The "I" in the body.

Take whichever “I” you think is the “I.” This can be anything. This can be you—the teacher, the lawyer, the farmer. This can be you—the 30-year-old, the 60-year-old, the 90-year-old. This can also be you—the fit one, the fat one, the five-foot one. Or any combination of the above.

It does not matter.

Whichever “I” you live with, try maintaining its location in the chest region of your body throughout the day. I mean the region where, in many cultures, we would point to, when we utter the word “I.” It’s the location where our hand naturally lands over the chest, when we say “I.”

The purpose of directing the “I” to this location is that, despite this being the natural place we point to when we say “I,” frequently the “I” ends up rising to the head. My guess is that it’s because those of us who went through the regular educational system of the late 20th century and early 21st century were told things like “Use your head” as if it were better than using any other part of the body. We were graded based on how well we used our heads, and sometimes such grades affected decades of our lives thereafter. Logic/reason/rationality and anything measurable and observable is still seen as the most valuable trait in a human in some circles.

Thus, when we feel anxious, panicky, and in general, threatened, the “I” rises to the head. It’s a survival mechanism. We consciously or unconsciously think that focusing on the head gives us an advantage.

Even when gazing at ourselves with the storyteller’s eye (what that is will be covered in the next many posts) when we try really very extremely hard, the energy might flow to the head and we might feel unnecessarily dizzy. We might even have trouble breathing—not because of any natural process of the gazing, but because there was so much force used to think.

Now, there is nothing wrong with using the head. The head is a perfectly happy place. But it is likely that it has been over-prioritized in cultures where “problem solving” is seen as the pinnacle of human accomplishment.

So, throughout the day, whenever you notice that your mind is racing, your head hurts, or you’re automatically (unconsciously) coming up with solution A, B, and C for problems X, Y, and Z—direct your “I” to your chest area.

If it helps, physically put your hand over your chest. Also, physically utter the word “I” with your mouth.

This is “I.” This beating heart is the “I.” There is nothing wrong with the head, it is a wonderful companion—but because it’s likely that the head has been prioritized for too long and too intensely, we’re giving the heart a chance.

No matter what great revelations happen while we use the storyteller’s eye and no matter how limitlessly each of our “I” expands over time, so long as we live in this particular world, the body as a whole is a wonderful companion. It is there for us to use and cherish.

So, for now, this the “I.” This is where we begin.

The worldview tag is best read in this order. The later posts build on the earlier posts.