The Elusive Obvious - Moshe Feldenkrais

T H E
ELUSI VE
OBVIOUS
by Moshe
Feldenkrais
T H E E L US I VE OBVIOUS
PREFACE
T o T he R e a d e r
T he E l u s i v e O b v i o u s deals wi t h simple, fundamental no-
tions of our dai ly li fe t hat through habi t become elusive.
"Ti me is money" is obviously a good attitude to have i n busi -
ness or work. It i s not at a l l obvious that i n love the same
attitude is the cause of so much unhappiness. We often make
mistakes. We carry over from one act i vi t y to another attitudes
of mi nd that do not make li fe what i t could be.
Romance is obviously a fine t hi ng. Romanti c love is enchant-
i ng, but not so good i f one partner i s money-minded and the
other is romanti c. In t i me, they w i l l finish at the psychi atri st' s
or i n court.
Many troubled relati onshi ps come from i nadvertently car-
ryi ng over seemingly good habits of thought to where they do
not apply. Somehow we behave as i f good habits are always
good. We t h i nk or rat her feel t hat we need not bother about
behaving otherwise. It is not so obvious that good habits can
make us unhappy. It is an elusive t rut h. Yet habi t ual lack of
free choice is often, nay, usually, disastrous.
If you come across something obviously new to you, i n i ts
form at least, please stop for a moment and look i nward.
Worki ng but new alternati ves assists us to grow stronger and
wiser. My editor tells me t hat I should free readers from hav-
i ng to t h i nk and look i nward. I believe she knows what the
average reader li kes. I myself do not l i ke predigested food. For
i v t l i e El usi ve Obvious
you, the reader, I have added to the begi nni ng and end of each
chapter a short i ntroducti on and summary to faci li tate your
digestion so t hat you w i l l find i t easier to make what i s elusive
more obvious.
H E E LUSI VE OBVIOUS
or
BASIC FELDENKRAI S
i
P u b l i c a t i o n s b y D r . F E L D E N K R A I S
JUDOFrederi ck Warne, London 1941 (8 editions).
B ODY A N D M A T U R E B E H A V I OU R Routledge and Kegan
P aul , London 1949, Int ernat i onal Uni versi t i es Press, New
York 1950. Internati onal Uni versi t i es Press, Paperback
1970. Al ef Publi shers, Tel Avi v 1966.
H I G H E R J U D O (Ground work) Frederi ck Warne, London
1952 (3 editions)
A WA RE N E SS T H R OU G H M OV E M E N T , Harper and Row,
New Yor k 1972.
T WE N T Y- F I V E L E SSONS by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrai s. Noa
Eshkol , Facult y of Fi ne Art s, Tel - Avi v Uni versi t y, 1977.
The Movement Not at i on Society Israel, 2nd improved
edi ti on.
A D V E N T U R E S I N T H E J U N G L E OF T H E B RA I N , T H E
C A SE of NORA , Harper and Row Publi shers, 1977, Al e f
Publi shers Tel Avi v, 1978, i n Hebrew, German and
French.
Int ernat i onal Standard Book Number: 0-916990-09-5
Li brary of Congress Catalog C ard Number: 81-82159
Met a Publi cati ons, P . O. Box 1910, Capi t ola, C A 95010
1981 by M . Feldenkrai s. A l l ri ghts reserved.
Publi shed 1981
Thi s book or parts thereof may not be
reproduced i n any form wi thout wri t t en
permission of the publi sher.
P ri nt ed i n the Uni t ed States of Ameri ca.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD x i
I NTRODUC TI ON 1
T H E ORG A N I SM 13
ON L E A R N I N G 29
B I OLOG I C AL A SP E C TS OF P OSTU RE 39
T H E B OD Y P A T T E R N OF A N X I E T Y 55
A SEC OND L OOK 71
SU B J E C T I V E A N D OB J E C TI V E R E A L I T Y 79
A WA RE N E SS T H R OU G H M O V E M E N T 89
F U N C T I ON A L I NTE G RA TI ON 121
T H E OB V I OUS IS E L U SI V E 145
I N A N U T SH E L L 153
B I B L I OG RA P H Y 157
I would l i ke to t hank the archi tect, Al l i son Downs. Wi t hout
her sharp cri t i cal understandi ng t hi s book and "The Case of
No r a " would not be what they are. Besides t hat , she di d a l l the
t ypi ng. Onl y a li felong fri end could do t hat for me.
FOREWORD
Are you satisfied wi t h your posture? Ar e you satisfied wi t h
your breathing? Ar e you satisfied wi t h your life? I mean, do
you feel you have made the best you could of your genetic
endowment? Have you learned to do what you wi sh to do wi t h
yourself and how to do it? Do you suffer chronic pains? Do you
regret not bei ng able to do the things you would have l i ked to
do? I believe what you wi sh secretly is not i n fact wi shful
t hi nki ng, but that we are a l l able to li ve the way we want. The
mai n obstacle is ignorance: scientific ignorance, personal igno-
rance, and cul t ural ignorance. I f we do not know what we are
act ually enacting then we cannot possibly do what we want.
I spent nearly forty years first l earni ng to know how I was
doing what , and then teachi ng others to l earn to l earn so t hat
they could do justice to themselves. I believe that knowi ng
oneself is the most i mport ant t hi ng a human bei ng can do for
himself. How can one know oneself? B y l earni ng to act not as
one should, but as one does. We have great difficulty i n sorti ng
out what we do as we should from what we want to do wi t h
ourselves.
The majori ty of people i n each generation stop growing wi t h
sexual mat uri t y, when they are considered to be adult and feel
themselves adult . Most l earni ng achieved after that involves
essentially what is i mport ant soci ally, and personal evolution
and growth are mostly acci dental or a fluke. We l earn a profes-
sion most of the t i me by opportuni ty rat her t han by cont i nu-
x i
x i i The El usi ve Obvious
ous genetic development and growth. Onl y art i st i cal l y in^
cli ned people, be they cobblers, musi ci ans, pai nters, sculptors,
actors, dancers, and some scientists continue to grow person-
al l y as wel l as professionally and soci ally. Others grow mostly
soci ally and professionally and remai n adolescent or i nfant i le
emotionally and sensori ally and consequently also arrested i n
t hei r motor functions. Thei r posture grows worse, and move-
ments or actions are gradually excluded from t hei r repertory.
Fi rst j umpi ng, then t urni ng a somersault, then t wi st i ng, i n
whatever order, are so eli mi nat ed or neglected that i n a short
ti me i t is impossible for t hem to perform these actions any
more.
People i n the arts do, by di nt of the art , continue to improve,
differentiate, and vary t hei r motor ski l l s unt i l old age. They
continue to grow, gradually achi evi ng a performance fitting
t hei r i nt ent i on. Obviously, there are arti sts i n a l l walks of li fe,
but regrettably few among the rank and file.
Readi ng t hi s book may help you to a happi er road more i n
the di recti on of your i ndi vi dual i t y t han the hi gh road you are
usually set upon. There is no i nt ent i on to correct you. Your
trouble and mi ne i s that we are t ryi ng to behave correctly, as
one should, at the cost of quenching, wi t h our own consent, our
i ndi vi dual i t y. In the end we do not know what we want, to the
point of beli evi ng that what we are doing is what we really
want to do; moreover the annoyi ng status quo becomes more
attracti ve to us t han what we believe or say t hat we want. A n
obvious solution is to preoccupy ourselves not wi t h what we do
but how we do i t . The "how" is the hal l mark of our i ndi vi dual -
i t y; i t is an i nqui ry i nto the process of acti ng. If we look at how
we do thi ngs, we mi ght find an alternati ve way of doing t hem,
i.e. have some free choice. For, i f we have no alt ernat i ve, we
have no choice at a l l . We may k i d ourselves that we have
chosen a unique way of doing thi ngs, but i t is compulsive for
lack of alternatives.
It is not easy to see how you can be assisted i n your task by
Foreword
a book, or by anyt hi ng else. The t hi nki ng is exhi l arat i ng, but
the communi cati on of the t h i nki ng t hrough words is a st um-
bl i ng block. Speaki ng is not t h i nki ng, although sometimes i t
is. Anyhow, let us have a go at i t . I enjoy your company and
hope you w i l l come to enjoy mi ne.
Thi s is the fourt h of my books on t hi s subject i n Engl i sh. It
was wri t t en at Peter Mayer' s request and i n response to my
students* demand for a work condensing the four years' teach-
i ng given duri ng summer vacations t hat led to t hei r gradua-
ti on and the formati on of the Feldenkrai s G ui l d i n San Fr an-
cisco. Most of the content of t hi s book is not to be found i n my
former publications. The mat eri al is new; i t is the wri t er who
is older.
49 Nachmani St.
Tel - Avi v.
INTRODUCTION
I am known for the beneficial effects of what I cal l " Funct i onal
Int egrat i on" and "Awareness through Movement ." In both
these techniques I use everyt hi ng I have learned to improve
the healt h, mood, and abi l i t y to overcome difficulties, pai n,
and anxi et y of the people who t ur n to me for help.
In my twenties, whi le playi ng left back i n soccer, I badly
i njured my left knee and could not wal k properly for several
months. In those days knee surgery was not the simple i nt er-
venti on that i t is today. It was l earni ng to functi on wi t h a knee
li ke mi ne whi ch impressed upon me the urgency of doing
something more. Our knowledge w i l l undoubtedly improve i n
the future, but wi t h good theory much of what we know now
can be useful and applicable.
I have t ri ed to wri t e only what is necessary for you to under-
stand h o w my techniques work. I have deliberately avoided
answering the w hys . I know how to li ve and how to use elec-
t ri ci t y, but I encounter enormous difficulties i f I attempt to
answer why I li ve and why there is electri ci ty. In i nterper-
sonal affairs w hy and h o w are not so sharply di vi ded and are
used i ndi scri mi nat ely. I n science, we real l y only know how.
I was born i n the smal l Russi an town of Baranovi t z, and at
the t i me of the Balfour Declarat i on, when I was fourteen, I
went a l l by myself to the B r i t i s h mandatory t erri t ory of Pales-
ti ne. There I worked for several years as a pioneer, largely i n
a manual capacity. A t the age of twenty-three I mat ri culat ed;
2 The El usi ve Obvious
I had studied mathematics and t hen served for five years i n
the Surveyi ng Department doing the mathematics for produc-
i ng maps. I saved sufficient money to t ravel to P ari s where I
took an engineering degree i n mechanics and electri ci ty, and
proceeded to the Sorbonne to read for a doctorate. Whi l e at the
Sorbonne I was attached to the laboratory of Joli ot-Ouri e who
lat er, of course, received the Nobel P ri ze. A t the same t i me I
met Professor Kano, the creator of Judo, and wi t h help from
h i m and hi s pupi ls Yotazo Si gi mura (6th Dan) the Japanese
ambassador, and Kawai sh i I gai ned my Judo Bl ack Bel t . I
formed the first Judo C lub i n France, whi ch today has nearly
a mi l l i on members. Af t er the German i nvasi on of France i n
the Second Worl d War I escaped to Engl and, and worked there
as a scientific officer i n the anti submari ne establishment of
Scientific and Techni cal Pools of the B r i t i s h Admi ral t y unt i l
the end of the war. I parti ci pated i n the Budokwai i n London
before finally ret urni ng to Israel to be the first director of the
Electroni c Department of the Defense Forces of Israel.
A t the age of fifty or so, after wri t i ng B o d y a n d M a t u r e
B e h a v i o u r , first publi shed i n Engl and i n 1949 by Routledge
and Kegan P aul , I encountered many people who thought I
had some extraordi nary knowledge whi ch could perhaps help
t hem. That book was an exposition of the up-to-date scientific
knowledge of the t i me whi ch had led me to my pract i cal ap-
plications. My views on anxi ety and f al l i ng, and the i mpor-
tance of the vesti bular branch of the ei ghth crani al nerve are
now almost uni versally accepted. As a result of the needs of
others, I gradually developed Funct i onal Integration and
Awareness through Movement whi ch I have subsequently
taught i n a dozen or so countries of the world. Duri ng t hi s
process of helpi ng and teachi ng I have been pri vi leged to ex-
ami ne, by touchi ng and movi ng, more human heads t han I
dare to say. They have come from a l l walks of life and from
many races, cultures, reli gi ons, and a l l ages. The youngest was
a five-week-old baby whose neck was i njured at bi r t h by for-
Introduction
3
ceps, and the oldest was a ninety-seven year did Canadi an who
had been electrocuted and was paralyzed for over t hi rt y years.
I have also handled many workers from a very wide range
of acti vi ti es. These details are of l i t t l e importance other t han
to demonstrate that the pri mary and real object of my l earn-
i ng i s the pract i cal effectiveness of my actions. I am s t i l l l earn-
i ng, readi ng, and annotati ng several books a mont h i n spite of
my mul t i pl e obligations and travels. Some of the authors I
would l i ke you also to read; many of t hem are priceless:
Jacques Monod, Schrodinger, J . Z. Young, Eonr ad Lorent z,
Mi l t on Eri ckson. They a l l discuss philosophy, semantics, and
evolution, and they show an i nsi ght and knowledge of the
psychophysical worl d whi ch is edi fyi ng as wel l as i nteresti ng.
I touch wi t h my hands and t hi s I have done to many thou-
sands, be they whi t e, mongoli an, black, or of whatever human
species exist. Thi s touchi ng, handl i ng, mani pul at i ng of l i vi ng
human bodies enables me to see i n the books of these superb
wri ters and t ur n i nt o practice the science they teach. Probably
they themselves do not know, how useful t hei r knowledge is
already when translated i nt o the nonverbal language of the
hands, i.e. Funct i onal Integrati on, and the verbal Awareness
through Movement.
I suggest, and I believe that I am ri ght , that sensory st i mul i
are closer to our unconscious, subconscious, or autonomous
functi oni ng t han to any of our conscious understanding. On
the sensory level communi cati on is more direct wi t h the un-
conscious, and is therefore more effective and less distorted
t han at the verbal level. Words, as somebody sai d, are more to
hide our i ntenti ons t han to express t hem. But , I have never
met anybody, man or ani mal , who cannot t el l a fri endly touch
from an evi l one. Touchi ng, i f unfri endly even i n thought, w i l l
make the touched stiff, anxious, expecting t he worst, and
therefore unreceptive to your touch. Through touch, two per^
sons, the toucher and the touched, can become a new ensem-
ble: two bodies when connected by two arms and hands are a
4 The Elusi ve Obvious
new enti ty. These hands sense at the same t i me as they direct.
Bot h the touched and the toucher feel what they sense
through the connecting hands, even i f they do not understand
and do not know what is being done. The touched person
becomes aware of what the touchi ng person feels and, wi thout
understanding, alters hi s configuration to conform to what he
senses is wanted from h i m. When touchi ng I seek nothi ng
from the person I touch; I only feel what the touched person
needs, whether he knows i t or not, and what I can do at that
moment to make the person feel better.
It is essential to understand what I mean by "bet t er" and
"more human. " These apparently simple words do not mean
the same t hi ng to a l l of us. The thi ngs a handicapped person
cannot do have a different meani ng to h i m t han to a healt hy
person. I remember a boy of t hi rt een brought to me by hi s
mother. He came i nto the world wi t h his ri ght arm first, and
not hi s head as is customary. He had no luck, and an i nex-
perienced doctor, or whoever i t was, pulled h i m out by hi s
prot rudi ng arm. The ri ght clavi cle was broken, whi ch is not a
serious matter at that age, but a brachi al plexus was damaged.
The arm became flaccid, hanging helplessly, i n spite of the fact
that hi s mother had t aken h i m to see every specialist wli o
mi ght have been able to help. I may t el l you later how he
learned to drive a car, became a father of healt hy chi ldren,
and a professor of mechanics.
When the boy became one wi t h me he told me, wi t h tears
runni ng down hi s cheeks, something you w i l l never guess
anyway, I was surpri sed: he complained nobody had ever hi t
h i m at school, i n spite of a l l hi s provocations. Whatever he di d
hi s schoolmates would not touch h i m, as teachers and parents
had a l l impressed upon t hem that he was not to be hurt . H e
was miserable because he had never had the pleasure of being
beaten up. Thi nk, now, what '^better" and "more h uman"
meant to t hi s boy. H i s mother di d not know what was needed,
and nei ther di d anybody else. When I touched h i m he felt as
Introduction
5
one wi t h me, and he sensed t hat I knew he was miserable and
that I had no pi t y. A t that point he could t el l me what i t was
impossible for h i m to ut t er to anyone else. It was a nonverbal
situation as I had asked nothi ng. What happened that enabled
hi m to cry and then t al k to me?
A gi r l wi t h cerebral palsy, aged fifteen, was brought to me
from P ari s. H er mother was the pri nci pal of a lycee and could
not leave, so her father brought her, and her grandmother
stayed wi t h her i n Tel -Avi v. She also surpri sed me, for she
wanted to be a dancer; t hi s when she had never been able to
put her heels on the floor and could not bend her knees, whi ch
knocked i nt o each other at every step. I f you have ever seen
a person severely affected wi t h cerebral palsy you may be able
to imagine her arms, spine and gait. Nobody wi t h common
sense could t hi nk t hat she was so unaware of her condition as
to have such an i dea about herself. M y job, not hi ng more or
less, was to help her to be what she wanted, and she di d,
several years lat er, j oi n a danci ng class i n P ari s. I would l i ke
you to t hi nk about what was "bet t er" and "more h uman" for
this gi r l . She was a bri ght gi r l at the top of her class right up
unt i l the t i me she went to the uni versi t y, and I promise myself
to look her up next t i me I am i n P ari s.
I hope you w i l l not j ump to the conclusion that I am con-
cerned only wi t h cripples. To me they are a l l just people who
seek help to be better and more human. Many doctors, actors,
orchestral conductors, athletes, engineers, psychiatrists, ar-
chitects, housewivesthe whole range of what we can beal l
sense that i t would be better to be better and more human one
way or another.
In fact, i f normal i nt elli gent people had more wisdom, I
would give .them a l l my attenti on. Thei r growth would make
a difference to li fe i n general. When I first began to work wi t h
people as such i t was wi t h Professor J . D. Bernal , a man of
almost uni versal cult ure; Lor d Boyd-Orr, Professor of Medi -
cine and first President of the Worl d H eal t h Organi zati on;
Professor Aaron Kat z i r , Di rector of the Wei t zman Insti tute;
and Davi d Ben-Gouri on, founder of the State of Israel al l of
them extraordi nary human beings, famous, successful, and
socially integrated. J . G . Crowther who was then the Secretary
of the B r i t i sh C ounci l , on heari ng Bernal praise my work
exclaimed, "There are probably only another three brai ns l i ke
hi s so you w i l l not reach many m $ r e " As i t t urns out, soci ally
successful, very clever, i mport ant , creative people may devote
no ti me to t hei r personal growth. They find t hei r whole li fe is
t hei r work, i gnori ng themselves far too often. Such people
li st en to me seriously only when they are incapacitated one
way or another. Even so, I have reached by now thousands of
them through t hei r misfortunes. It is sad to admi t t hat i t was
only by attendi ng to the cri ppled that I was able to l earn how
to help normal people as wel l . Thi s is a generali zati on whi ch,
fortunately, was not always t rue.
I believe that i t is as i mportant for me to share some of my
thoughts and experiences wi t h you as i t i s for you to under-
stand them. Thi s is because they may assist you to improve
your li fe experience, as they helped me. You may l earn to
make your li fe more as you wi sh i t to be; your dreams could
become more precise and, who knows, they may even come
t rue.
Whi l e wri t i ng, I am aware of only some parts of my body and
also of some of my act i vi t y. You, whi le readi ng, are equally
aware of only some parts of yourself and of parts of your
acti vi ty. Immense act i vi t y goes on i n both of us, far greater
t han we appreciate or are aware of. Thi s act i vi t y is related to
what we have l ea r n ed duri ng our whole li fe from i ncepti on to
t hi s moment. Our actions largely depend on our heredity, on
what we have been t hrough i n our li ves, on the image we have
formed of ourselves, on the physi cal, cul t ural , and social envi -
ronments i n whi ch we have grown and the ones i n whi ch we
now functi on. The act i vi t y i n us whi ch makes me wri t e and
you read is mostly autonomous, some of whi ch can be said to
Introducti on 7
be unconscious and some i nt ent i onal. Wh i l e wri t i ng, my con-
scious i nt ent i onal act i vi t y seems to be the only one that con-
cerns me. I have only occasionally to pay attenti on to my
spelli ng or the flow of words. I feel that I am fitting words to
my thoughts. Words have sli ght ly different meanings, and I
wi sh to be very clear. Yet I am not sure that I choose fitting
words for you; t hat what you understand by the words "aut on-
omous," "unconscious," or "conscious" i s what I i nt end to con-
vey to you.
For many years I have been i nvolved i n worki ng wi t h people
who have t urned to me for help. Some complai n of physi cal
pai n, others of ment al angui sh, and only a few ever speak of
emotional troubles. I have some difficulty i n explai ni ng to my
followers t hat I am not a therapi st and that my touchi ng a
person wi t h my hands has no therapeuti c or heali ng value,
though people improve t hrough i t . I t h i nk that what happens
to them is l ea r n i n g , but few agree wi t h t hi s. What I am doing
does not resemble teachi ng as understood at present. The ac-
cent is on the l earni ng process, rat her t han on the teachi ng
technique. Af t er each session my pupi ls have a new sense of
well-being: they feel t al l er, li ght er, and breathe more freely.
They often rub t hei r eyes as i f they have just woken from a
sound and refreshing sleep. More often t han not they say that
they have become relaxed. The pai n i s always abated and
often i t is gone altogether. In addi t i on, face wri nkl es nearly
always disappear, the eyes become bri ght er and larger, and
the voice deeper and more resonant. The pupi l becomes yout h-
ful agai n.
How can such changes i n mood and atti tude be brought
about by just touchi ng, however cleverly, another person's
body? My pupi ls t ry to convince me t hat I possess the heali ng
touch. I have taught students to do what I do i n Israel, the
Uni t ed States, and elsewhere, so that they a l l now have " h eal -
i ng hands." They were not specially chosen, but they were
selected for t hei r academic education and t hei r wi sh and ca-
pacity to learn. A t the begi nni ng, i n order to explai n to my
students what happens between me and my cli entsI say
"cl i ent s" reluct ant ly i n order not to confuse you, although
they are i n fact pupi ls but not studentsI t el l t hem t hi s story.
Imagine a dancing party attended by a man who never dances,
for reasons best known to himself. H e always declines a l l
i nvi tati ons to participate sayi ng that he does not know how.
One woman, however, li kes the man sufficiently to persuade
h i m to take the floor. Movi ng herself, she somehow manages
to make h i m move too. The dance is not very complicated, and
after a few awkward moments when hi s ear tells h i m that the
music has something to do wi t h i t , he becomes conscious that
her movements are rhyt hmi cal . Nevertheless, he is relieved
when the dance stops and he can ret urn to hi s seat and
breathe again. A t the end of the evening he finds he can follow
her movements and steps more easily, and can even avoid
bumpi ng i nto her feet. H a l f t hi nki ng, he feels that perhaps he
has not performed so badly, although he knows that he s t i l l
cannot dance.
Aft er going to a second party, he makes sufficient progress
to shake hi s conviction that dancing is not for h i m. A t the next
party, finding a woman left si t t i ng alone l i ke himself, he asks
her to dance, st i l l protesting that he is not very good. Ever
since then he has danced, forgetting to begin wi t h an apology.
Consider the woman who could dance, and how she made a
pupi l or cli ent dance also, wi t hout teachi ng musi cal rhyt hms,
dancing steps, and a l l the rest of i t . H er fri endly attitude and
her experience made h i m learn wi thout any formal teaching.
A cert ai n ki nd of knowledge can pass from one person to
another wi thout a heali ng touch. However, t*he man must
have learned to use hi s legs, hands, and the rest of h i m before
a fri endly touch could help h i m to use hi s experience and l earn
to dance so easily. H e learned notwi thstandi ng hi s ignorance
of hi s latent abi li t y.
In sayi ng that I work wi t h people I mean that I am "danc-
Introduction 9
i ng" wi t h t hem. I bri ng about a state i n whi ch they l earn to
do something wi thout my teachi ng them, any more t han the
woman taught the dancer. We shal l see lat er i n a more de-
tai led fashion t hat , i n general, we do much wi thout knowi ng
consciously how we do i t . We speak and we do not know how
we do i t . We swallow and ignore how we do i t . Tr y to explai n
to a Mar t i an how we swallow and you w i l l reali ze what I mean
by knowi ng. Some very common everyday acts, l i ke si t t i ng or
getting up from a chai r, seem easier to know. B ut , are you
really sure of what we do when getti ng up from the si t t i ng
position? Wh i ch part of our body i ni t i at es the movement? Is
i t the pelvis, the legs, or the head? Do we contract our abdomi-
nal muscles first or the extensors of the back? We can do the
movement just by i nt endi ng to perform i t and not knowi ng
how we do i t . Do you t hi nk that we real l y do not need to know?
Suppose that somebody cannot get up for some reason, (and
there are more reasons for that t han meet the eye), and asks
you for help. You can show h i m that you can get up, but then
he knew t hat . So i t seems you can do i t but cannot explai n how
you do i t . Suppose you are i n need of the explanati on, for how
can we be sure t hat wi thout knowi ng how we do something i t
is being done as wel l as our potenti al capacity w i l l allow?
Cert ai nly most of the simple actions we do are good enough to
meet our needs. Even so, every one of us feels t hat some ac-
tions are not as good as we would wi sh t hem to be. We organize
our li fe around t hat whi ch we can do to our satisfaction, and
avoid those acts where we feel we are inept. We decide that the
activities t hat i nvolve our ineptitudes are not congenial to our
character, are uni nteresti ng, and we usually have more i m-
portant things to do.
I di d not draw i n my early life for there were no drawi ng
lessons i n the schools i n those good old days. One had, instead,
to prepare for an active and soci ally useful li fe. When my book
B o d y a n d M a t u r e B e h a v i o u r was published after the Second
World War I di d not realize that I had changed my future i n
the di recti on i t was to take me. One morni ng a medi cal doctor
i n London telephoned me, sai d he had read my book, and
asked when I had studied wi t h H ei nr i ch Jacoby. H e had recog-
nized i n my book some of the things he had received from t hi s
great teacher. He had difficulty i n beli evi ng that i t was the
first t i me I had heard t hat name mentioned. To come to the
point, he suggested that he should arrange for me to meet
H ei nri ch Jacoby for our mut ual benefit. H ei nr i ch Jacoby li ved
at that ti me i n Zuri ch and was much senior to me, not only i n
age; I felt t hi s very clearly when I learned t hat what I had
believed to be my personal discovery was i n a way the ki nd of
t hi ng he had been teaching for years to a distinguished group
of disciples comprising scientists, doctors, arti sts, and the l i ke.
A few months later, when I could avai l myself of my annual
leave from the laboratory where I worked at the ti me as a
research physicist, I went to meet Jacoby at the date he had
fixed for me. I would very much l i ke to t el l you what happened
duri ng the three weeks I stayed wi t h h i m and of a l l our conver-
sations and mut ual teaching, whi ch often meant we saw the
sun rise before we went to sleep. A book would be rat her long
i f I were to relate al l the i mportant things I learned and those
he said he learned from me. I w i l l , however, t el l you of my first
overwhelming experience i n drawi ng whi ch I had wi t h h i m, as
i t concerns the ki nd of l earni ng we are deali ng wi t h .
I was an athlete of some repute and of strong bui l d. Jacoby
was a t i ny, fragile l i t t l e man who had learned to wal k, he told
me, when he was seven years old. He looked l i ke, and was a
hunchback, but moved gracefully. Even so, my first impres-
si on was that the man was no mat ch for me. I felt that way
i n the back of my consciousness although I was cert ai n that
I had done the ri ght t hi ng to vi si t h i m. Aft er a few mi nutes,
when he explained that I was bei ng recorded on tape and
photographed by his cinecamera, he offered me a sheet of
drawi ng paper, charcoal, and a piece of soft bread to be used
as an eraser. He then asked me to draw as best I could the.
Introduction 11
lamp on the piano i n front of me. I told h i m t hat I had never
drawn anyt hi ng before except for the techni cal drawings I had
to do for my engi neeri ng degree before readi ng physics at t he
Sorbonne, whi ch brought me later to the Joli ot -Curi e Labora-
tory, my doctorate, and a l l the rest. He repli ed t hat he knew
al l that but I should nevertheless have a t ry as he had some-
t hi ng else i n mi nd other t han just to see me draw. I drew a
vert i cal cyli nder wi t h a truncated cone at the upper end and
a ki nd of ellipse at the bottom for a stand. It looked to me to
be a lampstand as good as I thought a lampstand drawn by me
could be. H e looked at the drawi ng and said i t was the thought
of a lamp and not the lamp, and I reali zed t hen that I had
drawn the abstract noti on of the word " l amp. " A l l the same,
I retorted, only a pai nt er could do what he expected of me, and
I was no pai nt er as I had said before I started.
He insisted that I should t ry agai n and draw only what I saw
and not what I thought I saw. I just di d not know how one
draws what one sees. In my, and may be also your, way of
t hi nki ng he asked me to be a pai nt er when I was not a pai nter.
" Tel l me what do you see?" " A l amp, " I sai d. "Do you see any
of the outlines whi ch you have drawn?" I had to admi t that I
could not i dent i fy i n my drawi ng a single li ne of the real lamp,
except t hat the proportions were more or less those of the
lamp i n front of me. "Do you see l i nes?" Agai n I had to admi t
that none of t he li nes on my drawi ng were act ually to be seen.
" I f you do not see li nes, t hen what do you see when looki ng at
thi s lamp? What do your eyes see i n general? They see li ght ,
then why do you not draw the li ght er and darker patches
whi ch you see. You have charcoal i n your hand, and i f you put
too much of i t on the paper t hen you have the bread to remove
the superfluous and obtai n some gradi ng of the patches so that
they become more as you see t hem. "
I took another sheet of paper and t hi s t i me started wi t h dark
patches of charcoal where there was no l i ght , t hen i t dawned
on me t hat nowhere were there bri ght er patches t han where
I put no charcoal on the paper. The stand was no cyli nder, the
shade on the top was no truncated cone, and the bottom was
no ellipse. I had ext raordi nary feelings when I looked at the
assembly of charcoal rubbings and the parts removed wi t h the
bread kneaded wi t h my fingers. Thi s drawi ng was not mi ne,
but one whi ch I thought only a pai nt er could do. I had not even
t ri ed to t hi nk that way before because i t had felt to me to be
l i ke cheating, pretending to be what I was not.
I believe you are understanding for yourself the extraordi -
nary transformati on that was occurri ng i n me. I am not a
pai nter, but then who is? When I do or act pai nter, the result
is what only a pai nter can do. A m I being changed, am I losi ng
my identity? I di d not real l y t h i nk i n those terms at that
moment, but I felt unsafe because of the change whi ch ope-
rated i n me under Jacoby's questioning. He di d not show me
how to do i t . Remember the dancer wi t h hi s gi rlfri end? C an
you see anyt hi ng i n common i n the two cases of l earni ng i n
two such different circumstances? I can.
When I left Jacoby and went to my room I saw there on the
table a glass j ug h al f filled wi t h water. I felt an i nner challenge
no, an i nner convi cti onwhi ch expressed i t sel f i n an urge
to reproduce the j ug on paper. C hi l di shl y, I also thought that
I could show Jacoby that I was not really so inept as I appeared
to h i m. I di d not draw any li nes at a l l but used instead mi nor
touches, and the rest was blobs of li ght and dark. When i t was
finished you could see the level of water, the play of li ght i n
the water as distinct from the li ght on the glass, although both
were transparent. I felt that I had produced a masterpiece and
I believed that I had grown t al l er by si x inches at least.
It turned out that there is no l i mi t to the quali t y of bei ng
a pai nter, and I have to make an effort not to t el l you how I
became a real pai nter duri ng the few weeks when I danced
wi t h Jacoby, who never taught or showed me how to pai nt or
draw. Wi t h his tongue i n hi s cheek he asked me why I di d not
follow my own teachi ng when I drew.
T H E ORGANISM
S o m e u n i v er s a l f a c t o r s i n f l u en c e t h e e x i s t e n c e o f l i f e. T hey
ha d s o m e t h i n g t o d o w i t h t h e f i r s t l i v i n g c e l l f o r m e d a b o u t t w o
b i l l i o n y e a r s a g o . T he f i r s t l i v i n g c e l l n eed ed s h e l t e r f r o m r a d i -
a t i o n w h i c h f o r m e d i t , a n d k i l l e d i t a s ea s i l y. F o r m , s u r f a c e
t en s i o n , s u r f a c e t o v o l u m e r a t i o , g r a v i t a t i o n , i n t e r n a l p r o -
c es s es , e x t e r n a l c ha n g es a n d ef f ec t s a r e a s a c t i v e t o d a y a s t hey
a l w a ys w e r e T he b o u n d a r y o f a l i v i n g c e l l a n d a n y b ei n g s t i l l
m ed i a t es b et w een i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l l i f e, a s a t t h e i r o r i g i n .
H er e w e d i s c u s s s o m e o f t h e f a c t o r s i n v o l v ed .
A n assembly of cells i s not a tissue any more t han an assem-
bly of neurons i s a brai n. Bri cks are not a bui ldi ng. A l l the
entries i n a di cti onary are but words, a smaller number of
whi ch may be a sentence. Somethi ng happens to a number of
identical parti cles or uni ts act i ng together whi ch is of a hi gher
level, i n the sense that a new quali t y appertains whi ch does
not exist i n any one of the uni ts separately. Thi s hi gher level
is reached when the uni ts are i nvolved i n a common act i vi t y
or undergo the same stress. A n assembly of cells may become
a li ver; bri cks functi oni ng together as a load-bearing structure
may become a bui l di ng. Cells are l i nked i n groups to form
organs whi ch are si mi l ar i n a l l mammals. Organs i n t ur n are
grouped to form organisms whi ch are of a hi gher level t han
organs. Bact eri a, algae, and a l l other l i vi ng entities have three
activities i n common: (1) self-reproduction, (2) self-mainte-
13
nance, and (3) self-preservation. Self-reproduction is by far the
least cri t i cal i n t i me, whereas breathi ng, dri nki ng, and eati ng
l i mi t life wi t h greater stringency, and the lack of self-preser-
vati on may mean loss of li fe wi t h i n less t han a second. These
three phenomena can be observed i n both vegetation a n d ani -
mals, the difference being t hat vegetative li fe i s passive i n
deali ng wi t h t hem. Wi t hout the effect of wi nd, r ai n, insects,
ani mal furs and a host of other carri ers and active elements,
vegetation would cease to reproduce and would disappear
from the eart h. On the other hand, ani mals of a l l ki nds are
active i n sustai ni ng the three essential requirements by (4)
self-propulsion, whi ch is also self-direction, thus maki ng
movement the most i mport ant clue to ani mal li fe.
The first piece of matter havi ng an enclosing membrane
separati ng i t from the rest of the world had f o r m o r shape and
became the first i ndi vi duum. The cosmos contai ni ng the mem-
brane ensured the i nt ake of furt her matter to provide the
energy for self-propulsion and the discharge to the outside
world of matter emptied of energy as wel l as the removal of
the poisons of metabolism and dead parti cles. Every l i vi ng
t hi ng has a boundary separating i t from the rest of the world.
The content wi t h i n the boundary has structure whi ch func-
tions to assure the self-propulsion, i.e. the act i vi t y, of the
being. When function ceases, only form and structure remai n:
the bei ng is then dead. Cessation of movement i s the end of li fe
itself.
Not only is li fe complex to begin wi t h, i t tends to evolve
towards even greater complexity, an attri bute that seems vi t al
for Life to persist. Each species of ani mal has i ts own method
of self-propulsion necessary for the maintenance of the other
three features essential for perpetuating li fe. Therei n lies the
complexity. The structures and the functions are interdepend-
ent and both are i nt i mat el y related to the environment. Wi t h -
out l i ght of the appropriate wavelengths there would be no
eyes and no s e e i n g ; and there are electromagnetic vi brati ons
The Organi sm 16
of waves above and below those t hat make up the spectrum of
human vi si on. Moreover, l i ght changes i n i nt ensi t y and ob-
jects are smal l and large, near and far away. These factors
together wi t h the abi l i t y to di st i ngui sh colors of great vari et y
and subtlety only begin to i l l ust rat e the complexity of the
formation of vi si on, as wel l as the form of the eyes.
A l l ani mals have an embryonic li fe before they are sepa-
rated physi cally from the witness who i s always there to
usher t hem i nt o the outside world. Duri ng embryonic li fe
there i s growth of the structures functi oni ng i n a rudi men-
t ary way i n an envi ronment that is si mpler and less varyi ng
t han the outside world. It is obvious that only some form of
orderly development w i l l t ur n two cells i nto a mammal , let
alone a man. "C ont rol s" is the word t hat comes most readi ly
to mi nd: controls that assure t hi s orderly development of the
structures, t hei r form, and the gradual betteri ng of t hei r
functioning. Wi t h the i ncreasi ng complexity of the species, a
special structure, formed to assure the necessary controls of
the organism. The nervous tissues wi t h t hei r synapses, den-
drites and relays of a l l ki nds, functi on for t hi s purpose. (Is i t
"purpose"?).
Cont rol i n biology as wel l as i n cybernetics is necessary only
i f there is a preferred mode of functi on. In ani mals i t i s the
optimum t hat i s the preferred state or mode. Any deviation
from the opti mum is corrected. As there are l i t eral l y thou-
sands of deviations on a l l levelscellular, ci rculat ory, struc-
t ural and functi onalthere i s also a hi erarchi al organization
of the controls.
