Autism and Love, from the perspective of healing the autistic child

I blogged about this the other day
from a slightly different angle,
of how we can learn to love our partners better by
either
going for rapport when they are having a bad time
or
amping up the play and adventure when they are in a good mood

With Autistic children ( or adults) it's almost the same, and 
called the ABC method in the Son Rise philosophy ( See AutismRewired.com)

A,  Assess

B, Bond

C. Challenge


A. Asses
means to pay attention:
Are they going away?
or 
Are they moving toward us and others?

Moving Away has various behaviors:
stimming
no eye contact
non responsive
rigid behavior
rejecting/ moving away from touch or being looked at

Moving Toward can be
Looking at me
Responding
Smiling
Flexible behavior
Affectionate
Responsive to Touch
Playful in interpersonal way



Then the realization is that
when they are Moving Away, when you Assess that:

go for Bonding

as we've emphasized over and over,
with the Anat Baniel Method,
correcting/ fixing behavior is a recipe for disaster:
you are putting energy into what you want to change
and hence making it stronger

in autism,
with the
Anat Baniel Method, we create variations in any and all behavior
in
the Son Rise method, the idea of JOINING
is key
we replicate,
not in a mocking way,
but to really get inside their world,
whatever they are doing

so that they feel:
whatever they are doing is accepted
and even
whatever they are doing is cool enough for us to want to do
and so
they feel liked and appreciated by us
or at least
accepted

and
they aren't alone

they don't have to join the cult of the normal
to be loved and accepted

this helps break through the main slavery of autism:
the disconnect from others


And if our A, if our Assess of the child (anyone)
is to notice their willingness to
come toward us,
the we can do the C,
the challenge

which is another way of saying a variation that
ups the ante a bit
on what they are willing to try
in the world of interaction

and we make it fun
teaching them that play
is what good interpersonal interaction is like
or
we make it loving
which shows them that side of interaction,
but always opening up their range of behaviors and possibilities just a little bit at a time

Assess: See where they are at

From that we know whether they need us to
b
Bond

or to
c
Challenge

always with a light hand, light touch, staying not too far ahead of them,
like when your mate asks you to go out to tango lessons
and you just want to chill in front of the TV and cuddle
and you rise to the challenge,
and the dancing bring your relationship to a whole new level

(and, if it's really a horrible day, your mate needs to bond,
and learn about your day, and not let you zone out on TV,

again
we are back to autism and love:

you mate can assess you:
if you are tired and still interactive:
a little rest and backrub and then go tango, the challenge

if you are tired and down,
then some rest, and a chance to spill the beans on what's bothering you

and who knows, being heard out, then you might feel open
to going to tango after all

same with the child:

after boding,
they may come out of their withdrawal,
and want to interact and play
and you can go into the challenge and play mode


a lot of mindfulness called for
in parenting
and
in partnering

this is good

without mindfulness
life is on automatic

and life is too precious for that

Bipolar without drugs

The brain slayeth,
heal the brain, heal everything

So,
this is from Dan Siegal's book,
Mindsight

It's one of the ones to the right.


Six parts:


1.Good rest/ sleep
This can, and should, include, mini breaks, even two minutes to sit in the sun, or lie of the floor/ lawn, throughout the day.

2. Good food, organic, range fed, wild fish, omega 3's for the brain
You are what you eat, ate. Pesticide and junk in, and the brain will get worse.

3.Good relationship : pleased, at ease, no resentments
 ( my work with the Byron Katie method can get all resentments cleared;
     being present and truthful in communication consolidates it)
thework.com

4. Novelty
 ( the Anat Baniel work takes care of that) AnatBanielMethod.com
And my mindfulness focus: find five ways to do everything,
everything,
even read this

5. Mindfulness
( Siegal uses meditation, I use all day mindfulness in the body,
or body
and breath
and light:
three layers and full time reality
 plus movement with and for awareness)

6. Exercise:
in fresh air; not rote; the combination of Feldenkrais and movement can make boring things like weight lifting, or semi cool things like yoga into brain food as well
 Feldenkrais.com

and taking a walk, dancing, making love, this are as good as yoga, and should/ could be part of all our lives


For an earlier, slightly different version of this, see my September 24

6 Step deep Protocol for the brain on bipolar and depression 

Kids, tantrums, having enlightenment thanks to kids pushing us to be awake when it's hard to be awake

After enlightenment, do the laundry. 

