MIND AND BODY RELATION

 The subject of mind to body relation is vast which involves diverse streams like philosophy, psychology, physiology and neurology.

Psychologists have time and again stated with reasons why the body-mind concept is crucial to our understanding of the relation between the two. And this had begun even before the psychoanalysis movement of Sigmund Freud had started. The reason for this originates from the idea that physical conditions affect the mental state and thereby the mental health too. And the converse is also equally true. So the physical condition and the mental state together account for our health and wellbeing.

  Our desires or dreams exist in the mind only, but that is not true with our thoughts and emotions. These are actual and that is why they physically affect us. It is the nature of our thought that affects the quality of our feeling and emotions which reflects the state of mind at any point in time. An example of this mind-body connection is, the way the body responds to stress that originates from the mind. Constant worry and stress over various aspects of life like job, finances and other problem causes physical and consequent mental health issues. This impacts the corresponding physiological system of the body. These can be, tense muscles, pain, headaches and stomach problems. It can also lead to hypertension. Conversely, constant pain or health problems related to the heart can affect emotions that adversely impact mental health. The contrary to this is, holding on to a positive and stress-free outlook on life that could help in better handling of pain or stress thereby stay healthier than somebody who is less hopeful. And that is why positive thoughts generate healthy emotions that directly enhance the state of mind in a positive direction.  Being in a state of mental elation or depression acts as a physical motivation or pain respectively, at the neurological level. Bodies hold our physical health whereas the mind holds the spirit that generates the motivation to function. And this is what makes the study of mind-body interrelation in psychology particularly important. This is also true that the mind is a non-physical or subtle domain inside the physical body. And in this concept, the mind and body are not seen as separate or independent entities. The two are interdependent, thus behaving as one integrated functioning unit. The emotions, thru the mind, impacts the body and converse is also true where emotion being the common factor.

  During the waking moments of life, a human mind is in a continuous state of flux, passing thru a variety of mental states throughout the day. These are typically named in common sense terms such as Emotions (e.g. fear, anger, envy, greed, contempt, anxiety,  disgust shame, depression, love, pride, compassion, equanimity etc.); Cognition (e.g. recalling a memory, planning the task in the present or future, focussing intensely on a task); Perceptions (e.g. perception of face,  colour,  sound perception or of the situation in that moment etc.) and so on.

An emotion, as we all know by experience is a thought that is linked to a sensation. And it acts as a mediator between the body and the state of the mind in a particular situation. So, it would be necessary for us to know in some detail the impact, nature of emotion (both positive and negative) would make on the body. For this, we need to unpack each of them and their corresponding physical responses by the body. The different types of emotions and their effect on physiology, by activating the associated different parts in the body are explained as under.

1.      Love.

2.      Happiness.

3.      Surprise.

4.      Pride.

5.      Fear.

6.      Anger.

7.      Jealousy.

8.      Anxiety.

9.      Disgust.

10.  Shame and contempt

11.  Depression

12.  Sadness.

1. Happiness.: Happiness is a unique healthy emotion that fills the whole body with activity and a sense of positivism. This is because the person feels more secure in this mental state. And so, he is in a position to devote and focus attention by experiencing himself as a part of a pleasure rich world around him.

2. Love: This is another standout emotion that fills the entire body with activation and a sense of feel good. Love is often intimately associated with physical desire. This emotional focus of love is both the object of affection (which could be a person, things, an event or an idea) and the intensity of emotions in the subjective self. This causes an intense activation around the head and chest.

3. Pride: This too is a  positive emotion that fills with an intense sensation of joy in the chest region. The activation in this case is related to focus on the self with a sense of awareness that is turned inwards.

4. Surprise: In this emotion, the strength of activation is less intense. And in this situation, the nature of surprise is unknown. It could be either a positive, negative or neutral one. And that is why in this case, resources are drawn inward for preparing the body to face the triggering event that reflects the uncertainty of the nature of the event

5. Anger: This is a standalone negative emotion that causes intense activation particularly in the head, chest and hands. An angry person prepares himself for a confrontation with the focus of attention on the deployment of his internal resources on those parts of the body that might have to act. In this state of anger, he may be enraged with an urge to give vent to his overwhelming desire to hit the other person with some object. 

6. Fear: This too is a negative emotion in which there is more of a defensive pattern of activation. As the person may even prepare for either a ‘flight or fight’ response. But being with a defensive stand, he is not necessarily seeking an outright conflict with the other person. Because his fear also leads to a subservient attitude besides defensiveness. And this happens particularly if he has to face a formidable opponent.

