“The Body is that temple, within which mind is the devotee to the soul, life or God residing within.”Our body serves as a sacred temple that enables consciousness, a temple that houses the divine essence around us. It is the living manifestation of the invisible self. The spirit is who we are, while the individual body, mind, and soul are what we are in uniqueness to every other individual. The spirit of awareness and the spiritual soul embedded within the brain remain untouched while the body and mind undergo birth, growth, ageing, collapse, and rebirth.

Awareness of spirituality or spiritual methods and practices through consciousness enables us to perceive both the senses and desires, which are means of learning and experiencing, not achievements. On the other hand, identifying too closely with the body and attaching to our possessions imprisons us in the false reality of separation, and this impermanence leads to the illusion of thinking as everlasting.

Awakening the soul within the mind, as the superconscious witness of the mind, is an inward journey. Spiritual practices, such as observing the mind and experiencing divine deeds in divinity for divineness through selflessness, transcend both body and mind into higher consciousness. We call this being spiritual. Again, silencing and transcending the cognitive mind operating in the duality of this and that for its likes and dislikes in selfishness toward the non-dual soul reveals the true self of who and what we are.

From doing to experiencing the spirit or soul, the body becomes a vessel that bows not to the material world but to the pulses of infinite, eternal spiritual awareness, serving as a divine channel to the world.

Our bodies reflect the story of our lives. Life is a foundation of intelligence and energy, expressed in the form of matter and awareness. The present structure of our personality reveals how we have been treating our bodies and the effects of the mind on us. Our body and mind interact closely and influence each other to such an extent that one becomes the expression of the other. They cannot function separately; as elaborated below, we can never be wholly integrated individuals unless we respect both equally.

In seeking awareness for balancing the body and mind with the soul, I feel the start should always be from the body. The body is the temple where the divine resides as the spirit of awareness. As per the age-old saying, ‘Healthy, wealthy, and wise,’ health comes first, then wealth and wisdom automatically follow.

Each body cell has intelligence, which functions and coordinates with related cells. DNA, the carrier of our genetic code in these cells, contains all the data and characteristics related to our heredity, as well as those acquired through memories and emotions. As is our DNA, so is our perception. From this perception, the mind processes the data and reveals its intention, which ultimately manifests as a bodily action.

Today, most alternative therapies recognise the interconnectedness of the body, mind, soul, and spirit for effective healing. Yoga and mindful meditative awareness exemplify how this fusion between the three is required to obtain a wholesome life. More than living forever, or even longer, we would all prefer to live well. Body intelligence is the subject that leads us down this path of healthy and preventive living rather than an abusive and curative one. We all know that most of the money spent on research today is focused on curing rather than preventing diseases, mainly because profits are higher and easier to achieve when an imbalance is caused by ill health.

Our body has evolved over millions of years in human history, gaining intelligence. The autonomous nervous system controls certain bodily functions without conscious input, such as breathing, digestion, and sleep; it also maintains bodily balance with its intrinsic healing abilities. The miracle of our body’s intelligence is that it survives despite our abuse and bloating.

Furthermore, research on the mind-body relationship reveals that bacteria, particularly in the gut, can influence the brain and behaviour, indicating that emotional states are linked to the microbiome within the body. Additionally, recent studies suggest that exposure to diseases in the body may significantly impact intelligence quotient (IQ) or brain function. Moreover, we devote a great deal of energy to running our brains, and when diseases arise, they divert this energy from the brain to other parts of the body.

Our bodies degenerate with time and age despite all our health supplements, antioxidants, mental or physical exercises, miracle herbs like French pine bark, or by preserving super anti-age-related telomeres from degrading. Telomeres are segments of DNA found at the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, its telomere gets shorter, which causes the cell to die gradually. Even with all this research on replenishing the body with telomeres, they do degenerate due to wear and tear, abuse, time, and individual genetic design. Due to heredity, certain diseases are earmarked, and the effect on our body of the pleasures and pains we go through in life certifies that if there is anything specific in life, it is death.

Today, we can send our blood sample to a DNA profiling lab. We receive a report on our genomic analysis, which includes a list of diseases you may be at risk for, as well as personalised dietary recommendations. What about the daily damage caused by land, sea, and air pollution resulting from unhealthy habits and various environmental factors? My only answer is that technology may increase our lifespan, but our bodies will degenerate with time. So, why not live well with the correct perception, intention, and action so that there may be health, wealth, and wisdom?

The path to this awareness, consciousness, or insight begins only through the body because a lack of all the above is the reason for imbalance and ill health. Make peace with your body, listen to it, and become sensitive to its needs because, besides your innate intelligence and intrinsic healing abilities, it requires your love, care, and appreciation. Only then can you embark on a spiritual journey to reach a state of nirvana and transcend the limitless zone of self?

NAMASTE