The wonders of the mind-body connection has always been intriguing to me. Although I can’t exactly pin point what started this journey of curiosity, hearing others experiences from overcoming some sort of mental/physical adversity through thought alone, or experiencing unexplainable phenomena’s had always led me to ask, “are we really just flesh and bones? Is there more going on that the naked eye cannot see and our minds cannot conceptualize?”
It is undeniable the mind-body connection is prominent in our daily lives but our knowledge of it still limited. Yet, whether you are interested in this field of study, looking to discover the hidden human potential, or simply looking for a new read, here are 5 books to get started with.
Descartes Error
Damasio in his book, Descartes Error, challenges the traditional belief that humans can disregard their emotions and use their brains to be logical in their reasoning, but theorizes we are never truly logical and more or less biased in our decision making. You’ll discover through Damasio’s bizarre clinical studies, the edifice of our neuroanatomy and the the understanding of the critical influence our emotions play in our decision making and how to utilize both the feeling and thinking to make wiser decisions.
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy, lets you in on his studies in psychology and tips on how to obtain happiness, riches, and self healing capabilities all through the hidden powers of the subconscious mind. Drawing stories from those he encountered he uncovers the potential humans have through the subconscious with visualization, thought, and belief to either create illness and “bad luck” for us or create the reality we want and even cure our sicknesses through training the subconscious.
Character Analysis
The book is definitely not a quick read but interestingly, Reich was inspired by Freud’s study in psychology but felt it was limited. He believed that the human psychology was not just in the mind but also the human body. Wihelm Reich in his book, Character Analysis, in the early 1900’s documents his studies in psychoanalysis to reach a better understanding of character development in regards to the work of Sigmund Freud, with the idea that humans form coherent personalities and body shape as a result of childhood experiences. For instance, a person with a skinny, strong and angular physique would be characterized as having a Schizoid structure; one who has fear engaging in the physical world, a reluctance to engage in responsibility, complete tasks, or develop relationships. Or even the Rigid structure, categorized as perfectionist, struggle with relationships because of the love of their parents were not reciprocated, concerned with beauty and cant be still.
These are not concrete statements about a person but only possibilities according to Reich’s studies.
The Voice of the Body
Alexander Lowen was a student of Wilhem Reich. The fascination about his work is the continuation of Reich’s studies in character analysis that led to the development of what is known as bioenergetic therapy. Discovered in the 40’s and early 50’s, Lowen took Reich’s concepts and theories to the next level. The dilemma for the human to experience, feel and express rooted in “energetic blockages” or chronic muscular tension that caused stress in certain areas of the body. Lowen described these structures as a sense of armor, a defense system developed for the human body as a sense of safety and security. These tensions as Lowen noticed through numerous patients, depending on their location of the energetic block would restrict a person from fluidity of self expression, feeling, movement, and improved mental health. These would also be caused by a traumatic childhood experience; for instance, someone who had difficulty speaking up for themselves would potentially have tightness in the chest and neck. Lowen, developed bioenergetic exercises with a combination of movement, stretching and diaphragmatic breathing to help patients heal, release, and return to who they truly are.
To this day, there are practitioners around the world helping many in a holistic fashion.
Intuition
Osho, a guru and philosopher during his lifetime, possessed insights into topics regarding life and the human experience. Although this book does not go over the similarity of the mind-body connection, one popular book of Osho’s teachings Intuition: Knowing Beyond Logic, elegantly describes the difference between the logical mind, heart and the human spirit for believers and non-believers alike. Everyone has the capacity to tap into their intuition but lack the the knowing of differentiating what it is exactly as Osho states “Logic is how the mind knows reality, intuition is how the spirit experiences reality.” Intuition does not come in steps as most think but refers it as a “jump,” jumping from point A to point B without the existence of what’s in-between. “Intuition means just that – that’s why reason denies it. Reason denies it because reason is incapable of encountering it. Reason can only encounter phenomena that can be divided into cause and effect….it is just a leap from nothing to being.” Similarly, when you ponder a question or thought and receive some sort of answer or insight without previous knowledge of it, you just know.
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