Ee eee ad Gere eee teers ee prereset ites ne a —Joseph Campbell author of Masks of God ce igre ace “ Your Body Speaks Its Mind is an important contribution to Bioenergetics... itis very finely written book which I would recommend eee ttn ect et) por outa —Alexander Lowen, M.D. Executive Director Deere ee ue NS Se ee ees provocative work pn how ta understand the language of Pooch ene pee eae i ene ee onan cas ec ester he eg bee cre cot ise aie eee ela pene oie Concept is what Keleman describes asthe formative oe ea cr Eotmraeteer see eer ene ro feria sen fe anie bree ceetea tt Pon meter et ey eee iret) ey eed ene eer rey tyes ec eet ero Ee eerste it Stanley Keleman has been practicing and developing eens Seen Leereaeg ae tional See cm Saat ated fern ad eerste s. CENTER PRESS Berkeley, California le I od) ee fo srs) HIN SLI SHVAdS ACOG UNOA ~ NVA | gece‘orm seta is ‘Scan Me MATOrREoNc TE eRUBOKAART AA sap tucescioreet Forney parent, ‘Rose nd Joe ‘and (Graf Kariied vom DirckStanley Keleman YOUR BODY SPEAKS ITS MIND Center Press Berkeley, CaliforniaCONTENTS. Ovror tiv Ocean ‘Out ofthe Ocean Bodily Roots of Awareness Grounding ad Bodies Vibration. Pulsaion. nd Siramitng “The Formative Process Awtudes aad the Formative Process Form and Character Identity and the Formative Press SelFformationthrougs Denial ‘The Decision to Form One's Ground ‘The Unchanging Bly 109 a30 ‘contents iach anton a Been i moe be (Gearteeartcpantes ie OUT OF Expiing OSes ‘ THE OCEAN Meviios ma Avpesone‘Tiwo Ways to Form Groundedness 183OUT OF THE OCEAN “Team from the binenergeti tradition, which taught me Simportance ofthe body. Tlearned thatthe form and “the movement nf my boll expression reveal the nature ‘my existence. {Tearned that Tam my body. My body sme. Lam not «body: Lam some: body. in dg my work Ihave fund tb si ‘ewe. Graf Diaretheimt with whom 1 studied for "yen, putt this way: “The hod you have isthe ‘you He” Our feeling and responsiveness shape Tvs. We form ont bodily selves as we shape our owt ity: Our bodily living shapes our existence “Your lady sac nly felingfl ut formative. The thnist toward shaping your Bring insists on ‘being more—more contectiul, more interwctive, sotistied, more f yourself. Your formativenes ie4 a of urges towiaed enrichivent avi fulfillment,4 oun sooysreane sma Sleeping and sing. ying and stating, resting and walling isthe prin! pater of ions ence Wis Fiythmicpators Wo correspond othe rey ea Scting sun, to day and night, We match the Foythicat hanging days—fll moons an crescent ton, ring Sides and nap tides with the shuns we fel rane cm bodies: with fening exited end feling ted oe waking and dreaming wit semen anders ete Inga dying Bt stnding—what can tat be conmparid to? The fit man who std up mst have fall tory. ifecne Standing made him difereot Bog upeightsrguatod ‘im difretly fonved him dlifereay rocks oe ew teste “To stand twill Being erat exten big te sty oar amngers—for ted, tole wast od Shelter Our uprghtes begins te pres that eee gine x human concntse, hneutne To be ap "ht Isto reduce chance, in Aitd and weincenecommitment, ‘When wee o ur feet, we fous and expres our selves Standing up shits our emphasis um epee ‘a eprestin,Eaprenee wie roel eee, thes not demand feusing or rik Expesionc oe ed cxpands ins expression shapes us. Bog verte rae, than horizontal changes the stream of cur erereone Changes the orientation of oar nervous syste makes snore intention mute alec amie fda Being upright changes our reltiship to th fous We area longer fd ch, swim alsge all fours Now we wall Its ionic dat w 8 art oe est grow down The level, ud the pe Le te Ta = » oe if, ponte eer egret ah ge he ak (ee ees Sig akher els Dare ced NR get See Se ees fnticgege berrreecterig item Ge oa of HfL have tee formed i aman. From my ow forsing, I ite this bokBODILY ROOTS OF AWARENESS Pd need ry Fie pm Lea ane SRE eta cies i tenet en Geos thee years, and T thought Te take ‘a long, lfsarely boat iar viaract ts tpeneb art's Each at vem rn T said, “What do you mean, which cabin do e Don's Thavean assigned cabin?” ae ce rene erase Gly wa ee Tle el Shing tm sma nls aegentage oe Wy os Reale sate te Sends ee eoen ase Saco poorer woos OF AmARESESY ” Ii, “Dut ts wight dock” ope ie ais ne jst sed the mers. 1 rita tock “Hi on evey day. Pd come down an Find fhe eward turning the oc bch, Haven that Tate kite er aud er, Beesuse Xess il tg op ease nthe seid Yd bee Keeping when T fst 7 i Bat there came a pint when Uxhied e Fe eae four hours fier Fg up. arte to mat te Tiaas lunges Tw the ory prssnges foe Sve Pas Inc atemard as my fed and he fi mi when T veld font T wont tthe tale to Kep she captain Tompang, but at for rab re Yaand pe on my om lack. And the wore 1 beget foed melt when Cas ungry and Seep Teeter, ee more Tegan to experience the PRT ently Aer way T become ene who Te can theme wn shaped the spree Taatanc eperavng wy ea it ir de Themen ere me Rien Tras satated, 1 ent. to alee. T woke Ip aronpey sechargd wth exilemnet. "Oh" 1 sail f0 set pn of waking wn stoping sending td Fee twa orto do with bing excited, Hatem Pee ey cee iat lng up. ieing aah nd eee os toe uth bing excited an going 10 i dy wi big ce ang howe thee days ip shipboard Degen to wnt that eoctement Heth and ‘Gated Tat an are: making my word be opine has wdo-with my being up. Ana then Tie down Ss eechrge myst hep and down of sy Aly est open hc complemomtariy seing the two aspects of my excitement thar farm me. shape'me. When Tm asleep. [assimilate the past day. This gives shape to my might—just as the field of the igh i ers sl ain, hk sgn ee ee ‘Wnts coioioownll? Por sea our sorrel Ga Br Ing proce I don't belive that theres 3 conscious part eft which directs our behavior. independently of ot teaice What I bslces is that ou hinlogical process— cqprased a aniring, fottng, perceiving, andl aking faterns of meaning-—form wir ld of experiencing that we call Knowing, Our perception of our om ie a0 tivity fs what we call awarontan What our Tver re Hiatigsntentomes TT tmogine moa tobe am cco Hel, 4 wid teal soph nel lney sel paenan ony nore Tres i that part of me which & exiled. Sometimes € nore who Lr wna satin T der Fecogiian wit Tm becoming depending oe intensity and he Ince teaslnyeciene i" fhe Know ound or excitement comes for in the forme of action and foting. expectation snd de- tee Oar grestet ere scat onstortcxs which we ars ondeuslty Soratag end re lorie. Oar leniary. the place where our excitation defies us, where our etoncr erg ur mer chap, cx partinlar Ta mie peecniial econerelcip ie ure foring incision [noDILy ROOTS OF AWARENESS 19 ‘The cestesy and anguish of the human sitvation is that we live and perceive the form of our life in the fr mediate present, And, standing up as wedo. se are able ‘to ee itn the distance, the Future. And so we Live these {pro aspects of nove atthe some time. No other animal’ tneitatiry patterns extond the novr in this way, No ather ‘Goimmal 1s 0 fall of the energy that reaches out ond that which isnot yet there ‘Waking, sending. snd walking take 9 out of the ‘ocean, that unibourided space where we are pure expan don, Ox the ship from Furope to America T discovered that my awareness Je actually the process of may excite iment thrusting tower form. The unbounded nding ‘boundaries is what awareness "The continnuen of our self formingt is what we are eomsciss of Lying down flattens and broadens ow ex: ttement, our awareness, ou self (eeling. making eur boundaries less differentiated. Standing up intensifies four excitement and deepens our awareness, or self Fesling, as we reorganize our selves in the aphore of mrovity: ‘Stending is the thrust of our lf forming, of in “dividuating cur lives, of creating a lifestyle. In getting Sip we shape the space for mew response and new Focus ‘We experience new forms of pleasure, new patterns of ‘expresting our love for another. Sound becomes speech land acquires ihe distinctions of language. The emotions fof waking and standing form the tnuman body. the int tan awareness Tho awake body is ur oonseiousness.Our Awake Body ‘There are two heroic and major phenomena that occist for us every day of our lives. The fst is getting up in the morning. And the second is ging to sleep night Simple events. We live our lives within the framework ‘of these te events. ‘The human animal has evolved from being on his belly to being ou his feet. Our evolution embodies two ‘aspects of living: the living of our former horizantal sta, Dility, and the living of our preset vertical instability, ‘oar unfixednoss and responsiveness. This unsiable wad Lhighly responsive standing is the contemporary: expres ‘sion uf the evolutionary