You can't 'do' compassionate.

Have you ever been at the receiving end of someone who is trying to "care"?

They make these unhappy faces, sigh a lot, say things like

"Oh, that must have been very hard."

Somewhere deep inside, you know you're being conned. It's not evil, it's not even bad - it's just fake. Like fake news. You want to believe it, but you know it probably isn't true.

It relates to Alexander's discovery - you can no more "do compassion" than you can "do freedom." Freedom, compassion - they are results of a process.

One of my favourite "set-pieces" in teaching is giving my rant about Chairwork.

No, it's not what you think. It's not about how teachers are using the chair teach; it is about using the chair to teach. The chair is the star…

How many times have you seen a friend making the same damn mistake?

Maybe in relationships - OMG, he's going to chase her away too! Or - she's found another rat to love: when is she going to wake up to the fact that the rats are, well, ratty?

And so on and so forth - I am sure it won't take you long to find your example.

Once in a workshop, I remember Marj remarking to a student:

"You move your head first because that's where your brain is."

I'd never heard her mention it like that before, and I never did again. But it struck me how accurate she was - it was the first time I'd connected Alexander's discovery with…

Sensory Central Station:

OK, what's a Sonzai no Mondai?

It bad Japanese for an existential crisis. Whenever I ask in class:

I am waking up to the fact that my life - which FELT so solid - is a myth I carry around in my head.

It's my very own fairytale.

It started with yesterday's homily to FM's aphorism:

"The things that don't exist are the most difficult to get rid of."

The subject of this email was one of FM's aphorisms. What does it mean?

Well, our world is full of things that don't exist. You for a start.

But I won't go there, not today. Instead of looking for you, let's look for Seattle.

Johnny loves soccer, and you win by getting the ball under the net!

It takes effort, tension. Yesterday I wrote about people who add tension to make "good upright posture."

Michael Tilly, working at the Lyric Theatre in Illinois, had this to say:

***

I have to say I don't necessarily agree with this. Muscles work by tensing. What we need is eutony, or appropriate tension and span. In my experience with others and myself, tension in a "part" is sometimes due to flaccidity of other "parts" which need to be contributing to the "work" of balance.

Are You Thinking Clearly About What You Want?

Most days, I don't.

Oh, I'd love to point out to you that:

1. I am a rational, sane human being; with
2. a clear vision and sense of purpose; who
3. single-mindedly pursues his goals; with
4. the clarity of a summer's day.

Yes, I try to project that image.

It's just not true.

Damn!

At BodyChance, I guess the bankers still think we are stiffing the books.

They look at our Pro school's retention rate - over 85% - then compare that to other schools on their books. We're off the charts. Hmmm. REALLY?

Yes, really. When people believe, they are loyal. They become ardent, even radical. We all know that feeling - we've been through it, even if it has cooled off.

And actually, cooling off is a good thing. Look at it this way: