Finding The River by Sally Topham

Chapter 2

Mind - Body Connections

I’d like to change direction now and invite you to do something completely different! I want to help you experience what happens when we consciously tune into something that doesn’t have benign and happy vibrations.

It would be really good if you could try Exercise 4: The Power of Thought right now before reading any further. It will only take a few moments, but please make sure you’ve tried Exercise 1: The Magic of Memory and Imagination or Exercise 2: Creating a Safe Place Within Yourself before you do this.

Exercise 4: The Power of Thought

Close your eyes and think about a situation which was very unpleasant. Maybe it was something like a really bad argument or something you were very worried about. Whatever it was, make sure you choose a scenario which hasn’t given you any enjoyment at all.

Once you’ve decided what it is you are going to focus on, I want you to bring it back to mind and allow yourself to really feel what it was like. Remember all the sensations which went with this situation. Really tune into these things.

Start doing this right now.

Hold onto the memory long enough for you to summon up all the feelings and sensations associated with this unpleasant issue. Be very aware of how you feel both emotionally and physically.

Then come back.

Make a note of how you felt doing that, noticing the emotions that came up, your feelings, and any sensations you had in your body. Notice where those feelings and sensations were and what they felt like. Make a quick note of what happened.

When you’ve done that, we’re going to de-fuse that unpleasant memory and clear whatever feelings and sensations came up for you.

When you’ve finished noting down what happened for you, just close your eyes and quite quickly take yourself back to Exercise 1: The Magic of Memory and Imagination where you chose the memory of a special place in Nature which made you feel really good. Let yourself return to that place and recall the sense of well-being it gave you. Let those feelings flood every cell in your body and every fibre of your being. Imagine that when you breathe in, you’re breathing in that wonderful place. And pretend that as you breathe out, you’re letting go of that unpleasant experience. Keep doing that until it feels more comfortable inside.

You probably noticed that recalling unpleasant feelings made you feel very different from how you were when you tuned into Nature. Was it uncomfortable? Did you tense up or notice a difference in your posture while you were doing it? Perhaps you felt some physical sensation in your throat or your chest or your belly? Well, that’s what can happen when you tune into something negative.

You’ve just demonstrated for yourself how moods and physical feelings can be created depending on where we place our attention. If we spend a lot of time tuning into negative thoughts and feelings or being subjected to a lot of pressure or living in a stressful environment, these things are not only making us feel bad but also affecting us on a biological level as well. In other words, they are affecting us physically.

You see, when we’re stressed, tense and negative, what the body is actually doing is releasing specific hormones which circulate through the entire body and through every single one of the vital organs. These hormones are called adrenaline and cortisol. (By the way, for those of you who don’t know, a hormone is like a chemical “messenger”, frequently associated with mood changes which can transport a signal from one cell to another.)

Now, these hormones are perfectly natural and in essence there’s nothing harmful about them. They can be incredibly useful when we’re in a situation where we need to take instant action or to run away. They’re part of what’s known as our flight-or-fight response. In other words, they surge through our bodies and cause a state of heightened awareness, usually in times of danger. Thousands of years ago, early man would find himself activating these hormones when he was confronted by a sabre-toothed tiger. The modern equivalent might be swerving in our cars and slamming on the brakes to avoid knocking down a pedestrian!

Getting caught up in the frenetic pace of the culture or constantly living in a state of stress and anxiety can also make us produce these hormones. And here’s where problems can arise. If this pressure becomes a daily occurrence for too long, we run the risk of becoming stressed out and off balance. The body simply can’t cope well with being stimulated to that degree continuously, and if it is, it’s going to suffer in one way, shape, or form. Depression may set in. Anger, frustration or aggression may erupt with little or no provocation. The immune system may become depleted, which lays you wide open for going down with a lot of colds or viruses. Energy levels can become very low. Sleep may be affected. Skin problems or digestive problems may develop, and generally life isn’t a lot of fun.