 7. Disgust: When a person experience disgust towards other humans, he feels a concentration of repulsion from a sense of natural protective response from inside. Disgust causes the pulling of inner resources more tightly to the core of the body. In this situation,  emotion causes the body to prepare to spew noxious verbal material in response to what he has ingested from the other person. Hence the focus of activation is along the digestive tract.

8. Shame and contempt: Shame and contempt are both negative emotions with patterns of physical activation that are alike. In case of contempt, the focus is outside the self, involving a judgement of some other person. So physically it induces less activation in the chest. In shame, the focus is on the self. And that is why this induces a sense of personal failure or a judgemental error that caused the undesirable event to happen. In this case, depression of activity in the self occurs out of a sense of guilt feeling which is more pronounced. The person withdraws his resources inward into the self. And a corresponding response is triggered which could even be a ‘flight or fight’. 

9. Anxiety:  This is a form of stress classified as a long term grade. It causes activation in the chest intensely which leads to a sense of despair, doom or alarm. And this could cause an experience of a panic attack. Persons under this condition experience tightness and pain in the chest causing incapacitation to think beyond the pressing fear of that moment or for the uncertainty in the immediate near future. This can lead the person to a feeling that causes strain in the heart and lungs with pangs of struggle to deliver oxygen to the body. And this

 causes an increase in blood pressure if the person is under a condition of extended fear that lasts for a longer period.

10. Depression: This is a form of negative emotion with the most noticeable external manifestation in the person.  It lowers the state of mind to the extreme, which causes no activation in any part of the body. And in this mental state, the individual finds it very difficult to connect with both self and the outside world.

11 Sadness: This is also a negative emotion but does not suppress feelings in the head and chest but often leads to a general lack of activity. In certain circumstances, it induces a sense of helplessness, when the person has not been able to prevent the failure or do something that could have averted the source event that caused it. Another type of situation is the event is the loss of a near and dear person which could be parents, close relation or friend. And such events often lead to a level of sadness that is most severe which leads to even mental shock. This situation can also cause heart problems if the state of shock continues for an extended period.

12 Jealousy: This too is a negative emotion but carries a different mental tone and tenor. This accompanies an intense activity in the chest, carrying a feeling of hate with even obnoxious outpouring for the other person. Comparison of self with others who are superior in any way can also cause the initiation of such an emotion. In this situation, the individual is unable to accept anything good that happens to that person.

    We can see from the above that, emotions manifest as physical sensations in the body. They impact not only our mental but also physiological aspects of the body. And in this way, they prepare the individual to react appropriately to the dangers and also opportunities that are right in front of him. Awareness of the corresponding bodily changes that occur, consequently triggers emotional sensations, such as a feeling of happiness or sadness or even a sense of shock or disappointment. The connection between the mind and our body is something we instinctively feel. But how much attention we pay to our bodily sensations every moment, differs from one individual to another.

Furthermore, we also need to go into some detail about the different constituents, both physical and subtle realms that together make up the mind-body complex as an integrated entity. 

FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS TOPIC PLEASE PURCHASE MY E-BOOK TITLED  " AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN MIND" FROM WHICH THE ABOVE HAS BEEN TAKEN.  

  AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN MIND  (Link for purchase of the Amazon Kindle e-book in Indian Rupee)

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HOW HUMAN BEINGS CAN OVERCOME THE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE.

 

Human beings are inherently comfortable with the ‘status quo ’ in their existing situation. But before we go into further details on the change, let me first of all state that they are broadly of two categories, as stated below.

1.         Changes that are under the control of human beings.

2.         Changes that are not under the control of human beings.

The first category of change that happens,  human beings are not much averse to since it is within their means and power to control and so they can adapt to it without much difficulty. In this article, we would focus on the second category which is not under human control.  Because those are changes that human beings normally confront with much mental resistance and that’s why find it much difficult to adapt to. And there are several reasons why people are averse to such changes. An individual is resistant to such change if in the existing condition he is a comfortable position concerning aspects, like personal freedom; physical and financial security and abundance of all material comforts and social status. These are all that he wants in life. And being in this situation he fails to realise that there could a 'flip side’ too in the forthcoming change which he is either not able to or does not want to foresee. Because he apprehends the possible loss or shift from one more of the above comfort factors. And this is because of his mindset toward the status quo in the existing condition. He feels that the change would invariably lead to a negative outcome that would deprive him of the benefits of the existing condition.

