In psychology, there seems to be a debate on whether the body and the mind are the same entity or their own separate features. Truthfully, I never seemed to pay attention enough to decide which side of the argument I was on. But after spending time getting to know myself and how the mind works, I have finally found the answer.

They are not the same. The body and the mind are obviously within the same "body", but the mind literally "has a mind of its own". You are your mind, but you are not your body, you're just living in it. In fact, once you realize this, you can learn to control how your mind talks about your body and change the light you view yourself in.

This all came to me as I was reading Don Miguel Ruiz's series of Mexican Toltec practices, and I realized his logic made sense. Think of it like this: when you eat, you don't tell your body to digest the food or instruct your chemical processes to begin. When this food gets stored, you don't direct where it goes, it does its own thing. When you break your foot, yes it hurts, but you can't do anything but let it heal on its own, just as you don't control the way your hair grows on your body or even the way you perceive taste. All these things we feel we have the control because we become aware, but this is your body. Your physical body gained the extra weight, the foot attached to this body hurts on its own, and the hair on your head grew on its own.

When you realize the differences then you can begin to show compassion and patience with your mind. You begin to understand that you aren't fat, maybe your body has a little extra weight on it than you would like, but it is still your body working for you. You can be more understanding of the little things and stop focusing your mind on the things that you cannot immediately change.

When you connect your body and your mind as one, you get angry at yourself for feeling insecure about your "flaws". These negative thoughts then spiral and eventually you are infecting your mind with more and more negativity. This will begin to affect all your thoughts and make it a lot harder to accept yourself for you. You will continue to compare yourself and fill your mind with self-hatred. All of the above are toxic mentality traits.

It is a complex topic with lots of gray areas, and only through a clear understanding will you be able to make this transition of thinking. But awareness is the first step, after years of hearing this idea tossed around I finally understand why this question stands. Once understood, I believe this is a very crucial concept needed for self-acceptance. Think about this in the new year. Think about how much more peaceful your mind can be with this practice. Be kind to your mind and your body. Claim your peace.