The Body Temple

With all that has happened, from the beginning of the written word, through the past and into the present, we certainly live in a unique and rapidly changing moment. The world has become smaller since the Internet. Tragedies, disasters, and violence are brought to us almost as soon as they happen, and we’re all glued to the new technologies bringing them to us in living color. On top of all of this we were locked indoors during the pandemic, and with the structure of our economy today most of us are in debt before we even begin to work. All of this leaves us feeling empty, like we’re soulless zombies moving around with fear and dread for our future.

But there exist many ways to confront this, to pull out the “sword that cuts through adversity”. One of the best ways to do this is to start paying attention to the body temple, including the gray matter, the brain.

How does the brain know mind? It begins with you taking physical action that helps you to deal with your emotional content. Where thoughts and emotions run together, bad things can happen. Fixations form and can become self-destructive thoughts, damaging yourself and possibly others.

Action is your first line of defense, and I find that the martial arts really help, especially when one is training to improve one’s mind and body temple. Not only does it provide greater self-confidence to take care of yourself and notice dangerous situations before they happen, it also improves your physical well-being and health. By allowing more blood and oxygen to move through the body and brain, meditation and breathing practices improve overall energy levels and lead to a better sense of self. Of course, there’s a lot more to say on all of this, but you get the idea.

To me philosophy is the search for truth, and it must start with the philosophy of your body temple. Get to know your body, build a relationship and begin to let the mind move through the body. This is what I teach, what Systems Within Systems is about: to discover the art of living with yourself in the world around you.

I am right now going to be teaching three different types of classes here at Rutgers.

•Tai Chi in meditation class

•Woman’s self-defense class learning how to deal with real life situations.

•combat defense class and how to handle real violence.

I will be doing more video blogs on the Systems Within Systems website. At Systemswithinsystems.com

There are positive stresses and negative stresses and it’s important to learn the differences between the two. It all begins by taking the first step, to address the needs of your body temple.

To find your center in all this material noise.

I hope to see you all down the line, as you begin your work towards a better understanding of self and a more holistic way to live.

Thanks for reading.

Sifu Lawrence Hill