LIVING BODY MENTORING
  • Nature Mentoring
  • Embodiement
    • Embodied Living PDF
  • Art Therapy
  • Butoh Dance

Embodied Living

10/26/2017

0 Comments

 
Embodied Living

The creative act of cultivating 'states of being' is arguably one of the most powerful skills to learn. States of peace, strength, relaxation, intention, trust, connection.

I keep coming back to a basic principle: that life is experience, and all experience happens in the present moment, and within that moment, experience can be shifted, through types of attention, movement and sensory conditioning. In this way can these states of being be accessed and reliable.

How then to align the 'human self', the social self, the cultural self, and this 'magical self', an enchanted experiencer, tuned by practice.

Direct experience, and the attendance to it, repeatedly shows itself to be effective in this...

But humans, marvelous as we are, need a good story. We need a good reason to turn and face the heavy and un-loved parts of ourselves. It is hard to admit discomfort, and anxiety, shame and grief. Our cultural context is very quick with its story about these things. The are the markings of failure, if you believe that spiel.

In fact, its a widely spread story that our direct experience isn't valuable at all, but rather we should be putting our attention elsewhere: on acquisition, materialism, accounting, justice, being smart and attractive, being 'in the know'. Feeling and sense are suspect and so sincerity is desperately rare.

As lots of people do, I'll continue offering a different story: that by and large, our sensory information is and should be our first point of call for practice and living: an embodied life.

That through feeling the small and hidden sense of things, the softest breath, and rustle of leaves, we can connect more deeply to life. That by moving slowly, we make more time, and that by relaxing we are better able to work. We can see miracles in each color and enjoy the marvel of water. We can dance with gravity and sense into the depth and richness of each movement.

It is not easy though, sometimes it can be like looking for a needle in a hay-stack. The mind says many things in these moments. "Yeah yeah I know that and these other things", or maybe "Oh shit, I can't sit still, that is actually terrifying". "That guy does it better", "She is more in tune with the cosmic goddess than me". Indeed: "How does this pay the bills".

And so on and on does the mind tell us what it thinks it knows about what we experience. Reflex story, I think, is the great obstacle to deepening embodiment.

What does the story show, and what does it hide? This can be a good question, the tough question, when we can all get very attached to our stories. We can forget that we are not only the story, that we are a great many things, adaptable, resilient, ancient.

The solution is patience, compassion and the ability to not take our thoughts so seriously. To be able to calmly say: "noted" to the screaming thoughts, but keep the feet planted and the attention focused on the direct experience, the direct perception.

To trust our experience, to risk finding something we didn't know was there, to risk being moved.

Perhaps this is the most difficult and rewarding thing.
0 Comments

A Vocabulary of Perception

7/13/2017

0 Comments

 
Direct perception:

Focusing on experience (sensory awareness), before trying to or claiming to understand. Not acting on a false understanding.
This goes for everything, every practice, every idea, every person, culture or sentiment.
Every news report, advertisement or textbook, everything anyone has ever said, all words and beliefs.
Thoughts are cursory ideas of things that helps hold the mind together so the identity can operate, direct perception is not taking this so seriously.


Direct perception is not an intellectual understanding.
Something else can take its place in the attention:


Gravity, Spatial Phenomena, and Breathing, a good place to start.
This is the ultimate in contemplative science.
Metaphors: "To avoid losing touch, always aim for first hand experience"


In my work as an artist (particularly in sculpture and performance), in the martial arts, meditation and in nature connection, I noticed that one main parameter of experience is spatial awareness. This awareness is variously subtle or gross, focused or expanded.

One other main context of this work is the realms of mental health and altered states: How can we develop an articulate our experiences, no matter how “out of the ordinary”.

So this is a “ Practical Phenomenological Epistemology” – for practitioners and contemplatives, or anyone interested in neutral language for discussion around altered, dampened or heightened states of consciousness related to mental health, hallucination, “psychosis”, spiritual or transpersonal experiences, undefined perceptual events and non-conceptual/non-verbal reality.

This is what I mean by the unification of all tradition: traditions are actions take as individuals or as a collective that attune the neural maps to certain patterns. The point of this vocabulary is to offer a language of consciousness that can be applied to any tradition or practice.

This is a list of actions enacted by the attention, that is to say: a way of shifting perception through the application of the will. The fact that we are working with a set of embodied senses in the material world (gross, subtle or otherwise) provides a grounded context to engage with this art.

“Space Bending”: practicing and mastering the ability to alter our experience of elements we can perceive with any of our senses in the present moment. There are other embodiment techniques that support this practice: notably breathing (for relaxation and subtlety), movement or exercise  for altering state of consciousness. Also very important is noting the evolutionary basis of the senses and awareness in the natural context: the raw human-animal sensory abilities related to surviving and living in connection with the land.

The following list came about because of a desire to have on hand a decent vocabulary for this practice and of direct experience in general.

There is a particular focus on the spatial field as the main external parameter of awareness: Spatial Awareness:

N.B: We are doing many of these actions all the time: practice helps us to improve skill and consciousness of processes and gives us access to further subtlety and focus. Each action is an amplification of the information.

The base senses: (Not all actions apply to every sense).

Seeing – Sight.
Feeling – Felt Sense, felt spatial, temperature/moisture and kinetic information.
Hearing – Sound or Silence.
Smelling – Odor in the space or emanating from objects.
Tasting – The taste of the phenomena/object/material.


The attention actions:  practice and repetition improves effectiveness and reliability of skill.
'Object' is any phenomena, 'physical thing', or 'space'.


Sweeping – When we first enter an experience, the phenomena/objects that we are first aware of (this could be external or internal).
Sensing- This is the first time we notice a specific object or phenomena.
Focusing – This is really focusing our attention, giving it enough time to take effect.
Attuning – Imprinting the phenomena, or object in the neural map (memory).
Remembering – Recalling the phenomena/object and making it present.

