How the Body and Mind Connect
For much of my life, I’ve worked at the crossroads of science and reflection. I’ve studied and taught physics, chemistry, and computing, while also spending time in meditation and Buddhist study. These two sides of my life—scientific and the contemplative—keep bringing me back to the same questions:
How does the mind make the body move? And how does the body make the mind move?
Science often looks for concrete answers, but I’ve found that these questions grow richer when approached more like a story, or even a metaphor.
The mind feels like an ocean to me—sometimes stormy, sometimes calm, always in motion. An ocean is like a field in physics, where waves and ripples interact, just as thoughts and feelings rise and fall in the mind. In Buddhist thought, an ocean can also be a kind of field, but one that holds wisdom and possibility. You can talk about a Buddha field.
Lately, I’ve started looking at these questions with a new focus:
What if the most important word is move?
Both mind and body are in constant motion, shaping and reshaping each other. Exploring this motion is where the real discovery begins.
What We Know and What We Don’t
Some people say the mind is just something the brain creates, a side effect of neurons firing. But when I meditate, I don’t feel that’s the whole story. Mind feels immediate, vivid, and aware in a way that doesn’t seem like a by-product of anything.
When I sit quietly, I notice that everything I experience—sounds, sights, sensations—happens within the mind itself. It feels like mind is the stage where life plays out. At the same time, science shows us how deeply connected the mind and body are. Thoughts shape the body, and the body shapes thoughts. It’s a harmony, like two instruments playing in tune.
What AI and Imagination Can Teach Us
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the connections between mind and AI. Modern AI systems process huge amounts of information and can make decisions in ways that almost feel human. They’re like a mirror, showing us how our own minds work.
But there’s something AI can’t replicate: the sense of imagination and openness we feel when our minds let go of old patterns. In meditation, I sometimes glimpse moments where thoughts and feelings come together in ways that are fresh, unexpected, and deeply meaningful.
In Buddhism, there’s the idea of the “imaginal mind”—a part of us that steps outside of routine and sees the world with new eyes. Beyond that is something even harder to describe, a kind of open awareness that isn’t tied to anything but still feels alive.
This is where I think the human mind and AI are different. AI works within boundaries set by the size if its information sources while the mind, at its best, can step beyond those boundaries.