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Discovering the Moment of Choice

oment of 

oice

Articles & Lectures 

by John Hunter Discovering the Moment of Choice 

[This talk was given as part of a Workshop at the sixth International Congress of the F.M.

 Alexander Technique in Freiburg, Germany in August 1999.]

eamble

exander, as we now know, experimented with various vocal, respiratory and physical education methods

d was at one time advertising himself as a teacher of the Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression. Altho

exander's work contains many resonances of Delsarte's pioneering ideas, these, and other physical and

ergetic techniques, were nevertheless not able to give him the means of freeing himself from the grip of 

abit". It was not until that critical discovery - so well described in "The Use of the Self" - in which he found

oment of choice; the possibility to "...then and there make a fresh decision" that he was "...at last on the r

ck". In this workshop we will explore Alexander's "evolution of a technique" from sensory based energet

axation and postural methods to the realisation of the need to re-assess mental activity; inhibition, choice

cision, volition, intention, and his successful attempt to realise within himself the relationship between the

pects of human functioning.

y intention with this workshop is to encourage discussion and experimentation as we go along, so please

e to comment or contribute. As I have a particular theme, however, I would ask that you allow me to, so

eak, "steer" the discussion in the direction of that theme. Let's see what happens.

hat I wish us to discuss and try out is not complicated. In fact, it is very simple. It is we who are complica

e complicate everything.

oking back to the early days of Alexander's search, we know from the excellent research of Rosslyn McL

nd for those of you who have not read "Up from Down Under" I would certainly recommend it), that

exander experimented with various vocal and respiratory techniques. In fact he was, at one time, advertimself as a teacher of the Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression, which is, in many ways, what we migh

wadays call a Mind/Body discipline.

t us start by considering some aspects of Delsarte's work, because I think it is very interesting that

exander was not, as perhaps may have previously been thought, a "blank sheet of paper" (but then if on

ought about it how could he - or anybody - have been).

ell, here we already face a strange coincidence in connection with Alexander and a difficulty with regard t

urce material. It is perhaps best expressed in the words of the Abbé Delaumosne, as quoted by Genevie

ebbins in her book "Delsarte System of Expression" in which she describes the Abbé as "...the compiler o

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elsarte's system of dramatic art.

"François Delsarte was born Nov. 11, 1811 at Solesme, France. His father, a physician, died

leaving his family poor. The young Delsarte was sent to Paris, in 1822, to study with a painter on

china, but his tastes carried him into other channels. He became, in 1825, a pupil of the

conservatory, a government institution for instruction in dramatic art, music and the ballet. Here,

for the want of proper guidance, he lost his voice. Finding himself thus incapacitated for the

stage, he resigned that career for that of a teacher of singing and the dramatic art. Realising that

he had been shipwrecked for want of a compass and a pilot, he determined to save others fromhis fate by seeking and formulating the laws of an art hitherto left to the caprice of mediocrity, or 

the inspiration of genius. After years of unremitting labour and study - study which took him by

turns to hospitals, morgues, asylums, prisons, art galleries etc., patiently unearthing the secrets

and methods of past genius - study which kept him enchained by the hour watching children at

play in the great public gardens, weighing humanity everywhere and everyhow, he succeeded in

discovering and formulating the laws of aesthetic science. Thanks to him, that science has now

the same precision as that of mathematics. He died, without arranging his life-work for 

publication, July 20, 1871."1

brilliant and eloquent summary. I wish someone could write one as concise and poetic about Alexander

ell, the coincidence of the loss of voice is remarkable, and, if that fact was known to Alexander, would

rtainly have drawn him to discover more. Given his pertinacity, it is likely that he would have attempted to

o it in some depth, but as Delsarte did not publish his work, it is not known to what extent the "Delsarte

stem" has been accurately transmitted.

