Balance your emotional life –
Meld the wisdom of your body with the wisdom of your intellect

Serving a community of private individuals and professionals who have the desire to cultivate a life of clarity, compassion, and creativity. We warmly welcome our new subscribers. Thanks for joining!

1. The merging of Oriental wisdom and Western science

Numerous people who have yet to attend a Seishindo workshop or private session contact me asking, "While what you write is uplifting and promising, I'm wondering if your principles are grounded in scientific theory?" Certainly a fair question to ask, and I'm guessing there are many others of you who have had the same thought.

In today's newsletter it is thus my intention to help you understand more about yourself, by helping you understand how Seishindo melds the wisdom of the body with the wisdom of the intellect; Oriental wisdom with well regarded scientific theory; and how you can begin to do the same.

In order to show the correlation between the somatic principles of Seishindo and scientific research, I will reference the work of Dr. Michael Gershon. For those of you with a keen interest in the field of Somatics, you will definitely want to take a look at his book, "The Second Brain."

You have a second brain residing in your gut!
The "second brain" that Dr. Gershon refers to in his book by the same name, is the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). The ENS is a highly complex web of nerves, the bulk of which reside in the intestinal tract. It is my understanding from years of study in Japan, that the ENS in our gut, is what the Oriental masters refer to as "hara" or "one point" In Japanese traditional arts the master pats his lower abdomen as he exhorts his students to think and perform from this area of their body. The idea being to use the brain in your gut as a primary source of information and inspiration. When you are able to follow the promptings of your gut on an ongoing basis you improve your capacity to live a balanced, healthy life by merging the wisdom of your body with the wisdom of your intellect. Most people in the Western world do not listen to their gut unless they are feeling ill and have no choice. Indeed, if you take the time to practice and observe, you will come to recognize that at every moment in time, your body is talking to you in a language that is just as complete and sophisticated as the verbal language you speak.

Your "second" brain is definitely intelligent
Your enteric nervous system plays a major role in your entire digestion and elimination process, bears primary responsibility for maintaining, cleaning, and regulating your intestinal tract, defends your intestinal tract from pathogens, orchestrates the proliferation of the friendly bacteria crucial for a healthy gut and proper digestion, and produces and outputs serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter essential to your emotional well being. This is an impressive array of responsibilities that are crucial to every aspect of your life-physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Somatic language
How does the ENS accomplish all of its hard work? By speaking a somatic language that is clearly understood by your body. A language that plays a major role in determining your emotions. A language that most of us have lost the ability to comprehend.

When you are healthy, it is likely that you are totally unaware of what your ENS is communicating to you. It is only when your health deteriorates and your gut needs to "raise its voice" in order to be heard, that you suddenly realize you are not in touch with what your body wants and needs. It is only when you experience constipation, diarrhea, depression, yeast infections, stress, or a host of other maladies, that you realize the need to tune into the promptings of your body. Your enteric nervous system does indeed talk to you all the time. The question is, "Are you listening?"

As a scientist, Dr. Gershon talks about a somatic language that uses neurotransmitters, peristaltic action, and nerve activity to get its message across. In Seishindo we work to demystify the science, by giving you a direct experience of the internal somatic "conversation" that helps you maintain physical and emotional health. In our work we help you cultivate the ability to feel and comprehend the communication of your enteric nervous system and respond appropriately. As you learn to tune into what is going on within you, you can redirect your thinking, your breathing, your nutrition, and your body usage, thereby doing away with the conditions that lead toward discomfort or disease. When you understand how to listen to your body, it doesn't need to scream to get your attention.

Which comes first?
The more you delve into the question of how your body affects your emotions, the more you will find yourself wondering, "Which comes first, physical distress or emotional distress?" In studying Seishindo it becomes ever more clear over time, that physical distress and emotional distress are two sides of the same coin. One does not occur without the other. It's not about one brain controlling the other, it's more about facilitating a healthy dialogue between the two. We need to meld the wisdom of our body with the wisdom of our intellect, if we are to live a healthy, emotionally balanced life.

Dr. Gershon and his colleagues have discovered that the ENS is vulnerable to the very same "brain" lesions, found in patients with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. His research shows that ailments such as anxiety, depression, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, all manifest similar symptoms in BOTH the brain in the gut, and the brain in the skull. These findings open us up to the exciting possibility of assisting people with these illnesses by helping them to tap into the wisdom of their enteric nervous system. Indeed it might even be found some day that these illnesses originate simultaneously in the gut and the brain in the skull. It is my intuition that assisting someone in significantly cleaning up their intestinal environment while concurrently balancing their pH system, has the possibility of lessening the symptoms of the above ailments and diseases, including Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. This very idea is already proving effective for a fair number of people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

A way forward
The enteric nervous system has stored within it, numerous programs that dictate and control how your body reacts to specific stimuli and how you feel as a result of these reactions. Depending on the situation, your gut analyzes what is occurring, decides on a course of action, and initiates the reflexes and distribution of chemicals to heal and rebalance your system. Much like we use habit and conditioned responses to drive a car, the habits and conditioned responses of our gut orchestrate the various activities that determine the way we feel physically, and emotionally.

If you would like to have a greater ability to affect positive change in your health and emotional well being, you will do well to learn how to converse in the language spoken by your body. An excellent way to engage in such "language study" is by engaging in various somatic Practices, like those we introduce you to in our newsletter, and further clarify in Seishindo workshops and private sessions. Your body does not speak French or Japanese, and to the great dismay of many Americans it has also been discovered that your body does not speak English. If you want to take part in a heartfelt conversation with your body, you will need to delve into the magical world of somatic language. The idea being that as you increase your ability to understand the promptings of your body, you increase your ability to think, feel, and live in a healthy, life affirming manner.