How to get enlightened?

 Be present with a child, 

or yourself, 

or any loved one or creature, plant or feature

on this planet. 

Kids are dissatisfied sometimes,
and they don't hold it in.

They scream, hit, throw things,
you know the drill.

And our job, as parents,
and as human beings working toward real
livng
which in my opinion means
being awake to the present moment

we don't take it personally

unless we do,
and then we "flip our lids"
as Dan Siegel, MD amused us describing in Austin
recently talking about the Whole Brain Child.


and how this happens:

parents "lose it"

he says: okay, it happens,
admit it, apologize,
talk to your child about her or his feelings before you
"lost it" and when you "lost it"

just repair the damage and they'll be resiliant,
and know something wonderful:
you don't have to be perfect,
you just have to be willing to communicate the love
that got lost in the "lost it"
moments

and,
guess what,
that wasn't what this was headed to be about:
it was headed to be about
when the child is in tantrum, anger, or whine mode,
and you are still present,
a fun and useful thing to do,
is not to repress their anger,
not to make them feel bad about that,
but to make it a game,
where you present alternatives:

would you rather throw the book, or the ball?
would you rather scream this loud or this loud?
would you rather look at me when you scream or look at the floor?
Can you switch your whining to this tone?
To this tone?

Can you hit with your other hand?
Can you stomp with this foot?
And that foot.
Can you make this sound when you hit?

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, ME THINKS<
if their hitting hurts,
tell them:
I am a real person,
that hurts.

I get that you are angry and let's find six different
ways you can hit the couch,
and call it me,
and tell me you hate me

so you can be angry and hit,
but I don't get hurt

I'm a real person, so
the couch doesn't mind being hit,
and what about kicking the couch
(or those little blow up clowns with sand in the bottom,
punching bags)

This not only lets the child knwo
they are safe to be angry,
but that in the context of being angry,
a real adult can see alternatives,
can allow them to experience differences,
which means being more mindful and aware of themselves

and the adult is seeing anger as an energy,
something to be used
and used in a variety of ways

this is good news all around

and if that isn't enough;
Here's a  TED talk with Dan Siegel and Goldie Hawn
on mindfulness and childrearing:
TED TALK ON MINDFULNESS AND CHILD REARING

6 step Protocol: Deep Change, including depression, bipolar, huge life shift

I've written on this before,
at "6 steps for your special needs child, or yourself in times of amazing
and real change"

and it took me a long time to stroll down the index to find it June 28, 2011
and I was impressed by all the different posts you might read.
or I might re-read,

And anyway: this has "come up" a couple of times recently,
and I love to see how I can do from memory so here goes:

This is a protocol Dr, Dan Siegel used to combine brain plasticity
and mindfulness with many backup and supplemental pieces
to help a teenage youth who was verging on serious bipolar,
not need to get involved in meds.

This is not to try at home,
and could be an adjunct to any real change
that you wanted deep and clear and amazing in your life.

The parts are:

1. Good sleep.
Which doesn't have to be all at once, the standard 8 hours,
but does need enough so you feel really rested,
which might well include
naps
and being able to "meditate" in times of waking at night,
with "no worries" about sleep coming or not.

Which ties in with the last, mindfulness.
To be mindful in waking night time is one of life's
great
and under appreciated joys.'


2. Food
that feeds the body soul and brain,.
with a high emphasis on high quality omega-3 (grass fed , wild caught, you know
the drill)
my food ideas are long and detailed.
you can see them at the
FOOD PAGE
of
my website, BECOME MORE AMAZING

suffice it to say, Don't panic, go organic. And the closer to Paleo you can hang and love it, probably the better.

3. Exercise:
Movement is good.
Movement with attention is better.
Movement with attention and fun and variation and slower and learning is even better.
Dan Siegel just says: Move.
I say, move in the amazing ways of the Anat Baniel Method and the Feldenkrais Method®

4. Relationship:
The better the better.
Core to my coaching is that any movement level and any relationship level
can get better and better.
At least a great start in honest and present communication will eliminate a huge
section of the stress that can push mental states into unsavory place.

