We sense ourselves as the body because we do not perceive our soul. But as a person begins to perceive the soul, the sense of the physical body, of its desires and of its pains, diminishes, because the soul asserts itself more and more. A person that is further advanced on the spiritual path does not sense the desires of the body altogether, because he pays attention only to the soul – the part of the Creator in a person. Thus, the “body” begins to represent the spiritual desires, rather than the desires of the flesh and bone, which one practically does not sense any longer.
Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spF9Jp1eEVA