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2002
Navigating Alternative Conceptual Realitiesclues to the dynamics of enacting new paradigms through movement- / - Introduction IntroductionThis paper is concerned with how to move and navigate within alternative realities and paradigms -- if they can be identified beyond the metaphoric frameworks in which people may unknowingly be trapped. But it is assumed here that any such reality is as much framed by the style of movement within it as by recognition of its existence. In many respects a new paradigm is indeed the way in which people move -- physically or conceptually -- and the patterns of that movement with which they identity. In this way the reality is as much defined by those dynamics as by any sense of a static framework within which that movement occurs. The static features may even be defined or engendered in the process of movement -- a Buddhist perspective echoed by Francisco Varela's book title: Laying Down a Path in Walking: essays on enactive cognition (1997) [more]. The perspective emphasized here is that efforts to identify and enable much sought new paradigms are unlikely to affect behaviour unless they are accompanied by a new style of movement, whether conceptual or attitudinal. This is recognized to some degree, despite the material bias, in such policy themes as "new patterns of consumption". The paper endeavours to identify some useful clues and guidelines to such movement, notably from a number of spiritual traditions but also from disciplines of the body that are assiduously and popularly practiced by many possessing a high degree of kinetic intelligence -- such as skateboarders. The emphasis is placed on widely accessible understandings rather than on reference to other models. The eclectic sense of "discipline" is inspired by the work of Paul Feyerabend (Against Method: outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge, 1975 [review]). Varela's perspective is associated with what is termed enactivism [more; more; more], as used by Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana, E Rosch and E Thomson to label their theories. It is itself associated with radical constructivism [more]. The "Experientialism" of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson is closely related to enactivism. The text amplifies and extends arguments presented in earlier papers. The particular focus of this paper is on the possibility of re-reading the clues from spiritual traditions in the light of the disciplines of movement. The core argument is that whilst spiritual traditions point to a better, essentially static, condition to be achieved through following their guidelines, the injunctions in their guidelines are do's and don'ts that give no sense of the dynamics of the experiential reality that their practice is claimed to enable. As a result they appear essentially static and moralistic, and disconnected from the patterns of movement that people find meaningful -- setting up, through misapplication of those guidelines, a somewhat antiquated moral barrier that prevents interpretation of those guidelines in ways that would be highly valued by those who seek a richer and more dynamic reality. It is in this sense that this paper is presumptuously impatient with the conventional dogmatic application of spiritual guidelines and is instead focused on decoding them for insights into more appropriate ways to enable and move in new realities -- and thus to sustain them. Whilst such guidelines may well be vital to what might be understood as "attitude control" and coordination, the latter can be usefully understood as prerequisites to any process of shifting attitude into subtler perceptions -- described metaphorically through somewhat misleading terms such as "ascent" or "escape". The distinction between attitude control and ascent for an individual may then be compared with the various highly elaborated challenges of launching any vehicle into planetary orbit [a theme to be explored in a subsequent paper]. METAPHORIC ENTRAPMENTPossibilities of entrapmentIt may first be useful to distinguish the following situations in which metaphoric entrapment occurs: Entrapping others: In this mode, individuals or groups, whether intentionally or inadvertently, set up a dynamic that entraps others within a particular metaphoric framework. This is most clearly seen in modern advertising campaigns, whether for commercial, political, or other purposes. It might be considered an important skill of leaders and intimately related to any charisma they may possess -- notably in the case of leaders of religious movements, and especially cults. In all these forms, the process may be described as "manipulative" -- as exemplified by the current visibility of political "spin-doctors". In interpersonal situations, it may be described as "doing a number" on someone, or using "a line". Much sales training is concerned with developing this facility. But any effort to "market" a perspective, including that of a particular academic school of thought, is a variant of this form -- including many aspects of courtship processes. Consultants may be considered successful to the extent that they can entrain clients into use of their favourite model. Of course there is also the form of entrapment associated over the centuries with witchcraft and sorcery, if only in folk tales. In this case it is named as spell-casting, and it continues to be practiced both within groups in western society as well as in traditional societies. But storytelling and spinning tales are also appreciated for the pleasures, insights and nourishment they bring. Entrapping oneself: In this mode, a person cultivates a pattern of belief or enthusiasm by which he or she effectively become entrapped. Unlike the previous case, it is not necessary that the person become subject to some pattern deployed by others. Rather, through their own life experience and proclivities, a belief pattern takes form and acquires increasing coherence. In its pathological forms this would be labelled as delusion, and can acquire cumulative power so that the person is "sucked into" it, as with a whirlpool or blackhole. However, the process of developing a romantic attachment, or falling in love, might also be seen in this light. But so would the inordinate desire for a particular experience -- an addictive habit. Clearly entrapping oneself can be facilitated by interaction with others in which case the entrapment process is reinforced by such