Rob Burbea defines 'bodily experience' as the direct, immediate felt sense of the body characterized by sensations, movements, tensions, and energies. He emphasizes that it encompasses not just the physical aspects of the body but also the subtle and often intricate ways in which our internal states manifest somatically. For Burbea, bodily experience is an invitation to immerse oneself in the dynamic and continually changing phenomena of the body, a way to access deeper layers of awareness and insight. He views this bodily presence as integral to understanding one's relationship with consciousness and reality, making it a cornerstone of meditative practice and experiential investigation.
See also: phenomenological approach, developmental psychology, physical body, felt sense, perception