Body & Mind: A Philosophical Conversation

What you are about to read is a fiction piece solely from my imagination. It is written in the form of a conversation. This conversation is between your body and your mind:

Body: Hey, are you okay up there?

Mind: Huh? Oh yes, I'm good.

Body: Then how come I feel bad?

Mind: What do you mean?

Body: I feel bad! Throat is sore like crazy, Eyes are so watery, and Heart won't stop aching. Tell me what's going on.

Mind: Nothing's going on, I'm fine! Just control yourself.

Body: Just control myself? How about you try telling them that. I can't even approach Heart. She's beating so fast, I'm surprised she hasn't broken the sound barrier. For real, what's up with that?

Mind: He's gone! He left us.

Body: Who's gone?

Mind: Our bestfriend.

Body: Tell me you're lying!

Mind: No. We're actually heartbroken.

Body: ... *silent*

Mind: ...

Body: ...

Mind: It's okay though, you don't have to feel bad.

Body: What!? How can I not? You know I loved him.

Mind: I loved him too.

Body: ...

Mind: But, we can get through this.

Body: How?

Mind: Together.

Body: What? What are we supposed to do?

Mind: Let's take care of each other. You were my bestfriend first.

Body: Yeah, I guess you're right. How's your day been so far?

Mind: It's been good, actually. I haven't had many thoughts to distract me.

Body: Yes, I've noticed that. We've been getting things done lately. Goodjob.

Mind: No, you goodjob. Although you've been feeling bad, you were able to get up this morning, make the bed, shower, and even ate a good breakfast.

Body: Yes, you're right. I have done a good job. But I wouldn't have done anything if it wasn't for you. You have been focused despite what we are going through. You are not overthinking, you are not in denial, and you are not lost in thoughts. You have been so focused and clear-headed. Thank you. Because of you, I do a good job.

Mind: Well, that's all because everything you do, every action you take, and every interaction you have gives me something to think about. And lately, you have been doing all the right things and interacting with all the right people. So, of course I've been so focused and clear-headed.

Body: You're telling me, it's because of everything I've done that you're able to maintain your state of mind. Yet, I'm telling you it's because of your state of mind that I've been able to do all of those things. How does that work?

Mind: Why do you do all of those things?

Body: I do them because... because of you!

Mind: Are you sure about that?

Body: Yeah? I mean you direct me to them. I respond to your thoughts and your will. Whenever you have any sort of thought, I react. Whether it's a positive thought or something negative like him leaving us, I feel.

Mind: Yes, I agree. But, I only have those thoughts that you respond to because of the things you do and experience. So clearly, if you don't do anything and you don't experience anything, I won't have any thoughts for you to respond to. So all of those things that you do, you do them because of you.

Body: What? But if you think about something, I do it.

Mind: Like what?

Body: Like, if you thought about eating, I would go eat or if you thought about going to bed, I would go to bed.

Mind: First of all, just the thought of eating doesn't mean you're going to eat, because what if you're not hungry? You're the one who experiences the sensation of hunger. Once you're hungry, the thought simply enters my mind.

Body: How about when you have me eat for no reason?

Mind: I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

Body: Forcing me to do certain things such as chores or eating vegetables. The thought doesn't just enter your mind when I'm hungry, you can still have me eat even beyond my hunger. Not to mention fasting.

Mind: Hmm, I see. Interesting point.

Body: Yeah, so I would actually be responding to you wanting me to eat.

Mind: Well, why would I ever want you to eat in the first place? Even if you're not hungry, the thought would still have to come to me from somewhere. Whether it's doing chores, eating vegetables, or eating for no reason, I don't ever "want" you to do it. It simply entered my mind and I become aware of it.

Body: Yes, exactly. The thought entered your mind, and in turn, you have me react.

Mind: No, what I'm saying is, that somewhere is you. And I don't really choose for you to react.

Body: Sounds like you're saying I can think. Last time I check, you're the mind.

Mind: Well yes and no. Yes, I'm the mind but I'm not saying you can think. In fact, neither of us actually thinks.

Body: Uh... you just said thoughts come from me and then goes to you. So, from your logic, I am the source of all thoughts. I don't really understand how that works. But if you're right, what role do you, "the mind" even play?

Mind: When I say the thought comes from you, I don't mean that you're literally creating thoughts. You aren't the source of all thoughts. Continuing with the same example, when you're hungry, you feel hungry. That sensation of hunger is the source of that specific thought. Because it's through that sensation of hunger that I realize that you need to eat. But I only realize it by observing the thought that came from your hunger.

