Weight

Heaviness and lightness.

Heart. Body. Mind.

Could go through how anatomy/physiology, the mind, and the social/cultural are interconnected and interactive information systems that influence each other regardless of your views on religion and spirituality, and that if we toss in the spiritual it would another linked system, so whatever, but, I'll just let this paragraph introduce/reaffirm that idea.

Plus I don't care about whether we call the heart an affective-aspirational network of perceptions and impulse, or whether the mind is an emergent phenomena arising from the brain or localized, concentrated, catalystic cloud of coherent sentience crystallized from a fundamental form of awareness that exists as a property or aspect of fundamental elements of time-space. I'm just gonna say "heart" and "mind" and you'll know what I mean without all the blah-blah-blah drama.

Yes, some cultures see what some call the heart as part of the mind, and...

Ahem.

So here's a way to think about weight, and to consider the heart-body-mind connection. It's a way to get a handle on basic aspects of wellness. No doubt it will have connections to ancient sacred teachings (about things like qi, lung, prana, etc.) and modernized takes on those teachings, as well as some slowly emerging fields within the health sciences. This is my take from my own experiences.

For the sake at least of analogy, consider information as something manifesting as or through energy and matter. For humans, we have of physiological system with its anatomical pathways and structures for our biological bodies. We also have our social system with its cultural pathways and structures for our interpersonal bodies. Those two systems, physiological and social, interact in many ways but the actions are primarily regulated by the brain and recognized/experienced through the mind.

Again, some people will argue that mind is a localization of a universal awareness tangled up with the brain, or that the mind is just an illusion conjured by the brain or a higher form of function that is a new level of organization beyond the sum of its brainy parts. So argue. But we know what people generally mean by mind.

And in this model, the brain and mind are two sides of the same coin as the area where the social and physiological meet. Human minds (whatever the ultimate nature) are bound up with and at the very least greatly affected by brains, and so no brains, no versions of mind as we currently experience them. Would they persist in some other altered way without the brain? If so, how? Great questions to speculate, but they aren't necessary here.

The point is that physiology (which includes genetics and epigenetics) and its related anatomical structures are connected by information pathways to sociology (including linguistics and personalities) and its related cultural structures (like languages, worldviews, etc.). Information can flow back and forth within these different areas, translated (sometimes in very distorted or limited ways) from one medium to another and therefore affecting how those other areas/systems work. The mind-brain, and hence psychology/neuroscience, are the critical to producing/reproducing/storing much of the social, despite written language, physical tools, human-made structures, etc. They are also crucial to the highway between the physiological and the social (although human-made alterations to the physical environment, influences on dietary and physical habits, etc., can also directly impact and send signals to our physiology).

It's known that depression and crappy moods can weaken the immune system, and that what we believe can influence our health (referred to generally as the placebo affect), so the framework given above shouldn't be too out there. But what does it have to with weight, or the heart-body-mind connection?

When our minds our heavy, or weary, or burdened, etc., when we have "a lot on our minds", out thinking becomes erratic. Either we can't focus because we are trying to process too much at once, or such over-thinking fatigues us and we zone out or get a headache. Our intellectual processing capacity is over-taxed. Our minds' may become perpetually fatigued and our problem-solving and memory capacities diminish. 

When our hearts are heavy, or weary, or burdened, etc., when we have too many feelings to process, our emotional reactivity can become unstable. We might become easily irritated or upset, or we may withdraw emotionally. Outcomes from continued fatigue can turn many ways, such as depression or a heart of stone. Both feel very helpless and heavy. Our view of the world and ourselves can become heavily distorted, interfering with our ability to have aspirational dreams, meaningful goals, and healthy and enjoyable social relationships.

When our bodies are heavy, or weary, or burdened, etc., when we have too much to do through our physical movement or our processing of energy and waste, we feel physically tired. If our physical motion and energy declines, it becomes harder and harder to get and get moving. Physical injuries and metabolic imbalances become more likely in destructive feedback loops. We often then start or keep adding extra physical weight, through fat and water retention, to our bodies and adding to their stress.

