While in the matrix, Morpheus tells Neo that he needs to free his mind and let go of all the preconceived notions he has. After they come out of the matrix, Neo notices that he has blood in his mouth and tells Morpheus that he thought it wasn’t real. Morpheus tells him that his mind makes it real. Neo then asks if you die here if you are killed in the matrix. Morpheus replies, “The body cannot live without the mind.”
The Matrix explores the connection between the human mind and body. In this clip, Neo’s pain is real because his mind tells him it is.
Our minds are incredibly powerful. I’ve talked a lot about how our mind’s create filters for us and how our reticular activating system (RAS) works. One you believe something in your mind, you will find evidence of what you believe.
Our bodies can feel pain without a physical source or make pain you already have worse or linger. It is called psychogenic pain. It occurs when the pain you feel originates in your mind from underlying psychological, emotional, or behavioral factors.
I’ll give you an example of how our mind is connected to our bodies by how I handle anxiety. For the most part, I don’t really struggle with feelings of anxiety. However, in the weeks leading up to appointments at the hospital for scans of any kind, I become anxious. I don’t feel anxiety mentally, though. I am really good at being able to compartmentalize the feelings associated with it because I intellectually know what is really fueling the anxiety.
It is fear that the cancer has come back, and I am going to be blindsided again, just like I was a few years ago. And the truth is, the way cancer behaves can be random. So, it is unpredictable. And my worry is reasonable. But there is nothing I can do about it until I have the results, so I block it out and try to be productive.
No matter how much I push it away, though, I feel it physically. It manifests itself by my body twitching in my legs, arms and back. It’s a freaky sensation, but I know exactly what it is when it happens. And just because I choose to work extra hard or keep myself busy in the weeks leading up to the scans, the anxiety is there, brimming underneath the surface. After I get my results and my mind is at ease, it goes away.
Be mindful of what you allow into your thoughts. Our minds have the ability to believe what we tell it – whether it’s real or not.