drama, ‘When working with people 1 usually aah them to lie down. to relieve the effects of gravity. Then, later on Jn the session, Task them to gct up from the floor or the bed with their experience, to receive the effects of grave ity: Meing upright leads toa new feeling, « new standing sell ‘Through my work T have learued how people ate tn their backs and bellies and how they are on thei fort (On their backs and bellies, they are more helpless. snore subject to chance. On their feet. they're more in control, ‘even though it may beaore risky. Anirnal horiznntality gives contact with the ground: itis expresed four footedness, with the lead and tors in the same plane Animal verticalty, while diminishing the aren of com tact with the earth, intensifies the connection and also ‘pens an expanse of belly and chest for mecting the orld. .F ROOTS OF AWARENESS a Manis ancesiors—vho fst engaged in the pote warelike movements of swimming, and en in pi necetie car lahore ates OS ot Remeber It wer lier enrsiel cpa Elon tn terol Lorne fee, l Bao snares ad tabi serve Une find fies of Inman conslosmecs.Himen conscouenem tad an, ee eto fore racdon of « ec in ohh se rn fuses ncn hee I et rede iad Feat octet tree vice aspre fhe cma fection. And the trove cotitin iy him aware tev Thea or prghne tne areca an cngeng yremae whic rw expat ural Wechsler our uprighiness Th nt tr realy an wae Recosrired ly scary sprtonl cscs, Tn order Wee creator telomere dice sonetner Drescribe the maintsinng vf a saight spine. Westere arnyete we horimmalty to ge i the surce Bi ete orca rl rc ie ofc oem Tey Meg eke Ge -tertieal stance arraed! with the energy af new insight reich they hope, be willtrenlate ase ptterne sf activity. 4 ological_proess called “ontogeny wen Pitulotes phylogeny.” The fotos repeats ons way tobing a tuman, major stages af evolutionary dew ‘ment It thos on shes int ae osinlly chegie rom conception to birth. as ane lives iroug the history of cal fe, fs lies amphiinn mammal, and hs rman form would ike io suggest that ontogeny als reeapita- lates phylogeny outside the womb in the drama Vat takes place between child and environment. Daring the fist three years of this dram, the cl lear go from a horizontal postion tn vertical position: andi is probably, along with acquiring the use of yer lan fzang. the most important achievement of is fe. Can You imagine the ammant of energy at hand for learn hhow tastanl? tn onder to got tel on two fee. the organs {seas to rip itself out of the horizontal eovironment the dependeatcavinmnment. If ie horizontal envi ‘met is poor the organism tonds to remain depeedent, depresied, down. 1 cannot become ialependent a le {8 ising damn aged 1 equate verticlity with fdividaality. Thee isa ‘three-way connection between vertiality. out capacity or higher excitement over sustained evi of te ardour increased ahility take distinctions and ele tions. Man i the-mast hight individual animal on this arth, and the most consciously selective and evi, ent alteing. Our uprightese presents natures for Torbapingness We ck nr own path nen of bong A higher energy metabolism leads to a more lively connection with the world and a wider veality:a greater grasp of what ie ant of wht is possible. We have all ser Folks who collapse, who lose their uprightness and have lowered alivenes. Collectively. people with higher tn 21 ROOTS OF AOWAMENESS 33 ‘ereate new social forms. If perple try to Hive in a ent position, they fation their excitation and any theis emerging indivi © We sho stand are the only animals capable of lov- ng, Other snimals have contact, have connection. Rt development of richer. more tender relationships ax consistent possibility in one's existence depends tipon fing and expising the tender side of the body fon foated animals an animals that ouch over. front of the lead isthe leading edge. They receive ‘world with sight and smell. But for the human’ be the whole front ofthe body is the leading edge—not the eyes nose. and even, ba Ube chest and belly and ‘ALL of this warmth and extended toring 8 the leading edge. That's what it means to stand up. dup isto oper up, open out We are not eucourtering the world with just our anil noses: we're encountering it with the entire of mur bodies, The front of ys isan extended sar- ex-of contact and cormection. This is what we present the world. We might say thatthe fmt of our bod ex- de the surface of int brain, ur thal our bait extends fis skin and anaecles, organs and nerves. which our comuections with others and shape fret Being Up Front Jen we san, we expose the underside of our beds had ourselves opet to the world. The aderside of formerly protected. now faces enstiward. Our softs ‘endemess. is exposed to the environment and te4 {OUN 3007 sreans na orher people, There iso detpening and toadentg of contact which says lan willing task, te met te apt T permit myol tw be inenced, When {fel vl Berube and threatened ¥ contracts T natow any le ‘pace: When Ta longer fel tretencd Lupe pape ‘60 tae ese’ as hen eet or i gn in satic relationship with the wor. We engine te 4 uid way. Static relatonchips sereatyye ergy, ie hibit excitement, Our two-footedness expands and in. tenstiesnureartemet. our rponsvenre ‘A dynamic. responsive. upeght atte dos not Pest the stereotyping of respons. It encourages ex itatery responsiveness When we are seared. of being excited, we ever up with musclar rigies tut ee 8 the ison of tenth A person my lnk ie ese to place thesia abit. When he ere ne ees, his responsiveness andthe fer of rapoive sssenereugn Act af waking and soning up ahs the wn pulse with excitoment Being upright moles the word Symmetrical One lakes stp one goes up at re ss dewn, Cnc hus nt erection aad une ors ei Syst fd dasole. Our atin incense and decease cane Thay inerose and decrease desire Think of lene a ‘When yn a engaged another person, z seal eee with rcoaragig your feng yn he hheart open up. you let the unexpected wate You mee oc, — ‘orig toward the oer, net tno as in willing to ive your Thre ho Re Fixed forms, absolutes, are an illusion. Everything ‘noon nooTs oF AWARENESS a5 fn nature indicates that nothing is permanent. When 1 ‘work with people T don't attempt to make them into any- ‘hing, Ttry to help them experience and he more, What Iappens when we accept our continual forming instead fof seeking permanence? We dicaver that our lives are ‘anadventute. an emotional odyssey: ‘Maturity is being willing to enjoy one’s ow self perception, Niuturityf the willingness to stand, to shape ‘e's sey rather than compulsively lesning on others oF ‘ona sctof ideals Tn talking about the development of human aware- ns, Tm not just talking about the metal life 'm alk ing about the willingness to acrept feelings and sensa- ‘tions. I'm talking-about the ability to refuse conditions fn love. definitions of love, and ta accept the experiice ‘of what love is. {'m talking about people discovering the feeling and the experience of their own dythmicity “and then going on to discover the particular fiytha of “their gravitational relationship, ‘Weare always involved with a relationship to grav ity, always intimately involved swith a relationship to 1c. A large part of the nervous system: ix devoted to “Geoling with this Gravitational and spatial relationships the template of socal relat Gravitational aad spatial relationships organize seit fom: and con: Inestons Being upright generates he faaman connection How can T fully transmit the feeling of freedom in ‘human experiencing. which is represented by onr tand- up? Ta being erect we are free wo Toak beyond the sige, unbounded hy old images and old forms. free to ‘mdulating toward a new expresion. fe to be strong ‘enough wo take that next step fee to breathe, to generate ‘ur own awareness rather Yeu intojecting coniebady36 ‘YOUN HoDY SPEAKS Mix ses ‘When we take our time to wake wp, we Alieorer 9 world that i». dont know what even if we can't make head oF fil of it And anyway, who the hell are we satisfying? Who are we living for? For whom must we have snswers? Who are we making. onder for? We have all heen comedtioned so y to prove ourselves, to make ourselves correct. Bu wee ‘notin schoo! anymore. Stand up and be your sel. GROUNDING AND BODILINESS Grounding ison expression of one planetary life Ground- ‘connects our proceses of exclution wih the arth, ins both. Just asthe gronindedness of tee sts oof sap from earth to aves and from leaves) £9 does ou gromedness channel the flow of ex from ourselves to the envinonment sd om environment 1) ourselves This flow of excitation nourishes us and intensifies connectedness. Grounding establishes the cireslaion streaming