Cont rol and hi erarchy must be stri pped of the emotion at-
tached to t hem i n normal speaking. If the organism slips on
a banana ski n the highest control i n the brai n deali ng wi t h
i ntenti onal action and movement is too slow to prevent f al l -
ing. It w i l l swi tch i t sel f off to allow some older part to take
over. P art s t hat are more pri mi t i ve and evolut i onari ly older
are faster and have shorter communi cati on li nes. There i s
nothi ng i n controls and hi erarchy but orderly cooperation for
assuri ng the opti mal existence of the i ndi vi dual .
Growt h i n the hi erarchy, the controls, and the nervous t i s-
sues organi zi ng t hem, as wel l as i n the enti re organismits
bones, muscles, and i nt ernal organsinvolves reacti ng to the
environment, adjusting to i t i n order to mani pulate i t . To
achieve opt i mal function whi le growi ng there must be conti n-
uous change i n the di recti on of improvement. Such a complex
process w i l l be deali ng wi t h errors and w i l l continue wi thout
any clear purpose to achieve. It is a process of learni ng whi ch
is quite different from the formal academic education i n
schools: i t is concerned essentially wi t h "how" rat her t han
" wh at " we do. A detailed i nqui ry i nto these matters is funda-
mental and essential.
Agai n, the complexity of thi s process is so great that fai lure
to achieve is i nherent. In ordi nary conditions i t is very rare to
find the opti mum i n structure, form, and functi on. Dysfunc-
t i on i n movement, regressions, and part i al development are to
be expected. Thi s generality makes i t possible to help normal
i ndi vi duals achieve the opt i mal development whi ch they
would otherwise f ai l to do.
A nervous system consisting of an astronomi cal number of
cells (3-10
10
) is fit to li ve and function i n a great vari et y of
physi cal worlds. Even a nervous system l i ke ours stands up to
lack of gravi t at i on, to lack of vi sual and audi tory st i mulat i on,
as the experience of so many astronauts has shown. It is
enough to i ni t i at e any act i vi t y i n whi ch the cues occur at
sufficiently close i ntervals for the system to work. I believe
that our nervous system would functi on wel l i n a thousand
different possible worlds. It would grow and adapt i t self and
act i n any conditions i n whi ch li fe can exist. Our nervous .
system is i n fact "wi red i n " to cope wi t h equal ease wi t h any
one of the few thousand languages and dialects that exist on
eart h. i
We are so f ami l i ar wi t h ourselves t hat we f ai l to appreciate
The Organi sm 17
what we have sai d. What do we mean by a nervous system
functioning? What i s so peculi ar i n the nervous synapses and
cells t hat they are needed and exist i n pri mi t i ve or complex
form i n each l i vi ng thing? Ar e they essential to make li fe
possible?
The cosmos (meaning order i n Greek) i s not very orderly
except for a few things l i ke day and ni ght and the l unar
phases. I am not sure t hat si mpler nervous systems are aware
of order i n these phases. Meteorites f al l i n an extremely ran-
dom and di sorderly way. Suns are formed and disintegrate i n
a way t hat does not real l y fit the noti on of order. A t the other
microscopic ext remi t y there is equal randomness and lack of
order. Nobody can predict whi ch atom w i l l break up i n r a -
di um, or any other radioactive mat eri al . In any domai n of the
mat eri al world, gases, li qui ds, or whatever we may choose,
not hi ng is predictable, orderly, stable, and i nvari ant for any
one of the molecules or atoms. No wi nd, sun, earthquake, or
typhoon lives an orderly existence.
Nervous structures do look for order, and find i t when and
wherever i t exists and make one where i t does not exist. Onl y
a very complex nervous assembly, consisting of such a great
number of uni t s as there are i n most l i vi ng creatures, needs
consistency and constancy of environment. P ri mi t i ve nervous
systems do not play tenni s, nor do they swi ng from one branch
to another t hi rt y feet away. P ri mi t i ve systems are slower and
are not so dependent on organi zi ng i nvari ant s. A l l l i vi ng crea-
tures are smaller and weaker t han t hei r grown-ups, some for
shorter some for longer i ntervals of ti me. Weak organisms
need a more or less constant consistent world so t hat they can
l earn and grow i nto strong organisms. The organism is i n
i t self quite a world of microbeings whi ch needs constancy,
order, i nvari ance, homeostasis i f i t is to exist.
It is a plati tude to say that only a brai n can t hi nk, abstract,
dream, remember, and so on. A nervous system introduces
order i nt o the random, constantly changing st i mul i , i mpi ng-
i ng or arri vi ng through the senses to the system. Moreover the
l i vi ng organism i t self moves incessantly and the nervous sys-
tem has to arrange the mobile changi ng world, and i ts own
mobi li ty, to make some sense of thi s whi rl i ng t urmoi l . If noth-
i ng ever repeats i t sel f how could we learn?
Now, the most unexpected means to achieve t hi s Herculean
feat is movement. The movement of the l i vi ng organism is
essential to form stationary and repetitive events i n the
changi ng, moving envi ronment; for i f we find dead matter and
motionless vegetation our senses s t i l l perceive movi ng impres-
sions, since a l i vi ng organism moves and is never completely
stationary before i t is really dead.
Professor Hei nz V on Foerster from the Bi ologi cal Computer
Laboratory, Uni versi t y of Illi noi s, who nourishes si mi l ar ideas
told me and my students i n San Franci sco the following story:
H e nr i Poi ncare published a paper i n 1887 explai ni ng that
the image of three dimensional space on the ret i na has only
two dimensions, nor is the formati on of the image on the
ret i na uni form as i t is i n space. Awareness of the t hi rd
mi ssi ng dimension results from convergence of the two eyes
and accommodation whi ch i s, i n fact, a muscular sensation.
Awareness of direction involves movement of the head.
The head movements need the adjustment of the eyes.
Three-dimensional pictures would not be perceived wi t h a sta-
t i onary head and eyes. I have since read Poincare's book, S c i -
e n c e a n d H yp o t hes i s , published i n Engl i sh by Dover. He shows
that movement is involved i n our perception of space, and our
choice of Eucli dean geometry. It is a fasci nati ng book and is
worthwhi le readi ng today, as i t is ori gi nal and newthe
t hi nki ng of a genius.
I cannot refrai n from recalli ng yet another example of P oi n-
care's acumen. I n those days most of t he work on brai n physi -
ology consisted of removing a piece of brai n, observing the
affected functi on, and thus locating that function i n the brai n.
The Organi sm
19
Poi ncare thought t hi s method was not sufficiently scientific,
and he doubted the conclusion. H i s argument was that binoc-
ul ar t ri di mensi onal vi si on is affected every t i me a person loses
hi s ri ght eye, but i t would be fault y to conclude that t he three-
di mensi onal function i s located i n the ri ght eye.
A Swiss ski i nstructor, Mr . Kohl er i f I remember correctly,
persuaded some of hi s pupi ls to parti ci pate wi t h h i m i n an
experiment. He was interested to find out what would happen
to us i f our brai n saw the outside world as i t is on the ret i na
and not as i t exists. As everybody knows, the eye lens, l i ke any
other lens, i nverts the image on the ret i na. A standi ng person
has hi s head at t he bottom of the ret i na and hi s feet at the top.
Mr . Koh l er gave a l l hi s parti ci pants a pai r of glasses whi ch
i nverted the image on the ret i na. To begin wi t h , they a l l saw
everythi ng, as expected, upside down. The first hours were
very difficult. They could not move freely or do anyt hi ng wi t h-
out slowi ng down and t ryi ng to make sense of what they saw.
Then something unexpected happened. Everyt hi ng on the
body and i ts immediate vi ci ni t y began to look as before but
everythi ng t hat was not touched continued to be i nverted.
Gradual l y, as they groped and touched whi l st movi ng around
to at t ai n the satisfaction of normal needs, objects furt her
afield began to appear normal . The glasses were not removed
throughout the experiment. In a few weeks everythi ng looked
the ri ght way up, and they could al l do everythi ng wi thout any
special attenti on or care. I n the end, snow began to f al l agai n
and Mr . Kohl er saw t hrough the window the flakes ri si ng from
the eart h and movi ng upward. H e went out, stretched out hi s
hands, and felt snow f al l i ng on t hem. He then t urned hi s
palms upward and, of course, snow fel l on t hem. Aft er only a
few t ri al s he saw the snow f al l i ng instead of ri si ng.
There are other experiments wi t h i nvert i ng glasses. One,
carri ed out i n the Uni t ed States, concerned two people, one
si t t i ng i n a wheelchai r and the other pushi ng i t , both fitted
wi t h the special glasses. The one who moved around by push-
20
The El usi ve Obvious
i ng the chai r began to see normal l y and was able to find hi s
way wi thout groping after a few hours, whi le the one si t t i ng
continued to see everythi ng the wrong way.
Does a newborn baby see the ri ght way up from the start,
or does he act ually have to touch things i n order to be able to
i nterpret the impression received to fit hi s checki ng sense
hi s touch? I, for one, suspect that movement plays an i mpor-
tant role i n formi ng my objective world. A n d i f my suspicion
is not altogether wrong, movement may be necessary to al l
l i vi ng things to enable them to form t hei r objective exterior
world, and perhaps even t hei r objective i nt ernal world. We
rarely stop to ask ourselves whether we are the adult reali za-
t i on of the program of our genetic code ( DNA) alone. It is the
spermatozoa that start the process. The D N A w i l l select the
changes to fit the code from a mult i t ude of possible alt erna-
tives. We know that the reali zat i on of the program never
happens wi thout the growth of the organism that bears the
genetic code. Bei ng born and growi ng never happen wi thout
at least one observer or witnessthe one that gives bi rt h to
the organism. However, as yet no l i vi ng organism is known
outside a gravi t at i onal field. To sum up, a genetic program is
incorporated i nto a body whi ch grows from two cells, i n an
environment that contains unavoidable gravi t at i on and wi t -
nesses. None of these items can alone, by any stretch of the
i magi nat i on, form a l i vi ng being able to grow and become
adult.
A l l mammals have a form, a skeleton, muscles, a nervous
system, and are born to parents. Men are born i nt o a culture,
a human society located somewhere on eart h. The eart h exer-
cises a gravi t at i onal force whi ch is never i nt errupt ed and
whi ch cannot be screened. It is permanent and pract i cally the
same everywhere. Though the bones are l i vi ng matter since
they grow and can regenerate when i njured they are, never-
theless relat i vely speaking, i nert matter. They cannot change
t hei r form, position, or configuration wi thout the pulls exerted
The Organi sm
21
on t hem by muscles. There are large and smal l muscles,
striated and smooth muscles. A l l of t hem can only contract
and stop contracti ng, whereby they recover t hei r i ni t i al
length i n preparati on for the next contracti on. Muscles do not
contract wi t hout impulses issued by the nervous system to
make them do so. Thi s is not quite true, as i n the early stages
of development of the embryo the heart muscles, i n fact, con-
t ract i n a special rh yt h m, usually more rapi d t han i n the
adult, long before any nerves reach the heart. There i s obvi-
ously another mechanism to make muscles contract.
There are two major ki nds of muscular fibres; whi te fibres
and red fibres. These differ not only i n color, but also i n the
ti me they mai nt ai n t hei r contractions as wel l as the rate of
them. The muscles contract so that the bones can close and
open arti culati ons, and the two ki nds of act i vi t y are said to be
antagonistic. It goes wi thout sayi ng that i n the adult the mus-
cles, per se, have no say i n t hei r contracti on, or ceasing con-
t ract i on whi ch i s, of course, relaxat i on.
The nervous system distributes impulses whi ch activate the
muscles and are the cause of a l l movement. It i s a very com-
plex structure producing an immense vari et y of patterns of
muscular act i vi t y, from reflex knee jerks, tremor, clonus, to
smooth i nt ent i onal movement. Every alt erat i on of the confi-
gurati on of the skeleton is produced by a part i cul ar pattern of
impulses dispatched to the muscles. The t i me of ar r i val to the
different muscles and the amount of t hei r contractions, regu-
lated by special mechanisms, are t aken i nt o account so that
fine, delicate, strong, sudden, gradual, and a large vari et y of
other movements are performed by the skeleton. Movements
are produced i n space and at different moments i n t i me. The
movements of the skeleton carryi ng wi t h i t the muscles and
the nervous system occur i n space, at different times, and i n
an envi ronment whi ch is also a social human envi ronment
and very rarel y otherwise. The movements displace the orga-
ni sm. What we cal l the organism consists of the skeleton, the
muscles, the nervous system, and a l l t hat goes to nouri sh,
warm, activate, and rest the whole of i t .
These movements produce the displacement of the enti re
organism and change its configuration for different activities
whi ch, i n t ur n, affect a l l different sorts of environment to
provide the necessities of the organism. There i s, thus, a con-
ti nuously changing environment wi t h a continuously chang-
i ng organism, i nt eract i ng wi thout stopping so long as there i s
li fe i n the organism. The different environments affect the
organism whi ch changes so as to act and react effectively to
the environment. We have, then, a closed loop of four ele-
ments: skeleton, muscles, nervous system, and environment.
These four elements i nteract from bi r t h unt i l death and there
are feedback and feedforward operations a l l along the loop. A t
bi rt h, the l i nk organism-environment is largely passive. B y
and by, i t becomes less and less passive. Gradual l y, i t becomes
more and more i nt ent i onally active. Were there no gravi t a-
t i onal field the whole scheme would be t ot ally different. The
muscles would be superfluous. The skeleton would be ent i rely
different. There would be no posture characteristics of any
ani mal . The entire energy scheme would be altered. Bones
would not need to be able to wi thstand compression. The veloc-
i t y of movement would be altogether changed. In fact, i t would
be nothi ng that we can really conceive i n i ts enti rety. As i t i s,
movement i s the best clue to li fe. Ever since man could speak
he has classified a l l exi sti ng things according to t hei r move-
ment i n the gravi t at i onal field. Vegetati on is everythi ng that
can move only passively from side to side followi ng the flow of
water, or ai r, otherwise the growth i s vert i cal . Li gh t may
affect vert i cal growth i n i ts own di recti on. Li vi ng things can
displace themselves i n different ways, and each way has a
class named after the way of movement. The swi mmi ng ones
are fishes. The flying ones are birds. The gli di ng ones are
snakes. The wri ggli ng ones are worms. There are j umpi ng
ones, crawli ng ones, cli mbi ng ones, the ones that walk on al l
The Organi sm
23
fours, and we who wal k upri ght. Movement seems to have
preoccupied man since he can first remember himself.
Since movement is of such importance to the l i vi ng cell or
assembly of cells maki ng up any l i vi ng organism, i t is cer-
t ai nl y something that happens not by chance alone. Most of
the organismthe skeleton, the muscles, and the nervous sys-
temis preoccupied wi t h movement i n our environment. A n d
t hi s is so complex that most l i vi ng things are so constructed
that they need some personal i ndi vi dual apprenticeship i n
pract i cally a l l species, be they fishes, bi rds, ani mals, apes, or
men. The amount of apprenticeship varies from a few seconds,
to a few mi nutes, to many years. Some of the herd ani mals,
especially the bovines, horses, zebras, and t hei r l i ke seem to
be able to follow the herd almost i mmedi ately they are
dropped by the mother cow, mare, or whatever she may be
called. A calf droppeda giraffe cal f drops from rat her hi gh
w i l l make an attempt or two to get on i ts feet i mmedi ately
i ts umbi l i cal cord is chewed, and i t is li cked a l l over. When the
second or t h i r d attempt is successful, the cal f w i l l follow the
cow on sand, gravel, sli ppery wet grass no matter whether i t
i s on level, ascending, or descending ground. It can not only do
everythi ng necessary to cl i ng to t he herd, but i f i t happens to
slide or stumble i t can ri ght itself. If one t hi nks of the complex-
i t y and i ngenui ty necessary to construct something si mi l arl y
efficient one can only reali ze what is i nvolved i n t hi s ext raordi -
nary abi l i t y to move wi t hout previous experience and wi t h so
l i t t l e apprenticeship.
Th i nk of the Chamoni x or other mountai n goats where the
ki ds are born on hi gh rocks. The ki ds ri ght themselves on t hei r
feet and t hen have to leap from one sharp edge to another
wi thout a marked previous apprenticeship. Obviously a l l the
connections, the wi ri ng i n of the nervous systems of these
ani mals must be made before they are born. In short, i t is the
species t hat has handed down the learni ng, the evolving, the
reflex organi zati on, the i nst i nct that enables t hem to survi ve
24
i n precarious conditions. However, most bi rds, dogs, ki ttens of
a l l sorts, even tiger ki t t ens, have to have some ki nd of coach-
i ng by t hei r parents to finish the wi ri ng i n, establishing the
functi oni ng patterns of t hei r nervous systems. What makes
thi s pattern reli able, autonomous, or automatic is an appren-
ticeship of a few weeks.
When we pass i n review many of the species i t becomes
evident that the lower the species' place on the ladder of evolu-
t i on the more complete is the wi ri ng i n of the nervous system
at bi rt h . The connections of the synapses, neurons, or what-
ever are ready and the apprenticeship is shorter the lower the
species are on the ladder. In man, we see the extreme end of
thi s process. The human i nfant has the longest apprenticeship
of a l l the species, to my knowledge. Al t hough everythi ng nec-
essary to mai nt ai n li fe and growth is already connected i n the
nervous and glandular systems at bi rt h , t he specific human
functions are not wi red i n at al l . No baby was ever born who
could speak, si ng, whi stle, crawl , walk upri ght, make music,
count or t hi nk mathemati cally, t el l the hour of the day or
ni ght, or know what i t is to be late. Wi t hout a very long
apprenticeship last i ng several years none of these functions
has ever been observed. As far as these specifically human
functions or activities go, the connections or the wi ri ng i n of
the neural structures have advanced already i n the womb but
compared wi t h those of the adult they are non-existent.
It i s the i ndi vi dual personal experience or apprenticeship
that is necessary, and wi thout i t the baby w i l l not be a human
being. It is as i f there were no i nheri t ed l earni ng i n the human
species whatsoever. The "l ower" ani mals have phylogenetic
learni ng, or i nheri t ed evolved l earni ng of t hei r species. The
"hi gher" ani mal learns through hi s own i ndi vi dual ontogen-
etic experience. The "l ower" and " hi gher" have l i t t l e meani ng
other t han referri ng to the complexity, and our way of con-
st ruct i ng the ladder of evolution. Al most a l l the lower ani mals
can do things that the highest can only l earn to understand,
The Organi sm
25
but can never do wi thout prolonged learni ng, and then can
only i mi t at e, usually wi t h a great vari et y of auxi l i ary i nst ru-
ments or structures. It may not be superfluous to repeat here
that only the nervous tissues and systems are capable of con-
ceiving as wel l as performi ng or reali zi ng. The tendency to
repeti ti on leads i n the end to repetitive constancy and order.
Most happenings are ruled by chance and are so di sorderly
that most goings-on are not predictable. We make the laws of
nature by si ngli ng out the parts of events we cannot change
or to whi ch we can add what we consider order. Newt on made
order i n an impressive array of di sorderly f al l i ng bodies by
i nt roduci ng the noti on of cosmic gravi t at i on. The neural sub-
stance t hat organizes order i n i ts own functi oni ng also makes
order i n i ts envi ronment whi ch i n t ur n improves the orderli -
ness of neural functi on. The neural substance organizes i t self
and thereby selects and alters the i ncomi ng messages from the
envi ronment i nt o i nvari ant sets to make repeti ti on possible.
It takes many continuously changing messages from the envi -
ronment before the organi sm succeeds i n percei vi ng t hem as
unchangi ng entities. So great is the abi l i t y of the nervous
system that i t creates order where i nstruments made of any
other matter w i l l register a bl ur of continuous vari ati ons. Just
t hi nk of t aki ng a photograph of a greyhound runni ng toward
you whi le you are si t t i ng on a gallopi ng horse.
We can understand each other whi le a fan or air-conditioner
is maki ng so much background noise t hat no recorder wi thout
a human expert w i l l reproduce an i nt elli gi ble record of what
we have sai d. We have no difficulty ext ract i ng i nvari ant order
out of many changing interferences. In anyt hi ng we see, hear,
smell, or feel we acti vely organize ourselves so as to be i m-
pressed by those i nvari ant sets that make us cope wi t h the
disorder i n ourselves, and outside i n our environments, per-
sonal, social, spat i al, and temporal. C hi l dren can learn a l an-
guage i n a room i n whi ch several different languages are being
taught. Thi s works when the teachers and the chi ldren are
26
The Elusi ve Obvious
interested i n learni ng. We see a box of matches as havi ng an
i nvari able size and form, but a camera, a telescope, binoculars,
or any i nstrument used i n science w i l l see the box as a dot i f
we move i t far enough away. I f we see i t from a corner, we s t i l l
see a "square" boxnot so the i nstruments. Our nervous sys-
tem creates i nvari ant s wherever i t is expedient.
Suppose we make a machine that incorporates a skeleton,
muscles, organs, and also a brai n. Woul d a brai n l i ke that
speak Engl i sh or Turki sh? It would not know how to speak at
a l l . Woul d a brai n l i ke that be able to read, to t h i nk mathe-
matics, to li sten to or create music? Could i t make an I B M
machine or a microphone? Of course not. When the brai n
comes i nto the world i t is fit to do only what any ani mal brai n
can do: i t attends to breathi ng, to digestion, to the automatic
processes of the body. Beyond t hat , we must wi re i n that brai n
to relate to the environment i nt o whi ch i t comes. A t the out-
set, the brai n does not even know how to stand. It cannot read
or whi stle, or tap-dance or skate or swi m. The brai n must be
adjusted and connected i n order to f ul l y functi on.
Assume that I am looki ng at a microphone. When my eyes
look at i t , I identify the image. Act ual l y there is no image of
a microphone i n my brai n. There is an image of the mi cro-
phone on my ret i na. From the ret i na, the image from each eye
is separated into two parts and projected on four different
parts of the Cerebral cortex, whi ch act ually has no real image
of a microphone. However, the functi on of seeing evokes i n my
mi nd the t hi ng that I see wi t h my eyes. The brai n goes through
a type of schooling that " wi res" i t i nto objective reali t y. Real -
i t y, therefore, encompasses the envi ronment and the body
itself.
The mi nd gradually develops and begins to program the
functi oni ng of the brai n. My way of looki ng at the mi nd and
body involves a subtle method of " r ewi r i ng" the structures of
the enti re human being to be funct i onally wel l integrated,
whi ch means bei ng able to do what the i ndi vi dual wants. Each
The Organi sm
27
i ndi vi dual has the choice to wi re hi mself i n a special way.
However, the way we do i t now is almost completely futi le,
ali enat i ng us from our own capacity to have our own feelings.
Each person is born as a humanoi d, a human ani mal . The
newborn baby can swallow, suck, digest, excrete, and mai n-
t ai n body temperature l i ke any other ani mal . What makes us
different from ani mals is that humanoids can develop i nto
homo sapiens, human beings wi t h intelligence, knowledge,
and awareness.
S u m m a r y
Among the many roads there are hi gh roads. A l l men have
curi osi t ya sensory world that helps to find the " h i gh road"
i mportant to every one of us. The ways home (the shelter from
radi ati on for cells) for safety must be f ami l i ar. Otherwise, i t
is too slow to go home, and very uncertai n. So " t erri t ory" is
a word for something as old as li fe itself. What does home
mean to you? Where do you go when t i red or hurt ? Ar e there
other choices? How di d we come by those we have? How do we
act, adapt, or adjust ourselves? Has learni ng anyt hi ng to do
wi t h this? What sort of learning? How do we do it?
ON LE A RNI NG
O r g a n i c l ea r n i n g i s e s s e n t i a l . I t c a n a l s o b e t her a p eu t i c i n
es s en c e. I t i s h e a l t h i e r t o l ea r n t ha n t o b e a p a t i e n t o r e v e n b e
c u r ed . L i f e i s a p r o c e s s n o t a t hi n g . A n d , p r o c e s s e s g o w e l l i f
t her e a r e m a n y w a ys t o i n f l u en c e t hem . We n eed m o r e w a ys t o
d o w h a t w e w a n t t ha n t h e o n e w e k n o w ev en i f i t i s a g o o d
o n e i n i t s el f .
Organi c learni ng begins i n the womb and continues duri ng
the whole of the i ndi vi dual' s period of physi cal growth. Ot her
forms of l earni ng directed by teachers take place i n schools,
uni versi ti es, and colleges where there are numerous students.
As wel l as si mi l ari t i es i n these two types of l earni ng there are
essential differences between t hem, some of whi ch are very
subtle.
A n adult , real i zi ng he encounters i nherent difficulties
achi evi ng what others manage wi t h apparent ease, usually
feels something is wrong wi t h h i m. Parents and teachers al i ke
w i l l encourage such a person to make greater efforts, beli evi ng
t hat some form of laziness is i nhi bi t i ng the learni ng. Some-
times increased appli cati on does result i n a form of improve-
ment, but i t is not rare to find people who discover lat er i n li fe
that the changes were onl y superficial.
The number of adults who experience difficulties i n t hei r
social li fe, i.e. mari t al , professional, or body inadequacy, can
be estimated when we t h i nk of the number of methods and
29
30
techniques avai lable today to help such people. How many
practice Zen, meditation, psychoanalysis by several different
methods, psychodrama, biofeedback, hypnoti sm, dance t her-
apy, and so on. There must be something l i ke fifty or more
known therapies for people who do not feel medi cally i l l , but
are discontented wi t h t hei r sensations and performance. In al l
the methods we have to help people i n distress they do a
considerable amount of learni ng. So we have to understand
the different ki nds of learni ng before we can see the i mpor-
tance of yet another method created and used by me.
For human beings, learni ng, and especially organic l earn-
i ng, is a biological, not to say physiological, necessity. We
l earn to wal k, speak, sit on chai rs the Indi an way, the Japa-
nese way, read, wri t e, pai nt, play i nstruments, whi stle. We
have pract i cally no i nsti ncts for eati ng and dri nki ng, and we
li ve as much by our cul t ural and raci al envi ronment as by our
biology.
The nervous system of an embryo, a baby, a chi l d is wi red
i n, so to speak, through the senses, feelings, and ki nestheti c
sensations caused by the spat i al, temporal, filial, and soci al, as
wel l as cul t ural , environment. B ut , organic juveni le learni ng,
i nvol vi ng a complex structure and various associated func-
tions and t aki ng several years, cannot be wi thout errors and
fai lures i n perfection. Organi c l earni ng is i ndi vi dual , and
wi thout a teacher who is st ri vi ng for results wi t h i n a certai n
ti me, i t lasts as long as the learner keeps at i t .
Thi s organic learni ng is slow, and unconcerned wi t h any
judgment as to the achievement of good or bad results. It has
no obvious purpose or goal. It is guided only by the sensation
of satisfaction when each attempt feels less awkward as the
result of avoi di ng a former mi nor error whi ch felt unpleasant
or difficult. Pushed by parents or anyone to repeat any i ni t i al
success the learner may regress, and furt her progress can be
delayed by days, even weeks, or not occur at a l l .
Development of bodily structures coincides wi t h the
On Learni ng 31
learner' s attempt to function i n hi s environment. The baby
w i l l only continue rol l i ng from side to side as long as no ner-
vous structures l i nki ng the eyes, ears, and neck muscles have
matured sufficiently to make other movement possible. I am
not going to deviate from our immediate purpose by t al ki ng
about the ri peni ng of the pali dum for pri mi t i ve crawli ng, the
stri ated body, or the future development of the brai n for fur-
ther progress i n body movement.
The ri peni ng of the nervous structures and t hei r li nkage i n
patterns w i l l be affected by any of the body's attempts to func-
t i on, and vice versa. Learni ng may therefore progress to per-
fection, become deviated, or even regressed before the next
ri peni ng w i l l coincide wi t h another attempt at functi on. Ti me
presses on i n growth and anyt hi ng not attempted i n i ts own
t i me may remai n dormant for the rest of the learner' s li fe. I f
he has not learned to speak before a cert ai n ti me he w i l l never
speak wel l for the whole of hi s li fe. In organic learni ng there
is no appointed teacher, although the chi l d may l earn through
hi s mother by accepting or rejecting her example. He w i l l
choose different acts from different sources as i t happens to
please hi s senses.
Scholastic l earni ng wi t h teachers i n charge i s perhaps the
greatest human achievement and is the source of our suc-
cesses as social beings as wel l as some of our shortcomings.
The teacher knows what he i s teachi ng and where he leads hi s
students. The students know what they l earn and when they
have achieved the l earni ng to the teacher's satisfaction. Thei r
t rai ni ng i s strewn wi t h exercises designed to reach the desired
goal to the teachers satisfaction. We can l earn medicine, engi-
neering, law, and si mi l ar subjects t hi s way.
Such l earni ng has a prescribed curri cul um whi ch the group
has to go through by the end of an allotted period. A few
i ndi vi duals w i l l be successful wi t h a l l the teachers. These are
the students at hi gh schools and uni versi ti es whose organic
l earni ng was good enough. Some w i l l never make i t and w i l l
remai n at the bottom of the class, whi lst others w i l l achieve
a modicum of learni ng sufficient not to be rejected for the next
class at the beginning of the followi ng year. It goes wi thout
sayi ng t hat t hi s description does not give due credit to those
teachers i n each generation to whom we owe most of our
progress. We owe to t hem also some of the best human beings
i n the past and i n the present.
Scholastic practice is responsible for parents beliefs, and
understanding of learni ng. It seems that well-meani ng par-
ents interfere wi t h organic learni ng to the point that many
therapies trace the real start and development of most dys-
functions back to the parents. These findings are so general
that one would t hi nk we would be better off i f we never had
parents at a l l . Orphans fare even worse; they are reared by
people who have the same attitude as the parents about what
is correct, but care less. They t hi nk wi llpower is the real way
to achieve correct functi oni ng, and consider that repeated at-
tempts w i l l ensure excellency. In fact, exerci si ng for the cor-
rect final state only produces f ami l i ari t y and makes any errors
habi t ual. The person who feels dysfunction is helpless. He
tri es to do the correct t hi ng, knows that he fails, and is con-
vinced that something is fundamentally wrong wi t h h i m.
When we consider music, pai nt i ng, wri t i ng, t hi nki ng, feeling,
or lovi ng, we are i ncli ned to believe that Beethoven, Bach,
Picasso, Mi chelangelo, Tolstoy, Joyce, Wi ttgenstei n, Ei nst ei n,
Di rac, or Dante used t hei r own personal ways and methods
rat her t han what had been taught to them and was thought
correct.
Teachers i n front of classes of students rely on words to
make t hei r pupi ls understand and grasp the subject. Thi s
seems the unavoidable method of i nst ruct i on but i t does not
mean t hat there are no serious drawbacks i n the system. The
laws of nature as taught now have become so habi t ual i n our
t hi nki ng that we do not stop to consider what they act ually
mean. Science does not discover the laws of nature but rat her
On Learni ng 33
the laws of human nature. Discovery of how our brai n func-
tions may take many centuries yet just because we look out-
side for its manifestations. Take the example of a t ri angle,
whi ch is one of the simplest geometrical figures. Everyt hi ng
we know about tri angles from before Eucl i d and unt i l today
i s act ually contained i n the simple figure we can draw outside
of ourselves on a piece of paper; but, bisectors, perpendiculars,
medians, inscribed circles, and ci rcumscri bed circles, the area,
and the different shapes of tri angles are the product of our
brai n and are not the laws of the t ri angle drawn there on the
paper. It was either P ascal or Descartes who, by the age of
t hi rt een, had completed hi s understandi ng of geometry and
rediscovered what we know of i t wi thout havi ng discovered
any laws of nature except those of hi s own t hi nki ng. It takes
something l i ke t h i r t y to forty years to become f ami l i ar wi t h
any " l aw " of importance, whi ch is any thought of real ori gi nal -
i t y, such as the periodic table of Mendeleev, color photogra-
phy, relat i vi t y, and the double spi ral i n genetics; by then,
appreciation of i ts significance and clearer understandi ng of
i ts appli cati on may be possible. These thi ngs, of course, have
something "out t here" i n our envi ronment, and our brai ns
have been wi red i n from i ncepti on unt i l t hi s very moment by
the outside i mpi ngi ng on t hem, through our senses. Wi t h no
senses at a l l , what sort of laws would there be i n the world
outside us? Our brai ns cannot functi on wi thout an ext ernal
world, wi thout muscles and bones whi ch are necessary only
because self-propulsion is fundamental to ani mal li fe.
The " nat ur al " numeri cal series from 1 to 2 to 3 to i nfi ni t y
is perhaps an even more convi nci ng example of how laws are
a study of the ways our brai ns functi on, as t hi s law i s clai med
to be found only i n "objective" reali t y. There are odd and even
numbers i n the series, and t hei r di st ri but i on is peculi ar. There
are primes, and t hei r di st ri but i on is s t i l l different. Al so, there
are Pythagorean tri os; 3
2
+ 4
2
= 5
2
, since 9 + 16 = 25, etc.
There are i n the series enough laws to fill a t hi ck book. Now
where, i n the world outside us, is the series and i ts laws? The
series exists only when we wri t e i t down, or imagine i t , whi ch
is how our brai ns were wi red i n i n the first place. Obviously,
al l the laws of the nat ural series a*e the laws of function of the
brai n more t han anyt hi ng else. Organi c learni ng is li vely and
takes place when one is i n a good mood, and works at short
i nt ervals. The attitude is less serious, and the spells are more
errati c compared wi t h a day of academic l earni ng or study.
It may be good to t el l an anecdote here. A few years ago I
had the good fortune to be introduced to Margaret Mead by
Jean Houston and Bob Masters i n the Serendi pi ty Restaurant
i n New York. When we were Beated at our table, Margaret
Mead said she would first l i ke to ask a question to see i f my
answer rang a bel l wi t h her. Duri ng her anthropological stud-
ies, she had returned to the same i sland for more t han twenty
years, yet she had not been able to teach the i nhabi tants or
t hei r chi ldren cert ai n foot movementsa ki nd of hopping
from one foot to the other, i n spite of the fact that the people
were good hunters and fishermen. I was unable to give a pre-
cise answer wi thout knowi ng a l i t t l e more about the move-
ment, but I told her, i n my view the fault or interference most
probably arose from an i nhi bi t i on or taboo affecting crawli ng
i n early childhood. She exclaimed she believed that I was on
the ri ght track. She t hen told me that the people of that i sland
do not allow thei r babies to touch the ground on a l l fours for
fear that they w i l l grow besti al. C rawl i ng is therefore el i mi -
nated altogether. That meeting was the start of a friendship
whi ch lasted unt i l her death.
A person revi ewi ng hi s organic l earni ng i n order to assess
the parts that have mat ured to the f ul l extent of hi s genetic
endowments must remember that there are few i nt ellect ual
processes i n whi ch t hi nki ng can be divorced from the aware-
ness of being awake. Bei ng awake means that we know
whether we are standi ng, si t t i ng, or l yi ng. It means that we
know how we are oriented relati ve to gravi t y. When t hi nki ng
On Learni ng 35
i n words, even subl i mi nal l y, we are logi cal and t h i nk i n f ami l -
i ar patterns, i n categories that we have thought, dreamed,
read, heard, or said sometime before. Learni ng to t hi nk i n
patterns of relati onshi ps, i n sensations divorced from the
fixity of words, allows us to find hi dden resources and the
abi l i t y to make new patterns, to carry over patterns of rel a-
ti onshi p from one di sci pli ne to another. I n short, we t h i nk
personally, ori gi nally, and thus take another route to the
t hi ng we already know.
To my mi nd, learni ng t hat allows further growth of the
structures and t hei r functi oni ng is the one that leads to new
and different ways of doing things I already know how to do.
Thi s ki nd of l earni ng increases my abi l i t y to choose more
freely. H avi ng only a single mode of acti on means my choice
is l i mi t ed to si mply acti ng or not acti ng.
Thi s may not be as simple as i t sounds. We a l l t ur n our
heads to the ri ght i f we i nt end to look to the ri ght , and our
shoulders w i l l also parti ci pate i n the t wi st i ng to the ri ght .
Looked at from the point of vi ew of organic l earni ng, moving
the head, the eyes, and the shoulders i n the same di recti on is
the most pri mi t i ve, simplest mode of action learned i n early
childhood. The nervous system is capable of other patterns of
movement, say the eyes to the left whi le the head and shoul-
ders go to the ri ght . There are act ually si x different possi bi li -
ties. Tr y any one of them whi ch is not f ami l i ar to you. Go very,
very slowly so that you can reali ze where you move head, eyes,
and shoulders whi le "di fferent i at i ng" t hem from the only pat-
t ern you know. What for? Just see what happens to you when
you have succeeded i n a novel pat t ern a few times and have
made i t more or less as fluent as the f ami l i ar one. You w i l l feel
t aller, li ght er, you w i l l breathe better and have a sense of
euphori a whi ch you may never have known before. Your en-
t i re i nt ent i onal cortex w i l l work wi t h such a quali t y of self-
di recti on as you always felt i t could.
Imagine now that you l earn to differentiate and repattern
most of yourself, that i s, most of your act i vi t y. Your i nt en-
t i onal cortex w i l l lose a l l the compulsive patterns wi t h no
alternatives and you w i l l find yourself act ually acti ng i n many
new ways. To faci li tate your task, sit or even li e to begin wi t h.
When the pressure di stri buti on on the soles of the feet is
removed, as when l yi ng, the i nt ent i onal cortex i s freed from
the standi ng pattern a l l t hrough the body. Thi s may be the
first ti me i n your li fe that new alternati ve patterns can be
formed i n the cortex connections and affect the performance
of your self.
