Body Awareness Training for Peacemaking

[Guest guest]

Every day we are making choices that affect our body, not just in the

choice of food we eat. In that spirit, I share an e-mail from a

friend below.

 

Ron Koenig

 

 

REACH OUT

Body Awareness Training For Peacemaking-Five Easy Lessons

A Free E-Book by Paul Linden, Ph.D.

 

Review by William Wittmann Copyright May 2003

 

I always know I am reviewing a good book when I want to quote each

paragraph. One can't do that however, and if I say, " Just read the

book, it's great. " You won't have much to go on.

 

I will let Paul introduce the book:

 

A number of years ago, when my son was in the fifth grade, my wife

and I taught four hours of embodied peacemaking to each class in the

school. The school already had a very nice program of conflict

resolution and peer mediation, but it was all verbal and conceptual.

It had to do with thinking and talking, and the body was left out of

the equation.

 

We started from the idea that peaceful words don't work well when they

are delivered by someone in a physical state of fight-or-flight

arousal. That arousal says in non-verbal ways " threat, danger, fight,

run! " And that nonverbal message will undermine the peaceful words.

 

We taught the children a simple, systematic way of putting the body

into a state of relaxed alertness. It is an integrated state of

awareness, power and kindness. In that state, you don't feel afraid

of, angry at, or alienated from an attacker (or from yourself). In

that state, you have the ability to speak words of peace from a

peaceful place, a place which is strong and dignified, which commands

respect and encourages friendship.

 

On the last day of school, I went to help my son clear out his locker.

As I was walking up to my son's room, a little boy plucked at my

sleeve and stopped me on the stairs.

 

" Mr. Linden, " he said. " Remember teaching us the Soft Tummy exercise? "

I remembered the class he had been in. " Well, I was out on the

playground, and an older kid came over. He was mean, and he wanted to

steal my ball. I softened my breathing and I opened my body, and I

said to him, 'I don't want to fight with you. Why don't we play with

my ball together?' And so we played, and we didn't fight. "

 

 

That was an example of body-based peacemaking.

 

REACH OUT is based on the idea that social and international peace

must be built on a foundation of personal peacefulness. Though

peacefulness is usually thought of as a psychological or spiritual

state, Reach Out approaches it as a body state. The book teaches five

short, simple, practical lessons which show how to work with

breathing, muscle tone, posture, movement and intention to develop

kindness, inner strength, and a peaceful attitude. By learning to

maintain a peaceful body state during conflicts, people will have a

foundation for resolving conflicts in productive life-affirming ways.

 

Obviously, in times of war, this material is of great value, but we

are always presented with conflicts in our lives. Using this

material will make your life more peaceful, and it will make it

richer. Being in your body brings you into the present and that is

where all the riches of life are to be found. You get to slow down

and be more effective and efficient at the same time. You get to BE

in movement and you get to BE in stillness. It's good. If I were

king of the world, I would have everybody study with Paul.

 

To download this free book or to read it on line go to Paul's web

site: http://www.being-in-movement.com

 

Scroll down to WRITINGS BY PAUL LINDEN

 

Then click on Reach Out: Body Awareness Training for Peacemaking-Five

Easy Lessons

 

DOWNLOADABLE FILE: Reaching Out is being distributed as a PDF file.

That is a cross-platform file format (can be read and printed on any

computer). The PDF file is 610 kilobytes and can be downloaded in

about three minutes with a 56k modem.

 

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http://www.williamwittmann.homestead.com. Thanks.

 

 

____________

Do something good to your body, so that your soul becomes thrilled to

live in it. -- Teresa von Avila

 

William Wittmann, LMP, M.Ed. is a BodyTherapist and Life Coach.

www.williamwittmann.homestead.com