sap. the steanring of ar blood. Teste 8 rhytin of eb and Dow ara 4 vitnating resonance eovironment ‘We have all heard expressions such os “having feet on the ground,” “being well grounded" What it to be well-grounded? How docs one find one's ‘A tee, in biocheaseal relationship with the “sends forth tentacles called ote which raike i= ‘YOUR nowy sexaxs res Minn Fan of its ground and the ground part of the Fi wea uum of te Ihis parents, finds his onc 0 ite ntercton Ihe al eee trenther har growing may Be peso en too tough, i Tea ree an be uprooted sa ax psi be "td: Winsor pra tres ondeoohoeet eee uprost men and’ mirtn, Emotional sasne real he Continulty of ectatry tow beracon ae a tcvirmment—the cntinuly which pace ae Cecio nthe a SET cslatingf vali. ings tone sek oor ne Paton fom our bilgill rund rec Be, cen ‘ienish ond een death A Raat boo ae inte evey from Bsn ana {Grong grows nf ing bor grows ut af ming into the world with a uly. We plant caves ine wr Gar natural fame fo eso sd and lator and rancher socal aie the other. Te Some af us re so embedded in our family or our feo that we take our living for grated. We hie gute COIN AND ODILINESS 29 1scigusly. When we lose our homes or our tradi- ns, sehen the starms of tragedy and new growing tear from our cornections, we begin to he aware of what to have our ground, to have ous legs and be able to ‘around, te have that place from which our nour nt springs i an uninterrupted flow. = We can be grounded without being ennscious of it fare those of us who work and love and interrelate th the wari yet who never have the experience of be ers of their ow world and of their own selves. He not until our way of grounding ourselves is threat- or significantly altered that we begin to appreciate swe connect with the world. Though emotional Fans may uproot us. weaken iar badies anid. person they may just as well serve to deepen us—to us mire viv, more intensely Boing Rodiod “To be or ane rms havea body To die ome mt give hisor her bey, Ouse bodies anew se process, notte ae Structure is slowed doven process. As life builds {e builds steel in How alive we are owe Tesponsive and expressive we are. shows in the 1 shape of war body. whch recets our connested feeling. thoucht nd ction. How analive we ares Tunincaraated we are reveals sell ax unresponsive Lungraceluliess aud estricted bodily maby. “To be grommets to establish relationship with earth, Tobe embodied is to establish living bod just to be with your body. or in relationship toi. living body creates your relationships2° {TOUR Bony seas 8 tN How sve live our bodies i the stry of our proces (ur excitement tenet crete bomndaries oa peal ‘w embody itself. Our steam of excitation inhibit eel st crucial points in ite evel of develpinent. The thrust, four excitement triggers setishibiting which eta ‘tel. so that our excitement dies na fully lose ts shape 1 collects itself, contin Self. It forms a boundary, a ‘apoio, an image, a body. This is the development of the organization that we peresive as "us: Thhave a film® that shows very clearly how proto plasm is eapsble of forming structure from ise The Protoplasm is pulsating. streaming. Dive layer of the Sreamings thicken and creates a membrane wich ets ssachantel fr the moin low giving it more form. This Containing creates an individuation, of velocity and shythm. The diffrent rtes of eeiterent ad the 367m ‘metry of vibrating and resonating qualities remit i Jnndy The protoplasm has been bie. ur diffrent excitatory levels gentrate our Yaris *xperones in ving the ys and re ht form ou eronality. Hoing bodied is the shaping of our liv Hesh. the forming ourself wea living senebedy. = Wo can interfere with embadiment hy not permitting boundaries to form—oe by not permitting boundaries to tunform. Either way. we can discourage our future, ou self forming, ‘There i 9 disease called hosptelism. When « child Ser om Peetplasm” "GROUNDING AND noDtLINHSs a ix born, if it doem't have a mother and if there are 10 ‘mother substitutes, it is putin the hospital and virtually. Ignored, the child very often becomes spataeic ‘and die Ts streamings of excitation experience na con ‘act. no responsiveness. The organism senses that it has no _ ground-—nu0 mother to ground itsolf with, And without 42 ground it has'no future, so it terminates ils own proe ‘esses and collapses its own boundaries. 1t prevents its ‘own structure from unfolding. ‘The forming of boundaries aecossitates a presell- conscious, pre personal decision, This pre-peesanal devi sion lays the grotindsork for later bouadaey formations that are individualistic and personal. Some people, be- cause of vory negative conditions in early life, were able 4p form only partially. During theit early years it was ‘00 painful for them to fully inhabit their flesh: and sn ‘they decided not to body themselves fully. They formed themselves ina diminished way. and although they may now be adults, we recognize them as being babies Schizophronies live another kind of diminished Irmman ‘existence: part human, part shadow: part social. part ‘unsocial ‘Those of ns who do not inhabit oar flesh. wha do not Ihave the deep satisfactions that our bodies can give, ave always hanging at the door of ourselves. trying ty get | sitsfaction. Those of who ane afraid of nar amprales Tock ourselves ina world of ideas. ‘Those of us who are continually boraling andl bounding, forming and unfolding ourselves, feel neither ‘trapped nor los When we don't confuse ourselves with ‘social image we form a bodily self, a somebedy, free, ‘ur plessures and satisfactions, our paine and sorrows2 "YOUN noDY SPEARS 27536280) I Say No “To say no isto make statement of protest and sl tention that Weight me's entry pres a ‘vies the seme of “Ln the cary fe gra pon taneous, ciumstantally properuinaly. The sls Io atl or olde corikn postore and in is pot tom of expresion its character i ured. Lal ows ty infnt daughter ban hr expression of no by tae ing crying into serming, then siffening all ovr-so a: wor w be mova: tha her stuibtranes wes eA few mois ltr she sok het en, se ee jms a sine TE wih to maintain my induc. mie spoce. mt scept the pain tthe please hal come rth king and aking ditance rn my Support Communicates my wigs to rok distance separ tm an loneine ‘Many af us ve a pools kaying i. Even mir of ushave a problem sayhng nn end making i sek OF ‘ee we sy ns rig tnt neat ther capa of Allowing the yr to scut—the pussory ovenent dat cate Tryon do not sy nd, you never arm youself you dont erecne the’ any wo fon end mina Kundaries, you become viknied. OF course, fou Deg the wel rjc os tht only fon exo. ou tills yourself ton Bt youl never be youre unless ove willing oat yur self a oom te sero ‘which may be mother nhichmny be the ctr, wih tmay be te por group on may evan have to form (UING AND nOOLLINESS 3 0 A swoman T worked with told me that, since pe could not fight her fathor or run from him, he had pall over in order to keep him (rom iatrading In ‘the strongest many C3565 a contraction i expres. of self-affirmation that a child can make, A ehild ro in order to protect and assert itself. And if that ‘uot respecied. do you know what happens? You get a amiable bow! of jelly-a ny -tedy that cannot bear ‘the excitatory processes that form expansion. ‘the same time affirms, But it may becosie sembly ‘hat the persom is taut won't open hinselk hho may come to me and say, “Help’me to again be ive. Help me to trust again, to uncintract, to un. ‘bound, to Iearn to say mo im a different way." To say no tances yous i then permis te expresian—the _yes—of new actor, new yor ‘Accontraction dyes not have to be a chromic muscu- ‘eramp. It can be a temporary set of personal deci “The formative process requires that you set bound ‘and form yourself—tien soften your boundaries e-form yourselfVIBRATION, PULSATION, AND STREAMING ‘The Stuff of Creation T asked » woman 1 was working with to stand up and breathe in sucha way 2s to prolong: her exlalation with= cot tightening her abdomen. Alter a bit, she felt afices she was shaking and tingling. These vibrations, sen tions, developed into rhythmical contractions “whieh then, to my aye, Became & ‘sevice of electric ‘explosions. She expressed these waves of feeling as tes der movements and sounds. T felt in me a responding vibration of tonderncss nl hen, as her expressions in ‘eveased in assertiveness, I experienced the rhythmical intensifying of my tenderness anda softening, which he- came a stream of softness reaching across space. connest ing this woman and me it 4 river of excitement and feeling. ‘The way in which we perceive the world and inter- swith it depends fundamentally om the quality of liveness of our tissie, tar tissue tone—its health or is {10N, PULSATION. AND STRPAMING 6 cath, its vibrancy or its deadenediness—is the hack af ow experience and our ‘We all ea bea hy by fet wt weal Thow a sick person feels. We asociate 4 hard tone arith x he-man, and a fabby tone with a weakling TT Thore are thee sates of alivenes' vibration. pulsa ‘sion, and streaming. Each state has qualities that are di Ainctive and diretiy observable, although one shades Sato the next. One badies display all theee ofthese states Vibration, pulsation, and streaming’ ore natural func tions of protoplasm. of cells and orgen-—nataral func- tions which can be seen under a microscope. They may leo he experienced sibjectively-as qualities of feeling, Teel the universe as a continuum of vibration, a shimmering feld of excitation ‘This vibrating field gives rise to an increase in excitation, which te toward ex Dansion; and the expanding excitation triggers sel Inhibiting mechanism which limits i and. forms ste ies The excitation continues to swell against ‘hese boundaries until it carinat swell any Further: and tow there is slight shriuking. a begianing of vet callecting.