Being in one of the negative states (resentment, anger, anxiety, etc.) corresponds to the disturbed contour of sensations. Feelings gather in one of the areas of the body, a person’s soul «shrinks’ and «pupates.
A touchstone
In one of the philosophical conversations my opponent declared: “Is there any criteria of truth of life of a person?” I answered him: “Yes, there is! They are the sensations in the body. If the sensations are evenly distributed, the warmth reaches the tips of the fingers and toes, and there are no concentrates plundering the filling at the level of the head, or chest, or abdomen, you are on the right path. But, if there are some concentrates, if the hands or feet are cold (or the forehead is not cool), something is wrong.”
Spinoza said: «Veritas est index sui et falsi» (Truth is the criterion of itself and of lie). This is absolutely true. The even distribution of filling in the body is the «touchstone both of itself and of lie.» However, it should be clarified if the examining is not in winter and not of a long-armed asthenic, the heat in the hands is not a result of the drug or does not occur due to hypersthenic constitution.
I would also include the patients’ relatives in the concept of a «human body’. If in their bodies the sensations are evenly distributed according to their activity, then they live right.
“Heat – heaviness’
Perhaps this is what the Hindus called prana, the Chinese – qi, Mesmer – magnetic fluid, Freud – libido, Reich – orgone, and his follower Lowen – bioenergy.
It is difficult to talk about the nature of this phenomenon. Wilhelm Reich (1897—1957) asserted confidently: «Cosmic orgonic energy exists in living organisms as a specific biological energy. By this capacity it controls the whole organism and is expressed in emotions, as well as in biophysical movements of organs26.» However, he decided on it not at once. «What is biopsychic energy?» he asked a rhetorical question. Further he answered: «This question for me, as a clinician, who had to treat sexual disorders in people, in other words, neuroses (Reich equated neuroses and sexual disorders. – A. E.), remained unanswered after 60 years of sexual research in the world of science, 40 years of development of psychoanalysis and almost 20 years of my own work on the theory of orgasm27.»
It is known that Reich’s beliefs did not found support in the medical community, although, according to Kelly (1979), nowadays there is no serious work that would refute this theory.
«The brief psychological dictionary», on the contrary, is very concrete in determining the source of energy for emotional reactions: «The level of energy mobilization (activation) of the body, necessary for the emotional functions, is provided by the autonomic nervous system in its interaction with the structures of the brain that makes up the central substrate of emotions28.» Further we will discuss the nature of bodily sensations in different emotional states.
For reasons of scientific correctness and consistent implementation of the phenomenological approach, which will be discussed below, I prefer to think about what is felt in the body when experiencing, in a different way. This is a kind of subjectively felt substance that is noticeably collected in the forehead with anxiety, in the back of the head – with overcontrol of the situation, in the temples – with irritation, in the chest – with resentment and grief, in the stomach – with fear and jealousy. I call it «the substance of the heat-heaviness’, or «HH», by the main (though not only) sensations that accompany its movement and concentration. However, the term «HH» sometimes have to be replaced by the more general one – «energy’, because it is the strength of the body response that correlates with the amount of «HH», gathered in a particular place.
This is something that determines the quantitative characteristics of the experience. It is the mass, involved in the experience of «HH», depends on how upset the state of a person. Gathering in certain places in the process of forming of pathological charges, it becomes the source of an unpleasant weight and unpleasant heat. When relaxing, the same «substance’ moves to the periphery of the former focus of tension and determines the feeling of «a pleasant heaviness’ and «pleasant heat’, described by Schultz in the book «Autogenic training». It is the HH substance that is distributed in the body in the process of calming down (we will talk about it at the therapeutic phase), acquiring the characteristics of light, air, liquid or even a thick mass, spreading in all directions, sometimes painful at first, and filling the periphery, like the long-awaited rain, irrigating fields suffering from drought.
The body is the contour map of the soul
The idea that each area of the body is simultaneously a zone of consciousness, is known since ancient times. These are Indian ideas about chakras as special energy centers, which are simultaneously centers of consciousness; Chinese ideas about energy channels in which the psychic energy “Shen’ circulates, etc. The idea of the heart as an organ of consciousness is developed in Orthodoxy. (St. Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky); not recognized canonically.
The observations by Ferenczi, Reich and Lowen, who developed the «somatic approach» in psychoanalysis29, are significant in the context of this discussion. These authors considered the relationship between muscle tension and mental function in general. Reich formulated the thesis about the functional identity of muscle tension and emotional block. Lowen came to the idea of «functional unity of character and muscle rigidity pattern.» Earlier Freud assumed that «Self» is bodily first of all («Self and Id»): «Self», undoubtedly, is generated by bodily feelings, its sources mainly lie on a body surface». A little later we will mention Henri Bergson, who also spoke about the effects of muscle tension in the process of experiencing (back in 1889).
Those authors, consistently seeking to supplement the «analysis from above’ with the «analysis from below’ (the expression by Sandor Ferenczi), revealed the relationship between the levels of the body and experiences of various kinds. They were mainly investigating in the surface of the body: «relaxation exercises’ (Ferenci), study of «muscle shell’ (Reich), poses, body positions (Lowen).
The “good and evil’ book
Where do the equivalents of different states find their place?
Head:
– forehead – anxiety
– temples – irritation
– back of the head – responsibility, the need to control the situation
– top of the head – osteochondrosis of the spine, «poor nutrition’ of the head (later we will talk about the origin of psychic bodily sensations)
Chest: resentment, anxiety, spite, anguish, grief.
Abdomen: solar plexus area – fear, anger.
Archpriest Eugene Popov tried to present a list of «sins against the ten commandments of God.» In this book30 there were 1087 pages. If we consider that the beginnings for sins and the beginnings for neuroses are often the same, the list of neuroses may be no less. And each of them «rents’ its area of the body. Each SPT work provides new material for the creation of a detailed atlas of «continents’ and «islands’ of experiences of the human body. Here are the most common ones, although if you want you can make a detailed map of the passions. The body acts as the «contour map’, which describes the location of the structures of consciousness.
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