For most of their life, they’d trusted a simple rule:
Tight chest? Must be danger.
Gut knot? Must mean it’s true.
Heat in the face? Must’ve done something wrong.
It was an unspoken creed — one that governed every choice, every silence, every apology and retreat.
And so they moved through the world like a cautious negotiator. Reading the language of their own body like tea leaves, interpreting every flicker of sensation as evidence. Not of what was happening — but of what it meant.
Someone frowns.
The stomach clenches.
I must have upset them.
Thought confirmed by sensation. Case closed.
A message goes unread for a day.
The chest tightens.
They’re mad at me. I must’ve crossed a line.
Tension as truth. Guilt as evidence.
Again and again, the loop reinforced itself. A thought would arise — often vague, sometimes irrational — and the body would respond. And the body’s response was taken as final word. Not just a sign, but proof.
Until one day, something broke the loop.
Not a grand realization. Not a teaching. Just… a morning.
They were walking to the shop, again. Same path. Same weather. The same mild thought drifted in — “You should be doing more with your life.”
It was one of the regulars. And sure enough, there it was — the old ache. That hollow pinch just beneath the sternum.
See? the thought said, smugly. If it wasn’t true, why would it hurt?
And for the first time, something stayed.
Not a rebuttal. Not a new belief. Just a question, like a soft breeze through the branches:
“What if the sensation isn’t proof?”
They stopped walking.
Let the ache spread.
Didn’t try to soothe it. Didn’t push it away.
Just watched.
And something odd happened.
The thought floated on, gathering dust, already moving toward its next accusation. But the sensation stayed behind. Now alone. No longer tethered.
And without the thought to animate it, it changed.
It softened. It warmed. It didn’t vanish — but it lost its urgency.
And in that moment, a crack appeared in the old creed.
They began to look back.
At the decisions made because of a lump in the throat. The friendships avoided because of an unease mistaken for insight. The opportunities dodged because fear had raised its hand and claimed the mic.
And they saw — the body reacts. That’s what it does. To sound. To light. To memory. To imagination. To a passing frown on a stranger’s face that stirs a long-forgotten scolding.
It doesn’t react to truth.
It reacts to conditioning.
To echoes.
To chemistry.
To weather in the blood.
And just like that, the “proof” began to unravel.
Not all at once. But gently, each time a belief arose with a lump in its throat and said, “Feel that? That means I’m right.”
They didn’t argue. Didn’t replace it with a new belief.
They just looked.
Waited.
Felt.
And more often than not, the truth was simpler than the thought.
The tightness was just tightness.
The ache just ache.
And what remained, beneath it all, was the mystery.
The spacious, unprovable presence of life happening — without needing to be judged, named, or validated by a twist in the gut.
From then on, the body still spoke.
But it no longer testified.
And thought no longer held the gavel.
For more pointers and suggestions, check out this link to vince-bot using the website as its knowledge base.
Vince Schubert YouTube Channel
Free online meetups every Saturday at 9 pm (Sydney Australia time)
and one each Monday 7 am ( Sydney Australia time)
and each Wednesday at 4 pm (Sydney Australia time)
and every Friday 7 am (Sydney time) - never published.
You can check your local time here:
Or visit the website for countdown timers to each meeting.
Please note that it's always the same time on the same link. Arriving late and leaving early is fine.
Click here to Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86991485768?pwd=WkIvNk9zS1Q0VlVMR3lENW12Um5DQT09
Here is a link to all of the published recordings.
Audio files can be found here:
There is also paid 1on1 (& also 2 on 1) guiding here: With vince &/or Marius
Although the website still requires a lot of work, there are resources here; WakingUpWithVince.com
..and more here; WakingUpWithMarius
Given the multitude of small costs (that add up to something significant) required to produce these offerings, please consider donating whatever you can comfortably afford. Moneys over and above running costs are directed to the establishment of Suan Jai Sanctuary.
..and remember - lots of little bits make a big bit. ❤️