« sort of jelling or clrting. This i how the ‘quality of pulsation develops. Actually. the intial ex pansion is already expresive of pulsatory state. but the ing is not seen as such until the exparirion Bas cic He you have ever been seriously cut, first you're ‘shaken and vibrating, an then you begia to throb: your “world rashes in and ct. Whon pulsations accu rapidly “tnd in series you have streaming, Streaming is a con- imuity of pulsition, «steam of thythenie excitation that imtains itself ina perticular direction and in 9 par ly organizes form,30 {oon s00r seats 5D If you hold your breath and pay attention t» your chest and abdomen, you wil fel the coming and going, Of excitement. If you clench your fist or tighten your ‘high muscles ond wisten the contraction, you wi et fi in tho ar etre i he tion ‘youll begin to experence ita» = Pleting, Sustain the contraction unl the pulsating Acepens, then let i go, and you Imcame avore af & Streaming: an itera owing which i diel se but whic you can Teel Stoning i like the fw ef sep fn toe, Ie fel simular to the rhythmic romrems Uf blood, the rhythmic currents of thughteatiancel by # subjective sense af sweeties and glowing. and forme, at leost—a quality of moving otra tat» difleren spas difrnt ime,» quay of concedes a owing ‘Toro of ae excited The to fs together inten sy our fields of excitement. We begin 10 expand. to ‘ake movements toward each other gestures back and forth This plestion, Then the feng of excemnnt Seg to te ona stream of catinty that we exper sat like an cleeiccument Suppose we are at a daie hall. We se infviials withthe own auras af livres: the dance hall sen of excitement, The music starts playing and the alive ‘eis increases The people make geste toward ane an ther: they begin to dance. And thew dancing move ‘ments begin to interact im sac a way that locking om from the otside, we feel waves of excitement see the dance or: We fel the recurrent pletion ofthe dane, ing The individual dancers have etre a steaming ‘nganism before our eyes Ifyou watch a cell divide, first you se that the call -VIERATION, PULSATION, AN STREAMING 37 4s excited, vibrating. You seo the forming of two poles, Tareas of intense internal activity. You actually see radiation between one pole and the other, and the ining-up of chromosome bodies within that field. The radiating between the two poles intensifies until it be- comes a pulsation and then a streaming. The streaming “communicates the deepest infurration about life—as we do when we communicate with each ather. We are all, for better or worse. attimed to pattems of excitement. ‘Vibrations, pulsations, and streamings are basic to all Auman relationships, and to all concepts of freedom ‘and social concern. The child ie connected sith the ‘mother through these life phenomena. As he develips ‘his own boundaries and his own pulsating. he begins to ‘expand arid extend himself away from the mother. He “extends himself and recomnects extends himself and re forms his relationships and his self. Ti this way, bit by Dit he acquires his perwmality, he gains his independ fence. TF the child's own are allowed to de- velop and intensify. he becomes a living exanaple of the _paralox of individuality and connectednes. Ta our particular culture. hewever. the nornsl of sell-separating is arieially speeded sp. Onr nitiotmy rite hegins at the moment of birth when. typic ‘ally, we take the child away from the mother ard put “tin scrle environment. The ite cortinues with early ‘weaning and the taboo wn sucking. andl culminates in ‘the drams of toilet training These three separative ef forts are initiated much soomor in our cultare thom in8 ‘OUR voor SPEARS Ts MIND thers They help ts erie contin of sl. ‘hich dentes the discomtimaus. pulsating life of he body. They lead to acceptance of 3m arf scheale 4 socially imposed rhythrn that kills indvihal ryt aicity. Wakeup at 8. Brish your tooth at ios Fat pace lrakas at 6:10 and ut ther Catch the bus at ae Gotorctnol gto5 ‘The initiation is mainly non-verbal. The attitude ‘of “Don't touch” it ontminiemted divecily by pus ‘ay oF by holding the child aginst a ned boa Fie febrile nary el cnd arses ese {he child from developing his own pulbaians ‘By the time the child understands words by the time he under. stand the conses af is far ad enguish the separation has alrendy beer ecomplihed. Then the etre dene aout the nature of the body andthe nature af ie nd 4 prepared Field to grow in (PION, PULSATION, AND STREAMING 20 to Germany to lve inthe Black Forest, The Black sa thosand meters up—neerly four thousand feet above sea level. T was crary for weeks I couldn't fv satisfactory breath, ond T eoula't imagine what going on. Then Tmade a discovery. My breathing “dn Have to do wih the rarefied air or with ner af my red ood ells Iwas eathor that T ben pulled wut of» pollution chanber and pt nto “nclean backwoods envirunment shove sibratione Twas totally unused to deciphering, 1 tok me a Tong time ta acept the feelings that those vibrations created in me. When Ii accept them. ecognized that these feelings were akin to the uncen- feted cistence that T felt nw very all Cid. I fed tat they came frum the sve exeory 208 ther lived in during the presverbal par of my fe the Ps [Me when Twas directly experiencing the frorid in qualities of vibration, puts, and steaming “The world that mort of urn longer recog the Pit ois omnis Wo or rat fmargs in us, oe toad it hack ae sve rea it Bl tanger We sept nto en peta forms "Teed you: want you: T appre ee recttanmoecqecieteasmena pee But when we ofe prewented with intensified vibration, ‘most nf sare unable to accept st. We think see are sick. ‘We do nt recive a ie a this Revel Feelings do not emerge from a background of noth ing: They result from moventent, containment, and the intensifying of excitation. A persan feels the progusssiet from vibrating to pulsating to streaming ae a deepening of self-enjoyment and a deepening participation with the rest of the natural world. The streamings brew fee ‘ings of rightness and nieness with nature Have you ever walked alone into a forest in whith ‘there vas absolute silence. and in that silence there ws s0 much going on that it almost overwhelmed yous? The Contact with the streeming isso intense that it quiets the ‘mind, so exquisite that sometimes it becomes unbearable. T spent my early life in New York Gity and then We Are More When We're Vibrant I evo asec i a ‘Our relationship to gravity. our back-and-forth dialogue ‘ourselves and with ters, our eating patternsro ‘YOUN HOO SPEARS rr atEND sou action patterns, our dreaas and loves, the qualities ‘of our tissues and organs ae statements of our pulsatory individuality. They. determine how we perceive wus selves and onr world, lw we create out values, our needs, and our choices. A person with tisue that fs ot very motile and a structase that ls not very brant wil fel the world as stronger than he. an ell ether be eaten by itor be glad that itis protective, A pers ‘who demonstrates a grent deal of vibrancy will chal. lenge the world, or feel is harmony with Ste-bat ho ‘wom foe sb ‘We deceive ourselves to think that if we pulsate and ‘aiy our self-expression. we are unstable and uel land don't know who we are On the basis of this se deception. we fo on to seek our identity aecoring tothe definitions of socially: approved rolex We deny” the ‘hanging patterns of our individuation by teyiag to inain an unchanging image Rat a rigid identity i not individuality, To afro ou individuality. we have to give up our search for static roles and atttudes and instead, seek cannoctednest with our own pulsatory Thy. To be-an individual isto impress the world with one's varying expression rather thon merely to ‘mimic the expression of somebody else When we identity with ctr streamings we discover our ove continuity: Pusatons and streamings are de continuous, yet there's « continuity to them It's Like ‘waves breaking on the shore The waves are dsconting ‘hes, but the process i continuous. There ie no contnaty that does not incorporate some kind of discontinuity Living this pulsutory discontinuity destroys sterentypre, demands that we give up the old ad create new spares, ‘ow forms, new connections. To deny this discontent 205, PULSATION, AND STREARENG ” Jam attempt to establish security. permanent posses Sons. id social sractare tiene yarn, i Ncninis wit e sense af excitement and unkvowing that develops out of Aoving from the horizontal to the vertical position. 