Is Noticing An Action?
Q:
Is Noticing an action? Does it require effort? Can you think about Noticing and not do it or does the problem always stem from doing too much?
A:
Noticing is an action that does require some effort but not that much because it is just thinking. Marjorie Barstow coined the phrase "constructive thinking" to describe the help you give yourself when you apply Alexander's discoveries. It is very possible to think about Noticing without actually doing it. Whenever you think things like "I should be Noticing more often" or "When I Noticed yesterday I felt great." you are thinking ABOUT Noticing. This is Noticing as a concept or an abstraction and it's different from Noticing as an action, the act of Noticing, which is a simple act of attention. It's similar to certain kinds of meditation. How much physical effort does it take to be aware of your breath? Not much. But the restlessness of your mind keeps taking you down other paths that lead away from attending to the simply fact of your breathing {or a mantra or a visualization etc.} Noticing, like meditating, is a thinking simplifier but one that works best in the thick of daily activity.
Most people do tend to work a little too hard sometimes. I think this is because we're so often looking for results. We Notice for the purpose of improving , which in itself is not a bad thing but a problem arises when we have a pre-conceived idea of what that improvement should feel like and then we create that feeling to confirm to ourselves that we are getting better. Unfortunately, the feeling created is just a mirage and one that's generated by the same habits of perception and movement that caused the problem in the first place so it's a case of the blind leading the blind.
The way out is to change the way you monitor your progress. Instead of asking yourself "do I feel like I'm improving?", ask yourself: "Am I Noticing right now?" If you do that over a period of time you will begin to realize that knowing you are Noticing is synonymous with knowing you are improving. You'll be developing a "sense" of how you're doing that is much more refined and immediate than a feeling. Kinesthetic feelings are not bad. They are an essential part of the way we experience things. It's only when we push them up to the front and try to use them as guides that they get in the way.
Is Noticing an action? Does it require effort? Can you think about Noticing and not do it or does the problem always stem from doing too much?
A:
Noticing is an action that does require some effort but not that much because it is just thinking. Marjorie Barstow coined the phrase "constructive thinking" to describe the help you give yourself when you apply Alexander's discoveries. It is very possible to think about Noticing without actually doing it. Whenever you think things like "I should be Noticing more often" or "When I Noticed yesterday I felt great." you are thinking ABOUT Noticing. This is Noticing as a concept or an abstraction and it's different from Noticing as an action, the act of Noticing, which is a simple act of attention. It's similar to certain kinds of meditation. How much physical effort does it take to be aware of your breath? Not much. But the restlessness of your mind keeps taking you down other paths that lead away from attending to the simply fact of your breathing {or a mantra or a visualization etc.} Noticing, like meditating, is a thinking simplifier but one that works best in the thick of daily activity.
Most people do tend to work a little too hard sometimes. I think this is because we're so often looking for results. We Notice for the purpose of improving , which in itself is not a bad thing but a problem arises when we have a pre-conceived idea of what that improvement should feel like and then we create that feeling to confirm to ourselves that we are getting better. Unfortunately, the feeling created is just a mirage and one that's generated by the same habits of perception and movement that caused the problem in the first place so it's a case of the blind leading the blind.
The way out is to change the way you monitor your progress. Instead of asking yourself "do I feel like I'm improving?", ask yourself: "Am I Noticing right now?" If you do that over a period of time you will begin to realize that knowing you are Noticing is synonymous with knowing you are improving. You'll be developing a "sense" of how you're doing that is much more refined and immediate than a feeling. Kinesthetic feelings are not bad. They are an essential part of the way we experience things. It's only when we push them up to the front and try to use them as guides that they get in the way.
posted by Mio Morales at 10/20/2006 10:47:00 AM
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