Intelligence vs. Innate Knowledge
The body is probably the most sophisticated, marvelous, best-designed organism – or, in popular parlance, machine – in existence on this planet today.
It is hard to think of anything else that is thought out so cleverly, that can adapt to a wide variety of circumstances so perfectly, that can self-regulate and self-heal with such efficiency, and that can be trained to incredible mastery in pretty much anything we set our minds to.
What the body is not, however, is intelligent. Not in the sense we typically use this word. The body ‘knows’ what is and is not good for it – i.e., what foods nourish it and what food doesn’t, and it can give very accurate feedback to our Self on these things – just think of the next morning hangover after a night of heavy drinking. Your body will let you know in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t the best idea.
Yet, that same body also seems to, at times, crave things that our rational Minds understand are NOT good for us. A cocaine rush, the good, satisfying feeling of a sugary dessert, the buzz that comes with alcohol consumption – if our bodies are so in tune with what they need to function properly and last a long time, why are they also so prone to send signals of enjoyment when indulging in physiologically unhealthy behaviors?
A symbiotic relationship
Because the mind and the body are – maybe, depending on who you ask – separate entities, and they both function on fundamentally different principles. However, they are, at the same time, inextricably connected.
The body is a very complex biochemical system that tries to maintain homeostasis through a constant, millisecond-to-millisecond balancing and adjusting of thousands of hormones, enzymes, proteins. This ‘baseline’ is the body’s blueprint for continuous, healthy functioning. Certain substances can bring this baseline out of balance. So can certain thoughts, or emotions.
A shifted baseline does not necessarily result in unpleasant feedback from the body. For example, a massive, quick dopamine release, triggered by a substance like sugary foods or alcohol, can feel quite good. This is exactly where the body’s ‘intelligence’ finds its limits. The overriding faculty here is the mind. it is ultimately the mind that creates emotions and corresponding feelings in the body. Our physical form simply responds, without judgment.
The physical tendencies that the body can develop are therefore always following the psychological thought and behavior patterns that the mind created. We can most certainly leverage this principle to our advantage. The mind determines to a very large extent the state your body will be in.
The body is not simply a stupid machine. However, it also lacks true intelligence. It does need guidance, just like it sometimes can give guidance back to the mind. If the mind’s intelligence and the body’s innate knowledge about its ‘blueprint’ are mutually integrated, an aligned experience of life is being created.
If you would like to learn more about this life-defining relationship, Reach out and let’s talk.
