Body Awareness and Moods
I learned to meditate when I was 20. And just in time. A messed-up flower child, on a trajectory to the netherworld, I was often hijacked by paranoid moods:
“They know.
They can read my mind.
I’m the only dufus on the planet who hasn’t seen the great white light.”
A few months later, at the big 1968 retreat in Tahoe, Maharishi gave us a weapon to slay negative moods: place our attention on the physical sensations that accompany them—not the scary story. The mood will ease. It’s mechanical.
Called body awareness, this ancient technique is expounded by many contemporary teachers: Stanford psychologist Dr. Peter Levine (his well-known book: Healing Trauma), Eckhart Tolle, Jean Klein, Rupert Spira, Yogi Ramacharaka (visit: https://www.johncowhig.com/ramacharaka-chapter-19). It’s also central to Vipassana meditation.
This is how I understand it: a mood is not just in the mind. It’s a blend of thought and bodily sensation—hardware and software working together.
Fear is an alarming thought in the mind + a rush of negative energy in the body—fight or flight. (Same for desire by the way: a pleasing image + a rush of pleasurable energy.) Like melody and lyrics in a song, they amplify each other tenfold.
Here's the secret:
If the excitement in the mind is calmed, the body will settle in concert. If the excitement in the body is calmed, the mind will settle too.
This leads to a simple strategy: separate them: break their combined energy. Notice the sensations without bothering with the thoughts. Don’t buy the narrative in the mind (often pure fiction, as I learned). Just observe the raw, physical sensations in the body.
Why focus on the body? Maharishi gave an important clue: the mind can’t have a mood on an abstract basis. Even if the mood is just from something we ate, the mind will create a reason—a story.
And trying to calm thinking with more thinking is often futile—like a dog chasing its tail. But the body is simpler. A contraction or excitement in our stomach or shoulders is just what it is, where it is. Bring awareness to it. No fixing, no controlling. Just feel it.
He pointed out the nervous system is always working to restore balance, but our quiet attention brings more life-energy to its loyal efforts. It’s like a parent picking up a frightened child:
“I’m here.”
Immediately, its spirit is strengthened. Like that, the mind is the parent of the body. Attention soothes.
So, we need only notice the sensations as we’d look at a flower—neutral, easy, curious. Thought will intrude—it always does. No big deal. Gently flow attention back to the body.
I still think too much (vata-brain), so body awareness is a best friend.
If you’d like to read a longer version of this essay, visit: https://www.johncowhig.com/body-awareness
~ John