5. Novelty.
Break habits, improve the brain, get back to life as it is meant
to be
one of continuous learning.
Love is very close to this,
in a way that whole
books
or grand mystical poems could hint toward.
For today: the above movement with amazement and learning
is perhaps the quickest way to novelty
and my executive coaching hinges around finding at least five
ways to do EVERYTHING,
from standing up from a chair, to saying hello, to thinking about someone you like
and/or don't like, to behavior toward those same folks, to....

6. Mindfulness
Dr, Siegel teaches meditation and a life of examination.
This is a great start.
Being present is wonderful:
always here,
always a goal
always a means
always makes a real and immediate change
always now
and then
the next now

and
even this one


Okay, have fun with this.
If you or someone  you know would like to explore this as a pathway with
me, find a link to the right for setting up an appointment via time driver

or CLICK HERE FOR TIME DRIVER


MEANWHILE , LIFE ALWAYS BEING NOW:
feel free to one at a time
play with the above potent six in
your own life.

Good,
Chris

experiencing the all of it up and down of it, now of it, yet

the times of day:
the day changes
and we use up energy

and can we be aware
of how we either "like"
or "don't like"

our state of energy throughout the day

and if we don't "like" what we are
aware of in our present expereince,

can we come back to "just" experiencing
the experience without a judgment

can we live
without our inner comment on
"how are we doing now"

(compared to what?
is always the good question,

or yesterday's question:
Who and what are we, without our story?

As the day shifts
and our energy shifts
can we keep
"just"
loving what is?



Good.

The attachment game viewed closely: Question #3 from Byron Katie

Ah, life, ah, habit:

this happens doesn't it?
something doesn't "go our way"
we tell ourselves that it
"should have"

we feel bad

and then,
weirdly, we tell ourselves that again,
and we still feel bad

and then we tell ourselves that
again
and
low and behold (whatever that means)
we feel bad as before

And here's a game,
when we feel bad,
Ask the first two questions
of the thought behind our feeling bad
(#1: Is it true,
#2, Can I absolutely know that this is true?)

And then ask ourselves:
#3: How do I react when I attach to that thought?
I.e. how do I feel, as emotion,
how do I feel, in my body as sensation,
how do I live: what do I avoid, what do I do/do/do
whom do I treat not so well

the consequences
as they are
line them up
write them down

take clarity in seeing:

Thought in/
attachment applied/
results


Another word for attaching to the thought
could be believing it

this is the start of freedom,
perhaps

and to goose up things a little,
and get a jump on Question #4 tomorrow

after lining up the misery ducks
from attaching to the thought

take the 5 second
NO THOUGHT IN THE BEANO
VACATION
that Adyashanti mentions
as the quick and easy way
to discover
who you really are

Good.

Day 24: The Work starts: Is it true?

suffering  call to us
sometimes,
the crazy whisper/ yammer/ chatter/ taunt/ shout
of our mind,
nothing better to do
than
complain about others,
complain about us,
complain about our complain,

our mind, foolish patterned slave:
telling us the world is wrong

and that's today's game
today's "job"
(some of the best work
ever):
start the Work,
( you know: thework.com)

an inquire of the mind
with the mind

since behind each unhappiness
is a thought,
notice that thought
and ask the question:
Is it true?

That's all,
one two three:

feel unhappy/ suffering
notice the thought behind the feeling
ask the question, #1 in the work of Byron Katie:
Is it true?

"Just" ask


good

23 : Ten fingers, ten toes, belly....

Ten fingers Ten toes
Belly
Eyes
Ears
Nose


the belly and the nose:
breathing

the belly and the nose:
the spine and the head and the pelvis

eyes: light

ears: sound outside our head

fingers,
toes,
and the whole limb if we can

have fun

even now

ten fingers
ten toes
belly
eyes
ears
nose


good

Full package, now we are in the middle of the month

 beautiful waters

in California mountains

when I did a yoga certification

in a month of high elevation

learning and love

Body: sensing arms , legs, fingers, toes , spine

Sensing bottom of the spine and sexual area. (On or zero, a tidy property unlike emotions, and thoughts which can be on/ zero/negative)

Emotions : sensing breathing , aware of emotional state in present

Head:
Aware of & not believing " thoughts"
Aware of voice tone of "thoughts"
= words in the head
Sensing tongue & relaxing
Eyes: light coming in
Ears: sound coming in

Soul:
Aware of awareness
In love with the being alive thing

16: Gravity and breath

Writing each day is fun and not fun
To have made the decision completely knocks
out the "Do I really want to make the effort today?"
thing

And it's sweet in a way, to have the next day's possibility
looming overnight

Today, happily, I woke and soon knew what today's
topic/ focus would be:

And didn't feel like getting on the computer for awhile,
so I got to "test drive" it for awhile.

