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The
Body as Temple: The Eyes Have
It
By
Laura Perry
The
body is a temple, a sacred house
for the soul. Many different
spiritual traditions affirm
this concept, but what does
it mean in everyday life? Our
“body attitude” can
make the difference between
contentment and unease, and
may also have powerful ramifications
for health. But in modern Western
society we're up against quite
a challenge if we want to really
live by the idea of the body
as a temple.
In
our media-saturated world we
are bombarded by conflicting
messages about the bodies we
live in. Anorexic supermodels
display skimpy clothing and
tout diet products while, at
the same time, we are surrounded
by ads for fat- and sugar-laden,
nutritionless “convenience”
foods. If you're like me,
the desire for instant physical
gratification frequently conflicts
with long-term health goals.
Did you know that just looking
at pictures of unusually thin
models for a few minutes can
make you feel bad about your
own body, even if you're
at a healthy weight? So what's
an ordinary mortal to do?
Let's
go back to the idea of the body
as a temple. What does that
mean to you? There is more to
each of us than just this physical
collection of bones, organs
and chemical reactions. It is
that “more” that is
the key to finding the sacredness
in our bodies and learning to
revel in our bodies rather than
be embarrassed by them. Whether
you refer to deity as God, Goddess,
Great Spirit, True Nature or
something else entirely, your
spiritual path offers you a
valuable clue to the sacredness
of the physical: deity is within
you. Christians call it grace.
Earth-oriented folks say, “Thou
art God/dess.” Of course,
this doesn't mean that any
of us is a deity. It means that
there is a spark of the divine
within each one of us, a spark
that makes us spiritual beings
who happen to reside in physical
bodies.
That's
all well and good, but what
does that do for those of us
who hate to look in the mirror
and wish our bodies were a different
size and shape? Let's look
at a few ways in which we can
affirm that divine spark and
let its radiance overpower the
negative programming we encounter
in modern life.
Here's
a simple exercise: look at yourself
in the mirror. Not your whole
body, just your eyes. Now, when
I say “look at yourself,”
I mean just that - look at the
eyes that are staring back at
you. What do you see in them?
There are the obvious physical
details, of course. The iris
is flecked with color. The pupil
may be large or small depending
on the light around you. The
whites may be bloodshot if you've
been pushing yourself a little
too hard. But that's just
the physical. Look beyond it
- really look into those eyes.
Eyes article continued next page, click here! |
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