interaction -- possibly through a form of co-dependency. Being entrapped by others: This is the counterpart to the first form, and some measure of the second. In this case one is subject to an entrapment process, or "buys into it" in some way. At a material level, this is perhaps most clearly seen in the case of a design produced by others that one finds pleasing or appropriate, or at least tolerable. In contemporary society product branding ensures that consumers are entrapped with little freedom to escape -- as in the environments created by restaurant and hotel chains. People are conditioned to accept the aesthetics of such designs. Expressed in the language of folk tales, one becomes entranced through appropriate enchantment. Legitimacy is occasionally given to it by mainstream preoccupation with "de-programming", or even "exorcism". Again, however, the courtship response to a suitor may be seen in this light. Developing a framework: Without seeking to question the merits of the previous forms, there is a sense in which each of them depends on a measure of lack of awareness, whether on the part of the entrapper or the entrapped. In this form, however, although a kind entrapment takes place, it is consciously accepted as a necessary behavioural constraint -- a platform or base from which other concerns can be explored. This is most clearly seen in the construction of a shelter, a house, or a base camp. It is necessary for protection against the "elements", or possibly against theft or attack. One may have privileged access to it, in the form of a key, a password, or qualifications. But inhabiting it is a form of entrapment by choice. Another example is a monastic rule that provides a discipline within which people choose to function, and which may be the basis for the construction of a closed monastery within which people live out their lives -- although for particular individuals this example may be tainted by the previous forms. In this form the "entrapped" have the key to the framework by which they are entrapped. They are not imprisoned or incarcerated by it. It has been consciously chosen. At best this is the nature of an explanatory model. However, the owners or inhabitants may develop a degree of attachment to the model such that they effectively lose the key, or the ability to use it. They are then unable to leave the framework and reframe themselves, notably into the second form. Detachment from embodiment within trapsThe previous section endeavoured to show the ambiguity of entrapment in practice. People may indeed be entrapped in a manner that can only be described as incarceration, even though they may not be aware of it. But, as with story telling, the entrapment may be a gentle, instructive form of enchantment. Or it may imply all the learnings of romantic attachment, or embodiment of a profoundly held belief. And it may be a provisional model of reality, a stepping stone to further understanding. In this light, "freedom" from any form of entrapment could easily be understood as simply another form of entrapment -- an entrapment in trap avoidance. A subtler form of freedom would be the freedom to choose to be entrapped, knowing that one could escape from the trap at any time. This implies an attitude that resonates with the Buddhist understanding of detachment. Such detachment is tolerant of being entrapped for a while -- until it is time to move on. This offers the larger freedom of entering into the experiences associated with different traps, experiencing them from within. There is therefore a sense in which reality can only be experienced through embodiment in the framework offered by a trap. However it is the attitude to such entrapment that is the key to being able to switch into experience through other frameworks -- through other traps. Each trap is effectively a kind of discipline. The attitude to that discipline determines whether it can be set aside to escape that trap. But such escape is seldom an escape into "traplessness", rather it is an escape into another form of entrapment. This is perhaps most charmingly illustrated by Konrad Lorentz's experiment with ducklings which, on escaping from their eggs, "imprinted" themselves on the first moving object they thereafter encountered -- namely his boots, subsequently followed as their mother. There are many situations, whether political, romantic, academic, or spiritual, where the escape from one trap into a larger reality is accompanied by some analogue of such imprinting. It throws a harsh light on "conversion" and other forms of "breakthrough". The "meta-discipline" that governs the attitude, and the skill (required to set aside any discipline) has no name. Detachment is one of its qualities. It may perhaps be understood through metaphor. A good example might be a person's attitude to choice of clothing. Equipped with a varied wardrobe, a person may choose to wear one garment rather than another, to wear a particular combination of garments, or to change any one of them. In this sense each garment is a trap and wearing any combination is a form of entrapment that may be appropriate to the challenge of the environment or the occasion. The person has no need to feel entrapped in any permanent way, but a choice has to be made to wear some combination of garments -- or none at all. Of course, if the person has an absolutely minimal wardrobe, the choice is extremely limited and the lack of choice may be experienced as a much more permanent trap. But even with a more extensive wardrobe, the person may also get into the habit of wearing one combination of clothes and be unable to act otherwise -- as with grey-suited officials, and others working in uniform. With respect to behavior and beliefs, people seldom have the same detachment that they do with respect to clothing. Some form of "uniform" is the rule -- as is evident in the enthusiasm of academics and consultants for particular models. Switching attitudes would appear to be a mark of inconsistency. It is very challenging for a scientist to switch between models -- despite the archetypal complementarity between the wave and particle theories of light. Some understanding of the skill is offered by the way in which people gifted in interpersonal relations adjust their behaviour when encountering others, notably parents or children. For then the dynamics required may in each case be understood as a trap -- possibly to be avoided on occasion. One situation explored by a number of writers is however of relevance to