Defining our Space

by John Turner

Today we live with quite a different perception of
ourselves than people in previous ages and across different

cultures. In a time when our physical appearance, looks, weight and age have a great bearing upon our collective psychologies, perhaps it is wise to question whether we have moved away from some fundamental concepts about human life. It is only in recent centuries in the West that we have gained such a material view of ourselves. Where once people thought of themselves as resident within a body on loan, today we primarily think of ourselves as indistinct from our body. In other civilisations people have held the firm conviction that we are not our body, and that whilst it is our duty to care and maintain the body to the best of our ability, we will cast it off at the end of this life, and it will be what is remaining that will carry the greater importance. In line with this, an important practice in living an intact life involves trying to begin to adopt a new way of thinking about what a person is in the following way: A person is principally a space, given definition and parameter by a mobile physical form. A person’s space is full of various energies, forces and electro-magnetism, all of which makes up the person and how they react and respond to life. A person’s space extends approximately 90cm out from their body. A person can influence and change their space by how they think and by what they allow entry and at play within it. A person’s space is their atmosphere which they carry everywhere with them. It is what governs how others know them and feel about them, as it shapes their behaviour and character. As much as we might often wish, we cannot change the world and, in truth, we cannot change another person. We can, however, change our space, and thus ourselves. It is our space alone, that no one has the right to access without our permission. The more we care for it and are watchful for it, the more intact it will be and the more confident, settled and in control of our life we will be. Here is a simple meditation that will help in this:

Find some time alone in a place that is quiet and undisturbed. Either seated or standing, take some time to imagine yourself as if you are standing within a large egg-shaped space extending about an arm’s length all the way around you. If you want to, use your arms to delineate this space by bringing them above your head and slowly together down by your sides – but remember to imagine the space to be all around you.

Having done this, try to sensitise yourself to this space, which extends approximately 90cm out from your body, but which also includes your body and the space within it. Call over to yourself the fact that inside this space is you, your consciousness, your atmosphere, your nature, your decisions about life, your values, importances and your intentions.
	This space has been with you since birth and will be with you until you depart this earth. It is a mobile space that you carry with you and you are its custodian to determine and care for. You are its governor. You decide its constitution, its ingredients, and how much and with whom you share it. Its health and well-being is your primary concern, for only when your space is clean, healthy and intact can you assist others.
Realise that when you sleep at night, your space shrinks a small amount and gathers back unto itself; when you awaken it expands and becomes full. Like the planet’s space, which is its atmosphere, your space has weather patterns that are shaped by your moods, your behaviours and your reactions to what you meet. You can be in control of the weather inside your space, and you can determine in what way and how your space is designated. Consider this for a while and then walk somewhere trying to maintain the awareness of you being in your space. Feel how it feels to be inside a space that is more defined and about which you have an awareness. This exercise can help you to build a greater awareness of yourself as a space, and can have great effects in your life in terms of increased sensitivity and perception. This article is extracted from the book ‘The 7 Practices for Living an Intact Life’ by John Turner. © 2006. All rights reserved. About the author John Turner is a lecturer, international speaker and author on the roots and development of world theatre and its application into the personal development of modern performers, artists and people in all walks of life. John has been providing lectures, training programmes and workshops in theatre, presentation skills, body language and other related areas over the last 25 years throughout Europe and North America. His programmes are fascinating explorations into human art, personal expression and the ways of realising and releasing our vast and often untapped inner potential. Contact: jt.perceptions@zen.co.uk close window