Dancing and Thinking

[qos]

I forgot to address one aspect of the trance dancing workshop in yesterday's entry: the mind-body split.

Obviously I like to think. I like to think, to analyze, to use my intellect to be self-aware, to gain understanding. And yes, it's entirely probable that I over-use this aspect of myself to the detriment of other modalities of knowing. But thinking is also one of my gifts and an important part of who I am.

I definitely felt marginalized toward the end of the workshop when the facilitators were praising the experience of "turning off the mind" and processing elsewhere, and not thinking.

In fact, I felt some stabs of hurt and resentment at being told (in so many words) that my way of being was less valuable than other modalities. Intellectually I recognized that getting out of the head is very liberating for many, and yes, that there were things for me to discover by doing so -- but I still wanted them to acknowledge that there could be value in reflecting on the experience with my head also.

As far as I was concerned, in participating in the dancing I had done the no-brain part to the best of my current ability. Now it was time to process the experience and for me that meant thinking, reflecting, grappling with words so I could make sense of it.

That did not stop me from sharing in the circle with words -- and then being told by one of the facilitators how powerful my words were. So that was nice.

I guess I just wished that as I was embracing my own "and" -- mind and body, venturing into the edgy adventure that body movement is for me -- that space had also been given for my area of primary comfort as well.

I don't mean for this to sound like a whine. This was one of several challenging aspects of the evening for me, and it's not a bad thing to have been challenged. If anything it hopefully will make me more open to the way other people need different ways to process than I do.

Comments

[oakmouse]

You don't sound like you're whining, at least not to me; you sound like you're expressing hurt and frustration at being told you're "less than" because of the mental side of your nature.

The mind-body "dichotomy" is in some ways real, but in some ways false. It's almost impossible to get away fully from the mind because even when you engage the body, the mind is how you retain awareness of your bodily perceptions. But crucially, it doesn't have to be either/or. It can be both/and.

[sekhmetkare.livejournal.com]

Yes. What Oakmouse said. Like you, I NEED to use my thinking human brain as much as I need to use my emotional lizard brain, whether it's for work, research or exploring my spirituality. It's very annoying and tiresome when people take what works for them and try to fit everyone else's pegs into their own holes, regardless of the shapes.

And you probably are an excellent teacher/spiritual director because you DON'T do that. :-)

[blessed-harlot.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, somehow, there's an alarming number of people interested in body wisdom, who manage to forget that the brain is a part of the body. Intellect is a gift of the body too.

But then both/ands are hard for a lot of folks.