Dance, dance, dance

Dance,dance, dance

As I was working out at the gym this morning and listening to two different Ted Talks – Genevieve von Petzinger “Why are there 32 symbols found in ancient caves all over Europe? and Nonny de la Pena The future of news? Virtual Reality – the words dance, hope, empathy, child, creativity, possibilities, distance and closeness kept popping into my head.

One might legitimately ask why these two Ted talks brought these words to the surface of my mind.   First, the talk by Dr  Petzinger was yet another reminder of our common origin and are early need to find ways of connecting.  I was also reminded that if we  embrace the inquisitive part of the minds of our children they will  follow the path of such people as Dr. Petzinger.  By path, I do not mean the same career path but the path of allowing our curiosity to morph into a passion which, in turn, provides the energy to do the hard work in any field of creativity or research. Listen to Dr. Petzinger:

“But you know, this is the kind of question that I'm trying to answer with my research. I study some of the oldest art in the world. It was created by these early artists in Europe, between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago. And the thing is that I'm not just studying it because it's beautiful, though some of it certainly is. But what I'm interested in is the development of the modern mind, of the evolution of creativity, of imagination, of abstract thought, about what it means to be human. While all species communicate in one way or another, only we humans have really taken it to another level. Our desire and ability to share and collaborate has been a huge part of our success story. Our modern world is based on a global network of information exchange made possible, in large part, by our ability to communicate -- in particular, using graphic or written forms of communication. The thing is, though, that we've been building on the mental achievements of those that came before us for so long that it's easy to forget that certain abilities haven't already existed. It's one of the things I find most fascinating about studying our deep history. Those people didn't have the shoulders of any giants to stand on. They were the original shoulders. And while a surprising number of important inventions come out of that distant time, what I want to talk to you about today is the invention of graphic communication…

Barring a handful of outliers, there are only 32 geometric signs. Only 32 signs across a 30,000-year time span and the entire continent of Europe. That is a very small number. Now, if these were random doodles or decorations, we would expect to see a lot more variation, but instead what we find are the same signs repeating across both space and time. Some signs start out strong, before losing popularity and vanishing, while other signs are later inventions. But 65 percent of those signs stayed in use during that entire time period -- things like lines, rectangles triangles, ovals and circles like we see here from the end of the Ice Age, at a 10,000-year-old site high in the Pyrenees Mountains. And while certain signs span thousands of kilometers, other signs had much more restricted distribution patterns, with some being limited to a single territory, like we see here with these divided rectangles that are only found in northern Spain, and which some researchers have speculated could be some sort of family or clan signs.
On a side note, there is surprising degree of similarity in the earliest rock art found all the way from France and Spain to Indonesia and Australia. With many of the same signs appearing in such far-flung places, especially in that 30,000 to 40,000-year range, it's starting to seem increasingly likely that this invention actually traces back to a common point of origin in Africa. But that I'm afraid, is a subject for a future talk.”

Hopefully the reader experiences her passion for the history of our need as humans to communicate and to honor our common ancestry.   If one watches and listens to her Ted Talk  one will have an even stronger experience of that passion.

The talk by Nonny de la Pena on the future of the news and virtual reality is a wonderful reminder that we can use modern technology to not only create distance (sitting in Arizona or some place directing a pilotless aircraft or drone to drop bombs on other humans.  Using email or text while sitting next to each other) but also closeness.)  Using the technology  which allows us to experience virtual reality she can take us to the front lines of war, the homeless person who goes into a diabetic coma because the line is so long or the two people from very different backgrounds and cultures actually being with and attending to each other as equal humans. Her innovative work demonstrates that with the technology of virtual reality one feels the pain and the joy of another.  Most of we humans can experience pain and most of us can experience love (there are physical/medical conditions which do not allow some people to experience the mirror image/empathy).

Both of these women remind one that the dance of life which we chose, will determine the expansiveness of our mind and our mind will determine the dance of life.

I was reminded of my friend Mark Taylor with whom I have studied mind- body consciousness.  It was he who first taught me that every movement of the body stimulates a particular part of the brain,  just as the brain can stimulate every part of the body (again, allowing for medical limitations from birth or caused by disease or accidents). When Mark and his wife had a child who was born with a  developmental delay they searched for a way to help this child  be all he could be. Mark was a professional dancer and, thus, when he and his wife discovered the art and science of  mind-body movement they found specific exercises which would help their son develop speech and other abilities much earlier than other  developmentally delayed or differently abled children. 

I had already been introduced to the art and science of movement therapy and the art and science of street miming.  I began to study with a movement/dance therapist when I realized that part of my brain which analyzes and dissects everything keep me from fully experiencing  and integrating the emotional part of me.   I would work with a dance therapist in Seattle for a week at a time from early morning to late at night.  During that time I was only allowed to “speak” through movement. He might tell me to communicate fear, love, joy or some other emotion through movement of my body. I would tell him I was just going through the motion and he would say that was fine. Eventually if  kept “pretending” for several hours (yikes!) the movement would engage the emotion.   

When I was studying street  miming my teacher told me that if I could exactly copy the movement of someone I would always know what they were feeing and often what they were thinking.  Our bodies do not lie. Our movement always tells the truth of what we are experiencing emotionally.    

In order to creates a more just and loving world I must experience the connectedness with other humans and with other life forms.  People such as Ms. De la Pena, Dr Petzinger, Mark Taylor and many others remind me that we are mirror images of each other, that we are all whole human being with an interactional mind body.

When I allow myself to just be present groups of words or concepts such as “dance, hope, empathy, child, creativity, possibilities, distance and closeness”   all decide to visit. If I am then patient  they will let me in on the secret of why they have learned to play well together.

Written January 10, 2015