Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims,
This month The Wisdom of the Body: 10-week online companion retreat to the book is our featured self-study. We have updated all the video content to now have closed captioning and transcripts for accessibility.
This is an excerpt from the book:
How do I welcome in all that is most nourishing and fruitful into my body and soul? What are the habits and beliefs which rob me of this fertile moistness in my body and soul?
There is a story from the desert fathers where an Abba says to a seeker, “Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” (Poemen 80) This can be easier said than done, since we are inclined to so many “comforts” which only serve to numb and distract us from life. How often do we try to satisfy ourselves with that which depletes us?
In the book of Deuteronomy we hear a similar invitation: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” (Deut 30:19) Choose what is life-giving, what makes you flourish, what brings you alive.
What if your fundamental commitment is to only offer your body and soul that which is nourishing and to listen to what depletes you and say no to those things.
I find some of the contemporary materials on intuitive eating very inspiring and sound. And yet, for some of us, if we have engaged in disordered eating of any kind, tuning back into that intuition can be challenging. The contemplative path is about deepening our capacity for intuitive connection to our body wisdom so we begin to hear our bodies’ voices.
I invite you to hold the question as you move forward: Does this nourish me or does this deplete me?
Sometimes we will only discover in retrospect whether something was nourishing or not. Keep returning to those questions of nourishment and depletion and notice what is true for you in this moment. Not what was true some time ago, or what you long for in the future. The body grounds us here and now.
Is this truly nourishing? If not, can I change what I am doing? If I can’t change what I am doing, can I shift my perspective? Can I pay attention to how my body is feeling in this experience and make room for whatever that might be? Can I offer a prayer on behalf of someone in need? Can I commit to myself I will do something nourishing when this necessary task is completed?
Our work with this process (and it is a lifetime process) is simply about presence and awareness, rather than judgment. Through presence we practice a radical hospitality to our own experience. If I eat too much or spend hours in front of the television mindlessly, can I welcome in my disappointment with myself, can I welcome in the grief I am trying to avoid feeling?
Accept that there will be times when you do something which doesn’t feel especially good for your body or soul. Then go back to my second invitation which is to be ever so gentle with yourself. When we experience resistance and then we resist further, we further our own wounding. One of the most healing practices I have found is this simple act of kindness and deep care for our well-being.
The practice is exactly that, a practice. We get to show up again and again.
Bring this question to everything: to eating, to work, to playing, to movement. Sometimes we are required to perform tasks for work which aren’t nourishing, and that is okay. But bringing our awareness to the moment can help to enliven us to new possibilities.
Then notice the patterns. So much of what we describe as nourishing are things to be enjoyed slowly and are rooted in the experience of the body: good food, good conversation, time spent in nature, rest. Whereas, what depletes us are often things like worry, anxiety, control, conflict, rushing, many things which reside in our mind and thoughts. Notice what is true for you. How do you define true nourishment?
When we get anxious we become disconnected from ourselves, our thoughts start to race and grasp. When we are always running from one thing to another, we lose ourselves and a fundamental connection to the body.
The body loves slowness. It creates more space for greening to enter our being, to experience the lushness of the body. Of course, the contemplative loves slowness as well. The heart of the contemplative path is slowing down and paying attention, becoming fully present.
Please consider joining us for the self-study version of The Wisdom of the Body. Use code BODY20 for a 20% discount.
You are also invited to join us this Friday for a retreat with ValLimar Jansen on Sacred Echoes: The Mystical Pathways of African American Visionaries. This retreat was rescheduled from February. Read ValLimar’s reflection on the retreat here.
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