Body: Uh...

Mind: Okay look, when you, "the body" feels hungry, I receive a thought that you are hungry. It is then that you go eat.

Body: Okay then, you literally just said you receive a thought that I'm hungry and it is then that I go eat.

Mind: No...

Body: ...

Mind: I'm not the one who makes you go eat. I simply receive the thought and I become aware of your hunger. Who makes you go eat? No one. I become aware of your hunger but you had already necessitated your own response to eat.

Body: Yeahh, I'm just going to pretend that made sense.

Mind: Where are you stuck?

Body: Let me see if I understand. So you're saying, all the thoughts that you have and will have come from my bodily experiences. So if I experience the sensation of hunger, you then realize that I'm hungry.

Mind: Exactly!

Body: No actually. What's the point of you realizing that I'm hungry? That part still hasn't clicked. Plus, I don't see how that concept applies to every thought.

Mind: How so?

Body: Cause I can just be sitting there doing nothing while you can have all sorts of random thoughts.

Mind: Give me an example.

Body: Out of nowhere you can think of cheese, an airplane, or a barn owl. I don't see how any of my bodily experiences could have triggered any of those at that given moment.

Mind: They definitely come from bodily experiences. The only difference is they're not thoughts that are immediately triggered from an immediate sensation. On one hand, I can become aware of your hunger but on the other hand, I can become aware of the thought of having a burger for lunch tomorrow when it's today morning. Yes, it seems like I suddenly came up with that thought especially how irrelevant it is to the time of day but no.

Body: Hold on.

Mind: Sure.

Body: You said you can become aware of the thought. Are you saying no matter how random it is, like the thought of a barn owl, as I mentioned, you simply become aware of it?

Mind: Yes. By that I mean, the thought and every other thought are just there. They simply appear like clouds passing across the sky, and all I am is that sky; the space they pass through. As the mind, I observe their passing. And when a thought like "hunger" comes along, I choose to give it my attention. You also mentioned "fasting" earlier. It's the same way. Imagine if I didn't pay attention to that hunger.

Body: Whoa, I see. So, they appear because they were triggered by my bodily sensations and experiences. Now I see what you mean by realizing that I'm hungry.

Mind: Exactly! Like I was saying, it's the exact way with a thought that seems random.

Body: How so?

Mind: The thought of a "barn owl" doesn't come out of nowhere. First of all, you had already gathered enough experience to necessitate that thought. Because somewhere along the line, you must have familiarized yourself with it. You learned the name itself and whether you've ever encountered a barn owl or not, you've seen a "barn" and an "owl" before. The very fact that you can put the names together and that the grouping is acceptable. Cause think about it, is "House Skunk" acceptable? There's a lot of empirical data involved no matter how far back it is. But what really brings it all together is every experience that led up to that thought now. Like, would the thought ever enter my mind if you were too busy doing things? I would have no room in my mind to simply think of a random "barn owl." But instead, you were just sitting down, doing nothing. Everything you do even the act of doing nothing already necessitated that random thought.

Body: Okay, fair enough. But you haven't really explained why you exist in the first place. You said as the mind, you observe thoughts and you choose to give them your attention, but that actually contradicts saying you don't choose for me to eat. And what you said about fasting also contradicts saying that I already necessitate my response.

Mind: What?

Body: If you didn't give the thought your attention pretty much implies you're choosing for me not to eat.

Mind: Okay, let's back up. We moved so fast that we haven't really made sense of certain words. Whenever I say, "I won't have any thoughts for you to respond to" or something along the line of, "I choose to give it my attention," I'm not saying I'm in charge or I make anything happen. I'm simply saying the thought exists and I'm aware of it. Yes, the thought enters my mind, but I don't make anything happen as a result. And yes I become aware of it or I give it my attention but that's all that means. I don't make decisions or choose not to make a decision. I'm like a sky with passing clouds, I'm just a space for thoughts. And to be honest, I'm not even the one who becomes aware of those thoughts.

Body: Now you definitely lost me.

Mind: Try asking anybody, "What's your next thought?" They'll probably respond with something along the line of "I don't know." This is because their minds are not the ones that think. The thought simply comes and goes. So, when they're trying to figure out what their next thought is, there's only a blank. There is no thought to observe.

Body: You just made this entire conversation even more complicated.

Mind: ...

(Let me know if you want a part 2).