Many things have changed in the last month. Have you seen the variety of work at home set ups? If you are working at home, how is your body faring? Developing a home office on the spur of the moment has many challenges. The idea of sheltering at home brings challenges to our bodies that we certainly didn’t have a month ago. It brings different:
- Working conditions
- Exercise opportunities
- Driving
- Eating options
- Friend interactions
- Sleep routines
And these changes in routine impact our stress level, which all can be body reactions. How is your body holding up?
Today, we are looking at our Body Center of Intelligence or Gut Center. We have previously looked at the Heart Center of Intelligence and the Head Center of Intelligence. Let’s look today at what the Body Center of Intelligence may have to say to us.
The Body Center of Intelligence
The Body Center of Intelligence are the 8’s, 9’s and 1’s . People who have this type of personality style often say, My gut tells me….. The Body Center’s main desire is to have and maintain control over both themselves and the world around them. They focus on establishing independence, commanding respect, and resisting whatever threatens their autonomy or tightly held convictions.
The Body Center of Intelligence is the seat of physical sensations, response and willfulness. This is where we react kinesthetically to our surroundings, like having a “gut sense” about something that has little to do with emotions or rationale. Often, this is where we feel energetic, passionate and engaged, ready to move and get things done.
The Body Center of Intelligence personalities find themselves taking effective action, are steadfast and rely on their gut knowing for decision-making and getting things done. The drawbacks can be excessive action, passivity or reactivity, depending on their number.
Underlying this Body Center often is anger and frustration, although it shows itself differently in each of the numbers. Let’s take a look at 8’s, 9’s and 1’s and see what might resonate with you,
The 8’s The Powerful Person
The 8’s tend to be intense. They often have a strong sense of social justice and can be aggressive. They readily express anger, starting from the gut and believe that anger is simply energy that needs release.
8’s at their best have a passion for life and love that runs through their veins and are fun and inspiring to be around. They direct their energies toward mobilizing people to work for a cause of justice and create opportunities for those without resources to thrive in society., 8’s are bold, straightforward, fearless and confident and enjoy lively discussions about topics of interest to them.
They are compassionate, direct, and have a heart of mercy.They can have an intuitive sense of what needs to be done quickly and effectively to make things happen. The focus of attention for an 8 is on taking charge. They want to get things done pronto. They can get impatient and frustrated with inaction. Their biggest fear is one of being exposed, disrespected and taken advantage of. This is always the push pull of leadership for them.
The 9’s The Peaceful Person
The 9’s tend toward balance and harmony, even at the cost of their own feelings. They need to be comfortable and settled. Their focus of attention is on the agenda of others. Their primary fear is being invisible and insignificant.
9‘s are easygoing, content, patient, and accepting of the world around them.They are composed, patient and able to let things unfold on their own.They value differing points of view and discovering a common thread of consensus. They don’t tend to draw attention to themselves. However, they fear being invisible and insignificant, and may become passive, not expressing their true feelings.Passivity can get them into trouble because their own needs are not being met.
They tend to avoid their own anger as well as the anger of others, in an attempt to avoid conflicts. They find themselves often frustrated because the harmony and balance they desire is not present.
The 1’s The Good Person
The 1’s have a deep desire to experience the purity of the original human state – where all is good, complete and unblemished. Their focus of attention is on what’s wrong and how they are not living up to their unmet standards of excellence. Therefore, an undercurrent of anger, resentment, irritation frustration continually is fought under the surface of their lives, that needs to be kept under control.
The 1’s are a champion for excellence, live with integrity and channel their energies into making the world a better place. They have an innate ability to see potential improvements and they bring their keen eye for detail to any endeavor in which they participate. They are responsible, trustworthy, conscientious, and highly principled.
The primary fear of a 1 is being unworthy of love and grace because of their imperfections. This inner critic serves to keep piling on the guilt to keep them ever vigilant to avoid making mistakes.The anger of the 1’s tends to take the form of judgment, both towards themselves and others. Their own relentless inner critic is like a judge following them around and reminding them of how they messed up or could be better. Thus being a 1 can be just plain exhausting.
Questions for you
This is our exploration into the Body Center of Intelligence.
Did any of the descriptors particularly resonate with you? How and why?
How can knowing that power and control are important to you make a difference in your reactions to your world?
How might you be able to surrender power and control a little more as you recognize your own needs? What happens in that surrender?
Please let me know your self-observations in the comments below or by replying to this email.
This is the last of the Center of Intelligence. I wonder what have you discovered about yourself. Where do you feel most at home? The Heart Center? The Head Center? Or the Body Center? How has learning about these Centers made a difference in helping you become more of your authentic self?
Remember, this is a journey and we’re on it together.
Nancy Booth wants to create safe spaces for you, helping you find ways to have two-way conversations with God. She loves encouraging you to look for ways He is at work. Nancy is a spiritual director and writer. She would love to accompany you on your journey of discovery to hear and see more of the God who delights in you. Peace, hope and freedom could be yours Contact her today..