Consider a rough analogy with inertia, where objects in motion tend to stay in motion and where objects at rest tend to stay at rest. Extend that to social and physiological systems and structures. We know what it's like when our bodies, given the opposites above, feel lighter. A mind, body, and heart unburdened. The rush and excitement of ideas, solutions, enjoyable physical activities, having a great time being creative or spending time with friends and loved ones.

Is lightness always better than heaviness? Could it ever be the case that someone could be "too light" of mind, heart, and body and encounter another set of problems? Why not. But as far as I can tell, people seem to be having more problems being too weighed down by worry, depression, and doubt with too many distraction, too many problems at once, and a growing obesity crisis.

When you are physically fit, whatever that means for your particular genetics and body type, it's easier to think clearly and to focus. Emotions and feelings can be easier to manage. Similarly, when you are feeling good and have confidence, it's easier to see problems and challenging and to have the resolve to stay fit. Each of the three areas work together to reinforce each other and keep the whole of you healthy. That doesn't mean no problems -- no aging or physical injuries, no fear or bad moods, no confusion or distraction -- but they are easier to handle and to recover from.

But if a problem or twelve latch on like parasites, they can eat away at you and act like anchors producing a drag on your heart, mind, body (or more than one at once). You feel slow, weak, clumsy - beyond whatever is typical for you. Even if only one of the three foci is dragging, they are connected, so the other two will be affected as well. Out of balance, out of gas. And weight settled on you, more and more.

Getting out that situation isn't easy. People say you need willpower and resolve (heart), a clear plans with steps and stages (mind), or maybe just eating less and being more physically active (body). But if you have a plan and try to be active, you may find your heart isn't really any it. If you just try to be active with no plan, it's worse. If you just have a plan, what use is that? And so on.

It's like trying to lift something broad and heavy just on one side. You struggle and strain, you get one side up a little, but you can't life the whole thing. If you get help on other sides who are sufficiently strong, up it goes. Overcoming the inertia of a self that has lost its momentum requires introspection and self-assessment, and each of the three foci must be addressed. How will I get and sustain emotional and motivational support? How will I be able to improve my physical activity and metabolism (including food, medicine, and other things you may be exposing yourself to or putting into your body)? What steps should I take and how can I adjust them over time to meet changing circumstances and requirements.

If you know being in nature makes you feel better, or that you need extra light on darker days, or that music helps you work through things, then put that into your plan. Same with the other foci. If you don't know yourself, start a journal including your moods as well as activities and circumstances. Ask other people who spend time around you. Listen to your heart, mind, and body once in a while in quiet and solitude. And by all means if you have the time and money, find a reputable person to help you with assessment, planning, and holding you accountable.

Just don't try to fit someone else's image of what you should be. If you feel physically light and have good metabolic numbers, if your body feels as good as it can at a weight someone else disapproves of, don't let that get you down. If you find joy or inspiration in something or someone that others consider lame, as long as you aren't being manipulated, abused, or becoming co-dependent (i.e. following an unhealthy trajectory), who cares what others think?

It's a lifelong project to learn your tendencies and blindspots, where you naturally excel and where you need to make extra effort. To learn how to balance your foci and what being at your best or optimal self feels like, especially as it can be a moving target as you go through life. But you know when you are feeling heavy, and you can learn to recognize unhealthy habits or though, feelings, and form. Even if it means asking others for feedback.

Lots of self-help books and seminars focus on one of two themes, repackaging things that have been said and written for decades. Sometimes they are helpful, sometimes they just help you feel good for a while with a brief emotional high, leaving you ready for another fix. I'm not in the self-help business, I just have my own thoughts and experiences on the notion of "weight" when it comes to wellness. And I can see how different systems trying to tie the different foci together have emerged over and over as people sought a system to stay in balance.

There is no big finish. No product or idea to sell you. Just some reflection that may or may not resonate with you or offer a spark of insight.

Be well.