in the intro of Hartley's book page xxi, she mentions an acupuncturist's idea that all sickness is home sickness. Please reflect of your own experience with this.
Subscribe To Sensing In Motion Blog
Posts
Comments
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
my Somatic Blog
http://wan-tee.blogspot.com/
I am constantly searching for an answer to the question, "Who am I?" Because I have always had difficulty getting "out of my head", I have always yearned to form an intimate relationship with my body. While my mind has a strong effect on the state of my body (ie. stress makes me sick), I can't seem to find a way to access my body's effects on my mind. Exercising my body tends to quell my anxiety, but my mind's negativity is hard to conquer. I have felt the weight of this schism for most of my life. In other words I am homesick and want to return to the balance that represents the confluence of mind and body.
ReplyDeleteThis idea resonates with me. My movement of becoming more whole (and more well) in this world is guided by a feeling of always coming home. My definition of what home means is alway changing and growing as I follow it, always creating a new edge to settle into. This can be even seen throughout a day; if I listen and respond to what it is my body needs in every moment, then I am learning to come back home to my present belonging. I also feel a more external draw of homesickness, guiding me towards new environments, ways of living and people. When viewed from this perspective, then the sickness is also the cure. I think that other more medically oriented sicknesses such as cancer and heart disease would also benefit from being viewed in this perspective.
ReplyDeleteI feel the most at peace, which is akin to home for me, when laying next to a babbling stream in a forest on a bed of moss. The sound of the water trickling over the stones, the gentle cool breeze through the cedar trees, and the smell of wet leaves and rushing water seem to carry away all of my anxiety. I think that the healing power of movement, both in nature and in water is the key to this metaphor for me. If I keep my emotions, my thoughts, and my body moving in a constant babbling stream, everything blends together to create a heart beat that reminds me of home. The rhythm of nature also reminds me of how I feel when dancing with others. I feel most at home when all the senses are heightened, yet the mind is a blank slate. The sensory input is strong yet nothing snags on the corners of my mind.
ReplyDeleteThis quote, along with the information about homeostasis presented in 'The Body Has a Mind of Its Own', makes so much sense to me. When I have those beautiful moments of embodied existence, I feel the same feelings of safe contentedness that I feel when snuggled into my parent's couch at my old home, or the feeling I get when I drive I-5 through the mountains right before the Bellingham exits. I want to shout, "I'm home! I'm home!" and then sight it, too, "Oh...I'm HOME." Hartley also wrote, "To be present in our body is a form of awareness, and it is a first step toward being kind to ourselves and others. In coming into our body we become connected to our greater home, the earth; we become a part of the earth and she a part of us." Perhaps this is why, when I am most anxious, disembodied, distracted, and non-homeostatic I crave the beach. I crave the union of myself to the place that I know the best, that holds me. We humans, and perhaps all animals, want the full union.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the last two comments really helped me to understand what I think of this quote. I just finished watching the movie "Genesis" which is filled with images of water and creatures and all forms of life. It is obvious to me that our bodies are microcosms of nature as a whole. Our bodies are 80% water and so is the ocean (just as one simple example). Maybe "home" is the same as "homeostasis". The earth and our bodies are both constantly trying to maintain an equilibrium. Our bodies want to reflect the natural patterns of the earth. Maybe, as Shay was saying about the earth being home, our deepest longing is for our bodies and minds to be a perfect reflection of our flowing, living planet.
ReplyDeleteI feel most at home with a two people that I am close to. Home to me has always been made by me, it isn't a static thing that has existed for me all my life. These two people are the most healing force in my life. It can change, too, this idea of home. It is, like Johanna said, that we are trying to reach an equilibrium. Isn't that what home feels like, a balance? When we are balanced we feel the most secure and with feelings of true personal security comes the feeling of home.
ReplyDeleteAll quarter I've been wanting to go "home". Home as in literally, back to Boise, Home as in supported by my friends and family, but mostly home as in home within myself. It seems I've forgotten how to relate to my body and myself and I can feel it in the loneliness that won't seem to go away. I really resonate with what people here are saying about being home as being closest to, and even replicating nature. And I also can feel how much I'm craving the knowing of myself that used to feel so natural. Being away from home in a physical sense requires me to feel at home within myself at my core. When I don't have either, I feel lost.
ReplyDelete