Impossible Situations for Good Use

Posted by Jeanne Barrett on July 17, 2011 in Uncategorized

There are situations in which all of our best intentions for good use of the self are thwarted, and our skills in response are utterly defeated.  Demands can increase to levels that no amount of dynamic non-interference can be effective in pulling down less and going up more.  Although this is a dis-spiriting experience, it is a potential reality, and needs to be acknowledged as a possible outcome.

If we, as Alexander teachers and students, find ourselves in situations that challenge our skills in response beyond our capabilities, what then?  We can pull down with frustration and distress, or make conscious choices otherwise.  Sometimes recognizing our limitation in response to great challenge can indicate the wise choice to remove ourselves from situations that are very difficult for us.  And of course, removal from difficult situations is not always possible.  Accepting our own limitations is key.  If backing off from a challenging scenario is not an option, the least we can do is acknowledge our best intentions and choose to go up as well as we can, without judgement about our success in going up.  Forgiveness and patience, an internal request for quiet, are important ingredients in dynamic non-interference.  The Alexander Technique does not sell perfection, but instead the notion of allowing a means-whereby, a process, for new solutions to any stimulus.

We have the option of “failing” to respond as would wish but not diminishing our selves further with reaction to perceived “failure”. Refusing to judge, remaining dynamically open, accepting limitations, and being willing for new experience may be the best we can do in very challenging situations.  And, in this refusal to layer judgement upon limitation, new solutions may reveal themselves, as well as a potential new experience.  Good use involves many layers of the self.  Life provides the challenges to explore the myriad layers.