Taoist Wisdom 2 - Intelligence Of The Body

Welcome to the second meditation of Taoist wisdom.

One of the fundamental principles of Taoist philosophy is to trust the natural course of the world.

In practice,

This idea translates into an attitude of trust in our relationship to our own body.

In fact,

Taoist sages remind us that our body is made of the same substance as that of the rest of the universe.

Its activity is inseparable from that of its environment.

In other words,

The intelligence of the biological mechanisms that keep us alive is of the same type than the ones we can find in the organization of a beehive or in the regulation mechanisms of an ecosystem.

But contrary to what we are often told,

We can't force this intelligence to manifest itself.

Whenever we frown our eyebrows to concentrate,

Scratch our head to remember something,

Or bottle up our emotions to remain rational,

We're actually hindering our natural capacity of understanding.

Our intelligence,

Like the Tao,

Always happens of itself,

As becomes obvious when we consider the complex workings of our immune system or of our digestion.

Applying Taoist wisdom to our relationship with our body means that we develop an attitude of profound respect towards our organism,

That we treat it as a source of constant wisdom,

And that we take some time each day to patiently listen to it.

The following meditation aims to honor this intelligence of our body by giving it our full attention.

Start by finding a comfortable seat,

And make sure you're in a posture that allows you to stay wakeful and balanced.

Before closing your eyes,

Allow your gaze to soften and to take in the space that surrounds you.

Take a deep inhale through your nose that fills your entire body,

And exhale slowly through your mouth.

Again an inhale through your nose,

And gentle exhale through your mouth.

You can now turn your attention inwards and allow your breath to fall back into its natural rhythm.

Now,

Bring your attention to the top of your head.

And slowly extend it to the entirety of your scalp.

Notice what is happening in your forehead,

Temples,

Eyebrows,

Eyelids,

Cheeks,

And forehead.

Face and jaw.

If at any point you notice some tension,

Simply notice it without trying to do anything about it,

And see if it evolves when you give it your full attention.

Bring your attention to the front and back of your neck.

To the muscles and bones in your shoulders.

It's common to feel some intensity,

Or even some pain here.

If you do,

Just acknowledge it.

Pain can be very revealing,

So instead of changing your position right away,

Take a moment to honor its presence with your awareness,

And listen to what it may be trying to tell you,

And then simply move your attention to the next area.

Scan your arms from your shoulders down to your wrists.

To your palms.

The back of your hands.

And the muscles and bones in your fingers.

Watch what is happening on the surface of your chest.

Inside your lungs.

Perhaps you can even feel the beat of your heart.

Come down to the sensations in the top of your belly,

Near your stomach.

Down into your lower belly and pelvis.

Notice the sensations in your upper,

Middle,

And lower back.

Again,

This is an area that we tend to ignore,

And our attention is built up.

So very gently,

Pour your attention over your back.

Noticing any strong or dull sensations,

With all of your patience and respect.

Lower your attention to your buttocks and thighs.

To your knees.

The muscles and bones in your lower legs.

The top of your feet.

Feel the activity in the soles of your feet.

And your toes.

You can now relax your concentration.

And notice how you feel,

By gently letting your body move as it pleases.

All of these bodily sensations you've observed always have something to tell you.

There are signals emerging from the very processes that keep you alive at every instant.

That allow you to see,

To breathe,

To replenish your energy,

To heal wounds.

And all of this without you having to control anything.

Before ending this meditation,

You can repeat the following affirmations to keep honoring the intelligence of your body.

With each sentence,

Notice how the conscious repetition of these words makes you feel.

If you feel something pleasant,

As you say it,

Or perhaps some resistance.

Whatever arises is fine.

I trust my body,

And I listen to its wisdom.

My intelligence arises when I'm fully relaxed and my breathing is deep.

I let my emotions express themselves fully in my body.

I hope you enjoyed this session.

Feel free to let me know about your experience in the comments.

And I'll see you next time,

For a new meditation of Taoist wisdom.