17 ying dwn, my plating is finly quiet and stable Tice tne stendiness a» single contact withthe earth If Ee crcrny potniing foo nce Stan el oy fantact ith the arth becomes wnstabie and Wr ‘When T stand T sway. T shift from fot Yo foo Heme trward ant withdraw; Lreach wal tach aay 1 Know sd dant know Leay yes and say no ‘Everything in the muman being points to discon sity. We ate pulsating all the time. Perisiatic waves ow throug the alsuentery and vascular systems The -neree fibers plete. So do the biologie! claks that rog ‘ilate the flow of glandular fide. Laghing and crying. ‘ergeam and cjacwlation are pulsatory. shythanical. The Imescles extend and flew Lope and else. Tove and T font love. My feelings come snd go Lam may discon ‘inoity may connectesnes and diseomncctednss ‘When two penple connect sexually. the deepening hee conection ine tytn ter To push’ one's sexuality exprosies the need to eto one's Bert te rei ow keg for doy Pa results when the socialized performance images fats wi the satura tvs of aly costo These iomges ao Siteranived as chooee ‘muscular contractions which disrupt the exiotry y ‘ees The crength of one's pulsatoxy waves ie dimin- ‘hed. One's responsiveness diminished. TE say stresnings are interfered with if my ee down is intrfored with. I react violently do violence toa ee ae ae oe 2 ‘our moby sonaxe rs sn ‘myself, to you, or to my onviranment. 1 twist myself Or Tendon snysell live im a sort of sleep, Veurtall my so ial contacts, When my avenues for connectedness aro narrowed, I cover up the pain of the n by giv ‘ng myself ressons for holding back. I settle for com ‘pensalory satisfactions rather than bodily satisfactions, | fulfill Samebidy else's ideals: Vseck sority’s goals and {ry to fool satisfied that way The Field (ne day 081 was siting om he shore ofthe Zurcher lacing uth toward the Sis Alps Isa af the dis tance 6k of gcse fing act te lake. The cable seilray was mung overt bg inthe hackgraond Ann all ofa sudden I Yl, vive my cannccon oth those Hying eds resonate et Eventide ysl ad ‘crow the ake. felt myself seating wi the lake And with the bridge and wth the tanta. Tans seifava point ma hg patter, a huge Geld owe Gonnecied frm an eng. Ad tet felt ng le ‘he pain. Tell myself a prt of the Fld ato he foki—able to peesive iy sound and being my ae round vith everything tonoeced by this fesndating Balter of excitement tha Iwas enpericaing. Bie ad eam water and mounts ad tea ie, ‘hore were no secrets Tesperined thatthe pt tom of living is to he forming now putes The Hes reveal tea eng ere ae fe alng ina magical chyikimic orang of te shaper new spaces The lke, the Fipples onthe lake the bogs in the background the brent in me. pulsating ot ‘me wih hein geese everything wastage {FION, MULSATION, AND SeMEAMING 8 to moment in this exquisitely vibrating pattern, exquisite stillness. I recognized everything. and yet ngs renga, That which ened stoady. like the bridge. I cxperienced as simply hav Tes vibrancy tham that in which ft was eniedded. encing my self and my world i this fachion—as and pulsating rather than conforming to con and images—brought me int a platory. ste aos ce ro i iain Tt you hove ever run a lg distance er been deeply ist Gamers re oe coor, ou nae eas bly et the vibrtions tr ito a else ow. Where ue in love, i happert ‘here yon are. sanding of your girlie. throbbing and vibrating inside all Kinds of electricity sunning thivigh your bones, Arties a sweet ight streaming tg you. Yo can hardly contain yourself, And yet the ssorsje contain Yoursel. the sore forling you haves and there ate streams of connection. of excitement, between you and tore. ‘ne way T feel my sttsamings isto clase my eyes ane had exp reat. By dung this Lusoally feo exete- ‘ment in my chest aad abdomen, Whew T exhale, I fs) ‘he excitement spread thevughout me. When I sont iy breathing i fllows my excitatory stream. hy lmc currents Tlesea5y image and teughte—my in, my ody is. glow a please: everything Mere. ve found that to Ive with my own sre ings fs“ YOUR nooy smEAxs 5 exp pleasurable, To participate with my awn pulsating isto form my own life. After al. connection and disconiec- fiom is a fact of existence, hut the willingness to disc rect i am act of faith. H's an act of faith that Iwill woke ‘again after sleep, that the persn [love will return, that iT hold my breath I will breathe again that Iwill have fm erection again, that I will always be somebody. THE FORMATIVE PROCESS How We Become Who We Are Tn the picture 2001, 2 chimp finds o bone thet he learns fo grosp and lift abyve his head in such 4 way that, step step, he is able to aectmulate power, He accumulates power bry refusing to let the bone strike the animal he fully extends hieself and can no longer contain ‘Try it lift a tennis sachet over your head, back, and hold it there until the vibration he so intense that you cannut contain Then the bed. Your self-inhibition has organized both a of power and the power itself Ts hold back too is to freeze. Not to hold hack long enough is to die the power and the feeling of power. Appropriate aint isthe essence of one's sense of self and one's ‘of power. Kubrick conveyed hie awareness of this, “The miracle and the mystery of my living fs that 1e ‘YOUR HODY SPEAKS IPS MIND crganize myself and shape myself. Teall this my forma: ‘ive process. experience the wniverse as a eld of excitation, a continuum of excitement, an ocean of excitatory eur nis. My exeitement is my besie experience of ty Dodi i My excitement swells and expands This expan siveness has n quality of thrast that gives me the sub: jective feeling of growing When Tam expanding aid growing Tam highly charged. Tf my expanding excite ‘ment continues unbounded. my charge dissipates So that my excitement will nat dissipate, T have a self-regulating, self Limiting function which protects me gains total dschorge Fundamental tothe Iuuman con dition is an autonomous self inhibiting that wever docs permit total excitatory discharge—eomplete bodily um- ‘boundedress—tantil I anateady to dic. re re tien is the triggering of «sl which begins to sn Init my excitement, to enlleet me, compress me. When ‘my heart is filled to the vit with bleed. $€ automati- ‘ally says, “Enough!” When Tam filled with the rich ness uf my life, [reach a place where something in me ‘says, °No move” And then T begin tv gather myself, esting z lere begins my boundary formation. my emboli ment—the forming of my loop, my capsule, my cor tainer. I hegin w hound myselé T begins» experience ‘my self discretely. individually. [begin to feel my power. I ogin to fel, awarely, he form of my sel In developing the form of 4 loop ar capsule, my es sitemient does not stop expanding: i intensifies within ime, My feeling of growing gots intensified by: being con spe ronearive moet ar tained. The outcome of th intnsfcation is more sa feeling nd ef pereiving, which compounds into se “There then comes a ertcl point at whic Tet go my boners vo that can expen my excite. My containing cape, i adn to intetying my feng on preeplns serves achat ry ll ‘When I express my exsitemen. 