The Powerful Trio of Mind-Body-Spirit

Q: How much do we know about mind management? 

A. I by no means am an expert but I’ve certainly read enough transformational books and have attended enough mind management weekends to hold my own in a conversation about mind management.

I doubt if anyone will ever ask me to teach a master class on visioning, self-regulation, and challenging your thoughts, but I could certainly maintain my position in a casual group discussion. 

And then, of course, there’s taking stock of where we are right now and releasing limiting beliefs.  We can probably round out the old mind-management topic with affirmations and visualizations. 

Q: What about your body?  How much do we know about that?

A. I think I can generally say the older I get the more focus I put on my physical body.  But then again, we live in a culture where the body is everything. 

It’s size and shape.  The number of calories we’re consuming.  Our daily cocktail of supplemental vitamins and minerals.  Not to mention the sheer amount of lotions and potions we slather on our faces.

Let’s not leave out our commitment to hydrate and exercise our bodies. 

Q: To complete the Mind-Body-Spirit trio, What do we know about Spirit?  Let’s look at that for a moment.

A. If I’m being completely honest, the first thought that comes to me regarding spirit, is how is spirit being defined?  The second question I ask myself is, “What are we really talking about here?”

In other words, I feel a little stumped.  And a little embarrassed to admit it. 

I can’t tell you the amount of time I’ve devoted to my mind and body and how little time I’ve dedicated to the study of spirit or spirituality. 

That last statement might be true or maybe it’s not. 

Let’s first look at a definition of Spirit as it relates to the Mind-Body-Spirit connection. 

According to Cooper University Healthcare blog, the main concept behind the mind-body-spirit connection is that we are all more than just our thoughts.  We are also our bodies, our emotions, and our spirituality.  All these things combine to give us identity, determine our health, and make us who we are.

Said another way, The unique aspect of Mind-Body-Spirit is often thought of as three separate entities, but we also should look at them not as mutually exclusive, but rather as each component feeding and nurturing the other. 

This is all fairly easy to understand and incorporate until we get to “Spirit.” 

Another link might come in handy!  Faith and Health Connection .   In this post, we understand that “Spirit” in the Mind-Body-Spirit trio is the part of a person that connects to a higher power, gives meaning and purpose to life, and enables communion and fellowship with that higher power.

It is the Spirit that provides intuition between right and wrong and is a component of love, purpose, and gratitude. 

Spirit in this context truly makes me want to continue to nurture this component of who I am.  I will give the Spirit more of my time and attention to better understand its influence and its connection to my mind and body. 

Here are a few ideas to learn more about “Spirit” or increase our spiritual connection:

Meditation, prayer, and reflection - engaging in the quiet of all three can help us connect with our spiritual side

Nature – spending time outdoors, and paying attention to its natural beauty can foster a feeling of gratitude, thankfulness, and a sense of spiritual connection.

Seeking guidance – being open to guidance from various sources, such as through prayer, dreams, meditation, and from wise people.

Spiritual contemplation – setting aside a bit of time each day to deepen our connection to the Spirit.  Prayer, meditation, reading spiritual books, and looking at spiritual online content with help to strengthen our spiritual connection.

Simple acts of love and kindness – striving to be a vessel of compassion helps us to tap into our spiritual connection as does helping others through volunteering.          

So, there you have it. 

I’m sure as I’m writing this, for many of you, I’m “preaching to the choir.”  You’re well aware of the importance of a healthy spiritual life and how it relates to both your mind and body.    

But if you’re anything like me and would like to increase your commitment to better understand and strengthen the spiritual pillar in your life, and at the same time understand that any spiritual aspect of life can be tailored to your individual beliefs and preferences then my hope is that this post supports you.

If nothing else, we hope we’ve given you food for thought.