Day 342 of 365 - Trapped in the Body?

The wisdom card I chose today is titled, Don't be trapped in the body.  It goes on to say:  You are trapped in your body when you are ignorant of the soul.  Your body becomes a tool of infinite creation only when you become aware of the existence of the soul.

I've been pondering this a bit today.  There are times when I do feel trapped in my body, even though I believe in the existence of my soul.  My body ailments are minor compared to what so many people with chronic illness or disability contend with every single day.  It also got me to thinking about how an individual's sense of happiness or fulfillment in life may not have a lot to do with the status of their body.  We've probably all seen stories say, of people who have been paralyzed from an accident, living a very fulfilling life.

There seems to be a continuum at play here, I think.  Of course, if you are in incredible pain and suffering physically, it's going to be a challenge to focus on your soul and its purpose. On the other end of the continuum of experience is uplifting situations which help us rise above physical pain.  Childbirth comes to mind as an example.  I think perhaps we flow back and forth along this continuum, depending on the day we are having.

Today I was listening to a speaker on an interview talk about the influence of a sense of purpose on our health.  There has actually been quite a bit of research on this topic.  For example, a correlation found when a large observational study of 7000 participants, called Health and Retirement, was analyzed to compare mortality rates with life purpose scores, it indicated that those with the lowest life purpose scores were twice as likely to die within five years as those with the highest scores.  Other studies indicate a relationship between lacking a sense of purpose and inflammation, which leads to health problems.  Significant experience of grief and depression also trigger inflammation.

The point the speaker was making, in relation to physiology was, that our sense of purpose and fulfillment actually changes our physiological signalling at the cellular level.  When we think of inflammation, this is quite understandable.  If our emotions and sense of purpose in life either trigger inflammation or make us more resilient, it serves us to pay attention to that.

Going back to the message of the wisdom card about my body becoming a tool of infinite creation when I am aware of the existence of the soul, I wonder if living in alignment with my soul purpose allows my body to be healthier.  It's possible that the times I feel trapped in an uncooperative body are the times I have lost sight of my sense of purpose.

The speaker was encouraging the audience to give themselves permission to dream and to look at what really fulfills us.  It's the old pursue what you love advice, but there is truth in it.  She invited us to consider that fulfillment is a never ending pool of alignment which is self sustaining.  Changing our external environments and life focus to ones with purpose and fulfillment changes our physiology in a positive way.

I don't mean to imply that I have this all personally figured out.  I don't.  But, if these ideas have given me more food for thought, perhaps they will for you as well.


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