How to find pleasure in the absence of pleasure? You will tell me it is impossible. I would be partly right if I had not become aware of the hidden resources of the human mind. When we think of pleasure, we limit it to its purely material and sensory dimension. This is quite logical. We only see what we can touch in most cases. However, we are more than a physical body. We are a succession of interlocking shells. We are nesting dolls but we ignore it most of the time.
The most subtle dimensions of our being remain mostly unknown to us.
There are several body envelopes. Those which are the most coarse, are the most obvious to all. On the other hand, the most subtle envelopes are only revealed to the most discerning minds.
Let’s analyze the different bodies together
1 The physical body
This is the body whose existence is not questioned by anyone. It is our carnal envelope, the one that allows us to perceive the world through our senses. It is in a way our organic carapace. It will be our carcass after death. The physical body is the smallest bodily element: all the other bodies encompass the physical body because they potentially exceed it in size and power.
2 The etheric body
The etheric body is a matrix of energy where the structure of our physical body is superimposed. It supports the chakras and the energy flows and ensures the protection of the physical body through the immune system. The intelligent information contained in the etheric matrix is at the origin of the genetic organization of cells. Of course, this body is invisible to most of us, but there are people with developed spiritual abilities who can perceive and evaluate the functioning of such a body.
3 The emotional or astral body
The emotional body is made up of all our emotions, from the most unpleasant to the most pleasant. It is one of the three bodies of the material plane, along with the physical and mental bodies, and needs to be well nourished to be healthy. Any deficiency creates a blockage, which inevitably leads to discomfort or illness in one of these three bodies.
4 The mental body
The mental body is the vehicle through which the Self* manifests as the intellect, in which the powers of the mind, including memory and imagination, are developed, and which, in later periods of man’s evolution, serves as a separate vehicle of consciousness in which man can live independently of his physical and astral bodies.
*The Self (Wikipedia): The Self with a capital S (sometimes called “true self” or “higher self” as distinguished from the ego, or “self” with a lower case s), in the spiritual understanding of the term and particularly in the streams originating from Vedanta such as Advaita Vedanta, refers to the primary and ultimate identity of the being
5 The causal body
In yogic philosophy, the causal body is one of the three bodies that contain the soul of each individual, the others being the physical body and the astral body. The causal body is the most subtle of the three and is contained within the other two. It is the body that carries the essence of the individual from one life to the next reincarnation.
6 The Buddhist body
The Buddhic body is the higher consciousness of the individual in its essence, with the connection and interrelation with all that exists. It is the synthesis of all the other subtle bodies. Only beings of very high spirituality have the Buddhic body fully formed.
The Buddhic body is in correspondence with the sixth chakra, the third eye chakra, located on the forehead.
7 The divine body
The divine body is related to the coronal chakra (seventh chakra) and allows the consciousness of Love. The divine body is the Deity acquired in oneself, it is the Knowledge, the Consciousness that encompasses everything, it is the integration in one’s being of all that exists, it is the Oneness with the Whole. Once we reach this ultimate plane, we are able to free ourselves from the cycle of reincarnations and reintegrate the consciousness of the source.
Enjoying the non-enjoyment consists in satisfying the other bodily dimensions, apart from those corresponding to the physical.
Imagine that you have in your possession delicious chocolate cakes. You could eat them all and it would satisfy your physical body. Now, what about giving them to children who never get to eat such things? Of course, your physical body may resent you for this, but you will be satisfying other dimensions of your being, much more subtle ones such as your astral, emotional and Buddhic bodies. By doing so, you will have enjoyed the non-enjoyed.
Why have we lost this relationship with the world?
Materiality dominates mass culture. This culture is willingly hedonistic and extroverted. It values the physical, mental and even emotional bodies. It leaves little room for the other dimensions of the being. This is why there are more and more existential or spiritual crises: our divine, causal or Buddhist bodies are not sufficiently nourished. They are starving because we simply have not learned how to get the food they need.
How do you initiate change and transform your being?
The first step is to recognize the existence of these different bodies. Then, one must get into the habit of collecting the different subtle foods that he needs. It is of course progressive, it is not overnight that one manages to detach oneself from the greed of one’s physical body, but with practice and perseverance, one can climb all the bodily rungs in order to serve one’s higher being.