Thi s ki nd of learni ng, such as you w i l l achieve i f you t ry and
follow me is also the ki nd of l earni ng produced by Awareness
through Movement lessons where the accent is put not on
whi ch movement you deal wi t h but on how you direct yourself
doing i t .
Consider such a smal l t hi ng as the abi l i t y to differentiate
the movement of the t hi rd finger i n both handsthe annul ar
fingers whi ch seem of no importance at a l l . Wel l , humani t y is
divided by thi s i nto two groups: those who can play or make
music and those who can only buy tickets to concerts, or hi -fi
equipment. For we can li ve a " nor mal " li fe wi t h annulars
part i ci pat i ng i n the movements of the neighboring medius
and auri culars. But the fiddle, the flute, the piano and most
other i nstruments demand the independent movement of the
annulars and t hat they should have the same degree of diffe-
rent i at i on as the index finger or thumb. Thi s is a smal l exam-
ple of what amazing potenti al can be discovered i n everyone
i f structures and patterns of functions are dealt wi t h methodi-
cally i n t hi s way. To master such ski l l s is not easy, but educa-
t i on and learni ng could undergo a quali tati ve change by
populari zi ng a system such as t hi s.
Differentiation is a word, and a difficult one at that. The
importance of such an acti on is that i t increases the number
of choices avai lable for what we already know one way of
doing. When no alternatives are avai lable, we may be wel l i f
On Learni ng 37
we are lucky. But i f we are not, we w i l l feel apprehension,
doubt, even anxi ety from t i me to ti me. When there is no choice
of choices, we feel t hat we cannot change even though we
know that we engender our own mi sery. We t hi nk, " I am no
good. I cannot do otherwise because I am l i ke t hat . "
A wide vari et y of choices enables us to act differently and
appropri ately i n si mi l ar but different si tuati ons. Our re-
sponses may be stereotyped but fit the t errai n. We can use
ourselves to better our lives. We cannot functi on sati sfactori ly
i f our t hi nki ng, senses, and feelings do not affect our acts or
responses. Therefore your acts and responses must contai n,
even i n your expectation or i magi nat i on, feelings of satisfac-
t i on, and pleasurable achievement or outcome. Thi s makes
therapies effective. B y the end of t hi s book, you w i l l have at
least some means t hat you can use yourself.
S u m m a r y
Humans have the most complex central nervous system
(CNS) of al l mammals. A l l nervous systems are bui l t for l earn-
i ng phylogenetically, as i n more pri mi t i ve creatures. The
human C NS is the best structure on eart h for i ndi vi dual (onto-
genetic) l earni ng. The ext ernal world affects our senses and
our brai ns. So much so that i f we are born i nt o an environment
wi t h any one of the three thousand languages, our brai ns w i l l
be so organized that we l earn and know only that one l an-
guage. Our ears, mouths, and everythi ng else w i l l be formed
to speak that language as i t is spoken i n that environment.
BIOLOGICAL
ASPE CT S
OF POSTURE
S t a b i l i t y i s n i c e. I t a l s o m ea n s d i f f i c u l t y t o i n i t i a t e m o v em en t
a s w e l l a s d i f f i c u l t y t o b e m o v ed . A b o x er o n t h e g r o u n d i s s a v e d
o n l y b y t he r u l e n o t t o b e d es t r o yed b ef o r e h e i s u n s t a b l e a g a i n .
H e w i l l t h e n b e a b l e t o m o v e t o a t t a c k a n d m o v e t o a v o i d b ei n g
k n o c k e d d o w n a g a i n . S t a b i l i t y ( w hen o n e i s p r o t e c t e d ) i n c r ea s es
t h e f e e l i n g o f s a f et y. I n s t a b i l i t y m ea n s r i s k b u t ea s y m o b i l i t y.
B o t h a r e b i o l o g i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t B e c o m i n g a d d i c t e d t o o n e o f
t h e m m a k es o n e u n s a f e f o r l a c k o f c ho i c e.
When we see one of the tremendous buildings i n the great
cities of the world, we do not usually t h i nk about i ts founda-
tions. We may also be surprised to find empty flats or apart-
ments i n a bui ldi ng that looks l i ke a busy hi ve most of the
t i me. But i f a strong earthquake shakes the ci t y, then the
foundations of the bui l di ng t hat grew to be a skyscraper w i l l
decide whether or not i t w i l l stand and be repai rable, or w i l l
collapse beyond recovery. We began wi t h a static structure,
and i n normal times we are concerned only wi t h how the
bui ldi ng can be used. When we have to consider dynamic bal -
ance or equi li bri um under stress or t rauma, then a l l these
things become ent i rely different. It becomes i mportant to
know the depth, materi als, and quali t y of the foundations, and
the design and method of construction of the superstructure.
We relate to human beings much as we do to static buildings
so long as they stand up. Provi ded they function and do not
39
complai n more t han is good for t hem and t hei r society, then
we do not t hi nk about how they are bui l t and of what. We are
not interested to know how they grew to be what they are. It
matters l i t t l e to t hei r fellow men what sort of shocks they are
able to take just to be shaken, compared wi t h what w i l l de-
stroy t hem beyond repai r. It obviously depends on the s ki l l ,
experience, and i ngenui ty of the st ruct ural engineer as to
whi ch bui ldi ng w i l l be repaired and whi ch w i l l be condemned.
In human beings, l i ke i n a l l l i vi ng thi ngs, there is recovery
from smal l shocks, i njuri es, and mishaps. When a person is
shaken and the usual mysterious process of heali ng does not
bri ng the person back to normal functi oni ng, he is not con-
demned but he is helped back to recovery. A n almost i ncred-
ible number of helpers w i l l deal wi t h one pai n and i ts locali za-
t i on, a l l of t hem oblivious t hat an i ndi vi dual , a human being,
is i n trouble. A n example out of my own experience may make
i t clearer. A woman i n her sixties complained of persistent
acute pai n i n her lower abdomen above her pubis. She went
to her general practi ti oner who ordered X - ray pictures and
analysis of her blood and uri ne and a l l the usual thi ngs that
a good conscientious doctor does. In the end he told her that
he could find not hi ng wrong wi t h her. Of course, her state of
healt h was not what i t was when she was twenty. However,
considering her present age he could prescribe pai n- ki l l i ng
pi l l s, but the pai n would probably improve by itself. The pai n
persisted and she returned to her doctor who t hen suggested
that she see a gynecologist. The same procedure of exami na-
t i on, X ray, tests, occurred a l l over agai n and the same, " I can
see nothi ng real l y wrong, but of course, you are not the same
as when you were young." She pleaded that she could not sleep
and that she found i t hard to work, so i t was decided that
maybe an orthopedist should examine her pelvi c and l umbar
structures. The orthopedist, i n hi s t ur n, repeated the X ray
and the exami nati on, and di d everythi ng a good conscientious
orthopedist would do. No need now to t el l you the f ami l i ar
Bi ologi cal Aspects of Posture 41
story agai n. H e answered her complaints by advi si ng a neuro-
logi cal exami nat i on, and t hi s was done, wi t h a repeti ti on of
the now rat her bori ng, but i nevi table result. To the poor lady's
complaint that she had suffered for over eight months and
could not attend to her dai ly duties, the neurologist advised
her to consult a psychi atri st as a l l the other experts, i ncludi ng
himself, could find no organic reason for her pains.
It t urned out that whi le she was i n a concentration camp i n
Germany duri ng the Second Worl d War, she had lost a chi l d.
When she was li berated at the age of ni neteen, she knew of no
way of earni ng her li veli hood, and was nursed by the French
after a nervous breakdown, before reachi ng a ki bbutz i n Is-
rael. Wi t h i n a few years she remarri ed, only to agai n lose both
her husband and son i n the last Israeli war. She was a person
of extraordi nary vi t al i t y, strengthened and matured by her
suffering, yet because she could no longer give bi rt h , she felt
she was unfit to start li fe for the t h i rd t i me. Between us we
discovered t hat she felt her pai n i n the part of her body whi ch
had caused her the most suffering.
The poi nt I wi sh to make is that each of the people she
turned to treated only the one part of the woman that both-
ered her, and none of t hem dealt wi t h her as a person. The
psychi atri st mi ght have achieved a l i t t l e more but he would
not have known whether or not there was an organic reason.
The woman was frightened by the i dea of a psychi atri st, feel-
i ng t hat her sani ty was doubted. I w i l l , once you are i n a
position to follow the bi zarreri es of my understandi ng of our
common lot, t el l you how she recovered from her pains. I f you
remember the danci ng i dea you may guess i n pri nci ple how i t
was done.
We are not a stati c bui l di ng and to restore the good functi on-
i ng of a human being is a much more delicate matter, neces-
si t at i ng more fundamental knowledge of how we grow to func-
ti on as we do, and greater i nformat i on and i nsi ght to
understand what the person hi msel f does not. Af t er a l l , he is
a person l i ke you and me. How is i t that he is not conscious
of the dynamics of his li fe, but rat her sees hi mself as a ki nd
of l i vi ng machine that keeps on t ryi ng so long as there is
vi t al i t y i n i t . In other words, hi s vi t al i t y is gone when he stops
t i cki ng. Thi s is really not an explanati on. It seems quite obvi-
ous that li fe is not static. It is a process conti nui ng i n ti me
from the begi nni ng and moving forwards to a future wi thout
l i mi t . Everybody probably knows that li fe i s a process, but not
everybody knows that static equi li bri um is not applicable to
a process. When a static structure is knocked down the struc-
ture stays down. A l i vi ng body, however, movi ng or i nert ,
shows unexpected modes of reacting to bei ng knocked down.
Systems made up of a great number of more elementary
systems, or organisms made up of smaller l i vi ng organisms
are not t hrown out of functi oni ng just by bei ng knocked about
or down. They are ruled by laws t hat we have introduced or
discovered. These laws govern large systems, l i vi ng organ-
isms, species, ci vi li zati ons, and the l i ke.
Let us look a l i t t l e closer at what we know about dynami c
equi li bri um, or better, equi l i bri um of large systems i n whi ch
act i vi t y and movement are the rule. A human being wi t h a
number of i ndi vi dual l i vi ng cells, 2
5 8
, is large even i n astro-
nomi cal terms, and qualifies to be considered a large system.
The steel i ndust ry, ICI, and the P h i l l i ps of t hi s world are large
systems. A human bei ng breaki ng a leg or an arm is only
thrown a l i t t l e back, he regresses to an i nferi or state of acti v-
i t y but is only knocked about. H e w i l l recover and most of the
t i me w i l l be able to continue developing. In a large system
such as the ones we have mentioned, i f a whole plant is de-
stroyed the system w i l l be thrown a l i t t l e back, but w i l l re-
cover to continue i ts development. In dynami c equi li bri um,
the question is not standi ng or fal l i ng but how large is the
shock that the system can receive before recovery of develop-
ment becomes impossible. The greater the number of smaller
systems that make up the large one, the greater is the l i ke l i -
hood of recovery and survi val .
Bi ologi cal Aspects of Posture
43
Le Chat eli er, the great chemist, studied the problems of
dynami c equi li bri um of large systems. He showed t hat when
such an equi li bri um is disturbed there arise forces i n the sys-
tem itself, and not from outside, to restore i t to normali t y. In
human beings when there is a disturbance of equi l i bri um, say
a temperature ri se or a poisoning or an i nfecti on, i nt ernal
forces w i l l arise to restore the normal level of functi oni ng, or
homeostasis.
H uman posture, i n spite of the i mpli cati ons of the static
"post i ng", is a dynami c equi l i bri um. A posture is good i f i t can
regai n equi l i bri um after a large disturbance. Take an empty
bottle by the neck and deviate i t slowly away from the vert i cal
to the poi nt where you can feel t hat when left alone the bot-
tle's first tendency w i l l be to move back to the upri ght position.
The bottle, when released, w i l l oscillate several times before
fri ct i on w i l l reduce the consecutive oscillations to n i l and i t
w i l l ret urn to stati c equi l i bri um as i t was before the di st ur-
bance. Thi s is the simplest tangible example of i nt ernal forces
ari si ng i n the movi ng, or dynami c equi li bri um, to restore equi-
l i bri um. The example is somewhat of an oversi mpli fi cati on,
for here the oscillations of the potenti al energy i nt o ki net i c
and vice versa are the result of your devi ati ng the bottle and
of gravi t at i on and are therefore not st ri ct ly i nt ernal forces
ari si ng i n large systems.
H uman upri ght standi ng, loosely referred to as posture, is
not governed by the laws of static equi li bri um. A n unre-
strai ned statue of a man or a woman, heavy as i t may look,
would topple over i n a strong storm. Usual l y statues of h u-
mans have long rods under t hei r feet whi ch are imbedded i n
the support or pedestal and rooted to the stone wi t h molten
lead. The heavy head and t runk are at the top maki ng the
center of gravi t y rat her hi gh for good st abi li t y. The volume
where the center of gravi t y is i n our body is i n the region of
the t h i rd lumbar vertebra and is thus nearly four feet hi gh.
The center of gravi t y of changi ng configurations of a body is
not a fixed point i n the body.
It is more difficult to stand t han to move. Young soldiers
standing to attenti on on parade sometimes f al l unconscious
after prolonged i mmobi li t y. Babies step preci pi tately forward
long before they can stand wi thout moving. We w i l l have to
ret urn to the dynamics of human posture, as our nervous
system, havi ng evolved together wi t h our skeleton and mus-
cles i n our gravi t at i onal field, is structured to deal wi t h the
dynamics of an erect body wi t h a very hi gh center of gravi ty.
I would say that our nervous system, as wel l as our body,
works to restore equi li bri um rat her t han to keep i t . The struc-
ture and the function of the nervous system provide the pri nci -
ples and the means to guide us to efficient use of ourselves.
Thi s is essential i f we are to l earn to functi on i n harmony
wi t h ourselves. Harmoni ous efficient movement prevents
wear and tear. More i mportant, however, is what i t does to
the image of ourselves and our relati onshi p to the world
around us.
I have discovered, through personal experience, a phenome-
non whi ch is now one of the foundations of my teaching. I
believe that I have already mentioned that I badly i njured a
knee whi le playi ng soccer football i n my younger years. It was
a severe i nj ury and I was incapacitated for many months. The
healthy leg had to work overtime and lost much of i ts former
flexibility and nimbleness. One day I slipped on an oi ly patch
on the pavement whi l e hoppi ng on the only leg that func-
tioned. I felt my knee nearly sprai ni ng but i t finally slipped
back i nto position. I hopped home. I t hen had to cli mb two
flights of stai rs and at the end of i t was glad to li e down.
Gradual l y I felt my good leg stiffen and t hi cken wi t h synovi al
waters. My ori gi nal i njured knee was s t i l l strongly bandaged
and sufficiently pai nful to prevent me standi ng on the foot. I
hopped around, therefore, on the leg whi ch I had nearly
sprained, t hi nki ng that probably I would soon not be upri ght
at a l l , and would have to stay i n bed. I fel l asleep wi t h a heavy
heart.
45
When I woke up and t ri ed to see whether I could manage to
reach the bathroom wi thout help, I was surpri sed to find t hat
I could act ually stand on the foot whi ch I had been unable to
use since the ori gi nal troubles. The t rauma of the good knee
had somehow made the i njured leg more usable t han before;
i n fact, had i t been as good as i t was then I would not have had
to hop. I thought t hat I mi ght be t urni ng insane. How could
a leg wi t h a knee that had prevented me standi ng on i t for
several months suddenly become usable and nearly painless?
Thi s happened, moreover, when the quadriceps of the leg had
nearly vani shed, as is usual i n severe i nj ury of the meniscus,
and the t hi gh was vi si bly t hi nner. It seemed to me t hat the
vanished quadriceps had become suddenly toneful enough to
allow me to stand on the foot. I had not heard of such a mi racu-
lous change i n an i njured knee when physi cal anatomi cal
abnormalities were clearly to be seen on the X - ray pictures.
Cold sweat covered my face and I di d not know whether I was
awake or dreami ng. I held onto the furni t ure and t ri ed to
move. There was no doubt. I put my weight on the bad leg
whi le the one on whi ch I had been hopping became auxi l i ary.
The old i njured leg would not strai ghten completely* and I
leaned on the toes rat her t han the heel, but there was no doubt
that i t supported the bul k of my weight.
For fear of ri di cule I spoke to nobody, and remai ned unsure
of what had happened. I was convinced there was something
mentally wrong wi t h me, as the heali ng of the knee i n hours
was unt hi nkable, and yet the mi shap to the good knee had
improved the sick one. Many years lat er, on readi ng Professor
Speransky's book A B a s i s f o r t h e T heo r y o f M e d i c i n e i t
dawned on me t hat changes l i ke the one I had experienced can^
be understood only by referri ng to the nervous system. I had
thought so myself but di d not dare to say or act upon such an
insane idea. Inhi bi t i on of one part of the motor cortex can
alter the neighboring symmet ri cal point even to exci tati on, or
reduce i ts i nhi bi t i on. Pavlov mai nt ai ned that a point of exci ta-
46
t i on on the cortex is of necessity surrounded by a zone of
i nhi bi t i on. A t the ti me of the i njuri es i t seemed to me a wi l d
idea to even consider i t possible to effect a change i n an
anotomical structure through an alt erat i on i n the functi oni ng
of the brai n, whi ch involves negligible energy, compared wi t h
one i n the skeleton. Lat er I gathered stories of many si mi l ar
happenings wi t h other people. I asked Dr. Spi tz, a senior den-
ti st who taught a generation of orthodontists, whether she had
ever found that a patient complai ni ng of an infected tooth on
one side of the jaw could only chew agai n on that side suddenly
after a t raumat i c accident to the other side. She remembered
three cases i n her long career, but she admitted she never
mentioned them to anyone else, but rat her t ri ed to forget
t hem as she could find no rat i onal explanati on. In hemi -
plegias, the other side shows increased tonus almost at the
same ti me as the quadriceps on the paralyzed leg begins to
vani sh and the leg becomes t hi nner. Professor Speransky be-
came Di rector of the Pavlov Institute after Pavlov' s death and
he gathered from medical doctors al l over Russi a stories of
si mi l ar phenomena to the ones he observed himself. Af t er an
injection made on one arm there appeared at the correspond-
i ng point on the other arm changes whi ch were the i nverted
picture of the injection and the oedema around i t . H e found no
explanati on possible outside of one i nvolvi ng the nervous sys-
tem.
I had the pri vi lege of K a r l H . P ri bram' s frequent presence
at my San Franci sco course, and on one occasion when he was
answeri ng questions from the audience, I asked h i m i f he
knew of any explanati on for my observation that touching
repeatedly the inside of the ear produced a sensation of
warmt h i n the corresponding hand and foot. Di l at at i on of the
capi llari es and increased blood supply are governed by the
autonomic nervous system and there is none, so far as I know,
i n the ear. Professor P ri bram, who was a brai n surgeon at the
beginning of hi s i llust ri ous scientific career, told us that he
had had. a case of brai n surgery i n the region of the ear and
whi le operating he had noticed perspi rati on around the li ps of
his patient. He later carri ed out some research to elucidate
how t hi s could be, as there are no autonomic, sympathetic or
parasympathetic i nnervati ons known i n the region, of the ear.
He published a paper twenty-five years ago whi ch answered
my questions.
We need a more i magi nati ve scientific approach to under-
stand the whole i nterrelated functions of a l l aspects of our-,
selves, rat her t han just being content wi t h some i dea of local-
ized function. It is a very complex problem and we must
prepare for more t han one surpri se before we have the founda-
tions even on whi ch to construct a bui l di ng of knowledge, and
clear understanding.
We are now ready for a closer look at posture. A l l ani mals
have a way of usi ng themselves i n the field of gravi t at i on, but
these movements are first exploratory and t hen i n acti on they
appear to be alert but also attentive. Usi ng oneself is first of
al l di splaci ng oneself, whi ch is usually performed by alt eri ng
the configuration of the body. Between one displacement and
the next there is always a moment where the body i s, pract i -
cally speaking, not changing position significantly. Thi s mo-
ment of relati ve i mmobi li t y is characteri sti c for each species,
i ncludi ng man: i t is the specific characteristic of a given body.
Whatever displacement there is of the whole body, or any
more stati onary changes of configuration of its parts, the ani -
mal must pass through the point of pract i cal i mmobi li t y. Thi s
point is the animaTs posture.
A n ani mal' s posture can be li kened to the "post ure" of a
movi ng or osci llati ng pendulum. Whatever the osci llati on i s,
large or smal l , the pendulum always passes through the posi-
t i on of i mmobi li t y, whi ch we can agai n consider as posture. No
osci llati on can start from any configuration other t han the
vert i cal , and wi t h each osci llati on i t passes through i ts "pos-
t ure" configuration.
Thi s analogy needs an i mportant correction whi ch w i l l be
forthcoming. We can look at the matter another way. A l l
species of ani mals have a characteri sti c form of posture, whi ch
usually we t hi nk of as standi ng, although dynami cally t hi s is
the configuration of the body from whi ch any act is made.
Before l yi ng, runni ng, svrimming, copulating, or whatever act,
{he ani mal returns to the standi ng posture. And i n most ac-
t i vi t i es, the ani mal passes t hrough i ts standi ng configuration
before finally recovering i t . When we si t, we get there from
r canding. When we l i f t , throw, j ump, swi m, or do anyt hi ng, we
i t ar t and finish by standi ng. I f we consider the trajectory of
the center of gravi t y between acts, i t w i l l of necessity, pass
t hrough the point where i t is i n standing. It w i l l start from
that locali zati on i n the trajectory and w i l l ret urn there once
the act i vi t y ceases. I consider, therefore, posture to be that
part of the trajectory of a movi ng body from whi ch any dis-
placement w i l l , of necessity, start and finish. Thi s is consider-
i ng posture dynami cally, or from the view point of movement
whi ch is the most general characteristic of li fe. It is static
i mmobi li t y, i n the same place and i n the same configuration,
whi ch generally either endangers or ends li fe. A dead ani mal
abandons its characteristic posture and becomes a static confi-
gurati on wi t h l i t t l e importance to li fe.
The essential correction to the pendulum analogy is that the
pendulum is normally at i ts lowest possible position, just as
the dead ani mal is. A " l i v e " pendulum, just l i ke a li ve ani mal ,
has i ts center of gravi t y at the highest possible position whi ch
is i ts characteristic start or finish of any displacement of itself.
A n i nverted pendulum, say a sphere at the top of a stick, is
what I cal l a " l i v e " pendulum and makes the analogy closer
since the center of gravi t y is then at i ts highest possible level
when such a pendulum i s stati onary. Thi s is possible, but i t i s
as difficult as standi ng absolutely motionless.
The mai n differences between vegetation, whi ch i s also
ali ve, and ani mal li fe, are modes of reproduction, modes of
49
nourishment, and modes of self-preservation. A l l these func-
tions are achieved i n ani mals wi t h movement and changes of
position, i n short, self-direction, whi le vegetation is compara-
t i vely i mmobi le and st at i cally rooted i n the eart h.
No ani mal can reproduce wi thout mat i ng, and both finding
a mate and mat i ng need movement for t hem to occur at a l l .
Trees need no displacement of t hei r bul k for si mi l ar results,
although some movement must happen, even i n vegetation,
for reproduction to occur. The real difference is t hat i n ani -
mals everyt hi ng is largely dynami c and active, whi le vegeta-
t i on is largely static, motionless, and passive.
Even fault y movement, the begi nni ng and end of whi ch is
st i l l the characteri sti c posture of an ani mal , is not very com-
plex and not very cri t i cal for reproduction. Crippled men and
women, even demented ones, are capable of movi ng suffi-
ci ently for reproduction. The ti me problem also is not cri t i cal
for t hem since i t is a question of months and almost any
posture is good enough. Note, by the way, how laborious
speech i s, for i f you read the last few paragraphs you w i l l
appreciate that I have avoided some of the very usual ways of
sayi ng what I meant. The world is not just black and whi te,
but rat her i t has a l l possible shades of grey. It is easier to
understand one another when we are friends, and have estab-
li shed a common meani ng of words, t han to speak precisely
enough to be understood by those who do not wi sh to be led up
the garden path.
Taki ng nourishment is much more stringent and cri t i cal ,
both i n ani mals and vegetation. Onl y camels can, I believe,
survi ve a fortni ght wi thout water at al l . I have not checked the
t rut h of t hi s statement, only heari ng i t as commonplace
knowledge from Bedouins to whom the camel is almost as
i mportant as themselves. If ai r is t aken as nouri shment,
whi ch i n fact i t is, then i t is obviously a very cri t i cal matter,
and i t is a question of mi nutes whether or not we survi ve.
Taki ng i n water, and then losi ng i t through our breat h and
50
sweat l i mi t survi val to a few days, except, maybe, for the
camel and for some insects. V ery few l i vi ng things can exist
more t han a week wi thout water. Food, i n general, is a much
less cri t i cal matter t han ai r or water. In short, ai r, water, and
even food are far more i mportant for the survi val of i ndi vi du-
als t han reproduction. The stuff that has to be t aken i n l i mi t s
the existence of any ani mal to a few mi nutes, a few days, or
just over a week or so. You can t h i nk for yourself about the
survi val of vegetation wi thout moisture. Th i nk of desert vege-
t at i on and of the effect of heat and frost on vegetation and on
a l l l i vi ng and movi ng ani mals and man.
Movement of the i ndi vi dual i s, as regards temperature and
nouri shment, much more cri t i cal t han reproduction i n opti -
mum conditions. However, li fe is l i mi t ed by the lowest factor
that w i l l compromise survi val . The lowest span of survi val i n
matters of ai r, water, temperature, and nouri shment is s t i l l
measured i n minutes or i n days. Thi s l i mi t becomes also the
l i mi t of the reproductive functi on. In survi val i t is the lowest
value that counts. Posture, as the configuration of the passage
between the begi nni ng and the end of any movement, is much
more cri t i cal here t han i n reproduction. Healt hy, mobile,
alert, well-organized men and ani mals have a much better
chance of survi val t han cri ppled or demented ones.
The t h i rd biological cri t eri on of posture, as we have sai d, is
self-preservation. Thi s self-preservation aspect of posture is
the most cri t i cal , and i t may l i mi t survi val to a fracti on of a
second, or a few seconds i n the l ucky cases. As self-preserva-
t i on is the most stringent measure of good movement, and
good posture is a part i cular instance of good movement, i t may
help us to describe posture more accurately. Our hunt i ng
ancestors of only ten to fifteen thousand years ago so perfected
thei r movement, and thus also t hei r posture, that wi thout
claws or canines, wi thout horns or hooves but just by sheer
ni mble and ski lled movement, they enabled t hei r descendants
to become the rulers of the enti re ani mal world. Wherever a
group of humans settled, li ons, snakes, boars, elephantsthe
fittest, strongest, heaviest ani mal sal l had to recede, retreat,
or peri sh because they were no match for the most precari -
ously balanced and weakest of t hem a l l , the human hunter. To
achieve the great vari et y of movement, the abi l i t y to hal t , to
change, or to continue, a fast brai n had to develop apace. It is
the i nherent weakness of the human frame whi ch cert ai nly
had something to do wi t h humans getting together and devel-
oping t ri bal habits and clan li fe.
H uman posture, at i ts best, is capable of such a wide range
of movements t hat i t makes man the ki ng of the ani mal world,
rat her t han the l i on as we are taught i n childhood. We have
already seen that i n man the center of gravi t y is very hi gh
because of the height of the head, shoulders, and the two arms.
Thi s structure can move easi ly only i f i t is used dynami cally,
and here agai n note the i nherent difficulty of language and
speech, for every movement is dynami c. To make the differ-
ence between dynami c and static use of yourself sensible to
you, t hi nk of the st abi li t y of a body wi t h a very low center of
gravi ty. A n object that has the bul k of the mass near the
ground has to be pri med wi t h some form of power or energy
before i t can l i f t i t self and rise whi l e di splaci ng itself: i t is
i nherent ly slow to start any movement and i t has to have
enough energy suppli ed before i t can move. A hydroplane is
such a body and is l i ke any aeroplane wi t h landi ng wheels
projecting from i ts belly. Such bodies are static i n essence and
they have to gather momentum after the supply of energy is
switched on. The start is both clumsy and slow because of t hei r
structure.
When ri si ng, the human body produces and stores energy,
and on getting up to stand i t raises its center of gravi t y to the
highest level compatible wi t h i ts structure. The human body
normally stores i n i t self potenti al energy to start, i n the gravi -
t at i onal field, any five of the si x cardi nal movements i n space.
To move down, ri ght , left, forward, and backward i t need only
52
let go, for the energy has been stored by ri si ng and w i l l be
transformed i nto ki net i c energy by t aki ng off the brakes, so to
speak. The start of the movement i s as fast as the i nt ent i on to
move, or i n other words as fast as the i ntenti ons of the cortex
or motor cortex.
One can see that human posture obeys the laws of dynamics
even when motionless whi ch i s, thus, a part i cul ar point on the
trajectory of movements. One can stop moving, continue i n the
ori gi nal di recti on, or change to any other di recti on. A st at i -
cally balanced (low center of gravi ty) body, when i nt endi ng to
move, has already too much i nert i a to overcome to be able to
change di recti on.
Nervous conduction and muscular contracti on work on the
dynami c pri nci ple. They do not wai t for energy to be switched
on and supplied before they start. The nerve has energy stored
for conduction and t hi s energy is replenished afterwards
ready for the next fire. Muscul ar fibres contract and after-
wards refi ll wi t h energy to be ready to contract agai n when
triggered pract i cally instantaneously, but not, of course, abso-
lut ely so.
H uman posture has other advantages over that of ani mals.
One, recognized long ago, is the li berat i on of the arms from
weight-bearing. Thi s, together wi t h the swiftness of our brai n,
made the specially human power of mani pulat i on a reali t y.
Ant hropoi d apes have arms, hands, and muscles almost the
same as man except for the thumbs whi ch are unable to do
what human thumbs can. The abi l i t y to oppose the t i p of the
thumb to the t i p of any other finger is part and parcel of our
mani pulati ve dexteri ty, and t hi s dexteri ty becomes staggering
when contemplated. We can see a virtuoso playi ng the piano
or performi ng on a vi ol i n wi t h fingers movi ng faster t han
when we close our eyes i n an emergency. To achieve the preci -
sion of a si xty-fourth of a second, or to produce a graded move-
ment i n strength is not often seen elsewhere.
The human posture i s not simple nor is i t easy to achieve.
It necessitates a long and demanding apprenticeship. The
l earni ng t hat each human bei ng has to go t hrough to achieve
the best quali t y of functi oni ng hi s structure permi ts is as re-
markable as anyt hi ng i n nat ure.
Let us just look at what human posture can lead to. It can
wal k on a wi re across Ni agara Fal l s, whi ch no cat can do even
when balanci ng a pole on i ts snout. It can pole-vault, figure-
skate, drum as a virtuoso, and bull-fight as a matador, who
delays movi ng out of the way of a rushi ng maddened bul l unt i l
the horns touch hi s red cape. It can ski -jump, juggle wi t h t en
objects i n the ai r as Rast eli di d, type three hundred words a
mi nut e, tap-dance, execute acrobatics on flying trapezes,
dance Spani sh flamencos, and become a wh i rl i ng dervi sh.
P earl divers can stay under deep water for up to five mi nutes,
and beam gymnasts l i ke the Olympi c gold-medalist can cli mb
a balanced ladder and perform a one-hand-stand at the top.
Then there is preci si on kni fe-throwi ng. H uman movement
and s ki l l are a challenge to anybody's i magi nat i on. Just t h i nk
of the s ki l l of mi crowatch-maki ng, screwing a screw that needs
a microscope to be seenwhat real finesse of movement! You
w i l l be able to extend t hi s not inconsiderable l i st for yourself.
None of these ski l l s is i nborn. A l l of t hem need learni ng.
How do we learn? What do we mean by learni ng? How is
human posture learned? In the very rare cases where a human
baby has been rai sed by ani mals outside human society, i t
walked on a l l fours l i ke an ape most of the t i me, and only
semi-erected i t sel f for short spells. Thi ngs learned can be half-
learned, and they can even be badly learned. Hence the great
vari et y of human postures whi ch are obviously not a l l as good,
one as the other. We have already mentioned that our brai n
evolved alongside the l earni ng of ski l l s and we w i l l ret urn to
t hi s lat er.
Posture and attitude are so closely interdependent that
most people complai n of t hei r posture whi le i nwardl y suspect-
i ng that there is something fundamentally wrong wi t h t hei r
54
makeup. They believe that i f they could have t hei r posture
"corrected," they would t hen change for t he better. I believe
that they are nearly ri ght , but not quite. Posture can only be
improved and not corrected. Onl y the concept of an i deal pos-
ture mi ght be considered correct, but such a posture can exist
only wi t h an i deal brai n and nervous system. Ideal models l i ke
t hi s do not exist i n reali t y. They can be approached more or
less, but only approached, and there are almost as many direc-
tions of approach as radi i i n a ci rcle.
S u m m a r y
When choice is reduced to only one movement or act wi t h -
out any alternati ves, anxi ety may be so great that we cannot
even do the only possible movement. P ut a ten-inch board on
the floor and walk on i t from one end to the other. Do so or just
imagine yourself doing i t vi sual l y or ki nestheti cally. Now, l i f t
the board to about t en feet above the floor. Support i t i n the
middle so that i t is as ri gi d as the floor. Get on i t and t ry to
walk to the other end. Do so or imagine yourself doing i t i n the
same way as i ndi cated before. Feel or see how you produce the
pattern of anxiety. Has anyt hi ng to do wi t h the pattern pro-
duced the fear of falli ng? Yet , some people have learned to
wal k over a precipice on a tree or on a beam. How would you
set about doing that?
T H E BODY PATTERN
OF A NXI E T Y
A n x i e t y c a n b e a p o s i t i v e , u s e f u l p h e n o m e n o n . I t a s s u r es o u r
s a f et y f r o m r i s k i n g w ha t w e f e e l w o u l d en d a n g er o u r v er y ex i s -
t en c e. A n x i e t y a p p ea r s w hen d eep i n o u r s e l v e s w e k n o w t h a t w e
h a v e n o o t h e r c h o i c e n o a l t e r n a t i v e w a y o f a c t i n g .
S t r a d d l e a b o a r d t en f e e t hi g h a n d , w i t h y o u r f e e t d a n g l i n g ,
s h o v e y o u r s e l f f r o m o n e e n d t o t h e o t h e r a s s i s t ed b y y o u r ha n d s
o n t h e b o a r d . N o a l t e r n a t i v e s t o p s y o u f r o m u s i n g y o u r c r e a t i v e
i m a g i n a t i o n , a s a n x i e t y m a i n t a i n s y o u r c h o i c e t o t he a n x i et y-
p r o d u c i n g a l t er n a t i v e.
We c a n n o t c ha n g e a t a l l . A C hi n es e w i l l n ev er c ha n g e t o b e
a n E s k i m o . B u t , t her e a r e c ha n g es t h a t o c c u r i n u s . L i f e i s
t i m e- b o u n d . I t i s a p r o c e s s o f a c t i n g w h i c h n eed s i n t e r n a l o r g a -
n i z a t i o n o f o n e s e l f t o m e e t a n d a f f ec t t h e e x t e r n a l c ha n g es . We
l ea r n t o o r g a n i z e o u r s el v es i n t e r n a l l y t o m e e t c h a l l e n g e s o r
c h a l l e n g e o t her s . O u r i n t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n b ec o m es f a u l t y o r
p o o r w i t h a n x i e t y a n d p r o d u c e s p o o r a n d f a u l t y m o v es a n d
p er f o r m s b a d l y. T he m o r e o u r i n t en t s a n d p er f o r m a n c es a r e
f i x ed , t he l es s t hey a r e ef f ec t i v e. L i f e i s a p r o c e s s o f t i m e, a n d
t i m e c a n n o t b e f i x ed .
Wi t ho u t l ea r n i n g t o k n o w o u r s el v es a s i n t i m a t el y a s w e p o s -
s i b l y c a n , w e l i m i t o u r c ho i c e. L i f e i s n o t v er y s w e e t w i t h o u t
f r e e d o m o f c h o i c e . C ha n g e i s v er y d i f f i c u l t w i t h n o a l t e r n a t i v e s
i n s i g ht ; w e t hen r es i g n o u r s el v es t o n o t d e a l i n g w i t h o u r d i f f i -
c u l t i e s a s i f t hey w er e p r e s c r i b e d b y hea v en .
55
McDougall distinguishes fourteen different i nsti ncts: paren-
t al , sex, food-seeking, fear or escape, combat, constructiveness,
curi osi ty, repugnance, acquisitiveness, appeal (reciprocal of
parental instinct), herd i nst i nct (gregariousness), self-asser-
t i on, self-submission, and laughter. Pavlov t hi nks that there
is an i nsti nct for freedom, that an ani mal objects to being ti ed
up or enclosed i n a confined l i vi ng space l i mi t i ng i t s move-
ments.
In physiology, an i nsti nct is a complex i ntegrati on of i nborn,
unconditioned reflexes, as di sti nct from acquired or condi-
tioned ones. The i nborn reflexes are characteristic of the cen-
t r al nervous system of any whole class of ani mals: they are
i nheri t ed and t hei r formation i s, therefore, largely indepen-
dent of i ndi vi dual experience. The noti on of " i nst i nct " is used
too loosely and is a source of many misconceptions.
Whatever i nsti ncts we may consider, we observe a remark-
able t hi ngt hat only one of the i nsti ncts i nhi bi t s motion,
namely fear. A n ani mal , when frightened, ei ther freezes or
runs away. In either case there is a momentary hal t . Thi s hal t
is produced by the first reaction to the fri ghteni ng sti mulus.