comprehending the complexity of multiple realities. That is the problem of piloting or navigating a spacecraft through "hyperspace" or "sub-space", as imagined in the light of recent advances in theoretical physics and mathematics. Because of the inherent complexity of such environments, several writers have explored the possibility that pilots and navigators might choose appropriate metaphors through which to perceive and order their task in relation to that complexity - for example, flying like a bird, windsurfing, swimming like a fish, tunnelling like a mole, etc (see discussion below on animal movement). The mass of data input, otherwise completely unmanageable is then channelled to the pilot in the form of appropriate sensory inputs to the nerve synapses corresponding to his "wings" or his "fins". The perceptions through the chosen metaphor are assisted by artificial intelligence software. The pilot switches between metaphors according to the nature of the hyperspace terrain. It may prove to be the case that insights into the variety and combinations of such complex "terrains" have been richly mapped by the Chinese classic, the I Ching [more]. Such speculations do at least stimulate imagination concerning a possible marriage between metaphor and artificial intelligence in relation to governance. CLUES TO MOVEMENT AND ATTITUDE CONTROLClues from kinetic intelligence and sports psychologyOne approach to recognizing the possibility of intimate relationship to other realities, is to explore clues to understanding how people move in the "flow world" of process reality -- namely clues from those who engage in dancing, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, hang-gliding and other sports requiring balance, coordination and kinetic intelligence. Have they ever been consulted about issues of governance -- as has been the case with jazz musicians (Kao, 1996)? What is intriguing is that many of these clues can perhaps only be alluded to in aesthetic terms even amongst practitioners. These are extremely difficult to explain. They can be demonstrated -- like riding a bicycle -- but the conceptual shift that enables skateboarders to perform a complex movement has a different locus. And whilst somewhat meaningful in relation to the material world, it is necessary to look elsewhere for their equivalents in the alternative realities that are the concern of this paper -- as has been illustrated in investigation of "flow" in the case of executives in the organizational world by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1977 [more]) and others. Less abstract for many are the preoccupations of sports psychology and the techniques of "mental game coaching" or "mental training" for competitive sports designed to get athletes into the "zone". This is a term athletes use to describe that state of mind-body unity when they are positive, relaxed, and energized. It is critical for peak performance. When in "the zone," things may seem to slow down, actions become effortless, and things are done without thinking, operating from a deep, instinctual level. They seem to know just what to do, and just do it. This is the state of mind athletes strive for. The goal of sports psychology is make that kind of mental state more readily accessible. It is seen as a secret weapon that can work for everyone [more]. For example, typical problems of athletes noted by Patrick Cohn include: low self-confidence; concentration problems; dealing with pressure; anxiety and stress; lack of motivation; perfectionism; fear of failure; lack of trust; no patience; comfort zones; choking:; intimidation; lack of a routine; lack of self-control; anger; frustration; psych-outs; poor mental preparation; lack of game plan or strategy; and teammate or coach problems [more]. These bear an interesting resemblance to "hindrances" and "vices" discussed below, whereas Brian Mackenzie's concerns resemble those of the corresponding "perfections" and "virtues". He emphasizes concentration, confidence, control and commitment (the 4C's) as the main mental qualities that are important for successful performance in most sports [more]:
Clues from animal locomotionThe previous section already points to levels of coordinated understanding of complex dynamic patterns of movement that are difficult to communicate in practice -- even when the consequence can be observed and admired in their performance and style. But before considering other kinds of clues, it is worth briefly reviewing the movements that enable animals to traverse material spaces. The patterns of behavior associated with such movement -- developed over millions of years -- are highly likely to condition and constrain the patterns of behaviours with which humans respond to any new reality. The structure of animals reflects their locomotor habits, if any, in four distinct environments: aerial (including arboreal), aquatic, fossorial (underground), and terrestrial. The physical restraints on movement are gravity and drag, although these may be considered negligible in aquatic and terrestrial locomotion respectively. Movement may be achieved by modifications of the body shape (eg squid, eel or leech), by the operation of special appendages, or by drifting according to wind or water currents. Metaphorically it could be argued that the structure of groups or individual personalities reflects their mode of movement through society, whether through conceptual realms and frameworks, through administrative or behavioural infrastructures, or over the interface between the latter and the former. The restraints on such mobility are inertia, the weight of attachment, or attraction to any particular social setting and the general social resistance acting to inhibit any speech change, although these may be significantly reduced in some contexts. Movement may be achieved by general modifications of structure (e.g. a demonstrating crowd, an infantry manoeuvre, or a tribal war party), by the action of special sections (e.g. public relations, research), or by drifting with the prevailing current of opinion. There is widespread recognition of individual mobility, of groups "on the move", if the problems of overcoming resistance to such movements and of "getting things moving". There is little explicit understanding of the ways in which groups and individuals move in society, although frequent use is made of such phrases as "burrowing" (e.g. through archives), "wriggling like an eel" (e.g. in a negotiation), "rising" (e.g. above sordid details).
