A Protocol as a Pathway
Printed from http://www.bodytalksystem.com//learn/news/article.cfm?id=1185 on May 02, 2024.
Jul 31, 2023
By Owyn Ruck
"What we name, we often feel we own. What we name, we feel we understand well enough to name. And when we believe we have arrived at understanding, we stop asking questions. We close ourselves off from surprise."
– The Flowering Wand, by Sophie Strand
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This past June, I had the pleasure of taking part in a Solstice feast. Small colorful plates littered a long table, with bouquets of wildflowers and plenty of wine to toast the summer sun. Part of this gathering was a guided walk before we ate; like little ants, 50 of us climbed a steep hill up into the woods following a meandering trail. The impending rain we had all expected never showed. Instead, we were greeted by a double rainbow as the clouds parted and we took our seats back at the table.
This whole event opened a new portal in thinking about BreakThrough, as both a community gathering and an initiatory pathway. First, we never practice BreakThrough alone – it is a process that always involves at least two people; when more are added to the mix (as happens in class, Steps Intensive, or instructor training) another kind of alchemy occurs. The 'Protocol' – seven very clear Steps – opens a creative pathway guiding participants into the experience of Being. Here, the constant chatter of the mind stops, or at least ceases to matter; the need to know something, to be something, is as elusive as mist; the seeming separation between mind/body/spirit, between internal and external, between me and you, intertwine so tightly they become one single point. What seem to be 'my issues' are seen clearly as collective ones, rearing their heads through our unique experiences to be digested by each of us through the body.
The most challenging thing about BreakThrough has been talking about it. As a new instructor, I am challenged even more with the need to 'market' such a class. How do you describe BreakThrough, putting a select set of words together to tie a very vast experience into a neat little box? I have yet to repeat a description in the same way. It changes all the time. A new focus emerges each time my nervous system shifts.
What seemed so clear on that walk, gathering to eat with friends and strangers, was the distinct experience of the protocol as a pathway. Being led or leading someone in Steps is a guided walk into the woods. We meander together into unknown territory, observing, noticing, and feeling. We gently explore the network of roots and mycelial connections; the drops of dew; the rustle of leaves; the call of birds. The precision of the BreakThrough protocol is a supportive structure, a guide along the path that brings us to new experiences, allowing new responses to emerge. The pathways in the nervous system – in thinking, in movement – change before our eyes by simply exposing our assumptions, expectations, and convictions about life.
Whether one is a seasoned professional, a new practitioner, or has never even considered working with clients, BreakThrough opens entirely new pathways. As we ask questions and let our innate curiosity drive us, our goal orientation toward doing – toward 'healing' – becomes quickly blurred. We begin to feel more like 'ourselves' and less in the steely grip of the 'story of me' and the hand-me-down mind. We hope to dwell in this space with more of you in the IBA community, in a collective process of unknowing and meandering.
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