Amy on the Evolution of Process Theory
Amy Mindell, Fall 2002
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About six months ago, it dawned on me that the process theory that I had
learned for so many years, and which has been so helpful to me in working
with others, and myself was in the midst of expansion. Even though I knew
in my heart that the foundation of process work, its practice and theory,
is in continual flux and growth, my linear mind has held fast to what I had
learned and assumed that it would stay as it always had been.
However, over the past few years a significant expansion and deepening of
process theory has arisen. I believe it began about five years ago when Arny
returned to his studies of theoretical physics. (During the 1960s he received
his master's degree at MIT and then went on to study at the ETH, the technical
institute in Zurich.) Recently, Arny focused most specifically on quantum
physics, and particularly the ideas surrounding the quantum wave function
-- the basic pattern behind matter that can be formulated mathematically
but cannot be seen directly. He discovered that the quantum wave is not only
a mathematical construct but is something that can be experienced by becoming
aware of our most subtle or sentient experiences. He developed these ideas
in Quantum Mind and Dreaming While Awake and he and I have further developed
these ideas experientially in our seminars over the past few years (footnote
1).
In this paper, I will attempt to outline some beginning thoughts about the
way in which these recent studies have expanded process theory and how this
new realm is linked with, and fundamental to, earlier theory and concepts.
Where have we been?
Until now, my understanding of process theory has involved the study of
such elements as awareness, signals, sensory-oriented channels, primary and
secondary processes, double signals, edges, the process of amplification
and unfolding (footnote 2).
I have understood signals to refer to bits of information such as body movements
and gestures, images that we see, sounds that we hear, feelings in our bodies,
etc. These are signals that:
-
persist
-
tend to repeat
-
can be formulated in words
-
are dualistic, meaning that there are separate parts in relationship
to other parts and polarities
-
are channel-oriented - they are experienced through various sensory
channels
-
are closer to, or further away from, our momentary identity
Some of these signals are consensual and others are non-consensual.
Consensual signals can be observed
or spoken about, they can be captured on a video or measured in a doctor's
office, and most people
will agree or consent that they exist. They are "real" so to speak according
to a given culture. Body gestures that can be seen and spoken about are
aspects of this genre of signals as well as body symptoms and body experiences
that can be measured or observed.
Non-consensual signals include the dreamlike aspect
of our experiences that last long enough to be spoken about and described,
yet will
not be agreed or consented upon as "real" by others. Such signals
include dream images, the subjective feeling of someone poking me in the
stomach, the internal voice of a critic, etc.
An interesting situation occurs when we consider a double signal.
A double signal refers to the situation when two divergent signals occur
simultaneously. One signal I identify with and another signal, the double
signal, I do not identify with. For example, in a relationship situation,
I can turn toward you and tell you that I want to relate. My body signal
of turning toward you and my spoken words are primary signals that are close
to my momentary identity. At the same time, my eyes focus downward as I'm
talking, indicating that another process is trying to happen. This signal
is secondary, different from my primary intention, and therefore further
from my momentary identity.
In this case, the consensual signals include my turning toward and talking
to the other person, as well as my eyes looking downward (because
we can observe and speak about all of these signals). However, there is a dreamlike,
non-consensual aspect of the double signal. If I unfold this signal of my
eyes looking downward, I might experience this as going into a cave and becoming
very meditative. Others will not necessarily agree on this subjective description
of my experience. Similarly, if I have a pain in my stomach, allopathic medicine
can measure the amount of acid in my stomach and say that I have an acid
stomach or gastro esophageal reflux. This is the consensual aspect of this
signal. However, there is simultaneously a non-consensual, dreamlike aspect
of that stomach pain that I might experience as an immense fire that is burning
up everything that stops me from diving into my creativity!
The study of the types of signals just mentioned has been central to process
theory over the years.
Now, let me turn to the expansion of process theory. Arny's studies of
the immeasurable quantum wave function that exists prior to matter pointed
toward yet another type of signal. He began to wonder what type of
signals we might experience before they become "material" or clearly
defined: that is, before they persist and can be spoken about in words. His
intuition led him to discover subtle signals or pre-signals (footnote
3).
