The Body’s Intelligence Part 8
August 10, 2025
The Body’s Intelligence Part 8
Imagine right now, going to your fridge and pulling out a big lemon. Then you place it on the cutting board and with a large, serrated knife, you cut the lemon in half. Then you take one of the halves, put it right to your mouth and suck on it. Right about now, as you read this, your taste buds are probably standing on end and your mouth may even be puckering. All this happened without one lemon in your sight.
The body naturally reacts to any situation the mind imagines. This can work to our benefit or to our detriment. If our mind imagines a worse-case scenario, the body moves into fight or flight responses. But if the mind entertains pleasure, the body relaxes or biologically anticipates satisfaction.
In the psychological sciences, it has been proven that in extreme relaxation, if the mind thinks of a positive sensation, and if negative stimuli are presented, the negative imagined scenes have less power over the person. For example, Joan was terrified of bridges, and it came to the point that she could not walk or drive over a bridge. But as a wonderful painter she was a sought-after portrait artist. In treatment for the phobia, she underwent deep muscle relaxation, while at the same time being invited to imagine painting a favorite portrait. With every stroke of her imagined brush strokes, she sank deeper and deeper into bliss. Then she was asked to imagine that she was driving across a bridge. This procedure was repeated numerous times with increased amount of time in imagining crossing the bridge, along with imaging her painting. The phobia was eventually overwhelmed by positive emotions. Just as the imagined lemon made your mouth pucker a few moments ago. When Joan imagined painting, her body reacted with pleasant sensations that overloaded the phobia. Joan was finally able to drive across any bridge without anxiety.
The body will cooperate with our thought processes, but it must work in tandem with our mind and emotions for the best results.
Inquiry: What can I now imagine that will prompt my body to be in joy?
Dear God,
I pray my body is directed by my soul, not my fears, my shame or my anger. Amen.