But with a certain level of foresight if he is able to develop and perceives positivity in the forthcoming change, then it would prove to be a welcome change for him and so would accept it. The other side could be when the change is perceived to be in an unexpectedly negative direction, which would then lead him to hopelessness and frustration. So in this situation, it would be worthwhile for him to endeavour to reframe the anticipated or ensuing negative change by mentally exploring other alternatives that could prove to be opportunities for improvement rather than adversity.  And in so doing he would be better able to raise the level of his adaptation to the changed situation, even if that does not bring in all the factors of comfort that had been present before the apprehended change impacted him.  But the point is, how to reframe an adverse situation to change it in a way as to make it into an opportunity for improvement.

Well, here I am reminded of the quotation of Shakespeare given below.

“Sweet are the uses of adversity,

 Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in the head.”

                                                               ---- William Shakespeare (As you like it. AC II)

 For this type of situation that we human beings face, there is often always a compulsive need to find a way forward out of it, even if it means coming out of our comfort zone. Now since we say the way to be in the forward direction, even if it has to be without the knowledge of direction of the outcome, there is one advantage a person can draw for certain, and that is an enhancement of the strength of his mind. And with it also comes the wisdom to face such difficult situations in future mentally remaining unscathed by retaining the composure and stability of mind.  In so doing the individual also maintains harmony by his adaptation to the changed situation.  With this type of experience, he becomes better equipped to handle such unforeseen adversity without getting mentally upset.

 

 

 

 

CIRCLE –THE SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF VARIOUS TRADITIONS, CULTURE AND OTHER HUMAN ACTIVITIES

 The circle has since time immemorial had significance in following aspects of human beings covering the span from culture, tradition, art and even sports. Furthermore, the circle too had a symbol of wholeness and of perfection related to oneness and unity that has no beginning or end. Also, it is the symbol of the sun, earth and the universe and represents holiness, perfection and peace.

Following are the different aspects.

1.     The ring.

2.     The wheel.

3. .   Circle in art.

4.   Circle of life.

5.   .  Olympic rings.

 

Let us now go into details of each of the above, elaborating on the reason why each signifies a particular aspect related to human beings.

1.         THE RING: The present customs of a wedding ring has evolved from a combination of cultures and traditional background. In earlier days there had been a widespread belief that the third finger of the left hand had a particular vein called the vena amoris – considered the vein of love that ran from the ring finger directly to the heart which is the seat of love. Though science has debunked this theory as baseless due to the absence of any evidence. The custom in wedding continues to be popular as the ring even to this day remains the concrete sealing of the relationship between the bride and the groom. However, rings in jewellery aren’t restricted to being worn in fingers alone. In India, the ring is worn in various other parts of the body for adornment, like the nose, ear and toes as well. Whereas in other east Asian countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam etc. women of certain tribes even wear multiple brass rings around the neck, arms and legs as these are considered by them symbolic of female beauty and social status.

2.         THE WHEEL: In the present day, people take for granted the various available means of travel. As per the archaeologists, the very first step towards man-made transportation is believed to have originated from Mesopotamia or Asia sometime around 4000 to 3500 B.C.The requirement arose from the need to transport the agricultural produce from one place to another. And thus also arose the idea of trade and commerce. The evolutionary step in this direction came with the invention of a chariot with two wheels. The birthplace of the chariot is believed to be Sumeria around 3500 B.C. This eventually led to the development of a four-wheeled cart for carrying loads of supplies and equipment off from the shoulders of the common man. The next big revolution in wheels came with the invention of steam-powered locomotives in the early 19^th century. To this was attached several cars which could carry people and goods. Over the next century improvement in locomotives from steam to electric-powered changed the speed of transit forever. And with it came a significant reduction in travel time. During the above-stated span of a hundred years, other forms of transportation like the bicycle and finally came the automobile which has been the single most important development in the history of transportation since the invention of the wheel.

3.          CIRCLE OF ART: The circle has been depicted in history as a different form of art. And each depiction had a different representation and meaning in the different art forms. In the fifteenth century, it was seen as a symbol for uniting the earth and divine, which became an obsession of the Italian Renaissance painters. When God was conceived (which is a creation of human imagination) of post-Galileo as God the geometer or measurer; the circle became the leitmotif of art. In India, the Maurayas found the circular pillars of great charm in the temples built by them. The halo that we always see around Buddha and other depictions of Gods and Goddesses are always circular. The Mughals gave it a new dimension with high rise circular domes, be it in their mosques or other monuments built. Thus in the circle, we see forms par excellence in art that merges the contradictions of spirit and matter through its symbolic presence in art and motif.

