BodyMind Sciences

Dynamics — The moving Moral & Physical forces that cause a body to move in space.

BodyMInd — The integrated system of Physical, Mental & Emotional elements of being human

A Somewhat Historical & Philosophical Commentary on the Mind-Body Problem:

The above definition of the word Dynamics comes from a the 1911 Edition of the New Century Dictionary. It is in some ways an outdated definition, in that it still embraced the ancient idea that all branches of philosophy were just as much sciences as was physics or math. But at that time, physics was more like philosophy, whereas today, subjective sciences like philosophy and economics are treated more like objective physics. All these fields of study were, for the most part, under one big tent.

One example of this is the Early American Republic. In its formative years, one key source of knowledge, and among the highest authorities on law, was Blackstone's Law. Blackstone was a jurist (attorney in modern terminology) in England, and an expert at Common Law (the Law, Mores, Morals, and Customs common among The People). Law students in early America (including Abraham Lincoln) studied primarily Blackstone to qualify for being an attorney.

It was at that time assumed without too much argument that all things came from The Creator, and most people in America were pretty much in agreement that that Creator was the God of the Hebrew and Christian Bible. Whether studying law, or physics, or math, or social principles, it was, for the most part, an attempt to study the Mind and Being of the Creator to figure out just what he, she or it intended, by Higher Law, for human beings. Studying and following The Law as dictated by The Creator was considered by a significant majority to be a primary obligation and objective of all human beings. In fact, there are those that point out that the term Lord was considered synonymous with the term Law. Following the Lord meant following the Law.

The late 19th and early 20th Centuries brought a sharp division to the two realms that put philosophy and physical sciences into completely different camps. As certain people studied various realms of existence and God, they began to notice various (debatable) contradictions between so-called Natural Law and so-called God's Law. As a result, many of them, like Darwin (Evolution of Species), moved toward atheism.

Currently, there seems to be a trend to at least attempt a reconciliation or realignment of the two fields. There is a lot of resistance to doing so, especially by the Physical Science crowd, for fear of taking the science out of the science, which certainly can happen without much effort. Many Biblical Fundamentalists are equally hesitant for many reasons, some good, some not so good. Others, more in the middle of the road, are afraid of diluting both realms, or getting caught in the middle, a no-win situation.

The point of all this is that a New Wave is emerging of VERY scientifically oriented people who are also practicing a wide range of meditative or yogic traditions. And they are having experiences they cannot explain by science, yet they are hesitant to just write such phenomena off as just their imaginations.

One of the Great Controversies between the two groups is the Mind-Body Problem. This is the question of which came first, the mind or the body? Obviously, each of the groups has their distinct preference.

Having been thinking about these kinds of issues since at least the 2nd grade, it would have been difficult to not have come up with some conclusions or biases one way or the other. So here's mine:

I would LIKE to believe there is some existence beyond this one, and that there are energies we cannot perceive with scientific instruments that we could loosely call The Power, the Great Spirit, the One, God, and so on. However, while I have not made a final conclusion to my own satisfaction, there is so much disagreement amongst the believers in such things as to its nature, and there is pretty close to no objective proof of its existence, I am LEANING to thinking and feeling that the body comes first, and all of our mental, emotional, transpersonal and spiritual experiences emanate from that.

Therefore I use the term BodyMind to indicate that the Body comes first, and that the Mind exists within it. I am perfectly willing to be proven wrong on that account, and, in fact, would prefer it that way for a number of reasons. But I have to go with what seems closer to The Truth as I see it in the present moment.

So paradoxically, I use the term BodyMind to indicate that body comes first, implying a more materialistic, scientific perspective. But I use the older interpretation of the word Dynamics to acknowledge that the Natural World just might have a stronger embedded morality and spiritual component than is easily seen.

So even though it might appear contradictory, it is not if you consider my strong doubts as to my position. Sometimes, though, adapting a stronger stance to one side of an issue exposes you to more intense and direct feedback to both sides of the issue.

Some of the Best Work on this subject is of Ken Wilber. He has written a vast body of information on this and similar topics. He is extremely knowledgeable about many of the sciences, philosophies and psychologies in the world today and in the past. He is also a committed practitioner of meditation, not a dabbler. So his perspective is broader and more well-informed than nearly anyone you'll find today.

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Thanks for Reading,
Take Care,
David Scott Lynn
DSL: Your Hi-Touch Up-Link to the Inner-net