Taking our water with us
Matthew Berean
Having a body can be challenging at times, even though we are we are able to experience wonderous things with it: colors just before sunrise, the birth of a child, the smell of fragrant flowers, or the touch of a loved one. A body can also provide experiences that lead to discomfort and dis-ease.
A primary physical relationship that we negotiate throughout our lives, from the moment of conception through the death process, is that of gravity. The force of gravity seems to influence mass and energy even to the farthest reaches of universe.
“A manifestation of consciousness on the purely physical level, is gravity.”
The force of gravity is significant for bodies that are comprised mostly of water, especially because moving watery fluids through these bodies is required for life supporting functions. Once a creature moves from the aqueous environment of the ocean or the womb to a land-based environment, the effect of gravity on that creature increases due to the reduction in surrounding environmental support. The density of our planetary atmosphere is so much less than that of a watery environment.
Living on land rather than in the water requires adaptation to maintain adequate volumes of space in the body, allowing the body and its fluids to move freely despite the lack of support by surrounding liquid.
The movement of watery tissue and fluids enclosed in containers of connective tissue can create challenges. All these bodily components are like bags of water enclosed in our skin. As we live and use our bodies we invariably end up performimg activities that distort the interaction between these watery bags that are “us.” These activities can range from something as simple as brushing our teeth or using a computer mouse to having surgery or giving birth to a child. Over time, these forces can elicit a response in the living connective tissue, the bags themselves. The connective tissue can thicken and adhere to neighboring connective tissue. As more bags of watery tissue change shape and affect movement capabilities, the functional capabilities of the individual bag changes. This impacts the entire collection of containers in the larger bag, our body.
Mandala Awareness seeks to help individuals to address the sticky limitations of movement in the different layers, or bags, of tissue in their bodies. Efficient movement of tissue often leads not only to better physical functioning, but also to fewer mental and neurological stressors that can trigger tissue dis-function. As the mind becomes more calm, the body is better able to notice more of the wondrous aspects of life that have been present all along but may have been overlooked due to the distractions of inefficient movement in the field of gravity.