My work in stress, communication and leadership training often has to start with offering new perspective on embodiment – the subjective sense of having or being a body – and new skills associated with this. Here are some of the more common perspectives that I come across and teach, some of them require developmental growth for those of you who are interested in how adults grow, others promote this, while others are metaphorical viewpoints available to almost anyone.

Pr-conventional Body Perspective

Me!

When we are very young we have an unsophisticated view of the body as ourselves and no perspective on sensations which leads to demands for immediate gratification. In Freudian terms we are all “id”.  We have no differentiated self from the world in fact, let alone the body. In later life this perceptive on being tied to the immediate needs of a body can be seen in addicts (think ego-centric rock-stars) and those in alternative communities who have idealised this state and attempted to revert to it.

Conventional Body Perspectives

Wild horse

Sadly, a still common view of the body is that it is sinful and in need of control. This model is often found in Christianity, was reinforced by Descartes famous body-mind split and also adopted by Freud – the body as id must be controlled by the civilised superego. From this perspective the body is very much split from the self, and is seen as dangerous as it can lead us to do bad (as defined by the mind) things. The best that can be hoped for is that the body becomes a faithful servant if watched carefully.

Brain-taxi

The main perspective I find on the body in the Western world these days is that it is simply a kind of transport device for brain. I “have” a body, but I am really a floating head or a brain in a jar. In this highly dissociated model bodies need to be kept in good running order so they don’t “break down” – via the Western medical “body as machine” interventions for example – but not much beyond that. This perspective which is reinforced through both trauma and the system we live in, makes genuine human relating, connection to values and morality and effectiveness at work very difficult, for reasons that will become apparent.

Consumer object

Related to the brain-taxi perspective is that as an objectified body as a resource, medium for manipulation, seduction and violence. From this perspective the body is again just an object and just a way of getting what you want. Think of people in gyms watching TV while working on their abs or whatever. The body becomes a commodity and again, this perspective makes us strangers to ourselves, and others mere objects too with diabolical consequences.

Pleasure delivery-device

From this perspective the body is for fun. The purpose of having a body is to serve us up pleasure and pain is to be ignored or medicated against. This view is very common and perhaps healthier than the others so far, however it stills views the body as an object and not listening to the messages of pain (and this often includes uncomfortable emotions) means we don’t receive the information. Ignoring a ringing phone doesn’t help. I once named a talk I gave “Beyond sex and pizza” as for many people the body is only associated with hedonism. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love sex, pizza, ice-cream, massage etc, and also see the body as much more than a pleasure delivery device.

Post Conventional Embodiment Perspectives

Organically though personal growth or via practices such as  yoga, martial arts and dance people first get body awareness back and then realise that they are embodied, and not just that they have a body. This is body as self again but at more sophisticated level than the pre-conventional non-differentiation.

Communication Device

Even from a conventional body perspective it becomes apparent that the body is highly involved in communication. The psychologist Albert Mehrabian famously showed it was a very large proportion of emotionally significant communication in fact and it is most people’s experience that face-to-face communication for example is creates more connection and less misunderstanding than e-mail for example. From the perspective of body as communication device we see to as a bridge to others and vitally important for influence and leadership.

Emotional Intelligence, Connection and Values System

Emotions are bodily events and if we are to notice and manage them we must notice and manage the body. From this perspective bodily emotions let us know what is important – when are needs are met or unmet – they are the ringing phone we must pick up to steal a metaphor. Emotions are also how we connect with others and without embodiment there is no empathy. No body, no relationship. Without any embodiment we become psychopaths. Literally. Our capacity to feel in the basis of our values and morality so bodily dissociation (when we are no “in” or “as” bodies) is a major social issue. See the video below for more on this.
,br.

Insight Key/ Past and Future Solidified

The body can also give us information about the past and from this viewpoint the body is a doorway to insight. Our past is solidified in a posture and movement pattern and our experience sculpted as form and functional tendency. Our emotional experiences particular become embodied patterns. Some would go so far as to say the body is the unconscious in fact and all who study intuition value the body as a way into this. From this perspective we can learn about ourselves and others via the “map of being” that is the body and what we might be capable of in the future (what we are committed to is also embodied for example). Much body-psychotherapy has this perspective and forms such as Focusing.

Door to Creativity/ Body as Playground

Related to the psychological perspective on the body above is the idea as the body as a key to creativity. The body is seen as both holding and releasing creativity if we “tune into” it. From this viewpoint the body becomes a playground but not just for providing pleasure but for exploration and adventure!

