RULE ONE: YOU WILL RECEIVE A BODY

You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth.

The moment you arrived here on this Earth, you were given a body in which to house your spiritual essence.The real "you" is stored inside this body-- all the hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, expectations and beliefs that make you the unique human that you are. Though you will travel through your entire lifetime together, you and your body will always remain two separate and distinct entities.

The purpose of this body is act as the buffer between you and the outside world and to transport you through this game we call life. It also acts a s a teacher of some of the initial and fundamental lessons about being human. If you are open to all the lessons and gifts your body has to offer you, it can impart to you valuable bits of wisdom and grace that will guide you along your path of spiritual evolution. It can provide you with the basic knowledge and understanding you will need to be grounded within it before you can progress onward on your journey.

THe body you are given will be yours for the duration of your time here. Love it or hate it, accept ir or reject it, it is the only one you will receive in this lifetime. It will be with you from the moment you draw your first breath to the last beat of your heart. Since there is a no-refund, no-exchange policy on this body of yours, it is essential that you learn to transform your body from a mere vessel into a beloved parter and lifelong ally, as the relationship between you and your body is the most fundamental and important relationship of your lifetime. It is the blueprint from which all your other relationships will be built.

We each have a different relationship with our body. YOu may think of yours as a custom-designed home, ideally suited for your spirit and your soul. Or you may feel that your body is not well matched to your essence, thus trapping you in an ill-fitting cage. Perhaps you have a strong conneciton with your body, and you feel that you have an easy, satisfying, and familiar bond with it. You may be uncomfortable with your body and feel that you would like it to be different -- stronger, thinner, healthier, more attractive, or less clumsy. Or perhaps you feel alienated form it, as if some mistake had been made when the body assignments were handed out. NO matter what you may feel about your body, it is yours and the relationship you establish with it will have a great deal to do with the quality of your life experience.

The challenge of a Rule One is to make peace with your body, so that it can effectively serve its purpose and share its valuable lessons of acceptance, self-esteem, respect, and pleasure. Everyone must learn these basic principles before he is able ot journey successfully through life.