1 interact tulsa world—in new experience twill once sein roveke mc to expand, contain and expres my forma Brevi Personal | Postipexsin Turning Points “As [Kve my life, major events form me into being aa ther somebody, ‘Those high points af my formative8 x0Un done sans sae proces call “turning pos” Each turning point each Turning of the formative loop encompass tree peses yrepenonal, personal, snd pot poronal In te pre Fersoual phase, my excitement Ie undernoted Ts the pal pw, tan Home ental iy infividuallty aod perwoality emerge, In the pov pervonal phase {release my boundaries by exprening Iysell abd nso doing, Vereate a ell. al of alt ‘When «child bora i leaves a pre personal world and develop ino « perm. When perm leaves the sword of adaleseonce forte world faulted hs ad Intrence fades int impersnality and his adult be comes pertonal. Whe he din he leaves his perso tveld and Lives in the memaricof ethers his Weld is Patperonal “Think of situations n your life which you under sent major chonge. Some of thee ituatins ig nated outed, ke ging to scl, and Some originated indie Ike the descent ofthe testes Think vt how Mee vents generated felings mages new weys af ding, ‘hings. ne selatonshipe with youre and with thers Think of bow you were before the event and after the vent Think flow the event reformed you ‘Whiena gil experiences thoonst of menses, is not yet her ent yet perma. After we te il on Bresses her period ‘individually. Its hee When her tenses cease at meno, the experience ino lager her it i pt personal 'A turning point has three phases corresponding to the thre phaser the formative proces. Each transom from one phase to another requis a Joon tat I snake organically sometimes consul and some panne “aur vonwacrive rmocess 6 “The fit of thet ecto eth decison to rete fw deine part of melo sow my expansion TL love yell ny flings af expending at do not Bare toad containing Ue felings then never end the so of non-iferenied ciation Bo clct behcamated te bown tb ered. ‘iy second decision 1 to continue ay fering by esting bourtaree I iferentinte and’ Become per tonal. become aman by eminying melt, by sap fing ny body. dear fora onda 1d mysl tito of ing» person. af no having shape can san matninn my buundaie oe long. The Intenicaion of my fesing reaches» level a whic T fm moved tlt go of my boundaries, to ive np My resent fra, My third decision st become boar bund I decks to leave the percual Inbiecance lr exomple—and I begin to enter the Srerld of adulthood, which ie personal, pst personal Folate tothe adolecent worl ‘Atte interface betwen the personal hose andthe portperional phase where Im 6 the verge of giving Apnay ol boxdaren, ave the mot for Ad ak Atanation fromthe high gn ofr the les orm Teampoud and intensify my excitation. Trish of = saan about to srike a blow, ofa finger abovt t hit a ey. At the pit of mpact the excitement shapes inte ot ihe Fore here ee bight pat fa frm, shape Umpc. Foren belated to again form fant. The mola rlenes nnd contacts geno ato another impact. The gretor my excitement. the reser my potetiel for shaping my own veal. my try elt Tm not alone in my sl-orpresng share with50 ‘YOUR nowy smeans sre sino others. My maximum excitement may be the worderfl chord that thrills the audience, or the knockout. My ex ‘preston impresses itself cm others, and the expressions fof others impress themselves upon me: It is thie inter- change of out-prossing and in-pressing which initiates ‘the forming of reality. All Living soem to be able to form itll This st forming fs predictable and rediable, invelustary and voluntary inpersoal and personal We all for Innis, and yt each of fermen tq body "nthe proceso forming my uniueness. 1 may alo form amet. cmt of the Fk of my nut bing able form agin: Aniety iy leling when the engengness my formative proces i teste o interfered ith ‘And yet. except when Tie, [never tually Tose my ‘boundaries, Weal ive up our form. an yet cach of ves up in sg way. Well dtc and yet each of ‘forme econ ding ‘Our formative pices rele to our ding the same asiteateso oor living Oe may die in any ofthe for. tative phases There ate style of dying in which people ‘ercontais themselves aqucze Themselves to death Ane there ure also ser of dying in which people ee too willing t uso hemeles on ready fo ise body themtelver and move nt a fantasy. What hissy tne is that ou dying ea trnng pet on organise econ that constitute toga prt fou erative proces (anltremt sted; expending DPRE-PERSONAL PHASE, xciton) eRraTive dn, poms nee ‘egetfer He lien ‘Bj ha ont fy etn uy "The evety xpi jee slwayrpertarming He teases2 YOUR noDy spears seco apremon. For dhs rami theo {Quence may be researc of ascending tard expres Sion Or mst Kep x mit, however, that he mening aa ioe ak CREATIVE VoD (D expression and extension ‘eve aeractin contact Seecpnce af he aks, (4) increasing fas upon gos (6) lee focus oss preise crmemetecrpenen ton - a) sleton and reetions Sipe tsretde hl (taller mii Shoe a (2) ineipiant me oremtation:ex (8) etng go of frm; seep ploeabion sod orton, rotherng Hy ahankoecss (0 iene saat dines (9) ering te wo ‘ne may encomtr bene ent one all at each Sie anect or dete Whos ‘dus apps. the peor be force tne af ascending ane feeding Truro eae ag moet teat latte ATTITUDES AND THE FORMATIVE PROCESS Our formative self is hat unique set of studs whieh “Baas never existed hefoce. This human response isthe aet of eration Twas walking through the streets of Basel. in Swit azecland. And 1 remember s0 very clearly saying to my- elf. Tet your shoulders dawn, Staley.” Nothing hap Then T sid, “Allright let your self down.” As foon as I sail i that way. Twas clothed in waves of ex- ‘tation. The siti language made me recognize that “my shoulders were holding me in an attitude of fear— ‘was holding myself with my shoulders. And wom Te- “Teased my soldrs and let myself come dawn. 1 was “Mlooded with a tide of excitement, a great ecstatic global [At thot moment the world became vivid end Trea: Twas connoctod with everything, Yet my social ‘all the images and thinkings that T considered my inner continuity. didnot evaporate. T simply dis I “Hey! Tm more than what T thought, more5a -XOUR moby SPEAKS ITS END than what Te been assuming, mare than what Fused to feel Tm not merely ey opinion of me” found maysel nn so of conmecteriness with all the hinge and all the people around me_ And just as am air plane flies up into the invisihle continuum of air and ‘eers with is rudder and mancuvers with its wing-laps. felt that T could navigate wherever T leased in this ‘ocean of connertednes. felt myself expansively immersed in the world ‘And I could see that everybody elee-way in the same ‘ocean Twas in, except teat most of them didn't Knows i ‘They didn't know i because their muscular tightness sand their heldin breath tended ty diminish thoir space ‘They weren't permitting themselves feedom of expan sion and expression. In this oeean-continautn they were laying to maintain the Wemtty of their living space by ‘meancof cramped attitudes. We geuerally think of an attitude as a mental set An attitade i a bodily set, Our attitudes are the Framework of oue form “Attitudinal patterns are unlimited in number, and ‘their interaction is simultaneous and complex. Attitudes >have muscalar. emotional, and mental coraponents. The pattems of our excitement manifest themselves as ac ‘on, a feeting. and as thinking, “Attitudes form the background for character. In the Playing of « football game, the players and the plays the formations and the styles are like attitudes. They set the limits for how the game is played. The quality of ‘play—the expression that emerges out of the playing of ‘the game—is its charactor. One side is recognized by its aso rate FoRATIVE PROCESS cy character of ing team of rushers: the ther oe orm “A limited number of plays, 90 mater how well rakes fara mite game ICT have rigid at fades they not only define ny gid ele systems they “toe define the righ fvling syste and the tigi acing appurtenant tomy rigid bodily ot ot jut tht ix dosely booed. Te may whole Tky that crm more freely that ent fel rely ‘My atitudes combine to form tiudaries which contin ond exprese my exetemert. my abity for seltenpresion fe severely lite iis bres T have developed ste thot rnc he expansion af my ex Sittin. Lench muscles in my Ba. arms, mouth thes belly. legs ‘This makes me cation comervatve. Init. T lok for ends cling tT blew that Holding on to the known is safer and Better than doing thing ny oon wa When we are excited ond our excitement is ac cepted an supported we devel stirs that extn tur boundariee We rach int the word. We expand the tris the torso The heart opens, We fel expanses fstoretha te wie is ticly icles Fulfillment and Frustration fe shape ourslys by organiving ttuudes—patterns of {or dang and of actual dang ‘There are two dnc hols of attics, One kind is fuller weather i frustration oriented. Both fulfillment Jind frusrtionorientedatiides attempt to serve in ‘tinctial and social needs aid manifest themselves in thinking and ation56 ‘Youn aony seas rrs Min Scltfrming organiaes my atts. FL fat rent oriented, the orgoniration of ny formative