The Bottom Not-layer

I have written about consciousness, hypothesizing that Moshé Feldenkrais's lessons are often about distracting the wordy consciousness enough to make room for the not-so-conscious. I have written about the middle muddle as a place where we can sometimes catch glimpses – awareness – of sensorial loops, of the ongoing signalling and negotiation that goes on among the loops. Sometimes, we even get a quick impression of how we go about our constant internal negotiations and adaptations.

'Middle muddle' implies there is something going on below the middle – the 'bottom.' I don't perceive the bottom as a 'layer,' like geologic strata, but rather like a column of ocean water with gradients. It is darker and colder and more mysterious 'down there.' But we can swim in those waters! We can bring our awareness and, to a lesser extent, our consciousness down there. And we can also bring stuff up – a seashell or a water sample or a temperature reading. We can observe the dance or even participate in it. Which only makes sense because 'it' is a part of the 'us.'

The bottom not-exactly-a-layer can be bored, stultified and riddled with old habits and outdated maps. Or it can be part of your overall learning system. Yes, it is weird to think of a part of you as becoming more learned and more calibrated and more supple and responsive – as well as being a better communicator and contributing to wiser decisions – and yet at the same time remaining almost inaccessible to your consciousness. But that's what it is. That's part of the weirdness of being a human being – and helping learning happen at this level is part of how Feldenkrais works.