Body Gratitude - Week 7

Your body is a sacred vessel— more than just a physical entity; the body is a spiritual messenger for healing and self-love. Allow it to guide you to unlock power and peace.

This Physical Body

What if we have the notion of ‘mind, body, spirit’ the wrong way around?

What if in our illusory state we have created a cultural construct around being ‘beautiful’ - whatever that means in any given culture - and then bought into the idea that we need to meet a physical ideal of beauty to be happy?

When we understand our spirit self chose our physical form - our bodies - how can we reject any part of the the vessel our spirit loves unconditionally?

Looking at it from this perspective, we can see that we have attributed much weight to our mind, the Egoic part of ourselves. Perhaps a more accurate adage is spirit, body, mind!

Self love - image by by Jessica Felicio

Before we explore this paradox, let’s recap last week’s activity.

Cultivating Presence - A Recap

Last week, Week 6, we delved into cultivating presence in relationships to foster deeper connections with family, friends, coworkers - and ourselves. The week emphasised mindful and active listening, readiness for conversation, body language, and mental engagement, which encouraged us to be fully present. By practicing intentional eye contact, active listening, and setting aside distractions, we aimed to create meaningful connections based on genuine interest. Through this, we aimed to build trust, empathy and compassion for those we engage with and also with ourselves.

Review the week - So how did you go? I noticed I was ‘hit and miss’ until Saturday - and all of a sudden I feel as if my eyes and heart have opened simultaneously. Week 6 definitely offered something I will return to again and again. I’ve been meditating, connecting with Mother Earth, trees, and observing the skies - how did I miss including Nature in the list of relationships?!

Take out your JOURNAL and write a brief entry about your experiences in Week 6 and any shifts in connections you noticed.

In Spirit We Choose

From our metaphysical perspective of unconditional love we carefully select our parents and therefore our ancestral line and conditions, our physical form, our abilities, our gender or variation thereof, our names…

It seems as if we don’t leave much to chance, doesn’t it?

And yet once we descend into the physical form we play the game with our blindfolds on, wielding freewill carelessly as we ‘buy into’ (quite literally) the notion that we, and our physical bodies, are not enough.

Entire multi-trillion dollar industries have been built on this illusory belief by selling the notion of ‘flawless’ while profiting from our ‘imperfections’.

And we in our ignorance avidly forfeit our peace and our incomes to repair our ‘deficits’.

Did you know that most people I work with, including myself, have a part of the body they focus on as lacking in some way? Often this focus mirrors a wound from a previous lifetime. This is not a mistake. Choosing to love ourselves, wholly, and without exception in this lifetime is the cure. After all, we chose this body!

Some of you may be wondering about humans who are born with different abilities or born into poor health. Do we choose that too? On a metaphysical level there are many opportunities and learnings to be had from our bodies, whether we are born with a difference or sustain one over a lifetime.

Love does not have form - it is. Image by Nathan Anderson

Metaphysical Blessings

There are many more spirits seeking bodies with dis-abilities than healthy bodies. Why?

There is much to be learned and / or karmically redressed by needing to rely on others, to remember we can be an expression of unconditional love regardless of our form, and much to offer others by inviting compassion, the opportunity to care for another, and much more.

The physical form also acts as a messenger.

If our healthy body becomes unwell, there is almost always an underlying emotional discomfort based on a limiting belief. Here are some examples:

• Sore shoulders or hips - what am I carrrying that no longer serves?

• A headache - how is my overthinking mind giving me a headache?

• Knee pain- what unresolved issues am I avoiding? How is fear of moving forward affecting me?

Messages such as these are our Higher Self’s way of inviting us to choose something better for ourselves, yet, how many times do we look at our bodies with resentment or despair?

Vehicles of Being

Our bodies allow us to feel, to experience life’s joys, sorrows, harmony, injustices, comfort, and discomforts - the entire package!

Yes, it allows us to feel pain. This pain shows us what we are not and asks us to remember the Divine and unconditional love we are, have always been and always will be. We are courageous and as Divine beings, we know we are capable of far more than we may believe.

So how can we respond to dis-ease or aspects of our physical body we do not appreciate? We can create more fear or resentment of our body and the dis-eases it presents, and further contribute to manifesting dis-ease and discomfort. Or we can thank it for making us aware of our misalignment and return to unconditional love and compassion.