evertheless, it would be interesting to look at some aspects. Much of it, with the benefit of hind-sight, cou

deemed "beastly exercises" but it is exercise requiring a certain precision and, indeed, kinaesthetic

wareness. I don't propose today to spend too much time on this, let those who are interested take it furthe

t the index to Stebbins' book (printed in the 1880's and possibly, unless he came across some itinerant

ench thespian who taught him, Alexander's source) makes interesting reading in itself. It includes:ecomposing Exercises, Harmonic Poise of Bearing, Principle of Trinity, The Legs, The Walk, The Hand, T

m, The Torso, The Head, The Lips and Jaw, The Voice.

ne of the principles is the "Law of Opposition": "Simultaneous movement must be made in opposition".2 

ere is a "Law of Evolution":

"Example - Lift your arm, vital force in upper arm, forearm and hand decomposed. Then unbend

elbow, vital force flowing into forearm. Then expand hand, vital force flowing into fingers, - all this

being a gradual unrolling or evolution of vital force through the various articulations."3

 

e idea behind "deconstruction" is a kind of relaxation seen in terms of the withdrawal of energy from part

e body:

"I withdraw my will-power from fingers, then hand. Touch it. Do not shudder. Do you feel as if a

dead thing had struck your living palm? Now I will show you the same phenomenon with

forearm, entire arm, waist, spine, hips, knees, ankles, toes, jaw, eye-lids. Now I fall. Give me

your hand and help me to rise. I did not mean to startle you so. I have not even bruised myself. I

simply withdrew my vital force into the reservoir at the base of the brain.

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The first great thing to be acquired is flexibility of the joints. These exercises free the channels of 

expression, and the current of nervous force can thus rush through them as a stream of water 

rushes through a channel, unclogged by obstacles."4

 

ere are some very interesting ideas here when we think about "direction" as a flow of force.

o returning to Alexander, who was teaching this method in some form or other, what is interesting is that h

t attempts to solve his own problem were "physical"; he tried to maintain a certain posture of his head ination to his torso, but was unable to do so in the face of a stimulus. Despite all the subtlety of Delsarte's

stem (and the other methods he investigated), Alexander was not able to stop a reaction to a stimulus. H

d to look elsewhere.

ell, we all know the story, but once he had realised that his "thinking" was involved, it may well be the cas

at he took a look at what was known about "thinking" at that time. The work of William James (and I am

debted to Professor Murray for drawing attention to this in his NASTAT lecture some years ago) may or m

t have been know to Alexander, but there is certainly some material there which would seem to have a

aring on Alexander's discovery. If we look at some of the chapter headings from his most popular work,

sychology: the Briefer Course", we will find: Habit, The Self, Attention, Reasoning, Consciousness and

ovement, Instinct, Will. From the chapter on habit we find such gems as, "Habits are due to pathwaysrough the nerve-centres" and "...habit diminishes the conscious attention with which our acts are perform

e Chapter on "Will" has some very interesting material on Volition, Inhibition and Consent.

d this work, first published in 1892, have some influence on the young Alexander seeking to understand

mething about the relationship between his thoughts, muscles, habits? Perhaps we will never know.

hat then was Alexander's contribution over and above that of Delsarte and James? Was he just a

nthesiser? Indeed not. His contribution was to find a vital link between the mental and the physical; to re

at they are part of a whole, and to devise a methodology for practical work on self in the all important are

mulus and response. Let's look at what James said:

"The whole neural organism, it will be remembered, is, physiologically considered, but a machine

for converting stimuli into reactions; and the intellectual part of our life is knit up with but the

middle or "central" part of the machine's operation.......

Every impression which impinges on the incoming nerves produces some discharge down the

outgoing ones, whether we be aware of it or not. Using sweeping terms and ignoring exceptions,

we might say that every possible feeling produces a movement, and that the movement is a

movement of the entire organism, and of each and all its parts" (italics sic).5

there, then, the possibility of interposing "something" in between stimulus and response? If so, then the

nsequences (in the light of James's mechanistic view as quoted above) are enormous. Here lies the

ssibility of some "input" which is not part of the chain of stimulus and response. A "window of opportunity

here are we to look for this "window"?