Operating system

A perspective I offer many of my technologically savvy clients is the body as an operating system. Whatever we do we do it via/through a body (disembodied) or as a body (embodied). It is HOW we do things around here so has a huge influence. It is the substrate of our experience, actions and relationships. The embodied cognition model shows it is critical for thinking for example, something previously seen as the opposite of bodily. Te embodied operating system is the culture of ourselves. From this perspective the embodied component of anything is vital as it is also present and influential. From this perspective science fiction fantasies of floating brains in jars and downloading our consciousness to computers are impossible.

Gateway to God

The body is viewed by many as sacred – as a “locus of divine intervention” as my friend and colleague Francis Briers says. From this perspective the body reveals deep truths and can guide action. Many pagan, tantric and modern “new-age” practices such as Five Rhythms dancing engage this notion and I’m a fan myself, although confusing the pre-conventional and insight key psychological metaphors with this can cause difficulties. This perspective does however “re-enchant” the body and this can lead to many healthy behaviours and insights.

……

Body Metaphors/ Perspectives Conclusion

Thanks to the Integration Training associates for their help in naming these perspectives – as you can see there are many possibilities and consequences. It may be useful for us all to be more careful in which we buy-into and live.
If you have like this diagram why not take a look at:

• Our Body Answers Six Questions
• Harmful body postures/ gender stereotypes in the media – how they are warping us
• The Body in Business – Embodiment Training Video – video

If your organisation is looking at management training in the workplace then call us on 01273 906828.

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• Resilience Tips – How to stay sane in insane places – video
• How to Deal with Shit – resilience training video
• What is Strength – Life, Death and Resilience – video

If your organisation is looking at management training in the workplace then call us on 01273 906828.

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If you like this diagram why not take a look at:

• Signs and Symptoms of Stress – video
• How to Meditate – Mindfulness for Business – video
• How the Buddha would Facebook – video

If your organisation is looking at management training in the workplace then call us on 01273 906828.

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We all need to think about how we are going to use it before that very first post.

There is another way to look at and use Social Media. A human way. Combining Value with values.

There is an opportunity to create deeper connections to values. Not just value. More and more people are starting to realize the potential of social media as a way to connect to others that have shared values. Sharing the people and things that inspire them.

As with most technology it is not technology that has the power, it is what the user does with it that gives it power. How it is used and what it used for is what changes hearts, minds, and global perspectives. People share what they love and what they hate the most. People, companies, and things.

Some are realizing there are no borders and no limits in this sharing. Social Media has in some ways secretly permeated into humanities everyday life as a hidden phenomenon. Like cell phones, it has become a tool of the modern world that some of us take for granted. Yes, most of us are aware of the business numbers related to social media. The rise of its ability to drive numbers and its ability to create a larger customer base.

Do you want your company to be known for just having a whole lot of numbers? Is it important to you that your customer base know the value behind your brand?

Then connect with them beyond the numbers. Connect with them on something other than deals. Yes your customers are still going to want the deals, but they will be more loyal if you put the human variable into your social media. Put a face and a shared passion behind the numbers. Have a conversation that is not just about money.

Businesses and the rest of us need to reach a deeper understanding of the future potential of social media as it relates to the human race as a whole and what it can do in the hands of conscious users. If a user knows that your company is not just in it for the profit and they see a shared passion for a cause or another human being who inspires them, they will fall in love with who your company is not just what it does or makes. They will share the love.

They will not only be loyal customers but become friends. Your company can not only succeed in gathering more customers and having a better bottom line but succeed at being more than just part of the economic numbers. Your company can also succeed at being part of humanities potential in solving our problems world wide. One of those problems is a lack of deeper dialogue.

There is so much advice about content, content, content….content is great. A real human to human dialogue is better.

Make sure your social media person is not just pumping out content. Hire someone that is going to talk to your customers. Develop a real relationship with them. Customers and fans want to know they are not just another number.

Social Media moving away from just being about numbers and so are human beings. Yes, the numbers matter but the human beings behind the numbers matter more.

As we all become more connected across the globe we are finding people and companies that have shared passions. People and companies we would never have known. The world wide market is a human market. Human beings interacting on a level never seen before.

The Information Age and it’s numbers are starting to move into a new stage for some of us. More businesses and the individuals behind the ones and zeros are starting to realize this. We are becoming aware of our responsibility to not only make sure our companies survive and are profitable but we are realizing that companies have a responsibility and the power to make the world a better place for everyone.

Information is a cold word. It lacks healthy human variables and it lacks context. The companies that are using social media to connect to their client base on a new level are starting to transform the Age of Information into something brighter. Something even more powerful. They are profitable and they are making a difference.

Companies are starting to share their hearts with their clients and finding out that this is ok. It not only helps with keeping the company alive and growing but allows it to be human. We are moving into a new age beyond the numbers. We are here to share the things we love and grow as a whole human race.

We are now in the Age of Sharing.

