May Asides
ASIDE ONE:
Peripheral Intelligence
In daily life, the amount of information exuded by the world in which we find ourselves in each single moment of our lives, is so great that we could not possibly manage the quantity, were it not for our ability to exclude information, picking just what is necessary, and not much more.
Indeed, it has been determined by George Miller in 1958 and is a foundation concept in cognitive psychology that humans are only able to hold a tiny amount of it in mind consciousness at any one time… like 7 + or - 2 chunks (only around 40 – 50 bits.) Of course, this is a vast simplification of a far more complex problem, however, the actuality is that most of the information we retrieve is placed into our “subconscious mind” and is therefore “unavailable” to us. However, when we dance, this information appears to re-emerge as information that the physical form retrieves and act upon, making conscious attendance not as necessary as we might imagine.
Speaking from experiential knowledge I can say that my ability to act with very fast moving dances is less about what my conscious mind knows, than my physical mind – the body's mind and all the forms that the mind shows up in, which do not involve spoken or thought language. Indeed, my ability to act without any understanding of why, allows me a level of physical precision that is quite remarkable, even for a relatively old lady.
I call this kind of thinking Peripheral Intelligence (PI) and dance would not be nearly as amazing without it. PI includes thinking that does not check in to the brain for conscious agreement, but rather just does the necessary job. It is fascial action, reflexive action of all orders, and, when it is really on target, relational actions. Indeed, PI is what is active when I let my partner move me before my conditioned “I” decides that its ok to move. PI is active when I search for the floor with my toes extended, my foot soft. It is what allows reaches to find my friend’s hand without looking as we walk down the street.
And, while it is the glue that often holds life together, if one wants to be really capable of engaging it, a base state is a released bodymind – hanging while rising. So, learning to unmask tension is critical. Being able to think as more than one being is also pretty radical and important. Being able to feel beyond our singular form, so that our being is present as a larger spatial dimension also turns it on.
All of these things were the substance of much of what I was teaching in Asia. And, I should not set myself up as a perfect example. Please know that I walk down a street and can not realize that the guy behind me is trying to pass me because I am stuck on something my eyes are engaged with and giving my touch body low priority. So, while I can be great in movement contexts, I may not be in practice in my everyday life. I think I will spend the next 6 months getting back into practice. It is a valuable, relational way to live. Yes!
ASIDE TOO:
Holding The "Self" Lightly
When, in my classes and writing I speak of holding my “self” lightly, I mean lots of things, because it is a big subject. Principally, however, the phrase means an ability to listen to a world that is always communicating through relational engagements. Being light in, as, or with the world and her many forms is to be in relations, acting and being relationally present, as perfect or imperfect as that may be, being easily moved, so that one has a sense of self in which the periphery, the self that is distal rather than always or simply central, has a voice in one’s actions.
I love the work of my colleague, Kevin O’Connor, who speaks of attending to the weakest link in a score he gave years back, which means one has to be listening to that less dominant being. I am merely paraphrasing him. The idea has roots in care, one of my favorite subjects.*
When we practice attentionally, we are clear in our attentional actions and their impact, which is to say we are clear in our presencing, then we are acting response-ably, which is yet again, a whole other subject. So, holding ourselves lightly means having peripheral intelligence, a physical base that is the earth rising, and is also always releasing into a return which feels a lot like hanging – not one or the other but always a complex weave of meeting moments physically/mentally, attentionally,** as one and many beings.
*In communicating with Kevin, he says he usually speaks of “attending to the most vulnerable part of ourselves” using a parts model. Then radiating out. I like this approach although I need to remind him of his former score.
** If these words are unclear to you, it may be because you have not had the physical practices that make them experientially available. If they interest you, please find a class of mine somewhere. I love bringing them into physical clarity so that they make sense.