Written by: Calvin Niles, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson received a standing ovation for what became one of the most popular TED Talks of all time. The British author and international advisor was speaking on the subject of creativity in schools. The mainstream education system not only kills creativity, he postulated, but it stifles potential. Realising one’s potential is one of the main reasons why we are alive, is it not? Yet while his talk specifically addressed the limits of existing educational paradigms, his humorous observation stuck with me most.
“I like university professors,” he said in his talk, How Schools Kill Creativity, “...but, you know, we shouldn't hold them up as the high-water mark of all human achievement. They're just a form of life. Another form of life. But they're rather curious. And I say this out of affection for them: there's something curious about professors. In my experience – not all of them, but typically – they live in their heads. They live up there and slightly to one side. They're disembodied, you know, in a kind of literal way. They look upon their body as a form of transport for their heads.”
Imagine the human body, a treasure trove of information and source of wisdom, being used as the biological version of an Uber, transporting you on command to your next meeting. Okay, I appreciate it also serves that purpose, but what if your body was also a library, memory bank and source of ancient wisdom? We are at a time in history where we are starting to break out of some of the old patterns of living and waking up en masse to the realisation that our bodies are pivotal to our advancement. Your body is an integral part of your cognitive and emotional processes and cannot be separated from the mind. I would say that is why today we see embodiment practices growing resurgent, and that is for good reason; reconnecting the mind and body is key to realising our full potential. So how can you reactivate your mind-body connection?
“Your body is a gift with a source of precious knowledge if you know how to access it. Moving with awareness is one way to access this wisdom. However, in a culture that emphasises cognitive achievement, targets and output, it is easy to experience a major disconnection with your body's natural, deep intelligence – you are missing out on the full, exciting variety of human experience.”
– Professor Helen Payne, University of Hertfordshire
Meditate
Mindful meditation is a powerful practice that can help you grow in awareness. Mindful.org describes mindfulness meditation as asking us to “suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness, to ourselves and others.” Specifically, our sensory experience in the body here is key. When we are disconnected from our sensory experience we are still very much numb to what we are actually experiencing. It is akin to driving blindfolded or chopping vegetables in the dark. Yet we live our lives this way. Much of this is to do with the lack of training we have into the mind-body connection which then, of course, becomes a habit. Without a doubt, my own childhood education can attest to this fact. However, Mindfulness meditation can help illuminate those parts of you that are in the dark and connect you to present moment awareness which, when sustained, creates positive shifts in our brain wiring and behaviour.
Accept
What is happening in your life right now that you wish would just stop? On the other hand, you may be holding on to an experience that you wish would last forever! Yet the reality of this moment is that neither will last. It is needless to say then, that resisting what is real at this moment is futile. For the sake of clarity, I do not mean that you should helplessly resign yourself to a situation if it is unhealthy – after all, most of us want to realise a better world – but that the internal denial of the present reality burns a lot of energy, energy which can be better used to act upon your goals. By strengthening an attitude of acceptance we can approach the sensory experience in our bodies with an equable nature, and gradually allow the light of our conscious mind to shine on the seemingly-dormant parts of our bodies. This is because every event in our lives that provokes emotion is experienced in the body – many times by passing the conscious mind – and when it stays there it can continually drive our behaviour without us even noticing! But as meditation grows your awareness, coupled with an attitude of acceptance, translates many of the events in your life and you begin to free yourself from habitual, unconscious responses and move towards your innate potential.
Let Go
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. Its purpose is to help uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. In essence, there is something miraculous about the nature of our existence. I imagine it to be like trying to comprehend God. It may be no coincidence that an elementary particle called The Higgs boson was named ‘The God Particle’. Psychologist Carl Jung was reputed to have said that, “the truth about God is complex because God is a mystery whose nature is beyond human comprehension.” In other words, there is something bigger governing our realities.
Surrendering to this knowledge can be very helpful – and becomes clearer as we restore our mind-body connection. The less attached we become to our own ideas – for example of what happiness is, our concepts of the world – for example our judgements of right and wrong, and our efforts to control events – for example our likes and dislikes, we can surrender them to a higher power. Whether you describe this higher power as the quantum field, God, nature or the universe, is of no significance here. Rather it is the letting go that should be given prominence. When we learn to let go in this way, we allow emotions to pass through the body and dissipate without holding onto them and locking them in the body itself.
If, like I was, you were once described as someone who lives in their head, or you get consumed by the enjoyment of philosophical discussion, yet you know very little about your direct experience of the world, through your own body, then know that it is never too late to reactivate the link. Like two parts of the same country divided by a river, the mind and body are one – you just need to build the bridge. Meditation, acceptance and letting go are some of the helpful building materials for constructing that bridge, which when complete you can recapture much of the fullness of what it means to be human.
“Your body is a gift with a source of precious knowledge if you know how to access it. Moving with awareness is one way to access this wisdom. However, in a culture that emphasises cognitive achievement, targets and output, it is easy to experience a major disconnection with your body's natural, deep intelligence – you are missing out on the full, exciting variety of human experience.” – Helen Payne
Want to create a new story for your life? Follow Calvin for more on stories, mindfulness and poetry on his YouTube channel, connect with him on Instagram or visit his website for more.
Calvin Niles, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Calvin Niles is a communication coach known as The Mindful Storyteller, making a positive impact on the lives of leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches, and wider society through his services and products. Through his experience in mindfulness, storytelling, coaching, and business, he empowers others to be authentic and impactful in their communication. Calvin has worked with hundreds of people from leaders in large corporates to SMEs, and from solopreneurs to some of the top 10 charities in the UK.