It's a good one.

And, like almost each day so far,
if we could do it even a "little more,"
the change in our whole life and
being
could be
magnificent

And the title says it:
Gravity:
sense our bodies in gravity
feel the spine arms legs shape in gravity

and
breath

notice the breath
that animates
this life we are in

As an interesting (or not) aside:
gravity and breathing are not part of
our womb experience, except the very slightest
feeling of gravity shifting as our mother lies or stands
(and we're "upside down" for months. I wonder
wonder
wonder
what that sets up for us)

Anyway:
come out of the world
and gravity is much bigger
and breathing is a full time thing

and so,
unless we are in outer space,
gravity and breath give
us an ongoing way to not
only
orient ourselves in
the world
but to
be
present

as well


Good

Day 13: Breath, voice, arms, spine, legs

We spend a fair amount of time talking talking to others

talking in our heads
sometimes to ourselves
often to others, in imaginary conversations

And then there is the whole new world
of texting talking fingers do the tapping
and the screen lights up
and a soundless message is send''

eyes and no sounds
and this may be
a profound disturbance of
the original order of
voice
sound
see another person hearing
your sounds
hear your own voice making your sounds
hear their voice making their sounds

hang around
today
in sound

the sound of your voice
the sound of other people's
and the sound of the voice/ chatter / "thinking"
in your head

slow down enough
to listen

and be in breath
and sensing arms legs and spine
as the container for that

Good

Day Six: Let there be (awaring of) Light

 

Let there be

Light

To be in the world and

In ourselves at the same time

to have the arrow of

Attention
pointing both out
and

In

Life. This is life. To be aware of our

Bodies as

Arms all the way out to ten fingers &

Legs all the way out to ten toes &

Spine with the pelvis at the bottom and head at top &

Breathing in

Breathing out

that is a nice basis for operating

and then the outer world in its simplest
form

Or better said: our perceiving of the outer world
in our most crucial and ongoing and “important” modes

listening to sounds outside our heads
noticing light coming in our eyes

Reflected light the Gurdjieff meditation likes to say

Bounding

Happily off something in front of you (unless you are looking straight at the sun or a light or a flame) and then dancing

Dancing

Streaming

Flying

Soaring

Lilting

Into You

(whatever You is, who ever You are:

who is the You

sensing the arms and legs and

Noticing the breathing and

Awaring the sounds coming in and
Presencing the reflected light coming to You)

That’s a fine question
to have floating in the background

and for today

play
if you will
with the joy of the now of all the sensing and breathing
and listening and looking

(and paying attention to reflected light is

not quite the same as looking
and that’s okay)

fill up at the fount of

Now

Enjoy

Happiness 202: Life is Yes, and can get better and better

It's a good day yes
and then
fine
what's not to be happy about?

It's a "bad" day
and what a minute..
slow down,
what's going on right now

this now now
of your so called "bad" day

sense it,
in your body:

what is
now
yeah yeah
the now now
now
what is going on,
as sensation
in the moment

and what is
now
going on as your feeling?

can you take your feeling as emotion
e-motion (which way does it want to send, take, lead you?)
and feeling
as sensation

and add on this:
I/ me/ the one inside all the dancing
am aware
of those feelings/ sensations

we'll get to this later
on mindfulness in emotion
and mindfulness in sensation
and most of all
mindfulness as inquiry into "thoughts"

that's all coming in the thirty days,
and today we just add on light

but I was in the mood to write two blog posts
today,
to get the number of the posts (506)matching that today's posting
will be day 6 in the mindfulness derby)

so this is an extra

and a good idea
to put into action if
you can:

life is yes
even to your "unhappiness"

and the "yes" is noticing,
watching
experiencing
being open to
accepting
loving

think of what your "unhappiness"
is up to
as a child
your child
that you would and could
love to help comfort love
and
so
on

so all the yeses pile up
and life can get even better

how?
think of something wonderful
you want to do
or feel
or think
or say

next

and do
feel
think
or say

it


Good.

