dancemeditation 
metacognition practices for the eclectic humanist

 

TDunyati-Long

(TDHawkes)

 

 

The Challenge of Choice

 

 

 
 

Don Archer -- Untitled

 

 

 

 

We each process information coming to us in ways that are conditioned by our experience interacting with our genetic capacity. This interaction generates expectations. Think of these expectations as maps against which all incoming information is compared. Indeed, neuroscience is beginning to demonstrate empirically that the brain contains many sets of maps as well as regions in which these maps are constantly being compared 1. If differences are found between your inner maps and an incoming experience which is projected into those maps, then you will experience conflict. How may this conflict be resolved? I list the two extreme ends of a spectrum of possible resolutions:

1) Proactivity –you choose to monitor the conflict, actively seek to understand its origin, then devise a strategy to resolve the conflict sensitively, skillfully, and constructively within the current state and scope of your understanding.

2) Reactivity –you choose to simply react, do not question your reactions, or the actions based on your reactions.

Notice the phrase ‘choose to’ in these strategies.

As ‘sentient’ beings, our actions are subject to choice, which means our choices and their concomitant outcomes are contingent rather than obligatory. It is telling that for the most part, persons employing Resolution Strategy #1 or some variant regard their choices as contingent, while persons employing some variant of Resolution Strategy #2 regard their choices as obligatory. It is not clear from neuroscience yet which of these two perceptions is accurate, and indeed, one’s ‘take’ on the contingency or obligatory nature of the act of choice may have an underlying genetic basis. Nonetheless, given the powerful influence of experience on gene expression, it may be efficacious to assume choice can be rendered contingent through appropriate actions. This frees us to explore the ways in which we may maximize contingent rather than obligatory choices in our day to day lives.

What are the prime prerequisites for contingent choice?

Neutral awareness and time.

What does this mean?

The Kundalini people of Yogi Bhajan consider a neutral mind to be one of the most difficult and highest accomplishments of a yoga practitioner 2. Such practitioners take a very proactive stance with regard to cultivation of the mind. According to such folk, those who have cultivated a neutral mind are aware of both the negative and positive aspects in each moment, and they choose to bring these two aspects into balance in the moment viz a vie each other. Learning to do this is no simple matter. It requires that you become as kind and accepting of events and people you fear, don’t understand, or hate, as you are with events and people you enjoy, understand, and love. When this becomes automatic, this learned strategy will be applied to each moment of your life. The outcome of living in this way is development of what the Kundalini folk refer to as the Diamond Mind – a mind of pure clarity, balance, skillfulness, and immense strength. The moving, body-based meditations we have been working on for the past five years on this page have helped us cultivate the kind of deep awareness of self and other required for the development of Neutral Mind. The Kundalini folk of Bhajan, and the Dancemeditation folk of the Dunyati choose to cultivate mental clarity through cultivating clarity in the body – that is, we use many body-based forms of meditation as a direct means of cultivating the Mind.

A reminder of why we do this:

A growing mountain of evidence from physiology and neuroscience indicates the Mind is not just in the brain, it is the sum total of all the information transduced by the entire body at all times 3. The body delivers up immense amounts of information in the form of sensations – satiety, disgust, lust, fear, joy, etc. When we encounter a person or situation, if we can take the time to step back and process this information and consider it rather than immediately reacting to it, we are taking a step away from obligatory response and toward contingent response. This is the central idea which moves our dancemeditation today.

Come into your workspace. Think of a situation, idea, or person which promoted fear, disgust, or some other disturbing reaction, be it physical, emotional, or cognitive. Fully relive the experience, then say to yourself, “Show me every aspect of this experience – everything stored in all parts of my body: my muscles, my nerves, my stomach, my heart, my legs, my skin, my thoughts, my emotions, my conscious awareness and my subconscious awareness.” Say this to yourself three times and really mean it.

Put on music that makes you feel comfortable and at home. Do a Standard Opening Sequence then segue into mind follows the body. Simply move and watch yourself in motion. Do this until you are hot and sweaty.

Release down into corpse pose. Breathe deeply, exhale completely. Let your thoughts and emotions arise as they will. Watch, don’t interfere or get caught up in the stream. Finally, ask yourself, “What have I just observed?” Take your time, let yourself mull over everything that has arisen in you in response to the original directive to your mind to reveal the various aspects of the reaction you have been probing. Run the comb of your thoughts through what you have observed for as long as it feels productive to do so. Next, ask yourself, “What choices are most sensitive, skillful, and constructive where this situation is concerned?” Take your time. Let your entire Mind, which includes your body, have time to render up a response or responses. Consider each of the alternatives that arise. Direct your mind to take note of each of these alternatives and let them inform your reactions if you find yourself in a similar situation in future. Arise when you will. Journal if you wish.

References

1. The Body Has a Mind of Its Own, Sandra and Michael Blakeslee, Random House, 2007. Return to Text
2. Kundalini Yoga for Mind, Body and Beyond, Ravi Singh, White Lion Press, 1989.  Return to Text
3. Psychobiology of Physical Experience, Edmund O. Acevedo and Panteleimon Ekkekakis, Editors, Human Kinetics, 2006.  Return to Text

c. 2008 TDunyati-Long (TDHawkes)

Introduction to Flow Yoga, Basic Flow Yoga, or Intermediate Flow Yoga,

Selected dancemeditation Practices Defined
 
 

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