Earthly Bodies
While creating these ‘bones’ I am (re)membering my love of movement, music and the art of Butoh. I took some Butoh classes years ago and have recently started taking an online class once a week.
Both practices of Butoh and making of the bones evoke a strong sense of being in the body. In fact, so does my practice of Embodied Imagination©, which is a therapeutic and creative way of working with dreams, memories, physical symptoms of illness and creative ideas.
Butoh, making of the bones and Embodied Imagination© all require a deep presencing, which begins with a radical slowing down.
I am seeing how these different practices I have engaged in throughout my life are interdependent and woven together in a kind of Indra’s net or hologram…all reflecting existence.
Last year I worked a dream with my teacher, Robert Bosnak, that has come to have great significance for my life.
In my dream I see a corn husk doll. It is part of a scene on stage I am viewing with my family. The corn husk doll, with its dry husky skin, is dancing fluidly to music. It is beautiful to watch but I begin to anticipate something bad is going to happen… and just then…
her whole inside starts to fall out - her innards crumble like dry brittle bones and fall out of her until the music stops and she is left completely hollowed out. I am gutted watching the doll and realize I have seen it before and am seeing it again. I am aghast for her that she was gutted and left lifeless. There is an ominous feeling and everyone watching is horrified by this image of the corn husk doll.
I wake up as if out of nightmare and my whole abdominal region is pulsing and in pain - almost like I have been gutted. I am shook by this image/disturbed profoundly and distressed. My visceral reaction to the presence of the corn husk doll is very strong.
With Embodied Imagination©, Butoh and making of the bones we do not attempt to explain, analyze or make sense of the images, rather it is through embodiment we come to know the truth of our lived experience. We also do not shy away from the grotesque and peculiar but turn toward it when it presents itself.
