21. In the beginning was the Word ...

Summary

Learn to speak from the whole of you by talking to each part in turn.

Take one word

Play along. Take a single word – yes or no ^[1]. Go stand in front of a wall, say it out loud.

In order to feel the different centres' support for the word, you need to activate each centre in turn, and then say your word (I'm going to use no for the rest of this article). Let it echo about a bit, hear how it sounds, notice how it feels to say it, notice how your body supports it.

Round 1: head

Activating your head is easy for most people, since that tends to be where most people hang out anway. I think of spreadsheets and – boom! – I'm in my head.

Now, just say no. Let the wall reflect it back to you. Notice whether there's any wobble or give in your structure; notice whether it firms up or tightens up; notice whether your eyes drop away from the wall; notice whether you stay with the no or you retreat inside yourself; notice whether you want to say anything else too. Notice your comfort.

Spreadsheets. No! Oh, wow, I meant it. But it didn't last. I immediately wobbled at the decisiveness of it. I know I mean it, but I don't feel that I mean it.

Round 2: heart

Activating your heart is also easy for most people (I just recall my dog), but your head might not like that. So, when you activate your heart, notice whether it stays activated or whether you find yourself back in your head thinking about the exercise. If you do, be aware that your head is attempting to edit your other centres' voices.

With your heart activated, just say no again. Stay with it for a moment, noticing how you feel and how it sounds. Also notice whether your head wants to pass comment.

Ah, Scallywag – I soften and ease. My no comes out quieter but calmer and clearer. There's no surprise to it, nor aftershock. I feel the truth of it and the sadness of it, but it's okay. I'm okay.

Round 3: hara

The hara is the centre of your abdomen, the physical centre of your body, so activating it can be quite physical. Prepare to lift a fridge or push a car; you'll notice a firming of the abdomen as you do so. That's it.

Say no again. Notice what you notice.

I gird myself. No. It comes from deep within my body, and it stays alive. There is structure behind, keeping it effortlessly strong. This is not an answer, it's a fact. It's not unfriendly, but it's not friendly either. I wouldn't particularly want to meet it alone at night.

Bonus round

Hopefully by now you've experienced the differences between the centres (if not, rinse and repeat). In this round, you get to align them with each other and speak from that unified whole. Activate each centre in turn (sometimes it helps to place your hands on each centre as you go). If activating one overwhelms or turns off another, repeat the process until you sense that all three centrres are equally awake.

Say no from all three centres, and notice how that feels.

I wobble the first time – as I get to my hara, my head starts to boss things around. Re-set. Restart.

This no reverberates against the wall and breaks against my steadfastness. It stands with all the logic of the head, is softened by the sadness of the heart, and is held firm by the strength of the hara. It is fact; it is the way of the world.

I am calm, resilient, and kind.

From small acorns ...

That's a basic exercise. Not basic as in beginner or easy. Basic as in setting a baseline to work from. Thence you can adapt it as you wish.

Perhaps you might practice making a statement in order to see how you unify behind it. Your head may wobble with the work involved in I am writing a book, your heart may recognise how it's your life's work bearing fruit, your hara may just say get on with it then.

You could hold a statement in each centre in turn, and see whether they say yes or no to it. You could find out from there what each centre needs in order to be able to support the statement.

... mighty oak trees grow

We live in a society that admires logic, rationality, and intellectual intelligence. But we are capable of far more than that. To seek be greater than the sum of our parts is a deeply challenging, rewarding and daring practice. More than that, though, it makes it possible for other people to be so too.

Start with how you are. Invite all of yourself to your life. Offer understanding to those parts that are quieter, or that don't speak so clearly. They will reward your trust.