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The Human Physical Body

We live our entire life in a human, physical body. We learn to walk, talk, play and sleep without thinking about it. We just, kind of, do it. But what exactly is the purpose of your body, and how does this impact your life?

There are four big functions our body fulfils and we’re going to walk through them one at a time. They may not be what you think, and they will make you view your body in a very different way.

First, it’s important to consider the body as just one part of “you,” whoever you are. Your physical form consists of a physical body, a mind that produces thoughts, and emotions. Your ethereal or spiritual form consists of your soul – this is the essence of who you are and the one who is experiencing life on Earth through your physical form.

Your body is not “you.” It could be considered a part of you, but when you think about it and focus on it, you exist in and around your body.

So what is your body?

01 | A Vehicle

Your body is firstly a vehicle or a vessel, and a way for you to move around the physical world on planet Earth. It was designed as a flexible organic form that experiences the external world through growth and movement.

The physical body is not you. You are not it. It is an aspect of consciousness that has evolved and presents as a three-dimensional, physical form.

The human body is designed with two legs that move you around, and two arms and two legs that allow you to physically move around and interact with the external world.

02 | Life

The human body facilitates life. It is conceived, born, grows, then dies and decays, returning to where it came. It is a temporary form that follows the natural cycle of all life.

The physical body thrives when a strong, energetic life force resides within. It is an eco-system of complex, integrated body systems that function together to transmute energy through the body and bring our human form to life. These systems are all run form the brain, so in a way, it is the brain that somehow channels the energy that provides life to the body.

The physical systems that maintain your body and keep it alive include:

  • Circulatory system includes the heart and arteries and circulates blood, oxygen and nutrients.
  • Digestive system and excretory system absorbs nutrients and removes waste.
  • Endocrine system influences the body functions and emotions with hormones.
  • Integumentary system includes skin, hair, nails, sweat and other glands.
  • Immune system and lymphatic system defends the body against pathogens that may endanger it.
  • Renal system and urinary system includes the kidneys to filter blood to produce urine.
  • Reproductive system includes reproductive organs that produce offspring to maintain the species.
  • Respiratory system brings air in and out of the lungs to absorb oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
  • Skeletal system uses the bones to maintain the structure of the body and its organs.

These systems generally run automatically without us having to think about them. They keep our lungs pumping, our heart beating and hair and nails growing. Additional systems help us interact with and function in the external world.

  • Nervous system takes information from the senses via nerves and the brain and tells the muscles to move in response to this.
  • Muscular system enables the body to move using muscles.

The physical body requires ongoing care and maintenance throughout your life to keep your systems going and the body functioning in the form of five essential ingredients:

  • Air | Consistent oxygen requires a particular range of pressure, concentration and purity.
  • Water | Safe, clean and adequate water supply for hydration.
  • Food and Nutrition | Adequate calorie and nutritional standards sustain life.
  • Shelter (or clothing) | Protects from exposure to extreme heat or cold.
  • Sleep | Seven to eight hours of sleep is required, for rest, recovery and rejuvenation.

Meeting the general needs of your physical body will help sustain the foundations of good health and wellbeing. This will then allow the body to serve us as well as possible in its other functions.

Learn more… ”7 Essential Human Needs That Must Be Met To Thrive”

03 | Perception And Sensation

In addition to giving us life, the physical body allows us to perceive the external environment and conditions of the three-dimensional world.

While most of our physical systems function to keep our body alive, the nervous system is the main system that helps us interact with the external world. The nervous system collects and perceives information about the energy of the external conditions or environment through the five senses of taste, touch, sound, smell and sight. This information is perceived through our nerves and senses and our brain and the nervous system converts them to a form of energy we can experience internally.

Our internal sensations tell us if our external environment is hot or cold, loud or quiet, chaotic or calm, blue or black, fragrant or pungent, or rough or smooth.

Without the nervous system and our senses to perceive, we would have no real perception or understanding of conditions in the external environment.

Learn more… ”The Ways We Perceive Reality Through 8 Senses (Not 5!!)”

04 | Action And Creation

Once our body perceives the external environment, it then takes this information and processes it into thoughts and emotions which are in direct response to our perceptions and sensations.

The resulting thoughts and ideas are a reaction or response to external stimuli. They allow us to take these thoughts and ideas and bring them to life in the physical realm through creation, action and behaviour. We can do this in several ways.

  • We can physically multiply and reproduce the human form and create a new vehicle or vessel for life through reproduction.
  • We behave in certain ways through movement, words and actions.
  • The muscular systems takes directions from the nervous system and the brain on how to move to interact and manipulate the physical conditions in the outside world.

Without our physical body to move and create in the three-dimensional realm, we would just imagine thoughts and ideas in the mind.

So What?

Most of us live very much in the physical world and are busy moving, doing, acting, behaving and creating things and stuff.

Our physical body plays a big role in the human experience. However, many of us fail to consider what our body is doing for us, what we are doing to our body, and the impact it has on our day-to-day life.

Many of us fail to consider whether we are giving our body the food, nutrients, fresh water, fresh air, exercise and sleep it needs. We eat, sleep, drink and breath without thinking about it.

Many of us are unaware of what we are sensing and how this impacts our thoughts, emotions, actions, behaviours and creations. We operate on autopilot, disconnected from our body and the gift it is.

We are not our body. Our body is not us.

But taking the time to become aware of your body, it’s sensations, movements, pleasures and pains… and then consciously responding to them, will allow your body to exist in the most optimum health possible and enhance your human experience in this life.

The choice is yours…

… Liz Watt