By Mary Reis, edited by Giorgia Milne
The phenomena are endless…
Sometimes words aren’t the way
-Michael Zeligs
My exchange partner, Michael, used these word as he and I were sharing the experience of our Biodynamic Cranial Approach session.
Waking from a dream during my time on the table, I could still feel the words I shared in the dream about a special person who had passed. I could no longer recall who it was, or what exactly I said, but the depth of the event still resonated in my being — deeply, essentially, in a “bone-nourishing” way. I was changed.
Michael had an image and sensing as the “sitter-upper”: the depth of sadness he felt watching and cradling the future face of a loved one as they passed. The image came without looking for it, and it evoked both a deep sadness as well as a deep sense of gratitude.
Two different experiences during the same session — one from the “sitter-upper”, the other from the “layer-downer”. And interestingly, death was a theme in both experiences.
While fascinating, these brief and passing dreams/images are not what we are looking for – they are not by themselves where we find the lessons. What transformed both of us came in the felt-sense qualities we experienced. Michael and I were reoriented in feelingly profound ways, and this effect stayed with us for the rest of the day. It slowed me down and seemed to recalibrate my being to the natural order and rhythm of life. I felt more whole and here, and still do as I write these words.
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The above quote also points to the universal access that we all have to “direct knowing”, and the manner of teaching that Giorgia Milne brings to the classroom. I’m not speaking of intellectual learning that comes from mental digestion of concepts and terms, but the directness with which we all have the capacity to KNOW with our “beingness”.
In an oral tradition, the essence of a teaching is presented in the current of the now: who the students are, how they experience the work, and the uniqueness of the group field. All of these aspects call forth the particular teaching unique to the group. The communication dance between teacher and students is alive, responsive, and participatory.
Fostering learning in this way, the Touch of Presence® curriculum allows students to learn from the “inside-out”. The teaching shows up IN them — it is not given to the students for them to go and find in their exchanges. Instead, the foundation is laid, and experience is the teacher. What exactly shows up is individual to each student. And it is through sharing, questions, and discussion that the teaching reaches the larger group.
Facilitating each student’s ability to sit in present-centered-sensing-awareness is the main foundation of the Biodynamic Cranial Approach Introduction.
When students willingly pay attention and sense within, honestly & maturely meet what arises without getting attached or taking it personally, and are “with” what is, as it is, without consciously knowing what it is, the wisdom of the natural world comes through. This is truly experiential learning, from the inside-out.
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Direct experiences like mine and Micheal’s are highly valued aspects of the curriculum in the Touch of Presence® School for Biodynamic Studies. While they are not listed on a syllabus, nor defined as experiences to seek, they have great value when they show up. For each person, such experiences are uniquely dialed in to exactly who they are – my experiences will be unique to me, Michael’s to him, and yours to you. Sensing into the feeling tones evoked (not the images, words, or story), they in-form and allow us to connect with something of value to our being, our own particular learning. We learn to develop and trust a deep sense of inner knowing while learning the Biodynamic Cranial Approach. It guides our cranial-work, and even guides our way of being in the world.
Present-centered-sensing-awareness IS the foundation, and the doorway through which the Breath of Life enters and guides sessions. Honoring Dr. Sutherland’s message to “Trust the Tide”, allowing physiological function from within to guide the session, rather than applying blind force from the outside.
If this manner of learning appeals to you, please come join us May 5-7, 2023 for the Biodynamic Cranial Approach Introduction.
