A systems view of biological health

Section 1: Introduction

8 : Possible benefits

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This systemic wholeness of the entire body-mind complex we think of as a human being has been recognised in several corners of our culture.

Jung considered the subconscious to be in part the physical body and in part the collective soup of consciousness that we swim in. Reich looked to integrate body and mind, considering sexual drive (the urge to reproduce) to be the power house at which everything converges (and also the nexus at which most things go pear-shaped in Western culture). There is a whole flotilla of lesser-known body psychotherapies and body-based practices (bodywork, movement, breath, etc.) that integrate the physical and psychological. Some meditation and prayer traditions in major and minor religions and from all corners of the Earth (including Celtic Christianity, Sufic Islam and martial arts such as Aikido, Shaolin, etc.) have considered the living world (including the human body) to be a portal to spiritual awareness. Which requires that it is viewed and related to in a manner that takes account of its sacred nature

If you were to apply any of these spiritual or mindfulness techniques and systems yourself in your daily life (rather than rely on a skilled facilitator or coach or therapist) many years of dedicated application would be required to develop the necessary skills. What I have aimed to do here is to provide:

1. a simplified map of the body-mind territory that does not require decades of practice to master - that is
2. complete in itself as a simple, relatively easy to learn and use package – that is
3. a view from a more biological and somatic reference point (most of the maps you will find have either a psychological or spiritual perspective) - that is
4. accurate enough to be a reliable guide (that will not take you into dead ends and leave you having to unlearn what you have learned) - that is
5. as safe as it is possible to make a guide of this kind; self-help being full of invisible pitfalls for the unwary. I have drawn a map with navigational tools to help you steer your awareness into useful and productive yet safe territory – that is
6. very practical in its application - that has the potential to
7. help you to become more embodied and resilient, and able to identify other things that also lead in these directions – that can, if you wish to take it in that direction
8. also lead further into more psychological, spiritual and/or nature-connected experiences – a life lived more fully.

I wish you very good Health!