The things that move our companies beyond profit, the teams behind them, and what drives the individual beyond survival. Social Media is allowing this sharing to be an ongoing dialogue. It does not end. To use a common business term, it is dynamic. However this version of dynamic has a depth to it that we all need to become more conscious of. A depth that is about character, filling in that character with what your customers love outside of the monetary connection they have to your company. Show your customers that the people running the company care about more than taking their money. Show your customers that the people running your company care about more than your customers being another number.

We are all human beings and we all know other human beings, but what really connects us the most are the things and people we love. Each of us love certain companies and we are inspired by other human beings. Companies are run by human beings and customers want to know that. Use social media to put this all together.

Support your customers and the things they love and they will support your company and it’s endeavors in ways that cannot be imagined.

There is no such thing as an End User anymore. Your customers have names.

Share with your customers, give them your name, give them your love, and they will give it back in more ways than one.

Share the good, the true, and the beautiful of your company and the people behind it.

With Love
Jarrad Connor

for more info about me check out third-power.com

If you have enjoyed this video you may like to take a look at:

• How the Buddha would Facebook
• Creativity and Business
• Principles of Social Media

If your organisation is looking at social media training in the workplace then call us on 01273 906828

Singles are welcome if they bring a friend to practice with or are happy to be paired on the day. Gay, straight and anything else couples welcome. No dolphins though, that’s just weird.

Benefits:

• Better and more creative conflicts
• Less shitstorms, moody brooding and agro; more real, connected conversations
• Feel more supported, understood and appreciated
• Learn to ask for what you most want and say no to what you don’t with strength and kindness
• Develop a “zero-compromise” win-win relationship
• Understand where on earth (not Mars or Venus) your partner is coming from
• Practical tools for calming down when you need to most
• Understand what science, spirituality and experience say works (not what Cosmo/ Men’s Health says)
• More joy in the bedroom – you know what we’re talking about

From10 am to 5 pm

Central Brighton

£120 per person, or £200 per couple

(“…I’d pay that for more loving sex and less hassle” – Mark)

£50 deposit secures a place:

http://integrationtraining.co.uk/trainers.html/training-practicalities.html/training_payments/

Contact:

• mark@integrationtraining.co.uk
• Tel: 07762 541855

Trainer Bios

Dorota Godby (www.livethegift.com) is a coach, specialising in healing and life skills for people who thrive on gentleness.  She works from her practice near Bath, on Skype and internationally. People come to her for better options in self-expression, relationships and creativity. Dorota is a life and work partner to Ray Taylor with whom she founded DeliciousDays.co.uk – workshops and sessions supporting couples’ delight.

Ray is a continual source of aggravation and challenge for Dorota, which has led to the creative synergy you see in their workshops. He has been studying empathic communication for 20 years and seems to be making progress. He likes good evidence for what works and draws heavily on psychologists Marshall Rosenberg, John and Julie Gottman, Steven Stosny and Patricia Love.

Mark Walsh knows very little about relationships but quite a bit about embodiment and non-verbal communication which is what he’ll offer on the day to support Ray and Dorota. They are his relationship heroes and role-models so he’ll be taking notes with his partner Rocio.

Trainers in Russia during recent job together

Compassionately
For a day why not try making everything you write online either compassionate o at least harmless. Sometimes it’s easier to be mean when we can’t see the effects of our actions or have embodied empathic resonance with our victims. This was less of an issue in Buddha’s time when most communication was face-to-face, and I’m curious how he may have addressed this.

Embodied
The information-heavy modern world is very different from 500BC when most people were engaged in manual labour. These conditions create a disembodied state where most office-workers have lost contact with their bodies and therefore themselves. Regular brief body scans or centring while on the computer can be one solution.

Ethically
Sometimes described as “enlightenment in a box” ethics have sadly become almost old-fashioned sounding which is a shame as they are a powerful tool. What would it be like to e-mail according to Buddhist ethics or perhaps the ten commandments for example? (do not covert they neighbours’ broadband” may be an addition).

Beautifully
Spirituality and ethics go hand in hand. What might a beautiful tweet be like? Haiku are a similar length and letter writing was once considered an art – how can we make

…..

Conclusion
I have a little heart sticker on my Macbook to remind me to be kind when I type, and the current Dali Lama said simply that “kindness is my religion”. And “how can we be kind online” is a major question for me? These are some ways we can start to bring technology and spirituality together and I look forward to hearing more at Wisdom 2.0 Business shortly, and sharing some of these ideas at an upcoming workshop I’m co-leading with a Buddhist teacher in London in the near future too.
If you liked this video you may like to look at the following:

• Work as a Spiritual Practice – How to turn Email into Meditation
• Mobile vs Embodied Connection
• How to Make Yourself Unhappy and Insane Online

If your organisation is interested in how our corporate training can help in your workplace then call us on (+44) (0) 1273 906828.

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