We Are Multidimensional Beings

Purposeful Wanderings - Bradford L. Glass - June 2025

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“We have to decide what kind of difference we’re going to make.”

– Jane Goodall

We humans are multi-dimensional beings, at the same time a balance of mental, physical, emotional, relational, soulful, and spiritual energies. Although we’re not often consciously aware of it, deep inside we know that living fully means experiencing life in all six of these dimensions. Lessons from the external world, however, tell us to rely more on the mental and physical dimensions (know/try/do). We pay a price for listening. Other dimensions thrive on quiet reflection, noticeably absent from the chaotic life of the mind … and the world. Yet it’s in life’s quiet spaces that your unique, creative essence lives. You find your sense of place in life – who you are, what matters most – by adopting practices that 1) create space for quiet reflection, and 2) honor all aspects of your humanness.   

There’s no “one right way” to do this. Each of us has been molded by different lessons and experiences. You might think of your development as a wheel with six spokes, each of different length, corresponding to your experience in that dimension. Life may have left your wheel somewhere between seriously out of round and broken.

Caring for all your dimensions opens you to somatic wisdom of the body, emotional wisdom of the heart, depth and wonder of the soul, meaning from human connection, joy of spiritual connection to a reality bigger than self. These messages, although always present, may have become hidden, courtesy of the voices in your head. With silence, however, you hear, then come to trust, the greatest certainty life offers – the wisdom of your inner truth. Your head will still tell you to be like everyone else. But you’re not; you’re unique. Can you listen? Can you hear?   

An invitation to the dimensions of your humanness:

Physical: the body wants to be healthy; it’s both the vehicle for doing your work in the world and a source of wisdom … which you find by listening to and caring for it, with exercise, nutrition, a healthy living environment.

Mental: the thinking mind (intellect, reason, cognitive understanding) wants creative stimulation … which you find in reading, learning, writing, problem solving, managing life’s affairs, envisioning positive futures.

Emotional: the heart knows only love … and wants to both give and receive love … which you find in the pursuit of creativity, being in nature, connecting deeply with the emotional reality of others (empathy and compassion). 

Relational: we thrive on belonging; healthy relationships are chosen, not given, and require nurture, whether with family, friends, community or planet. Living with respect, reverence and compassion is to give and receive.

Soulful: your soul is home to your uniqueness, your creative essence; it wants to express itself in how you live your life (if your head would stop saying ‘no’). The soul speaks indirectly; you hear it during quiet reflection. 

Spiritual: your spirit helps you feel part of something far bigger than self, your connection to the divine, sacred, life’s unity, a higher power. Rarely showing up in the rational mind, it may best be found connecting with nature.

Although less common, there are those who live wholly from the emotional dimension, absent rational thought or deeper connection. And there are those who live wholly in the spiritual/soulful dimension, absent physical presence in the everyday world. Again, there’s no right way. Yet … and this is perhaps conjecture on my part … we miss a huge piece of life’s beauty, mystery, possibility, as well as our own potential in this lifetime, when we fail to recognize, then subsequently honor, all of our many dimensions … each day.

Perhaps life invites a game – to find where your wheel is “out of round,” then work a wee bit harder on the “short spokes,” building experience as you go … so you “roll a bit better” as a result. Choose from the suggested exercises based on where you feel the greatest lack. Take some time in this process of inquiry. Without that, your thinking mind will likely lead you right back to old lessons, further distancing you from the potential your life holds.

Exercise: Caring for yourself creates self-trust. It evokes emotional intelligence. It enhances relationships. Create daily rituals to honor the six dimensions of your being. To start, notice where you feel least at home, and try a few. As you feel yourself “expanding,” add in a few more until your “wheel” is round again.

The pdf version of this article includes four pages of self-care exercises, should you wish to delve more deeply.

Life Lessons from Nature:  Buckminster Fuller once said, “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” Such is nature’s transformation. See for yourself. Go for a walk in the woods. Be an observer. Just notice how things work. If you’ve ever read any of Muir’s or Thoreau’s work, or even if you haven’t, you likely know both were very astute observers of the natural world. Most of their writing came from direct observation of the world, processed through an open heart and an open mind. So, for a morning, be a modern-day Muir or Thoreau. Turn your gaze outward, and just notice. Maybe this could serve as an entrée into a practice of observing your own thoughts and beliefs … turning your gaze inward. It’s the same process, by the way.

As you walk, notice what you discover. It doesn’t matter if what you discover is “already known.” You are coming to know it for the first time. This is about the process, not the result … the process of honing your own observation skills. There’s phenomenal possibility out there; all you need to do is not miss so much of it. Ask questions. Why does this tree have branches on this side and not on the other? What’s underneath the leaf litter on the ground, and why would it be there instead of somewhere else? Chickadees and nuthatches share the forest here in New England; looking at their respective body plans, how did they come to divide up the territory of a single tree?  Make up your own questions. As you walk, you’ll know what they are. Questions are like that; they aren’t all known ahead of time. (If they are, we’d call it a science project.)

Now, take another morning, at least a few days after the first. Go for the same walk. Instead of observing the world around you, observe the world within you. Who are you? How is that you’ve come to “fit” in these woods? How do your thoughts define who you are? Are you your thoughts? As Joseph Campbell suggested, ask yourself, “Am I the light bulb … or the light … or the energy that lights the light in the bulb?” There’s no right answer; the “work,” and therefore the value, comes from asking the question.

Book of the month: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Native wisdom; windows into nature; insight for life. This is a book of real-life stories, each one offering a beautifully-crafted window to a world that supports our lives and well-being. By building a frame centered around the native ritual of braiding sweetgrass, Kimmerer weaves nature’s wisdom with our own, creating an exquisite invitation to be the integral part of nature we truly are, not the “separate beings” idea that seems to define the way we live.