Body parts

Spiritual experience both involves the body, - in that it is often manipulation of the body that helps provide the experience, - and during visons and dreams involves a symbolic landscape of various parts of the body. 

In other words, dreams and visions tell you about you – the state of your body and mind, and by doing so help you to move on spiritually.

Overall, visions and dreams provide lessons and a means of healing yourself of ‘demons’, and clues about what to do next, as such the symbolism of the body is key to achieving higher ‘states’.

When applied to the body, the celestial pole, for example is the spine.  The matrix is you and all the cells are parts of you – in fact they may even be actual cells.  Furthermore, the cardinal points become a way of orienting yourself in any symbolic journey.

J E Cirlot Dictionary of symbols

Body painting!

The-notion of orientation, taken in conjunction with the concept of space as a three-dimensional whole, plays a powerful part in the symbolic organization of space. The human anatomy itself, with its quasi-rectangular, symmetrical and bilateral pattern, in distinguishing between the front and the back thereby designates two corresponding points of orientation. The natural position of the arms and shoulders completes this quadrangular scheme-a symbolic pattern which, interpreted according to strictly anthropological and empirical criteria, would perhaps provide us with the key to the original conception of orientation as quaternary on the surface but septenary three-dimensionally (embracing north, south, east and west, together with the zenith, the nadir and the centre). Also closely linked with the symbolism of the cardinal points and orientation are the gestures and movements of the body, as symbolic expressions of the will applying itself in one direction or another. All attitudes of concentration denote the enshrining of the 'Centre' within the heart.

 

You cannot move on spiritually unless you are healed of mental problems and physical problems.  As such learning about this landscape of mind and body is essential if you are to progress. 

Demons are like mind viruses, actual viruses can often appear in dreams – as can bacteria, fungal infections and so on.

There is also a whole language attached to various body parts that is essential to understanding. 

This symbolism has been widely used in many ancient cultures – Ancient Egyptian or Greek for example, as well as numerous paintings employed by painters who knew their symbolism.  A whole raft of symbolic meaning is attached to the way fingers are used for example, pointing up, pointing down, giving the V sign.

And, yes, there is even symbolic meaning attached to handwashing.  The table below provides a cross reference to some of the main symbolic parts of the body.  The lists are not exhaustive, if you cannot find it in the table try the symbol section

 Please note that this page has no observations, as all the observations relating to body parts have been cross referenced to the relevant body part.

kim joon - cradle-song-blue-fish-2009