Do we know?
One student of F.M. Alexander described Alexander's work as reasoning from the known to the
unknown
(The Use of the Self, p. 85).
I sometimes hear, during my interactions with Wellbeing Improvers: I know how to do that, I know how to get out of a chair, I know how to bend forward, I know how to sit down, etc.
Do we really know how to perform an activity?
What do we think we know?
Does knowing something make it less interesting and attractive?
Does knowing something box that something in
so there is no flexibility?
We know of the past
As individuals there is no doubt that we like knowing. As we personally know and as FM Alexander points
out several times in his books, the unknown or the unfamiliar can be scary and can contribute to stress
and anxiety. His solution is to have in place a thinking process taking into consideration the conditions
PRESENT. This would ensure that we are able to come into contact with the unfamiliar and unknown
without fear or anxiety
(The Universal Constant in Living, p. 79).
When we say, I know
, the I know
has, in fact,
taken place in the past. What we do is IMPOSE past circumstances on the present ones. It is true that past
and present circumstances might be similar. However, similarity is not sameness. That discrepancy,
even though small, might be enough to colour the outcome in a way that is not helpful. Alexander goes
as far as saying that past experiences or the known impede
people
(The Universal Constant in Living, p. 147).
Is there any interest, curiosity and challenge in the known?
Knowing something makes that something less interesting and attractive. It can be likened to wanting an item. More often than not, the thrill lies in the wait. Once we’ve acquired an item we wanted, we sometimes do not even look at it: the challenge has gone; our curiosity vanishes, we lose interest as if there is nothing in it any longer for us.
We know
how to perform the act of sitting down as we do it very often. In any case,
we know how to perform it our way, i.e. according to our conceptions. Most of the time, we feel our way through
such an activity instead of reasoning things out. When doing so, a person ends a psycho-physical
process which, in reality, should never be finished
(Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, p. 197).
According to Alexander, the issue lies in the fact that we have been taught that all the ordinary,
most necessary, and therefore most oft-repeated acts of life should be automatic and unconscious; for this reason they
have become indifferent
(Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, p. 198).
What is the relationship between change and the unknown?
Alexander underlines a relationship between change and the unknown. Unless we come into contact with the unfamiliar or the unknown, we cannot change and, more fundamentally, we cannot grow or develop (The Universal Constant in Living, p. 91) and find a way out of the predicament we find ourselves in.
A quote by Einstein comes to mind: We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used
when we created them
A new element is required which requires flexibility and adaptability.
Only, the discarding of cherished beliefs, the giving up of familiar ways, and the learning of
unfamiliar ways of doing thing
” can enable us to put into practice new beliefs in new
ways of doing things
(The Universal Constant in Living, p. 150).
What does embracing the unknown mean?
Embracing the unknown may have unsuspected outcomes such as:
∞
A different kind of control: a wellbeing improver said: I am in charge of my own movement, of my own journey, I have another way to go
.
∞
A letting go: “I do not have to get it right
, to concentrate
another Improver sighed and let go of tension in her body.
∞ An expansion of the mind.
A question to ask ourselves
Now, could we consider that the unknown (and uncertainty) is not as bad as we might think it is.
Are we willing to embrace the idea that when we have a process in place, we are going to end up in the unknown?
Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd
says Voltaire.
Doubting leads us to question; when we doubt, we seek. Hence, our curiosity keeps us interested and prevents us
getting bored.