2. Practice

Talking to your somatic self
Please read the following to yourself in a slowww... relaxed manner. Hopefully you will learn something of interest, both intellectually, and somatically! Please enjoy yourself in the process.

The key to conversing in the language of your body is to begin by... slowing down... breathing... and feeling yourself as you are right now...

Feel the pulsing of your heart... and feel your breathing going in... and going out...

Feel the many small rocking motions that your body engages in... and soften your gaze by releasing the muscles in your face and shoulders ...

Breathe deeply... hear the sounds around you... feel the sensations in your body... notice and give into... your deep longing to let go and relax...

Come home to the sanctuary within yourself that is waiting to greet you... And offer you all you need... to rejuvenate and heal.

As you relax and expand your body, you feed yourself larger amounts of oxygen and energy...

You begin to feel how your circulatory system irrigates, feeds, and oxygenates the cells of your body...

Muscles, glands, and the nerve network that courses through your spine, are all feeding you and nourishing you...

You begin to experience a life that extends beyond the confines of your head... You begin to discover who you truly are... and this is very liberating, very enjoyable...

As you breathe into the experience of your core self... you find that the spirit of who you are and what you want... is in perfect alignment with the flow of your life, with the flow of Truth...

The more what you want comes into alignment with the flow of Spirit... you discover that what you want is the Truth... that what feels right comes to you naturally, as a justification of who you are and the way you live... As a manifestation of flow... and love...

As you learn more and more about who you are and where you are... you find yourself living with a sense of serenity... a humble confidence... a deep feeling of peace... that leads you to understand that you already have so much... that you naturally want to share what you have with the rest of the world.

Private Sessions with Charlie Badenhop Calgary, Canada: October 13, 17, 18 Antwerpen, Belgium: October 24, 25 Washington, DC: November 7, 8, 9 New York City: November 11, 12 If you would like to: Explore core issues, such as your current identity, your health, or destructive habit patterns, Feel more fully alive and emotionally balanced, Explore the direction of your professional or personal life, A Seishindo in-person private session can prove to be of great value. Read more about how you can benefit from a Seishindo private session. Read what other people say about Seishindo sessions. If you think you might be interested in a private session, please contact Charlie directly at charlie@seishindo.org.

3. Our subscribers' section

Anne Dumauthioz writes:
Infusing The Powerful Creativity of Spirit Into Your Business is a 6-lesson, 3-week eWorkshop that introduces you to the process of "inside out" exploration and manifestation - how to experience it more consciously in your livelihood by experiencing it within.

Each week, an email module will be emailed to participants, and participants will have a private online dialogue forum in which to ask questions, explore issues, share insights and experiences, and get support to deepen learning.

The eWorkshop begins on Tuesday, November 1 and completes on Tuesday, December 6. To find out more, and/or to register, go to
http://www.mollyguard.com/event/20220480

Hosted by Jamie Walters, Founder of Ivy Sea Inc., producer of Ivy Sea Online, and author of Big Vision, Small Business (Berrett-Koehler Publishers); and Anne Dumauthioz, Founder of Innergateway, and author of Be An Original.

eWorkshop Email Contact: anne@innergateway.com

* * *

Evan Wolf writes:
In my hometown of New York and in London a new activity is coming up strong for many young people. It originated in France and is now spread mostly through London and the States, and is known as Parkour. Please see www.urbanfreeflow.com. The site is a bit commercial, but do read up about the philosophy.
Thank you for your time and the great newsletters.

* * *

Every week new people are signing on as subscribers. We are very glad to meet all of you, and hope that you will feel at home with us. Our ONGOING growth depends on all of you. Please help us to spread our life affirming message by passing our newsletter along to others. Thanks so much!

* * *

If you have a business, hobby, group, or organization that you would like other members of the Seishindo community to know about, then please send us a short write-up (two or three sentences) here. You don't have a website? Then let us know how other members might contact you by phone, fax, in person, or in writing.

We also invite you to send in:
A) Questions and comments relating to what you read here.
B) Experiences that relate to the "Practices" presented.
C) The names of books/music/services/products, etc. you feel might be of interest to the Seishindo community. Please include a short write-up (two or three sentences) about your selections and send all input here.

4. Copyright

Unless otherwise attributed, all material for the newsletter "Pure Heart, Simple Mind"(tm) is written and edited by Charlie Badenhop ©. All rights reserved.

You are encouraged to send our newsletter in its entirety to anyone you think might like it.

If you would like to reprint our newsletter for other than your personal use, you are invited to do so, provided you: a. Receive our written permission (which is likely) b. Attach the above copyright notice to our material. c. Do not sell our material to others. d. Keep the content of our material intact without any editing whatsoever.

5. Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Delivery

Please subscribe or unsubscribe here.

Is our newsletter only arriving sporadically? Our "Pure Heart, Simple Mind" newsletter is meant to come to you twice a month, on or about the 1st and 15th of each month. If you aren't receiving every issue it could be because of the filtering systems your Internet Service Provider (ISP) uses to keep unwanted messages out of your inbox. In attempting to block unwanted mail, your provider will sometimes wind up blocking email like this newsletter, that you DO want to receive. If you are having delivery problems, send a blank e-mail to delivery@seishindo.org and we will send you a list of tips that can help ensure delivery. You can use these tips for other email as well.