Connecting Mind, Body, and Soul

What is the body?

The body is the first thing we notice when we see someone. The body is a container for the mind and soul. It is the vessel that moves you. It feels, sees, smells, hears, tastes. It knows pain and joy. It produces tears, sweat, excrement. It eats, sleeps, moves.

But the body is not just functional. There is so much identity often tied up in the body. We judge others’ bodies and often decide our own self-worth based on appearance—for better or worse.

The body is limited-edition and we are called to care for it. We only get one. Some parts may show wear and tear, but the goal is to be whole and healthy.

What is the mind?

The mind is not just the physical organ of the brain. It is an entire set of thinking abilities such as consciousness, imagination, perception, thinking, judgement, language and memory. The mind also comprises noncognitive aspects such as emotion. The emotions work with the brain to perceive and interact with the world.

Your mind controls your attitude. You can’t have a whole body and soul without a healthy mindset.

So, what does a healthy mindset look like?

Catherine Beard, of theblissfulmind.com writes on her blog
that a healthy mindset includes calmness, clarity, compassion, concentration, and courage.

With a healthy mindset you can handle the stresses of life and better care for your body and soul.

What is the soul?

The soul is the place where courage resides, where hope is harbored. Your soul gives you a source of strength and power live out your beliefs. When I experience peace, it is most often when I have stilled my mind and let my soul speak what it knows.

Many believe that the soul is what lives on after the body dies. So, wouldn’t it be important (perhaps most important) to tend to this soul, nurture it, develop it and strengthen it as one would the mind and body?

What does it look like to strengthen and nurture a soul? How I do this will likely look different than you do this, but we can learn from each other.

Some ways to nurture your soul:

• write
• listen to music
• forgive
• daydream
• take long luxurious baths
• read the Bible
• immerse myself in nature (listen to the ocean, gaze at the sky, watch wildlife)
• practice gratitude, generosity, and kindness.

How are the mind, body and soul connected?

I believe that to be healthy one must be whole, living as a symbiotic unit. One aspect affects all the others.

For example, a negative toxic mindset will make the body sick eventually. Also, the body suffers when you ignore your soul. Muscles tighten, stress increases.

Conversely, moving the body and feeding it healthy nutrients and getting quality sleep enhances the mindset. When we’re mindfully present, breathing into the body, the spirit gets a chance to speak.

In conclusion, good health is a result of harmony, balance in the three elements body, mind, and soul.