The Mind Understands. The Body Remembers.
When Insight Arrives Before the Nervous System
Over the last few weeks, I have been writing about belonging, trust, showing up for life, and learning to participate in life rather than trying to control every part of it.
Intellectually, many of these reflections feel true.
I believe that I belong to this earth just as much as everyone else.
I believe that life has carried me through difficult times before.
I believe that I can do my part while allowing life to do its part.
I believe that life is not waiting for me to finish everything before I am allowed to enjoy it.
And yet there is another side of the story.
The Mind Understands
The mind learns quickly.
Sometimes a single insight can change the way we see ourselves and the world.
A sentence can arrive and suddenly everything feels clearer.
For me, some of those sentences have been:
I belong to this earth just as much as everyone else.
I show up for life and life shows up for me.
I can be present in the middle of an unfinished life.
The mind hears them.
Understands them.
Agrees with them.
Sometimes even feels transformed by them.
But understanding is only part of the journey.
The Nervous System Remembers
The nervous system operates differently.
It learns through experience.
Repetition.
Memory.
Survival.
And unlike the mind, it does not immediately update itself when a new insight arrives.
My mind may understand trust.
Yet my nervous system still checks the credit card.
My mind may understand abundance.
Yet my body still prepares for scarcity.
My mind may understand that I am safe.
Yet part of me still scans for the next problem.
The insight arrives quickly.
The embodiment often takes much longer.
The Protector
Recently I have been noticing a part of myself that I have started to think of as the Protector.
It is the voice that says:
What about next month?
What if the client cancels?
What about the mortgage?
Have you remembered everything?
For many years, this part has worked tirelessly on my behalf.
It helped me:
study,
work,
parent,
survive uncertainty,
prepare,
solve problems,
keep moving forward.
It is not my enemy.
It is trying to keep me safe.
The difficulty is that sometimes it continues protecting long after the danger has passed.
When Good News Feels Uncomfortable
One thing I have noticed recently is how quickly the Protector appears after positive news.
A client enquiry arrives.
A new opportunity appears.
A problem gets resolved.
Something starts working.
And almost immediately another thought appears:
Yes, but what about...?
It is as if the nervous system has become more familiar with vigilance than with receiving.
More familiar with preparing than relaxing.
More familiar with survival than trust.
A Different Practice
For a long time I thought healing meant getting rid of these thoughts.
Now I am beginning to wonder whether healing is something gentler.
Perhaps healing is not learning the lesson once.
Perhaps healing is teaching the lesson to the nervous system over and over again.
Not through force.
Not through criticism.
But through experience.
A moment of trust.
A moment of rest.
A moment of receiving.
A moment of recognising that things are okay.
And then another.
And another.
Until gradually the body begins to believe what the mind already knows.
What I Am Learning
I am learning that insight is not the end of the journey.
It is the beginning.
The mind often arrives first.
The nervous system follows later.
The mind understands belonging.
The nervous system practises belonging.
The mind understands trust.
The nervous system practises trust.
The mind understands enough.
The nervous system practises enough.
Perhaps this is why growth can feel both exciting and frustrating at the same time.
Part of us has already moved forward.
Another part is still catching up.
And maybe that's okay.
Maybe healing is not about perfection.
Maybe healing is simply the patient and compassionate process of helping every part of ourselves arrive together.
🌿
Dr Maliheh Taheri
M.A.L.I. Neuro-Somatic Practice