On the other hand, happy, pleasurable experiences trigger a completely different set of hormones called endorphins. These hormones secrete a totally natural form of morphine and create feelings of well-being and euphoria when we’re doing things we enjoy. They’re also capable of deadening pain, boosting the immune system and are sometimes known as the “feel-good” hormones.

All pleasurable activities produce endorphins. So whenever you’re doing something you love or having fun, you’re flooding your body with all those healing molecules. We trigger endorphins when we experience the healing space of Nature. And we can do the same every time we practise “The Connection”. There are an endless number of ways we can cause our bodies to release endorphins. Laughing will do it. So will making love. Spending time with a good friend or a beloved pet can do it, not to mention feeling warmth and kindness from another person or being in a safe and supportive environment.

Now, in case you’re wondering how we know that these hormones can actually create the reactions I’ve described, it’s been proved by some relatively recent scientific research which I want to tell you about.

Don’t worry! I’m not going to get into any complicated scientific explanations, so don’t turn the pages and skip to the next chapter. Just stick with me for a moment because I’m going to give you some very interesting background information on all this.

Endorphins were first discovered around the mid 1970s. At that time, scientists were looking to produce painkilling drugs which were less addictive and harmful than those currently on the market. This involved searching for what’s known as the Opiate Receptor, which is a natural mechanism in the body, able to accept—rather than reject—a drug with an opium-type base. Scientists had been trying to find this receptor for quite a while and it was finally discovered by a neuro-scientist called Candace Pert.

In the process of all the research, what scientists found was that three vital body systems were all interlinked—the nervous system (the part of you which deals with information and sensation), the immune system (the part of you which fights infection and disease), and the endocrine system (the part which releases hormones and regulates a number of functions within the body and also plays a part in determining mood).

All these systems interact with the brain and run through every major organ. So what this research actually proved was that the body is a flowing information system and that every part of it is engaged in that process.

This discovery caused a big scientific breakthrough and gave birth to a whole new field of science with an incredibly long name—Psychoneuroimmunology or PNI for short. Everyone got very excited about it and it’s cutting edge stuff in the scientific world right now.

However, the people who were probably even more excited about this news than the scientists were those favouring a holistic and alternative view of the human body. Why? Because it confirmed what the ancient sages of the East had been saying for thousands of years—the body and mind are interconnected. Basically what this means is that we don’t just have a mind and a body. We have a body–mind, two halves of one complete whole!

This is why we can make chemical changes to our bodies by simply doing something we enjoy. As Candace Pert says in her book, Molecules of Emotion, which is about why we feel the way we feel: “Emotions and bodily sensations are…intricately entwined in a…network in which each can alter the other.”

In other words: we can use our bodies to heal the mind. And we can also use our minds to heal our bodies. How amazing is that?

Our bodies are very important parts of our being. For a start, they carry us around and provide us with an environment in which to live. Unfortunately, we tend to take them for granted. Often we don’t really bother about what’s happening to them unless something goes wrong.

Many of us have virtually no awareness of our bodies because we are living in our heads most of the time! Some of us actually dislike our bodies to such an extent that we are constantly criticising our various shapes and forms. Not liking our bodies or being unkind to them is like being a relentlessly disapproving parent. And what do you think all that endless judgement and criticism is doing to us? Yup! It’s triggering the stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol and we know they’re not good for us over extended periods. Our bodies are a part of Nature and have an animal quality. Just like domestic animals, they thrive on love, attention and nourishment. Think about what’s happening to your body if it’s criticised, ignored, taken for granted, or abused. You’re going to make your body feel isolated, rejected and abandoned. And what is that going to do? More than likely, it will cause low self esteem and lack of confidence.

If we’re faced with having to hack our way through the jungle, we need to be able to find ways of keeping ourselves in a reasonable state of balance both emotionally and physically. There’s a nice, easy guided meditation I’d like to teach you which can help you to appreciate your body and start being kinder to yourself (Exercise 5: The Inner Smile). Doing this exercise will send healing endorphins to all your major organs and other vital systems in the body. Practise it on a daily basis and your body will start to feel loved and appreciated on a deep level. It’s called “The Inner Smile”.