prcen Ferg of my tl ne Aa linen fe characteriod by aformard ping. upright laced, Aexible bodily shape; There ie sytamery eich ve sealed as hatnuony between the lft and Fight halves the brain—the practical side and the inuiive suo and, mee generely between the left and ight sides ot the body. The ever oe eordnated. The legs arms ad tors are integrated. The thoughts an Teeling: are com sistent with the actin ofthe person. jt there form, «grace,» quality that we recognize as an ich eit © = “This harmony, tegration, and connectedness is perceived mentally a intrest. self unfidence, imagine tivencen and wilingues to ive withthe uae, Te Is peresived emotionally as felings of excitement an titpation. lve. and oy. Think ofthe visonery. Talk of people who are cooperatively committed ty w tah People who love odo what they are ing, who feel of fect themes dots erference with our selferganising rents in toakdown of ffilmentriented attitudes We become asymmetrical and there sls of grace and sannested snes I both halves of the body ate ot invaled gether in the same action, then we arr ding two actions at ance fer example grasping and pshing way. or held ing on and trying fo move ao. Caught in rast tional pattern, we register dinghts of unsure = Competence, and eorftvon, and felings of esentmiem hosity, worthless, and despair. There is general shrinking of our cl. “The increasing dominance of frustratonal ties [UDES AND THE FORMATIVE PROCESS at 10 descending levels of orgenization that indicate and les flexibility o goon growing, less and les of a ety ay grim rr tet oe ing to feel interfered with, we retreat into ati- that we have already tested—old patterns from childhood such as sullenness and clinging which can be: ‘eeme more deeply ingrained with each rationalized lon We becouse repetitive —bored and boring ‘The Descent into Helplessness In the proces of self frmsing. peuple invariably encoun ‘er obstacles, There is unresponsiveness: a baby reaches for mother and she isn't present. There are impel rents: chil puts out is hard for something al he Ind gets lapped. Arn Uheve are self-eritations: Lean't spring forward ell enough to jump twenty feet get a flood of insight. but T hove eificulty tesnslring i nt waitten sons ‘An obstacle poses a threat to me when I experience that it imerfres with my. pales of ment 1 clk lide with many tnexpeced stations in the course of a Alay, but my experience of vor of them i such that it stops me in my racks I'm startled. 1 pose befre com mitting myself todo anything. This atte of surprise.* hich ranges in intensity from hesitation to astonish + Wem this happens team organism, thst Laer i ie pr souality that corresponds the tune period of the tania Bes Fas state of severe contvotion, He may cominie to gr swe ‘hat layer but the growth ie not grounded in wht et bere the fertesstion "Peel sinumnieaton Tom Alexander Lowe, MD.8 {OUR HODY SPEARS ep ment, my ial cepante to what I experience in tevferece. A child who falls down hurd aways races Himsa before ‘cil who hat fuse dle covered something raw tnd there unmoving totally torte in what runt of hi "The pasoof suprises fundamental o learning isthe ne ody atitade which ope tin, being tT: Ant con be explted rete ‘washing and hypis bth attempt to catch pape fx thisptse 0 that suggetions nay belo in The fu sont syle of educaton begins iy being diaypeovng of ovement dhe sillingof the childrens ines ince individual patter of rine which enhance ai sis tain one another The energy of each child's ares, am them be directed nto fering the ole of the ideal ste. “The surprised, vigilant tine develops ints ether saved anna Ginyu eeepc reassering ones frwardoingess Toe i detlope fa into active investigation a ‘ent atid integration. Armeyan the Rt sep of ie Urustrational deco «sequence of Siminishing excitement which leeds prngreately to angry ds, lely eryitg, and the fonen tenor of fea uterly helpless U's asume tata three ye ld id wants some tention from his moter He ses ner halfway dona Ue Street and runs toward hee. Sudeny bigdog ems fut ofthe bushes, ight in hie oth, Surprbl ee Lid Tnstats the dog sey or ay note rey 1 the Ki decides that dhe dog. fondly he might give it tarious put He ight even chan to tay end play wit the dg! ond fd his suther Tater. Ten again, i he ss TH FORMATIVE FECES ct bale pase) aiyanee, dike, gost ‘hay attack rin, throat as ying fo lp ton bpesess despite tr sation an dees that he dog tens est dodge he animal ond eave tothe saety af his mothers shirts Tey ta then ht Ue gh pase of his oe surprise, Part of him moves ether, ad an equal part of Mint reais rom the dog. “find tsk the pen of eying ove ‘his energies. trying to run in two opposie directions fant Sime Shou he be unable to mabe amore, he Yor help. If help does areive, he collapses ur Fendering to whatever may come60 ‘YOUR mony SPEAKS TIS pts ‘The attitude of curiosity fsa vital sign in any society. since it indicates the mecting and resolving of the unex. pected, Yet in some cases, annoyance is wcially acrept able and curiesity ie not Annoyance is registered emo- tionally ap disgust and mentally as dislike. A. young. child learns to neepond to ite feces and ite sewn! in lees with disgust. cild in school learns to ridicule any appearance of the daydreamer, any evidence of strictly individual pereeption—in others and also in himself. in ach instance, the expressing of permissible dislke is given form bythe ati of impermissible di like which the child already foels: toward his parents for insisting that he be “lean.” and toward school authori tics for demanding that he sit still and listen up sharp. Annoyance is always two-pronged, self-directed as ‘well as other directed. Sappose I eat semething that die ‘agrees with me. I can spit stp. Pein rum assay to bed, for Team do both, Bt the diculty ie that Til) mast eat ales I choose to turn off eating and die. So wheter 1 ‘recognize ft or not, my attitude of smnoyance expresses ® fundamental self conflict. And if T dow resalve this ean flict, Tam leh with a readiness to reject, eften without Jknowing the reason why. In this way T may gradually lose my creative thrust and begin to perceive fulfilment merely in terms of avoiding interference, eliminating obstacles “To extend the example ofthe three-year-old ond tho og: the kid may be so frightaned that even after he finally gets to hie mother, he sill feels consumed by the need to be rid of that dog. The attitude of fear has been ‘So deeply implanted in hima that for weeks afterwae he remains reluctant to eave the house. During this time the object of his fear may become unconscious. But eves, _APHITUDES AND THE FORMATIVE PROCESS oe the kid knows why he's scared, He goes on feeling Thelpless to the extent that he hasn't undane the emo- “tional and the nesromiscular components of his atti- tude. And thus itis that many people live out their Tives wounting obstacles such as resentment or inferiority fof poverty-—sbstacles that have not yet ceased to inter ere with hei Feelings or thee bad Ifa aude of ssnoyance dee it apo of the ener fing ciniacl that hae set it af, the atte continocs to be operative, Heennires a cles system. Ayo else _gsiem of behavior mild frstrational atitade com tly devalve inn withdrawal and crying fr belp ad from there one can snk oven further into help ub risson, despie si the desir to sireender ont ie At “tach sep of the way dawn, one weskens ones form ‘One's ccitement becomes inerevsngly hing thet conveys one's espeate tempts o grasp ft the wld. And wate formed ea fail person. “The entire stration descents a exteion ad ifeston of the mated pee Ding. anger help bg ect pee ccsive Sapa ct Ceti ‘im bind” And this oe common ew ofthe evar wu live aewrmen ara procnrcl ty 80 cvercrne oor helpless, sur aerety. Uni we se are vicline ad prisoners tered y the pro Df death and equally frightened of ing alive: We a fren bette wasnt Bical oeiag Chl: tina sew the ecgbe ‘Youn nopy sPxAKS 186 st370 sive” weakncsses we project upon old age. And we find ourselves absessed by the need to cooperate with each other, to share what we lave goue Uhfough £0 that ye fan develop insights, approaches, techniques for ox. stence, ‘Another view af the human condition grows out of four ongoing experience af the formative sequence which, ‘though momentarily checked, does not get tropped by an intertering situation, We recover from the shock of surprise, We become curious. We investigate. ‘and either we pass on by ur we allow our excitement bloom: into delighted fascination—such that we assizi Tate ara integrate who and what we encounter Formative sttitudes seek the fulfillment of ex [pressing that which