Separation between spirit and body
I have always been encountering an idea that human spirit and body (substance) are united. I regard it quit true. On one hand, a haphazard collection of body doesn’t make a person unless it combines the spirit, on the other hand, in death, in a scientific view, spirit is gone. In my opinion, it is natural that spirit and body is wholeness, and we should be like that. However, my classmate’s oral presentation made me rethink of it. She said:“if you take bread everyday, your body will thank you a lot.” Why‘your body’ will thank ‘you’? Are they not the same thing? In this case, I think, “you” and “your body” are not the same one. Definitely,“you” stands for the spirit which controls the body, your body is substance, the other thing. So the separation comes. Separation is that in people’s mind, the spirit and the body are two isolated things without consciousness. This kind of separation does exist among most of us. What is different is the extent. Next I will explain my view from how separation occurs and the relation between separation and some social problems like suicide.
How does the separation between body and spirit come? In my opinion, there are 3 aspects. Firstly, because humans are intelligent creatures, we are able to think advanced. We have faith, conviction and ideas. Thus, we create spirit images for ourselves unconsciously. It is the precondition of separation. Second, after renaissance, human’s spirit was liberated. Great strides have been made in technology and philosophy since renaissance. Since 20th century, people have entered a duration when much importance has been attached to spirit world. People are living in a world where people’s mind, thought, knowledge and ideas are admired greatly. Thus, spirit becomes so important that it is strong enough to get separated. Third, the spirit and the body combine each other and keep a balance to make a person function well. In this state of balance, a person remains what human should be like naturally. However, for example, if a very frustrating thing happens, spirit is trilled and the balance between spirit and body is broken, which makes the person function badly. If spirit is spurred excessively, the separation of spirit from body may happen. It is like the atom which originally keeps a balance with electrons running around the atomic nucleus in stable orbits. However, if extra energy is given, the balance is broken----the electrons are thrilled to change the orbit, and electrons even can be out of control if the energy is great enough.
Separation causes part of suicide and self-hurt. Encountering frustrating things, people (mind, spirit) may consider that the body, whose disability to resolve the problem causes suffer of their spirit image, is the other thing. Thus they want their bodies to suffer what their spirit has suffered. So many people may hurt their body to make up for the spirit. When separation is on the way, they don’t realize the wholeness of spirit and body. Accordingly, if people know that spirit and body is wholeness that the hurt of the body actually is the hurt of whole person(including spirit) but not the other thing, there will be less suicide and self-hurt because they won’t let their body suffer to liberate the spirit.
In summary, the separation really exists. It becomes worse in modern life. The serious separation is against the natural principles. If everybody realizes that the spirit and body are united, we will live a more better and natural life.