What’s Your Learning Edge?

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The EdgeAdam has started a meme by the name “What’s your learning edge?”. And I’ve been tagged by Ed Mills from Evolving Times. The challenge is to write about what you need or wish most to learn.

First a few words on the idea of edge. The epigraph of W. Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge reads: “The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.” (from the Katha-Upanishad). Pema Chodron often uses the phrase to describe the place where one becomes uncomfortable with new and challenging experiences or feelings. In the book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author often discusses the importance of balance between challenge and reward in achieving a state of flow. If something is either too easy or too difficult, flow doesn’t occur. A while back I wrote a philosophical poem called The Edge about the difficulty of making choices.

At this point in my life the edge I wish to explore has nothing to do with reading or acquiring knowledge. Quite the opposite, my edge is to just be rather than always doing. I find that many problems in my life stem from my inability to just be, just be OK as I am, without any corrections, attractions, improvements or alterations. I am admittedly a compulsive doer, a perfectionist and very competitive. I am also a classical musician, where being present is vital. So just being is perhaps the most challenging goal of all for me to learn, and the one thing which may release the most constructive/creative energy for me. So there it is. Just BE. Simple. Perfect. And quite elusive to many of us, I’m sure!

I hereby tag Pamm, Isabella, Hilda of Living Out Loud, William of Integral Options Cafe, Josh of System 13, Scott of Finding Your Marbles. I’ve invited some new bloggers I’ve never met, but I thought it would be a good way to mix things up a bit.

Here’s what do to. To quote the original author of the meme: “Write a post about your “learning edge” and what you’re into these days. Feel free to mention any books you’re reading, classes you’re taking, people you’re learning from or collaborating with, etc. Tell us about the gems you’re picking up, the fun you’re having, etc., especially if they’re shifting the way you look at what you do.”

Alexander Technique and Buddhist Thinking

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BuddhaI googled Alexander and Buddhism and found a few articles, but none which directly connected the primary principles of the two.

The Alexander technique teaches us to regain natural and efficient use of the body, with the mechanism of “primary control” as the director of a balanced body. Primary control is a phrase Alexander coined to indicate where the sense of control comes from when one is completely present physically and mentally. Buddhism focuses on the sense of being present as the primary factor in learning about one’s self and relation to the world.

To my knowledge, F. M. Alexander never studied Buddhism. He grew up in Australia and moved to Great Britain. Yet he came up with similar principals to the ancient wisdom of Buddhism using a completely different cultural structure. Western thinking tends to rely on the separation of parts to understand the whole. Mr. Alexander instinctively realized the importance of noticing the whole over the parts. The whole body is not a separation of parts, but a relationship between all of them.

Siddhartha (buddha) studied the methods of his time and used that wisdom to develop his own fresh version before becoming enlightened as Buddha. The teachings of Buddhism show a continuation of ideas from the Bhagavad Gita (balance), Yoga (relationship) and the Ascetics (detachment). Detachment as a tool for awareness is not new to Buddhist thinking. Buddha refined the idea to help alleviate the suffering he saw in those who attach too much importance to feelings and desires.

Alexander started from scratch, learning from his own bodily misuse. He observed himself carefully in an array of mirrors and found that only by inhibiting his ingrained habits of body use could he rediscover natural use. However, his detailed and continued observations led him to deeper patterns.

He learned the importance of being present to regain natural body use. Bad habits of body use are the product of lack of mental and physical presence. Going one step further, he found that changing habitual patterns required “inhibition” of those patterns, not just being present while they happened. Inhibiting one’s behavior while observing it takes a certain detachment. For example, when the phone rings the urge to jump and answer it can be inhibited until one consciously chooses to stay present and then move with that presence to answer the phone with physical quality.

So, the basic principals of detachment and being present are mutual to the Alexander Technique and Buddhist practice. Yet each teacher came from a vastly different time and culture. I am sure this subject could be explored more rigorously. But I am putting out a simple version for your interest, and perhaps to spark someone else’s interest in the subject.

I also wrote further thoughts on the subject of detachment in my recent article The Paradox of Detachment.

Five Energizers, The Meme

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EnergizersI was tagged a few weeks ago by Isabella Mori, and I’m finally getting around to writing the post. The originator of the meme is OptimistLab, where you can get the directions if you are tagged by me, or if you just want to join in.

My energizers include eating lightly, exercising, taking a nap, letting go of whatever is on my mind, and having sex.