Day 3: Mindful breathing with our spine in motion....fun

 

Breathing in and out, and including the spine

Here’s what we have so far:

Breathing in

Breathing out

With awareness

Plus sensing, our

Legs with all ten toes

Arms, with all ten fingers

Today, let’s add the spine to this, and in a fun way where we linked breathing to a flexing and extending of the spine.

Place your right hand on your head, with your elbow pointed forward. ( If you can. If not, put your hand on your face or chin, with elbow as forward as it can point).

Sense both arms and both legs and your spine.

Breathe out and bend forward, as if your elbow is going between your knees, and the bending down is pushing air out of your belly. (Or the pushing air out of your belly is helping you round over).

Go very slowly. Enjoy this.

Lift you head back up, pushing your belly forward and let your head point a little (not a lot, do NOT go near any limit) toward the ceiling and feel and arch in your back.

Breathe in as your belly comes forward and your head lifts.

Now breathe out and round your spine and bring your elbow toward the ground. Feel the spine changing shape as you do this gently many times.

Sense your arms and legs as you do this.

Take a rest. Enjoy sensing your spine and arms and legs and breathing without any shape changing.

Now, if you feel adventurous, take your right hand again to your head, and take your left knee with your left hand, and as you breathe out, bring your knee and elbow toward each other. Do NOT try to touch them, even if you can. Just breathe and enjoy rounding.

Then breathe in and let your knee down and belly forward arch your back and point your right elbow toward the sky or ceiling.

Many times, gently. You may rest at any time. And try the arms the other way.

Enjoy, slow, gentle, aware, enjoy.

mindful day two: a "box" around the breathing in, breathing out delight

 

Breathing in and breathing out is

"close to"

Who we are as living beings

And it is also close to the “Feeling” area of our life
the chest
the ribs
the heart inside the lungs where the breathing takes place
the diaphragm below the lungs, where
lots of emotions hang out

so, a good next step in our mindfulness,
as even now,
we notice our in and out breathing

is to add a “box”
a container
to this middle of ourselves breathing in and breathing out

The box is this:
2 arms
2 legs
our spine

We can at any moment we are awake
“sense” the arms and legs and spine

And let’s start now:
(now always being just the right
time to become more present)

Let’s start with the right leg:
all five toes up to the hip joint
sense all of the leg you can
enjoy how big a part of us this is
enjoy how this foot and toe awareness begins
very much
to “ground” us

Now sense all the fingers of your right hand
now
as you read this
all the fingers of your right hand and then the rest of  your right
arm
all the way to the shoulder

all along
sense the breathing in and breathing out

(“hard?” , oh well, it’s just
our life we are paying more attention to,
with great advantages down the road
when we can cease and desist demands for
attention/ ATTENTION/ attention
from others)

breathing in

breathing out

right toes and leg

right fingers and arm

and add on

left upper arm at the shoulder

all the way down to the five left fingers

And the left leg
from hip joint all the way to the five toes

actually,
that’s enough
let’s leave the spine until tomorrow

try this game today:
ten fingers
ten toes
two arms
two legs
breathing in
breathing out

This is “a lot”

YES!

Life is a lot.

(You can do this when happy, and when sad,

doing nothing

taking a walk, swimming, driving

reading on your computer

even,

and we’ll work on this later:

while talking to someone else,

it’s an open eyed mindfulness
rooting us in the reality of these arms and legs
that reach and touch and move us around
and shake hands and write and hug and open a door
and this

breathing thing
breathing in
breathing out

we are alive

isn’t that a good feeling to be sensing

the aliveness of our bones and fingers and toes and
are breathing?)

Day One:Breathing in, or Breathing out

Day one, of what? A thirty one day jag jog challenge:
31 days in July
31 postings on Mindfulness

and let's start with
the glory:
we are alive

and how do we know we are
alive?

breathing is a good start

and what in mindfulness?

there are probably much more
cool
and sophisticated versions
but:
it's putting our attention
or mind
somewhere where we
know we are putting it

like:
right now:
do you know if you are breathing in
or breathing out?
you can be holding in a pause
at the end of breathing in
or breathing out

but this is a gas,
and slows us down
and reminds us we are alive
and puts us in the famous body

this is life on Earth
in the human form:
breathing in
maybe pause maybe not
breathing out
maybe pause maybe not

without that
no life

with breathing
life

can you feel the breathing coming in your mouth
or nostrils
and where is floats down into you

and without getting too
fancy
feel / sense what happens in your
ribs and belly as
you breathe in
and as you breathe out

just notice:

where are you breathing?