The past decade has seen an explosion of interest in the study of animal movement to provide credibility to special effects in movies, and in virtual reality presentations. Clues from animal locomotion understood genericallyWhat is required is a classification of such movements in their most generic sense as a basis for understanding of how they both enable movement and define experience of the space in which such movement occurs. Movement with respect to physical space is in many ways replete with learnings for movement with respect to any alternative reality. In the case of walking, for example:
A special sequence of movements is required when climbing. This is especially evident when climbing up between two smooth parallel walls (a 'chimney' in mountaineering terms). The climber has to ensure that there is sufficient pressure against both walls to enable him to move upward in succession his hands, feet or body. Variants are evident in the case of climbing through trees. But the important insight is associated with the need to attach the limb to a surface whilst another limb is detached from that surface, and then to repeat the alternation between attachment and detachment. Metaphorically, for example:
The smooth transfer of weight from one foot to the other with each foot alternately bearing the weight and then giving it up to the other. The counterbalancing movement of each arm in harmony with the opposing leg. Progress is measured by the number of alternations made. The metaphor of ''walking on two legs'' has been used in China to describe a policy of technological dualism. The present attitude of policy advocates may be likened to the attempt to move forward with one foot only - whether it be the right or the left. This can only be achieved by hopping - provided balance can be maintained. Policies have to be relinquished in favour of an alternative and then renewed to fulfil a new role. This is also true of any ''alternative''. Consideration could also be given to: more legs (4-legged, 6-legged, etc. animals); legless movement (serpentine); learning to coordinate walking movements; drunken or spastic lack of coordination; limping, paralysis and other obstacles to free movement; number of counteracting muscles required; evolution of types of movement; monkey movement through trees by swinging from the branches by the hands only. The development of society may be seen as the upward movement between any two constraining extremes (e.g. idealism and materialism) which offer no permanent foothold. Developmental movement may be achieved by ensuring that there is sufficient pressure against both extremes to guarantee a temporarily secure or stable position from which a portion of society may be moved forward. Of interest is the sequence of movements required for such a climb to be successfully made, especially when the climber has to rest periodically. The way in which different portions of the climber's anatomy (hands, feet, body) change their function from applying pressure to moving upward. The basic requirement that there always be sufficient counteracting pressure against both wall. t As with the walking metaphor, the prevailing attitude may be likened to that of a climber attempting to get up a chimney by attempting to cling to the one favoured wall and to avoid touching the other (perceived as anathema). A skilled mountaineer can do this by inserting spikes in the favoured wall. Much less skill is required to climb using pressure on both walls. Consideration could also be given to: a climber with more extremities; climbing up a multi-dimensional chimney with N walls and N-1 directions in which to 'fall down'. Clues from Christian vices and virtuesAs indicated earlier, a particularly interesting possibility is offered, ironically, by the patterns of vices and virtues traditionally articulated by different religions from West and East. Understood slightly differently -- primarily as experiential, rather than as moralistic, behavioural guidelines -- these might well suggest fruitful and less fruitful ways of navigating experientially in other realities. The question is how to decode them. One approach is to use them as templates through which to identify the "virtues" and "vices" of particular movements in sports like those named above -- just as there are virtues and vices in driving an automobile or successfully piloting a helicopter. This approach is |