mind, body and spirit.

Our being is so tightly intertwined. Each element must work collectively to maintain optimal health and wellbeing. If one system receives a hit, it causes an imbalance. Here is what I have learnt about our inner connectedness.

The Tripartite ‘Ecosystem’

One thing that I have been more aware of recently is how inextricably connected we are in mind, body and spirit. We are created as tripartite beings, which means “consisting of three parts”, which in my belief, mirrors the image of our Triune God. However, even if you don’t agree with this belief, you may agree that we possess different layers, or parts, that influence who we are and work in unity.

Our being could be compared to a small ecosystem, which must remain balanced to thrive or even just survive. Without delving too deep into the science, if we think about it in this context, our ecosystem would require its life-supports (sunlight, water, soil, etc.), producers (plants and food), and consumers (animals and other living things) to flourish successfully.

But what does that mean for us?

In this analogy, we can liken the ecosystem’s 'life-supports' to our spirit. These are the things that aren’t always seen; however, they play a crucial role in our health and wellbeing. Our spirit and what it is connected to provide us with purpose and direction and emotional understanding, awareness and contentment. Without it, our ecosystem is incapable of moving and growing towards its intended direction.

Next, our mind, or soul, could be compared to our ecosystem’s 'producers'. These are the elements, such as plants, that provide essential food and nourishment to the body. We could think of this as what occurs in our mind and soul, such as our personalities, thoughts, emotions, expressions and mental patterns. Our mind/soul link our spirituality to our physicality, providing our actions with essential meaning and reasoning. Just as an ecosystem can grow nourishing foods, our minds can process healthy thoughts and mental patterns; however, if an ecosystem is not sufficiently tended to weeds hold the potential to overrun and cause damage, just like negative thoughts. There are many different kinds of producers within an ecosystem, although not all are healthy or well suited for every consumer.

Like our producers, ecosystems often consist of immeasurable living things and animals that vary in appearance, behaviour and health. These are our 'consumers', which can be likened to our body. Each body is formed to be different in the way it looks, moves, behaves and what it likes or doesn’t like. With suitable nourishment and a comfortable environment, living things are able to thrive and give back vital nutrients and minerals to the ecosystem. However, if our bodies lack in these areas, we can become unequipped to carry out the roles that help ourselves and others.

When one element of the ecosystem becomes unbalanced, it has a flow-on effect on all other areas. Without any vitalities, plants cannot grow efficiently, which influences animals to consume unhealthy matter and possess unmet needs, leaving them unable to carry out their roles. Without producers, consumers lack nourishment, and vital processes struggle to occur within the ecosystem’s atmosphere. Finally, in the absence of consumers, plants don’t receive essential nutrients and minerals, and so on.

This idea had always been apparent to me. Still, I had never fully understood its complexity until my ‘ecosystem’ became unbalanced, and I began feeling the flow-on effects.

A Shock to The System

In September 2020, I moved out of home and into a new environment. Now I’m not a person who lives off a strict hour-by-hour schedule. However, I am a creature of habit that figures out what works best for me and makes life simpler, and then I will stick to it until it must be changed. When I was living at home, I developed various routines that became second nature and removed the pressure from simple activities. For example, I had habits for devotional and quiet time, exercise, work and study, and daily chores, which enabled me to enjoy my spare time and take care of my own needs. Though, when I moved out of home, every single routine I had created was sent out of whack.

Living in a different location meant I had to allow more time to get to and from places. Gaining independence meant scheduling new chores into my week, like more extensive grocery trips and mowing the lawn. (Man of the house! Am I right?). Paying rent meant working more jobs and managing my finances differently. Even factoring walking up and down the stairs into my morning routine was a task!

New Environment, Old Habits

With so much to adjust to, I tried to hold on to familiar routines. In particular, I tried to keep my quiet time and devotional habits the exact same. I felt like it was the single thing that I could maintain and control. I had always read the same devotional in the morning while enjoying a warm cup of coffee and some breakfast, as it was a lovely way to begin the day. Then, before bed, I would often spend some quiet time journaling and sitting in God’s presence. This had always filled my spirit, provided me with direction and allowed me to feel close to Him. But, all of a sudden, I struggled to connect and be fully present during these times. I was so overwhelmed and distracted by trying to adjust to these changes that these fuelling moments became another thing on the to-do list. Thus, causing me to view it with a ‘just get it done’ attitude instead of relishing in the intimate and peaceful time they brought.

27.10.2020

“I feel distracted and unfocused…I need to calm my heart and mind. I need to rest and refocus. To get my priorities straight. To consider what is truly important.”

2.11.2020

“I need to start new…Fresh season. I need to let the change happen instead of fighting it so much. Press in. Surrender.”

I knew something needed to change, so I began trying new things. Now that I look back on it, I realise that I became so focused on the ‘task’ of being with God that I forgot the purpose of the task, ‘to be with God’. As I kept trying to alter the task, I felt more and more spiritually distant. Eventually, entering into a ‘dry’ season.

Dry Season

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘dry’? Perhaps, a desert? Or, somewhere unbearably hot?

Dry places are often arid and free from water, making them unbearable environments. Now contrastingly, when I think of water, the words ‘life-giving’ and ‘refreshing’ come to mind.

A ‘dry season’ often lacks something life-giving and refreshing, like water, making it relate primarily to the spirit. You commonly hear people discuss ‘spiritually dry seasons’, as things of the spirit provide us with our fuel, purpose and vision.