If you wish to explore the many metaphysical reasons behind dis-ease, I highly recommend Inna Segal’s The Secret Language of your Body.

A Note for the Healers

I see you, dear ones. Many of you are transmuting lifetimes - past, present, future, and ancestral imbalances through the physical body at this time.

Deep gratitude for the Lightworkers. Blessed be. Image by Guillaume de Germain

Always seek medical care as needed.

Go within, and also reach out for support when you need it. Continue to grow the appreciation for this Divine form you have chosen.

You are the blessing.

Repairing Disconnection

All of this mental focus on what it is our bodies lacks creates a divide between our physical and spiritual selves, leaving us feeling ungrounded, fragmented, and entrapped in the illusion of separation.

The Cosmic Alignment: Activate Your Inner Merkaba is a channelled meditation to restore harmony to our spirit, mind and body and also reinforces our innate strength as we navigate ascension.

The Cosmic Alignment: Activate Your Inner Merkaba - A Meditation

Radical Self Love

Imagine being at peace as you prepare for each day, knowing that a mask and costume are no longer needed. Imagine befriending again your beautiful bare face, and wearing clothes that are comfortable and shoes that allow you to walk freely on the earth.

Patricia Lynn Reilly.

Imagine?!

Imagine allowing yourself to love your form unconditionally, and then clothe your body and live in ways that bring you joy!

Thank you Age Cymru for one of the few, natural shots of an older woman on Unsplash.

An Activity

This week, when you notice yourself judging your body harshly, take a moment to reflect:

• A strong body is not necessarily lean, yet it offers the gift of carrying us where we wish to go.

• Lines around our eyes occur when we smile.

• Stretch marks are a sign of the body’s flexibility - isn’t it amazing how it can cope with varying weight and in the case of mothers, pregnancies.

• Healthy teeth are not naturally neon white.

• Well cared for, chemical free healthy hair feels beautiful and uniquely complements our skin tone.

• Our skin is a reflection of our overall wellbeing - are we nurturing our bodies?

• Aging is not taboo unless we make it so - like all of nature, we exist in seasons. What examples are we setting for the next generation?

• I am proud of my body for all it has achieved and everything it will do in the future.

• I define beauty for myself - I am not defined by it (nor by those who seek to profit from it).

The price of Judgment

Self-criticism or taking on other’s criticisms is an energetic attack on our bodies, causing the body to lose life force energy and weaken. The more we accept, the more difficult it becomes for our bones and muscles to support the weight of negativity.

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Have you noticed? There is nothing more attractive than a woman - or man - who is comfortable in their own skin. Who smiles easily and loves and accepts themselves as they are. Nothing stops us from choosing this for ourselves.

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The Cure

When you notice yourself becoming self-critical, take a moment to connect with your body and remember the gift of life it offers you.

You might place your hands over the part that hurts, or that displeases and offer the Hawaiian Prayer - Ho’opo ono pono:

You were not born with self-criticism and you can learn to let it go. Has it really served you? Improved your life? Perhaps it is time to try self-approval and see what happens.

Your Divine Self

Your Divine spirit was born into this body - whole, infinite and unending, filled with unconditional love and compassion. It is the part of you that does not need to prove anything to be worthy. You are infinitely worthy exactly as you are simply because you exist.

I invite you to take up this truth, to cease striving, and to allow yourself to align with who you really are.

Daily Intent / Prayer

Any glance at media will tell you the world needs the high vibration of unconditional love right now.

We can offer this by getting good with ourselves. To stop buying into the voracious beauty machine, to end our own self-made suffering, to let go of what sits in our past, to love ourselves, our physical being, and to end self-criticism and focus on the blessings in this moment.

Please find silence and offer unconditional love - firstly to yourself and then allow it to radiate outwards.

In the words of Thich Naht Hanh:

I breathe in deeply and bring my mind home to my body; and hold gratitude for the breath that rises and falls in my chest.

Blessed be

If you love this, please acknowledge it! A ❤️, a share or restack spreads the word.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Michelle Cowles

Spiritual Healer, Energy Therapist

Copyright © Michelle Cowles 2025

You can also find me at www.michellecowles.com

Disclaimer: The information on this page is general, lifestyle information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. If this article raises mental health issues, please contact your General Practitioner, mental health worker, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) OR find support by country at www.helpguide.org.