The Wisdom of your Body

Or embodied intelligence

“We’re always sensing and reacting to the world around us, even as we’re also thinking constantly of the past, the present, the future.” ~ Rebecca Makkai

This image above takes me back to a wonderful time in Prince Edward County on Lake Ontario. As I walked along the shoreline, I remember first noticing the textured scene as the water met the edge. But there was more to this experience than the visual scene. My feet were bare and so I could feel the soft sand and the tickle of water as it covered my toes. I also remember the fishy smell, the sounds of gulls flying overhead, and the taste of the cool air. It was a feast for the senses in one delicious moment.

Our experiences in the world begin with the senses - the five physical ones as well as the internal senses of intuition (detecting patterns), proprioception (movement), and emotions (feelings). The mind then takes this sensory information and tries to make sense of it. 

Intelligence is generally thought of as something that happens in the mind, specifically in the brain. And yet, our body and mind work together to determine our actions in the world. Together, they determine the choices we make, whether consciously or not. This is embodied intelligence.

I’ve learned through the years that when I bring more conscious awareness to my sensual experiences, I see more clearly and savor life more fully. The sights and smells and sounds, the tastes and textures, are the way we connect with the world. They allow us to see what’s happening in the moment and to self-correct habits of mind.

This has been a major part of my work on this Seeing Clearly project. And, I gained new ways of thinking about this after reading an article in Emergence Magazine by Dana Karout called ChatGPT: A Partner in Unknowing. While it’s mainly about what we can learn (and not learn) from ChatGPT, it’s also a reflection on intelligence itself and how we can respond more creatively to crises in the moment. Amen!

On Intelligence or How we Know Things

We live in a society where knowledge and expertise and certainty are highly prized. We’re rewarded for being able to synthesize and regurgitate large amounts of information. Many people can do this well and ChatGPT does it amazingly well. It tells us what we collectively already know, in an organized fashion. It tells us what has been deemed most important. 

Karout says that most of the time people just say what they already know or, I would add, what they think they know or want to think they know. She calls this our “default programming,” or habitual ways of thinking. It feels vulnerable to show uncertainty or even say “I don’t know.” While habits are useful and necessary under certain circumstances, they don’t work very well when we’re faced with unexpected challenges requiring adaptation.

What ChatGPT can’t give us are new ideas. Karout’s premise is that, paradoxically, if ChatGPT tells us what we already know, maybe it can point the way towards what we don’t know or what’s missing; it could point the way to new areas to explore or entertain new possibilities not yet considered. She gives an excellent example of how she did this in the classroom with students so if you’re interested, please read the article.

Karout then suggests that one way to disrupt our usual patterns or habitual ways is to engage the intelligence of our bodies. Noticing how you experience the world through the physical senses and what your body has to say to you internally is an important practice to cultivate.

On Embodied Intelligence

Embodied intelligence is based on responding to or adapting to experiences or interactions in the environment through attention to our physical and internal senses, as well as cues from the environment. It is learned over time and can change based on new knowledge or experiences. For example, a dancer who is part of a team has learned their choreography but has to respond in real time to the dancers around them, as well as the music and the space. 

We use our embodied intelligence every day when faced with new situations. A car runs a red light and you immediately brake to avoid an accident. Walking through a forest, you are swarmed with mosquitos and you immediately wave your arms to avoid being bitten. You hear the doorbell ring and get up to answer it. 

An athlete who has practiced a maneuver hundreds of times is able to perform it automatically when the right moment comes up in the game. In a similar way, a surgeon uses their learned experience to respond in the moment to unpredictable events while performing a complex operation. 

These are simple examples but there are more complex ones, like if you’re suddenly faced with an illness that requires adapting your work schedule, listening to your body, and asking for help. 

Embodied intelligence is not the same as instinct, which is also related to how beings interact with their environments. Instinct is innate, present from birth and doesn’t require learning or experience. For example, birds have an instinctive drive to migrate seasonally. Infant mammals have an innate reflex to suck for feeding. 

Embodied intelligence is also not the same as intuition, which is the ability to detect patterns. This is a “gut feeling” or understanding based on past experiences. It’s often subconscious and felt in the body. Intuition is helpful in everyday situations, like navigating the streets in your walk to work but it can also lead you astray in certain situations. For example, you may form an immediate judgment about a person upon first meeting, due to a tone or facial expression. These are certainly messages to consider but perhaps you were triggered by a past experience that was similar but might not apply to this particular person. 

Indigenous wisdom is a perfect example of embodied intelligence. Their learning comes from direct engagement with the environment and through careful and ongoing observation and engagement. They “read” the landscape by being aware of changes in the ecosystem, through water and wind currents, weather patterns, and animal behaviors. This knowledge is passed on through cultural traditions and storytelling. It’s lived and experienced, not just conceptualized. 

We can cultivate and use our embodied intelligence through activities that involve the body, such as arts and crafts, physical exercise and sports, outdoor play and video games, and mindfulness practices. 

Collective Intelligence

Karout cites James Bridle’s groundbreaking book, Ways of Being, in which he studied intelligence in many different beings and determined that “intelligence is not only embodied but also relational, emerging from interactions within an environment.” 

We can most often come up with better solutions to complex problems when we work together. One of my favorite examples of collective intelligence is the murmurations of starlings. Birds flying in flocks use their collective intelligence to avoid predators. This article from Big Think says that in these flocks, there is no leader and no plan. Instead, studies show that each bird keeps track of its seven closest neighbors and adjusts accordingly, all while flying very fast.

Karout’s work is in adaptive leadership and she believes that there are two types of challenges in the world today, technical and adaptive. Technical challenges may be solved with technical solutions but adaptive challenges can not be solved by technical solutions alone. They require being able to say “I don’t know” and working collectively with others. She wonders what might emerge from not knowing.

“Addressing the climate crisis, sexism or racism, or transforming education systems are adaptive challenges. Adaptive challenges, intricately intertwined with the human psyche and societal dynamics, prove resistant to technical solutions. They demand a shift in our awareness.” ~ Dana Karout via Emergence Magazine

The way we can begin to solve the major problems in the world today is in an improvisational and collective way. They require imagination and creativity, a state of mind that is willing to work with and listen to others. They require using our embodied intelligence, opening up to new ways of thinking. 

Conclusion

“Intelligence, first and foremost, is the ability to make choices, to choose between divergent possibilities.” — The Biology of Wonder: Aliveness, Feeling and the Metamorphosis of Science by Andreas Weber

If intelligence is about making choices, how do we discern the best choice to make in a particular situation, especially something we’ve never faced before in quite the same way? How can we break out of our habitual ways of thinking and incorporate fresh thinking? 

Karout says that as humans with agency, we can always make different choices. By tuning into our embodied intelligence, we can learn to ask better questions, become more adaptable, solve problems more effectively in real time, develop a deeper understanding of complex situations, become more aware of subtle environmental cues, understand other people and their needs better, and overall have a better understanding of how our bodies take in information. 

What is your body telling you today?