You are one entity with three aspects. Each has its needs. Each part of you has to honour, respect and work in harmony with the other parts in order for all to reach their needs. Each part has basic needs, intermediate needs, and ultimate needs.
Body’s Basic Needs
food
water
clothing
shelter
Body’s Intermediate Needs
to be healthy
to feel well
to feel good
to be pampered
to be touched
Body’s Ultimate Goal
to be immortal
Mind’s Basic Needs
control
safety
security
Mind’s Intermediate Needs
to be loved
to be connected
to feel part of
Mind’s Ultimate Goal
self-actualization
Spirit’s Basic Needs
to be known
to be recognized,
accepted as existing
Spirit’s Intermediate Needs
to heal
to become whole
to feel at peace
to know itself
to find wisdom
to find God
Spirit’s Ultimate Goal
heaven
nirvana,
ending the cycle
coming home
We talk about living in peace and harmony with others, but very little is said about living in harmony with ourselves.
Most people emphasize one aspect over the others, usually mind. We talk of people so caught up in the material world, in making money, acquiring things, paying off the mortgage, that they have lost their soul.
Some are primarily concerned about their body, either making it look good or making it healthy. Of them we say they are trying to live forever or be young forever.
Some are spiritually oriented to the point where they denigrate their body, become ascetics, learn to overcome physical discomfort, and even self-flagellate. Or more commonly denigrate mind, attributing to it negatives such as selfish, fearful, shameful, controlling, guilt-ridden. They may attack body and mind as distractions, illusions. This is not harmony.
Harmony is each aspect recognizing, respecting, and taking care of the others; honouring body, mind, and spirit. Harmony is body, mind, and spirit living and working together in intra- dependence.
Your body is not just a vessel for your mind and spirit. That’s disrespectful. Your body has a life of its own, is beautiful, even a miracle, provides pleasure.
Respect your mind. Quit the name-calling. Stop putting ego down or seeing it as something to be controlled, even an enemy to your spiritual self. Mind has its role and can be seen as positive. Rather than controlling, me-driven, and selfish, we could just as easily say mind wants to take care of, protect, help; qualities we normally call selfless. Mind lets us live in this world, sees that we are fed, safe. It partakes in the beauty around us, can see wonder, learn, soar. Pigeon-holing mind as negative is not harmony.
Pay attention to your spiritual needs. Don’t wait until you face death. Getting caught up in the demands of daily living is not harmony.
Each has its needs, from the most basic to the ultimate. Each has its role. If it doesn’t play its role or its needs are not met, then there is disharmony. Living in disharmony is no fun.
If your trinity is in disharmony is it possible for any one aspect to meet its needs? Can mind achieve self-actualization or even love, connectedness, and feeling part of, if it ignores body and spirit? Can spirit achieve peace and wisdom by denigrating body and mind? Can body achieve health, wellness, and feeling good, when mind and spirit are not involved?
Hearing
Each aspect has its own way of communicating:.
Body feels. Body feels well or ill or tired or vigourous. Body communicates by feeling.
Mind talks. And talks and talks and talks. We call it our inner voice. Mind also has an outer voice which we use to communicate with other people.
Spirit knows. You have this sense of knowing. That’s why you need to get quiet to pick up spirit’s communications; because it doesn’t have a voice that talks. Spirit just knows.
Harmony
When body, mind, and spirit are living in harmony, our lives, our energy will be in flow. Flow means everything works, everything comes easy.
Body is in a state of health and well-being.
Mind is calmly and efficiently operating in the material world.
Spirit is centered and connected.
This is harmony.
©Alice Steinbart 2003
