VII. INTEGRATION
“...the body is a whole and must be viewed and treated as a whole if real integration is to occur.”[22]
—Ken Dychtwald, Bodymind
Shelley Lake, Novak and Monique, digital scene simulation, 2019
The bodymind is the key that unlocks the door to integration. The holistic interrelationship of body and mind provides the physical, intellectual and emotional backdrop where integration takes place. The body systems: respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, urogenital, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, integumentary, reproductive, musculoskeletal—all find unity and connection in the bodymind, where wellness can be expressed through balance and harmony.
Somaesthetics, the synthesis of body awareness and aesthetics, cultivates and honors the “living, sentient, purposive body”.[23] Developed in the 1990’s by Richard Shusterman, somaesthetics goes beyond traditional aesthetic values to include interdisciplinary creative engagement of our primary tool, the body. Shusterman explores body consciousness through the lens of transcultural inquiry to create a new paradigm for the fine art of living:
“Just as skilled builders need expert knowledge of their media and tools, so we need better somatic knowledge to enhance our understanding and performance in the arts and the humanities; and this includes the cultivation of what I consider the highest art of all—that of perfecting our humanity and living better lives. We need to cultivate ourselves, because true humanity is not a mere biological given but an educational achievement in which the body, mind, and culture must be thoroughly involved.”[24]
Our ability to explore integration can only take place in a safe environment. Abraham Maslow, in his essay A Theory of Human Motivation, places humanity’s need for safety, second only to basic physiological needs.[25] According to neuroscientist Stephen Porges—neuroception, the internal surveillance system that monitors “whether situations or people are safe”, plays an extremely important role in our ability to hold each other in our hearts.[26]
Shusterman creates a safe place for pleasure and entertainment as a form of art, confronting “perhaps the most stubborn dogma of all: the opposition of pleasure to meaning and truth”:
“More generally, our appreciation of art’s sensuous beauties has an important somatic dimension, not simply because they are grasped through our bodily senses—including the sense of proprioception that traditional aesthetics has ignored—but moreover because art’s emotional values, like all emotion, must be experienced somatically to be experienced at all.”[27]
Shelley Lake, Infinity, 2019, Digital Scene Simulation, 36” by 84” pigmented ink on canvas
Integration takes place in the individual. Integration takes place in the relationship between individuals. Integration takes place between cultures and nation states. And integration awakens the spirit to unleash our innate intelligence and infinite wisdom.
The bodymind is a roadmap for beauty and the spirit gate into creation, our common denominator, our inescapable temple—the sacred connection of humanity with divinity.
At the heart of chiropractic philosophy is a system that allows the body to heal itself–seeking harmony between mind, body, and spirit. When the mind and body are in balance, the spirit will follow.
[22] Dychtwald, Bodymind, 1977, 128.
[23] Richard Shusterman, “Body and the Arts: The Need for Somaesthetics,” Diogenes 59 (1-2) (2013): 7–20.
[24] Richard Shusterman, 7.
[25] Abraham Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review 50 (1943): 370–96.
[26] Stephen Porges, “Neuroception,” Zero to Three, May 2004, 19–24.
[27] Richard Shusterman, “Body and the Arts: The Need for Somaesthetics,” 18.