Pre-signals can be experienced as subtle tendencies that occur before they
can be verbalized such as a slight tendency to move before actually moving,
vague intuitions, and very subtle feelings. These pre-signals, or sentient
experiences as he called them, are like seeds from which more overt signals
and experiences arise. In other words, as these sentient experiences arise
they begin to break up into parts and polarities and express themselves in
more stable form and through the various channels. Generally, we notice these
subtle signals only later when they have they have manifested in more overt
and persistent signals.
The signals in this new realm are:
-
subtle
-
non-consensual (people will not agree upon these experiences)
-
fleeting
-
cannot quite be verbalized
-
non-dualistic, meaning that there is an experience of oneness without
polarities or parts
-
pre-channel oriented, meaning that they occur prior to expression through
any sensory-oriented channel
Arny showed that this interpretation of the quantum
wave function as a subtle layer of experience prior to the material world,
has been described by many
peoples throughout time such as the Aboriginal Australian concept of the "Dreaming" which
lies behind and gives birth to the physical world and the Taoist concept
of "The Tao that can't be said" -- the mother of all things. Spiritual
traditions might call it the oneness, the spirit, the sense of wholeness.
Arny called this whole realm of experience the Essence or Sentient
Essence. Of course, because this sentient area cannot really be formulated
in words, any description is not quite correct. At best, descriptions merely
points toward these immeasurable experiences.
Precursors of the Sentient Essence
Before going further with theoretical connections, I would like to reflect
on the possibility that the sentient realm has existed in process work previously
but has not been directly delineated. I intuited that it must have been present
in some form because my experience of sentience has felt so utterly fundamental
to my understanding of process. Here are some beginning thoughts about possible
precursors.
Process: The very concept of process means that there is a constant
flow of experience, continual change. Process includes the flow between the
Tao that can be said and the Tao that cannot be said. The Tao that cannot
be said is the basis of all process, the creative well from which all things
flow.
The Dreaming Process and the Dreambody: I believe that Arny's original
concept of the dreaming process is one early description of the essence.
Though much of my training has focused on the signals that can be seen and
spoken about, I have always known that they emanate from the deep and ever-creative
dreaming process: a deep and mysterious pattern that ultimately manifests
through various channels and signals that we can identify and experience.
In addition, Arny's concept of the Dreambody (footnote
4) was a pioneering concept that pointed toward the subtle realm that
lies behind physical experiences.
Irreducible Experience: Many years ago, Arny
spoke of the "irreducible" experience
(footnote 5) as a moment when our
primary and secondary experiences disappear or merge and we are simply in
the flow of process. At that moment there are no longer polarities but instead
an experience of oneness. Arny said, "Something is irreducible when
you can't dissect it further into its parts without destroying it." (footnote
6) This hinted toward the realm of the essence and non-duality. Many
years ago, I developed a flow chart that alluded to this irreducible experience,
showing that once we enter into a primary process, then a secondary one and
so on, all differentiable processes collapse into a single, unified experience.
Spiritual Channel: There was a particular
span of time in which we spoke about a "spiritual" channel. No
one really knew exactly what that meant but I think it was an early sense
of the sentient realm. The spiritual
channel referred to experiences people had that they could not easily formulate
in words or in terms of any of the known sensory oriented channels. People
spoke of a connection with the spirit, of an all-encompassing feeling of
unity, which took them beyond polarities.
Coma Work: Though not directly spoken about until recently, Coma
Work has always relied on the ability of the helper to connect to the sentient
and deep trance state experiences of the comatose person. The helper focuses
upon those signals that can be observed as well as the subtle tendencies
that occur before the expression of facial grimaces, hand motions, images,
etc. Since many people in coma, particularly those who have suffered from
brain injury, do not have the internal connections to express themselves
outwardly, connection with these earliest tendencies are crucial for communication,
support, and rehabilitation (footnote
7).
Ancestors in Psychology and Spirituality: Many of process work's
psychological ancestors hinted toward the sentient realm in such concepts
as Jung's unconscious and Freud's subconscious. Later transpersonal psychology
steered psychology toward the sentient realm as it attempted to focus on
a person's capacity to go beyond the ego and focus on a more spiritual or
transcendent state (footnote 8).
