2. Body Sensing
This second sector of the Wheel is Body Sensing. In the language of the Wheel
Body means physical; solid; matter; mass; space; particle; cerebellum, brain
stem, reptilian brain; conditioned learning. Sensing means perception; observe;
5 senses; unprocessed information; intake; direct and immediate consciousness;
discern; sensuality; left brain; sex and excretion; sense data; and waking
consciousness.
In the body this part of the Wheel corresponds to the Neck and the Sense
Organs. In our personal world it pertains to Possessions, and in civilization to
Art . In the ancient wisdom traditions of the West, and in the Zodiac, it is
symbolized by Taurus, the Bull.
In the grammatical categories of language it pertains to the Noun, which has
two parts:
-
- Singular - Plural
- Name - Concept
This part of speech allows for conception which
generalizes from the particular. This second sector of the Wheel contains
position 2 on the Enneagram. It symbolizes the basic human drive to creativity
and production, to the physical realization of ideas. It's archetypal symbol or
myth is Venus. The complementary impulse is the seventh sector of the Wheel, Body Feeling,
wherein Mars is found, the impulse to destroy what has already been created and
to start something new.
In life this is the age span of from 7 to 14 years. This time of life is
primarily concerned with "relation to objects." The ego realizes that it has a
body, culminating in puberty and the beginning of sex. Awareness of death
becomes important, along with possessing things, collections. Learning in this
stage is primarily imitative, without concern as to the significance of ideas.
In tribal cultures this stage ended with initiation into the tribe as a man or a
woman.
In history the Taurus Age when Body Sensing was emphasized is the period from
6678 BC to 4518 BC (see explanation of the New Age).
This was the Age of the City where the Books of the Dead and Writing became the
center of historical evolution. Remnants of this historical age can still be
seen in the Tibetan traditions. The Taurus Age of Cities permitted the
understanding of reincarnation.
In geography this sector of the Wheel corresponds to the one twelfth of the
Earth from 70 to 100 degrees longitude East. This includes Kazakhstan, Tibet,
India and Ceylon. This rich and very physical subcontinent seeks a spiritual way
to overcome death (Body Feeling), through hatha yoga, meditation and
renunciation. The social ideal for cultures grown on this part of the Earth is
detachment (Body Feeling).
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