“… I call it a revolution because that’s actually what I consider the act of directly witnessing and listening to our body’s voices.  Even though I feel that ‘living in the body’ and accessing our wisdom and intuition from the life that flows through us is actually our natural way, we’ve drifted so far away from that natural state over time such that many of us are hard-pressed to locate a single sensation. Given the rich beauty, power, sense of lineage, and connectedness that I know to be available within our own skin, it’s shocking, really, that we don’t all choose to live here – and, yet, it’s hardly a surprise. Collectively we’ve grown up in a body-denying and even body-degrading culture that worships the realm of the head, and is devoid of mentors, models, even language for what it is to be in right relationship with our body. To boot, I suspect most of us received regular messages, explicit or otherwise, to not hear – never mind heed – the wise whispers our body generously offers up. 

To me, to dive in and feel what it’s really like in here .. in this physical vessel, steamy and fecund and mysterious,  with all of its pain and pleasure, darkness and delight, contraction and expansion, emptiness and busyness, fear and love, is to accept the charge of being human. To humbly set aside our ideas about ‘how things should be’ and instead willingly receive them as they are – as we are. And yes, the perceived ‘risk’ is that even just opening the door to this guest house, as Rumi calls it – that is, even to just turn our attention toward the teeming life of the body – means opening ourselves up to ALL possible sensations, emotions, intuitions and impulses that might come to visit – the whole unpredictable enchilada of fleshy human experience. So: indeed, in this culture, with our personal histories, with little inspiration around us, and even less guidance … absolutely I think that cupping our figurative ear to our body, and sourcing our sense of ourself through what we find there, is radical, pioneering and, yes, revolutionary. Like any revolutionary act worth its salt, attending to our body takes a conscious choice, takes guts, and – the best part – carries the immensely contagious power to inspire others around us to do the same. “

 I love the phrase, “accept the charge of being human.”  It brings me to my senses!  And it takes me beyond them to the infinite space and grandeur that being human also includes.

Much love, and Happy Valentine’s Day.  May it be a re-love-ution for you!

Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity.  BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, and growth.  Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume.  Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook