Eternal Soul–The Great I AM–Found Within
Health Report: Dr. S., my saintly surgeon confirmed that all is well. Blood tests, PET scan, CT scan and MRI—the best diagnostic tools modern medicine has to offer—confirm that I am tumor free and overall health is excellent. It has been two years now since I had a liver resection to remove a tumor, and two and a half years since I had tumors removed from my small intestines. These operations saved the life of this body, and there has been no sign of tumors since.
While health of the body is not the absolute arbiter of fulfillment, it certainly is an important ingredient to our abilities and our pleasures for day to day activities. A malfunctioning body and physical pain can dominate the mind and affect our mood. To a greater or lesser degree sensations from the body and our ability to move and breathe will have its demands on our attention. However, to be master of ourselves we must be the gatekeepers of how much energy we give to the body.
In the same way that Swami Vivekananda said, “Do not make a religion of the kitchen,” do not make food and eating a fetish, even more so we should not put the body on the altar and worship it. The body is our instrument for operating on this physical plane, and like any instrument, a vehicle or a computer or phone, we want to keep it in good operating condition so that it performs its functions well and gives pleasure to its operator. We should cultivate the practice of knowing that the operator of the machine and the machine are not one and the same thing. In deepened meditation we have a growing awareness of the great I AM within, beyond the body, even superior to the mind and the individual soul.
Living in the body there are commonsense things we can do to keep the body-machine in good order: exercise and stretching, eating healthy foods (as Mother said, “Do not treat the body like a garbage can”), and thinking healthy, positive God-thoughts. I have experimented with different food regimens over the years with good results. In these past twenty plus years it became obvious both gluten and dairy had deleterious effects on this body, so I gave them up.
Recently I have been experimenting with Dr. Steven Gundry’s ideas on focusing on the health of the gut and its relationship with autoimmune diseases—in particular the role of dietary lectins and their negative effects on our digestive system. I am in phase 2 of a 3 phase program and will report back in a few weeks with more details in a posting at yogacharyadavid.com when I complete the second phase.
To have the right relationship with the body, then remain mindful of keeping the body healthy and doing what is best for its smooth functioning. There is line though, where you do not let the body and its relationship with the world take control of your life. Affirm, “I have a body, but I am not this body,” and give it its due, but no more. Practice finding that awareness that knows you existed before you took residence in this body, and knows you will exist long after this body has returned to dust. That while the body is important for accomplishing what you have come here to do, it is just an instrument for your use—a remarkable instrument it is true, but just an instrument.
I am pleased to have this excellent report from my medical team as it gives me the time and freedom to accomplish what God has me here to do. And every day I pray for your perfect health, so that you too may enjoy that same freedom and ability to do all that your Soul has intended for you in this lifetime. Use the gift of this marvelous machine to manifest your highest nature, and to bring the Light of the Divine to this world through the instruments of your body, mind and soul.