Authentic movement approached this realm by focusing on the sense of "being
moved" (footnote 9).
Many spiritual disciplines important to process
work's lineage also point toward the sentient realm such as Zen's focus
on the realm of "no mind" or "creative
mind", Taoism's focus on the "Tao that Cannot be Said", as
well as many meditation and mystical practices that focus on a sense of oneness
and the origin and flow of experience. Shamanism is crucial to the sentient
realm because of its focus on trance states and experiences extending beyond
ordinary space and time.
Map of realities
In order to place some of the new and earlier theoretical concepts together
into a larger context, I will draw on Arny's map (below) of the various levels
of reality (footnote 10). This map
helps us to see where the essence lies relative to other areas that we have
focused upon until now.
Consensus Reality is, once again, the everyday reality that most
people consent to, the doings of our world, the consensual aspect of body
symptoms and the signals that can be spoken about and agreed upon. These
experiences are consensual and dualistic.
Dreamland includes dreamlike experiences and signals that persist
such as images from our dreams, our subjective experiences of our symptoms
like a feeling there is a vice pressing my head, the feeling of someone poking
me in the stomach, and the subjective experiences of our double signals such
as eyes looking down being the beginning of going into a cave and meditating.
These experiences are non-consensual and dualistic.
Until recently, process theory has focused mainly on these two realms.
The Essence level is the realm of subtle tendencies that occur before they
can be verbalized such as a tendency to move before moving. Experiences
here are the seed, or core, of an experience from which the other realms
of Consensus Reality and Dreamland arise. This is a non-consensual area and
experiences here are subtle, fleeting, and cannot be verbalized.
Arny speaks about experiences in this realm as being
beyond ordinary space and time and "non-local". When we experience
this sentient realm it takes us out of the world of duality and brings
us to a deep, eternal,
or cosmic aspect of ourselves that we frequently only experience for example,
in deep meditation, during ecstatic states, in near death experiences, or
sometimes through the use of drugs or addictive substances.
Just above the essence level we find the area of flirts. Flirts are
the first way in which the essence world arises. The essence world appears
as quick, flickering nonverbal sensations, visual flirts, moods, and hunches.
Such experiences occur very rapidly such as our attention being caught for
a split second by the brilliant color of a flower. These flirt-like experiences
are of such brief duration, that we normally do not hold on to them long
enough to help them unfold and come into consciousness. They are fleeting
and non-consensual.
Flirts lie between the dual and non-dual worlds. They are dualistic because we see them.
However, when we get close to them and reflect upon them, we have the experience
of becoming one with them (non-dualistic) (footnote
11).
Another concept that has been crucial to process theory is the edge.
The edge refers to the boundary of our known world, the gateway between our
primary and secondary processes. The edge therefore is allied with the world
of duality and its various parts in the lands of Consensus Reality and Dreamland.
Once we enter the realms of the essence and flirts we need an additional
term. Arny introduced the concept of marginalization referring to
the very subtle process of marginalizing sentient and flirt-like experiences
before they arise in everyday awareness (footnote
12).
The addition of the flirt and essence levels of
experience necessitates further differentiation and expansion of the concept
of "attention" which
refers to the realm that we focus upon. There are three types of attention
that accompany the above map.
-
The first attention focuses on consensus reality, the doings
of our world and consensual signals.
-
The second attention, as described by
Don Juan focuses on dreamland, non-consensual phenomenon. Until now,
process work has focused on these
two aspects of our attention, which together constitute what Arny calls "Consciousness".
Consciousness requires a certain amount of clarity and exactness in order
to notice signals, to differentiate parts, and help these experiences
unfold.
-
The third attention has to do with what
Arny calls "lucid
attention" which means the ability to notice subtle tendencies and
pre-signals in the flirt and essence realms. Lucid attention requires
a foggy or empty mind, that is cloudy enough to notice and nurture subtle
experiences.
There are a few other concepts from quantum physics that are crucial to
understand these various levels of experience. A most helpful concept is parallel
worlds. Simply stated, parallel worlds means that a multiplicity of worlds
exists simultaneously but that we generally tend to focus only on one while
overlooking the rest.
Parallel worlds theory infers that we can move from any of these levels
of experience to the others. For example, if we start with an experience
in Consensus Reality, we can ask ourselves about the essence of that experience.
