This post answers the prompts 11 (11 Things) and 12 (Body Integration) of Reverb 10.

Prompt 11: 11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

(Author: Sam Davidson)

A while ago, I decided to count how many things I have according to the rules of the 100 thing challenge, and it turned out that I have 126 things. I’ve been mentioning this in my Reverb10 posts, but I’m keen on minimizing stuff and maximizing experiences. I will start eliminating some of the things from my posessions, and the list of the things I need to let go can easily include more than 11 things.

Perhaps minimizing stuff alone will help me focus on experiences more and I will definitely use this opportunity to work on these two things. By letting go of those things, I can create room for new experiences, and that’s what I want more of in 2011.

Prompt 12: Body Integration

This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

(Author: Patrick Reynolds)

There are some memorable moments I experienced this year. In those moments, I felt alive and present. If I’m to talk about one moment when I felt the most integrated with my body, it must be this.

In September, I competed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Asian Open Championship in Tokyo. I fought 5 matches, and the moments I experienced in my first match was when I felt the most integrated with my body.

That day, I had to be at the venue before 1pm. Since I had some time to drop by a morning open mat session at my gym, I decided to go there and to have a few light spars. The reason is simply because I’m a slow starter, and I knew the first match would be the toughest in the sense that I would feel more nervous than other matches. But with this morning session, I prepared myself well.

When it came to my first match, I was calm and looking forward to having fun with the match. I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to win the match. So, as soon as it started, I played my game. I pulled him into my favorite position and choked him quickly. In the end, it took me less than 30 seconds to finish my opponent.

It made me feel as if I wasn’t there at all. My mind and my body were focusing on one mission and integrated with one another. But I’m not sure if there was a cohesive me in those moments, because I feel as though there wasn’t any me at all. I was alive and fully present by being completely absent.

My mind and my body were focusing on one mission and integrated with one another. But I’m not sure if there was a cohesive me in those moments, because I feel as though there wasn’t any me at all. I was fully present by being completely absent.

Regarding the idea of “being yourself”, my favorite artist Taro Okamoto says that trying to be yourself is what keeps us stuck in the same shell, and we better aim to live as a human. This claim needs a lot of clarification for sure in order for it to make sense to many, but I believe it is intuitively comprehensible to those who think about the kind of states this prompt mentions. Perhaps my self-less state was such an instance of being a human, though it was more like being an animal in a good way.

Or perhaps just a being, whatever that means.

Is there any reason why you should define the new you by who you were in the past? I’ll leave this question open, but my intuitive answer is that there isn’t such a reason. (And of course, do we need to define who we are at all?)

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What’s your thoughts on these prompts? Tell me, because I’m curious. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends by clicking the like button or the tweet button below. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: Cameron Cassan