Is your conversation with your "Physical Self" appropriate for polite company?

or.. 

What the @#$& are you saying?

I just have a quick question for you. What kind of conversation are you having with your physical self throughout the day? If you're anything like me that conversation might not be appropriate for polite company. Well at least it used to be that way.

One day I had a weird thought. I looked down at what I was then referring to as my body and asked, "what is this thing anyway". My first weird thought was followed by a second weird thought. What if this thing I'm calling my body     were an entity all on its own. Like a pet….

I know it sounds super strange, but it occurred to me that if this thing were anything outside of myself, literally anything at all, I would never be                                                                                     speaking to it this way! 

In fact, I realized that I don't think I would speak to even an inanimate object that way. In the moment the thought both horrified and made me laugh. I imagined myself talking to a vase with the disdain, dislike, and downright trash talk I used when talking to my physical self.

You see the thing is that, I consider myself a nice person. I try to be kind, considerate, and loving to all things. Especially those I know have feelings, needs and wants. Well, I certainly hadn't been any of those things to my physical self. The truth is I've been cruel, unkind and let's face it abusive. I laughed again when I realized that if someone asked my body to describe me, it would probably say "She's a real bitch!"

This one strange thought started me on a whole new adventure. The adventure began with addressing my body in a completely different way. I also began to see my physical self as an entity unto itself with needs and wants, likes and dislikes of its own. We all sort of know this to be true. We talk about what our body wants or craves. We often talk about our body doing what it wants and not at all what we want. So it's not such a foreign idea.

I started this new adventure with my physical self by wondering how to begin addressing her in a more respectful way. I began by saying her not it. Then I asked if she had a name.....

But that is a story for another day.... 

So I return to my original question, is the conversation you are having with your body appropriate for polite company? And are the things you are saying the kind of language and sentiment you generally use with other people, animals, inanimate objects? 

If not I invite you to take the day to simply notice the conversation that you're having with your physical self.

1. Notice how you refer to your physical self. When you speak to her directly do you use the term        you, I, we, my? You're not looking for right or wrong here just noticing.

2. Notice how often the conversation is less of a conversation and more of a negotiation, argument,    knockdown drag out, or tender interaction.

3. Notice your connection with your physical self. Do you feel separate, connected, imprisoned,      maybe locked in a cell with your worst enemy, or in harmony?

4. Notice if what you say specifically to your physical self causes any sensation in the physical.
  Notice if the body tenses or relaxes,has pain or lack of pain, has a sense of heaviness or lightness in     response to your inner dialogue.

 5. Try one time during the day having a conversation with your physical self that feels more like    talking to a new acquaintance. Use polite language as you might to a person that you do not know  well but that you want to feel acknowledged and respected.

One word of caution these simple exercises might begin the internal adventure of a lifetime!

Liz Larson
transformoneidea@gmail.com

Life Design Strategist
NLP Master Practitioner