Thi s is a violent contraction of a l l the flexor muscles, espe-
ci al l y i n the abdomi nal region, a hal t i n breat hi ng, soon fol-
lowed by a whole series of vasomotor disturbances such as
accelerated pulse, sweating, up to mi ct uri t i on and even defe-
cati on.
Bendi ng the knee involves contracti ng the hamst ri ng, a
flexor. The quadriceps muscle, an ant i gravi t y extensor, is the
antagonist, and thus is unable to contract sufficiently to
strai ghten the knee. The contraction of the flexors i nhi bi t s
t hei r antagonistic extensorB, or ant i gravi t y muscles: thus no
displacement occurs before t hi s i ni t i al reaction is over. A n
i ni t i al i nhi bi t i on of the extensors goes together wi t h a l l the
sensations that accompany fear. Thi s is at first sight some-
what surpri si ng. One would expect the first reaction to be such
as to wi t hdraw the ani mal from danger as qui ckly as possible.
The Body P at t ern of Anxi et y
57
It i s not so when the fri ght eni ng st i mulus is too near or too
vi olent. The vi olent st i mulus produces a general contracti on
of the flexors. Thei r i ni t i al contracti on brings i nto operation
the stretch reflex i n the extensors whi ch are thus capable of
a greater effort when escaping. The i ni t i al flexor contraction,
however, also enables the ani mal to freeze and si mulate death
i f the danger i s too near. A l l the other disturbances are pro-
duced by an increase of adrenali n content i n the blood whi ch
is preparatory to possible vi olent effort of the heart and other
muscles.
A newborn i nfant is pract i cally i nsensi ti ve to slow and
smal l ext ernal st i mul i . A t bi r t h he hardly reacts to li ght
effects, to noise, to smel l , and even moderate pi nchi ng. H e
reacts vi olent ly to i mmersi on i n very cold or hot water. Al so
i f suddenly lowered, or i f support is sharply wi t hdrawn, a
vi olent contracti on of a l l flexors wi t h hal t of breath is ob-
served, followed by cryi ng, accelerated pulse, and general
vasomotor disturbance, i.e. change of pulse, sweating, etc.
The si mi l ari t y of t he reactions of a newborn i nfant to wi t h -
drawal of support, and those of fri ght or fear i n the adult is
remarkable. Thi s reaction to f al l i ng is present at bi rt h , i.e.
i nborn and independent of i ndi vi dual experience. It is there-
fore ri ght to speak of the i nsti ncti ve reaction to f al l i ng.
Charles Darwi n wrote a -little book, T he E x p r es s i o n o f t h e
E m o t i o n s i n M a n a n d A n i m a l s . I n spite of the many i naccura-
cies, i t i s a very i mport ant book. I t h i nk i t w i l l be considered
i n t i me as the first reli able work i n psychology. There are
more facts i n these few pages about emotions as seen i n the
l i vi ng body t han i n many modern treatises on psychology. The
attitude of fear, the si nki ng of the head, the crouching, the
bending of the knees, etc. etc., as described by Darwi n i n t hi s
book, are but details of the general contracti on of a l l flexor
muscles compatible wi t h the act of standing.
No reaction si mi l ar to that sensed as fear by the adult can
be eli ci ted i n the newborn baby, except by sharply al t eri ng i ts
position i n space. When i t begins to hear better, about three
weeks after bi rt h , i t w i l l respond also to very loud noises. It is
a well-known fact that the stronger the st i mul i the more they
diffuse and i rradi at e i n accordance wi t h cert ai n laws. Thus, i f
one hand i s moderately pinched, t hat hand w i l l be wi t hdrawn
reflexively. If the pi nchi ng is increased and the hand is pre-
vented from moving, the opposite arm w i l l t wi t ch. I f the st i m-
ulus becomes vigorous or vi olent, the legs and the whole body
may be brought i nto action.
M . A . Mi nkovsky has found extreme i rradi at i on, i.e. spread-
i ng of excitation, over the whole nervous system i n human
embryos. On scratching the foot, for example, the whole mus-
culature, t runk, neck and head react. In newborn i nfants, the
spreading of exci tati on is also greater t han i n the adult. V ery
loud noises excite the cochlear branch of the ei ghth crani al
auditory nerve. The exci tati on flows over to the vesti bular
branch of the same nerve. Thi s i rradi at i on takes place not i n
the nerve, but at the first relays and possibly at s t i l l hi gher
centers i n the adult.
The ei ghth crani al nerve divides near the i nt ernal ear into
two branchesthe cochlear, concerned wi t h heari ng, and the
vesti bular, concerned wi t h equi l i bri um. Reference to Testut or
Shaefer's anatomy would show how closely and i nt ri cat ely
these two branches are interconnected. The diffusion of strong
impulses i s, of course, not l i mi t ed to the branches of the ei ghth
crani al nerve. Hi gher up, at the superior olive, strong i nci t a-
tions, produced by very loud noises, w i l l diffuse and excite the
t ent h crani al nerve, i nst rument al i n holdi ng breath.
Strong impulses from the vesti bular branch w i l l diffuse i n
the same way to the superior olive, and w i l l produce a hal t i n
breath. The halt i n breat h is a sudden disturbance of the
cardiac region. It is t hi s disturbance i n the di aphragmati c and
cardiac regions that is sensed as anxi ety. Some people describe
i t as a sensation of the heart f al l i ng out, or as emptiness or cold
i n the region i mmedi ately below the st ernum.
The Body P at t ern of Anxi et y 59
The vesti bular branch of the ei ght h crani al nerve i nner-
vates the semi ci rcular canals and the otoli thi c apparatus. It is
the former that senses any change i n acceleration, whi le the
otoli thi c apparatus senses slow movement of the head relati ve
to the vert i cal .
Thus, the reacti on that the adult i nterprets as fear of f al l i ng
i s i nheri t ed, i nborn, and needs no personal experience before
i t i s operative. And any sudden, sharp loweri ng of a newborn
i nfant eli ci ts the whole series of reflexes whi ch we regard as
the reaction to f al l i ng. The first experience of anxi ety i s there-
fore connected wi t h a st i mulat i on of the vesti bular branch of
the ei ghth crani al nerve.
The foetus learns to hear i n the womb where noises are not
loud but li qui ds t ransmi t t hem better. A baby w i l l respond
vi olent ly to very loud sudden noises, whi ch are the only ones
by whi ch he is affected. The sti mulus is very strong, and diffu-
si on from the heari ng cochlear branch to the vesti bular pat h
w i l l take place. The noise must of necessity be near the t hresh-
old of feeling, and is probably also sensed as pai n. The baby is
st art led, whi ch also adds direct st i mulat i on of the semi ci rcu-
l ar canals due to the j erk of the head.
The topology of the i nnervat i on of the ear is responsible for
the ready association of loud noises wi t h fear. It also explai ns
why many have generally mi st aken the fear of loud noises for
the first unconditioned fear. In the anthropoi d and man, the
fear of loud noises is of l i t t l e differential selective significance.
The newly born is so helpless that the mother carries i t con-
t i nuously, and had i t no fear of loud noises, i t would not peri sh
more qui ckly i n any case. Fear of loud noises is hardly an
essential biological necessity i n early i nfancy.
On the other hand, a newborn arboreal pri mate f al l i ng off
a tree, as some probably di d by accident and many i n vi olent
earthquakes, has a fai r chance of survi val i f the thoraci c cage
is made resi li ent by a vi olent contraction of the abdomi nal
muscles and the breat h i s held wi t h the head flexed away from
the ground i n the general flexor contraction. As we have said
already, t hi s not only prevents the back of the head from bei ng
smashed against the ground, but also ensures that the point
of contact wi t h the ground w i l l be a strongly arched spine
somewhere i n the region of the lower thoracic vertebrae or
lower, nearer the center of gravi ty. The shock w i l l therefore
be transformed i nto a tangenti al push along the spi nal struc-
ture, on either side of the point of contact, and absorbed i n the
bones, ligaments, and muscles, instead of bei ng transmi tted
di rect ly to the i nt ernal organs and so i nj uri ng the body fat ally.
It is permissible to t h i nk that t hi s is a selective differential
factor, and that i nfants who di d not produce such a reaction
to f al l i ng had a smaller chance of reproduction. The survi vi ng
species has therefore t hi s precise i nborn reaction to f al l i ng.
It may be i nteresti ng to note t hat i n the reaction to fal l i ng,
as I describe i t , support is given to Si r Ar t h ur Kei t h' s view t hat
" It was on the trees, not on the ground, that man came by the
i ni t i al s t a g e s o f hi s posture and carri age. "
The attitude of the body taught i n Judo to break f al l i ng is
exactly the same as that eli ci ted i n the baby by the sti mulus
of fal l i ng. Teachers of Judo and Ai ki do may therefore find i n
the above description the explanati on of the difficulty of begin-
ners to use t hei r arms to break the f al l . The arms tend to flex
i n accordance wi t h the i nborn reaction to fal l i ng. Beginners,
therefore, tend to hurt t hei r elbows before they learn to con-
t rol and i nhi bi t consciously the flexion of the arms. Lat er they
l earn to flap the ground, i.e. completely dissociate movement
of the arms from the i nsti ncti ve pattern of flexor contraction
eli ci ted by fal l i ng. Fal l i ng on the back wi t h the head and
abdominal flexors contracted enables the body to wi t hst and a
f al l from a considerable height wi t h i mpuni t y.
The baby's cryi ng is also more understandable when i t is
part of the reaction to falli ng, rat her t han to loud noises. The
fallen baby is i n need of immediate protection and feels pai n.
The cryi ng following a loud noise, would i n general be super-
fluous, since the mother supposedly knows at least as wel l as
the baby i ts significance and the i nformati on of danger i t may
convey.
The reflexive gri ppi ng of any object introduced i nto the
hand of a newborn baby duri ng the first few weeks is probably
another aspect of the flexor contraction and i ts importance i n
infancy. Observing young apes cli ngi ng to the hai ry chest of
t hei r mothers is strongly suggestive.
To sum up, the i nborn fear is t hat of f al l i ng. The anatomi cal
structure makes i t i mperati ve t hat the next fear that can be
sensed is that of loud noises. The unconditioned sensation of
anxi ety is eli ci ted by st i mulat i on of the vesti bular branch of
the ei ght h crani al nerve. A l l other fears and sensations of the
anxi ety syndrome are therefore conditioned. The basic pat-
t ern of a l l fear and anxi ety is the i rri t at i on of the eighth
crani al nerve through at least one of i ts branches. The fear of
loud noises is not i nheri t ed and not i nsti ncti ve. In a l l normal
i nfants, however, that reflex w i l l be the first conditioned one
because of the si mi l ari t y of t hei r anatomy.
Fear and anxi ety are here seen to be the sensation of i m-
pulses arri vi ng at the cent ral nervous system from the organs
and viscera. We shal l see lat er t hat a l l emotions are connected
wi t h excitations arri vi ng at the vegetative or autonomic ner-
vous system or ari si ng from the organs, muscles, etc. that i t
innervates. The ar r i val of such impulses to the hi gher centers
of the central nervous system is sensed as emotion.
Freud' s contention that anxi ety is the central problem of
neuroses was such that he wrote a b o o k A n x i e t y a n d N eu r o s es .
P a ul Schi lder finds dizziness to occupy a si mi l ar position. I
quote:
Dysfuncti on of the vesti bular apparatus is very often the
expression of two conflicting psychic tendencies: dizziness
occurs, therefore, i n almost every neurosis. The neurosis
may produce organic changes i n the vesti bular sphere. Di z-
ziness is a danger si gnal i n the sphere of the ego, and occurs
when the ego cannot exercise i ts synthetic functi on i n the
senses, but i t also occurs when conflicting motor and at-
t i t udi nal impulses i n connection wi t h desires and stri vi ngs
can no longer be uni ted. Dizziness is as i mportant from the
psychoanalytic poi nt of view as anxi ety. The vesti bular ap-
paratus is an organ, the functi on of whi ch is directed against
the i solati on of the diverse functions of the body.
It may be i nteresti ng at t hi s point to cite P aul Schi lder' s
followi ng passage, reflecting an almost ki ndred approach to
our subject:
We would expect that such a sensory organ, recei vi ng only
half-conscious impressions and leadi ng to a mot i l i t y of an
i nst i nct ual and pri mi t i ve type, would be very sensitive to
emotions and would therefore play an i mportant part i n
neuroses and psychoses. It w i l l react strongly, and we may
even expect that changes i n the psyche w i l l i mmedi ately
express themselves i n vesti bular sensation and i n tonus.
Organic changes i n the vesti bular apparatus w i l l be re-
flected i n the psyche structure. They w i l l not only influence
the tone, the vegetative system, and the attitudes of the
body, but they must also change our whole perceptive appa-
ratus and even our consciousness. These general considera-
tions make i t possible that the study of the vesti bular appa-
ratus may have great importance for the understanding of
psychotic and neurotic states.
Havi ng traced the physiological source and basis of anxi ety,
new avenues are opened for i mprovi ng, and i n cert ai n cases
changing, the treatment of neuroses. Anxi et y, i n whatever
form i t may be present, must have been formed by successive
condi ti oni ng from the unconditioned series of reflexes that
constitute the i nborn response to f al l i ng. A ny treatment may
therefore be considered as ai mi ng at the exti ncti on of a condi-
tioned response and the formati on of a more desirable one i n
i ts place. The recidive or repeti ti ve character of anxi ety may
thus be explai ned by the indirectness and therefore often i n-
completeness of psychi atri c treatment that leaves the somatic
nervous paths untouched. The ext i nct i on of the conditioned
reflexes is therefore never complete. Wi t h i nt errupt i on of
treatment, the muscular habi tus being affected i ndi rect ly i s
often left unaltered. The old conditioned response wi l l gradu-
al l y be reestablished or reinforced, to put i t techni cally.
However i mportant t hi s problem may be, our ai m is a much
wi der one. We have seen t hat the fear of f al l i ng eli ci ts the first
i nhi bi t i on of the ant i gravi t y muscles, and that anxi ety i s as-
sociated wi t h t hi s process. On exami ni ng even the most gener-
ous l i st of i nsti ncts, no other one but fear is found whi ch
i nhi bi t s moti on. Now, the problem of " can" and "cannot " i s
fundamentally a question of doing, i.e. muscular act i vi t y.
Even doing not hi ng involves muscular act i vi t y of great com-
plexi ty. We may therefore expect to throw a new li ght on a l l
phenomena accompanied by chroni c or habi t ual muscular
contraction. A closer study of the nervous mechani sm con-
cerned wi t h equi l i bri um is therefore necessary. It i s wort h-
whi l e, however, to examine more closely the ground covered,
and answer some questions that arise i n connection wi t h i t .
A n i nteresti ng question may be asked: Why does an attack-
i ng ani mal roar or otherwise give up the great advantage of
undetected approach to i ts prey? The advantage of produci ng
a sudden loud noise is two-fold. Fi rst , sudden loud noise pro-
duced nearby eli ci ts the response to f al l i ng, i.e. a vi olent con-
t ract i on of the flexors, thus momentari ly i nhi bi t i ng the exten-
sors. Thi s nai ls the attacked ani mal to its place for a short
i nst ant , gi vi ng the attacker a better chance by enabli ng i t to
pounce on a fixed target i nstead of a fleeing one. Nat ur al laws
do not favor one species or the other, and the strong contrac-
t i on of the flexors is conducive to an ult eri or, much enhanced
contraction of the extensors. For the longer the state of i nh i bi -
t i on and the stronger the stretchi ng of the extensors, the
stronger w i l l be the followi ng outburst of contracti on due to
nervous i nducti on and the stretch reflex. The attacker and the
prey both derive an advantage. Nor mal conditions of equi li b-
r i um between the respective members of the preyi ng species
and the preyed upon are obtained by other factors. Thi s equi-
l i br i um i s, by the way, continuously shi ft i ng wi t h a periodicity
given by the cli mat i c cycles.
The second advantage of roari ng is the effect i t has on the
ani mal d o i n g so. The expulsi on of ai r from the lungs i n roari ng
is conducive to vigorous di aphragmati c muscular contraction,
and abates excitement. Men, too, And i t easier to produce a
great physi cal heave by an abdominal push, expelli ng ai r and
producing a deep sound such as " h e h " or " h a h " at the same
ti me.
That the exci tati on of one point of the nervous system, when
strong enough or when repeated at close i nt ervals, diffuses
and radiates to neighboring centers, i s a well-established fact.
Darwi n, i n hi s T he E x p r es s i o n o f t h e E m o t i o n s i n M a n a n d
A n i m a l s , gives a number of examples. To quote from page 80
of the " Th i nker Li br ar y" edi ti on:
As soon as some pri mordi al form became semi -terrestri al i n
i ts habits i t was li able to get dust parti cles i nt o the eyes: i f
these were not washed out they would cause much i rri t at i on
of nerve force to adjoi ni ng nerve cells, the l achrymal glands
would be sti mulated to secretion. As t hi s would often recur
and as nerve-force readi ly passes along accustomed chan-
nels, a sli ght i rri t at i on would ult i mat ely suffice to cause a
free secretion of tears.
As soon as by t hi s, or by some other means, a reflex acti on
of thi s nature had been established and rendered easy, other
st i mulant s applied to the surface of the eyesuch as cold
wi nd, inflammatory acti on, or a blow on the eyelidswould
cause a copious secretion of tears. The glands are also ex-
cited i nto acti on t hrough the i rri t at i on of adjoi ni ng parts.
Thus when the nostri ls are i rri t at ed by pungent vapours,
though the eyelids may be kept firmly closed, tears are copi-
ously secreted: and t hi s li kewi se follows from a blow on the
nose. A st i ngi ng swi tch on the face produces the same effect.
In these lat t er cases the secretion of tears is an i nci dent al
result, and of no direct service. As a l l these parts of the face,
i ncludi ng the l achrymal glands, are supplied wi t h branches
of the same nerve, namely the fifth, i t i s i nt elli gi ble t hat the
effects of the excitement of one branch should be spread to
the other branches.
The explanations of why we sneeze when looki ng at the sun,
why we cry when we are grieved, and many other facts, are
along the same li nes. Translat ed i nto modern terms of condi-
t i oni ng of reflexes, the above quotation is very si mi l ar to the
li ne of thought I have followed.
We have seen t hat i n the i nfant , before i ts heari ng is diffe-
renti ated, i.e. before i t can di sti ngui sh between different
noises, only loud noises eli ci t a response, whi ch is the same as
to the sti mulus of f al l i ng. In the adult, who has learned to
i nhi bi t t hi s response to most loud noises of habi t ual occur-
rence, i t can s t i l l be observed wi t h unexpected very loud ones.
To quote from St arli ng' s P hys i o l o g y: " Audi t ory reflexes.
. . . Accordi ng to the strength of the st i mulus there may be
bl i nki ng of the eyes only, or, i f the sound is loud, bl i nki ng and
holdi ng of breath. I f stronger s t i l l , i n addi ti on to the above, a l l
movements t emporari ly cease, and for a very loud sound i n-
deed the li mbs may become toneless and the body may f a l l . "
Professor Bekessy i n hi s classic research on heari ng has
shown t hat loud noises produce eddies i n the semi ci rcular
canals i n such a di recti on as to make the head t i l t reflexively
toward the source of noise. He reproduced t he phenomena on
hi s model ear.
Thus i t may be considered as established that the exci tati on
66
of the cochlear branch of the audi tory nerve i rradi ates and
produces a response as i f the vesti bular branch had been ex-
cited. Irradi ati ons are governed by the configuration of the
synapses and t hei r valve acti on. It is therefore i nteresti ng to
know whether exci tati on of the vesti bular branch produces
any auditory response. It seems to i nhi bi t audi ti on momentar-
i l y whi le the exci tati on lasts. I f one falls or slips abruptly
whi le being spoken to one has a vague impression of noise
duri ng the period whi le the ri ght i ng reflexes operate.
We have seen that any anxi ety complex established through
a series of successive conditionings must have started from the
i nborn reactions to f al l i ng sensed through the vesti bular
branch of the auditory nerve. The exci tati on of thi s branch is
followed by a succession of disturbances: contraction of flexors,
hal t i ng of breath, accelerated pulse, sweating, blushi ng, and
even mi ct uri t i on or defecation. How many of these enume-
rated responses w i l l act ually occur i n the i nfant depends on
the i ntensi ty, durat i on, and suddenness of the i ni t i al sti mulus.
A n increased tonus of the flexors, hal t of breat h, and qui cken-
i ng of pulse accompany even the slightest exci tati on. Most of
the ti me, the color of the face changes and perspi rati on takes
place, though they may be so sli ght as to be perceptible only
to the acute observer. The adult however, is aware of them
consciously, and has i n general learned to control and i nhi bi t
thei r completeness.
Because of habi t of thought we cannot help seeing a reason
and purpose i n evolution as i f i t were the product of some
intelligence l i ke our own. In fact, we can find i nnumerable
reasons for every reflex wi t h every new point of view. I f we
examine the reflexive closing of the eyes when an intense li ght
is thrown on them we can see the immediate effect is to shut
off the intense sti mulus from the ret i na. Next , the eyes are
mai ntai ned at a level of low li ght i ntensi ty and the pupi ls
accommodate by di l at i ng so that when the eyes are reopened
they are capable of di sti ngui shi ng objects of normal li ght i n-
67
tensi ty. Wi t hout the shut t i ng of the eyelids, the pupi ls would
remai n contracted and a longer t i me would elapse before the
eye could see normally. In every reflex we can di st i ngui sh the
same phasesthe immediate reacti on whi ch undoes the effect
of the st i mulus or reduces i t , and the after-effect whi ch, i n
general, tends to eli mi nat e the disturbance the reaction has
produced i n the organism, and to restore i t to i ts ori gi nal state.
The st i mulus of f al l i ng si mi l arl y produces a disturbance
whi ch bri ngs i nt o operation a l l the ri ght i ng reflexes. The i m-
portant point to note here is t hat the sensation of fear and
anxi ety due to the disturbance of the di aphragmati c and car-
diac region is act ually abated by mai nt ai ned general flexor
contracti on, and i n part i cul ar t hat of the abdomi nal region.
The f al l i ng body contracts i ts flexors to preserve the head from
hi t t i ng the ground and to strengthen the spine by archi ng i t .
In the adult, the same response makes h i m lower hi s head,
crouch, bend hi s knees, and halt s hi s breath. H i s li mbs are
thus drawn nearer to the body i n front of the soft, unprotected
partsthe testicles, the throat, and the vi scera. Thi s attitude
gives the best protection possible and i nst i ls a sense of safety.
The flexor contractions, when mai nt ai ned, are i nst rument al
i n restori ng the normal , undi sturbed state. The erect standi ng
pat t ern is disrupted by part i al i nhi bi t i on of the ant i gravi t y
extensors. A complete i nhi bi t i on would mean f al l i ng face
down. The i nci tati ons or impulses arri vi ng at the cent ral ner-
vous system from the vi scera and muscles i n t hi s crouched
atti tude evoke ut eral safety, qui eteni ng of the pulse, and re-
stori ng of normal breat hi ng. A l l the large art i culat i ons being
flexed, the resistance to the ci rculat i on is largely increased
and the pulse slowed down. The cardiac muscle must, how-
ever, be capable of the ext ra effort necessary to contract the
heart against the suddenly increased-resistance to ci rculat i on
of blood and the hi gher pressure i n i t . Thi s was, i n fact, as-
sured by the addi t i onal adrenali n content i n the blood pro-
duced by the i ni t i al fear of f al l i ng.
68
Thi s pattern of flexor contraction is reinstated every ti me
the i ndi vi dual reverts to passive protection of hi mself when
l acki ng the means, or doubting hi s power, of active resistance.
The extensors or ant i gravi t y muscles are perforce part i al l y
i nhi bi t ed. Accordi ng to my own observation, a l l i ndi vi duals
classified as i nt rovert have some habi t ual reduction of t hei r
extensor tonus ri gi di t y. Ei t h er the head or the hi p joi nts are
therefore leani ng abnormally forward: t urni ng the body is
achieved by detour or roundabout means and not i n the si m-
plest direct way. Extroverts, on the other hand, have a more
erect standi ng posture and gait.
In general, every pattern of impulses reachi ng the central
nervous system from the vi scera, muscles, and soma i n gen-
eral is associated wi t h an emotional state. The muscular con-
t ract i on, being vol unt ari l y controllable, creates a feeli ng of
power and of control over sensations and emotions. Thi s is i n
fact so. To every emotional state corresponds a personal condi-
tioned pattern of muscular contraction wi thout whi ch i t has
no existence.
Many people know t hat they can control i n themselves
physiological processes, such as preventi ng a headache from
t aki ng hold of t hem, and many other si mi l ar sensations, but
dare not say so for fear of being thought ri di culous. Others, on
the other hand, have elaborated t hi s process i nto a theory of
control of the mi nd over t he body. A l l i nt rovert and extrovert
people when learni ng to control i nt ernal vi sceral functions
proceed by cont rolli ng first the contracti on of volunt ary mus-
cles. They form certai n i ndi vi dual patterns whi ch evoke the
sense of well-being. Thi s helps to prevent the reinstatement of
the anxi ety pattern.
We can now understand how exaggerated hyperextension of
the cervi cal and lumbar curves becomes habi t ual. It i s rare to
see young chi ldren wi t h the head i mproperly balanced. There
is less volunt ary interference wi t h muscular control and the
head is balanced reflexively i n al l al i ke, except for anatomical
69
structure differences. Repeated emotional upheavals condi-
t i on the chi l d to adopt an attitude whi ch bri ngs a sense of
safety and enables h i m to abate anxi ety. We have seen t hat
such passive safety is brought about by flexor contraction and
extensor i nhi bi t i on. V ol unt ary but not intended directives i n-
hi bi t i ng the extensors are therefore observed i n a l l emotion-
al l y disturbed persons. In the long run, t hi s becomes habi t ual
and remai ns unnoticed. The whole character i s, however,
affected. The part i al l y i nhi bi t ed extensors become weak, the
hi p joi nt flexes, and the head leans forward.
The pattern of reflexive erect standi ng is disrupted. Conflict-
i ng directives are issued from the nervous system. The lower
ant i gravi t y mechanisms tend to bri ng the body i nto the nor-
mal potent state, whi le avoi di ng anxi ety reinstates the
crouched pattern of safety. Conscious awareness now sides
wi t h one and t hen wi t h the other tendency. The ant i gravi t y
mechanisms are at work wi thout break. Li ke a l l fatigued ner-
vous functions, they are i ni t i al l y overactive, hence the tonic
contraction and st ri ng-li ke texture of the ant i gravi t y exten-
sors. The overri di ng conscious control, however, prevents
reflexive erect standing. Hypnoti se, or otherwise relax the
conscious control and erect standi ng at once improves to the
extent the anatomi cal deformation of i nt erart i culat i on sur-
faces w i l l permi t. It is essential i n t hi s context to make a clear
di sti ncti on between awareness and the conscious or volunt ary
as opposed to the forgotten or reflexive.
People i n the unfortunate si tuati on described li ve on an
i nt ent i onal i nt ellect ual level. A l l t hei r body functions are i n-
terfered wi t h by volunt ary directives. Conscious control and
wi llpower, when properly directed, often improve cert ai n de-
tai ls here and there, but i ntellect is no substitute for vi t al i t y.
A sense of the f ut i l i t y of li fe, tiredness, and a wi sh to give i t
a l l up is the result of overtaxi ng the conscious control wi t h the
tasks the reflexive and subconscious nervous act i vi t y is better
fitted to perform. Conscious control is paramount i n i ntegrat-
70
i ng the functions fitting the mostly i mmedi ate circumstances
of objective reali t y. The i nt ernal mechanisms enabli ng us to
succeed should be left to the self-regulating nervous coordina-
t i on. A t least, i n the present state of our knowledge of the
nervous system, we can do no better t han follow the example
of the best adjusted and mature specimens, and they do not
abuse the conscious control. They have a ri cher subjective
reali t y.
S u m m a r y
Our i nt ernal processes, provoked by present ext ernal i nflu-
ences, or by forgotten, pai nful, previous experiences of the
outside world, change our i ntenti ons to act as wel l as the way
we act. You are as good as you wi sh; you are cert ai nly more
creative i n i magi ni ng alternati ves t han you know. If you know
" wh at " you are doing and even more i mportant "how" you use
yourself to act, you w i l l be able to do things the way you want.
I believe that the world's most i mportant advice, " Know thy-
self," was first said by one who learned to know o n es el f .
A SECOND LOOK
Wha t I h a v e s a i d s o f a r o n l y w i d en s t h e f i el d o f o u r a t t e n t i o n .
S o m e w o u l d s a y, p er ha p s , t h a t w e d o n o t " h a v e " a s k e l e t o n ,
m u s c l es , g l a n d s , n er v o u s s ys t em , et c . T hey w o u l d s a y, a n d I
a g r ee, t h a t w e ' a r e " a l l t ho s e t hi n g s . We s h a l l s ee l a t e r t h a t
s e m a n t i c s i s n o t a l w a ys s p l i t t i n g ha i r s . E r r o r s o f t e n b ec o m e
h a b i t u a l s i n c e w o r d s h a v e m u l t i p l e m ea n i n g s , a n d t h e o n es
t h a t l a s t a r e n o t a l w a ys w h a t t hey s h o u l d b e.
Looki ng closer at what we have sai d, we a l l know that none
of these parts of ourselves t hat I have enumerated started as
we see t hem i n the adult. I n fact, they keep on changi ng i n the
adult too, but at such a slow rate t hat i t seems not to amount
to much, and therefore does not seem to matter. B ut the rate
of change i n the begi nni ng is tremendous, the first cells dou-
bl i ng by di vi si on so that i n ni ne months something l i ke one
quarter of the future adult arri ves i n the world. We can see
that t hi s is true when we consider the lengt h of the baby:
approxi mately fifty centimeters from crown to heel. I n weight,
a newborn i s near four ki lograms and t hi s w i l l increase about
fifteen to twenty times. I f we t hi nk of the rate of cell di vi si on
and t ot al numbers, we see that of the t ot al, fifty-six of fifty-
eight divisions must have occurred before the age of two. The
brai n i n the second mont h of gestation i s about 2.6 grams, or
forty-three percent of the weight of the embryo.
In the adult, the brai n weighs approxi mately fifteen hun-
71
72
dred grams, but i t is only about 2.4 percent of the body's total
weight. B y the age of two, the nervous system is about four-
fifths of what i t wi l l finally become. The rate of growi ng slows
down very rapi dly from conception to early childhood. By the
age of two or three, most of the functions of the nervous system
are on the way to completion. Onl y the specifically human
functions, among t hem movement and sex, are yet to mature.
Speech, wri t i ng, mat hemat i cal ski l l s, music, and the combina-
t i on of speech and music are s t i l l developing.
When we t al k about skeletons, muscles, nervous systems,
and different environments we are not aware that we are
t hi nki ng of the adult wi t h a l l hi s functions grown and more
or less equally mature. Thi s concept is si mply not val i d and
t hi s is more i mportant t han almost anyt hi ng else about hu-
mans.
It is also i mportant to realize that people are biologically
different from one another. You can t ransplant a piece of ski n,
say, from any part of an i ndi vi dual to any place you may l i ke
on hi s body. Bot h wounds w i l l heal and that is a l l . But trans-
plant anyt hi ng from one i ndi vi dual to another and rejection
of the transplant may k i l l the new bearer of the piece of some-
one else's body unless hi s own i mmuni zat i on is weakened ar-
t i fi ci ally or the transplant is from an i dent i cal t wi n.
The relati ve sizes of the parts of the brai n of one person are
very different from those of any other person. Our biological
makeup is as i ndi vi dual as our own fingerprints. To say that
adults have a l l t hei r functions more or less equal is very mi s-
leadi ng; i n fact, much of our common sense relies on assump-
tions that cannot be assumed to be legi t i mat e and are not.
sensible at a l l . There are great si mi lari t i es i n men but there
are i ndi vi dual modes of acti on, movement, feeling, and sens-
i ng whi ch make each i ndi vi dual a unique case, and i n my work
he must be treated to help h i m i n hi s uniqueness.
A scientist would probably say that i f we wi sh to t hi nk
properly about anyt hi ng, we have to know where the t hi ng
A Second Look 73
existsspecial locati on or a system of coordinatesand when
i t happensa temporal reference system. The skeleton, the
muscles, the nervous system, and the envi ronment of the
sperm and the ovum and those of the foetus si x weeks old and
at bi r t h are obviously very different every i nstant. We are
different every mi nute but we can select regular i ntervals for
t aki ng stock.
Bei ng reasonable is also not a very good t hi ng. I have t ri ed
to follow a reasoning t hat would raise no objection. However,
on rereadi ng the last few sentences I cannot help seeing
t hrough my t h i nki ng and finding i n i t as much reasonable
nonsense as is i n everybody else's reasonable nonsense. Let us
look a l i t t l e more cri t i cal l y at the last paragraph. The scientist
is quite ri ght i n wi shi ng for conditions that would make i t easy
to check conclusions by somebody else, somewhere else, and at
another moment. But how can such a method be used on an
embryo and a foetus t hat occur only once and where there are
si mi lari t i es but never identities? My growth has a lot i n com-
mon wi t h yours. We can be elements i n a st at i st i cal survey, as
we are not only si mi l ar enough but we are also different
enough i n mi nor details. However, there i s one difference at
the moment whi ch cannot be neglected: I am wri t i ng and you
are readi ng. There are other more i mportant differences re-
sult i ng from our environmentssocial, economic, raci al , tem-
poraleducation, occupation, posture, interests, attitudes,
and a great many other influences. In short, analysis alone i s
not good enough to describe the phenomenon under study.
Synthesi s and the hi story of growth must be t aken i nt o ac-
count. The analysi s w i l l be useful for marki ng the common
features, whi le the whole w i l l show how they grew to make a
different human being.
A l i vi ng organism is a functi oni ng structure where, unl i ke
man-made machines, the function makes the structure and
the structure is part of the functi oni ng. They affect each other
duri ng growth i n a fashion that makes the cause and effect
74
relati onshi p of true or false to be a matter of opi ni on and l i t t l e
more. But , even more cruci al to our thesis is that we stop and
select i ntervals for t aki ng stock, and thereby t ur n a dynami c
continuously changi ng growi ng and ki cki ng process i nt o a
series of static sequences or shots. We gradually become so
absorbed i n the statics of the phenomenon, whi ch are easier
to contemplate t han the dynamics, that the process of growth
and functi oni ng is often so neglected as to distort the study
and make i t obscure. We become so uncert ai n t hat we need
many subterfuges to relieve us of the angui sh of doubt, i n-
security, and fear.
Your brai n, and mi ne, have a very long hi story. Our nervous
systems are among the most complex structures i n existence.
They have very old layers covered by less old ones and t hen
more recent layers. Each new layer i s a formati on that func-
tions more finely. The older are pri mi t i ve, and abrupt i n the
all-or-nothi ng way. Each layer checks the older ones and
supercedes them. The newer the formati on the finer i ts func-
t i on. It makes acti on more graded, more differentiated. The
older structures functi on more rel i abl y faster and need less
apprenticeship. The newer layers swi tch themselves off and
allow the former more reli able swifter formati on to take over
and assure survi val . The finer, more vari ed newer parts w i l l
take over once the emergency has ended. The old structures
are not destroyed, they just become latent, less obvious but
essential i n an emergency. A ny si tuati on that cannot be dealt
wi t h at leisure w i l l produce a regression, i.e. the older forma-
t i on w i l l take over. The newer the neural structure i s, the
slower i t i s. Gradat i on and vari et y need t i me and apprentice-
ship for deli berati on and choice, followi ng the wei ghi ng up of
the pros and cons.
Sli ppi ng on a banana ski n w i l l endanger the organism i f the
ri ght i ng of the system is not done before the f al l is unavoida-
ble. Onl y the old layers can deal wi t h that effectively wi thout
t hi nki ng, hesi tati on, and decision, and there is no t i me for
A Second Look
75
t hem. Once balance is restored we have the leisure to t hi nk,
to deliberate, and may decide to clean the pavements of ba-
nana ski ns more often, but t hen there i s the di lemma that i f
there are no banana ski ns to t ri p us, there is no ri ght i ng, and
no room for logi cal cleani ng ei ther. The old ri ght i ng structures
must operate i n a fracti on of a second, where the newer need
t i me at t hei r disposal. The nervous systems work i n a fashion
si mi l ar to our social organi zati on. The older means of l i ght i ng,
l i ke candles or kerosene lamps or even more ancient ones, are
somewhere i n the house and are never used so long as there
is electri ci ty. B ut a prolonged blackout w i l l produce a regres-
si on to the old candles and oi l lamps.
A foetus whi l e growing w i l l start wi t h the oldest formations
and w i l l proceed rapi dl y t hrough the evoluti onary stages,
though rarely i n chronological order. In the early li fe of a
foetus, the lower jaw looks l i ke the gi lls of a fish. The cerebel-
l um has a cent ral bundle of fibers corresponding to the hori -
zontal position of the spine, because the movement is rotati on
or rol l i ng around the spine clockwise or counter-clockwise.
The newly born baby w i l l gradually t urn to r o l l on hi s stomach
and ret urn to hi s back. U n t i l more recent formations i n the
brai n and cerebellum mature and can organize t hi s and other
more complex movement, the old fish remnant w i l l assure the
fish-like hori zont al rol l i ng. In serious regression, the l yi ng
position and rol l i ng sideways ret urn to be the only movement
avai lable. The cerebellum w i l l be i nvolved i n standi ng, pos-
ture and balance when its growth is complete. Thi s is only an
i l l ust rat i on of the pri nci ple and not a description of an exact
process. Si gni fi cantly, however, t urni ng around the spine as
an axi s, i.e. t urni ng ri ght or left, is the most frequent move-
ment of the body standi ng upri ght . B ut now the head, wi t h a l l
the senses t hat relate us to distance and space, plays a major
role i n t urni ng ri ght and left most of the ti me.
