In thinking more about being one, mind/body/spirit, I was reminded of what I heard a priest say recently about meditation. He recommends meditating before prayer, to quiet the mind and focus our energy. He said that meditation forces us to be in the present: not thinking about the past, which we can’t change, or the future, which we can’t control.

Living in harmony with yourself, it forces you to be in the moment. It ties in to what I posted about earlier, thinking about how I approach conversations with people. Am I in the moment, truly listening to what they have to say? Or am I in the future, one step ahead, thinking about what I’m going to say or do next? If we’re constantly thinking about the future, we’re failing to notice the present.

But I’ve always felt there was a flaw to the philosophy of ‘live every moment as though it were your last’ – it gives absolutely no regard to the future, and that’s not healthy either. There’s a differencing between controlling the future and affecting the future. One we can’t ever do, and the other we do all the time.

We affect the future by how we live our lives: what we do at our jobs, what we do with our time, our money, and by the way we choose to treat people. All of those things create a ripple effect by which the future is changed. But you can’t control those ripples. You can’t control the future of your relationships, your job, or anything else.

Being in the moment, instead of being on auto-pilot with your mind somewhere else, helps you to see your actions better and makes you aware of how you can affect the future. But being in the moment also means you have to surrender the future, to realize that it’s out of your control. It’s powerful and it’s freeing.

Our Holistic Health professor said that last week, and it’s given me a lot to ponder over. What she meant was that we are one: body, mind, and spirit, but all too often we create a disconnect between our physical bodies and the parts of ourselves that are intangible: our thoughts, our emotions, our souls.

How would we approach a situation differently if we honestly believed that we brought not only our bodies, but our mind and spirit with us? How would we treat people?

How would we allow ourselves to be treated?

How would we go about our work or studies? How might we enter relationships differently, knowing that our whole selves were involved?

How would we react to seeing people that are hurting? How we would react to being hurt?

On a more simplistic level, how would we treat our bodies if we realized that it wasn’t just our physical selves we had to take care of? This came to mind when I thought about fasting, a regular practice for Orthodox Christians, and a part of many spiritual traditions. Fasting is not punishment for our bodies, but rather a way to cleanse ourselves from foods that aren’t good in excess, things that cloud our minds and diminish our health. Fasting is a means to bring body, mind, and spirit, into greater unity.

When I think about taking my spirit everywhere I go, it makes me so much more aware of the things I do that damage this body, this temple that I have been given. Do I take care of my body?

If my mind and soul are one, then I think twice about how I respond to other people. Do I really listen to what they are saying? Do I offer meaningful words of support, advice, or encouragement? Or do I just respond with a few stock answers that I put little thought or care into?

And if my mind and soul are one, then the things I take into my brain have a profound effect on my spirit. What am I watching? What am I listening to? What am I allowing myself to be exposed to, and how does that affect my thoughts, words, and deeds?

especially for medland, but open to anyone and everyone on my friends list…

I want to know 28 things about you. I don’t care if we’ve never talked, never liked each other, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don’t. You are obviously on my list, so let me know with whom I am friends! :)