How Do You Digest Your Reality?
We are teaching workshops and traveling a lot at the moment, eating wherever we are and whenever we can. This easily upsets our daily digestive rhythm. Which got us thinking about how we normally digest our world.
The digestive process is not just about taking in food, it is also about swallowing and assimilating our reality -- here we absorb everything that is happening to us along with our feelings, sensations and experiences. Digestive difficulties can be connected to having to swallow distasteful emotions, such as someone's anger, or because our own adverse feelings are rotting inside. In fact the digestive system is a wonderful monitor of our emotional balance: If we are happy with what is happening in our lives then our digestion will be reasonably maintenance free, but if we are experiencing conflicts, stress or difficulties, then these often show up as indigestion or constipation.
The Mouth
This is where our inner and outer worlds meet: a reception area where reality is vetted to see if it may pass through, and a departure lounge for emotions, thoughts, ideas and feelings. We break down incoming food and information into usable parts. How we do this is indicative of our attitude to life: taking small or large bites, chewing quickly or lingering over each mouthful. Do you relish biting into life? Do you sometimes "bite off more than you can chew?" Do you take a long time "chewing things over" and perhaps get so involved with the details that you lose sight of the overall picture?
The Throat
This is a two-way bridge, connecting our head and body, or mind and heart. It takes in air, food, liquid and reality; and expresses our thoughts and feelings. In exactly the same way as we swallow food, we swallow our reality. This may also include swallowing our feelings, doubts, fears, or anger. To "swallow" something is to accept and believe it -- when we swallow our reality we are accepting it into our being. Are you swallowing hurt feelings, such as failure, shame, guilt or disappointment? Do you swallow food without really chewing or breaking it down, do you also tend to leap into things without paying attention to the details?
The Stomach
Digestion is absorbing what we need and eliminating what we do not need, both physically and psycho/emotionally. Having a healthy digestion means being able to receive nourishment, and to let ourselves be nurtured; without this nourishment, whether physical or emotional, there can be a constant craving, a longing to fill hidden needs, or a strong denial and rejection of those needs.
Indigestion is caused by worry and stress as much as it is by upsetting food. The stomach is where we harbor worry -- the digestive enzymes churning with anxiety -- until we can "no longer stomach" what is happening. Indigestion can also be caused when the reality we are digesting is too bitter or sour, or is proving too much to bear, and we literally cannot stomach it any more. What issues or feelings are you swallowing that are so bitter or upsetting? Is your heart burning up about something or someone?
The Intestines
The intestines are not only where we complete absorption of nutrients and prepare the unwanted for departure, but also where we assimilate and absorb the details of our reality. It is here that we process our "stuff," where we digest what we have taken in. The belly is the feeling center where we have intuitive "gut feelings", or can get emotionally wounded, as when we are "hit in the guts." Feelings can get locked in here, unable to find expression or release. In the large intestine the matter is finished with, ready to be excreted. This area is about releasing, so difficulties here are connected to clinging to that which has already served its purpose. There may be grief or sadness, or a fear of letting go.
The Rectum
The anus is the final exit point from the body. It is a private, hidden part of our being, tucked away out of sight. Here we find unacknowledged fear and anger. Is someone being "a pain in the backside"? Are they getting too close, invading your privacy?
Constipation
More laxatives are sold across the counter than any other remedy -- constipation is so common that we have come to think of it as being completely normal. There is no doubt that the increased consumption of processed foods is a major cause, as is a decrease in physical exercise, but they are not the only reasons.
Many issues to do with elimination are connected to childhood. A young child has two major ways of controlling his or her parents: through refusing or accepting food, or by defecating or not. Having a bowel movement is an act of surrender; constipation is an act of holding on to power.
Lessons learnt at this time will stay with us into adulthood. Constipation is linked to issues of feeling powerless, particularly at times of financial problems, relationship conflicts, or when we are traveling, as these are times when we want to hold on to everything as it is because we do not know what will come next. What feelings might arise if you were to let go? What might happen to your relationships or work if you released control and let things happen spontaneously?
Learning how to be more playful and spontaneous can go a long way toward relieving the situation. Most important, though, is learning how to express our feelings and, once expressed, to let them go. The deeper issue is trust: trust that everything will be OK, trust in the people around us, and trust that events will flow as they are meant to even without our control.
You can read more about understanding your body-mind relationship in Deb's book: Your Body Speaks Your Mind.
Do leave a comment and let us know about your digestive issues! You can receive notice of our blogs every Thursday by checking Become a Fan at the top.
