The Body of Theseus

An odd thought occurred to me this morning. Is the human body a Ship of Theseus? Our cells are replacing themselves by countless numbers every second of every minute of every hour of every day. If that is so what really makes us who we are? Are we the same person we were at birth? I suspect not. It turns out it’s not the physical form that makes us who we are. We are indeed that Theseus ship. 

I’m certain when parts were replaced on the ship they weren’t replaced with parts exactly identical. A deck plank might have a slight warp the one before it did not, etc. So does that happen with us? Does one regenerated cell that is slightly misshapen from its predecessor change the others and down the line change our physical form slightly? The “infrastructure” that helped to create and contain our “essence” is being replaced daily, but the essence remains. This is one I’ll be pondering for a while.

The Comfort of Mindfulness

In bed this morning around 5am I rolled over and pulled the covers up high. I was warm and snuggled in and I felt rested, not only in body but mind. I felt completely unencumbered by anything and a nice phrase came to mind: Comfortable in my mindfulness. It’s the cozy, snuggled-up feeling you get when you know you’re wrapped up in safe and sound in your sense of self, mindfulness, and presence.

This entry's image was AI-generated.  

The Mindful Biological Machine

Feeling my body at the gym this morning. moving with purpose and all parts working together is incredible. I like to call it my “mindful workout.” With binaural sounds in my headphones, feeling ALL parts; muscle cells, bones, ligaments, brain cells, synapses, nerve fibers, lungs, blood vessels, etc, all working in harmony is incredibly centering and humbling. I am an incredibly wonderful and complex biological machine capable of infinite things.

A Green Monster Morning

Each morning before my coffee in the morning I have a small cocktail glass of some kind of juice. One grocery store I shop at makes their own fresh juices. They have everything from orange and grapefruit juice to beet and carrot juice. All freshly made each day. I buy their "Green Monster" blend; it's spinach, celery, green grapes, and granny smith apples. A glass of that each morning starts my day off on a sweet and healthy note.

I finished all the Green Monster yesterday so this morning I had a glass of V8. Equally good and refreshing! It feels great putting healthy stuff in my body first thing of the day. 

Respect

I attended a combination housewarming and birthday party for my French Bulldog Rufus last night (he just turned 5!) It was a marvelous time with dear friends who haven't seen each other in at least a year, some longer, due to COVID. The feeling in the room was one of a collective exhale. Everyone was thrilled to be there and be in each other's presence once again. Riding that wave of frivolity and gratitude for friends and extended family I had a lovely raspberry edible and drank at least two beers too many.

I didn't wake up hung over. At my age that kind of "contact sport" drinking is best left to the younger folks. I enjoy my adult beverages as much as the next responsible adult and I'm always conscious of my limit. I'm also very much a dedicated gym enthusiast and nothing interrupts my workout schedule. So this morning I was there when they opened at 8am just like every other Sunday.

As many know, I've spent the last several years on a self-discovery quest, both with a therapist and of my own efforts (reading books on Buddhism and mindfulness, meditating, paying attention to dreams, etc, etc.) So this morning at the gym the one thought that kept running in my head was "respect." Maybe others have this ability too, but I'm very conscious of my body and it's components. They all feel to me like individuals who are working together for a common goal. This morning I was very conscious of my liver and my kidneys. And this is where the respect comes in. Did I respect them by my behavior last night? Probably not. I personify them and think things like my liver is saying, "WHOA! Here comes MORE alcohol?!" And every time I went to the bathroom I imagined my kidneys saying, "Damn. MORE fluid to get rid of?! What the hell is this guy trying to do to us?!"

Now is this actually true? Of course not. But it gives me a way to keep the notion of respecting my body in the forefront of my thinking. The respect for my body extends also to the kinds of foods I eat. I'm very an "as natural as possible" kind of food purchaser. My refrigerator is full of fresh fruits and vegetables. I eat chicken and seafood mostly and try to keep my beef to a minimum, and I try to balance my meals with more vegetables than anything (Broccoli is my FAVORITE!) As I'm eating I practice what is called "mindful eating." I thought only I knew about mindful eating then discovered it's an actual thing! As I'm eating I imagine all the digestive elements swinging into action to help my body. My chewing and saliva rallying to break that food down. My esophagus muscles helping to move it all down to my stomach. My stomach saying things like, "Ooooo! Asparagus! We LOVE asparagus!" My intestines thanking all the components before it helping to deliver nutrients that can be distributed out through my body. And my body picking up those nutrients and saying, "Here you go guys! Let's put this stuff to good use!"

It all fits into the notion of respect. When I do these things I feel like all the components of my body are thanking me and encouraging me to continue respecting them. It brings me a very pleasant serenity that lasts the entire day.

Talking To My Body

I’m curious if anyone else here “talks” to their body as a form of mindfulness and/or meditation. I do this when doing things like sleeping, eating, working out, etc. When I’m falling asleep, I imagine the oxygen on its path through my respiratory system all the way down into each individual lung sac and alveoli. I “see” the oxygen coming in and being assimilated and the carbon dioxide coming out.

When I’m at the gym, my movements during a repetition are deliberate and focused. I “see” the oxygen rushing to each muscle fiber, the fiber’s elements performing their functions, contracting and relaxing. I “feel” their joy in being useful.

When I eat I picture the various elements in my digestive system (teeth, muscles, enzymes, bacteria, etc) breaking my food down into its useful components. I “watch” each molecule being delivered to the various parts of my body for use, knowing I’m providing nourishment and fuel.

Sometimes if I’ve felt illness coming on, I will sort of meditate and focus on the elements of my immune system, “watching” them seeking out the illness (cold virus, etc) and eliminating it.

As I’m doing these things I’m “talking” to my body, each muscle, organ, and even cell, telling them that we’re a kind of team. We all work together. I tell them I will give them what they want. I will help them be as useful as possible. I will help them feel the pleasure of being needed and purposeful.

I certainly don’t do this every single second of every activity, but I try to as much and as often as I can. I can say each activity I focus and “talk” to my body like this on gives me an incredibly deep sense of awareness, satisfaction, and pleasure. Sometimes I get the sense of my body thanking me for the attention and awareness of its needs.

Am I alone in this or do others do this to some varying degree? I’d be interested to hear.