When I give a reading for a new client I begin by looking at their physicality. This sometimes surprises clients and I have found that there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the soft and hard sciences have worked very hard to see the body as a machine with various parts and functions which interact but are independent of each other and so can malfunction and be treated or replaced. All of which is separate from our emotions and from our mind and thought. The other comes from various religions and spiritualities which emphasize the concept that this body is transitory and the soul is immortal therefore the body is irrelevant to the soul and its operation.
Coming from a culture and spirituality which values holistic healing and holistic approaches to life, I’m biased away from these understandings of things. However, even more relevant is the reality I find in readings and in working with people in regular life and that is that the body is not separate from the soul nor an ill-fitting meat suit that we put on and take off at will. We choose to come into each embodied life and we preplan in enormous detail what that life will look like and all the events in it that we possibly can (free will is the wild card that makes life unpredictable and magical) and that includes the body. We pick the family, the sex, the body that we will come into as much as that is possible and we pick it because it best matches who we are, who we want to become, and the lessons/challenges/joys we wish to work through this time around.
Bodies are our interface with the world around us on all levels of being. So they influence the soul just as much as the soul influences them. They are not a barrier to experiencing who we truly are, they are great communicator of where we are at, what we are working through, and what we need to do as the next step to getting there. They help and support us in this, signal when we are off course, open the gates wide when we are on it and reflect who we are in any given moment, which has nothing to do with societal norms of beauty or health or fitness or appropriateness. So when I want to learn about a person’s path and where they are at in embodying it (notice the body part of that word) I look at their physical self. It’s like looking at a light bulb to see how dim or bright it is. And what a person is working through shows like paint against the light bulb. And there is wealth of information in where and how it shows which tells me more than just asking a bunch of questions of the client.
One reason I do this is purely practical. Soul books are immense and contain everything there is to know about a soul. I could wade for weeks through a soul book and not find a particular answer I’m looking for. And I only have an hour with the client. So knowing where they are on their path, what they are working on, helps me narrow down where I’m looking and what I’m looking for. The other is for the client. Most want to know if they are on the right path. They want validation of their instincts, their choices, and their ability to be happy and fulfilled. I can and will find that information for them in their book, but for the most part that will be emotional and mental and will possibly lead them into deeper soul connection. Getting that information from their body puts them in better harmony with it all, gives them validation that their body isn’t against them or trying to sabotage them. It helps them see that their body is an ally and is congruent with a spiritual life.