I first used the i ndi vi dual mani pulat i ve technique Func-
t i onal Integrati on and the group technique Awareness
76
through Movement duri ng Worl d War II. Al ready at t hat time
I worked on one side of the body exclusively duri ng a whole
lesson. The other side remai ned passive or motionless al l
t hrough the lesson. I wanted to create the greatest possible
sensory contrast i n the nervous structures and also facilitate
awareness of the differences ki nest het i cally. I thought that
the different organization of one side of the cortex and the
corresponding side of the body would slowly diffuse to the
other side. The person would for hours feel different mobiliza-
t i on and performance on hi s ri ght side to that on hi s left side.
He would thus be l earni ng di rect ly i n hi s brai n and from his
own i nt ernal self. What would be transferred to the other side
of the brai n is the (learned) better patterns, by hi s own feeling
and judgment. It was my fri end, Jacob Bronowski of T he A s -
c e n t o f M a n fame, who explai ned to me my discovery that the
new side learns from the side t hat was i nvolved and not the
other way round. He argued that i f i nt ernal feelings di d not
have any bias for preferri ng or tendi ng to the opt i mal, ani mal
li fe could not survi ve. H e argued, on the same ground, that a
predator moving by chance is more l i kel y to find prey t han
not. I f i t were not so, the predator would not survi ve. He
believed that the nervous system makes what looks to be a
random act, but whi ch is really sli ght ly more t han the fifty-
fifty probabi li ty, were pure chance really i nvolved. The same
reasoning allows the prey to find water just by movi ng ran-
domly. Curi ously, he believed t hat i f you feel you have to take
your raincoat i n the morni ng there i s a greater probabi li ty
that i t w i l l rai n t han t hat i t w i l l not.
When I began to use thi s one-side-only technique, I knew
not hi ng of the recent findings about the different properties of
the two hemispheres of the brai n. As I often started wi t h one
side and worked another t i me on the other side, I discovered
that some learni ng was easier on the ri ght side and some on
the left side. I clearly remember the moment when I realized
that a l l the learned purely human acti vi ti es, such as speaking,
A Second Look 77
reading, wri t i ng, and mathemati cs, are predomi nantly the
function of the left hemisphere. It is easier to attend to the
details of a movement when worki ng on the ri ght side only (I
am right-handed) and transfer thi s l earni ng to the left side
only ment ally, i n one's i magi nat i on. Thi s, remarkably, i m-
proves the left side i n about a fifth of the t i me. Moreover, the
left side achieves greater fluency and ease t han the hard-
worked ori gi nal side. I also often start wi t h the left side, doing
the bui ldi ng up of the movement and the ment al representa-
ti on on the other. There is a difference, depending on the
choice of the side, but i t is not so glari ng. Most students feel
no difference unt i l t hei r sensi ti vi ty has greatly increased.
SUB J E C T I VE A ND
OBJ E CT I VE R E A LI T Y
" R e a l i t y , " l i k e s o m a n y o t h e r w o n d er f u l w o r d s , w a s c r ea t ed
t o s a t i s f y o u r c o n s t a n t c u r i o s i t y. When w e h a v e n o m ea n s t o
s a t i s f y i t " r e a l l y , " t hen w e b u n c h a l l o u r k i n e s t h e t i c s en s a t i o n s
t o g et her a n d b r i n g t hem t o o u r c o n s c i o u s n es s b y ex p r es s i n g
t h e m i n a w o r d . P r o n o u n c i n g , o r e v e n i n t e r n a l l y f eel i n g , s eei n g ,
o r h e a r i n g t h e w o r d c a n e x c i t e t h e c u r i o s i t y, a n d a l s o q u en c h
i t i n t h e s a m e w a y a s c a n p e r f o r m i n g a s a t i s f a c t o r y a c t .
Commonly, we speak of reali t y, of thi ngs t hat are, or thi ngs
t hat exist; they are not i magi ned and, therefore, may not be
non-existent. As is usual wi t h words, we have a glimpse of
understandi ng, seeing or heari ng f ami l i ar phrases and expres-
sions, but on second thought we have doubts as to whether or
not we have been correct i n our understanding. Does an i magi -
nary t hi ng exist? What does exist mean? Do only real things
exist? A n d i f so, what i s real? Is real only what we explore wi t h
our senses? I find that l i t t l e effort i s necessary to make any
statement i nto something vague, unclear, or a complete
tautology. The Oxford Di ct i onary defines " r e a l " as "act ually
exi sti ng as a t h i ng" or "occurri ng as a fact." Is i magi nati on a
fact, a reali t y? Or is i magi nat i on only supposedly an imagined
fact of existence? Thi s may seem just spl i t t i ng hai rs, and when
I am engaged i n an act i vi t y that i s i mportant to me I feel I am
spl i t t i ng hai rs myself. However, i t i s a cri t i cal issue, as i t
concerns our knowi ng what we mean by knowi ng, what is
79
80
reali t y, what is objective, and what is not. Above a l l , does i t
matter to me or to you, and i f so i n what way? The way I solve
thi s problem to my satisfaction is to attend to what I am doing
and consider the acti on i nvolved. It is reduced to the essence,
and what more can I find out about the movement that I cal l
action? Thi s ki nd of t hi ng I can also feel or sense. Movement,
sensing, feeling, and t h i nki ng together make me, and the
t hi ng I am deali ng wi t h , as concrete and as real as I can
experience. A further concreteness that I can achieve is to find
out how my abi li t y to move, sense, feel, and t h i nk have devel-
oped wi t h my growth to the present use I make of t hem. Be-
yond t hat , my t h i nki ng becomes a sensation too vague to share
wi t h anybody wi t h whom I cannot establish a sensory contact
or share my sensation.
I believe that a newborn baby has very l i t t l e f ami l i ari t y
wi t h the world outside himself. I say I believe, but I do not
really know whether t hi s is real l y so. I know, however, that
I predicted, on theoreti cal grounds (to be scrupulous, I should
say on theoreti cal speculation) t hat a newborn baby would
react to sudden loweri ng by contracti ng a l l his flexors, hal t i ng
his breath i f he already has one, accelerated pulse, and getting
damp i f he is already dry. I said I was sure that the vesti bular
apparatus of the ear had evolved to the point that i f babies f el l ,
and i f t hei r falls were from trees, no baby could survi ve i f he
di d not already have bui l t i nto hi s nervous system the reaction
to fal l i ng. That means that a violent st i mulat i on of the semi-
ci rcular canals of the ear would so contract the f al l i ng body
that the back of the head would not hi t the ground, and that
the point of impact would be the arched spine somewhere near
the center of gravi ty. The f al l i ng body may be traumati zed
more or less badly, but i t may survi ve a f al l of ten feet or more
almost unharmed.
We see that there are things a newborn baby is f ami l i ar
wi t h; things that at first sight seem just nonsense i f we are
carri ed away by unthoughtful cerebration. We forget that the
Subjective and Objective Real i t y
81
mother, and everythi ng inside her, are subject to gravi tati onal
pul l and that the baby has experienced t hi s protected by the
l i qui d i n whi ch he is immersed. There may even be some
knowledge of a ki nd t ransmi t t ed through the genes. Evolut i on
has cared to bestow on other ani mals many such useful t ri cks,
when t hei r ancestors were l earni ng and i mprovi ng the means
for the survi val of the present generation. Ma n has very few
helpful presents from the past whi ch work from the start. He
has, however, i nheri t ed the most useful t ri ck of a l l , the abi li t y
to form hi s own t ri cks. Every i ndi vi dual has the abi l i t y to
acquire t hrough hi s experience, i n hi s own environment, the
means necessary for hi s successful survi val .
Besides t hi s unexpected f ami l i ari t y wi t h the outsideor is
i t the i nsi deworld, the baby senses at bi rt h touch, hot and
cold, wetness and dryness, hears loud noises, and has some
sort of sight, but I believe he has l i t t l e or no other pract i cal
knowledge of the outside world. Every t i me I hear myself say
something by habi t such as t he previous phrase, I catch myself
t hi nki ng l i ke a machi ne, albeit maybe a clever one.
Beli eve i t or not, however you wi sh, a new baby has quite
a large experience of audi tory sensation. H e has heard the
regular beats of the heart t hat pumped li fe i nto h i m, he can
t el l sneezes and coughs, and he knows a great vari et y of gur-
gl i ng noises. Scientologists and former dianeticists w i l l t el l
you of other possible noises, and i t should not be beyond your
i magi nat i on to li st more that even ki ngs and Nobel prize wi n-
ners produce. To be sure, by habi t of thought and speech I have
made a bad mi stake; I should rat her have said queens and
female Nobel prize wi nners. Our speaking is so mechani cal, or
habi t ri dden, that i f speaking means t hi nki ng, then I for one,
feel ashamed for us a l l .
In my view, the newborn baby experiences the outside world
mostly through hi s sensory cortex. A t the very beginning he
knows only a sensory subjective reali t y, and i t is a nice reali t y.
It goes wi t h the sense of omnipotence, whi ch, n o l en s v o l en s ,
he w i l l have to see shri nk for the rest of hi s li fe. I f he is lucky-
i t w i l l not become negative, but there are few who escape
havi ng at least streaks of i t t urned i nt o a sense of i nferi ori t y.
A t the beginning, the newborn has everyone around con-
cerned wi t h hi s well-being. A cry, a movement of dissatisfac-
t i on, w i l l mobilize everythi ng and everybody to see that a l l hi s
needs are granted.
Subjective reali t y i s the first, the ri chest, and the most i m-
portant to our emotional, ment al, and physi cal well-being. It
is as sound as our body and our i nheri tance. G radual l y and
surely the baby grows. H i s senses, whi ch we must not forget,
are not a l l bri ngi ng i n i nformati on from outside hi s body.
From the earliest stages he is moved by the i nt ernal needs of
the entire mat eri al support of being. The nervous system,
glandular balance, digestive organi zati on, cleansing appa-
ratus, ski n, defecation, and mi ct uri t i on a l l provide an i m-
mense amount of sensory st i mulat i on, far more t han we usu-
al l y care to t hi nk.
Gradual l y and surely the movements of the li mbs and eyes
become more i nteresti ng, and take up a greater part of hi s
waki ng state. In the last few decades observations have been
numerous and have become more reli able by cross-checking.
In 1947, when I was wri t i ng B o d y a n d M a t u r e B e h a v i o r , I
could not find very much i nformati on on the state of the eyes
of a baby at bi rt h , at three weeks, and at other subsequent
dates. Ar e they looki ng at i nfi ni ty? Ar e t hei r eyes capable of
converging? We converge the eyes for near-seeing and set the
axis of the eyeballs pract i cally paral l el for far-seeing. The
reaction to f al l i ng has act ually been observed a few minutes
after bi rt h , and considerable reli able knowledge has been ac-
cumulated since I first searched, rel yi ng on my curi osi ty and
unt rai ned amateuri sh observations.
It is as fasci nati ng as any story on growth and l earni ng to
watch how a baby becomes capable of rudi ment ary and not
quite i nt ent i onal contractions of hi s flexor muscles, learns to
Subjective and Objective Reali t y 83
r o l l over to one of hi s sides, and t hen onto hi s belly, and how
the extensor back muscles become strong enough to l i f t hi s
head once he is on hi s stomach. Thi s l i f t i ng of the head when
l yi ng on t he stomach is not l i ke any other exercise i n l i f t i ng.
The head is li ft ed and the back muscles are contracted power-
f ul l y unt i l the eyes are able to look forward to the would-be
hori zon: the head is li fted so t hat the face is i n the position i t
w i l l be when standi ng. Look up your f ami l y album, and maybe
you w i l l find your own photograph wi t h head li fted much
better t han you hold i t now.
I believe t hat the otoli thi c apparatus of the eart i ny whi sk-
ers wi t h l i t t l e stones at t hei r ends whi ch produce maxi mum
impulses when t r ul y verti calfi xes the head so t hat the eyes
can see the hori zon most comfortably. I also believe that the
t urni ng of the baby wi t h hi s head downwards takes place i n
sufficient t i me, before the head-on exi t from the foetal world
and ent ry i nt o the baby world, for the maxi mum and mi ni -
mum st i mulat i on to be produced by the otolites. It is si mi l ar
to balanci ng the i ndi cat i on of an electri cal measuri ng appa-
ratus by setting the needle exactly at zero of the scale i n order
to make i t s readi ng correct a l l along the range of measure-
ments.
I say agai n (I believe t hi s to be t rue but I do not real l y know
that i t is so; even so, I shal l be surpri sed i f i t t urns out to be
just a nice speculation), I have duri ng forty years or so ob-
served many people wi t h bad posture, whi ch as you know
already means to me also insufficiently organized i nt ent i onal
movements, and have often found that the "ot oli t hi c standard-
i zati on peri od" was much shortened by circumstances.
Step-by-step subjective real i t y w i l l give way to a slowly
growi ng complex of sensations of a special kindsensations
whi ch surroundi ng people approve or condemn. Parent s,
teachers, vi si tors, w i l l ei ther say, " Ni ce boy," (or gi rl), or wi t h
the appropriate grimace, " Ug h , don't do t hat . " B y and by, i t
w i l l dawn on the new apprentice to adulthood t hat some of hi s
84
most cherished subjective reali t y is not acceptable to those
who provide hi s needs and above a l l the securi ty of forthcom-
i ng care and affection. Gradual l y, he w i l l l earn that only a
smal l part of hi s subjective reali t y is shared by others, or
rat her, the baby w i l l become aware only of t hat part endorsed
by others. It is easier to become aware of each disapproval as
i t happens t han i t is to be aware, stage by stage, of the totali ty
of the reduced i nt ernal li fe.
Omnipotence, whi ch is li ved and not perceived, is eroded i n
quite an incomprehensible way. A baby havi ng fun standi ng
on a chai r, holdi ng its back, and rocki ng to and fro w i l l be
precipitated upon by a parent wi t h an expression of danger
and concern. They w i l l grab the chi l d wi t h unaccustomed i n-
tensity and i n a most authori ti ve way prohi bi t such a t hi ng,
whi le i n fact, few babies i njure themselves t hi s way. The i n-
nate fear of f al l i ng w i l l ei ther i nhi bi t the ampli tude of osci lla-
tions, or the baby w i l l sli p off i n ti me to get away wi t h only a
fri ght or mi nor contusion. However, the onlooker cannot
afford to watch an act t hat mi ght finish wi t h banging the back
of the head on a stone floor, especially when the possibility of
severe i njury wi t h i nt ernal bleeding cannot be excluded. Even
so, we are not concerned at t hi s moment wi t h the methods of
educating chi ldren, we are instead concerned wi t h objective
reali t y. Objective reali t y grows slowly, eroding subjective real -
i t y, and alongside t hi s process, the curi osi ty to t ry anyt hi ng
once to see what happens, whi ch we i nterpret as omnipotence,
is di mi ni shed at the same ti me.
From thi s point of view, a l l acts and notions whi ch i n the
end we find i n a l l the adults around us w i l l constitute the
objective reali t y of us a l l . Objective reali t y is thus, of necessity,
part of a l l the subjective reali t y whi ch grows unhi ndered and
wi thout interference, si mply and l ucki l y because parents do
not know "how". Subjective reali t y is as sound as our biologi-
cal makeup. Objective reali t y shows our growth as a member
of human society, as part of a culture or even a ci vi li zat i on.
Subjective and Objective Reali t y
85
Our objective reali t y, reflected by our behavior i n our social
envi ronment, is a measure of our sani ty. Suppose I say that I
l i ke or detest Bach' s music. People, i f they are not pop mad,
may t h i nk that I have very good musi cal taste or t hat I am not
musi cal at a l l , as the case may be. I, and my judges, deal wi t h
taste whi ch is a subjective affair; i t is pri vate business and
not hi ng more or less. A n old Hebrew sayi ng has i t that there
is no point i n argui ng about taste or smell. Suppose, on the
other hand, that I seriously mai nt ai n t hat I am Bachi t i s
more usually Napolean and occasionally Jesus C hri st and I
ask you to treat me as such, then i f I behave thi s way conti nu-
ously and uni nt ent i onally for a long enough period, I ' wi l l be
locked up. Taci t l y agreed objective reali t y is a measure of your
sani ty and mi ne. If we i nfri nge, contradict, or si n against the
reali t y that life i n a society has annexed from our subjective
li fe, then our sani ty as a member of that society w i l l be
doubted. One can glimpse here an effective method of deali ng
wi t h socially rejected i ndi vi duals. A n effective method i s not
seen i n any way clearly at the moment. On introspection we
can usually find i n ourselves streaks of behavior whi ch we
suppress for fear that we may be judged insane, for to most
people, even now, i nsani t y exists only as a disease or defect of
the brai n.
I have repeatedly said t hat objective reali t y i s only a part
of subjective reali t y. It took me a long t i me and much labor to
arri ve at t hi s conclusion and to see also the ut i l i t y of such a
conclusion. For l ack of an easier way out we rely on evolution
as the most proven and accepted method of seeing li fe, and
ourselves, i n true perspective i n the general scheme of the
universe. We have, at present, no better approach and no
better way of seeing li fe i n the general scheme of things t han
the theory of evolution. There are old adversaries of the theory
who, from t i me to t i me, consider that they have found new
flaws i n i t , but on the whole, the theory has been improved and
is generally accepted as reli able.
What I have said above about subjective and objective real i -
ties is not easy to digest. I have repeatedly reconsidered the
question. The evolution of the nervous system i n a l l mammals
shows that the subjective world of real i t y is very much larger
t han the objective one. Thi s is clearly seen i n the structure of
the nervous system.
The number of nerve cells is usually t aken to be 3-10
1 0
We
know objective reali t y through our senses: heari ng, seeing,
smelli ng, tasti ng, touching, cold and hot, wet and dry. The
number of neurons that i nform us of t he outside envi ronment
whi ch we, i n short, gli bly consider as reali t yshould be, one
would t hi nk, enormous compared wi t h the t ot al number of
t hem i n the enti re system. It t urns out that i n the basi lar
membrane there are about ten thousand nerve cells, maki ng
twenty thousand for the two ears. There are, of course, many
other cells i n the ear, but i t is a question whether they are part
of the i nner act i vi t y, or only analyze audible i nformati on from
outside. So, let us say fifty thousand cells, to be on the safe side.
The ret i na is supposed to have one hundred and fifty thousand
cones, rods, and whatever you l i ke, whi ch for the two eyes
makes three hundred thousand. Our nose comes out very
poorly, but our tongue is ri chl y i nnervat ed on the t i p and
edges; estimate however you may, fifty thousand is a good
guess for the two of them. So far as our body is concerned, the
tips of our fingers are generously i nnervated, but the lower
back has a nerve endi ng only every four to five centimeters.
Consider our body surface as one thousand square centime-
ters, wi t h an average density of i nnervat i on of t en each square
centimeter, we t hen arri ve at t en thousand, whi ch we can take
to be twenty-five thousand just because I am not too part i cu-
l ar. Summi ng up, at t hi s point, we have a grand t ot al of si x
hundred twenty-five thousand. I w i l l agree to a safety factor
to make i t three mi l l i on or even 30-10
6
whi ch i s an exaggera-
t i on. So that out of 3-10
1 0
cells only 3-10
7
at the very most can
be i nformi ng our i nt eri or of the world outside us, whi ch is less
Subjective and Objective Real i t y 87
t han one cel l for every thousand cells t hat mani pulate, ana-
lyze, and integrate dat a or whatever i t is t hat the nervous
system does. You may find i t easier to agree wi t h me that only
one cel l i n t en thousand is bri ngi ng i n i nformat i on from objec-
ti ve real i t y, and that subjective real i t y is i mmensely ri cher
and more complex.
We can easi ly i magi ne our eart h wi t hout l i vi ng matter at
a l l . In fact, we know that the eart h had no oxygen i n the
atmosphere at one t i me, and that radi at i on even more obnox-
ious to l i ve wi t h t han the X-rays we use today di d not follow
li fe i nt o existence. It was only when, by a series of accidents
or somebody's mi stake, we had an atmosphere capable of
filtering out the obnoxious radi at i on, mostly by absorption
and otherwise, t hat li fe became possible on eart h. In other
words, there is a Real i t y whi ch has given bi r t h to the subjec-
ti ve mother real i t yni ne monthsand the objective father
real i t ya few mi nutes.
Thi s cosmic Real i t y is so immense and overwhelmi ng that
i t is only when we are at our best t hat we can catch glimpses
of i t . We have to be a poet, a mat hemat i ci an, a musi ci an, and
a philosopher to have any i dea of the i mmensi ty, extent, mat-
ter, energy, or durat i on, a l l of whi ch are beyond our i magi na-
t i on, let alone grasp. Our knowledge, whi ch was acquired by
so much exerti on on the part of the best human brai ns, i s only
a measure of our ignorance of t hi s Real i t y, and a challenge to
our future.
S u m m a r y
I believe the future of man i s better and more i nteresti ng
t han anyt hi ng even science, the most vigorous human tool,
has provided and may make us believe. Today, " r eal i t y" i s
only t he sum t ot al of ext ernal and i nt ernal processes that we
do not suspect to be alterable by us.
AWARENESS
THROUGH
MOVEMENT
T her e i s a n o l d , C hi n es e s a yi n g : " I h e a r a n d f o r g et . I s ee a n d
r em em b er . I d o a n d u n d e r s t a n d . "
L i k e a l l s a yi n g s , i t i s n o t q u i t e r i g h t b u t i t c o n t a i n s w i s d o m .
We d o n o t f o r g et ev er yt hi n g w e h e a r a n d w e d o n o t r em em b er
ev er yt hi n g w e s ee. I d o b el i ev e, ho w ev er , t h a t w e u n d er s t a n d
b es t w h a t w e c a n d o . B u t I h a v e " b l o c k s , " " p ho b i a s , " " t i e s , "
" i n hi b i t i o n s , " a n d " c o m p u l s i o n s " t h a t l i m i t m y d o i n g t o r ep et -
i t i v e p a t t e r n s w i t h n o o t h e r c ho i c e, n o w a y o u t . M y u n d er s t a n d -
i n g r e l a t e s t o t hi n g s l e a n d o . I c a n n o t , f o r t h e l o v e o f M i k e ,
u n d er s t a n d w hy I f e e l i m p o t en t ; I c a n n o t u n d er s t a n d w hy I a m
d ep r es s ed ; I c a n n o t u n d er s t a n d w hy, t o d a y, l a m s o v i r i l e a n d
g a y. S o , e v e n t o d o d o es n o t m a k e f o r a b s o l u t e u n d er s t a n d i n g .
T hen w h a t d o e s ? R e s o l v e t h e " a b s o l u t e " a n d y o u m a y h a v e
b et t er u n d er s t a n d i n g .
When I began to work on myself, or more correctly wi t h
myself, because of my trouble wi t h my knees, I di d not di st i n-
gui sh between mani pulat i ve Funct i onal Integration and
group work to produce Awareness through Movement. I used
t hem i ndi scri mi nat ely as I di d not reali ze t hat there was a
difference. Gradual l y, however, I came to see that what I was
doing wi t h myself was not simple, and cert ai nly not easy, to
communicate to others. I had no i nt ent i on of doing that, but
i t happened that a colleague, a physicist, asked to participate
i n what I was doing wi t h myself. Thus I had to share my
89
experience wi t h somebody. Imi t at i ng me di d not satisfy h i m
as he di d not know how or where to look, and he was also
unable to discern what was essential and what was a mere
det ai l. The more questions he asked the more I di sli ked hi s
presence; I was i rri t at ed by my i nabi l i t y to explai n i n a few
words exactly what I was doing. I found I had to go back into
my past to find my way of self-direction, the reasoning, and
later the feeling, that moved me to do what I di d. I was jealous
of the waste of t i me and annoyed wi t h myself; I di sli ked hi s
inquisitiveness, and my own feeling of impotence made h i m a
nuisance.
As my work wi t h myself seemed to me self-observation, i t
occurred to me that self-examination involves judgment, good
or bad. My annoyance was t hat I had to examine myself,
whereas when I had been alone I was able just to observe
myself as an object whi ch acted and moved. I was far more
absorbed i n observing how I was doing a movement t han I was
interested i n what t hat movement happened to be. Thi s
seemed to me the real gist of my knee trouble. I could repeat
a movement wi t h my leg hundreds of ti mes, I could wal k for
weeks wi t h no inconvenience whatsoever and suddenly doing
what I believed to be the i dent i cal movement just once more
spoiled everythi ng. Obviously, t hi s one movement was done
differently from the former ones, and so i t seemed to me that
how I di d a movement was much more i mportant t han what
the movement consisted of.
Havi ng someone share the feeling of what I di d wi t h myself
is l i ke t hrowi ng a stone and di st urbi ng the quiet surface of a
pool of water. To come to the point, i t became clear to me that
I was deali ng wi t h a process of self-direction and each part i cu-
l ar movement was i mport ant only i nasmuch as i t i l l umi nat ed
t hi s process. As the process was obviously not perfect i n my
case, i t seemed that i t mi ght also be imperfect i n other people.
As faulty heredity di d not have to be considered, there havi ng
been no trouble wi t h my knees for a decade or two, i t remai ned
Awareness Through Movement 91
only to discover how I came about l earni ng the process of
self-direction the way I di d. No baby is born wi t h the abi l i t y
to perform adult movements; they have to be learned whi l e
growing. I had, therefore, to relearn as an adult that whi ch I
had fai led to l earn better i n my past. Learni ng to l earn was
the t hi ng I had to share wi t h my colleague. I was not a teacher,
yet he had to l earn how I di d whatever i t was he saw me doing,
I began by maki ng h i m reali ze that learni ng is very different
from doing. I n li fe an act must be accomplished at the ri ght
speed, at the ri ght moment, and wi t h the ri ght vigor. Fai l ure
i n any of these conditions w i l l compromise the act and make
i t f ai l . The act w i l l not achieve i t s purpose. Achi evi ng the
intended purpose may be considered as a condition i n itself.
The intended purpose may be just movi ng for the sake of
moving or dancing for the sake of dancing. Yet , a l l these condi-
tions for successful achievement i n li fe are a hi ndrance i n
learni ng. These conditions are not operative duri ng the first
two or three years of li fe when the foundations for learni ng
are dug and l ai d.
For successful l earni ng we must proceed at our own rate.
Babies repeat each novel acti on clumsi ly at t hei r own rate
unt i l they have enough of i t . Thi s occurs when the i nt ent i on
and i t s performance are executed so that they are just one act
whi ch feels l i ke an i nt ent i on only.
A n adult learni ng to play tennis or gol f or anyt hi ng else
repeats unt i l he feels t hat hi s achievement should be approved
by others or that he evokes the approval by act ually wi nni ng.
A baby cannot do otherwise, and an adult does not know what
hi s rate of learni ng is. H i s appreci ati on is distorted by what
he happened to impose on hi msel f as the rate of a " nor mal "
person. Duri ng hi s li fe as a chi l d, at home and at school, wi t h
other siblings or chi ldren, the parents and the teachers a l l
t ri ed to push h i m to be exactly l i ke they were, wi t h a rate of
learni ng whi ch was not hi s own and whi ch he w i l l stri ve prob-
ably a l l hi s li fe to achieve.
In learni ng Awareness through Movement, proceed very
slowly, so slowly that you can discover your rate of learni ng
here, when the demands of your ambi t i on and the rate of
others do not make you go faster t han you can. In Awareness
through Movement lessons everybody is allowed a l l the time
necessary to assimilate the i dea of the movement and the
leisure to get used to the novelty of the si t uat i on. There is
sufficient ti me to perceive and organize oneself, and to repeat
the movement as often as one feels is ri ght . No whi stle, no
metronome, no rhyt hm is used, no music and no drum. You
slowly learn to find your i nnate rhyt hm, depending on your
structure. Each member of the body has i ts rate of osci llati on,
l i ke a pendulum. Wi t h growi ng f ami l i ari t y of the act, speed of
movement increases and consequently i ts power. Thi s may not
be self-evident but i t is correct. The slowness is necessary for
the discovery of parasi ti c superfluous exertion and its part i al
eli mi nat i on. The superfluous i n action is worse t han the i n-
sufficient, for i t costs us useless effort. Fast acti on when learn-
i ng is strenuous, leads to confusion, and makes the learni ng
unpleasant and unnecessarily t i ri ng.
Learni ng must be pleasurable, and i t must be easy; the two
make breathi ng simple. What is learnt otherwise rarely
becomes habi t ually spontaneous. In Awareness through
Movement lessons you make the impossible possible, then
easy, comfortable, pleasurable, and finally aesthetically pleas-
i ng. I believe i t is more i mportant to l earn the way to l earn
new ski l l s t han the feat of the ski l l s themselves; the new s ki l l
is only a useful reward for your attenti on. You w i l l feel you
deserve the s ki l l and t hi s w i l l help to bui l d your self-confi-
dence.
In order to arri ve at the ri ght movement, i t is first necessary
to t hi nk of better movement rat her t han ri ght ; the ri ght move-
ment has no future development. For several Olympi ads,
j umpi ng two meters four centimeters was the ri ght t hi ng for
a gold-medalist to do, and so long as t hi s was considered ri ght
even such a superb athlete as Owens could not do better.
Today one needs to go over two meters twenty centimeters to
quali fy for competion, and many j ump two meters t hi rt y centi -
meters. The better can be improvedthe ri ght remai ns the
l i mi t for ever. Th i nk of such great runners as Nour mi and
Ladoumeque, they would not quali fy today even for the semifi-
nals. Bet t er can be betteredright and correct remai n forever
ri ght and correct and deflate one. Thi s is not just pl ayi ng wi t h
words, as we usual l y do wi t h words: i magi ne your atti tude of
mi nd when you feel that you have not achieved your best but
feel you could have made a l i t t l e greater effort; compare t hi s
wi t h your state of mi nd when, after a supreme effort, you do
not at t ai n your goal and so feel discouraged and di mi ni shed i n
your own eyes. In the first case there is the urge to repeat, not
so i n the second.
In Awareness t hrough Movement lessons I start wi t h the
constituents of the movement, and sometimes there may be as
many as twenty different vari ati ons of the constituent part i al
configurations of the final s ki l l . The prel i mi nary i ngredi ent
movements do not usually evoke the final act. In t hi s manner
everybody is at ease and not urged to go a l l out to achieve. Thi s
is contrary to the prevai li ng methods of education i n whi ch we
are often wi red i n to stri ve for success and achievement, i n
spite of our better judgment. B y shi ft i ng our attenti on to the
means of achi evi ng i nstead of the urge to succeed, the l earni ng
process is easier, quieter, and faster. St ri vi ng for a goal
reduces the incentive to l earn, but by adopting a level of acti on
wel l wi t h i n our means we can improve our way of acti ng and
reach much hi gher levels i n the end.
When l earni ng, do not have any i nt ent i on of bei ng correct;
do not act wel l or ni cely, do not hurry, as thi s creates confu-
si on; i nstead go slowly and use no more, but rat her less,
strength t han you need. Do not concentrate, for t hi s means
l i t eral l y not looki ng around. Concentrati on is a useful pri nci -
ple sometimes i n li fe, but i n learni ng, attention must be di -
94
rected alternately to the background and the figure. I n learn-
i ng, you have to know first the trees and then the forest where
, they belong. The shi ft i ng from figure to background and vice
versa becomes so f ami l i ar that one can si multaneously per-
ceive both, wi t hout any botheri ng or st ri vi ng to be efficient.
El i mi nat i on of useless parasi ti c acti on w i l l make for efficiency
surer t han just st ri vi ng for i t . Do not be serious, eager, avoid-
i ng any wrong move. The ki nd of l earni ng t hat goes wi t h
Awareness t hrough Movement is. source of pleasurable sen-
sations whi ch lose t hei r cl ari t y i f anyt hi ng dims the pleasure
of i t al l .
Errors cannot be avoided i n l earni ng even i f we rely solely
on st ri ct i mi t at i on; l earni ng to us means graspi ng the un-
known. Any act may lead to the unknown. If you eli mi nate
what seems erroneous at the start you may make the learni ng
voi d of any interest altogether. Errors can be eli mi nat ed when
we know what is ri ght , but when we know what is ri ght we can
do wi thout furt her learni ng; simple repeti ti on or exercising
w i l l teach us a sort of achievement. Awareness t hrough Move-
ment leads to knowledge of oneself and to previous undiscov-
ered resources i n oneself. So, do not avoid errors, but rather
use t hem as alternati ves for what you feel is ri ght and thei r
roles may soon be interchanged.
I use the word "awareness" as conscious knowledge, and i t
is not to be mi xed up wi t h si mple consciousness. I am quite
f ami l i ar wi t h my house and my l i brary, but I am not aware of
how many steps I have to cli mb to get home. I am conscious
of leavi ng and ret urni ng home a l l t hrough the years, yet I am
not aware of the number of steps on the stai rs. I f I pay atten-
t i on once and count the number of acts, such as shi ft i ng the
eyes and performi ng whatever movements may accompany
t hem i n my head, arms, and legs, then I become aware that
before I was only consciously mount i ng the stai rs. Once I am
conscious of how I am shi ft i ng my attenti on from one step to
the other I am aware of t hem and I also know t hei r number.
Awareness Through Movement
95
The same t r ai n of thought could apply to my l i brary. " Aware-
ness" is used by me to denote conscious-of plus knowledge. I
am conscious t hat I can swallow i nt ent i onally for nearly a
whole li fet i me wi t hout bei ng aware of how I do i t . Nobody i s
aware of how we do i t .
Speaki ng of awareness, I have found that even students of
mi ne make the mi stake of t h i nki ng t hat I recommend t hem
to be aware of a l l t hei r actions a l l the t i me they are awake.
My l earni ng is enhanced by becoming aware that to l i f t my
ri ght foot off the ground I have to mobilize prel i mi nari l y my
ri ght hi p joi nt whi ch means I have to shi ft most of my weight
to the left, i f only for a wi nk. Once I have learned t hi s new
style of wal ki ng i t becomes semi-automatic; even so my aware-
ness i s now tri ggered i nt o control at the slightest disturbance
of the excellency of my wal ki ng. In my own case, I have
managed to do pract i cally anyt hi ng wi t h myself wi t h two de-
fective knees, and t hi s is only because I am aware of what I
am going to do, and how I am going to do i t before I make an
i rreparable and defective movement. But most of the t i me, i n
normal conditions, I wal k wi t h si mple i nt ent i onal wal ki ng as
I di d before I became aware of how to wal k wi t h defective
knees. I do not count the steps of my house every t i me I mount
t hem, and I can allow myself t hi s l uxury only because of the
li bert y my awareness gives me.
Procedures si mi l ar to Awareness t hrough Movement can be
detected i n l earni ng to pai nt, to play an i nst rument , or solve
a mat hemat i cal problem. A pai nter i n front of an easel wi t h
penci l, charcoal, or brush i n hand, looks at the face or figure
before h i m whi ch he has to reproduce on the paper or canvas
on hi s easel. H e looks at the face and at the paper, he weighs
hi s hand, he frees i t from power, and t hi s enables h i m to feel
cert ai n that he can draw what he sees. In order, however, to
reproduce what is i n front of h i m he has to look at i t agai n and
agai n unt i l he is f ul l y aware of what he sees. Is i t an oval face?
Ar e the eyes near the outli ne of the face or are they more
central? And so on. When he learns Awareness t hrough Move-
ment he can appreciate and detect whether he draws or paints
better and more fluently when he is breat hi ng i n, breathi ng
out, or just holdi ng hi s breath. Thi s awareness t hrough or
whi le movi ng w i l l , i n the end, produce a pai nt er who seems
able to look and draw nat ural l y wi thout any effort. The ti me
spent on self-observation i n acti onwhi ch is movementis
insignificant when compared wi t h the readiness of the result-
i ng excellence and fluency.
A vi oli ni st , an actor, a wri t er, or whoever, who i s not aware
of the importance of awareness of the way one directs oneself
i n act i ng or functi oni ng i n li fe w i l l stop growing the moment
he achieves what he considers to be the ri ght way of doing.
Some pianists of genius when pract i ci ng are always aware of
t hei r pl ayi ng and discover an alt ernat i ve to the habi t ual. Im-
provement of talented people comes t hrough t hei r awareness
of themselves i n action. Thei r talent arises from t hei r freedom
to choose t hei r modes of action. New modes of action are avai l -
able to those who have discovered themselves, or who have
had the good l uck to meet a teacher who helped t hem to l earn
to learn. Such teachers teach music and not the t hi s and that
of any part i cul ar score. The same goes for a l l human ski l l s and
art . The most common feature of people who achieve inde-
scribable and superb performance is the hours of dai ly prac-
tice they a l l undertake throughout t hei r li ves. Hours of repeti -
tive practice is hard work; hours of practi ci ng awareness i n
movement or acti on remai n the most absorbing and interest-
i ng ti me i n our li ves. The feeling of bei ng ali ve relates to the
awareness of growing to be oneself.
