Body consciousness

[hallenrm]

We are most often not totally conscious of our body, atleast that is my experience! We use and abuse our body, in the pursuit of our favorite goals mental or otherwise, till it complains vociferously that is we feel sick.

Can we train our mind to be more conscious of our body that is to let us sense the state of our body at any particular moment.

That of course assuming a mind-body dissection of the self.

I did some google search and found the following link, somewhat close to my question, but I am not really satisfied. Can any body help!

http://www.richardmoss.com/teaching/...iousness.shtml

[ronthepon]

It's not right for me to do this, but I highly recommend this book.

Amazon.com: Practicing the Power of Now:...
Amazon.com: Practicing the Power of Now:...

Although I had purchased it for a tiny fraction of the listed price in India, it was one of the few books of it's kinds that I felt useful. Might want to check 'Zen buddhism'

Also, the book's supposed to be a shortened version of:

Amazon.com: The Power of Now: A Guide to...
Amazon.com: The Power of Now: A Guide to...

[HydrogenBond]

The secret lies within the right hemisphere of the brain. This is the spatial side of the brain. It has 3-D memory connections such as those that define the natural 3-D connections between mind-body called instincts. The left hemiphere is more rational and is limited to cause and affect relationships, which may or may not be spatially integrated. In the left hemisphere, instincts are assumed relative since cause and affect or 2-d thought can not yet integrate instincts in 3-D. In the right side of the brain, these connections have been around for eons.

For example, if science/philosophy assumes motivation is based on pleasure and avoidance of pain, it can only reason the nature of instinct based on this assumption. This line of reasoning obviously doesn't explain everything, i.e., not fully 3-D. The 3-D side of the brain, is instinctively wired in 3-D, and already has the proper mind-body connections. Reason will not get one there any time soon, because of limiting assumptions. The obvious solution is to shift the ego into the right hemisphere of the brain and learn to think in 3-D so one can tap into these memories. This is easier said than done. It is probally the next step in evolution.

[tarak]

This is only my opinion:
Having a consciuosness about the general health of the body is good.It also depends on the level of a individual's knowledge and self awareness.Keeping fit and maintaining overall hygeine and looking after oneself leads to a happy life.

But if the level of self awareness about body crosses a limit it would be hell.If you become aware every moment ;that you are breathing and your heart is beating and your neurons are pumping ions in and out...you will enter the mind-body dichotomy and existence trap which makes one sick.

[Celeste]

Originally Posted by tarak

This is only my opinion:

But if the level of self awareness about body crosses a limit it would be hell.
If you become aware every moment ;that you are breathing and your heart is beating and your neurons are pumping ions in and out...you will enter the mind-body dichotomy and existence trap which makes one sick.

This statement is absolutely true. Having an arrhythmia, I can attest to the nightmare of becoming "overly self aware." Rarely does a day go by that I don't notice every one of the 10,000 to 20,000 premature beats (PVC's) of my heart. Hell is putting it lightly. Some things are better left alone.

[HydrogenBond]

But if the level of self awareness about body crosses a limit it would be hell.If you become aware every moment ;that you are breathing and your heart is beating and your neurons are pumping ions in and out...you will enter the mind-body dichotomy and existence trap which makes one sick.

There is truth to this but it also raises and interesting point, which is the optimum limit of self awarness. This is called natural instinct. In other words, if you knew what the body needed with respect to food, rest, laughter, exercise, one could optimize the general requirments of the body. Modern science, sort of averages these needs for everyone into a one size fits all approach making such awareness seem unnecessary. But maybe such awareness is necessary for optimum health since one size does not fit all.

A good example that hasn't been too rationalized are the cravings of a pregnant women. Some of these strange food combos seem silly, but these could examples of body awareness near the natural limit gathering specific chems for the growing baby.

[hallenrm]

Good points, HydrogenBond, Celeste and tarak! But what I had in mind when I started this thread was something akin to the warning system in most modern automated devices. You start getting a beep, as soon as some part of the device approaches its predetermined limits.

What I was thinking is the ways to reprogramme our mind according to our real needs. Yes during certain periods of emergency, we may need to set up these limits higher so that we can ignore them and proceed with the tasks at hand. But the real problem arises when we continue with these limits even during the normal course and often suffer ailments that could be best avoided by a more vigilant state of mind.

[LJP07]

I know a reasonable good Consciousness studies book found at the following link, available at download for free:

Consciousness Studies - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks

[Michaelangelica]

IN CONVERSATION - The origins of consciousness?
Thursday February 8, 7:40pm, RN
Brains are expensive to run - which is why many try to do without them. So why do human beings invest 20% of their energy in running what is 'the most complex collection of matter in the universe'? Could it be that something so 'primitive' as thirst was the impetus? Professor Derek Denton, founding director of the famed Florey Institute in Melbourne has written a new book on this idea. The implications are profound.
In Conversation

[Taraxanoid]

I think the idea of the mind-body ideal is that they are seperate entities. By attempting to connect the two even moreso than usual is like you're trying to join them into one entity. The more 'attached' your Self is to your body, the more futile you will feel. The more ill you will become.