Relics – When The Mind Doesn’t Tell You, Listen To The Body

The Relics series are throwback articles from previous years. They seem timeless enough to be relevant today.

Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love. - Victor Hugo 

Note: This article was published last year.

I recently had a significant wake up call at work. Let’s say I failed to keep a few important people happy.  In many respects, it was my own damn fault.  In the stress of the last few months, I became less and less mindful. The result was a series of poor decisions that blew up in my face.  I lost my mental discipline.  But in retrospect my body was there for me.  The so-called mind-body connection is a powerful one.

I work at an incredibly successful company that’s rocketed from being a startup to a growing public company.  One of the downsides is the stress that comes with keeping up with the success.

Over the last few weeks the pace and multitasking has shot through the roof.  I move from meeting to meeting all day making quick decisions and directing staff to shift focus on a dime.  I see the toll it takes on them. But I failed to see the toll it was taking on me.

Going Through the Motions

Mindlessness feeds on itself like a snake swallowing its own tail.  A false sense of success drives you to accelerate.  But all your really doing is tightening yourself into a knot.  I began to get shorter in temperament and communication. I become myopic and my mind was racing. Signs first showed up in my meditation practice. So, I increased my practice. But each time I went to the cushion, the distance from my here to peace was always substantial.

What finally came through for me was my body.  It wasn’t a heroic rescue, more of a dope slap.  I began having difficulty sleeping. My restless leg syndrome symptoms dramatically increased.  I was popping Advil like candy for my arthritis and neck tension.  My body was screaming at me to pay attention.

Karma at Work

What’s ironic is that this is my karma, my pattern of suffering. I’ve had a couple of life events like this one.  At the time I’m writing this article, it is my 20 year wedding anniversary. It’s also an anniversary of one of the most memorable examples of my mind body link.  In the weeks leading up to the wedding, severe back spasms set in.  I had no idea why.  The doctor said he could find no reason for the pain.  He declined to give me cortisone shots, saying in all likelihood it was psychosomatic.  I was puzzled.  Everything else was going great.  I was getting married to the woman I loved.

So, our wedding day arrived.  I was barely able to drive.  My future wife had to carry everything for me, including some heavy boxes of champagne. We got there in time and managed to tie the knot without incident.

Now get this. An “I do” and a few sips of champagne and miraculously I was healed.   The pain went away not to return for almost a decade.

A few weeks of tension and anxiety leading up to my wedding and my body broke down.  But I went on clueless, never talking with anyone about it, never connecting that I might be a tad nervous on my way to the alter.

Mind Body Connection

I don’t like the term mind-body connection.  The phrase implies that they are separate and we need to do something to notice the link.  Just listen to the body.  It will tell you on no uncertain terms what’s going on with your mind. The message it delivers is not just to improve your posture or take your medicine.  It’s a pretty unveiled threat to  pay attention or else.

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