It was my good fortune to witness an instance of awareness
of what we hear. I was leavi ng the laboratory after the i nst al -
lat i on of a newly designed C uri e balance followi ng the discard-
i ng of one whi ch had served several decades. Frederi c Joli ot -
C uri e, on our way home, called me to see the new i nst rument
of whi ch he was very proud. The i nst rument had fifteen h un-
dred volts between the cent ral suspension and the housing
whi ch was earthed. It was late and every one else had left the
laboratory except us. Joli ot took another last look, removed
hi s overcoat, and indulged i n t ryi ng out the i nst rument . He
put a met al st ri p, whi ch had been left near the i nst rument , i n
the chamber and switched on the counter, when there was a
stream of cli cks i n the loudspeaker. Joli ot expressed hi s i re
that the notice he had had put up requesting that the last
person to leave the laboratory should swi tch off the i nst ru-
ment had not been obeyed. He put on hi s coat and we were
leavi ng for home when, reachi ng for the swi tch, he stopped as
i f struck by l i ght ni ng. Whereupon he took off hi s coat once
more and stood by the balance oblivious of everythi ng else.
Li st eni ng to the cl i cki ng he t urned and sai d, " C an you not
hear the dying-out cli cki ng? There is no radioactive mat eri al
here whi ch has such a half-li fet i me. " Once he had switched off
the machine as he had i nstructed we left for home. Next day
there was the news that induced radi oacti vi ty had been discov-
ered. H ad he not become aware of the noises he had heard
there would probably have been just a dressing down for the
person who had left the machine "not switched off". It took
Joli ot nearly a week to make sure, to convince hi msel f and
t hen the world that induced or art i fi ci al radi oacti vi ty is indeed
an experi mental fact. He was rewarded by a Nobel pri ze. I
believe that not very many physicists have the awareness
avai lable to Frederi ck Jul i ot - C uri e and that many would just
have thought something was wrong wi t h the new machi ne.
People often explai n away incidents l i ke t hi s as i nt ui t i ve. To
me i t is a matter of semantics. Int ui t i on works i n the field i n
whi ch the person has both wide experience and a vi t al per-
sonal interest. The sound of sea waves are heard by many, but
only Debussy had an i nt ui t i ve musi cal theme for hi s L a M er .
Debussy heari ng what Joli ot heard would, we hope, have had
another musi cal i nspi rat i on. Sayi ng that Joli ot became aware
of what he was heari ng seems to me to be a clearer statement,
whi ch i s more precise both fundamentally and generally. Int u-
i t i on is an acceptable explanati on, but wi t h the reservation
that i t can apply only to men i n the domai n i n whi ch t hei r
enti re personality has an intense interest. We have the choice
to t h i nk whatever we wi sh. We do, i n fact, have alternati ves;
I choose awareness.
In the four decades of my involvement wi t h human learni ng
I have become aware of the difficulty whi ch even interested
and i ntelli gent students have i n understandi ng how i t is that
I am able to improvise, year i n and year out, thousands of
movements each wi t h ten or more vari ati ons on the same
theme unt i l even the slowest i n the audience receives the
message. The usual explanations people offer me are that I am
unique, and that I have creative abi l i t y to an uncommon de-
gree. I am deliberately omi t t i ng other compli mentary sayings
and wri ti ngs, not from modesty but because I see not hi ng to
be proud of. I once heard a sayi ng that struck me; i t was that
the average man i n the street is you and 1.1 believe that the
average latent genius is you and I. Wi t hout the i nner convic-
t i on of offering to my listeners and readers something impor-
tant to every human bei ng I could not have had the stami na
to persist alone for decades. Duri ng a lengthy and i nstructi ve
conversation whi ch I was pri vi leged to have wi t h Jonas Salk
i n the Sal k Institute i n San Diego he exclaimed, "People l i ke
you and me are alone i n the worldwe should keep together,"
Thi s is not true for we are not alone most of the t i me but we
feel so at low ebb.
I believe that the latent abi li ti es i n every one of us are
considerably greater t han the ones we li ve wi t h. Moreover, the
latency is acti vely imposed by ourselves because of lack of
awareness. I believe that the miseries of life of men since the
dawn of known hi story, ten or twelve thousand years i n a l l ,
have been so great t hat our present state is not a fai lure but
just a fact. The immense speculative possibilities opened to
humans wi t h the explosive t hi nki ng spreading from one di sci -
pli ne to the other present us wi t h the followi ng few issues. We
shal l find ourselves so at fault wi t h our present brai n that we
shal l have to substitute for i t the computers of the future or
we shal l see an increased evolution i n our present abi l i t y. I,
personally, believe that the prospects for our future are al -
ready becoming avai lable. I believe that we already possess a
brai n whi ch occassionally functions at f ul l capacity, provided
we become aware of how we avoid usi ng i t Our present cul -
t ural programmi ng of most brai ns is habi t ual i n content, i n-
tenti on, and scope. We l i mi t our growth to what i s i mmedi -
ately useful, just as we always have. We are wasti ng our
abi li ti es by usi ng only those t hat we need i n our condition of
mi sery whi ch we ourselves have created. Just t h i nk of the
speed of readi ng whi ch is an immense achievement, but is i t
really necessary to read at the rate of speaking (three hundred
words a mi nut e at i t s best)? Is i t at t hat rate because we l earn
to read and wri t e wi t h the help of speech, and so have to
continue forever i n the same way? We soon ki d ourselves that
the achieved rate of readi ng is the l i mi t of our brai n. Thi s is
when you cert ai nly know that by learni ng to scan the wri t t en
or typed scri pt wi t h the eyes and the head only, whi ch is
di vorci ng conceiving the content from subvocal speaki ng or by
i nhi bi t i ng subl i mi nal utterings, we can read ten times as fast.
Moreover, when readi ng at three thousand words a mi nut e,
we improve our retenti on of the content and i ts details. Ar e
you sure t hat we cannot mul t i pl y by ten most of our abi li ti es
whi ch we have i nadvertently l i mi t ed by some other " usef ul "
cri t eri a, as we have done wi t h speech and wri ti ng?
I believe that we act ually l i mi t ourselves by an undue and
erroneous emphasis on w h a t is i mportant to the society of
men at the neglect of ho w . How each i ndi vi dual can be helped
to find hi s uniqueness and become unique i n his contri buti on
to hi mself and hi s social envi ronment is too often neglected.
There are many Leonardo da V i nci s i n the human species, yet
we do everythi ng t hat makes f ul l human capacity a rari t y.
Our own generation can l i st musi cal, mat hemat i cal, electroni-
cal , and computori al i nt erspat i al uniqueness, exhi bi t i ng l a-
tent, never used abi li ti es of deduction and i nducti on, of carry-
i ng pattern recognition from one ment al di sci pli ne to the
other. There are si mi l ar discrete jumps i n athletics as wel l . A l l
brai n act i vi t y flourishes wi t h the f ami l i ari t y of the domain i t
dwells on. Operat i onal calculus, large systems, modern genet-
ics, tensor calculus, cybernetics are not extensions of known
beginnings enlarged. They are new patterns of t h i nki ng that
can be detected as latent abi li ti es hampered and made inoper-
ative t hrough scientific ignorance. Educat i on of the young, I
hope soon to be able to say, was generally a st ri vi ng for the
smallest common denominator of uni formi ty." The few geni-
uses i n each generation had t hei r i ndi vi dual i t y fostered
through luck. Here and there was somebody who taught them
to learn rather t han only teachi ng a curri cul um, no matter
how good.
I have formed i n my i magi nati on an i deal human brai n and
functi on. Ideal means non-existent. It also means that every-
body may have one or more streaks approaching comparison
wi t h the i deal. It is a very useful auxi l i ary to compare every-
one to the i deal. What is that i deal being? It is a normal or
average person who has an average genetic i nheri tance, who
had i deal bi rt h , babyhood, childhood, and growth to adult-
hood. What sort of conditions are necessary to grow such a
monster? I have great difficulty i n st art i ng; had there been
anywhere an i deal human i t would not be so presumptuous to
clari fy an i deal hi story of growth. To t hi nk i t is not so difficult
as to describe i t i n words. When I do not have to account for
the logic of sayi ng my t hi nki ng I am at li bert y to ascribe ideal
qualities to each structure and its functi on. Each function is
much easier to idealize. A n i deal memory is, of course, a mem-
ory whi ch has i deal retenti on, has i deal recal l , and remains
absolutely under i nt ent i onal control. Idealized anti gravi ty
function of the skeleton and i ts musculature means levi tati on-
l i ke lightness at w i l l i n a l l directions and at any moment.
101
Observe that t hi s way of t hi nki ng of such an i deal set-up does
not present much difficulty, as the mi nd does not have to
worry about i t .
In t hi s manner you may form for yourself an i deal image of
the i deal functi on of an i deal man. The advantage of such a
subterfuge is very considerable, for at a glance you can place
"f unct i on" of the real man i n comparison wi t h the image i n
your mi nd and obtai n very useful concrete i nformati on. I have
examined Olympi c gold-medalists and found that some j ump
struggli ng against gravi t at i on as i f levi t at i on never existed
whereas others seem l i ght enough and j ump even hi gher wi t h
less effort, so much so t hat you could imagine they feel weight-
less. A l l may even j ump the same height but how they di d i t
becomes of first importance. One may even be only a si lver-
medalist but s t i l l nearer to i deal levi t at i on t han any of the
others.
Wat chi ng the same person perform several acts I can see
h i m, or her, bending to sit on the floor, walt zi ng wi t h some-
body, and being asked to say something before an audience. I
find that t hi s person's walt zi ng looks more l i ke my i deal image
t han the other acts, and I wonder how t hi s far from i deal
posture manages to waltz so ni cely. Then I observe that most
of the t urni ng couples do better t han duri ng other actions, and
that something i n the wal t zi ng has brought lightness to other-
wise heavy, clumsy i ndi vi duals. In most people there is more
lightness i n rot ary movement around oneself t han i n other
movements. Wi t hout my i deal image I am at a loss to know
what to look for; each functi on grades i t self when compared
wi t h an idealized functi on, and although t hi s is not a measure
(as from a scientific i nstrument) i t is s t i l l a ment al auxi l i ary
of the greatest value to me. It has guided my i nqui ry i n
neurology,j)hysiology, evoluti on theory, and so forth, enabli ng
me to find the perti nent facts whi ch are dispersed i n an ocean
of knowledge and i ntelli gence whi ch i n i t self has no ports, only
vistas.
Man' s i deal posture is one of the features that I have consid-
ered roost over the years so that I have arri ved at a precise
ideaor idealreinforced by scientific findings and by long
practice. Today, I often start a workshop wi t h an experiment
cl ari fyi ng to the audience the i nt ri cat e and i nt ri nsi c beauty of
upri ght standi ng i n man.
Here i s how many thousands have been introduced to the
practice of Awareness t hrough Movement. Look at the i l l us-
t rat i on whi ch shows how a baby just before begi nni ng to
crawl, and i n i ts early stages, holds hi s head whi l e l yi ng on hi s
stomach.
The head is held reflexively just as i t would be i n the i deal
head of an i deal adult. The head i s li ft ed unt i l the eyes look
at the hori zon, and held freely so i t can move ri ght and left
wi t h the greatest smoothness and ease the human nervous
system can muster. The rest of the body contorts i t self so that
the cervi cal spine is i n a position to allow freedom of the head
to move on the atlas and axis vertebrae. On wat chi ng a baby,
long before i t i s a year old, t urni ng or being t urned on i ts
stomach, one can see the head ori ent i ng i t sel f as i f by an
i nvi si ble mechani sm to the position shown i n the i l l ust rat i on.
The holdi ng of the head is indefatigable as wel l as reflexive,
and i t can remai n there to outlast a strong adult, always
assuming he can reproduce i t . A baby may lower i ts head
every now and then gi vi ng the impression that i ts nose w i l l
st ri ke the ground, but t hi s does not happen; the head ri ghts
i t self i n the ni ck of t i me as i f a swi tch were t urned on.
In the adult, the head t urns i nt ent i onally and also automat-
i cal l y i n reaction to any sudden changes i n the teleceptors'
st i mulat i on. I n ei ther case, or for whatever other "fact or", the
head t urns ri ght or left to locate the source of the change. The
head i s twi sted unt i l the organs of sight, heari ng, and smell
are equally st i mulat ed, and i n the long r un even the shortest
changes w i l l t ur n the head to the source. The nervous system
has learned to ori ent the head to the source by the difference
i n the st i mulat i on of these organs, as wel l as by t hei r equali ty
when the durat i on of the change is sufficient. The i mport ant
t hi ng is that the rotati on of the head to face the source of the
change organizes t he^nt i re musculature to move the skeleton
so that the brunt of the weight of the body is carri ed by the
leg of the side to whi ch the head is t urned.
Tr y to imagine something sudden, i mportant, or dangerous
happeni ng on your ri ght side and si mulate the movement of
your head i n such an occurrence*. You w i l l realize that your
left side is freed from weight carryi ng so that you can, or
act ually t ur n your body to the ri ght . The ri ght side is toneful
enough to free the body to t urn around the ri ght hi p joi nt , the
leg, or the foot, or a l l of t hem, to face the disturbance. The
immense nervous act i vi t y necessary to redi stri bute the tonus
of the enti re musculature from one pat t ern to another i s
achieved i n a wi nk. It is triggered by the asymmetri cal tension
i n the muscles of the neck t hat control the head. It is i mpor-
tant to understand the mechanism of the movement of the
eyes as wel l as the effect of the cochlear st i mulat i on i n the
process. But I cannot indulge i n recounting the details that
can be found i ni t i al l y i n the work of Magnus and now i n
almost every good treatise of modern physiology. The final
result of facing the disturbance of the rotati on of the body is
to t urn i t as i f the object is to restore the symmetry of the
muscles of the head and eyes. Thi s is achieved wi t h such great
economy i n organization and action that the response to dan-
ger or vi t al interests is pract i cally instantaneous. Rotati on is
so wel l developed i n humans t hat they t ur n faster t han most
ani mals, and i n bull-fi ghti ng, Japanese mart i al art s, boxing,
and a l l such acti vi ti es, i mpact wi t h an oncoming object or
t hrust can be avoided by si mply t urni ng sideways. The system
is so wel l structured and so fast most of the t i me that self-
preservation seems mi raculous.
The dynamics of moving solids require that the energy be
proporti onal to the square of the velocity, leadi ng one, maybe,
to expect t hat fast rotati on requires tremendous effort. Thi s is
not so, for i n our upri ght posture the proxi mi t y of the weighty
matter to the axi s of rotati on reduces the effort to a mi ni mum.
Also our bodies are almost i deally cyl i ndri cal , maki ng the
moment of rotati on as smal l as possible. In Awareness
through Movement a series of fast movements is practiced
whi ch gives rise to an exhi larat i ng sense of being li ght er and
faster t han we can believe.
When you remember a l l my reasons, do's and don'ts regard-
i ng learni ng, you w i l l understand why, i n the examples I am
about to give you, I do not wi sh you to read ahead. It w i l l be
much better for you i f you work slowly step by step and arri ve
at the final version your own way. It w i l l then be not my way
of doing, but your own way, whi ch is as i t should be.
Si t on the floor. P ut your hands behi nd you and lean on
them wi t h your arms almost strai ght at the elbows. Bend your
knees so that you can put the soles of your feet flat on the floor
i n front of you. Ti l t both knees to your ri ght usi ng your feet
as hinges for moving your legs and knees. Ti l t your knees to
the left and back to the ri ght . Whi l e repeating these t i lt i ngs
of the knees ri ght and left observe that the knee movement is
i ni t i at ed by your pelvis. Note that t i l t i ng your knees to the
ri ght is preceded by the stiffening of the left arm so t hat the
push of the left hand on the floor facilitates the i ni t i at i on of
the movement of the pelvis, coi nci di ng wi t h l i f t i ng and t i l t i ng
your head sli ght ly backwards. Repeat your knee t i lt i ngs ri ght
and left whi le attendi ng to the prel i mi nary alt erat i on of your
t runk, spine, and head, and to your exerti on. Go slowly and
you w i l l find each t i me easier unt i l you are aware of exactly
when you breathe i n and when you breathe out duri ng the
phases of the movement. Change to breat hi ng out at the mo-
ment when, i n the first instance, you were breat hi ng i n and
continue unt i l you become aware whi ch makes the t i l t i ng
easier. Whether your decision is ri ght or wrong is i mmat eri al
at t hi s point. F o r , w hen y o u r a t t e n t i o n a n d a w a r en es s a r e i m -
p r o v e d , i n a f e w m o m en t s , y o u r j u d g m e n t w i l l b e b et t er , a s y o u r
s e n s i t i v i t y w i l l i n c r ea s e w i t h t h e r ed u c t i o n o f y o u r ef f o r t s . The
si tuati on proposed i s reali zable by ei ther sex, fat or emaciated,
old or young, atheletes as wel l as the not too severely cri ppled.
Keep t i l t i ng your knees for a mi nut e or two, or for a dozen
times, or for however long you feel comfortable.
The difference between one person and another w i l l be
sli ght and consist mostly i n how many rehearsals are neces-
sary for one to become aware of the part the rest of the body
has to play i n maki ng the i nt ent i on easily reali zable. Becom-
i ng aware is the significant part of your l earni ng, and i t is not
at a l l i mportant whi ch movement is used for the lesson; even
so we mi ght just as wel l choose one whi ch is also useful i n li fe.
Yo u w i l l , i n the end agree, t hat you, as a human being, can
move l i ke a cat and about t en times as fast as what you have,
up to now, accepted as your " nor mal " . Remember the rate of
readi ng, and my contention that normal is the potenti ally
possible, deformed and l i mi t ed to "normal i t y". The poi nt i s so
i mportant that i t is wort h repeating. Except for parts of our-
selves, everyone of us uses only a smal l fracti on of our latent
abi li t y. The habi t of t hi nki ng t hat one must have talent, or be
born wi t h i t , i n order to be good at anyt hi ng at a l l , i s as true
as i t is an obstacle to free choice. It i s, however, true that we
are genetically human, and that what other humans can do,
even i f i t is only one, a l l the others can. Take the example of
speech, and the three thousand different ways of achieving i t .
Mout h cavities, teeth, tongues, and brai ns are as wi dely differ-
ent as abi li ti es. The refusal to allow oneself the status of not
being talented as i n the use of languages is part of the ment al
laziness whi ch is the i l l - heal t h of most humans. It is very hard
to work to be a genius musi ci an, pai nt er, mathemati ci an,
actor, or whatever so as to create an ori gi nal art i cle or object,
so personal that i t bears the hal l mark of i ts maker. It is far
easier to be one of the mult i t ude whi ch our education renders
as uni form as i t can be.
By thi s t i me you w i l l have rested and become aware of many
things you may or may not have known. Si t agai n i n the
position to t i l t your knees ri ght and left. Thi s ti me t i l t wi t h
your knees spread a l i t t l e apart, unt i l there i s room for first
one of your legs and feet to l i e on the floor between your knees
and then the other. Thus, when your knees are on the floor
t i lt ed to the ri ght , your ri ght lower leg can li e freely between
t hem wi t h the sole of the foot resti ng squarely against the left
t hi gh near the knee; of course your left leg and foot are also
on the floor. Observe that to achieve t hi s your feet are used as
hinges for the t i l t i ng legs, and remai n pract i cally on the floor
at the location that they have found for themselves whi le you
were t i l t i ng and spreading your knees. Usi ng the feet as
hinges is cruci al throughout to the end of the final phases of
the movement.
Fami l i ari ze yourself wi t h t he details of the preparations
necessary to make the two symmet ri cal positions of yourself
when the knees are t i lt ed to the ri ght and then to the left.
Breathe easily, whi ch means do not hi ng to breathe other t han
watchi ng to see t hat there is no breach of cont i nui t y of ai r
107
comi ng i n or out of your nostri ls. Fi nd out whi ch hand on the
floor becomes useless when you t i l t your knees to your ri ght ;
one can be li ft ed wi t hout maki ng anyt hi ng more difficult or
causi ng a hal t i n breathi ng. Ti l t your knees to your left and
back to your ri ght ; t hi s t i me l i f t i ng the other hand off the floor.
You w i l l t hen become aware of what you have just read or
understood.
Keep on t i l t i ng your knees ri ght and left. Li f t the hand that
you found unnecessary to lean on and carry i t i n the di recti on
of your knees. G radual l y you w i l l find i t more and more com-
fortable to l i f t the pelvis sufficiently to stand on your knee. Si t ,
t i l t your knees to the other di recti on unt i l you stand on your
other knee agai n. Si t and rehearse these movements several
times. Note that the feet serve as hinges and otherwise do
l i t t l e to assist i n t he movements and are better left alone to
move as they w i l l . You should, however, become aware and
watch that they are not displaced wi thout your i nt ent i on. The
li ft ed arm is carri ed wi t h the t runk, and you can swi ng i t
l i ght l y to assist the t runk and pelvis i n being li fted off the
floor. ,
I make such remarks only after I see that the students have
already reali zed and are already doing what I am verbali zi ng.
In t hi s way the student feels he has guessed correctly ana hi s
reli ance and confidence grow wi t h hi s awareness. I n wri t t en
descriptions l i ke t hi s much of the hi ghl i ght i ng i s, of necessity,
bl urred, the t i mi ng of the remarks bei ng dictated by the paper.
You are encouraged to rest as soon as you feel t i red and to
start agai n when you are ready. So start agai n wi t h what you
were doing. Tur n to your left unt i l you are on your knee, wi t h
your ri ght arm flung forward to your left; you are s t i l l leani ng
on your left arm wi t h i ts hand on the floor. To get up on our
feet from t hi s position we usually put the ri ght foot forward
on the floor and heave ourselves upri ght by a concentrated
effort of both legs. Thi s immobilizes the movi ng body, anni h i -
lates the ki net i c impetus, and makes the getting up slow and
laborious. It is the equivalent to put t i ng on the brakes of a car
going uph i l l after i t has gathered momentum, when the only
choice is to ret urn to the lowest gear, start the ascent again
(wasting petrol), and wai t for sufficient ki net i c energy for
hi gher gears to be used. In the movement t hat we are learni ng
now we are not yet as clearly aware of bad dri vi ng. St art
agai n, t i l t your knees to your ri ght , swi ng t hem to the left, but
t hi s ti me swi ng the ri ght ar m i n front of you upward to your
left and continue the pelvic movement i n i ts spi ral ascent from
the floor unt i l i t raises the ri ght hi p joi nt sufficiently (in the
di recti on of your movi ng ri ght arm) to strai ghten the ri ght
knee. Your ri ght foot w i l l stand on the floor. As the pelvis
carries both hi p joi nts, the left one w i l l also rise enough for you
to feel yourself standi ng on both feet wi t h your enti re weight.
The pelvis moves from the si t t i ng position and twists spi ral l y
upward to your left, and i f you are sufficiently aware of the
trajectory of the pelvis, and do not stop i t but let i t follow i ts
course, i t w i l l complete i ts rotati on unt i l you are facing what
was your rear standi ng on your feet. I n t hi s movement you are
usi ng the ori gi nal impetus of your pelvis and t runk, whi ch
helped to swi ng your knees to the left. St art agai n unt i l you
are aware of how you direct yourself whi le moving. Get t i ng
up, st art i ng from si t t i ng wi t h both knees to your ri ght and
swinging leftwards to stand facing backwards w i l l be pract i -
cally instantaneous and effortless. Repeat, st art i ng wi t h your
knees t i lt ed to the ri ght and attend to the uni nt errupt ed mo-
t i on of the pelvis. Your arms, feet, and everythi ng else w i l l
then organize themselves perfectly wi t h the pelvis. Thi s is
because the head is carri ed i n the same ascending spi ral , wi t h
the eyes movi ng to find the hori zon when the ascent is comp-
leted.
Si t on the floor, close your eyes and see wi t h your mi nd' s eye
the trajectory of your head and pelvis. When you are clearly
aware of the movement, then t h i nk of the ease and speed wi t h
whi ch you rose from si t t i ng to standi ng i n one simple action.
Thi s apparent si mpli ci t y is due to the i ntegrati on of a l l the
complexity of details i nto one act of i nt ent i on. Repeat agai n,
st art i ng wi t h the knees t i lt ed to your ri ght as before, but thi s
t i me do not l i f t your left hand decisively after a l l your weight
is on your feet, whi ch means you do not complete the move-
ment to be f ul l y upri ght . Stay i n t hi s position and imagine how
to ret urn to the i ni t i al si t t i ng configuration. You may take as
long as i t i s necessary for you to become aware of your dis-
placement i n space. Thi s spat i al awareness is but another
facet of your ki nestheti c sensation. In wel l learned i nt ent i onal
movement, attenti on glides so easily from i nt ernal contact of
muscular sensation to spat i al or ext ernal contact that we do
not feel we are doing i t . A single act is simple even i f i t i s as
complex as wri t i ng t hi s description.
Yo u have probably found t hat to reverse a movement i n
space, i t is also reversed i n i ts t i mi ng. We cannot, obviously,
reverse t i me but we can t h i nk of our last movement wi t h the
ri ght foot. The ri ght foot w i l l thus start the reversed motion
to si t. It has not t aken you long to become aware that the
pelvis is moved first to l i f t the ri ght foot off the floor. Now move
the pelvis first to detach the ri ght foot from the floor, t aki ng
the leg wi t h i ts knee bent down to the floor to the spot where
you sat to begin wi t h . Review the enti re procedure i n your
mi nd and, when t hi s is more or less clear, si t on the floor. Ti l t
your knees to the left and vi suali ze swi ngi ng them to get up
movi ng to the ri ght i n the same way as you di d so many times
getti ng up to the left. If you cannot become aware of the pelvic
spi ral upward motion to the ri ght rear of yourself, stop, rest,
and t i l t your knees to the ri ght to rehearse the former side.
Ti l t t hem to swi ng left and thi s ti me get up again i n that one
gl i di ng movement you know. Li f t and move your ri ght foot
agai n, di rect i ng the pelvis back to the floor, t i l t your knees to
swi ng to the ri ght . S t a n d o n y o u r r i g h t k n ee swinging your left
ar m forward and up to the ri ght and see your pelvis movi ng
i n a spi ral upward to the ri ght to carry your left leg and foot
to bear your f ul l weight. As your pelvis carries both legs, your
ri ght leg also w i l l strai ghten to share i n beari ng your weight.
Now l i f t your left leg by movi ng the pelvis and sit on the
floor, swi ng your knees to the left and stand up wi t hout becom-
i ng fully erect. Move the pelvis to carry the ri ght foot back to
si t t i ng, swi ngi ng your knees to the ri ght , get up i n one continu-
ous spi ral movement of the pelvis first downward and then
upward to the ri ght . You thus stand, si t , and stand agai n i n
one wi nk and i n one moti on. The pelvis never stops moving,
as before si t t i ng i t already t urns to swi ng the knees on its
upward spi ral on the other side.
You may now examine the i llust rat i ons. Th i nk of your read-
i ng as being si mi l ar to l earni ng the standard copybook-writ-
i ng. Once you are f ami l i ar wi t h the complex changes of move-
ment, pressure, form, and directions you start formi ng your
personal handwri t i ng. It w i l l never be l i ke anyone else's hand-
wri t i ng. It need only be legible; t hat i s, sufficiently wel l formed
to make your i ntenti ons clear and unmi stakable. Yo u can now
go back to the movement and make i t cat li ke, smooth, and
fasci nati ng i n your own way. Learn to be aware of the pelvis
movi ng smoothly wi t hout breaki ng the continuous accelerat-
i ng and decelerating parts, from standi ng t hrough si t t i ng to
the next standi ng i n the other di recti on. You can now become
aware that the li mbs arrange themselves i deally to follow the
intended pelvi c moti on. The awareness you have gai ned i n this
learni ng w i l l be cardi nal and w i l l stand for a wealt h of other
movements, even those you have learned before by t r i al and
error and maybe have never followed up to the exhi larat i ng
speed and fluency you have obtained now. If you do not hurry
but attend to the el i mi nat i on of hindrances to moti on, your
speed w i l l increase to beyond t hat of your weight freely f al l -
i ng. One can, i n effect, project the pelvis downward and gather
a momentum greater t han the result of free f al l i ng. There is
pract i cally no l i mi t to the quali t y of performance t hat Aware-
ness t hrough Movement w i l l not transcend. The process of
P ut your hands behi nd you . . .
Bend your knees . . . P ut the soles
of your feet flat on the floor.
Ti l t both knees to your ri ght usi ng
your feet as hinges.
Ti l t your knees to the left and back
to the ri ght .
Si t , and stand agai n. Stand up wi thout becoming f ul l y
erect.
Your ri ght leg also w i l l strai ghten
to share i n beari ng your wei ght.
f r i t h , your knees spread a l i t t l e Fi nd out whi ch hand on the floor
t unt i l there is room. becomes useless when you t i l t your
k ne e s . . . and can be li ft ed wi thout
maki ng anyt hi ng more dfiicult.
Yo u w i l l find i t more and more Conti nue the pelvi c movement i n
comfortable to l i f t the pelvi s. i ts spi ral ascent unt i l i t raises the
ri ght hi p j oi nt sufficiently to
strai ghten t he ri ght knee.
pelvis movi ng i n a spi ral up-
. . . carry your left leg . . . to
your f ul l weight.
Stand on your ri ght knee swi ngi ng
your left arm forward and up.
Ti l t your knees to swi ng to the
ri ght .
. Ti l t your knees to the ri ght .
. . . i n the same ascending spi ral ,
wi t h the eyes movi ng to find the
hori zon
. the ascent is completed.
Take the leg wi t h i ts knee bent
down to the floor to the spot where
you sat.
St art the reversed mo t i o n. . . move
the pelvis first to detach the ri ght
foot from the floor.
Awareness Through Movement i l l
self-direction i s bei ng i mproved, and not any part i cul ar move-
ment. The part i cul ar achievement i s i nci dent al and is a pri ze
gained for better l earni ng.
We may now have the patience to satisfy our curi osi ty. Si t
on the floor wi t h your ri ght foot behi nd you on the ri ght , knees
spread apart to allow your left leg to li e between t hem, just as
we di d i n the previous start. Lean on your left hand placed on
the floor to the left of your pelvis on the spot where you find
i t w i l l support your body most comfortably. Li f t your ri ght
ar m wi t h elbow sli ght ly bent to raise your forearm. The hand
hangi ng downward is li ft ed to eye level at a comfortable di s-
tance i n front of you. Freeze your t runk, your head, and your
ri ght ar m wi t h your eyes fixed on your hand, and t ur n the
whole to your left to the angle t hat feels as i f no effort is
i nvolved to do so, and stay thus, sli ght ly twisted to your left.
Breathe qui etly wi t h l i t t l e ext ernally vi si ble movement. Aft er
a mi nut e or so t ur n your eyes to the ri ght ; move the eyes only,
keeping a l l the rest motionless. Move your eyes to focus on the
hand, and t hen agai n to your extreme ri ght , but wi thout forc-
i ng yourself above the si mple movement of the eyes. Repeat
t hi s shi ft i ng of the eyes to the hand and to your extreme ri ght
a dozen times. Stop. Close your eyes, resolve to stop movi ng
i mmedi ately you become aware t hat you are i ncreasi ng your
exerti on, and l i f t your arm wi t h the hand i n front of your
closed eyes. Move, t urni ng to the left wi thout any restri cti on
besides the one made. Tur n only once to whatever angle you
w i l l , stop, open your eyes and you w i l l reali ze t hat you have
t urned several or many degrees more to the left t han at the
beginning. Stay there.
Keep your eyes on your hand and move only your head to the
left as easi ly as you can. Repeat a dozen times, movi ng the head
only. Do thi s by first t urni ng your head and eyes to the left, and
t hen movi ng only your eyes back to focus on the hand. Agai n,
cease and close your eyes and si t i n the first position. Resolve to
stop movi ng as soon as you become aware that you need a
greater effort and, l i f t i ng your hand i n front of your eyes, twist
yourself to the left to open your eyes, and find that you have
effortlessly twisted yourself through a bigger angle t han be-
fore. Stop to t hi nk how different t hi s is from usual experience.
The "exerci si ng" was i n direct opposition to where the i m-
provement was wanted, yet i t di d, i n fact, improve. Aft er a rest
on your back, duri ng whi ch you become aware t hat your two
sides do not li e the same way, you w i l l reali ze that one of them
has changed through what you have just done.
Si t agai n as before. Twi st yourself comfortably to your left,
lean on your left hand, and put your ri ght hand on top of your
head. Move the head assisted by your hand as i f to touch your
ri ght ear on your ri ght shoulder. Reverse the movement to
touch your left ear on your left shoulder. The movement
becomes easier and more extensive i f you become aware t hat ,
whi le your ri ght ear moves toward your ri ght shoulder, the
pelvis is rocki ng so that your ri ght side becomes shorter whi le
the ribs on the other fan out. The hand moves the head the
other way round, and the pelvis and side move the other way
round. Aft er a dozen bendings ri ght and left close your eyes.
Si t i n the ori gi nal position and wi t h your ri ght hand i n front
of your eyes, and wi t h your resolve to stop i mmedi ately you
feel you are st rai ni ng, t ur n, stop, and you w i l l realize that you
have twisted even more. How come? It is agai n an improve-
ment, wi t h unorthodox t rai ni ng.
Si t i n the ori gi nal position, twi st to the left, but t hi s t i me
place both your hands on the floor to the left. Organize your-
self to lean on both hands equally; they should be shoulder-
wi dt h apart on the floor. Twi st your shoulder gi rdle to the left,
whi le t urni ng your face, i.e. head and eyes, to the ri ght . Be-
come aware of the movement of the ri ght hi p joi nt and buttock
to start the shoulder gi rdle moti on. Wat ch the sensation i n the
spine. Undo the twists and rehearse a dozen times. As you si t ,
l i f t your ri ght hand i n front of your eyes and t ur n left at your
discretion. You are very l i kel y t wi st i ng yourself to look
strai ght behi nd you. Compare t hi s wi t h your i ni t i al twist and
you w i l l reali ze t hat Awareness t hrough Movement i s a more
efficient way to l earn t han just st ri vi ng and wi llpower.
Short of wri t i ng another book, suffice to say t hat you have
been di fferenti ati ng eye movement and head movement,
whi ch means you have learned to move them i n opposite direc-
tions. Most people stop t hei r neuromuscular-spati al appren-
ticeship after movi ng both i n the same di recti on. The same
differentiation occurred between your pelvis and your head
and eyes.
Si t . Ti l t your knees to the ri ght , leani ng on your hands
behi nd you. Swi ng your knees to the left to get up swi ftly,
movi ng your pelvis i n the f ami l i ar spi ral upward movement
to the left to stand up, reverse, and stand up agai n to your
ri ght . Conti nue the complete cycle of standing-sitting-stand-
i ng and you w i l l soon become aware that the movement to one
side is smoother and faster t han to the other. Is there any
relat i on to the direction of movement i n the last lessons?
Now, si t wi t h your legs to the left and rehearse a l l the steps
of t wi st i ng t runk, head, eyes, and pelvis as before, but wi t h one
i mport ant rest ri ct i on: make no movement at a l l at each step
except adopting the new posi ti on. Si t s t i l l , i magi ni ng t hat you
are act ually movi ng but wi thout doing so. You w i l l become
aware of the muscles bei ng organized i n the necessary pat-
terns for performi ng the movement. I f you go t hrough a l l the
steps i n t hi s way you w i l l be surpri sed to find that your twi st-
i ng to the ri ght has improved and is even better t han before.
Moreover, i t w i l l have been achieved i n about one-fifth of the
ti me.
Now that you know what Awareness t hrough Movement
means you w i l l appreciate the way i t is presented, whi ch pro-
vides a good chance for l earni ng to occur. I asked Wi l l Schutz
of E n c o u n t e r fame, who first brought me to the Uni t ed States,
to come wi t h me to an i nt ervi ew at N ew D i m en s i o n s . Here are
a few perti nent extracts.
114
WI L L SC H UTZ: I find t hat your method is what I would
cal l a self-oriented method, as opposed to a guru-oriented
method. When I was doing some of your lessons, one part i cu-
l ar example stood out. The problem was how to put my feet
apart so t hat they were most comfortable. You t old me to
put t hem very close together and feel what t hat felt l i ke and
put t hem very far apart and see what t hat felt l i ke, and keep
movi ng them back and fort h unt i l i t felt ri ght . Whatever felt
ri ght , was ri ght , was correct. I also have a thorough Ar i ca
t rai ni ng, whi ch I consider a guru-oriented approach. Oscar
Ichazo is the guru and you do what he says. I was doing the
same t hi ng there, except the rule was that you put your feet
one elbow-length apart. If you di d not do t hat , t hen the
i nstructor would come along and say, "That ' s not ri ght . You
di d not get i t correct." What was ri ght there was to remem-
ber what I was told to do and do i t properly.
MOSH E F E L D E N K R A I S: I never force anyone to accept
my view. I would never say "t hi s is correct" or "t hi s is
i ncorrect." To me there is not hi ng correct. However, i f you
do something and do not know what you are doing, t hen i t
is incorrect for you. If you do know what you are doing, then
whatever you do is correct for you. As human beings, we
have the peculi ar abi l i t y whi ch other ani mals do not, and
that is to know what we are doing. That is how we have
freedom of choice. Suppose I see you placi ng your feet apart
at a distance whi ch I consider incorrect. Now, why do I
consider i t incorrect? Not because I t h i nk i t should be a
cert ai n length, but because I feel t hat you are real l y uncom-
fortable, and are standi ng that way only because you have
never act ually vi suali zed what distance is necessary i n
order to feel comfortable. You are not really concerned wi t h
comfort. If you were very shy or i f you were a vi rgi nal gi r l
you would hold your feet together because i t is prescribed as
being "decent." I f you are a show-off extrovert want i ng to
show how i mportant and free you are you w i l l open your
legs much too wide. Much too wide for whom? Not for me.
