About 10 years ago, I developed a really sharp, agonising pain in my left arm, which wouldn’t go away. So I tried osteopathy and my osteopath introduced to me the idea of referred pain and the eastern view of holistic treatment – i.e. the idea that a symptom expressing itself in one part of the body may have its cause elsewhere. Turns out my pain in my arm was caused by an issue with a disc in my neck.
Over the years I’ve become more interested in the interconnectedness of things, from our minds and bodies to the systems that we belong to and act within, even to the universe itself.
I draw upon a line from the Godfather Part 3. Er, what? Yes, bear with me. The Godfather 3 is not a patch on The Godfather or The Godfather Part 2 – but having watched it again quite recently, it’s better than I remember it.
Just before the third act of the film, Michael Corleone, now full of guilt, meets the soon to be Pope, Cardinal Lamberto, played by the legendary Italian actor Raf Vallone. He is best known in the UK for his role as mafia boss Altabani in that absolute gem of a movie, The Italian Job.
Michael is ostensibly having a business meeting with Cardinal Lamberto, “a good priest” as Michael later refers to him. During their discussion, Michael, who is diabetic, starts to feel faint and unwell, and asks for some sweet things to remedy the situation. The Cardinal can see the physical distress that Michael is under, and can sense this feeling of guilt that Michael is carrying. As the head of a Mafia family, it’s clearly going to be a lot!
And then the Cardinal says the line which has always stayed with me:
👉 “The mind suffers, and the body cries out…”
This is the most perfect and simple illustration of mind / body alignment. Nothing exists in isolation, and our bodies can be a great indicator of what’s going on in our minds. This is why mindfulness / meditation can be so powerful because for those few minutes, you can really tap into what is going on inside your body. It’s a lot easier to fool your mind than it is your body.
