Mind, Body and Spirit

The body is the instrument of the spirit.  The brain is part of the physical body.  So just as the spirit uses the body for physical activity, touching and feeling, it uses the brain to think.  Of course the spirit can think without a body, so it can think without a brain, but once the spirit is encased in a physical body, the brain becomes very important to how the spirit functions.

Some brains are damaged from birth.  Some are damaged in accidents later in life.  Some lose the ability to remember and think clearly with age.  Other brains are sharp with heightened abilities to take in knowledge, ponder and figure out intricate correlations between bits of information.  Some brains stay clear and healthy all through life, never falling prey to the ravages of time.  In our human limitation, we say that some people are smart and others are not.  For some it is easy to understand and use what we hear or read.  For others it is a chore just to do simple tasks.  All of this has to do with the physical brain.  It may or may not have to do with the spirit. 

Some spirits are certainly more intelligent than others, but at the same time, some just seem to be less intelligent in this life because of the ability of their physical brain to do what their spirit might desire to do.  In other words, the condition of our brain can determine how well our spirit is able to function intellectually in this life.  However, it has been proven time and time again that people with limited intellectual ability are often the most naturally spiritually-minded people in this world.  That does not mean that the highly intelligent can’t be spiritual as well. 

By now you should be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with being able to lose weight?”  Well, I don’t know for sure, but I think it has a lot to do with overcoming the weakness that has led me to have a negative relationship with food and my body, which has led to the weight problem I am currently addressing. 

Scientists say we mortals only use a tiny percentage of our brain.  I believe, when we are resurrected, perfected beings, our spirits will be using much more of our brains and someday will be using all of our brains.  Right now, our spirits are just learning how to use the brain, and it’s a bit of a slow process, slower for some than others. 

To not get too far into this topic, I want to just skip ahead to why I think it’s important to understand the spirit/brain connection just a little.  When I’ve thought about the challenge of the spirit dominating the body rather than the body dominating the spirit, I believe I have sometimes actually been struggling with the brain versus the body, not the spirit versus the body.  Because my brain is part of my physical self, it is only as old as my body.  My spirit, however, is as least thousands of years old.  My spirit knows so much more than my physical self knows.  My brain is the part of me that is learning and controlling my body when I deliberate about what diet to follow or whether or not I want to exercise.  It is my brain that has to learn life and God and all things physical as well as spiritual.  My spirit is currently learning how to use a body and trying to guide my brain to open up to the spiritual knowledge that it already possesses. 

My true spiritual self that is not hampered by limitations of my brain is in charge when I have spiritual experiences.  When I am using my intellect, my spirit can only do what the brain is capable of doing.  So I keep trying to learn more and more in order to increase my spirit’s ability to function with this brain. 

Again, what does that have to do with losing weight?  All right, when the decision to eat or not eat comes from my brain, I am involved in the battle between brain and body.  My body is wanting to eat, to experience the taste and texture of food.  I may or may not be hungry.  If I am hungry, then it’s all good.  This is the way the body and brain are supposed to work.  The body is hungry.  It needs nourishment.  The brain says, “Okay, have this.”  But sometimes I want to eat and keep eating when I’m not hungry at all, even when I’m full.  The body doesn’t want that food.  The body isn’t hungry.  The body may even feel uncomfortably full, but sometimes my brain is still telling me it wants food because it’s looking for something else.  This is called emotional eating.  It’s not the body.  It’s not the spirit.  It’s the brain.  If I just try to get control of those thoughts or keep myself from acting on them, then I am just trying to control my physical self. 

To make real change requires the participation of the spirit.  That means the desires of the brain will change when the spirit is coming into the picture and dominating the physical self, the body and the brain.  The spirit will keep out those obsessive, compulsive thoughts that lead to the undesired behavior.  So how do we do that?  “To be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)

We must lift ourselves up spiritually.  We have to seek spiritual experiences.  We have to repent, change those things in our lives that are not in line with the laws of God.  I decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to do this weight-loss thing spiritually this time, and I spent six months building up my spiritual strength and not trying to control my eating at all.  At the beginning of June, I knew I was ready to change my eating habits, and I did it without any struggle between my brain and my body – no cravings, no cheating, no obsessing about food I couldn’t have, no wanting to eat when I wasn’t hungry. 

I use meditations designed to create patterns in my brain that keep me from turning to thoughts of food when I have emotional issues arise.  I use daily prayer and scripture study to do my best to be spiritually-minded.  I am even sharing my experience through this blog as a way to help train my brain to do what my spirit is directing me to do.  

This is not the quickest way to lose weight.  It took six months to even get started, but I hope it will be a permanent change in my body as well as in my brain.  I am looking for much more than weight loss.  I am looking to become the best person I can be, mind, body and spirit.