’t believe there is anything else outside of their field of life long experiences.

In essence, ignorance is bliss!

In the constructive mind body connection scenario, the individual understands and recognizes that possibilities, alternatives and changes are possible in terms of their ability to change their worlds.

They understand something paramount that the other two groups aren’t able to identify with... they are master minds!

When referring to the concept of “master mind” in the mind body connection, the reference is being made to the notion that an individual is able to become the master of their own mind. These individuals are able to become actors, movers and shakers in their worlds as they master and control their thoughts.

As stated earlier, feelings always come from what you are thinking. If you are in control of your thoughts, then you are controlling what you are feeling!

Within the context of the mind body connection, this is perhaps the greatest revelation anyone can not only come across but accept. Just knowing it is wonderful, but useless if you don’t apply the principles. It’s like going to school to become an architect, but if you never design or build a house, what good is having all this knowledge?

The same holds true with the information surrounding the mind body connection.

There are hundreds of books and videos on the subject and people are reading them and watching them as educational tools. Many are learning the theories but less are applying the rules and laws to their lives. At the end of the day, they drift back into the “status quo” group because they are not ready for change or this kind of change is too threatening or in their mindset, too much work.

The mind body connection can best be described as a process of change.

Our thoughts are always happening. Our minds are always engaging in thoughts. The more we try to stop our thoughts, the more we start to think about them. And this is something that is a great thing because that means the more intently we focus on something, that is what creates our feelings, the way we act and eventually what we become.

It’s not rocket science, but many view it that way or as something out of the domain of reality. In a nutshell, if you learn the premise that, if “anything is meant to be, then it will be up to me!” you will be well ahead of the pack.

For some this can be enlightening, while for others this can be extremely sobering.

Perhaps the mind body connection is sobering for many because they believe in fate or a process where things are a certain way, always have been and always will be. Many believe that life is about reacting or to take it to a more counterproductive measure, they like to play the victim’s role... oh, whoa is me!

Many people like to complain about the weight they put on or can never seem to get off.

Others complain about their smoking or drinking habits and believe they are victims of the substance. While others still complain about their current living situations, jobs, families and spouses without believing they have chosen much of this for themselves, or at least to remain in a “status quo” situation they are not happy being in.

Instead of modifying their lives and embracing changing, most would rather remain where they are at in their lives and complain. The body and circumstances will only become what the mind wills it to be.

Feed it negativity and it will embrace the negative.

Feelings are the greatest method of feedback which provides us with indicators when we are on the right or on the wrong track. Our thoughts create the feelings which in turn are revealed in the body.

When we are happy we smile and feel alive, light... buoyant! On the other hand, when we are down or depressed, our bodies feel so tired, sluggish and heavy. In either case, our bodies are telling our minds what we are thinking. Most of our thinking is done conditionally or in absentia. We just go with the flow.

Most people don’t pay attention to what they are thinking. Instead, they pay attention to their feelings of fatigue, melancholy and sadness. What they are missing is the “why” they feel that way which is their thought process.

The body is like a weight scale or blood pressure cuff—always ready and available to provide us feedback for what it is we are thinking leading to our feelings states.

At any moment we can ask ourselves what we are thinking about based on how we are feeling at the moment. How many do it? Most believe that to understand the mind body connection they must dig deep down at some introspective, analytical level which will help them come to terms with what they are thinking.

Life becomes so much easier when you examine first what you are feeling and then asking yourself what it is you are thinking about which is leading you to feel that. Once you do this, you have pinned down the mind body connection in a practical manner.

Interestingly, it is choosing to recreate your thought process which is the difficult part.

Change takes work and patience!

Here at Free At Last Hypnosis we recognize and understand the mind body connection is real. We see the strong connection in evidence almost every day with our clients we help with our stress and anxiety management service or confidence and self-esteem program. So learn more about the connection in the articles below as we get into more detail.

OTHER MIND BODY CONNECTION RESOURCES IN THIS SERIES:

Read Part I of series Mind Body Connection - Introduction here.

Read Part II of series Mind Body Connection – Mind Over Matter here.

Read Part IV of series Mind Body Connection - Seeing is Believing here.

Read Part V of series Mind Body Connection - The Power of Suggestion here.

Part VI of series Mind Body Connection - Putting it All Together here.

 

Peter Andrew Sacco Ph.D.
Staff Editor
Free At Last Hypnosis