Exercise 5: The Inner Smile

Sit comfortably with your back straight and propped up by cushions if necessary. You can sit cross-legged if this is comfortable, otherwise make sure your feet are placed firmly on the floor and your hands are either folded in your lap or resting on your knees.

Close your eyes. Breathe gently for a few breaths and become aware of your body as you sit on the chair, the sofa, or the floor.

Now bring to mind someone you know—or someone you’ve come across—who has soft, kind twinkling eyes. I’m sure you’ve all met someone like that. And just imagine that you, too, have kind, twinkly eyes, the kind of eyes that always have a bit of a sparkle and have a happy, laughing quality to them. Let your eyes become very kind and soft in this exercise. The eyes are actually exposed parts of the nervous system, and when you are putting a compassionate twinkle into your eyes, you are automatically sending a healing message directly into your nervous system.

So, with this kind, compassionate, twinkly smile, allow a physical smile to play around your lips and imagine you are smiling kindly up into your brain. Visualise all the folds and creases in its two hemispheres. Stay there for a moment and then silently thank your brain for all the work it does.

Still smiling kindly, bring your attention down to your heart and smile and twinkle appreciatively into that as you watch it pumping all the blood around your system. Again, stay for a few moments and then give it thanks.

Now, take your twinkling eyes down into your lungs which are gently moving in and out with your breath and smile kindly into all the little tubes within them. Stay for a few moments and give your lungs thanks for allowing you life-giving breath.

Then take your gentle smile to the front of your body on the right side, just under your right breast, This is where you will find your liver busily processing all those enzymes, and smile kindly and compassionately down at it. Give it thanks.

Travel with your eyes to the left side of your body where, tucked in behind the ribs and under the left breast, you’ll find your stomach. Smile and twinkle kindly at that, too, as it works at digesting all the food you eat and give it thanks.

Now allow your kind, compassionate eyes to move towards your back, just above your waist, where you will find your kidneys which are so efficient at helping to remove the wastes from your body. Allow your eyes to rest there for a moment or two and give thanks to your kidneys. Then let your eyes travel to the front of your body in the area of your waist where you will find the large intestine looped up your right side, across and under the diaphragm and then downwards again on the left side of your body. Let your kind, twinkly smile rest upon this and the small intestine which is folded like a concertina in between the three sides of the large intestine. Smile benevolently down into these organs. Give them thanks for all the work they do in processing the food you eat.

Finally, allow your eyes to travel further down your body and smile kindly and compassionately at your genitals. Give them thanks too for the functions they perform and the pleasure they can give you.

As we come to the close of this exercise, imagine a happy smile like a crescent moon lying on its back stretched across your forehead. Imagine the same crescent moon smile stretched across your heart. Imagine that crescent moon smile stretched happily across your belly.

Rest for a few moments in this smile and then slowly and gently open your eyes.

Exercise 5 is a version of the “Inner Smile Meditation” by William Bloom.

Some people feel quite resistant to trying this exercise and it’s often because they have issues about their body image and don’t want to spend time focussing on any part of it. If this is true for you, remember the object of this guided meditation isn’t anything to do with how we manifest on an outer level—whether we’re tall, short, fat or thin, how we look facially, or whether we’ve got large feet or a big bum—we’re looking inside at the organs which sustain our life and govern our health! For the most part, we take them almost completely for granted and if one organ (or more) isn’t functioning optimally, we tend to not feel very kindly towards it.

Therefore, bearing in mind what I’ve been telling you about endorphins, it should now be clear that any thoughts of this ilk are very unhelpful. Your organs need love and appreciation to help them grow stronger. Even if you’ve got a healthy body, they still need kindness and gratitude to help you maintain your health and well-being.

This exercise can really help you do yourself a lot of good by directing endorphins into each different organ of your body.

If you have an existing meditation practise, try doing “The Inner Smile” followed by “The Connection” before you begin your own method. The combination of the two will then take you very easily and deeply into your usual mode of meditation and will give you a fantastic dose of endorphins for starting the day!