Deprioritizing the Mind
I have exalted my brain for most of my adult life. By that I mean, I viewed my brain as the top functioning part of my body. The place where everything comes from. The source of understanding. The authority.
Take a look at this image:
When you map each word on the left to its source on the right, which do you map to most?
And take a look at this one:
Which do you trust most?
My answer across the board used to be brain. My thought process was: my brain processes what my heart feels. My brain tells me what my gut says. My brain translates intuition. It’s the one that delivers everything so I gotta trust that, right?
As a deeply reflective person, I have lived mostly in the mind. And it has served me well for a long long time. All the healing and growth that shaped who I am today started with mindset shifts. Things like:
Realizing the stories I was telling myself
Understanding that discomfort is always trying to teach me something
Learning not to resist what is
That was the doorway.
As I get older (now 40), I notice a shift in my internal priorities. I’m now understanding the wisdom of the body. Of the unexplainable (such as trust, emotion, feelings).
When the body entered the conversation
There was a time in my healing journey when I had very little mind–body connection. I couldn’t really feel what I would feel with my hands. I was klutzy with low awareness of my body in space and time. It almost felt like my body wasn’t fully mine. Like it was a separate entity. And yet, I was doing well this way. I was healthy, curious, positive, growing, and surrounded by good relationships.
I remember in 2017 my friend Jennie asked me what I was working on. I told her, “I want to strengthen my mind–body connection.” I felt the [intuitive] need for that. So I named it. I chose it. I began practicing it. I had to intentionally build that connection.
Once I started tuning more into the body, I began to recognize the wisdom it holds. The illogical, unexplainable kind that doesn’t arrive in sentences.
How does one hear the body without using the mind? Well, it’s less about thinking and more about sensing. Picking up on subtle signals. Feeling something before you understand it. Knowing without needing proof.
When the body leads
The essence of what I’m trying to say is this: Starting with the mind is often a wise entry point for growth. It’s familiar. It helps us make sense of things. It gives us language to begin.
At some point, when the body begins to lead, a deeper layer of wisdom and confidence emerges.
The mind helps us understand.
The body helps us know.