Risk taking

Good Head

For something so small compared to the rest of our body, our heads sure try to take over and do most of the work.  This is where most of us get into trouble – allowing the brain to run the show, to call the shots, to be the default way of moving through the world, even to the exclusion of all the other data we absorb into our bodies.  This narrows down our perceptions to only what is ordered and orderly, to what can be controlled and manipulated.   When I picture this kind of somatic organization, I see a huge head on a little body, kind of like you see on South Park, all except for Cartman (he’s not fat, he’s big boned…..).

So how the hell did we get such big fat heads?  Often when there is an event, such as early trauma, abuse or even the death of a loved one, we lose the ability to experience the world fluidly.  For example, think back to when you were a young child.  When we meet the world we take information through all kinds of channels, not just our heads.  Watch a young infant for awhile and you will see them tasting furniture (for that matter just about anything that can fit will go in their mouth – some of us never left that strategy behind!!!!).   It is all about exploring, not just with our eyes but with our sense of touch and smell, and taste.  It is ALL about discovery.

So when the head takes over we become rigid in our thinking, less flexible in our responses to how we deal with the world, less able to handle what life throws at us.  In a real way, our world becomes smaller and so do we.  Kind of like Alice in Wonderland sipping the bottle marked “Drink Me,” we shrink to make the world fit our small way of experiencing it, through our heads, and not the other way around.  Our world is supposed to shape us, so that we can grow with it, we can expand our container (our bodies, our way of thinking) and then, in turn, shape the world.

So what happens when our minds take the reins?  We become ungrounded, fearful, less contactful (we lose touch with ourselves and the world), suspicious and untrusting.  Things often become much bigger than they are emotionally.  I suppose I am describing the Religious Right and the Republican Party, but I digress.  The Buddhists have a term for this – they call it Monkey Mind, a mind out of control, running amuck, taking over.

So how do we get ourselves out of this fine mess we got ourselves into, how do we take back some of the control?  Slowing things down is a good start, and honoring all the senses is another.  Our bodies are big ol sponges – soaking up all kinds of information from multiple sources.   Often our gut reaction is equally valid, and truer than our head evaluation of a situation.  At times, our sense of smell can tell us more about a person’s health than mere visual inspection; frequently this happens when I am working with clients doing bodywork.

Another way to develop and expand our container is to take some risks, like doing new things.   A different part of our brain comes online when we do this, new nerve pathways are set as we experience unfamiliar places and novel situations.  I believe this is a part of that “refreshed” feeling that happens when we take a vacation.   I wonder if it is all about getting us back to a infant-like state, back to the part of us that was open and excited about life, willing to put anything into our mouths and smelling everything we could.  Good Head, to me, is all about Good Body, meaning to experience the world we need ALL of us online.

UPDATE: Click here for an excellent article by Jonah Lehrer, called How we Decide, on what is actually happening in the brain when we do novel things like taking risks.

Like A Kid Again!

YOU GUYS HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS!!! A few of us from the Wildwood Mens Festival went to experience this one Friday afternoon as a birthday celebration for my friend David’s 51st birthday. I have to admit, I was nervous at first, even up until I fell (yes, we were taught to fall into the wind with both arms crossed over our chest) into the open doorway of the tunnel. After that it was all tongues wagging, drool flying and cheeks flapping as we took flight, thankfully next to a young male instructor who made sure we did not bounce too hard off the plexiglas edges of the wind tube. I can remember vividly the exuberance beforehand, as if we were kids again, excited but not knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

Seriously guys, when will you ever get a chance to fly? Give it a try, take a risk, and spread your wings. Check out http://www.iflysfbay.com for more info……………..