REFLECTION PAPER ON RENEWING MINDS, HEARTS, AND SOULS

Nikkolo Paulo E. Atabelo

The article on Renewing Minds, Hearts, and Souls is really enriching and inspiring. It allowed me
to look into my core. This reminds me of my old self three years ago. These last years, I have
gained new perspectives about myself by paying more attention to my mind, my body and my
spirituality. Looking back, I notice how my life has been shaped by new habits such as attending
masses regularly, “me-time”, a healthy diet, following my heart, healing and other self-care
practices which have all helped me to better sense how my mind-body-soul are inter-connected.
Most of this connection happens subtly and the more I worked on consciously experiencing those
3 integral parts of my being, the more I could sense their distinct qualities in my life. Still,
experiencing our daily imbalances or well-being isn’t the only driver for our personal growth.
Knowledge is another essential ingredient that ensures we interpret our experiences in the right
way and choose the right life habits. I find it particularly interesting to keep learning more about
what defines me as a human being. Based on my personal experience and some of my learning, I
will give it a try at unveiling the beautiful connections behind our being as a Mind, Body and
Soul.

Our mind is probably the part of our being that we are the most familiar with. Yet, many of us still
misunderstand it. The simplest way to describe our mind is as an unstoppable train of thoughts.
Ask yourself: Have you ever found yourself not thinking? Your answer will most probably be no,
otherwise you would experience not being. As Descartes used to say: “I think; therefore I am”. It
seems natural to say that we are what we think. If we look closer, our thoughts are the easiest
thing we possess to identify ourselves with as we perceive the world and our experiences through
them. However, we can’t dismiss the fact that thoughts are also very impermanent by nature. New
thoughts come and go at the speed of light making our memories and ideas of self-vulnerable to
change. Thus, having a mind comes with great responsibility. The way we use our mind will
dictate how peaceful we are. 

After a being of thoughts, we are a being of physical matter confined in a universe of time and
space. In this universe, all living organic matter has been evolving in a slow but steady pace,
expanding and finding its ways to grow into more intelligent and complex organisms. We can
look at our own human body as the ultimate result of this long process. Through our body, we can
say we exist and therefore enjoy the most amazing experience of being alive. To understand who
we are as a body, I found profoundly useful to drive my curiosity towards the inner works of my
body as well as to keep an eye on the impact that my day-to-day habits have.

Our soul has been for thousands of years our last step in our journey to human realization. I think
spirituality originates from the perception and feeling that body and mind without Soul lack
essence or substance. The first shamans, as well as great spiritual leaders such as Abraham,
Confucius, Buddha, Jesus Christ amongst others, were very much aware of it. They made their
mission to show and share the beautiful messages hiding behind everyone’s soul. Still, the soul is
invisible to our mind and body. It was through stories, human values, rituals and practices that
spiritual leaders found a door for the world to get a glimpse into their soul. Followers used those
as the foundation to build religion as we know it today. However, it is important to emphasize the
fact that everyone’s soul is independent of any religious institution, meaning that everyone is
capable of developing its own personal relationship with his soul and spirituality. Although
religions carry many imperfections, I believe they have been a great vehicle for spiritual values
and ideas to be passed down generations. The key is what we make of those teachings. I truly
believe, those values are there for us to question ourselves and reflect on them so that we can
create our own relationship with our spirituality.

Moreover, Ignatian spirituality in particular is grounded in the conviction that God is active in our world. In
the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius tells us that actions are to be preferred to words. Ignatian leadership is an
invitation to act in a way that reflects our most deeply held beliefs, affirms our vocation, and serves others,
particularly those in need.

Defining the qualities of an Ignatian leader is an all but impossible task because Ignatian
leadership cannot be reduced to, ‘a tidy theory with accompanying tools and practices. It is a
disposition of mind, heart and will.’ There are, however, certain traits that can usefully act as
‘compass bearings’ for those who want to understand what leadership means in the Ignatian
tradition.