Imagine over dinner, you and a friend are trying to remember the name of an unusual named object and you both know what it is, BUT….., you simply can’t come up with it. It is on the tip of your tongues.
(This very scenario happened in a lesson last week between my student and me).
One of you comes up with the second word, INDUCER – yes that’s it and….the first is….?
Nothing comes to mind!
We can choose to go right to the google search bar and type in “INDUCER the thing that goes on your occiput”.
(Note: the Still Point Inducer™ was inspired by Osteopathic Physician John E. Upledger, developer of CranioSacral Therapy).
And voila! Here it is:
No more wondering; mystery solved – STILL POINT!. The information was quickly accessed, but the brains potential to recall was impeded. Hmmm..
I thought, what if we wait a bit and don’t challenge our nervous systems to remember in this very instant, but let it marinate for awhile while the brain continues to wonder?
Although difficult, I managed to inhibit my desire to google it. And impressively, she did too!
That day, 3 hours later, I was taking a walk and Still Point, literally popped into my brain. I wasn’t trying to recall it, but there it was. We’ve all been there and it’s a bit weird.
The internet paired with google is a godsend to us curious humans who want more information quickly. It is unequivocally a huge money/time saver. But, I’m wondering what can be gained from letting our brains process tip of the tongue moments the good old fashioned way. Not google, not even that anachronistic thing called an encyclopedia.
But googling how ‘google it’ affects our nervous system returns few results.
Ironic, huh?
I did find this one:
Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains.
The author, Nicolas Carr shares his own experience:
“….what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski”.
In Alexander discovery terms, here is how the availability of 24/7 instantaneous access to all information affects our nervous system:
- Although we are in the moment, we are too rapidly adding information to our limited mental space.
- Eventually, our nervous system becomes habituated to being forced to react in a staccato manner all the time.
- We are living in a version of fight or flight.
Changing habits rewires our nervous system. I help people do this every day to feel better. Whether it is creating more ease and flow in your daily life or your ballroom routines there is a toolkit available to you 24/7 once you spend some time noticing what you are already doing that is working against you so that you can provide new intentions, and thought processes that work for you.
I’d like to thank the Internet AND google for helping me with this blog!!
If you want to find out more, book a lesson with me, either on zoom.com or if you are in the NY/NJ area at my studio in Montclair, NJ. Please use my contact form, tell me about yourself and leave your availability. I will respond within 24 hours.
Happy Dancing! If you know other dancers who may benefit from reading my blog, please forward.