how does it feel now?

breathing in, or out, or pausing?

and the big thrill:
what is different about noticing/being mindful
of your breathing
and not
being mindful of it?

enjoy,
this can be done with amazing effect
when you imagine you are listening
to another person,
or when you are speaking to another person

or
any
time

good

7 steps for parents of children on the spectrum

1. Be mindful.
Look at your own life, movement, speech and action, and
realize when you are "out to lunch."
Make a happy and concerted effort to cultivate the difference
between being "here/ now" and moving along either on high
function automatic, or "spacing out", or low functioning automatic
(arguing, worrying, blaming, self pity, etc)

2. Buy Anat's book



Read it all, but especially the chapters on Awareness and Variation and Connecting not Fixing.

Go about seeing everything your child does as a potential
learning game
of delight
to you both.

No more "mistakes."
Only learning.

3. Change the diet according to either the GAPS protocol,
or the Body Ecology One:

See this video
U tube on Gaps and Body Ecology, first of six

4. Get your child Anat Baniel Method lessons.
See her website for the gains autistic children have made:

Autistic Spectrum page

5. Buy an expensive and very powerful book on
healing ANY disease, from cancer to heart disease to diabetes
with food.
The autism isn't a complete cure in his book (all the seven combined can be)
but he's got a special autism mercury detox protocol:

See the Conquer Any Disease book
at QiGong.com

While waiting on that, check out the various learnings
on my food page
of my website:
BecomeMoreAmazing.com

here's the food page:
My Food and Health Page

6. Study, learn, think about the difference
in the Son Rise approach:
meeting the child, joining, interacting
and
the ABA approach,
which is behavioral,
and mainly to get the kids to conform to
outside rules,
somewhat like dog training.
Here's a link I had on my original autistic page:

ABA vs Son Rise

7. Horses,
know about the most important human connection:
head and pelvis

(they don't know about the most important human function:
rotating around the axis. so they are great, but can radically be improved
by adding Anat Baniel Method.

ankles and wrists: a movement lesson of the most simple sort

one of the sweetest paths
to now
is
to move slowly
and with attention
variation
curiosity
and a desire to "feel what we
feel like
in the moment"

this is a game for parents of special needs
children
or anyone with an ankle "glitch"

it's pretty easy,
and if you play with it
slowly enough
deeply satisfying "just"
as a game of learning

say you have a "touchy" ankle.
Let's say it's your right ankle.
Then the game will start with left ankle
and right hand.

If the "touchy" ankle is your left
ankle,
swap things around.

So: sit at a table
and place both feet flat on the floor,
and start with the non-touchy ankle and the opposite
hand.
the hands are on the table.
feet on the floor.

start with the right hand and the left foot,
and gently press the little toe side of the foot
into the floor
and the little finger side of the hand
into the table
then release

go slowly enough a number of times
each time follow something more
your breathing
the bones of your hand
the feel of your wrists and ankle
the bones of your feet
your knee
your elbow
your breathing

make it a nice little meditation

then rest

now the other side:
thumb
and big toe, again right hand and left foot
for "touchy" right ankle.
press, release, sense, listen, learn

rest

Now front of the hand, to wit, press the fingers into the table
and the toes
and release.
Go slow
this is more advanced than we usually would notice
shoulders
hips
back
pelvis
lots comes in
to
this
go slowly many times
aiming for enjoyment pleasure and learning each time

try the difference eyes open
vs closed vs one eye open

try slightly rounding your back
slightly arching

notice your breathing

rest

and then, of course: heel
of hand and heel of foot

rest

now if you feel up to playing the opposites:
go for thumb and little toe
and little finger and big toe
toes and hand heel
foot heel and hand fingers

but only if curiosity and time
and ease of mindful movement call to you

now
stand and walk around a bit,
noticing what all this diagonal work
hath wrought

maybe even lie down
a bit
and enjoy the differences

then go to "touchy"ankle
and the other hand
and do all the above
except:
A LOT LESS
A LOT GENTLER
IF ANY PAIN ONLY IMAGINE THE MOVEMENT

slow and gentle and aware
pay huge dividends

try it
meditate through it
enjoy it
learn and improve

this is you
on awareness
a nice place to live
from

and/ or
a nice place from which
to live

Good.

