Back to the lesson "The Fiery Land of Shen"
The
following is an excerpt (chapter 3, pp. 67f) of the book
The Joy of
Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure by
Iona Marsaa Teeguarden
It is in the land of I' (pronounced "ee") that the spirit becomes conscious of its bodily and earthly environment. The focus here is on nourishment, or taking the world into ourselves. Digestion is the process of taking in and using that which can be included as apart of the bodymind self. In the original feeding situation, as suckling babes, we get both physical and emotional nourishment simultaneously. Tactile contact with our mothers is a means to nourishment, and the contact itself is a nourishing force. We can take the world into ourselves through touching and being touched, as well as through eating.
Tactile contact is a basic need, for touching, caressing and stroking are symbols of being loved. Early evidence of the importance of touching came from John Bowlby and Renee Spitz, who studied effects of early separation and institutionalization of children in war-torn London. They found that no amount of sterile, scientifically measured food and medications would allow normal development, if the children were deprived of contact with others. Marshall Klaus, studying enforced separation of premature infants in Cleveland hospitals, found that babies who were handled did better than those who were not touched often. Random and seemingly purposeless touching had a good effect on the babies' survival rate. It also has a felicitous effect on adults.
To survive, we must be able to extend our awareness into our bodies and into the surrounding world. This is the process of fully incarnating on the earth plane - of BElNG HERE. As we discover other beings dancing around in our world, we find that we need something from them, just as we need something from the earth. A project in the land of I' is finding out what this something is. I' is the aspect of ourselves which is occupied with the search for physical and emotional nourishment. To listen to this part of the psyche is to pay attention to gut-level feelings, which tell us whether we are absorbing something that the Self needs, or something it can't use and doesn't want.
I' is consciousness moving down from the transpersonal realm into the very personal realm of feeling the body and its relation to the earth and to other beings of the earth. It is the Self experiencing and realizing itself through extending itself - into the body and then horizontally into the world. This means feeling the world as an extension of the Self, and the Self as an extension of the world. It means learning to feel a unity with the world, and an empathetic oneness with others. The question here is: who am I in relation to the world? The quest here is feeling the ground of our being.
The image is EARTH. In the land of I', a primary concern is with earthing or grounding - feeling the body and its connection with the earth. What is this body? Is it a vehicle for the soul, or is it a manifestation of the spirit? A vehicle is something I use; a manifestation of myself is a part of me. The body is a manifestation of both Shen and Tao. One way of avoiding the body is living up in the head. Overthinking can be an escape from awareness of body tension and discomfort, but numbing out also means missing out on the pleasures of really feeling the body - the ground of our being. An "electric head" and an automated body are unlikely routes to joy.
Traditional acupressure theory says that over-concern and reminiscence especially put stress on the stomach and pancreas. Modern research confirms that mental stress and confusion play a leading role in creating gastric distress or ulcers. The classics say that over-concern coagulates the energy and paralyzes the body. To be worried
or anxious is to be stuck - overconnected with something or someone and out of touch with the whole of reality. Excessive reminiscence is also an escape from present reality; it's like watching an old movie over and over. Prolonged reminiscence concentrates consciousness and energy in the brain, which is where the past lives.
Both over-concern and reminiscence have something to do with nourishment.
Reminiscence can be a way of compensating for a present lack of nourishment, by escaping in memory to a time when we felt loved and supported. We tend to become concerned when our present sources of physical and emotional nourishment are threatened - or when we think they are. Over-concern can also stem from a desire to please and protect those "significant others" on whom we depend for nourishment. Indifference can be the cloak under which lies a great need for emotional support and nourishment.
A journey through the land of I' requires learning that we deserve to be nourished, and paying attention to how various foods, persons and situations make us feel. Nourishing ourselves' gives us the energy to care about others. The bodymind is deeply nourished by a feeling of oneness with Nature and with the beings of nature. This brings a sense of innate worthiness, which makes it easier to use our faculties of consideration and recollection for creating a life which we truly appreciate - rather than for trying to stuff ourselves into boxes to get the approval of others.
The main task in the land of I' is maturing. This means the ability to be in touch with feelings, communicate them clearly to others, and view different-ness as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat.
_(from the book Iona Marsaa Teeguarden : The Joy Of Feeling - Bodymind Acupressure
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