The Unity of Embodied Existence

Writing about the Body — with a capital B — indicates that it is more than the physical manifestation of a person. The nature of the Body is neither mental nor physical. Rather, we give expression to the Body and its realms of spirituality and varied states of consciousness.

Body is consciousness.

Movement practitioners highlight connections between health, psychological integration and spirituality. Transformational consciousness comes through movement and Body awareness. The spirit, psyche and Body are but the various expressions of one undivided substratum of consciousness. These are our personalities, relationships and collective intelligence. Movement also impacts our development as adults.

Change, as shifts in our behaviour, could come from a shift in our way of thinking. But embodying this thinking is a grounding principle intrinsic to Butoh practice. One becomes the change, the development, the integration, transcendence or insight. The reason for this is because the Body is the unconscious within the sphere of consciousness.

The full embodiment of the state of being is necessary for a psychological, somatic and even spiritual shift to take place. It is an active, embodied, witnessing consciousness. It elicits in-depth understanding of subtle energy as intentionality. It also brings the possibility of cosmic awareness in the individual psyche.

The range between the experiential Self and cosmic awareness is crucial in the mental embrace of crises in the world today. Common outcomes of the experience of Butoh are: illuminating contextual thought, lucid imagination, archetypes, emotions, clairvoyance, structural and social healing, crossing ecological thresholds, empathic connection to community, experiences of warmth, flow of energy, openness, healing and spaciousness.

When embodiment is a reality one can experience a sense of unity, and this is possible under the most trying of circumstances.