We all know individuals for whom every observation, comment, or view from a differing perspective, is seen as an irresistible opportunity for reorientation, addenda, or correction. It is wilting. Friends, students, coworkers are left with the sense that they are not being heard. Jobs, livelihoods are threatened, particularly those of people who project their agendas on others. They lose their ability to connect. Power corrupts; we all know that. But more importantly, power poorly wielded turns off our mirror neurons. Whoa! What was that? You mean that we not only lose our predisposition to connect, we lose the ability? Yes. Perhaps power wielded badly is fear turned upside down. No matter, those so afflicted are seeking help. They are being retrained. Let me tell you about one form of re-training that will be a significant help, one more tangible than requisite sensitivity training, the Alexander Technique.
When you meet a teacher of Alexander Technique you won’t meet him/her on your own terms, or on his/hers. You’ll meet on no terms at all, with no precondition or agenda, save that of mutual respect. The meeting itself is the message – touch – the melting of power, of embodied rigidity. Allowing your self to be touched, to change, will at last allow you to be touched by others. You’ll learn to stay back and listen rather than seeing others as players in your play. People will flock to you rather than fear you. You might even learn to appreciate challenges presented by others, see in them an opportunity to practice meeting people where they truly are. You’ll find in your meeting with others the same thing you found in your meeting with your teacher of Alexander Technique, a flow of ideas, of energy, the synergy of the meeting. You might even get the recognition you’ve been seeking in a new way, in the power of empowering others.
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