Massage and Movement

Just a quick thought here, on the connection between Authentic and Jung. I guess one  of the main reasons why it is so easy to jump to Jung when doing Authentic Movement, is that we do the movement in a dreamstate. Movement is usually done with eyes closed, and after a few minutes, if not immediately, most practitioners have moved into an altered state. The focus that is active in Authentic Movement, like the focus required in meditation, changes the physiology of the body, bringing one into this trance state.  So naturally, after moving, then writing or drawing, thoughts often go to symbols, to interpretation  of this movement time/this trance, as if looking at a dream.

Go to the Rubin. Museum that is, in Chelsea, here in the city. The exhibit on Carl Jung's Red Book is there for a bit longer, and it is special. For me,  the connection between Jung's work and Authentic Movement is imprinted yet again. In seeing the exhibit I am reminded of how related the two are, and am newly inspired to dive into moving/dancing, with Jung's drawings and work with the unconscious, in conscious mind.

Just to see that book, in the glass case, is worth the trip to the Museum. This large (1 and 1/2 by 2 feet?) leather bound book is nearly 100 years old, and full of what many say are the richest words and images in the history of psychology. It has been locked away in a vault in Switzerland by Jung's family, for decades, and was just unveiled, for the first time ever in public, at the Museum, this past Fall. I was there, and it was a momentous occasion.

This is a book Jung wrote, in 2 hour periods if I remember correctly, in the privacy of his office, during a period, when he was in crisis. Some would say he was going crazy. This is what his family was afraid of, and thus the lock and key. But what Jung was doing, brilliantly, was documenting his process. In large, colorfully illustrated drawings he shows us what he experienced in the journey into his shadow side/the unconscious/the underworld/the rabbit hole. The drawings are amazing.