When we return to our analogy of the ‘ecosystem’, as water becomes scarce in a dry season, the ecosystem begins to suffer as one of its critical, (yes, I’m going to repeat it) life-giving elements becomes absent. I know from my experience of watching films when someone is in a dry or arid place, they thirst for water and often become exhausted. As they thirst more, (and you may have experienced or seen this first hand), their mind begins to play tricks on them, leading them long distances towards the ‘water’ on the glimmering horizon, yet leaving them more physically exhausted and deprived when they finally realise it’s merely an illusion.

So, maybe you can recognise where I am leading next…

“‘Water’ On the Glimmering Horizon”

As we thirst for our spiritual needs to be satisfied, our minds begin to take up the slack. This might be proposing various solutions that eventually solve the problem. However, the journey may also influence negative thought patterns that allow ‘weeds’ to overrun the ecosystem.

As humans, we are inclined to take control or hold on to whatever we can when a situation doesn’t go as planned. However, through doing this we become more irrational and vulnerable to making poorly informed choices which in the long run will make matters worse.

As I began lacking in the spiritual department, my discontent led me to find satisfaction in other areas, particularly fitness and health. I discovered that improving myself physically and seeing the changes would bring me contentment. But that was probably just the endorphins, right? My mind focused more on physical changes and feelings, both of which are subject to change every day. I had gone from holding onto a steel telegraph pole to one of those tube men you see in car yards. When a wind came, I possessed no stability.

This would be classified as an unstable environment in our ecosystem context, with sporadic rain or rising and dropping temperatures. With these patterns, producers are forced to adapt, however, as they struggle to keep up, harsh weeds recognise an opportunity to subtly rise up.

By holding onto something that is consistently in flux, my mind began to play tricks on me. My identity was in question, I lacked passion and purpose, and I was consistently unsatisfied, leading me to become overwhelmed by anxiety, stress, lies and negative thoughts. Enemy thoughts rose up in my mind, such as "God has abandoned me", "I'm not good enough", and "I must be unlovable". These lies weren't true, but as I allowed these weeds to grow, their seeds spread more easily, allowing my mind to become exponentially overgrown with unwanted matter. Nevertheless, I tried to keep up with the changes, or what seemed to be on the glimmering horizon, by pushing myself further to reach that life source of satisfaction.

Sandy Knees

Until suddenly, my knees hit the scorching, desert sand. I was physically exhausted, yet the glimmer on the horizon remained the same distance away. I had overworked, and I lacked rest and nourishment. As the weeds had grown in the ‘ecosystem’, my body (the ‘consumers’) was receiving undernourishing food that couldn’t correctly sustain me.

When our bodies are not sufficiently fuelled, we naturally try to combat it but often become imbalanced as a result. When we experience anxiety and stress, as I did, our bodies enter into a ‘fight or flight’ response. This begins in the hypothalamus within the brain, which signals the alarm system. This system prompts the bodies adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol hormones. Adrenaline increases heart rate, elevates blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. Whereas, cortisol increases glucose in the bloodstream, enhances the brain’s use of glucose and increases the availability of tissue repairing substances. However, it also alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, reproductive system and growth processes, as one instability initiates a snowball effect.

As my mind grew more anxious and stressed, my body was almost consistently in a state of ‘fight or flight’. In history, the 'fight or flight' response would often fluctuate based on actual threats. Although, in the modern era individuals tend to feel more threatened and stressed, hence influencing this heightened response. Therefore, in my body these hormones were being released at a substantial rate and interfering with natural bodily processes. My reproductive hormones became imbalanced, influencing acne, irregular cycles, mood swings and abnormal patterns. My digestive system became suppressed, which sometimes meant a lack of appetite, discomfort or inflammation. And, my immune system’s ability to fight off antigens reduced, meaning I became more susceptible to infections and frequently ill.

When I began noticing these changes, I decided to receive medical opinions. And, guess what? After receiving countless tests that confirmed these bodily symptoms, I discovered that my hormones were completely out of balance, and my adrenals were distressed.

Regeneration

Finally, I realised the flow-on effect and the interconnectedness of the ‘ecosystem’. Luckily, when something dies within an ecosystem, it provides vital and rich nutrients that allow the rest of the ecosystem to regenerate and thrive.

Now, in this case, I’m not saying I needed to die to solve the problem. I just needed to die to myself.

Mark 8:35

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

But what does that mean?

I allowed myself, my mind and body, to take matters into my own hands without allowing the Spirit to have a say. This is like the ‘producers’ and ‘consumers’ trying to run the whole ecosystem without factoring in the life-supports. Initially, God never abandoned me or loved me any less. Instead, I was so consumed with trying to 'fix' the problem, that without noticing, I neglected my spiritual component and drifted from Him, forgetting His truth about me. When we die to ourselves, we recognise that we are not in control, instead, we allow the Spirit to show us what changes to make and give us the power and guidance to walk them out in mind and body. Therefore, giving us more purpose, and allowing us to think rationally to carry out this purpose effectively.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Now, you may not possess the same Christian beliefs as I do, and that is okay. But, it's important to identify what is driving our purpose and passion, as it has a flow on effect to the rest of our body.

Unfortunately, we may recognise this in an undesirable way. But it's important to remember that sometimes all it only takes is a small death, a realisation or a difficult experience, to regenerate an entire ecosystem. Not to mention, a regeneration can help it to achieve its ultimate purpose and become more fruitful than before.

John 12:24

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.