I do not say "t hi s is r i gh t " and "t hi s is wrong. " I say that i f
you know that you are holdi ng your feet close because you
are shy, and you feel awkward spreading t hem more, then
there is no harm. Fr om my point of view, i t is correct that
you should do what you l i ke. I am not here to t el l you what
to do; I am here only to show you that you should know what
you are doing. However, i f you do not real l y know that you
hold your feet l i ke t hat , and you believe t hat a l l human
beings should hold t hei r feet together, and you are vi rt ual l y
unable to open t hem, not because your physiology or your
anatomy does not permi t i t , but because you are so unaware
t hat you do not know t hat they can be opened, t hen i t is
incorrect.
WI L L SC H UTZ: I remember an example i n one of the
lessons I took wi t h you where t hat was i llust rat ed. We were
followi ng some i nstructi ons, and one person i n the class
would not do i t the way you sai d. Rat her t han bawl h i m out,
you asked the rest of the class to do i t the way he di d i t , then
do i t the way you sai d, and judge for ourselves whi ch was
more comfortable. The process helped us to increase our
awareness of what act ually felt better.
MOSH E F E L D E N K R A I S: There is more to i t t han t hat .
My point was t hi s. I said something, and the great majori t y
of people di d i t i n one way. There was one who somehow
i nterpreted the same words quite differently. Now, i t is pos-
sible t hat he was an i di ot, t hat he could not understand
what I was t al ki ng about. That i s alri ght . However, I be-
lieved that he was not an i di ot, t hat instead he was so far
away from bei ng able to functi on as I asked that he could
not conceive t hat I meant what I sai d. Now, a l l the other
people di d i t as I asked, and I told a l l of them, "Look, look
how t hi s person does i t . Maybe he is ri ght ; perhaps i t should
be done l i ke t hat . C an you i mi t at e h i m?" Yes, everbody
could. " C an you do i t the way you di d i t before?" Yes, they
a l l could, but he could only do i t hi s way, and not l i ke a l l the
others. Hence, they had the freedom of choice between two
acts, but he was compulsive, unable to change. He di d not
know what he was doing and he could not do what he
wanted. That technique, maki ng you to look at h i m made i t
easy for h i m to look at himself. I could say to h i m, "Look you
have done i t as you have. Maybe you are ri ght . These people
can do l i ke you, or can do something else, but you have no
choice. You are a computer; they are human beings. They
have free w i l l ; they have choice. You have not. Now, si t and
look. C an you see?" By seeing the others i mi t at i ng h i m, he
suddenly realized that he di d not know what he was doing.
As soon as he reali zed that, he di d i t exactly l i ke a l l the
others. H i s learni ng took t en seconds. He recaptured hi s
freedom of choice and regained human di gni ty.
Underst and that there are two sorts of learni ng. There is
the ki nd of learni ng whi ch is commi tti ng things to memory;
for instance, t aki ng a telephone book and learni ng i t by
heart, or t aki ng an anatomy book and l earni ng the attach-
ments and origins of each muscle. That l earni ng is indepen-
dent of ti me and experience. Yo u can decide to do i t at any
ti me. But suppose you want to play the piano. Every t i me
you begin to l earn, you say, "Look, a l l ri ght , I di d not play
the piano as a chi l d. Now i t is so difficult to start i t and
what' s the point of playi ng the piano. I am a scientist: I am
a radio i ntervi ewer. What do I have to play the piano for?
If I need piano playi ng, I li st en to somebody playi ng the
piano on records." But for some people, l i ke Yehudi Menu-
h i n or V l adi mi r Horowi t z, the maki ng of music is more
i mportant t han your radio or your science. They learn by a
type of learni ng whi ch is almost beyond personal choice.
You can learn the phone book i f you want to, or not l earn
i f you do not want to, and you can change your mi nd.
But there is l earni ng i n whi ch you have no say whatso-
ever and that learni ng is latent i n the nat ural laws whi ch
have produced our brai n and our nervous system and our
body and our muscles. These laws are i ncluded i n the cosmic
laws of the universe. They are so precise and so sequential
that you have no say about the order you w i l l l earn t hem i n.
They must be learned i n that order; i f not, you w i l l not
develop as a normal human being. You w i l l be a cri pple or
an auti sti c chi l d, something not normal. Why can you not
teach a baby even a year old to hold a penci l and wri te? The
baby cannot wri t e unt i l the capacity develops.
You see, there is a ki nd of l earni ng that goes wi t h growth.
You cannot skate before you can walk, no matter how clever
you are, even i f you are a genius. You must first l earn to
walk. You cannot wal k before you crawl . I f you l earn to
wal k before you crawl you w i l l be a cri pple. You cannot
l earn to speak before you are vert i cal. You know why you
cannot? In the human system each part comes i nto functi on
i n sequence one after another. The functi oni ng helps the
growth at each stage as a new part of the brai n comes i nto
dominance, and changes the enti re way of action. Thi s type
of learni ng must proceed at i ts own pace. We have no say i n
i t . However, because t hi s learni ng is done under human
di recti on, i t may be done i n a different way t han was i n-
tended by nature.
My way of learni ng, my way of deali ng wi t h people, is to
find out for t hat person who wants i t what sort of accom-
pli shment is possible for that person. People can l earn to
move and wal k and stand differently, but they have gi ven
up because they t h i nk i t is too late now, that the growth
process has been completed, that they cannot l earn some-
t hi ng new, that they do not have the ti me or abi l i t y. You do
not have to go back to bei ng a baby i n order to functi on
properly. You can, at any t i me of your li fe, rewi re yourself,
provided I can convince you t hat there is not hi ng perma-
nent or compulsive i n your system except what you believe
to be so.
I do not treat patients. I give lessons to help a person l earn
about hi mself or herself. Learni ng comes by the experience
of the mani pulat i on. I do not treat people, I do not cure
people, and I do not teach people. I t el l them stories because
I believe that learni ng is the most i mportant t hi ng for a
human being. Learni ng should be a pleasant, marvelous
experience. V er y often i n the lesson, I say, "Look, would you
stop? So many of you look so stern, as i f you were t ryi ng to
do something t erri bl y difficult and unpleasant for you. That
means you are t i red, you w i l l not understand any more.
Break i t , and have a coffee. Or let me t el l you a story so that
I can see the brightness i n your eyes and a smi le on your
face, and so that you w i l l li st en and find t hat what I say is
i mport ant to you. "
WI L L SC H UTZ: To me, that i s not the mai n t hi ng you do.
You do t al k, and you do make these points, but the bi g t hi ng
is what goes on wi t h the hands. A n d to watch a Feldenkrai s
lesson for me is almost a medi tati on. It i s very quiet and
sensitive and i t is i n the hands where the things happen.
There is a communication from the body to the brai n that
is going on wi thout words, t hrough the hands. The t al k
usually comes lat er.
S u m m a r y
A l l mammals, men i ncluded, have skeletal muscles whi ch
are of no use at a l l wi thout senses, especially wi thout the most
i mportant, the ki nestheti c sense. A l l of t hi s complexity is ut-
t erl y useless wi thout the autonomic nervous system and the
cent ral nervous system. To act, to move, to feel, to t hi nk, to do
anyt hi ng (even speak), a l l of these structures must functi on.
Each of the items mentioned needs learni ng to acquire the
abi l i t y to have many modes of functi oni ng for each sense
feeling, t hi nki ng, movi ng, acti ng, react i ngi f we are to li ve,
flower, and become happi er as we grow wi ser.
We need habits i f we are to act appropri ately and qui ckly.
But habits used bl i ndl y or as i f they are laws of nature, i.e.
cannot be changed, are just perpetuated, agreed ignorance.
The possible alternati ves i n our array of means, functions, and
structures are staggering. Yet a l l unhappy sufferers "are
made l i ke t hat , " i.e. l i ke t hei r habi ts. These make them bl i nd
to the enormous choice of alternati ves avai lable to them. Be-
cause habits are so useful and economic to use, we prefer not
to change t hem.
A great vari et y of "habi t s" is avai lable to every one of us.
We could use some of t hem on Sundays and some on other days
of the week, some of t hem when on your feet and some of t hem
when i n bed, and choose one for each affair. It i s not so easy
to help oneself as i t may appear, but not as difficult as one may
feel. If necessary, t ur n to people who make i t t hei r occupation
to assist others wi t h difficulties whi ch they cannot see t hrough
by themselves.
FUNCTIONAL
INTEGRATION
F u n c t i o n a l i n t eg r a t i o n t u r n s t o t h e o l d e s t e l e m e n t s o f o u r
s en s o r y s ys t em t o u c h, t h e f e e l i n g s o f p u l l a n d p r es s u r e; t h e
w a r m t h o f t h e ha n d , i t s c a r es s i n g s t r o k e . T he p e r s o n b ec o m es
a b s o r b ed i n s en s i n g t h e d i m i n i s h i n g m u s c u l a r t o n u s , t h e d eep -
e n i n g a n d t he r e g u l a r i t y o f b r ea t hi n g , a b d o m i n a l ea s e, a n d
i m p r o v ed c i r c u l a t i o n i n t h e ex p a n d i n g s k i n . T he p e r s o n s en s es
h i s m o s t p r i m i t i v e , c o n s c i o u s l y f o r g o t t en p a t t e r n s a n d r ec a l l s
t h e w el l - b ei n g o f a g r o w i n g y o u n g c h i l d .
You may remember the stories that I have left unfinished:
the boy who came i nt o the worl d ri ght hand first, the woman
who had seen five or si x specialists and continued to be i n pai n,
and so on. Descri bi ng cases i s somewhat l i ke maki ng an i nven-
tory, but what use is an i nventory i n the case of human be-
ings? If I made my own, wi t hout wri t i ng my autobiography,
just l i st i ng my present complaints, i t would give you l i t t l e clue
as to how you could be i nst rument al i n betteri ng my li fe.
Could you improve my i njured knees? Could you help me to
recover my bygone superb eyesight? A n d suppose even t hat
you could, what good would i t do to me now? I would probably
be more alert and feel more myself, but how could you do what
I cannot achieve i n spite of havi ng seen many first-rate spe-
ci ali sts almost everywhere i n the world.
Let us examine a concrete case. A vi oli ni st of repute was
shot by somebody who di d the shooting i n order that you and
12*
I should not forget that the owner of the gun feels frustrated.
A n orthopedic surgeon wi t h the cooperation of a neurosurgeon
somehow patched up the vi oli ni st ' s shattered arm, the wounds
healed, and i t was t i me to take i nventory of the damage. The
verdict was that physiotherapy mi ght help to bend the elbow
and strai ghten the arm, but pl ayi ng the vi ol i n was out of the
question and, therefore, the sooner he sought and found an-
other profession the better. It is possible, of course, that the
i njury severed the medi an nerve of the arm completely, and
the mi ssi ng tissues produced scars maki ng stretchi ng of the
arm, let alone movement of the wri st and fingers, quite un-
t hi nkable, short of a mi racle.
What I i nt end here i s not to extol the meri ts of Funct i onal
Integration as compared wi t h most, i f not a l l , of the therapeu-
t i c means used i n the world. I wi sh, however, to show that
there is a different method of usi ng ourselves whi ch is i ncom-
parably above and beyond that whi ch results from ret ai ni ng
our habi t ual cause and effect pattern of vi ewi ng the world.
The alternati ve is quite expedient and often an easier way of
coping wi t h our problems or tasks. My contention is that very
often there are better ways of t hi nki ng whi ch open up new
vistas and make the unt hi nkable real and put the impossible
wi t h i n our grasp.
Let us examine more closely how a chi l d becomes a vi ol i ni st
of repute. A t bi r t h nobody can vouch for the future of the
newborn. We know from recurrent observation t hat the baby
usually grows and i n the first years does a l l manner of things
that adults do not do, and we see i n t hi s act i vi t y preparati on
for adulthood. The funny t hi ng is that t hi s ki nd of act i vi t y
w i l l , i n fact, result i n an adult of some ki nd. In the first two
years, the preparati on for adulthood seems very si mi l ar for
most futures. The chi ld' s bones grow, the muscles keep pace
wi t h t hi s skeletal growth, and the growi ng is influenced
markedly by a mult i t ude of factors of envi ronment; crawli ng
is t aki ng place i n space and the t i mi ng of the movements is
Funct i onal Integration 123
quite stringent. You cannot crawl by l i f t i ng and movi ng tHe
members by pure chance. Now the t i mi ng and the spat i al
configurations of the smal l body are dictated by the gravi t a-
t i onal field that acts on t hi s body as i t does on any other soli d
body. In other words, the growth of the muscles and the skele-
ton is not just any growth, but a very specific one. It conforms
to the continuous movement of the l i t t l e body t hrough f ami l -
i ari t y, the influence of gravi t at i on can be almost ignored. A l l
we see are configurations that are f ami l i ar to us, bei ng i dent i -
cal to the necessities of equi l i bri um, st abi li t y, and mobi li t y
whi ch we have a l l learned before i n the same way never t hi nk-
i ng of gravi t at i on.
Many other thi ngs happen whi ch, because of f ami l i ari t y, we
f ai l to see. The chi l d also eats quite differently from sucki ng,
he pronounces syllables and words, handles a l l ki nds of ob-
jects, sometimes quite adroi tly and sometimes less so. C l earl y
the bones do not do these things alone; they are moved by the
muscles and the muscles need bones to move. It i s also obvious
t hat the nervous system makes the bridge between the skele-
ton and muscles and the outside of the body: the gravi t at i onal
field, space, t i me and the social envi ronment, wi t hout whi ch
there would be no objects to handle, or words to say or hear.
I n short, the envi ronment consists of you and Isex is obvi-
ously i n alreadyobjects, space, t i me, gravi t at i on, society,
and culture.
We have almost forgotten our vi oli ni st . H e also was a baby
and a chi l d. H i s bones and muscles would have grown quite
differently i f he had had no nervous system to mediate be-
tween h i m and the surroundi ng environment. The envi ron-
ment made of the many bi ts and pieces detailed above i s per-
ceived by the nervous system t hrough the senses. Thi s system
w i l l direct, organize, adjust, and adapt the rest of the body to
react to the objects that are i n the environment. The hands,
the feet, the whole body w i l l conform to the environment
t hrough the nervous system whi ch, i n t ur n, w i l l know whether
124
the action produced the change haphazardly or, as expected,
both i n the body i t self and outside i t .
In thi s laborious way the fingers have learned t hrough con-
tact wi t h fiddles and stri ngs to produce sounds whi ch the sys-
t em found agreeable, pleasant, or unbearable. The never-
endi ng act i vi t y of our nervous system directs i t sel f through
our muscles and skeleton to move and act i n an environment
whi ch therefore becomes part of ourselves. Thi s envi ronment
w i l l appear to us as we perceive i t t hrough our act i vi t y and
w i l l therefore be a reflection of what our nervous system needs
to continue to move itself, to act and react to the changes that
occur i n a mobile changi ng environment.
One of the first things we l earn and do is direct our eyes and
our hands to that whi ch is around us. What else could we do?
A n d therefore di recti on i s probably the most basic thought or
movement. Where are you going? When are you going? I f
there is no "where" the " wh en" is meaningless. Our basic
ori entati on is ri ght and left, i n short, t urni ng around our-
selves. Di rect i ng, poi nti ng i n a di recti on, persists even i n de-
mented people, wi thout that they could not move at a l l and
wi thout movement ani mal li fe i s, what?
Something that eluded us now becomes quite obvious. Our
vi oli ni st has acquired a s ki l l to move hi s fingers on an ext ernal
object wi t h a dexterity t hat enables h i m to hear and judge
conti nuously whi le hi s hands and fingers are directed i n pat-
terns that the nervous system has formed by act ually usi ng an
envi ronmental object, hi s vi ol i n i n the first place. The envi ron-
ment is as necessary to becoming a vi ol i ni st (it cannot be done
wi thout one) as is the nervous system (no movement, no hear-
i ng, and no reali zat i on of one's body wi thout it) and as is the
body (no playi ng vi ol i n wi thout fingers, hands, and si t t i ng or
standing). A n d i f we add the place where he is playi ng, the
di recti on he faces, for whom he plays, and who needs that
playi ng, we can begin to understand what Funct i onal Integra-
t i on is about.
Lucki l y we have neurologists and surgeons who repaired
some of the damage suffered by the arm. The same goes for
psychi atri sts and psychologists who could help i f a change of
profession for a vi oli ni st of repute is unavoidable. There i s,
however, only Funct i onal Integration whi ch has any chance
(and I, my assistants, and students have helped many) to make
the vi oli ni st play anew. A n d believe i t or not, i f I succeed, he
w i l l be a better vi ol i ni st t han he was before the damage. He
w i l l also perceive more clearly what he is doing wi t h hi s good
hand and therefore he w i l l be more able to do what he wants.
H e can now reach a hi gher level of performance.
A ny complexi ty can be comprehended provided we look at
i t bi t by bi t . Let us first examine i n det ai l how we act and
move, how we direct ourselves i n general. Thi s w i l l enable you
to follow me i n Funct i onal Integrati on and understand why I
allow myself to speak so aut hori t at i vely about matters that
are not at a l l simple or i nt ui t i ve, or known a p r i o r i .
Ani mal li fe consists of organisms t hat are structured i n
such a way that the functions of self-reproduction, self-mainte-
nance, self-preservation, and self-direction exist. To us t hi s
means ani mal li fe. The first three structure-functions existed,
very l i kel y, long before the appearance of ani mal li fe i n any
proper sense. Si mi l ar functions can be distinguished i n very
large and heavy organic molecules. B ut self-direction is a no-
ti on whi ch i s meani ngful only when attri buted to an i n -
di vi duum, i.e. to a being t hat has a membrane, a ski n, a bound-
ary separati ng i t from the rest of the world. Once such a
separation i s formed we have the i ndi vi duali zat i on of a being.
It may be a very pri mi t i ve one, or a very complex one. Such
a separation means, at once, t hat some sort of commerce, some
ki nd of exchange, must operate or be made by the i ndi vi dual
bei ng between t hat bei ng and the outside world.
The boundary w i l l allow some of the ext ernal stuff* to enter
i nt o the i ndi vi duum and some of the i nt ernal matter to be
rejected to the outside. Thi s exchange is biased to increase the
vi abi l i t y of the being for a cert ai n period unt i l i t ceases to l i ve,
when i t is reabsorbed i nto the surroundi ngs, whereby the
boundary, the membrane, the i ndi vi duali zat i on are resolved.
Self-direction loses i t s meani ng when there i s no self or i n-
di vi duum to whom self-direction is of some sort of interest.
To humans, self-direction appears to be connected wi t h our
representation of ourselves being upri ght . The most elemen-
t ary self-direction to an adult human bei ng is to the ri ght or
to the left, i.e. t urni ng around the spine as a vert i cal axis. The
first movement t hat we observe i n a baby s t i l l l yi ng, is i ts
t urni ng toward us to see or ret urn our smi le. In other words,
he learns to t urn ri ght and left as he needs or wants to. What
happens is cert ai nly not what we ascribe to i t . The terms of
reference are borrowed from ourselves and change what is
occurri ng to our point of vi ew. We a l l agree, however, that
there i s a vi t al connection between the baby's act i vi t y and
what he w i l l be doing wi t h hi msel f as an adult . The cont i nui t y
between the two situations involves the nervous system, the
body contai ni ng i t , and the envi ronment i n whi ch i t w i l l be
moving.
Obviously there is something evolving, growing i n the mat-
ter of the being, as wel l as i n its functi oni ng. The ri ght and left
t urni ng of the adult and at each period we look at h i m whi l e
he is becoming oneis much more complex t han we care to
t hi nk. The eyes, the head, the ears, the ri ght and left legs, the
muscles, the joi nts, and the soles i n contact wi t h the support-
i ng ground are a l l i nformi ng the nervous system of the envi -
ronmental si t uat i on. A l l t hi s combined wi t h the configuration
of the self act so that the t urni ng w i l l be performed i n a
fashion that w i l l not compromise upri ght standi ng i n the
gravi t at i onal field, and cause a break i n the cont i nui t y of
self-direction. I have described t hi s as si mply as I can put i t i n
words. I can do a l l t hat adults do as wel l as you, who mi ght not
know what I have said or on the other hand may know much
more about i t t han I do.
Funct i onal Integrati on
127
Fr om the poi nt of vi ew of Funct i onal Integrati on, i t is i m-
portant to understand t hat t urni ng around the vert i cal axis is
an act or a functi on t hat i mpli es self-direction whi ch has
meani ng only to a l i vi ng ani mal i n i ts envi ronment. A n d t hat
t hi s t urni ng enables the ani mal to accomplish a l l the four self
activities as necessities or as exploratory movements or even
as an apprenticeship or just for t hei r own sake. If you need
convi nci ng t hat t hi s is so, t h i nk of the coincidence, fact or
design, t hat a l l the i nstruments servi ng, connecting our senses
to the outside di stant worl d are located i n the head. Si ght ,
heari ng, smell are di recti onal. To fix a di recti on and a distance
we need two i dent i cal i nstruments separated by a distance
between t hem. Our teleceptors are the sensors and the movers
of self, ori ent i ng the head to a di recti on. The di recti on i s where
the head stops t urni ng at the moment when the ri ght and left
organs produce equal signals on recei vi ng equal sti mulati ons.
A t such moments we look at the source of the change we saw,
li st en to the source of the noise that moved us, or the smell
that i nt ri gued us. Our head t urns just so and just t hat much.
How does the head, or we, know how to be so precise? More-
over, when we do t ur n our head to any such provocation from
the envi ronment we find that the skeleton, muscles, and our
enti re bei ng have one side, the one to whi ch we t urned our
head, toneful and strong, whi le the other is folding i n i ts ar-
ti culati ons. Our weight i s shifted to the strong tonified side
and we t ur n unt i l our head is agai n i n the mi ddle and the
asymmet ri cal muscular act i vi t y of the muscles t urni ng the
head is no more. Our self-direction is now free to start movi ng
i n any di recti on we may choose or be called upon to act agai n.
Just t h i nk that our mout h also connects us to the envi ronment
beyond what we can touch. The mout h is also di recti onal,
though not so clearly as t he teleceptors. It is difficult to t h i nk
t hat such a major involvement of the enti re organism i ncl ud-
i ng everythi ng contained i n the skul l , a l l the muscles, and the
skeleton could be achieved wi t hout apprenticeship. The t ur n-
i ng of the head of the l yi ng baby i n response to the mother's
efforts to evoke a response t hat w i l l assure her that the baby
knows who its mother i s, is the begi nni ng of the very long
learning-growing process that w i l l produce the marvelous re-
sults I have described. A l l that is perhaps more personally
i mportant to me t han to you. I have already mentioned my
wonder and admi rat i on of people who worked, discovered,
wrote, and told us about i t . I also told you that my own cont ri -
buti on to these teachers of mi ne is that I have added to t hei r
teaching something that enables us to use t hei r achievements
here and now to make our li fe easier and better.
Magnus of Ut recht Uni versi t y i n Hol l and has fami li ari zed
us wi t h the tonic and ri ght i ng reflex of ourselves. Funct i onal
Integration uses hi s genius i n a way that would fill hi s heart
wi t h joy. Here i t i s. In the apprenticeship of ri ght and left
rotati on around the vert i cal i n upri ght standing, the cruci al
point of the learni ng is the ar r i val of the impulses sent by the
nervous system i n patterns such that al l the i ntri cate move-
ments can be performed. Now, suppose something has gone
wrong, say l i ke i n cerebral palsy, where practice and growth
do not result i n the usual simple i nt ent i onal acts, or that
i njury has produced a si mi l ar difficulty. We have already seen
that the vi oli ni st ' s i njured arm was attended to and helped by
qualified medi cal specialists. But the real problem was, how
could he play the vi ol i n, wi t h the excellency wanted, over and
above the basic heali ng of the ar m and hand? The real ques-
t i on i s, how can we make the impulses from the nervous sys-
tem arri ve at t hei r muscular destination i n the ri ght manner
and strength?
In short, i n a l l the examples, the sensory response and i n-
tenti onal motor act i vi t y are l i nked i n the nervous system by
the environment on the one hand, and the muscles and skele-
ton on the other. Any breach of conti nui ty i n the loop w i l l
interfere wi t h or abolish functi oni ng. In early babyhood, the
conti nui ty i n the loop environmentsensation, nervous sys-
tern, motor act i vi t y, envi ronment and feedbacks from i t i s
i nt act i n pri nci ple. Yet the baby cannot play the vi ol i n. One
of the reasons is that the impulses are not differentiated suffi-
ci ently and the motor act i vi t y is not differentiated ei ther. The
responses and the i nt ent i onal acts are global, not graded. A l l
the members, hands and legs, move together and cannot form
any finely directed act. Lat er, when the growth and the func-
t i oni ng gradually form a more specific passage for i ndi vi dual
impulses i n the synapses, more vari eti es of movement become
possible. The fingers can be moved separately from one an-
other. Different rates and i ntensi ti es can be produced even i n
parts of the fingers. Thi s di scri mi nat i on between si mi l ar but
sli ght ly different movements is the differentiation we men-
tioned. Gradual l y, the synapses pass a greater number of i m-
pulses, each one to a different desti nati on unt i l the chi l d can
begin to practice wri t i ng and later practice pl ayi ng the vi ol i n
or whatever.
The i mportant detai l to understand is the mul t i pl e act i vi t y
of the nervous system. It senses i ts own body and the objects
of the envi ronment and i t has the curi osi ty to do these thi ngs.
It repeats acts even i f they are not successful and through the
errors and sli ght adjustments slowly forms the paths through
the synapses to wri t e and play the vi ol i n. Learni ng occurs
when the nervous system repeats i ts exploratory act i vi t y on
an object of the envi ronment unt i l i t is successful, i.e. satisfies
the i nt ent i on. There is thus a continuous i nteracti on between
the sensory and motor acti vi ti es whi ch are pract i cally never
independent. In hemi plegi a through i njury I can often pi n-
point on the spine the precise locati on where the paralyzed
person mistakes hi s ri ght for left and vice versa. The i nabi l i t y
to move the li mbs is not only a motor fai lure, but is also a
sensory trouble. Even i f the muscles could functi on, the i nt en-
t i on to use the ri ght would feel l i ke i nt endi ng to move the left
l i mb. Professor Bach-y-Ri t a of Stanford Uni versi t y witnessed
such a finding when I taught i n San Franci sco. It is easy to
follow the rati onale of Funct i onal Integrati on when t reat i ng
cerebral palsy or i n recreati ng a vi ol i ni st who has lost hi s
excellency through i njury.
Let us ret urn to the P ari si an cerebral palsy gi r l you already
know. H er hands are continuously active; her knees knock
together, as her heels cannot touch the ground; and she walks
on tiptoe wi t h the feet t urned exaggerately i nward. The range
of movement i n the hi p joi nts is restricted and the lumbar
spine is stiff and unyi eldi ng. As you probably remember, she
i s a bri ght gi r l . Were she not, as is often unfortunately the
case, i t would be a much longer job. Sometimes i t is a t hank-
less enterprise and only an allevi at i on is obtained, whi ch w i l l
gradually vani sh i f the chi l d is left untreated for any pro-
longed period of ti me. Surgeons w i l l often t ry to help by
lengtheni ng the Achi l l es tendonsheel cordsso t hat the
feet can bend at the ankles a l i t t l e more easily and thus enable
the heels to reach the floor. I have seen two chi ldren who have
each had t hi s operation performed three ti mes, first at the age
of four, then at eight, and agai n at twelve. Needless to say, the
surgeon hi mself di d not t hi nk the first and second operations
di d much good. Then, sometimes the lengtheni ng of adductors
the muscles that enable us to squeeze our knees together
is performed. Thi s operation wi t h braces on the legs w i l l , of
course, help the chi l d to stand somehow i n an i mproved man-
ner. My cri t i ci sm of the decision to operate i s often answered
by, " Wh at else can one do? A t least something is being done
to make the chi l d stand better and waddle about more easi ly."
Thi s is a val i d argument but i t shows t hat no alternati ve ever
crosses the mi nd. The premise is that the brai n was i njured
because of lack of oxygen (anoxia) duri ng the deli very, and
some believe that such things happen when a chi l d is already
weak before bi rt h. And i t seems reasonable to t hi nk that i n-
j ury can be patched up by el i mi nat i ng the most obvious mi s-
functions t hrough as many operations as there are obvious
defects.
Funct i onal Integration approaches the problem from a new
di recti on ent i rely. A n average baby cannot wal k wi thout mov-
i ng whi le growing. A t each period of t hi s growth, quite differ-
ent movements are performed by a l l babies. The movements
result i n the end i n wal ki ng, standi ng, and so on. But none of
the movements are "exerci ses" of the final movement. They
are movements whi ch are dictated by the state of the nervous
apparatus, the muscles, the skeleton, and the "body" configu-
rat i on whi ch i s feasible at that moment. Nervous systems
Would not exist i n ani mals i f these systems di d not assist t hem
to face up to the perpetually new necessities and new oppor-
tuni ti es that the envi ronment presents. I have already men-
tioned the order-seeking functi on of the nervous system. It is
t hi s order-seeking quali t y that enables a chi l d to find a final
mode of acti on t hrough errat i c act i vi t y of now one and t hen
another constituent of standi ng or of any other functi on, just
as i n lat er l earni ng, say to ri de a bi cycle, the learner, to begin
wi t h , does a l l the movements t hat interfere wi t h ri di ng. H e
w i l l i nhi bi t one by one the parasi ti c, useless, i ndi scri mi nat e,
and uni nt ent i onal parts of hi s movements unt i l he discovers
the essential, orderly, i nt ent i onal, differentiated, final ver-
si on. Thus, the l earni ng of ski l l s (swimming, si ngi ng, juggli ng,
or whatever) when young is a general, confused, i ll-di rect ed
act i vi t y i n whi ch the nervous system discovers an orderly
act i vi t y after havi ng i nhi bi t ed a l l the fai lure-produci ng, er-
rat i c, uncontrollable, j erky moves. I have persisted i n t hi s
labored description so that you can follow and understand how
a cerebral palsy, i nt elli gent chi l d or person can be helped to
learn finally what other chi l dren l earn i n t hei r childhood.
Suppose t hat , after exami ni ng the cerebral palsy gi r l I men-
tioned before, I find t hat l yi ng on her back i s the easiest posi-
t i on for her. I w i l l let her li e on the couch whi ch has a felt-
covered hard-soft surface, and put a roller or a sponge under
her knees so that they are supported firmly and safely. She is
then i n the position i n whi ch the ant i gravi t y musclesmostly
extensorsdo not have to l i f t any weight. Li f t your own elbow
and hold i t i n the ai r, and after a mi nut e or two lower your
132
elbow to rest on the table or any other firm support, and your
shoulder muscles w i l l decontract as t hei r work is now done by
the support. Nervous systems tend to efficient economic func-
ti oni ng.
Therefore, a l l parts of the gi rl' s body, the lumbar regions,
the nape, the ankles, a l l w i l l be supported, asymetri cally i f
necessary, unt i l she is l yi ng firmly supported a l l along her
skeleton i n a way she would li e i f she had no muscles at a l l .
The nervous system is not recei vi ng any st i mulat i on from the
soles of the feet: there is no compression of the joi nts of the
ankles, knees, hi ps, and so on. The tendons are not stretched,
the head is not carri ed, and i t does not look, l i st en, or speak
and nei ther is i t orientated by what occurs i n the envi ron-
ment. In essence, the tendency of the nervous system to opti -
mal functioning coincides wi t h mi ni mal st i mulat i on. The ner-
vous impulses to the musculature w i l l quieten down. The
i nt ent i onal cortex w i l l be freer to "new pattern-formi ng" t han
when everythi ng i n the system is engaged i n some sort of
act i vi t y, be i t i nt ent i onal or automatic habi t ual .
I now have a malleable enti ty before me wi t h a large num-
ber of possibilities. I can alter the shape of the pressure pat-
t ern whi ch the poor use of the system has called for. I say thi s,
but i t is i n part nonsense, for I cannot achieve alterations so
that different impulse patterns reach a l l the muscles. I can
only touch, pul l , push, press, palpate, and so fort h and do a l l
these things i n a way that is more orderly, more l i ke qui eti ng
the system as happens i n young babies and chi ldren when
l yi ng at ease. I am able to make repeatable consistent st i mul a-
ti on and feel whether the nervous system I am handl i ng can
respond i n a way that is different from the st art i ng response.
I can feel after twenty or fewer repetitions that the l yi ng
person recalls the pattern he or she is used to and can feel the
formi ng of a new neural organization. Thi s is real progress, for
the nervous system is now responding normal l y to a neut ral
environment. Cerebral palsy functi oni ng, excited, j erky, athe-
Funct i onal Integration
133
totic, errat i c, does not respond to the st i mulat i on of the envi-
ronment i n the orderly fashion as an i ntact system does, but
here on the couch the cerebral palsy chi l d responds for the
first t i me as a l l normal chi ldren would.
Then there is the most i mport ant part of the body, the posi-
t i on of whi ch causes the di st ri but i on of tonus to the entire
musculature i n standi ng and a l l other movements of a person.
I am t al ki ng about the head. It is a heavy part of ourselves
whi ch, as I have sai d already, bears a l l the i nstruments we
need to relate to space, sound, li ght , and smell. No movement
is undertaken wi t h the head l yi ng s t i l l and a l l the teleceptors
i nacti ve. We t ur n our head ri ght and left when there is the
most i nsi gni fi cant change i n the envi ronment at t ract i ng our
attenti on, and also for the i nt ent i on of executing the minutest
movement whatsoever, let alone rapi d, powerful actions and
reactions. The reader can refer to any modern book on physi ol-
ogy, or reread my book B o d y a n d M a t u r e B e h a v i o r to l earn
how the rotati on of the head affects the tonus of the enti re
musculature and how sudden loss of balance evokes the ri ght -
i ng reflex of the eyes and the head itself. I can place my hand
on the front of the head of the l yi ng person and move i t very
gently to the ri ght and to the left. I n a body of a human who
is both i nt ellect ually and emoti onally a genius, and whose
senses are as good as hi s feeling, the head w i l l yi el d to the
sli ght moti on of my hand wi t h the smoothness of movement
found i n the best handmade Swiss watch you can buy. The
head of a person suffering from cerebral palsy can be moved
i n t hi s fashi on only a fracti on of an i nch to one side and
another fracti on of an i nch to the other. The head is unable
to deal wi t h the envi ronment uni formly wel l . It has only par-
t i cul ar directions i n whi ch i t moves so that the body follows
i t . I n a l l the others, the head is ri gi dl y held. No smooth move-
ment can be performed, except st ri ct l y i n the l i mi t ed direc-
tions where the head is more or less fluent.
I have examined many thousands of heads of supposedly
134
normal healthy i ndi vi duals. Onl y a few dozen of them, a l l
extraordi nary human beings and each a hal l mark i n hi s acti v-
i t y, yi el d to the motion of the hand to rotate the head ri ght and
left wi t h remarkable smoothness and ease. I have already
mentioned some of t hem. The great majori ty of people f al l
between the extraordi nary and the sufferers from cerebral
palsy. To be concise, people never reach t hei r endowed poten-
t i al excellence except i n a few cases.
The person l yi ng before us is handicapped because she has
been unable to make head or t ai l of her errat i cal wi dely wan-
deri ng movements. She has not succeeded i n fi ndi ng a repeti -
tive si mi l ari t y from whi ch she could form a clear and better
way of acti ng. I therefore substitute myself for her early envi -
ronment, both gravi t at i onal and human, by maki ng move-
ments of her head whi ch are si mi l ar to one another so that
even the errati c functi oni ng w i l l , i n the end, recognize an
orderly possibility. To do that I have, probably, to continue the
i ni t i at ed, gentle, hardly recognized rot ary movement of the
head wi t h one hand, whi le wi t h the other reach lower parts of
her body where the ri gi di t y is even greater. Thi s ri gi di t y
makes i t impossible for the head to perform a large or
smoother rotati on. A Mi l waukee brace, or a cast on a healthy
thorax w i l l cause the rotati on of the head to be so restri cted
that i t resembles a bad case of cerebral palsy. Even i n a pl ai n
skeleton the seven cervi cal vertebrae cannot be made to twist
much wi thout dislocating them from one another! The twelve
thoracic vertebrae also twi st very l i t t l e but the lumbar five
can twist more t han the others. Onl y the axis and the atlas
the two upper cervi cal vertebraetwist si gni fi cantly even i n ,
say, Bechterev disease or deformant osteoarthritis. They are
the last to go and pract i cally never fuse to the end.
As I repeat slowly the gentle movi ng pressure on the fore-
head, and assist myself wi t h my other hand to faci li t at e the
rotati on by moving the sternum, the ri bs and, i f necessary,
also the pelvis, a l l to increase rotati on of the head, one direc-
t i on improves first, as the head moves wi t h i ncreasi ng ease
and t hrough a larger angle of rot at i on. The enti re side
becomes softer and moves more easily, the eyes open wi der,
and the breat hi ng is easier, i nvolvi ng parts that were held
ri gi dl y before.
Once the l yi ng person realizes the faci li tated movement of
the head and the parts below, there w i l l often be a deep si gh
of relief. The other side is now dealt wi t h i n the same manner.
It takes me from t en to fifteen mi nutes to enlarge the angle
of rotati on from a barely perceptible movement to a range of
twenty to t h i rt y degrees both ways. The head is now held wi t h
both hands and i s li fted from the couch; i t i s li fted and oriented
unt i l i t sits on the l yi ng body as i t would sit on a healt hy body
standi ng wi t h good posture. Thi s usually allows the di a-
phragm to move and the lower abdomi nal wal l begins to heave
up and down. The breat hi ng is obviously eased and more
rhyt hmi cal . Next t i me i t is much easier to achieve the better
functi oni ng, i t w i l l take only minutes to obtain evidence of
further improvement. Repeti ti on is not a very efficient way of
essential l earni ng, but i t is useful as a means of f ami l i ari zi ng
an already achieved learni ng. Learni ng is concerned wi t h the
unknown becoming known whi ch is reali zed after i t s discov-
ery. I may repeat for a couple of minutes the final achievement
of the first session i n the second or t h i r d meeting. The helped
person should feel a fri endly hand and attitude rat her t han
any sensation of bei ng pushed or mani pulated. A t each meet-
i ng somethi ng new, unforeseen, and unexpected w i l l be used.