If we begin with early sentient experiences in Essence realm we can observe
how these tendencies naturally unfold creativity into Dreamland and Consensus
Reality.
The concept of hyperspaces in physics is very closely associated
with parallel worlds. A hyperspace is a dimension. Quantum physics tell us
that if we are stuck in one dimension, we can go to another dimension to
find the solution. If we cannot untie a knot in three dimensions, add a fourth.
Psychologically, if we are stuck in Consensus Reality with a problem, go
to Dreamland. If that doesn't help, we can always go to the Essence.
The Intentional Field
During the past few years, Arny and I have explored many aspects of the
Essence and Flirt realms in our seminars on Lucid Dreaming, Stone Songs,
Quantum Medicine and most recently, Big Medicine. When we started to explore
this realm experientially, I felt like I was coming home. It was as if I
had always lived very close to this sentient world but had never had the
words to identify or understand it. Yet, I know now that it has always been
the ground from which I understood my world as a child and now in my adulthood
and has been the basis of my creativity in, and love for, music, art and
dance. I have always felt moved by invisible forces and feelings that I could
not identify but which surrounded and propelled me.
In our Big Medicine seminar we focused on a very specific aspect of the
Essence world called the Intentional Field. The intentional field is a term
Arny used to re-interpret the quantum wave function (footnote
13). Simply stated, the intentional field is like a mysterious field
that is moving us; like a magnetic field that organizes and guides us through
life; a guiding wave that is invisible and immeasurable. We often experience
this intentional field near death when it expresses itself most fully, though
this intentional field has always been there, subtly moving and influencing
our lives. The intentional field can be understood as our immortal self that
influences, yet goes beyond, our personal lifetimes.
Arny gave me a really good analogy to understand the relationship between
the essence and the intentional field, and the other realms of experience.
He said the essence is the name for the general area of sentient experiences.
It can be envisaged as the moon in the sky. The intentional field then, can
be imagined as the gravitational field that pulls on the waves of the ocean.
We see its effect on the water but we cannot see it directly. It is invisible
yet palpable. The waves symbolize the way in which the intentional field
arises in Dreamland and Consensus Reality could be understood as a boat sailing
on top of the water.
One of the best ways to experience the force and intention of the intentional
field is to sit on the end of your chair. Notice the slightest tendency to
move, but don't move yet. Notice that tendency, stay close to it. Finally
let this tendency unfold through your body into movement and begin to express
itself in images, sounds or words and perhaps it will spontaneously explain
its meaning to you.
Summary
Obviously, there is a great deal to explore about this sentient realm and
the expansion of process theory. I hope these initial thoughts inspire all
of us to learn ever more about this fascinating body of theory. In summary,
let me offer a chart to draw some of these ideas and concepts together (footnote
14). I hope it will be useful to you in connecting the past with the
present, and evolving future.
|
LEVEL
|
CR/NCR
|
Dual/Non
|
Signals
|
PW Concepts
|
Methods
|
|
CONSENSUS REALITY
Everyday reality, "real" part of symptoms (i.e.: blood pressure,
headache, acid stomach --consensual names and measures) signals and
CR part of double signal, i.e.: eyes down while relating
|
CR
Consented upon, people will agree about these experiences |
Dualistic
Parts
|
Persist, can be formulated in words and observed |
Signals, sensory grounded info, double signals, primary and secondary,
channels, consciousness
|
Awareness, observation of signals, amplification, unfolding, edges,
etc… |
|
DREAMLAND
Dream figures, dream-like aspects of symptoms (i.e.: stabbing pain
in head, fire in stomach) subjective experience like "I feel spacey",
dreamlike aspect of double signals i.e.: eyes down experienced as going
into a cave
|
NCR
Not consented upon. People will not agree on these experiences |
Dualistic
Parts
|
Persist long enough to be formulated in words, often repeat, incomplete,
secondary |
Same as above, incomplete, secondary signals, unoccupied channels,
edges, consciousness |
Same as above |
|
FLIRT
Flickering, non verbal sensations or "flirts", that catch
our attention
|
NCR
Not consented upon. |
Between dual and non dual worlds |
Flickering Signals,
persist long enough to notice but very quick and fleeting. |
Marginalization
Flirts
Lucidity
Pre-signal
|
Foggy mind,
catching a flirt and going to essence and letting it unfold… |
|
ESSENCE
Pre-signals, subtle tendencies and vague intuitions that can’t be
verbalized
= Intentional field, quantum wave, pilot wave, guiding wave, Dreaming,
Tao that can’t be said, Oneness, immortal self, Mu, golden flower seed,
sentient essence
|
NCR
Not consented or agreed upon. |
Non-Dual
No Parts
|
Pre-Signals,
Subtle, can’t be formulated or verbalized, invisible and immeasurable,
nonlocal, pre-channel, ground from which ordinary signals in dreamland
and consensus reality arise
|
Marginalization
Pre-signals,
Tendencies
Lucidity |
Subtle movement tendencies, slow movement and micro movements to get
to the essence of experiences, coma work, asking what was there before
the experience was so big, etc… |
References and Footnotes
Mindell, Amy.
Alternative to Therapy: A Few Basic Process Work Principles. Newport,
OR: Zero Publication, 2002.
Coma, A Healing Journey, a Guide for Family Friends and Helpers, Portland,
OR. Lao Tse Press, 2000.
Metaskills: The Spiritual Art of Therapy. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon, 1995.
Mindell, Arnold.
(to be published) The Quantum Source of Healing. 2003.
The Dreammaker's Apprentice: The Psychological and Spiritual Interpretation
of Dreams. Charlottesville, N.C.: Hampton Roads, 2001.
Dreaming While Awake, Techniques For 24 Hour Lucid Dreaming, Charlottesville,
VA: Hampton Roads, 2001
The Quantum Mind, Journey To The Edge Of Psychology And Physics. Portland
OR: Lao Tse Press, 2000.
Coma, Key To Awakening: Working With The Dreambody Near Death. New York
+ London. Penguin-Arkana: 1994.
River's Way: The Process Science Of The Dreambody. London and Boston:
Penguin, 1985.
Working With The Dreaming Body. London, England. Penguin-Arkana, 1984,
Portland, OR.: Lao Tse Press, 2000.
Dreambody: The Body's Role In Revealing The Self. Sigo Press, 1982, Portland
OR: Lao Tse Press 2000.
Mindell, Arnold and Amy.
Riding the Horse Backwards: Process Work in Theory and Practice. London:
Penguin-Arkana, 1992.
Pallaro, Patrizia, ed.
Authentic Movement: Essays by Mary Starks Whitehouse, Janet Adler and
Joan Chodorow. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1999.
Walsh, Roger N., Vaughan, Frances (eds).
Beyond Ego: Transpersonal Dimensions in Psychology. Los Angeles: Jeremy
P. Tarcher, Inc., 1980.
1. Arnold Mindell, Quantum Mind, 2000 and Dreaming While Awake, 2001.
2. See Arny's Working with the Dreaming Body and River's Way, my Metaskills,
and Joe Goodbread's Dreambody Toolkit.
3. See Quantum Mind, Dreaming While Awake and The Dreammaker's Apprentice.
4. Dreambody: The Body's Role in Revealing the Self.
5. See our Riding the Horse Backwards, pp.68-70.
6. Ibid., p.68.
7. See my Coma: A Healing Journey and Arny's, Coma: The Dreambody Near Death.
8. See Roger Walsh and Frances Vaughan's Beyond Ego: Transpersonal Dimensions
in Psychology.
9. See for example Authentic Movement: Essays by Marty Starks-Whitehouse, Janet
Adler and Joan Chodorow.
10. For much more on this map and following concepts, see his Dreaming While
Awake and Quantum Mind on hyperspaces and parallel worlds.
11. Arny describes this process of reflection (which can also be found mathematically
in the quantum wave formula) in Quantum Mind Chapter 8, Dreaming While Awake
Chapter 6, and The Dreammaker's Apprentice, pp.74-76.
12. See Arny's discussion on Buddhism in Dreaming While Awake, Chapter 4.
13. See Arny's upcoming book, The Force of Dreaming.
14. This chart expands upon Arny's chart in The Dreammaker's Apprentice p.39.
