Self-mastery
The Four Levels of The Self
All four bodies must work together in harmony to feel whole and complete
The human self consists of four levels: the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Each level makes up 25% of our being and wholeness. In order for us to feel complete, balanced, and fulfilled, we need to heal, develop, and integrate all four levels of the self without ignoring any level.
The physical and mental levels are the masculine aspects of the self and emotional and spiritual levels are feminine aspects. Many of us are out of touch with our masculine and feminine bodies because we focus on two aspects of the self ignoring the other two. When we are solely in our masculine body, we are focused on the physical and mental side of things ignoring the feminine body. We assume showing emotions makes us weak and spirituality is crazy talk. When we are stuck in our feminine body, we focus on the emotional and spiritual ignoring the physical and mental. We allow our emotions to consume us and we spiritually bypass.
All Four Levels are Equally Important
If we want to feel whole and lead healthy, fulfilling lives, we need to focus time and attention on learning, understanding, developing, and healing every level of the self.
All of us at some point have suffered to some degree of disappointment, hurt, or pain that leaves us physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually wounded and in need of healing.
Some levels may need more time and attention than others if you’ve experienced some type of trauma in that level. For example, if you’ve suffered a traumatic breakup, you may need to spend time healing the emotional body. If you spent time not believing in a higher power and therefore neglected the spiritual body, you may need to spend time healing and reconnecting with your spiritual body. If you've neglected your physical body and you've allowed yourself to go, you may need to spend time healing your two masculine bodies.
The Physical Level
The physical level (masculine) is our physical body. It is our skin and everything under it. It is the brain, skeletal system, organs, blood, veins, and ligaments. It is responsible for our ability to survive and thrive in the physical world. We know when our physical body is hurt, happy, healthy, or not because the physical signs are visible and recognizable. Today's medical culture places a lot of importance on this body making sure it is always comfortable and free of pain. Taking good care of our bodies and enjoying our life develops this level of the self.
How to bring the physical body into balance: Walking. Stretching. Massage. Yoga. Running. Dancing. Grounding to earth by walking barefoot. Swimming. Better diet. Getting enough sleep. Self-care. Taking vitamins and supplements.
The Mental Level
The mental level (masculine) of the self rules our ability to think and reason. It also rules our intellect and logic. It consists of our thoughts, beliefs, and values. Our mindset can be our greatest blessings/assets or our biggest curse. It can give us profound understanding or confusion depending on how well we care for it. A healthy mental body allows us to think clearly and remain open-minded while using discernment. Our minds enable us to comprehend knowledge and wisdom from our feminine bodies.
How to bring the mental body into balance: Therapy. Memory games. Reading. Mental exercise/stimulation. Eating better. Getting enough sleep. Connection. Meditation. Affirmations. Self-care.
The Emotional Level
The emotional level(feminine) is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual and it rules our ability to feel and experience life on a deeper level. It is responsible for how we relate to ourselves and the world around us. It is the level that seeks to make meaningful connections with others. Developing the emotional body allows us to find fulfillment in the things we do.
How to bring the emotional body into balance: Breathwork. Crying. Self-love. Meditation. Dance. Laughter. Yoga. Detoxing. Forgiveness. Emotional intelligence. Eating better. Getting enough sleep. Emotional support.
The Spiritual Level
The spiritual (feminine) level is our soul. It is the part of us that exists beyond time and space. It is what connects us with the universe, to source energy, and to all life. Developing the spiritual body allows us to feel a sense of belongingness. It allows us to find a deeper meaning and purpose in life. This is the most ignored level but it provides the foundation for the development of the other levels of the self. The more we engage the spiritual level, the more we understand ourselves and our purpose and the easier life becomes because we are able to access divine guidance.
How to bring the spiritual body into balance: Meditation. Breathwork. Meditation. Introspection. Fasting. Meditation. Shadow work. Visualization. Gratitude. Meditation. Giving. Eating clean. Prayer. Meditation. Mantras. Self-love.
The Healing Process
Generally, most people take care of their masculine bodies. We go to see the doctor when something is physically wrong. We think twice before putting bad things into our bodies or allow a doctor to operate on us. When we have mental health issues, we seek help by seeing a therapist or talking to a friend. And this is all great!
But when it comes to our feminine bodies, we don’t give it the same importance and most men ignore their feminine bodies altogether because they are masculine. But we are all masculine and feminine.
When it comes to our emotional and spiritual health, we hesitate dealing or even talking about it and we don’t take the same steps to heal it. And other times, we don’t even know that we need to heal these two very important levels.
The emotional body is important because it rules the energy that moves through us. When this energy isn’t flowing in alignment, it manifests in our physical and mental bodies.
The spiritual body is even more important because it makes us who we really are and it is the level that shows us what we came here to do. When this level is ignored, nothing we do seem to bring us satisfaction and fulfillment. Damage done to a physical body will only last one lifetime, but the damage done to a spiritual body could have consequences for many lifetimes.
All four levels must work together in harmony and be congruent with each other for us to feel whole and complete.
Ignoring a level is ignoring a piece of you.