The person's system w i l l be alert, curious, and interested a l l
the t i me, otherwise there w i l l be stagnation and boredom,
wi t h no l earni ng wort h the trouble.
Many, i f not most, cerebral palsy chi ldren and adults have
spastic hands and fingers. The wri sts are often ri gi d and can-
not bend. Generally, i t is the rotati on of the ul na or the cubi t al
bone of the forearm round the radi us that is not possible. The
ul nar bone is the one at the side of the smal l finger of the hand,
the auri cular finger. The radi us is the larger bone at the
thumb side of the forearm. Thi s lack of rotati on of the forearm
means that the elbow is not movi ng wel l ei ther. Obviously the
shoulder blade and the clavi cle of such a forearm are far from
being i deal or even good. In short, a person wi t h cerebral palsy
has cerebral palsy a l l over, only some parts are a greater
handicap t han others. The shoulders and the arms being as
they are, the l earni ng of adequate i nt ent i onal use of t hem is
not possible. I have already given the reasons and even re-
peated them:
I w i l l take, say, the ri ght hand of the l yi ng person and move
i t across hi s chest. Usual l y the arm w i l l not yi el d to my gentle
pul l . I w i l l cease my pul l i ng, and repeat i t even more slowly
but t hi s t i me I w i l l use my ri ght hand to support the elbow of
the spastic arm. Wi t h both handspulli ng at the wri st and
pushi ng at the elbowI w i l l move the ri ght forearm across the
chest i n the di recti on of the left jaw or cheek, but only so much
as can be done wi thout havi ng to increase my power. Then I
w i l l move i t back to i ts normal position wi thout releasing my
holds. I w i l l wai t for the next breath. If, after several mi nut e
movements, I do not then feel the pulled (and elbow-assisted)
arm following my acti on more readi ly and more extensively
whi le I keep reducing my i nt ensi t y wi t h each repeti ti on, I w i l l
slide my ri ght hand under the shoulder blade, let t i ng go of the
elbow. Assi st i ng the shoulder blade i n the di recti on that eases
the pul l on the wri st , I w i l l agai n help the wri st i n the direc-
t i on of the left cheek. Normal l y, the wri st w i l l follow after
about twenty or so more and more delicate attempts to reach
almost the chi n. A t t hi s moment I w i l l let go of the shoulder
blade and take the elbow for another movement or two, and
then let t i ng go of the elbow I w i l l t ur n the head as much as
i t w i l l go easi ly to meet the mount i ng wri st . A t the finish, the
pal m w i l l end up l yi ng on the left cheek. A t t hi s point I w i l l
agai n hold the elbow and shift my left hand from the wri st to
apply sli ght pressure at the back of i t so that the pal m lies on
Funct i onal Integrati on 137
the cheek clearly and squarely. If I cannot help the person to
achieve t hi s I w i l l give i t up for the moment. Next t i me I w i l l
proceed differently altogether. In a more or less usual case of
cerebral palsy i t i s possible for the pal m to touch the mout h,
the cheek, and stay there, wi t h my ri ght hand assisting the
elbow and my other hand pressing the back of the hand to the
cheek.
H avi ng reached thi s far, the cerebral palsy person hi mself
can l earn to do the movement and can achieve i t quite readi ly.
The idea behi nd the whole acti on is that a l l babies at the start
do not i nt ent i onally move t hei r members and t hei r muscles i n
a differentiated way. I mean, a baby w i l l move both hi s fists
to hi s mout h. He cannot, at the start, move one hand to hi s
mout h and scratch hi s head wi t h the other. It i s a long gradual
process of functi oni ng whi le growi ng before the nervous sys-
tem is capable of di rect i ng impulses through synapses,
t hrough a part i cul ar dendrite. To perform a si mple movement
l i ke rubbi ng the end of the thumb against the end of the index
finger i nt ent i onally, the i nhi bi t i ng of the nei ghbori ng fingers
to i mmobi li t y so that a clear wanted delicate movement can
be formed, the baby w i l l for a considerable t i me, move many
things together. Thus before a baby w i l l put hi s ri ght palm on
hi s left cheek of hi s own i ni t i at i ve, for whatever reason or
i nt ent i on, many months of growth and learni ng wi thout a
formal teacher w i l l go by. Fi rst , he w i l l bri ng both fisted hands
to his mouth. Then, i n the course of t i me, bri ng t hem to hi s
cheeks, and lat er use only one hand wi thout the other. The
chi l d w i l l l earn bits of things from one teacher of hi s choice,
somebody he li kes, and the next bi t from somebody else, and
other bi ts w i l l just dawn on h i m. He is so i nvolved or i nt er-
ested that he feels the acti on he is performi ng, and keenly
senses what is bei ng wrought by h i m outside himself. Thus, a
gradual differentiation takes place where there was once only
a global, coarse, i ll-di rect ed moti on.
You may now realize that whi le I am pressing the cerebral
palsy person's ri ght palm to hi s left cheek wi t h my left hand,
assisting hi s elbow, and then hi s shoulder blade wi t h my ri ght
hand, his head w i l l rotate whi le the shoulder muscles and
everythi ng between the shoulder and the head plus the ri ght
corner of hi s chest w i l l move together globally as one entity.
Thi s is reminiscent of the state of babyhood where the muscles
joi ni ng the arm to the head have nothi ng to do, for i n touching
fists to mouth, the baby moves his head and shoulders by
t wi st i ng hi s thorax. Si mi l arl y, the head-shoulder muscles are
not involved i n any act i vi t y when I am handli ng the cerebral
palsy person as I have described. The nervous system as we
have seen, w i l l take a few mi nutes or ten to twenty rehearsals
to recognize i t has the abi l i t y to leave a l l these muscles quies-
cent. Thi s is, maybe, the first occasion i n a li feti me that the
cerebral palsy person feels no movement occurri ng i n a region
that had never stopped contracti ng, wi t h or wi thout the sli ght-
est i nt ent i on to do anyt hi ng.
I use pri mi t i ve nondifferentiated movements and reactions.
Many of them are stored as a sort of engram i n our system, and
are not used by the average healthy person. The sucki ng reflex
is a good example: a baby pokes hi s li ps whi le reachi ng for the
ni pple. The adult w i l l organize hi s li ps i n much the same way
whi le ut t eri ng a long 00-00 sound, l i ke i n 'good' or 'hoo-hoo*.
Some chi ldren may continue the sucki ng moti on of thei r li ps
for an appreciable ti me after they have stopped feeding by
sucki ng. However, most adults use sucki ng i nt ent i onally only.
On the other hand, a traumati zed adult, deeply disturbed emo-
t i onally, or act ually suffering a nervous breakdown, w i l l often
poke his li ps as i n sucki ng and i nvol unt ari l y repeat the suck-
i ng movement several times i f hi s upper l i p is sti mulated by
snapping i t rapi dly and suddenly. Thi s dormant, now useless
action was i n i ts own t i me, the most vi t al and i mportant move-
ment.
I use many movements and reactions that were used i n
infancy and given up and stored i n the normal way i n the
memory bank. I may evoke the protective stretchi ng out of the
arms when f al l i ng face down i n order to organize the i nt en-
t i onal stretchi ng of arms whi ch have never straightened be-
fore. To do t hat I have to support and guide the elbow, wri st ,
and shoulder to respond to my st i mulus of the hand i n the
normal way. The cerebral palsy person learns to recognize a
repetitive pattern he i s performi ng uni nt ent i onally unt i l he
can act ually do i t unaided himself. The nervous system nor-
mal l y learns i n a si mi l ar way, but the cerebral palsy system
is unable to achieve such l earni ng alone by itself, because of
the wi l d discrepancies between si mi l arl y intended move-
ments. It i s hard for the person, i f not impossible, to see any
clear pattern emerging from attempts whi ch are only nearly
si mi l ar i n a l l hi s l earni ng si tuati ons.
I have evolved a large number of such means, si tuati ons,
and movements sufficient to meet any usual cerebral palsy
i nabi l i t y. One such means or technique is an art i fi ci al ground
or floor. Thi s is an effective auxi l i ary for organi zi ng standi ng
and wal ki ng i n a vari et y of cases. I w i l l describe i t i n det ai l to
make i t easier for you to grasp the wider t h i nki ng behi nd the
use of Funct i onal Integrati on.
Muscles t hat have not been i njured from the outside usually
function wel l unless there i s some sort of disturbance or illness
i n t he nervous system. The ar r i val of impulses of the intended
acti on t hrough the nerves to the muscles i n the normal way
is the problem i n most muscular dysfunction. Normal l y our
i nt ent i on is sufficient to provide the complex impulse patterns
programmi ng a l l our movements. Our i ntenti ons spri ng most
of the t i me from the envi ronment t hrough our sensory appa-
rat us, and much of our abi l i t y originates t hi s way. It is not
always at a l l easy to decide whether a part i cul ar movement
has ori gi nated as an immediate response to a provocation
from the envi ronment, or i f we ourselves have i ni t i at ed the
stream of motor act i vi t y. From the start there i s a continuous
commerce between the growi ng organism and i ts changing
140
environment. Even i f we feel cert ai n that we wished and i ni t i -
ated the movement ourselves we may come to doubt i t i f we
look at the process of our li fe before the moment i n question.
Movement fai lures may be due to defects i n the sensory or
motor parts of our makeup or i n both. In Funct i onal Integra-
t i on I attend pri mari l y to the function that is sought, the
sensory and motor details have value and importance only
because they are needed for accomplishing the functi on. It
sounds l i ke spli t t i ng hai rs, and when we have no trouble i t is
indeed spl i t t i ng a hai r. B ut when we have to recover lost
functi oni ng i t becomes of paramount importance, for how are
we going to make impulses started by our i nt ent i on arri ve at
t hei r destination when there i s a gap, a break i n the cont i nui t y
of the channels or paths they normally travel? Here is how I
use the art i fi ci al ground or floor. The person lies on hi s back
supported safely, as already described. H i s feet protrude a few
inches beyond the couch, just enough to be able to see hi s heels
over the edge. I then take a board, a foot and a h al f long, a foot
wide, and thi ck enough to feel ri gi d; i n fact, l i ke a cheese
board. Hol di ng thi s board wi t h both hands and facing the soles
of the feet, I move i t toward the feet, concentrating on one of
them. I hold the board vert i cal, close to the foot and move i t
further forward unt i l i t comes i nto contact wi t h the smal l toe.
I break the first contact and reestablish i t as many times as
necessary to obtain qui veri ng of the second toe. I then i ncli ne
the board to touch the smal l toe only, then to contact the two
together, and so on unt i l the t h i rd, fourt h, and finally the bi g
toe a l l touch the board. Once a l l the toes are touchi ng, I move
the board to contact the heel only, then back to the toes,
conti nui ng l i ke t hi s unt i l I observe acti on i n the ankle joi nt ,
or a smoother one i f there was one, then I w i l l i ncli ne the
board to touch the outer part of the foot on the side of the smal l
toe. I touch alternately the bi g toe side alone and then the
smal l toe side alone, unt i l I feel a t urni ng of the foot and then
a softening, and more or less normal movement i n i t . The foot
moves to stand fi rml y on the sole as i f standi ng on an i ncli ned
floor or one that is not flat and has ti les i ncli ned at different
angles.
A healthy, well-coordinated organism can negotiate sand,
pebbles, and a l l forms of ground, undulat i ng, mounti ng, or
descending, and of course the legs, pelvis, and head ali gn
themselves correspondingly to restore safe standi ng a l l the
ti me. The person l yi ng on the couch has the ant i gravi t y mus-
cles quiescent as there is no st i mulat i on for standi ng except
the one I am producing wi t h my board. A l l the interoceptive
nerve endings i n the joi nts, muscles, and tendons throughout
the body act only as much as my sti mulati ons on the side of
the foot si mulate wal ki ng on uneven ground. When these
sti mulati ons extend to the enti re sole and my changing of the
i ncl i nat i on of the board is slow enough to allow the adjust-
ments result i ng from the would-be changes of the ground, I
can feel the enti re leg behaving as i t would i f the person was
really standi ng. In about t hi rt y minutes I can obtain tonus
changes i n the same side of the whole body as the leg I am
deali ng wi t h. The change w i l l spread to the neck muscles and
to the eyes as the head becomes involved i n keeping balance.
I thus obtain the dispatch of the t rai ns of impulses i n the body
for standi ng on one leg. I f there is no normal through passage
and ar r i val of impulses to the musculature of the leg and the
sole, I i ni t i at e by the st i mulat i on of the sole the sending of
impulses whi ch w i l l t ravel to reach t hei r destination, as they
di d earli er i n the baby and the chi l d. I f there is any li keli hood
of recovery, i t works much better t han just passively or ac-
t i vely mani pulat i ng the parts of the body. Appl i ed passive
movements have l i t t l e chance of formi ng new passages i n the
dendrites of the synapses. On the other hand, exercises i n
wal ki ng wi t h active st ri vi ng i nvolve movements wi l dl y differ-
ent from the ones needed and i n the best cases w i l l produce
only a badly distorted standi ng and wal ki ng. Sometimes the
person may recover hi mself wi thout my board. The board
technique, however, is not only an enormous timesaver, but i t
also brings about the best funct i onal recovery of the quali t y of
movement. At t endi ng to the functi on i n i ts enti rety w i l l act i -
vate and si mulate i n a harmonious way everythi ng necessary
for normal l earni ng of sensory motor excellence as i t hap-
pened ori gi nally. The art i fi ci al ground technique may succeed
when everythi ng else fai ls. Moreover, i t works wonders on the
average person whom we tend to cal l normal instead of aver-
age.
Maybe, by personal experience, you would convince yourself
better of the effectiveness of acti ng i n the way I have de-
scribed. Stand i n your socks or bare feet near a wal l . Tur n to
face the wal l . P ut your ri ght hand on the wal l , wi t h the elbow
sli ght ly bent. Stand on your ri ght foot and move the left foot
back a l i t t l e wi t h the heel not touchi ng the floor, just to keep
the body i n balance. You are then resti ng on the left foot as
you would at the very moment you i ean fully on the ri ght foot
duri ng wal ki ng.
Stand as easily and as si mply as you can. Now move your body
so as to stand on the outer edge of your ri ght foot: do not t ry
too hard, just do i t more or less. Next , proceed slowly and
gently and t ur n your foot so as to stand preponderantly on its
Funct i onal Integration
143
i nner edge, and back onto the outer edge. Repeat the two
movements a dozen ti mes; each t i me you change the position
of the ri ght foot, reduce useless effort i n the ri ght ar m and
hand and breathe freely. Now l i f t your ri ght heel off the floor
then change a l i t t l e and l i f t the forepart of the footwith the
toesoff the floor standi ng on the heel alone. Al t ernat e these
two movements five or six times. Breathe freely and do an-
other five or si x eversions and inversions of the foot, as at the
beginning. I hope you remember to use your left foot only for
keeping balance, wi t h the heel not touchi ng the floor. Now
wal k normally and note the difference between your ri ght side
and leg and the left side. You can begin to judge the effective-
ness of what changing the pressure di st ri but i on on the sole of
the foot would be i f you were l yi ng instead of standi ng. Even
so, you can now sense a sufficient difference of tonus i n the
muscles of your enti re ri ght side.
E x a m i n e t h e p i c t u r e s w i t h e a s y a t t e n t i o n . S ee h o w t h e h e a d
i s t u r n ed , t h e p e l v i s , t h e l i f t e d l eg , t h e h a n d l e a n i n g a g a i n s t t he
w a l l .
U s e y o u r i m a g i n a t i o n t o f i g u r e o u t a l l t he o t h e r p o s s i b l e
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s . P r o c e e d s l o w l y w hen a c t i n g m a k i n g a s m a l l
s t a r t o f t h e m o v e m e n t a n d t hen i n c r ea s e t h e r a n g e. I t w i l l t a k e
y o u t en o r e i g h t a t t em p t s t o r ea c h t h e l i m i t o f y o u r p r e s e n t
p o s s i b i l i t y . B y g o i n g t hr o u g h a l l t he c o m b i n a t i o n s t h e s a m e
w a y, y o u w i l l f i n d a l l r a n g es i n c r ea s i n g a n d e x c e e d i n g y o u r
ex p ec t a t i o n s . A g e n e r a l i m p r o v ed p o s t u r e a n d ea s e o f a c t i o n
w i l l r e s u l t
I f m y a p p r ec i a t i o n o f y o u r i m a g i n a t i o n i s m i s t a k en , y o u n eed
t h i s s o r t o f t h i n g m o r e t h a n y o u k n o w .
S u m m a r y
Funct i onal Integration is essentially nonverbal. It is effec-
ti ve because the i njured person who may have had surgery,
laminectomy, or an amputati on of a leg, cerebral palsy, or any
of an inexhaustible vari et y of i njuri es has lost the abi l i t y to
help himself. People i n si mi l ar situations lose t hei r self-confi-
dence. Thei r self-reliance is so compromised t hat most treat-
ment produces only superficial improvement, i f any at al l .
The deepest ki nestheti c sensations formed i n early chi l d-
hood are affected. The person wi thdraws from what happens
i n the outside world and is completely absorbed wi t h attend-
i ng to the i nt ernal l y occurri ng changes. The smoother eye
movements, the rotati on of the head, the change of pressure
di stri buti on on the soles of the feet, the reduction of intercos-
t al tensions, the completion of the ant i gravi t at i onal muscular
patterns for a clear feeling of vert i cal upri ght standi ng cannot
occur wi thout a complete change of neural functi oni ng of the
i nt ent i onal or motor cortex and of the sensory one.
The muscular tonus becomes more uni form and is lowered.
A feeling of well-being prevai ls. The breat hi ng becomes regu-
l ar; the cheeks more colored. The eyes are bri ghter, wi der, and
moister, and sparkle. A t the end, one rubs one's eyes as i f
awakeni ng from a restful dream. Nor mal people are too busy
and miss something that is priceless. They should t ry Func-
t i onal Integration.
T H E OBVIOUS
IS E LUSI VE
M a n y t hi n g s a r e n o t o b v i o u s . M o s t p s yc ho t her a p i es u s e
s p eec h t o g e t t o u n c o n s c i o u s , f o r g o t t en , ea r l y ex p er i en c e. Yet
f eel i n g s g o o n i n o u r s el v es l o n g b ef o r e s p eec h i s l ea r n ed . S o m e
p a y a t t e n t i o n n o t t o w h a t i s s a i d b u t t o h o w i t i s s a i d . D o i n g
t hi s en a b l es o n e t o f i n d t h e i n t e n t i o n s b e h i n d t h e s t r u c t u r e o f
t he p hr a s i n g , s o t h a t o n e c a n g e t t o t h e f eel i n g s t h a t d i c t a t e d
t he p a r t i c u l a r w a y o f p hr a s i n g . I n s h o r t , h o w o n e s a ys w ha t o n e
d o es i s a t l ea s t a s i m p o r t a n t a s w ha t o n e s a ys .
Fami l i ar i t y makes thi ngs, actions, and notions obvious. We
are so f ami l i ar wi t h speaking that everythi ng about i t seems
obvious. Fami l i ar i t y wi t h our bodies makes most of our overall
notions about i t obvious. The same can be said about learni ng,
t hi nki ng, dreami ng, and about almost a l l the things we are
f ami l i ar wi t h . My contention is t hat speaking is not t hi nki ng,
although we "obvi ously" consider t hem as the same t hi ng.
Most people have difficulty i n admi t t i ng t hi s to be correct. I
would rat her say t hat the obvious to us contains al l our scien-
tific ignorance, and i t needs more fundamental understanding
and relearni ng t han anyt hi ng we t hi nk we know.
We know very l i t t l e and often nothi ng about most obvious
phenomena. How i s i t that a box of matches looks to us the
same size and form at any distance or position where i t is s t i l l
recognizable? How do we swallow? Young chi ldren can t hi nk
long before they can speak. Hel en Kel l er could cert ai nly t hi nk
145
146
before she learned her own way of speaking. Ani mal s often
behave so that we believe they can t h i nk even though they
cannot speak. Speech, and even more the wri t t en or pri nt ed
word, has played a part of inestimable importance i n our de-
velopment as a species. Many believe that i t is comparable to
our genetic endowment. Speech provides us wi t h the i nforma-
t i on and the abi l i t y to do what other ani mals do i nst i nct i vely.
H uman i nsti ncts are as weak as our bodies when compared
wi t h strong ani mals or even weak ani mals. Even so, thanks to
speech we have avai lable to us the experience of t hi nki ng. Our
i nheri tance is so greatarti sti c creations, knowledge of pur
predecessors, immense cul t ural treasures i n book form on
mathematics, music, poetry, li t erat ure, hi story, sciences, ge-
ometry, anatomy, and medi cal wri t i ngs i n general, physics
and so many other di sci pli nes, philosophy, li ngui sti cs, seman-
ti csthat we have difficulty i n deciding whether homo sapiens
is the product of hi s biological makeup alone or consists also
of hi s i nt ellect ual endowment made avai lable because of
speech i n i ts different forms.
Yet , 1 contend that i n self-knowledge speech is a formidable
obstacle. When i t is used i n a l l the various therapies avai lable
to analyze people's mi nds i t takes years to disentangle what
goes on i n us to make us say what we say, whi ch is bei ng
analyzed. In self-knowledge one cannot get at fundamentals
wi t hout undoing the l i nk between thought and speech. We
were not born wi t h thought and speech bei ng i ndi st i ngui sha-
ble. As we spend much ti me i n l earni ng to speak, unnoticed
to ourselves, we have acquired the erroneous notion that
speaking and t hi nki ng are synonymous. Words are symbols
and not signs, as i n mathematics. When I say " I want " I may
mean I desire, I need, or I lack. What do I t hi nk when I say
" I want"? I believe that I am selecting from my t hi nki ng only
one of several shades of meani ng and that i s the one that I
wi sh to communicate to another t h i nki ng human. I discover
a new shade whi ch i s obvious to me but speech is a means of
The Obvious is El usi ve 147
communi cati ng only one aspect of my t h i nki ng to somebody
else. Therefore, unless I am very careful I may communicate
an aspect of my t h i nki ng whi ch I never intended to communi -
cate. Moreover, my i nterlocutor may understand another as-
pect of i t whi ch I never i ntended although he clearly heard i t .
You can see how treacherous t hi s ground can be! I say I want
to be a wri t er, but on exami ni ng myself I find out t hat when
I say " I want " I am only describing what I lack. I am not a
wri t er, i t is only a wi shful thought or a desire, so to myself, as
to my i nterlocutor, my speech is real l y not t h i nki ng but a
vague symbol i ndi cat i ng a large domai n or an assembly of
notions whi ch may even contai n t hei r negations.
Suffice to t h i nk what God, t rut h , justi ce, honesty, commu-
ni sm, fascism, and so on mean i n different human societies to
see that much of our trouble li es i n the fact that we confuse
speaking wi t h t hi nki ng. Th i nki ng is a much wider function
whi ch contains many forms of possible expression. Speech i s
a seri al event, as words come one after the other i n t i me and
by t hei r nature cannot communicate the thought whi ch may
contai n an immense number of aspects. There is always more
t han one way of expressing a thought. Most i rat e discussions
and differences between humans are due to confusing speak-
i ng wi t h t hi nki ng. Nearl y every delegate to a di sarmament
conference t hi nks that disarmament is desirable, otherwise
there would be no conference. The thoughts are dressed i n the
garments of expression and what is said is so vari ed t hat
nobody can recognize the thoughts i n the speeches, as these
thoughts may be so mul t i pl e as to necessitate several decades
of pronouncements, speech bei ng a seri al event i n t i me. It has
always struck me as part i cul arl y incongruous t hat a l l the
functions of the so many different constituents of the brai n
(corpus st ri at um, globus palli dus, the pi t ui t ary, amygdala,
hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus and the two different
hemispheres) should not have more t han one set of muscles to
operate. Sure enough, muscles can do more t han one ki nd of
contraction; there are muscular tremors, clonic movement,
spastic contractions, etc. But should there not be some ki nd of
corresponding locali zati on of functions i n the body and i n i ts
muscles? The fact that only one set of muscles serves a l l the
different parts of the brai n gives me a clue to understandi ng
the uni t y of the nervous system and the locali zati on of the
different functions. The movement of ani mals as wel l as man
shows a paral l el organization. In the body, fingers and toes
serve differently from elbows and knees, shoulders and hi p
joi nts. For any use of fingers, be i t pl ayi ng the piano, counting
banknotes, or wri t i ng, we must displace the enti re skeleton
wi t h a l l i ts muscles to the piano, to the bank, or to the desk.
Delicate movements need wri sts, fingers, ankles, and toes but
the enti re musculature is i nvolved i n bri ngi ng the finer ex-
tremi ti es to the place where they perform. The shoulders and
the hips are necessary where more power is needed, and they
are i nvolved i n transporti ng the body to the place where deli -
cate fingers are necessary. Elbows and knees part i cul arl y are
involved i n al l the ski l l s of the human body. B ut agai n, the
entire self must be transported to j ump, and hands must hold
the pole for the vault . Roughly speaking, there is a difference
between holdi ng the pole and the vaul t itself. Locali zati on of
movement now becomes a hazy, far-fetched di vi si on.
In the same way, counti ng money is not localized anywhere
i n the brai n any more t han the fingers themselves are money-
counters. In every acti on the whole brai n i s active as surely as
the whole body is i nvolved. Obviously the brai n, havi ng t ran-
sported the enti re body to the piano, t hen has to use the audi -
t ory apparatus, the motor cortex for the fingers on the keys,
the feet on the pedals, the extensors for si t t i ng, and the head
. . . and the *body' is used si mi l arl y.
The scheme would be of l i t t l e interest were i t not for the
i dea that as the body, i n between any two acti vi ti es whatso-
ever, must go through the upri ght standi ng configuration, so
the brai n too has a passing neut ral configuration. It is the
The Obvious is El usi ve 149
passage from one act i vi t y to the other t hat needs a cleani ng
of the slate, so to speak. Just as standi ng can be considered
dynami c at a part i cular point i n the process of movi ng, so the
quiescence of the brai n is necessary i n passing from one acti v-
i t y to the other. I believe that cleani ng the slate takes proba-
bl y a few milliseconds and i s, therefore, unnoticeable except
when the swi tchi ng i s defective. Thus, I believe that ankle
sprains and bi t i ng one's tongue occur when two actions follow
each other before the slate is completely clean. These fai lures
occur when we start a new i nt ent whi l e the former is not yet
completed. Therefore, the new i nt ent starts before the slate is
completely clean. We thus perform two incompatible actions
si multaneously.
Th i nk what can be said about a t ri angle, when the t h i nki ng
contains a l l that I know about i t and even what I may discover.
My interest i n t hi s di lemma or problem is pract i cal. I have to
communicate something whi ch may help a person who i s i n
trouble, or wishes to change hi s aches and pains, or is born
wi t h a cerebral palsy organism, or has been i njured, or has
acquired body habits whi ch are self-directed (feeling inade-
quate) and self-destructive (feeling unworthy). I wi sh to con-
vey something whi ch may help the person to reorganize the
acti ng of hi s self t hrough the body wi t h self-direction to make
li fe easier, si mpler, or even more pleasant and aesthetically
satisfying. It i s useful at t hi s junct ure to make the point that
free choice i s closely related to t h i nki ng and is gone when
spoken and communicated to somebody else or even said to
oneself, thereby maki ng the decision. Free choice means es-
sent i ally choosing between alternati ves. I n thought, we choose
one alternati ve and communicate i t , although several other
choices may have existed i n our t hi nki ng before we decided to
dress one of t hem i n words.
In li fe, no alternati ve means anxi ety and often compulsion.
Wal k along one board of the floor. You can probably do that
and see l i t t l e point i n doing so agai n at my suggestion, as you
are sure that your recovery from any sli ght errors of balance
w i l l be good enough. You have no doubt because you have the
alternati ve to step sideways, correct your balance, and go back
to wal k on the board. Raise the board i n your i magi nat i on to
one foot and see yourself wal ki ng along i t ; rai se i t to some t en
feet i n your i magi nat i on; or better s t i l l , t ry a single board
poised on two supports and you w i l l see t hat the eli mi nat i on
of alt ernat i vesi n t hi s case no side-steppingincreases anxi -
ety sufficiently to paralyze thought, let alone performance.
Your doubt regardi ng the possi bi li ty of recovering balance is
wel l founded, because your abi l i t y to balance has never been
learned to that degree of excellence. Nevertheless, i t can be *
achieved and someone has walked on a cable from one roof of
the Worl d Trade Bui l di ng to the roof of the next bui ldi ng.
I repeat agai n, the i mportant issue is t hat no alternati ve
means anxiety. Free choice means havi ng at least another
way. Free choice is meaningless when we are compelled to
adopt the one and only way we know. Free choice means hav-
i ng an alternati ve mode of acti on avai lable, so you can then
choose the way you want most. To elect not to act is really no
choice at al l i t is not li fe.
A n i nt ent i onal volunt ary movement, say wi t h your hand
along a trajectory, can be stopped, recontinued, reversed, or
moved to do something else. A volunt ary movement means
free choice. A defensive, reflexive movement is of the all-or-
not hi ng type; i t is pri mi t i ve and wi t hout i nt ent i on. Such a
movement is val i d only i n the face of danger and self-preserva-
t i on, and when there is no t i me for choice. Then we either
preserve ourselves or are mai med or peri sh altogether.
As I suggested above, the obvious is elusive. When we t ry to
reach the mai n source of our t h i nki ng we come to depths
where i t is not easy to see i f the elusive is more obvious t han
the obvious. Thus, i t is possible to consider that free choice
exists only i n the process of t hi nki ng. As soon as the thought
leads to an action, albeit only sayi ng i t , the die is cast, and the
The Obvious is Elusi ve
151
choice is gone forever. Obvi ously more i nqui ry and clearer
t h i nki ng are essential to understand why nervous systems are
needed i n the world. What i s consciousness needed for, and
would not just bei ng awake do the job? Regai ni ng conscious-
ness after havi ng lost i t usually starts wi t h the question,
"Where am I?" Is knowi ng where I am, and is general knowl -
edge of self-direction the conscious functi on of t he nervous
system? Woul d we understand the problem more f ul l y i f we
knew i n whi ch part of the brai n i t is located?
Here we touch upon a very t horny problem. Locali zat i on of
functions, say of speech or wri t i ng, i n the brai n has had so
many successes t hat i t is almost a heresy to cast any serious
doubts on the correctness of the idea. Onl y a few consider
function i n large groups such as the hi ndbrai n, the li mbi c
system, and the forebrai n. Nobody would seriously mai nt ai n
that speech is a purely neocortical functi on located i n the
Broca area exclusively. However, elementary pri mi t i ve mus-
cular i nt ent i onal movements are so located on the cortex that
Penfield's homunculus is pi ctured i n most good books on
neurophysiology i n a l l languages. The i dea is so successful
t hat more and more precise localizations are discovered and
confirmed by different laboratories.
Any act can be complexed almost at w i l l . Th i nk of dri vi ng
a car whi le smoki ng, wi t hout neglecting your fri end at your
side, and at the same t i me li st eni ng and seeing a l l around the
car. Caesar and Napoleon are sai d to have been able to read,
l i st en, and wri t e three letters si multaneously. Yet we cannot
act and not act at the same t i me, whi ch on the face of i t is less
complex t han the complicated si t uat i on of dri vi ng the car. Is
i t that an act involves the whole brai n as i t involves the whole
body? Negat i ng an act is somehow si mi l ar to changi ng direc-
t i on of a movi ng body. A break, a zero velocity, i s necessary i n
between swi t chi ng from one to the other.
It may be wiser to stop here before si nki ng i nto even deeper
waters, and speculate on a quantum of t hi nki ng and other
functions of the brai n. Af t er a l l , i t is a useful way to under-
standi ng most phenomena of energy and its mat eri ali zat i on.
S u m m a r y
The more one deals wi t h the obvious, the more one si nks
i nto deeper waters where the elusive is paramount. The study
of speech is now a preoccupation of many investigators. More
precise knowledge of the ori gi n of speech is necessary before
we can use the word "obvi ous," and mean i t .
IN A N UT S H E L L
I believe that at t hi s very moment there are something l i ke a
hundred people who t h i nk and nouri sh ideas si mi l ar to the
ones dealt wi t h i n t hi s book. I know some of those people
personally. A n d i n a l l of the workshops whi ch I have directed
over the last thi rty-fi ve years i n many countries and i nvolvi ng
hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, I have always found
at least one person who has discovered i n hi s own way the
equivalent of my system. These facts convince me that I am
movi ng i n the di recti on most needed at t hi s t i me.
The vastness of the pract i cal possibilities t hat can be
derived from my work and whi ch are avai lable now makes any
one book too smal l for an adequate presentation of the essen-
t i als. My assistants, pupi ls, and myself have reached many
tens of thousands of people i n eight different countries. In the
last three months we have worked i n the Uni t ed States, Swe-
den, Canada, H ol l and, France, Germany, Swi t zerland, and Is-
rael . I have taught statesmen, actors, musi ci ans, orchestral
conductors, and people i n a l l walks of li fe. I have helped vi c-
t i ms of poli omyeli ti s, wounded soldiers, people i njured i n car
and i ndust ri al accidents, swimmers, divers, chi ldren, and
many senior citizens. Those st ri cken wi t h seemingly i ncurable
diseases and chroni c dysfunction such as cerebral palsy, post-
ur al defects, and breat hi ng troubles have been helped beyond
t hei r expectations. I hope I have presented at least the funda-
mentals of a teachi ng whi ch is applicable to a l l men no matter
153
what activities they perform. What has been achieved so far
is only a fai nt begi nni ng of what can and needs to be done.
Learni ng to foster i ndi vi dual i t y w i l l make for a society of
better i ndi vi duals. Our t hi nki ng abi l i t y w i l l improve because
our brai ns w i l l be wi red i n by an envi ronment that is ri cher
t han ever before. Today electronic valves are replaced by t ran-
sistors, chips maki ng possible computers beyond the dreams of
geniuses only a few decades ago. Indi vi dual t h i nki ng has also
improved through teamwork. The t en percent use of our
brai ns is a l i mi t at i on from the past. Most people bui l d t hei r
lives around the peaks of t hei r organic learni ng, and t hi s is the
source of t hei r li mi t at i ons and poor overall use of themselves.
The di agram i llustrates the development of an excellent
musi ci an, when the area of peak is s t i l l only t en percent of the
area of hi s t ot al abi li t y. Each one of us has a peak or two and
the rest is only potenti al.
Humani t y passes t hrough periods of crises: i nflati on, reces-
sions, energy shortages, ecological troubles, so that what is
ahead of us may be worse t han we i magi ne. Increases i n
knowledge and abi l i t y have eli mi nat ed slavery and drudgery.
In a Nut shel l 155
A l l the great ci vi li zati ons of t he past had the slaves essential
for the growth of t hei r cult ure. The Egypti ans had slaves to
bui l d t hei r pyrami ds, the Greeks had slaves to make Socrates
and P lat o possible, the Romans and Ameri cans also had slaves
for t hei r drudgery. A l l t hi s allowed the masters to l earn, to
bui l d, to wri t e, and to t hi nk.
It has t aken almost unt i l now before humani t y can replace
slavery i n some form or other by automati on, the most perfect
slave one can i magi ne. B ut t hi s unique opportuni ty w i l l create
more trouble t han we can envisage. We shal l have to relearn
tasks we already know, and to pay for the necessities of li fe no
more t han we pay for the oxygen we breath. Aut omat i on and
automatic factories w i l l leave most workers wi thout work. B ut
to achieve such general automati on you need a new caliber of
brai n whi ch w i l l take something l i ke twenty-five years to
form. Populat i on growi ng as i t does w i l l cause the new twenty-
five-year-olds to push over the fifty-fives and sixties i nto ret i re-
ment no matter how clever they may be. In a slave-free society
the middle aged w i l l have to provide for the young unt i l the
age of twenty-five and for the old over fifty-five. We can now
see that unless we l earn to t h i nk about the things we know i n
alternati ve ways, unless we wi den and deepen our freedom of
choice and use i t humanely, the real aboli ti on of slavery w i l l
begin as a disaster.
The learni ng t hi s book extols is a real necessity and must
be popularized now. For t hi s purpose the Feldenkrai s G ui l d
exists i n San Franci sco wi t h over a hundred practi ti oners
worki ng i n various states of the Uni t ed States, i n Canada,
Europe, and Israel. In addi ti on, the Feldenkrai s Foundati on i n
New Yor k fosters the development of our work and produces
films, videotapes, books, arti cles, and i ntervi ews for the medi a
throughout the world. It is the avowed pri ori t y and ai m of the
Feldenkrai s Foundati on to publicize a l l avai lable mat eri al i n
order that Awareness through Movement may be wi t h i n the
reach of everyone who wishes to better hi s and our li ves.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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C l ark, Le Gros. T he A n t e c e d e n t s o f M a n . Edi nburgh: Edi n-
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M a n . London: Mur r ay, 1904.
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Uni versi t y Press, 1952.
Young, J . Z. D o u b t a n d C er t a i n t y i n S c i en c e. London: Oxford
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The Elusive Obvious - Moshe Feldenkrais

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