I’ve Been Thinking

True intelligence has no thought…It is an attunement of the body to the world…”I know thisI have not been living itI have been thinking waaaaay too muchIt just seemed so important to thinkAs if I could counter the uncertainty I’m experiencing with copious thinkingYou’ve had a front row seat to how that’s gone for me.The quote is from Philip ShepherdAlthough Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes ‘flow’ similarlyPhilip has an exercise I’ve often lovedThe idea is this:Take a simple idea, like ‘the sky is blue’And feel what ‘knowing’ that idea feels like in your mindThen move the idea down into the heart, and feel what ‘knowing’ feels like thereFinally, move the idea into the pelvic bowl, and sense what ‘knowing’ feels like thereIt’s simple. It takes a moment. Try it! Each intelligence center feels a little different.The realignment this quote offered today invited me to the exercise againBringing thought through the whole body to discern a deeper, sensory experience of truthSometimes, with a less simple idea, you have to modify the phrasing to get it to move to the lower energy centerThe example he gave is when the head thinks, “I want to marry this person I just met”You might need to shift it to “I’d love to have a cup of coffee and a conversation with this person”To be able to have it be true in the heart or pelvic floor. They’re not prone to hyperbole.So, as my mind has been thinking“I cannot find a job”My heart’s truth is “I have not found a job”And my pelvic floor’s truth is more like “I am doing my work”Similarly, as my mind has been repeating“I am running out of money”My heart feels “my immediate needs continue to be met”And my pelvic floor takes it further:“I am a vital part of an economy of care”Just this little exercise proves to me I’ve been spending all my time in my thinking mindAs much as I have learned of its fallibilityOld habits have had me resorting to it in crisisThis series of reframes has me operating more as my whole selfThinking less, more beingCloser to truth, closer to presenceThere, waiting for me to return. To listen instead of think. To know.I’m so glad I saw that postI’m so glad for the experience of the shift in orientationFor this exercise and remembranceWe need each other to remind each otherThank you, Philip This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com