Ed and Deb Shapiro's new book, BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, Forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors such as Marianne Williamson, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Michael Beckwith, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jane Fonda, Jack Kornfield, Byron Katie, Ed Begley, Ellen Burstyn, Dean Ornish, Russell Bishop, and others, will be published November 3rd 2009 by Sterling Ethos. Deb is the author of the award-winning book YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND. Ed and Deb are the authors of over 15 books, and lead meditation retreats and workshops. They are corporate consultants, and the creators of Chillout daily inspirational text messages on Sprint cell phones. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
*Follow
and become a fan of Huffington Post Living
Facebook*
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Hi Ed and Deb,
I like your metaphor and the comparisons you use for step by step processing. The part that triggered self-contemplation for me was toward the beginning, the mouth. I do take in large mouthfuls and bite off more then I can chew in life sometimes. Thanks to your comparison, I can see a real relationship between the two. I think that after mowing grass today I'll take some time our and go for a ride, Somehow I figure things like this out when I'm focused on the road ahead of me and not really thinking about life at all.
Peace
RR
Great post--thank you. It reminds me a little of my Buddhist training re: Body, Speech & Mind—if the three are synchronized, we can live full realized, beneficial lives in the present moment. If not...we're a mess, and our effect on others and our world is often unkind and chaotic. Speech was considered key—it connected our body and our mind, our ideas and vision with our practical, everyday life. For that reason we trained in elocution—how to speak properly—as a part of our Buddhist training. http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/03/mindful-speech-elocution-in-buddhist-tradition/
Thank you so much to both of you. My favorite columnists, along with Tara Stiles and David Burdick, on Huff Post!
Great blog. And please, have some fish & chips for me!!
Deb & Ed will be back on Wednesday evening so Ed will resume replying to comments.
Good article Deb, thanks..
Of course everyone has something to say about this wondrous pathway:
THE MOUTH:
“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Mark Twain
THE THROAT:
They told me, if the Republicans get elected, you're going to jail. If the Democrats get elected, you'll go free.
Harry Reems, co-star Deep Throat
THE STOMACH
"A hungry stomach cannot hear"
Jean de La Fontaine, French poet
THE INTESTINES
There is a spirit in us that makes our brass to blare and our cymbals crash-all, of course, supported by the practicalities of trained lung power, throat, heart, and intestines”
Sir Laurence Olivier
THE RECTUM
“Every exit is an entrance somewhere else”
Tom Stoppard, British playwright
See Janice Taylor's Profile
Oh and by the way, everyone ... as you know Ed & Deb are out of town. Ed asked me to tell you that he's going to answer our comments when they return. I think they'll be back before next week's post. Good thing. They are missed.
Janice
See Janice Taylor's Profile
Fascinating stuff that I will have to take some time to digest!!!
Truthfully, since I lost all that weight, I'm fine. No digestive problems. But I did get a root canal today. What's up with that? Thanks for your insight and information!
Deliciously yours,
Janice
a.k.a. Our Lady of Weight Loss
On having read your column I think I'll go on a fast :-)
Everybody FYI - Deb and Ed are in England and without access so that is why you're got getting comments from them. They will be back next week. (I Think) but please keep posting
This is amazing. I'm always thinking about the probiotics and enzymes etc. but this is so much more depth. Thanks for this great information. It opens my eyes
Hi! Nice to hear from both of you again. I understand your experience. When we are away from our comfort zone and does a lot of traveling etc. we tend to disrupt our biological rhythm causing discomforts. Physically we can adjust to that by what we eat and getting enough rest. On the mental side when you are out traveling don't forget to carry the four antidotes with you. Among the four the most popular being the antidote Metta. Apply them immediately when the poison dislike arises.
Both of you are overflowing with Metta no doubt but being in a different situation always pose new challenges. Faced with different situation and environment is the best moments to practice what we have been learning all these time.
No wonder my stomach hurts!I learned allot! This is a great article! Thank you:)
Another great article! I've been a fan of Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" for years and it looks like I would pick up a copy of Deb's book too. Thanks again guys for the food for thought.
See Kari Henley's Profile
What a "tasty" article! :)
It is so amazing to reflect on the emotional and physical parallels of our body/mind. Thanks for the reminders!
I think it is interesting how some people eat more when they are stressed, some eat less, some crave suger, some salt..... curious what you have to say about that?
For me, I am going to practice breathing in fresh air, and enjoy a mini vacation, even though the food oftentimes is LESS than healthy, hopefully the enjoyment factor makes up for it!
Cheers
Kari
Wonderful article. Definitely worth "digesting."
Hi Ed & Deb...thanks for another fabulous blog. I'm off to the airport shortly...
Aha! ...I'm going to test out my ability to go with the flow on this trip!
(I seem to repeatedly get constipated when I travel).
Great info today!
Many Blessings to you both!
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
