by Renee Lindstrom, Author of Culture of Values, Written by a real person

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In education, we have been led to believe that solving problems using an authoritarian system is the right way. The perspective I approach in this statement is from studying learning patterns that are not close minded systems.

What do I mean by this statement? In my definination an authoritarian system is one of right and wrong thinking, and to achieve being right there needs to be a debate. This suggests there is a winner and a loser. As a somatic empath, this suggests that those following this structured educational pattern believe there is a hierarchical system with a dominance of power over. As a somatic empath, a concept is forming that this could be a distortion of mentoring. Someone, at some point, came up with a strategy that was adopted and mentoring took on a structure in institutionalized education that boxed minds into limited belief systems. Systems of rules, closed structures and closed outcomes.

In Western Educational Institutions, there is a system of right and wrong and punishment and reward. In my local community, this was addressed in a way that may have caused more harm than good. As far as I know, the marking system (grading) was changed without due process that involved the community of parental needs. I suspect if it had, it would have had a broader range of integration covering a higher range of needs. In my opinion this was a lost opportunity when this strategy was adopted before this due process took place. This is a perspective I came to as a parent of small children. I was left wondering if the solution was limp and missing the links that would concretely support a healthy societal shift. This question is formed from experience in open learning patterns that are openminded and openended.

Using these terms, suggest a continuous process available for learning that isn’t locked into a structure of there only being one way of achieving outcomes. It is a system not locked into strategies first for fixing problems. The only part of human function that can create a locked-in pattern is thinking. Thinking will lock in a thought and create limiting beliefs where there is a lack of insight. Strategies without connection are baseless solutions that misdirect society. Strategies create divisive outcomes, disassociation and hinder progress. Rather, the lack of empathetic listening in the adopted strategies opens the door to conflict, confusion and can become misleading concepts due to the lack of building blocks that were not investigated. This suggests full insight was missing.

An example I have comes when children came home with school notices announcing the school had adopted a program of qualities. It just so happened that I was a student and teacher of Nonviolent Communication. I was interested and I remember my heart sank when reading it. There were words mixed in that were value words being labelled as qualities together with evaluative expressions. Value words are at the core of our responsive actions so in my opinion those words all being categorized as qualities is not a good example of somatic grammar. As I continued to read, there were story examples to define the quality. The story had no connection to steps for developing skill sets that could integrate the word into the inner process or learned behaviour. A whole system had been implemented into a school my children went to without discernible and practical application. As a somatic empath, I recognized the confusion this could impose on children who would be overwhelmed by this lack of interconnectedness. To us, it is just clutter and nonsense. Somatic and empathic children need links and continuity. This simply did not make any sense. Children who were not somatic or empathic would memorize these and use them as weapons in dialogue to debate for the rest of their lives potentially. It would simply become arsenal in war of future power over dialogues. The greatest implication would be that these children who integrated them as arsenal would never know the difference due to socially conditioned thinking behaviours. It would become a part of their belief system that would reflect disconnection or separation.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to open learning programs that could satisfy empathic and somatic needs. Not only was I blessed with empathic qualities I was a dominate somatic interpreter of life. It made me a target of family, friends, peers, lovers, lovers’ third parties, managers, employees, students and children. These independent professionals in their fields developed somatic and empathic functional learning systems that satisfied the needs of both these somatic and empathic learning styles. Both these systems of learning are on exploration and discovery with no closed applications. Only those still in the system of right and wrong social conditioning will interpret these two systems according to that model. For me, it became a guide to inner awareness that never stops flowing. This suggests learning never stops. Every opportunity provides an education. It is a much healthier experience than being at the end of evaluative expressions being made or projected. These two fabulous educators were Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, Phd, founder of the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education and Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, Phd, founder of Nonviolent Communication.

To learn more about the integration of function using Feldenkrais and NVC, visit Renee’s educational topics at Inside Awareness Center for Integrative Somatic Learning. Renee has integrated these two foundational methods of her practice with the art of Western Feng Shui, eating for the bodies functional health, natural benefits and connections with nature, and other environmental influences. The focus of these programs have the potential to integrate a broader range of somatic health into our lifestyles. From choices to finding ease in creating resolutions within ourselves and those outside in our relationships.  

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Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, and Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®

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Support Somatic Learning Development for choice in social conditioning experiences to create healthier lifestyles at home and globally

For transparency I have begun posting a link to my paypal for those inspired by my posts that have been for learning purposes. I am not sponsored other than by myself at this time. My focus has been on the development of an interconnected and integrated system that is apparent in all my efforts shared. The focus of this body of work is on somatic connections that is completely misunderstood by most. The mainstream focus talks at it with strategies in mind while my focus is on the practical aspects of living it. It matters in understanding how to support somatic empathic children from early childhood and shifting a social conditioning that could benefit from more from this focus of learning and understanding. This focus is on a well functioning body, improved relationships and communication, and connections to food, nature and environment to support healthier social and cultural conditioning. If you would like to buy me a coffee or support this effort for further development please go to paypal.me/reenelindstrom – you will notice Renee is spelled Reene on this link – that is me, it is not a mistake. You will see this link on my Youtube Channel and educational web materials, fyi.

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