What in your body, your life, and your art is calling for love?
This is the inquiry that I am interested in facilitating, for myself and others, this winter. It may have to do with the painful acts of hate in national and international events recently, or the return of the light after the Winter solstice, or the hope-filled story of Christmas. In any case, during this season of cold and dark, I am reminded to seek out the nourishment of warmth and light, of love itself, in myself and in community with others. As you may already know, my work/play in the studio is shaped by what’s happening in my daily life, and in the world around me. If you are intrigued by the question above, check out my upcoming workshop in the Boston-area:
A Taste of Tamalpa, January 23, 12 – 5 pm
Love is a big word with myriad definitions and associations. In this case, I am interested in the concept that ATTENTION=LOVE, offered by many, including Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg. Now, I know from firsthand experience that attention is not automatically loving. (“My haircut looks terrible… This food is too salty… The cat’s meow is so screechy!…”) How much energy do we spend giving critical attention to ourselves and our circumstances? But, I also know that we can cultivate a non-judgmental awareness of the present moment – “mindfulness,” according to Jon Kabbat-Zinn. Within this clear presence, we witness what is occurring within and around us. There is spaciousness. There is ease in simply noticing. And yes, there can be love, a sense of appreciation for “what is” in that moment.
In my view, the field of Somatics is founded on this principle. “Somatics” stems from the word “soma,” which means the living body as perceived from within, rather than observed from an external perspective. You can think of the difference between watching the movements of someone eat a banana (they open their mouth, take a bite, chew and then swallow a piece of the fruit) and the internal sensations associated with eating a banana yourself (the temperature of air inside of your mouth before you take a bite, the feeling of your teeth biting through the yielding texture of the banana, the temperature and tastes of the fruit in your mouth as you chew, the sensations of swallowing, etc.). When we engage somatic awareness, we track our inner experience, moment by moment, as we eat, type on an electronic device, step up into the bus during a morning commute, hug our children, stroke a pet, and so on. We witness ourselves in movement and use information collected there to make choices about what to do next.
Somatic movement educators and therapists can serve as guides during these sensory investigations by asking questions like, “Do you feel the weight of your feet pressing into the floor as you rise to standing? What do you sense in your neck as you turn your head? Where do you notice warmth? Coolness?” Through embodied presence, these professional practitioners become companions on our witnessing journeys, and reflect back observations and curiosities that arise as they offer their non-judgmental attention.
To be attended to in this way is a fundamental human need. Babies come to know themselves through the loving presence of their caretakers. Witnessing offers existential affirmation: “I see you. You exist in this moment, and I am here with you,” the witness seems to say. “Yes. I am seen, right now. I exist, and someone is here with me,” the witnessed may respond. This is an exchange of great love, in my experience; its simplicity is matched by its profundity. Happily, we can learn to give this gift to ourselves, and to others, through somatic movement and other mindfulness practices.
I have found that the creative arts of movement, drawing, poetic writing, and improvisation, amplify the power of loving attention. On January 23, and in the optional class series that follows, we will notice what feels good, and what feels uncomfortable – in our bodies, in our lives, and in the art we make. We will offer those parts that are asking for our attention the light and warmth of our awareness. And we will dance, draw, write and improvise about the process of giving ourselves the gift of love, or non-judgmental presence. Please join us for this artful inquiry if you feel called.