Embodied Mysticism
A reflection on opening our pathways of perception while staying grounded
We are more than this human body - this I know. Mystics, sages, teachers throughout time and space immemorial have told us that there’s more to this experience than our five senses allow us to perceive. Our bodies are miraculous, and what we can see, hear, feel, taste, and touch is pretty incredible — and yet, there’s even more.
Our Universe is made of a kaleidoscope of consciousness, energy that is in constant motion. Colours, forms, processes of creation and destruction, and entities of support and care, all of which seem unfathomable; yet, with so many of the recorded Near Death Experiences, miraculous medical experiences, paranormal phenomena, past and future life regressions, scientific discoveries, or unexplainable gifts, we continue to receive doorways to the unseen.
I am a very spiritual person, and equally if not more so, a skeptic. I have studied the mystical for 16 years, and only now, after finding that too many people from too many places and time periods, with too many areas of expertise come back to the same teachings, I can say without hesitation that:
… We are One
… There is so much going on beneath and above and beyond what we can easily perceive
… We are energy, we’ve had many forms, and this is the adventure; when we leave our bodies, the journey continues and/or we go home
… Our Earth and Her species are not the only living things in the Universe
… We exist in a multiverse with infinite possibilities
… We are creative beings
And so much more…
While we will likely never fully understand that which is beyond our realm of understanding, we have deviated so far from what is available to us. The very notion of our ability to create or that we are a part of a Mysterious Infinite elicits openness in some, and contraction in most. Yet, how is the way that the body works and a forest’s eco-system any less mysterious and magical than the fact that there are worlds beyond our own?
We have so many challenges as humans, and we don’t want to turn away from them or simplify their complexity through some spiritual ‘excuse’. This happens a lot in spiritual communities. This is because it is hard for the body to hold two truths: that we are human with much heartache and suffering, AND we are spirit or energy or consciousness, with a capacity to create and hold more love than we can imagine. When we hold both, we do not bypass through the teachings of the beyond, but integrate and include. This has a very different effect.
If you are feeling called to dive further into the Mystery, but also have experience with that information leading to ethereal irresponsibility, I want you to know that it is possible to integrate both truths. Your physicality and that which is beyond your physicality. The story of your current life, and your existence before and after this life. Your struggle and your innate knowing that everything will be alright. Your aloneness and your inherent companionship. All of this is coexisting.
In Somatics, there is a practice called Contradiction, whereby we learn how to widen and deepen the felt sense within our body so as to hold two (or more) truths simultaneously. The reality is, there is almost always more than one thing happening at once. Our brains long to hold just one, therefore it will elicit cognitive dissonance, and will either dissociate from the other option or tear it apart to keep the comfort of its one ‘choice’. This negates the nuance and complexity of reality and reduces it to the one pathway of perception that seems reasonable to you now.
I dare say it is now an imperative that we learn to hold more than one thought or experience or truth at once. If we strive for justice, and long to undo the damage done to our Earth, and hope that connection will override violence, or feel compelled to understand the application of the Mystery, we absolutely must widen and deepen our somas to hold many pathways of perception.
Another reason I have felt a knowing, an acceptance, of mystical phenomena is because my pathways of perception have opened through this somatic work. In doing the work of healing the nervous system and our PNIE system, we naturally open up to more, to interconnectedness, to the Mysterious and the enchanting. Our neurobiology and physiology allow us to feel the expansion within our bodies and beyond our bodies.
This week, I want to share with you a recorded somatic contradictions practice so that you can practice this in your body. Consider what it feels like to hold two opposing experiences at once. That two things can be true together. I highly encourage you to do this practice 2-3 times this week, and notice how your capacity to hold contradiction begins to shift.
You are so much more than you know. So is your neighbour, your friend, your most disagreeable faux. We are the Mystery.
Journal prompts to go along with the somatic contradictions practice
What arises in you when practicing the contraction offering? What sensations, insights, movement comes through?
What does the Mystery feel like in your body?
If I told you that you were always and inherently protected and supported, and that Universe forces are conspiring to help you in this life — what comes up for you? Disbelief, relief? Or anything in between?
Mallorie Buoy
Mallorie is the founder and lead educator at Homebody School of Somatics. She currently practices as a Registered Master Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Clinical Somatic Therapist, as well as a psychedelic-assisted therapist. With over 15 years of studying mysticism, movement, and exploring the rich truth of cosmic law, alongside the science of it all, she now teaches others to become somatic educators and therapists without the stress or overwhelm of a traditional university setting.
Explore our 500-hour ISMETA Approved Somatic Educator and Therapist Training at homebodyhealing.org.