In an attempt to bomb proof my mind, I have undertaken doing uncomfortable things to free my body, mind and spirit from attachments that weigh me down.
I see in myself as I see in others that we have developed fears about losing certain things, giving up things that might not be good for us, or taking uncomfortable actions.
We have developed certain expectations and desires that we see as needs. With those expectations we have also developed fears of loss, harm, and pain.
In my walk towards liberation, I have attempted to develop acceptance of things that I can do nothing about. On a daily basis I have been attempting to cut the ties that bind.
Below is a list of things I am doing to free my mind and body:
- Fasting – I have a few different reasons for fasting, among them is health related and to change how my mind views food. So many of us are accustomed to eating multiple times a day. The reactions I get from people varies, but the typical response is one of concern about my health or that I am starving myself, neither of which are problematic. For me, I consider it freedom to know that I will not die from a lack of food in 3 days or 30 days. During this time of fasting I relish the liberation of taking food off my list of priorities. We have been mind warped into thinking that going without food for more than a few hours is not good, and thus we have these unhealthy attachments to food. Look at the magnitude of health problems today associated with food, how many of our health issues could be cleared up via fasting or just eating less over all?
- No Shampoo – I have been conducting a no shampoo experiment for a few months now with great success. Here again I have a feeling of being liberated from a ludicrous idea that we need to wash our hair everyday with shampoos filled with unnatural and toxic substances. Instead of toxic shampoos for my hair, I use hot water to remove excess oil and dirt from my hair. So far my hair smells neutral (according to my wife), it looks great, and the person who cuts my hair has been none the wiser to my experiment.
- Fear of pain – If you have been reading this blog, you know that I am a big fan of a martial art called Systema. One of the tenets I appreciate about Systema is developing acceptance. In particular acceptance that you will get hit in altercation and it will probably hurt. Thus in training with Systema you learn to accept being hit and dealing with the pain by being hit. In the group I train with, not only do we do push ups on our knuckles, learn to fall on hard surfaces and take strikes in class. But we end class where one person without defense accepts hard punches to the body over a period of a few minutes. With this practice I have increased my ability to relax and not to flinch when a fist or kick comes my way. There is power in being freed from the fear of pain and being hit. This training crosses over into other areas of my life.
- Fewer material possessions – As I apply minimalist principles, I continually re-evaluate the possessions I have. My concern isn’t with getting below arbitrary numbers of items. My goals are to avoid keeping anything I don’t use and not to have attachments to physical items that might breed a fear of loss. In doing so I evaluate my desires for physical things more critically and if I do buy something, it will be a good quality item that will last and has a purpose.
- Cold showers – I have been taking cold showers for nearly a year. In doing this I have removed fear about lacking the comfort of hot water and getting sick. If anything in the past year I have been in the middle of my family and other people sick with flu and other ailments without once getting ill myself. I don’t buy into the wives tale that cold water or cold air makes you vulnerable to sickness.
- Relationships – As I pursue my path of self-development and spiritual growth, I am forced frequently to evaluate my relationships. I have to consider the effect I have on those around me, as much as how those around me affect my being. I think we take for granted how much one very positive or negative relationship can have on our lives. I have attempted to shatter illusions I have of myself and accept as a human being that I am imperfect, I have weaknesses and I am corruptible. Therefore I have to be cautious about who I associate with, about who can affect me. We underestimate how much influence people near and far have on us.
These are a few of the things I am focusing on with more planned and other items I haven’t mentioned yet. The cumulative effect that I have felt is I feel more free with less things holding me back. My ultimate goal is develop an unwavering sense of self-control and discipline, to see past the temporary and superfluous things that tempt and deceive.
What are you doing to free your mind and body? Let me know in the comments below.
Post by Chris Harris @ Between the Temples. Image credit: Guiri R. Reyes
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this is a great post, i never thought that something as simple as a cold shower could be so liberating, but I think that you’re right because it doesn’t matter what the action is what’s important is your intention behind it.
ella recently posted..Meeting Notes Format
Hi Ella,
Thank you for your thoughts. Your catching on to something I wanted to convey in my post. There are all kinds of mental hangups and attachments we have that breed fear and hold us backup. Many times these mental attachments can be connected to physical attachments and comforts. Removing the smallest of attachments or fear can reduce the drag in your life.
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