Balance Lab is a place to experiment with what brings you, as an individual, back to your true nature. That path is going to be different for each individual. For me, the complementary practices of the Alexander Technique and Mindfulness have been pathways that allow me to recognize the habits that are truly in line with what I perceive as my true nature (or the “self”) - and I recognize that I have a lot of habits that are not in line with that true nature.
I’m comfortable using “self” synonymously with “true nature” but it is tricky. When I think of my “self” am I paying attention to certain conditions that brought me to this moment, or am I consciously, intentionally, referring to the “self” as this present moment expression of my true nature?
The conditions that might be obscuring things may or may not be true and a person can be tricked into believing things about themselves if the lie is repeated often enough.
Insidiously, a lot of the lying is planted from external sources and then somehow cultivated internally. So, over time, the lie is coming from inside the house. The lie obscures perception of the “true nature,” but if there is a bit of truthiness to it it gets embedded into ideas about the “self.” And then we build entire identities - massive mental models with subdivisions, McMansions, cul-de-sacs, annual HOA dues (but you get to swim in the pool!) - on this ephemeral lie that originally came from some external source that has nothing to do with one’s true nature.
Over time, these identities - these “selves” - get complicated, overgrown. The splitting of time and energy between the different roles that are carried - some born into, some chosen - might then lead to even more identities on top of which we are putting even more habits that are not in line with our “true nature” all of which obscure our present moment experience. Walt Whitman wrote about “containing multitudes”, what we now call intersectionality perhaps - and all of these multitudes, intersections, and identities will always* have something in common: The Body.
I can define the Alexander Technique as systematized Body-Awareness and I can define Mindfulness as non-judgemental awareness. These definitions are NOT AT ALL all-encompassing but they point to where these practices overlap, namely - Awareness.
Experimenting with Awareness within these two frameworks allows an investigation into what is true, what is a lie, and maybe that gray area between what is mostly true or mostly not true.
How does this work begin? Well, first there needs to be curiosity, the “What If” of it all. Then from there individuality can and should assert itself. Experimenting with Awareness can be one of those things that is incredibly gooey - there does not seem to be a lot of “there” there at times - so AT and Mindfulness have these structures to aid the experimentation. Terms like Meditation, Constructive Rest, Informal Practice, Means Whereby, and Primary Control are simply names of “different doors that lead to the same space.”
When beginning, there might be an inkling of “Well what do i get out of this?”
Easy “answer” is: “What are you putting into it?”
Another thought at the beginning might be “How do I get this right?” and I want to address that in next week’s article; but as a slight spoiler I’ll paraphrase Rumi: “Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there.”
To explore more - Balance lab offers - all sorts of support. Discover more at www.balancelab.com and drop me a line here with any questions you have on how AT and/or Mindfulness might help you explore your own your true nature.
*treatise on the meta-multi-verse where we are all disembodied avatars forthcoming as an NFT from my 9.5 foot tall 6 armed 4 legged avatar named Smoke who is half bear half wolf and speaks in 3 part harmony at all times