is newly exciting, Frustrational att: tudes aim at compensatory goals. Tam hungry but Um prevented from eating. so Tact to proud to eat; Tsay 1 ‘don’t care about food. It is easy to see that pride can be 2 forced uplifting. a stiffening of the upper torso and neck and jaw to offset established deflation and wort lesstioss By contrast. the proud uplift of Fiving a forma ‘ive life comes from being filled with one's own oxeite ‘ment. The excitement organizes as feelings of self-estecm and as expression uf erettness and prancing, Untying the Knot eis important to appreciate the fact that mental att tudes and body attitudes are identical—as Nina Dall pointed out in The Attitude Theory of Emotions. With ‘ost educational and psychotherapentic approaches, the mind is affected while the body muintains nearly the joe THE FORMATIVE Pnocess 6 frustrational form, Everybody can think of some- ‘who, though marvelously ve, is still walking with a constricted chest which gives him feelings ow slf-estcem, © fa person is stuck ina frustratfonal rut, the trick i boring him, bovlly, to reexperience the startled state which his conflict eriginated. The startle pattern is essential attitude that needs to be touched. Then the ‘can begin to reexperience and investigate the orming of what used to be terrifying or taboo. Thegin to undo my frustrational attitudes by ex ening and perceiving them as my body. A chronic 3r contraction is not something that somebody hse is doing to me. It s something that T am doing te In coming to recognize how T hold myself. 1 4o contact the feelings. thoughts, and memories go along with my structure. T begin to experience the personal history of the hind in which [have bounds! If. And one way and another I make ecnnection th the living body that Tam. * TET have developed attitudes of being a mental then I try to feel how I funnel energy to my Tale take note of ow I sianage to quiet the ex- tin the rest of my bndy. I experience the form of ‘that nourishes my thinking at the expense of my Jing anv action —the form that has enabled my’ brain. (grow while letting the rest of me became 2 poor in whose existence is alternately ignored and deni- ted. As soon vs T choose to inhabit the neglected part ‘ny body, T bogin the process of integrating its mes- Wilken Rech published teas sane dacoveres im 1935 Tame them idependndy% {OUR 200" sreans rn seein enone cuca gnc maese feed Tp at opt e my sre i SE wee ny fatboy ene laughing, and love reach out for expressiun, We restary ible tr lone eer sens meg tee ey et Siete eee iene ne looms eh get Saenger ee aaieapeor hedaman ged a ec Rtv gy eae are eae Ie ree cal es a re po eam permet moe lado ae ee Fea mate nate ee ee Cen tia sfociaene reteset See mrant epic aie aes Bead oon dierent Seeking meee canons i fans wieciemissecses Selden d eeat see Shauna aetna [Oks AND THE FORMATIVE Process 65 ence the feling of in-orming as well x e-orm nyeaf inthe cure of tnesking up thew atcader T the forme ofthe od frutratonal pater, abd 1 the fore of he ne el ulling pater "The informing of ny ongtive phere ie called in Here agin. avht desrves tention ie the atin Fy mightier organization, ot Just is ‘New farming ie accompa ty he fangs Senna of metal nd ne region fperienceof my "Aba" it complet ues ts of learning sd orning involves my whole elf imply my cognitive funcin, Inve diet. re ffereely and feck eiforentty tn nditon ng difercly, My responsive omen siaaions emg my wy. my otto beng eer hadyFORM AND (CHARACTER How 1 Appear and How I Act ‘The body cannot Hie. Tris ineapable of lying, Only what comes out of the mouth cas lic: the body never lic. ‘My particular bodily farm, my particular body feeling, i testimony to my particular character. my particular way af behaving, tnth peychologically and physically, Who Tm hae a quality that permeates every Aspect of my existence and makes me rerogrsizable. 1 do things seriously. I respond flamboyantly. I radiate jos-T ‘ooze possnt. This is the self that I have formed and the individuality that I radiate ‘Tam not so much interested in the motives beiind ‘person's behavior. What I'm interested in is the quality ‘with which that pereon performs an act—mith love or With hate, straightforwardly engaged or ambivalently. 1 atk myself: How docs this person's body reach out for ‘contact? Is it with the groveling huzaiity of a beaten og? Does hhe, Hike a slave, move cautiously so as te ann cxanacran 67 oy his performance? Or is his quality that of a ful defiance, a withholding: by means of rigid chest igritted teeth? Dues he reach out aggressively. with ‘arms and thoughts of revenge nr tearing up? does he express hs overall satisfaction in his tissue, wells outward with pleasure? This is how T read ‘Trospond tothe process of interacting with other, 1 form my self according to my experiences 1 have sbodied my encounters withthe world nd they have ft their mark. My character reveals the quality of my ence—he it bitters or plesrure,slkness or opts. People recgnize moe by tis essential quale "And Lrecgnize eyslf by iL have one rend who “s0 buuney, aggresive taker-over, love for his quality Swoctnes; nd another friend who is a slow-moving, win-mood woman. loved for her radiation of dl our bodily responses form wur character and our ening eunscistness There are many varieties and ls of encunnter many diferent ways i which life's cittory processes may intermingle to evoke form. form fncldes the shape of leling “the excitement of the cld and the excitement of the parent have cslities sich ax swsstaces or resont= ‘that cemimnicated with each other. The com tion of ths quality of excitement gives the child's man emotional tie If the parent excitement is68 ‘OUR nowy smeaxs 15. Iheavy with over-concorn or fear, it compresies the ex citement of the child; the cil shrinks, gives up, devel ‘psa collapsed form. Ifthe parent's excitement is weak, spongy, unsure, wishy-washy. it provides no bouridavies {for the child's excitement; the childs form then doesn't Jnow its own limits He becemes @ person who is always testing the world in an effort to find someone that ll ‘When a chilé’s early encounters with the outer world are restrictive—when he is almost invariably told “Don't touch" and punished for touching-—he be- ginsto besa form that curbs its wun impulses ta ouch, A growing child who is taught to be ashatned aout his sex Fife may canie to express that shame im the form of a stiff neck. He becomes a stffmecked character. A youtig lady 1 worked with said that whom she mistirbated she ‘would stiffen her neck and clench her jaw 29 a8 to not ‘make sounds, Another old me she would make her neck gid when she felt sexual so as not t let others know. On the other hand. a child whose impulses ate largely accepted by the world isikely to develop a form that manifests this approval with w quality of ongoing ness, pleasure. ar sures: There are many aspects of form. One aspect of form fs the shape and boundary of a cell. the shape ana Doundary of an organism. But forma is also the shape ‘and boundlory of @ gesture. There are forms of handshake ing and lovemaking. There are shapes and boundaries to behavior. There are patterns of sacl protocol. There the nodding between people i comversatian that the ‘ever transcend. In this snse, form is the Tink between the visible and the invisible, between the act and the feeling ofthe act. AND CHARACTER & is sloweit-down process Part of our formative so Dull now forms hat manifest the fring of “e Tw enperiance life as prcess we cam ae hat po rs experience of space si tine is expressed by how fare in the world. We can Tork st a compulsively {ype and understand that this person repeatedly rete bie time—he's ponetsal, he makes deadlines consis his Iie spice by constricting his body. fs body i indicative of ome who fees that He must not Tet hie time and space expand. get ont of contra. Can “rerely, we take note of weak character who cannot frganze u cohesive foram to contain Iie space and tiene Lacking slfcortoinment, self-cumpeehension. he leaks ‘ut, disins away, The constricted peron may radiate 0 sgualty of deades, pais the weak persona quality of “thushinor. unreliability ‘When Tan working with « peeson, I try to under. er els ing pce he's ekg wtih isis by. 1 try fo perceive howe much Beso lei ha 8) 16 what extent Ill allow these boundaries to be in ‘ade. I ry to develop a fot for how he experiences and ives his tne, how Savalved he is in living his own. Each person's Life space and Mle time is es sis ‘Our el frming does ot wold space it forms “ts own space. We are na living iim and space. We ‘are living time; we are living space. To postess ourselves.