argaret Goldie6 would often point out that if there is a reaction in the brain, then it is too late. If a message

s gone out of the brain (if neurons have fired, we might say in modern parlance), then there is no power

rth that can reverse that. Of course, we can send out a countermanding message to hold something in

eck, but that is something else, and usually creates conflict in the nervous system and tension in the bod

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o it is clear. The message must not go out. And this is the very interesting area of research that Alexande

rived at and describes so well in the Use of the Self.

o we are talking about a different state of mind. I met a very interesting gentleman some years ago who h

en a pupil of Dr. D. T. Suzuki in Japan soon after World War Two. He told me that Suzuki, who played a

ge part in introducing Zen Buddhism to the West, had been very interested in Alexander's work and wish

meet him. But it was one of those great meetings of minds which never happened. What this gentleman

e was that Suzuki tried to teach him to keep his mind in a state of "flux"; to never let it fix on one thing. He

ondered whether or not this related to Alexander's ideas. I rather like the term "flux", as I think it describes

ry well the state necessary in order to prevent the mind from firing off neurons at every stimulus. The sta

ux" needs a certain amount of attention. It will not come about without it. We have to "be here".

ow, then, is this experienced? Can one just change one's thinking? We are moving towards a most

livening area now. It is called "the unknown".

was very stuck by something I heard Sir George Trevelyan7

say some years ago. He said that he had

ought for a long time that, in order to be able to direct, one had to inhibit. But that in later years he had co

think that it may be the other way round. That in order to be able to inhibit, one had to direct. What did h

ean by this? My interpretation is that to "inhibit", that is to say, to prevent an incoming stimulus or impres

m affecting the brain in such a way that it begins to discharge neural energy, is a very highly evolvednction. It is not even possible unless there is already a degree of organisation and integration within the

ganism. Sir George was, at the time he spoke of this, discussing "verticality", and there is something of a

ystery in how that relates, but when one has the experience of an inner organisation around a vertical ax

ere is a sense that, in such a "directed" state there is more possibility of maintaining, or renewing this sta

ux" in the mind and not reacting to every internal and external stimulus.

en there is a certain "potential" rather than "kinaesthetic" energy available. "The readiness is all", and un

ere is a certain sense of alert readiness, it is unlikely that one is in this state.

nd what then? Well, then there is "choice". But the "known" still seductively calls one back into the deep

rrows of habit. How to sustain oneself in this more rarefied atmosphere where significant psychic processe going on?

t us now try and explore some of these ideas in a practical way.

this practical part of the workshop, my intention is to try, with some volunteers, to first bring about a certaange of state as a result of working with their head, neck, back relationship and their attention. Havingtablished a certain "energetic connection" between head and body, I then present the volunteer with a

mple stimulus and ask him or her to explore what they experience. This résumé being written before the

esentation is given, it is unknown how the participants may respond, but from previous experience it is mpe that they will notice how quickly the brain and body react to a stimulus. We will then try to experimentth "not reacting to a stimulus", without, so to speak, shutting the whole system down (an all too often founadening of one's state which is the antithesis of real "inhibition", which calls for a "quickening of thenscious mind").

e will then explore how choice becomes available, how habit tries to intervene, and how activity can betiated merely by "giving consent", rather than "doing" it. As this is essentially experiential, I don't proposeto describe such experiences in writing.

1. Delsarte System of Expression; Genevieve Stebbins; Werner, New York 1891 (FourthEdition); pp 4-5 (back to text) 

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2. Ibid. pp 172-3 (back to text) 3. Ibid. p 173 (back to text) 4. Ibid. p 11 (back to text) 5. Psychology: The Briefer Course; William James; Harper 1961; p 237 (back to text) 6. Margaret Goldie (1905-1997) was an early follower of Alexander and a pre-eminent teacher of his ideas. (back to text) 7.Sir George Trevelyan, well known for his pioneering work with the Wrekin Trust, was also anearly follower of Alexander and one of the people who joined Alexander's first teacher-trainingcourse in 1931. (back to text) 

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aterial © 1996-2004 John S Hunter

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