Ego. A detriment or a benefit?
The body and mind are a perfect blend of the form and the formless seamlessly joined together from birth to death. There are a constant movement and interplay of energies between the two. In the body, a net convergence of energy helps create and hold the bodily form together. In the mind, the divergence of energy helps create space which can accommodate millions of thoughts we encounter during our lives. Convergence of energy in the body and its divergence in the mind is a complex framework within which our life plays out. When these convergent and divergent energies are in balance, we are neither body oriented nor mind oriented. We experience a sense of freedom. By balancing the energies of the body and the mind, another dimension of life may open up through the avenue of awareness.
Mind-body equilibrium
The conduit that connects the mind and the body perhaps acts as a transformer, turning the grosser energies of the body into subtler forms before being allowed entry into the mind and vice versa. Just as water finds its level, the energy between the mind and the body, in an ideal situation, is balanced. For example, when the mind is active in deep thought, the body naturally becomes quiet and still. Conversely, when we are undertaking strenuous physical activity, the body remains busy, while the mind is forgotten. In both situations, we should ideally allow time for both the body and the mind to equilibrate after strenuous mental or physical work. By doing so, energies reset, and the body-mind mechanism may become more efficient and less prone to breaking down over time.
When the free movement of energy between the body and the mind is impeded, there is accumulation and stagnation of energies in different parts of the mind and body. In some areas, energies may be amplified, and in other regions, it may get depleted. In the mind, thoughts begin to aggregate where energy is enhanced. In the body, wherever energy gets drained, diseases may set in. Uniformity is lost in the body and the mind. The mind of a child is very active full of thoughts and ideas, but each thought is spaced apart from another, and hence there is no one dominant thought or idea. The mind is a more uniform and level field of energy. This contributes to making them free, happy and playful. The average child, in general, is also healthier…
