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By Root 675 0

how to observe the mechanisms involved in breathing, as well as the various physical, emotional, and mental forces acting on them, depends in large part on learning how to sense ourselves, to listen to ourselves, to expand our attention to include the sensory impressions constantly arising in our organism. Though it sometimes happens spontaneously, listening to our bodies in the midst of action is relatively rare. It demands that we learn how to be attentive in two directions at once: outwardly toward the conditions and actions of our outer lives, and inwardly toward the thoughts, emotions, and sensations of our inner lives. For it is only when we can be aware of both our inner and outer worlds at the same time, that we can go beyond the beliefs of our self-image and experience the real forces at work in us.

Learning how to “listen” to the continual flow of information that our body gives us is not easy. It demands that we live not in our dreams and imagination, but rather in the reality of the present moment. As psychoanalyst Rollo May points out, “In our society it often requires considerable effort to listen to the body—an effort of sustained ‘openness’ to whatever cues may be coming from one’s body.” May was confronted with the necessity of listening to his own body when, in the 1940s, he discovered that he had tuberculosis. At the time, “the only cure was bed rest and carefully graduated exercise … I found that listening to my body was of critical importance in my cure. When I could be sensitive to my body, ‘hear’ that I was fatigued and needed to rest more, or sense that my body was strong enough for me to increase my exercise, I got better. And when I found awareness of my body blocked off … I got worse.”13

SELF-SENSING—THE BEGINNING OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION

Self-sensing brings us a more genuine relationship with ourselves, and with our own real needs, since it reveals how we are actually responding to the inner and outer circumstances of our lives. It also has a direct impact on our nervous system, helping to bring about the changes necessary for harmonious functioning and development. In understanding how these changes take place, it is important to realize that the human brain is composed of some 100 billion neurons, each of which “touches” approximately 10,000 other neurons. The main function of these neurons is to connect distant parts of the organism with one other, so that the organism can function as an integrated whole in carrying out its actions. The majority of these neurons are associated, directly or indirectly, with some kind of motion. And this motion depends on information, on sensory feedback, from both inside and outside of the organism. From the perspective of science, then, the main function of the brain is the correlation of our actions with the sensory data upon which these actions depend.

As we begin to sense ourselves more completely, we will experience firsthand how the correlation between our actions and our senses enters into almost every aspect of our lives. We will see, for example, how the motor cortex—the part of the brain that controls our voluntary muscular system and is thus involved in every intentional movement we make—depends on the sensory cortex to provide continuing feedback for its operations. The sensory cortex gets its information not only from the external senses, such as sight, smell, hearing, and touch, but also from our various internal senses. Our kinesthetic sensations, for example, come from stretch receptors in the muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments, and our organic sensations come from the various nerve receptors in our organs, tissues, and skin. It is only when the motor cortex has the most complete, accurate information available to it from the sensory cortex that it can execute our intentions in the most efficient, balanced, and healthy way possible. Self-sensing helps provide this information.

Through self-sensing we not only learn about the subtle, constantly changing needs of our bodies, but we also begin to learn about the impact