Living in the Future

So, I've been wandering around without a phone for a while now. Maybe you are one of the fine people that has suffered at this fact.

Suffer no longer.

When you dial 443-451-2677, your call will be transferred via highly trained gnomes to The Internet. And from now on, I'll try to keep The Internet up to date on how to find me.

Anywhere I go with a broadband connection - from a public wireless access point in New York to a coffee shop in Penang - I can just plug a little box or my computer into the network, and your call can be routed there. Or, I can route your call to the cell phone of the friend I'm hanging out with at the time. Or the front desk of the dentists office, if I'm going to be there for a while.

And this was just the last piece of the simulation that needed to be completed. In spite of my vagabond lifestyle, I appear to be maintaining a completely stable point of presence. Companies can bill me via my on-line bank and I can pay those bills from anywhere. Global ATM networks allow me to access my cash from any point in the world in the local currency. I can work anywhere using my own supercomputer which fits comfortably into a small backpack. And now you can call me anytime at my Balitmore number. If I happen to be in Russia, then the gnomes will route that call to Russia, no problem.

Encountering a Man who Wishes to Remain Unnamed

NOTE - this post has been edited to remove the name of a person who does not wish to be associated with anything with the word "cult" in it's title.

May 7-10 was the New England Feldenkrais celebration of Moshe's Centennial. We don't actually know when he was born, but we think we're close on this one. It's kind of like Christmas, except not based on a pagan holiday.

But I digress.

This weekend allowed me the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of gifted individuals. There were people with all kinds of magic touch, methods for obtaining insight on the human body and whatnot. And there were nice trees and a lake.

But the most striking experience of the weekend was meeting an unnamed man. This is a man who met Moshe as a teenager, severely hampered in his movement and speech by cerebral palsy. Moshe worked with him for 10 years, and this unnamed man became a gifted practitioner of Moshe's techniques and ideas. It is still apparent that this unnamed man must contend with "noise" in his motor system. But he can connect directly and deftly with others' bodies. And when he speaks, his ideas are lucidly communicated. Despite the fact that his intentions must pass through or around the noise he experiences, he exhibits a kind of directness and honesty achieved only in a rare few.

I suspect that part of his gift lies in the manner in which it was realized. He could not make direct progress toward some goal of understanding and working with bio-mechanics. His actions were spastic and ineffective. Moshe's work, unlike that of many other therapists who had failed with this unnamed man, did not attempt to change or improve him in any way. The only goal was for this man to see clearly his current situation, and to be comfortable in that condition. There was no compulsion or expectation that this man "improve." But if there was something he wanted to do, and he saw a way to do it... well, that was fine.

He had no choice but to progress the "right" way. His condition was too challenging to simply muscle through. And so now, he knows not to try and muscle his clients (for lack of a better term - his work certainly lacks the clinical nature that term would normally imply). Even a hug from this man is a wonder. I've known people that try to make hugs feel nice - rubbing tense muscles or scratching the back. But this man''s hug is simply an authentic loving embrace. In my case for example, when Paul gave me a hug goodbye, his awareness of my body allowed me to simultaneously become aware of some structural issues in my posture. I don't think he was trying to do that, I think he was just trying to express the love he felt for me at that moment.

And that love is a pretty cool thing.

So now I'm trying to organize a workshop in the DC area for him. And it looks like it's coming together. Stay tuned. Good things are happening!