Spacing – Focusing specifically on the space between objects and others in proximity, the negative spaces.
Sizing – Noticing how big or small a thing is compared to it's neighbors (or oneself or anything else)
Volumeizing – The space the object takes up.

Scaling – This is the first drastic alteration of perception: Shifting the scale of the object/space, experiencing it as an enormous landscape,
or very tiny.

Timing – Related to scaling, we can alter the time of the object by noting that human time is purely conceptual: the object exists in eternity.

Detailing – Focusing on particular details.
Tracing – Following lines and edges.
Coloring – Noticing particular colors or contrasts in a field.

Lighting – Noticing the way light reflects.
Shading – Noticing the absence of light and shadows cast.

Sequencing – Shifting attention and awareness through a series of characteristics.
Relating – Comparing and relating one or more objects or phenomena.

Weighting – Noticing/feeling the weight of object/materiality.
Materiality – Noticing what the material is made of.

Physical Imagination - Placing oneself in, on, near or holding the object/phenomena.
Histrionic Kinesis – Feeling the kinetic sense of the actions required to arrange/build/manipulate the objects and materials.

Object Manipulation – Manipulation of the object using the body. Sensing weight/size/temperature/texture.


The Psychic functions:

Enchantment – Engaging with sense of intrigue and mystery.
Significance – The object or phenomena has specific meaning or associated narrative to the context.
Personalizing – The element is associated with a person, entity or character, or has its own autonomous personality.
Emotionalizing – Association, catalyzing with a felt emotion.


Autonomizing – The object/pheonomena is making itself known to the senses of its own accord: an omen or a messenger.
Blessing – Full acceptance and cherishing of the phenomena/space or object.
Deifying – Treating as Sacred or Divine with the awareness.


Attachment – Admitting or assigning importance to the phenomena/object, to an identity.
Identification – Identifying with the object/phenomena: identity in some way defined by the existence or condition or character of the object.
Naming – Classifying, labeling. Also the reverse is practicable (removing labels).


Unification – The object(s)/phenomena are one and the same with the psyche/identity, to a greater or lesser degree.
Disassociation – The object/phenomena means nothing and the psyche is not resonant.


Further reading:

https://www.cybertracker.org/tracking/tracking-books/276-the-art-of-tracking-the-origin-of-science

Definitions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology_(philosophy)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology




0 Comments

Squish Wriggle Exploration - Developmental/Ancestral Movement

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Establishing Discipline

4/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Discipline in learning, whether it be about oneself, practical skills, or knowledge of a subject, is the obvious and essential key to progress. The problem is, the criteria for establishing discipline can be hard to come by. 

  1. Own your attention: The primary element of practice is the ability to focus our attention on something. This is far more important than 'the perfect method', or even the nature of our results. Getting a handle on this ability is the first step for establishing discipline. Appreciating the worthiness and value of our attention is very important.
  2. Start small: Too often we are bombarded with the achievements of others, now more than ever before because of the internet. This can lead to a distortion in our appreciation of how the practitioner/learner has got to where they are. While role-models are essential, we really need to take the steps relevant to us, no matter how small. This could mean a 5-10 minute session of practice, rather than an ambitious longer session that we 'don't have time for' or 'don't feel like'.
  3. Appreciate small successes: Following the above, even if we just manage to 'show up' to our practice session, that is still a success. We could end up simply standing, or sitting and observing the material and context of practice for a few minutes. As long as we are not distracting ourselves and are at least present, we have succeeded. Just slowing down enough to focus is an essential achievement for practice, and we can congratulate ourselves as such. Recording any such small success in a journal/creative process is a good way to lay a foundation of positive feedback around practicing.
  4. Letting go of preconceived ideas: One of the effects of ongoing practice is that we change, not only because we naturally change and grow as time passes, but that practice really does affect how we think, act and feel. For this reason we need to 'surrender to the process'. This means being open to unexpected shifts in our preferences, limits and needs. If our practices are working, we are going to be facing uncertainty and unfamiliar territory.
  5. Returning to basics: is a good way to keep practicing and maintain discipline in times of uncertainty. This is another reason why recording our progress in the early stages is useful. We can look back and appreciate the weight of previous lessons, and see how far we have come. Learning not to get ahead of ourselves is important in sustaining motivation and positive regard for the long road.
  6. Seek support when needed: Remember that support is often essential in establishing discipline. A few words of encouragement can be all that is needed to keep practicing, or conversely: to remind us to take a break! Being supported can help us to appreciate the wider context of our discipline and its worth, and also to fortify our sense of purpose and philosophy. In this way, discussion and exposure to peers is invaluable in maintaining discipline.


Inspiration is a wonderful experience, but grounding it in an established practice is a challenge for every practitioner...The rewards  however, continue to deepen with discipline and an effective philosophy.


Michael Maso Ellis.
0 Comments

The 7 Sacred Clowns

9/6/2016

0 Comments

 
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    Acting
    Art
    Butoh
    Creativity
    Dance
    Drumming
    Embodiment
    Happiness
    Meditation
    Movement
    Music
    Mysticism
    Mythology
    Nature
    Performance
    Philosphy
    Poetry
    Practice
    Psychology
    Ritual
    Self-Inquiry
    Shadow
    Spatial Matrix
    Spirituality
    Stage
    Teaching
    Theatre
    Therapy
    Training
    Trance
    Video
    Writing
    Zen

    Subscribe for updates on publications and content :)

    * indicates required
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Nature Mentoring
  • Embodiement
    • Embodied Living PDF
  • Art Therapy
  • Butoh Dance