For a batch more movement lessons:

click the label below,

on in the cloud at the right which says there are 90 some lessons,

or,

what the heck

just click this: Movement Lessons

feeling bad in the context of bigger body, bigger mind, + "now"

feeling bad isn't the worse
thing in the world

though attacking yourself
or others when you feel bad
is how the  world starts to fall apart

but hey, what of feeling bad
and being present
to the bigger picture
of the you
that is breathing
and awaring your feet and legs,
your hands and arms,
your spine and head

aware all that
and be aware that you are aware
and feel bad
at the same time

and what happens?

try it next time
and see.

and whatever you are feeling now,
find the sensations
of that feeling
and concentrate on them

and then bounce out to the arms and legs
and spine
and head

make that the basket for
your feelings

and then add on light
and sound

they are there
anyway,
just notice them
and then:
how are you

who are you,
all this awareness
all this juice in the now

does it really matter what you're feeling
or
more probably:
how can all this awaring of
yourself
in the moment
not get you at least a little giddy
thrilled
with the joy
or being alive

right
now



good

Out of the Soup, into the brain: Transforming Emotional Pain

The amazing results we get from the Feldenkrais Method
and the Anat Baniel method,
are all about going slowly, and
gently,
and in harmony with the natural functional movements
of humanity,
so that our brains get more alert and smart
and at ease moving in many new ways.

New options.

New possibilities.

And the pain becomes superfluous because the movement
and our selves becomes so interesting
and free.

Let's take a "bad feeling"
and play a little with what I'm calling the
Elixir of Transformation.

You feel bad, very sad say, as if you are all alone in the world,
no friends, or something like that.

First thing is to pause,
and not try to run away from it,
but just stick around there awhile and see
"What Is."

Then you start to gently see this feeling as a
four layer package:

The thoughts:  I'm never going to have any good friends. No one likes me.
(Whatever they are(

The emotional feeling: which is sad and abandoned, say. But it's you,
you find what it is for you, now, today.

The physical sensations. Where is this constricting you.
All "unpleasant" feelings are felt as unpleasant
because we clamp in and down on ourselves.

How and where are you doing that? Now. Today.

And the "soul" equation.
Soul knows we are all one, and that this moment is precious,
and body life isn't forever, and that life is good.

This area is a bit less clear to work with, but we can just
feel the missing, the longing in our soul, when
this feeling is where we are living.

And then,
hang out with the four layers all at once,
and experience who and how you are.

Now,
my whole process is taking each area into more and more
distinctions,
more and more differentiations,
more and more options,
so the stuck becomes not only unstuck,
but darn interesting.

Let's take the feeling realm.

One option: intensify and lessen the intensity of the feeling.
Notice these differences.

Two: think of the feelings as a child that needs care.
1) Give that child a tender feeling, by breathing gently into the pain,
as if stroking the child.

2) Feel the historical aspect of this feeling, the whole panorama of times
this has been where you've been caught.
Find an observer in you to witness this, like a kind parent,
just watching and knowing you went through all this.

3) Look around the room. Be like a parent who guides a sad child
to look at the tree leaves and the colors in the sky in addition
to the feelings.

4) Rock yourself, not to escape the feelings, but as if it's a baby,
that needs soothing motion.

5), Sing to the child

Three:
Give voice to the feelings without words. Let them sing
to you,
but with no words.

Change styles: opera, lullaby, country western, classical, anything you want

Four:
Add other feelings at the same time.

1) Sad plus gratitude

2) Sad plus curious

3) Sad plus patient

4) Sad plus happy!

really, you can do both, it's not common,
and it's freedom.

Five:
perspective:
think of happy moments in your life, and see them from your sadness

think of happy moments in your life and see the sadness from your happy moments

Six:
Get lost in the present,
leave the words out,
leave the history out,
just sense what you are aware of in your body now

This leads to the sensations part of your feeling,
and there are lots of options there,
and that's another essay,
and the sensation route is actually the most sure route
out.

So why didn't I pick that first?

I don't know.

Enjoy this much learning.
Even though it's a fourth of the Elixir of Transformation,
leaving out the work of Byron Katie on the thinking part,
and all sorts of movement and sensing play in the physical part,
and all sorts of distinctions on when we are in soul and when not,
it's huge what I've offered here.

Take advantage of it, if you wish.

Ciao
for
NOW,

Chris