With to the most recent shooting in Virginia, which is more fragile, the mind or the body?

Question

But there are 32 bodies which are lifeless.

Thanks, everyone.

Answer 1

The interactive relationship between mind and body is profound, intricate, vital, critical and even miraculous. Except in extreme circumstances mind and body should not be separated too much in normal, earthly life. And even in extreme circumstances the separation should only be temporary.

If the body is badly damaged it may never heal completely. This can undermine one's mental and emotional function continuously. It is wrong to think that the body can heal more easily than mind or emotion or soul. It is a very serious tragedy if the body is damaged. The body is as subtle and complex as the mind and needs to work in specific ways in order to maintain healthy homeostasis. None of us can be glib about the body. The thought of being shot several times and surviving is a horrific reality. It is very, very serious. It will require exceptional medical attention to make sure the body recovers well enough not to undermine mental recovery and mental well-being. All of us have need of and a right to a healthy, properly functioning body.

It is of course just as serious when the mind and emotional constitution suffers trauma. But if the body has escaped unharmed this can give the mental and emotional centers a deep, even unconscious boost that will help enormously in the process of mental, psychological, emotional, spiritual and ideological recovery.

I have enormous faith in the human mind. I truly believe that the mind has a creative component so deep and so versatile, that with sufficient creative and honest interaction with self and others the mind can actually become stronger, deeper and more substantial as a result of even terrible tragedies. I do not say this lightly at all. I myself am still trying to overcome specific personal tragedies that happened years ago and I most certainly find it difficult to get to the bottom of many aspects of human behavior - especially man's inhumanity to man. There are still no words to describe the April 16 event in Virginia. The impact of that action - the helpless position that so many people were put into at the point of two guns - strikes a layer of our being that is below the level of words. That's why grief is so important and can take many different pathways. Each person must just accept the way grief operates in their own system. But if one's body is okay then the gratitude that accompanies that state helps right away with the healing. One knows one can go back out and lend a helping hand. To be injured by the same trauma, or tragedy, or crime, undermines and threatens our ability to help and to live.

All injury is by degree. Whatever degree one suffers injury throughout life the resilience and creative capcity of the mind to regenerate the soul and the spirit that fires the soul will always be called upon. Provided one is truthful about the situation, the injury, the "injustice", the "senselessness", the pain, one's own personal process in handling the shock and the violence of the impact - the hurt - then the mind will rebuild a stronger foundation.

Life on this earth requires a balanced and well-fortified interaction between body and mind. I believe the mind has more degrees of freedom to recover and actually gain understanding as a result of horrible trauma than the body. The body is also creative, but has fewer degrees of freedom by which it can recover good function.

Needles to say, this underscores why crime and acting out criminal behavior is so hellishly tragic.

Body and mind are two inimitable gifts that seek creative balance with each other. They depend on each other just as people do. When healthy, even the most atrocious adversity can be overcome.

B. Lyons

Answer 2

Both can be very fragile. Yes, 33 bodies and minds were slain, but those who survived with injuries will hopefully heal physically and then they will also have to mend emotionally. Even those who were not injured at all, but had friends who were involved are hurting mentally, emotionally and spiritually right now. I think it often times takes a lot longer for the mind to heal from something as traumatic as this. Especially when it happens in a place where before you had always felt safe. It is a terrible tragedy and I pray for all of those involved.

Answer 3

The mind because it consumes most of the stuff that you experience- fear, anger, depression, etc. The body can be fragile, but it can probably heal faster than a damaged mind.

The gunman was noticed as a corrupt loner who wrote about pedophila and vicious weapons, so as this happened, his mind could have been possessed by his writings and actually do something instead of writing for his sake.

Answer 4

In my opinion it is in fact the mind which is more fragile. A body can heal in most cases very quickly. The mind can take decades. In some cases the mind never heals, even when there is counseling, positive reinforcements and influences.

Answer 5

The mind is more fragile and more dangerous... If the body is hurt, then we can take steps to make it better, whole again.. But the mind.... we can never know if it's fully normal, not even if it's our own.