Crossing the Body Consciousness Barrier
Photo Credit: Tony Kane Mind Health & Awareness Crossing the Body Consciousness Barrier From the very instant we enter this physical world, an extensive conditioning process begins. We arrive as pure, formless consciousness, but almost immediately, layers of external identity are placed upon us. We are given a name, assigned a family, tagged with a religion, and rooted in a specific city, state, and nation. We are taught what belongs to us and what belongs to others, where our boundaries begin and where they end. Without realising it, we absorb these external labels as the truth of who we are. We begin to look in the mirror and identify entirely with the vehicle - the physical vessel - forgetting the silent, divine driver within. This deeply ingrained identification is the root of body consciousness ( deha-bhav ). Living in body consciousness traps us in an elaborate illusion. Because the physical body is mortal, fragile, and subject to time, a life anchored in it is ru...