Eating Lightly. I’m thin, so I eat a fair amount of meat. But when I focus on salads, raw veggies and veggie protein, my system is clarified, and I feel more facile, lighter.

Exercising is the universal energizer. It seems counter intuitive so it’s often the last thing we “want” to do to energize. At those times I take a slow walk, preferable through nature, a park or a garden. Often my pace will pick up and I’ll get a decent “energizing” work out.

When in doubt, nap. Sometimes the body, spirit and mind are just overwhelmed with life and need a total break. Go for it. No guilt. And I don’t worry about power napping, unless I have to get back to work. I nap and let my body tell me when the nap is over. Sometimes I actually sleep better at night if I take an afternoon nap. Perhaps because a better adjusted body/mind/soul is more able to sleep in general.

Letting go. For me the greatest energy drainer is stress. When something is pressing on me from the inside, I tend to shut down. Every cell screams for escape and release. If I just let go of all expectation and goals, I clear the slate and feel refreshed.

Sex. You’ve got to admit it. Sex releases pent up energy like nothing else. Darn society and puritanical culture for creating all kinds of taboos around sex! Self-sex is great. And sex with someone else can be the best ever soul cleanser.

The posts and their bloggers which I’d like to submit (and tag) for this meme are as follows. None are about energizing techniques. Instead each relates to the wide topic of humanist spiritual thinking, one of my favorite subjects these days.

ZenChill for his post The Power of Letting Go. As I stated above, this is a valuable tool for growing as a person.

I found this wonderful article on experiential spirituality (also in an easier to read format here). Though the blog is written by a Franciscan monk, this post shows progressive thinking. I love his article and it’s message. It’s a beautifully written progressive humanist interpretation of the message of Christ.

The Maha Blog posted a detailed criticism of the atheist writer Christopher Hitchens, the fourth in a series called The Wisdom of Doubt. Undoubtedly, doubt is the ultimate tool for questioning authority. To Barbara O’Brien, the author of this edgy populist liberal blog, fanaticism of any kind, even liberal, is dangerous.

Thoughts in a Haystack posted excerpts of Mark Twain’s “Passage from Satan’s Diary to outline the dangers of American theocracy in Sympathy from Satan.

The DT Strain scribed a thoughtful question What is a Contemplative?, in which he outlines contemplative living.

And finally, I love this post called Music Is… by Orain Hard. I told him I’m printing it and showing it to all my students. As a classical musician, I appreciated his beautiful summary of the depths of the musical art.

The Paradox of Detachment

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DetachmentDetachment, often used in Buddhist teachings, implies being outside life, watching, disembodied. I believe this is a misunderstanding of the word’s deeper meaning.

From the teachings of the Alexander Technique, I’ve learned how to be in my body and mind and yet not let them run my life. In other words, I direct from the inside without being subject to mind/body habits. When emotions arise, I feel them without letting them turn into a soap opera. When confusion occurs, I allow its drama without getting lost in it. I am the conductor in tune with the instruments which are me! I believe this balance of control and freedom is the thin line Buddhism implies when suggesting detachment as a tool for awareness.

The “primary control” in Alexander’s teachings points to the same thing. Primary control allows the body’s natural awareness to help us stay in the present. Thus, when the hind brain (cerebellum*) which controls body awareness, is allowed a more leading position, the body is not befuddled by the activity of the thinking mind. This helps dissolve the mind/body illusion. Then, consciousness holds a central place within this physical/mental system, not counter to it or abusing of it.

This sense of detachment allows for the discovery of the higher self. Again, it is not a separate being or other self, but a description of where the true self seems to come from when it is balanced within the body.

Poise in the body and mind allows for better awareness of this seemingly “higher” self. In this sense, spirit is not a separate entity from mind and body, but a result of balance between them, a sympathetic vibration, if you will. When mind and body are present and poised, certain truths can then become self evident, such as the wisdom of being unattached to results and the finite nature of the body and mind. As these levels of understanding deepen, a feeling of spirit may arise, a sense of infinite freedom within a closed system.

* (from Brain Basics)The hind-brain includes the upper part of the spinal cord, the brain stem, and a wrinkled ball of tissue called the cerebellum (1). The hind-brain controls the body’s vital functions such as respiration and heart rate. The cerebellum coordinates movement and is involved in learned rote movements. When you play the piano or hit a tennis ball you are activating the cerebellum. The uppermost part of the brainstorm is the mid-brain, which controls some reflex actions and is part of the circuit involved in the control of eye movements and other voluntary movements.