Body Dialogue

What do we feel in our body? Be conscious of the feeling. Then search for a word in your mind that corresponds with the body’s language. Not just any word. Respond with, “Yes, that’s the right word.” Then ask, “What’s the situation that gives rise to the physical feeling?” “To the word?” “What is it about the situation that produces this feeling/word response?” Or you can place the situation on an imaginary table, and ask, “Except for this present situation, am I comfortable with everything going on in my life?” When everything is “on the table,” “out in the open,” you let one of the things stand apart and work with that situation, looking for what it is that gives rise to the particular feeling/word that creates a physical shift and opens the door to a new world, a new way of living. But, don’t take my word for it. See if I’m right about this.

The focusing process, I’m learning, is about putting mind/body in synch. It is about observing how that simple act has a transformative impact throughout your life.

Sitting with Daddy, I listen to my body, finding glimpses of peace, experiencing a small crack in the window, with knowledge that it will eventually open, revealing the whole picture. That opened window will allow my dad and I to walk into a new beginning ... not simply an ending. We will no longer experience one another on this planet, rather we will continue loving. Daddy’s energy and mine will come again once the cancer is gone, when Daddy crosses to the other side.

Losing Daddy is horrible, but, in specks, my body tells me there will be energy left to open a new window. I love Daddy. When that love transfers from body to mind, I realize I love others, too. I love my self.

My dad’s terminal cancer is one of my greatest teachers. I’m learning that that love in me is gasoline/energy for my body. There is no hopeless situation when we look at the “entire picture.” To grasp the entire picture we must listen to the body and then the mind. Try it. It works for me. It may work for you, too.