4.        CIRCLE OF LIFE: The word circle implies the cycle of life which means change as an endless process. And it is as certain as death and passing of time. Either a person frets and fights it with the ensuing sleepless night of anxiety and uncertainty. The other alternative is to better accept the eventuality and ride it because it is the way the change is to be taken to our best advantage. In everything of nature, change is inevitable and that is accompanied by uncertainty. To accept the discomfort of facing the unknown is the first step in accepting the change.

The theme “Circle of Life” means different things to different people, depending on the way one chooses to look at it. In the broader view, the concept means evolution from the single-celled amoebae to sea creatures to amphibians and ultimately the mammals attaining the highest form in human beings. When viewed from a different perspective it could also mean the rich tapestry of human life experiences. From birth to youth and then adult, ultimately old age and finally death.

In most of us, there is always a fear of change which originates from the apprehension of losing the present precious that exists in status quo which could mean freedom, security, physical and material comforts etc. But the wheel of life is perpetually in motion revolving around, presenting new opportunities. If change is taken in this perspective then life becomes an exhilarating experience. It is up to us how we grind this wheel in the ever-present circle of life 

5. THE OLYMPIC RINGS: This is the official symbol used for the world's grand sporting event held once every four years. And in this, the best sportsperson from all nations of the world congregate to participate in this event. Called the Olympics, this is the showpiece of the sporting calendar so much so that the five interlinked rings are a trademark of the International Olympic Committee. The rings represent the five continents of the world. The five colours of the rings from left to right on top are blue for Europe, black for Africa, red for Americas(both north and south), yellow representing Asia and green representing Australia along the bottom.

Ancient Origin of the Olympics is surrounded by myth and legend. It is well known that the modern Olympics as we know it, was in fact created by a Frenchmen Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1913. And the rings first appeared on the Olympic flag in 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium

 The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not triumph but struggle. The essential thing is, not to have conquered but to have fought well. 

CONTROLLING THE MIND AND SENSES AND WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS

 

Our body, as we all know by experience is intimately bound to the senses that play a pivotal role in all our activities both physical and mental. As sentient beings, we are conditioned by the strongest belief that we exist because of our physical form the body.  The manifestation of its functioning is thru our senses. Any activity that a person engages in throughout his waking hours of the day, incurs the deployment of one or more of these five senses, that gets attached to the thought of the ensuing corresponding activity. This results in the generation of an emotion that navigates the thought to a particular direction, culminating in the execution of that activity.

Anything that the mind finds pleasurable generates a positive emotion of happiness or motivation and conversely, when he finds anything unpleasant or sorrowful, it generates a negative emotion of despair, shock, unhappiness or frustration. If it would have been possible to always give a choice to human beings, they most certainly would have preferred the former to maintain the continuity of their happiness. But since everything in nature is ever-changing, whether it is in the mind or the surrounding environment, this makes this an implausible proposition. Furthermore, even physical ailments induce unhappiness. But in this article, we would be focussing on the mental aspects only.  The very bases of functioning of the physical world are always to be in a dynamic state of flow and thus are transient or impermanent and hence are subject to continuous change. This demands an adaptation of human beings to this situation of perpetual impermanence. But unfortunately, it does not happen easily with most people, because they are normally mentally fragile and hence get upset at the slightest knowledge of even a forthcoming adverse situation or the one being experienced in the present. And this throws him into a state of gloom, despair or sorrow. The reason why this happens is that man is more focused on the external world and from there, any event which he senses as unpleasant, sorrowful or fearful generates the stimuli which activates the senses that directly impact emotions and the consequent response manifested by a swing in the emotional state in the negative direction.

Most people normally live in a state in which the mind function, in what is termed as the auto-pilot mode. In this, the mind is not in conscious control of the individual. And so is very easily driven into distraction by default to pleasant or unpleasantness in the external world. This is because, in this auto-pilot mode, the individual lacks the will and hence the power to exercise control over the thoughts generated. This leads to frequent cyclic swing in the mental states that is manifested in the mood of the person. One of the best ways to overcome this situation is by practising mindfulness which is a form of meditation. In this, the individual has to focus his mind on the inner self and in this process, the senses too get withdrawn from the external world. This leads to the pacification of the senses along with the mind. And consequently, there remains no anxiety or uncertainties of the future nor the repentance of the past failures. This happens, because in this condition mind dwells in the present moment both physically and mentally i.e. in the “Here and Now”. And by so doing the individual can control his mind from the distractions of the external world. He learns to focus on the inner self which brings the harmony of the mind and the body. The biggest benefit that a person can get is, it brings about the alleviation of his suffering in the adverse situation by the enhanced level of adaptability that he develops.