Thursday 20 January 2011

A big picture

FM Alexander talked a lot about the 'self', using a term so familiar and vague that it can be difficult at times to follow his written words. In this diagram, I followed his openness for interpretation, offering three basic, interconnected realms that constitute together human existence. Whereas scientists may scruff about the use of the word 'soul', I use it refer to the emotional and spiritual aspects of life.

This diagram also shows the self in the centre as well as in the periphery, assuming that humans present always their self. The brain represents the intersection between body and mind, the heart the intersection of body and soul, and the guts connect soul and mind. Whole-hearted activity, conducted with the body, will arouse emotional gratification. Unprocessed emotions often affect our digestive system, indicating that the whole self needs better nourishment.

Individual awareness can be anywhere in this diagram, or everywhere simultaneously. Specialisation seems popular nowadays, it's easy to spot 'physical', 'mental' or 'spiritual' preferences among many people. At least in the Western world, it's the era of the mind.  Yet, by contemplating this little diagram not only your mind gets engaged- you need your body to receive this information, and your soul might resonate with it.

Other selfs intersect with a single one, allowing for connections between the body, mind and soul aspects in varying degrees. The connection is always between selfs, yet might incorporate only or mainly physical, mental or emotional aspects of life.

When I teach someone about the 'use of the self', this diagram serves as my experimental hypothesis. It covers all aspects of human experience, yet is simple enough to create a little bit more unity.

No comments:

Post a Comment