1.

There are lots of half-forgotten thinkers and practitioners with useful concepts and methods for a Western mind-body practice. It turns out late 19th to early 20th century is where the meat is—for both theory and practice. What is it they say about only reading books that are 100 years old?

2.

I’m amazed at how clearly these “out of date” thinkers saw the problems we’re facing today and suggested practical solutions long before it was obvious (introductions coming soon!) So I really think you should be reading those guys – or at least extended quotes and sections from their books – and not wasting time on my mediocre essays and other contemporary rubbish.

3.

But at the same time, I am trying to say something new here and pull it all together into a conceptual framework which makes sense for modern westerners AND translates into practical techniques. So I have to write something(!) but without becoming a curator site, or one of the ‘old books guys,’ which are fine, but we have a task here no one else is working on and we can’t read our way out of this one.

4.

So the question is: how to point you to these old thinkers and practitioners who have already said it all better than I can, while at the same time synthesising their ideas and methods into a framework we can use to develop a mind-body practice suitable for modern westerners? Basically I need a new format, and while video would technically be the most appropriate because i can mix the media, the problem there is you need these things to be scannable, organised properly with links etc without having to listen to hours of my weird accent (which AI still can’t subtitle correctly, my ‘voice-to-text’ notes are hilarious.)

5.

Here is the plan for now. I will write some ‘essays’ that quote at length from these old thinkers, then add a short commentary of why and how this is useful for our task, followed by some examples and experiments for how those ideas can be converted into practical procedures. Rather than keep waiting until this is all clear in my head first (i.e. never) I’ll just publish my thinking as i go here in an informal way. So subscribe and follow along if this is your thing. And whenever you’re ready you can get practical with private lessons.

6.

While writing this I was reminded of Buckminster Fuller’s letter to a 10 year old boy, I quote in full:

“Dear Michael, 

Thank you very much for your recent letter concerning “thinkers and doers.” 

The things to do are: the things that need doing: that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done. Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done — that no one else has told you to do or how to do it. This will bring out the real you that often gets buried inside a character that has acquired a superficial array of behaviors induced or imposed by others on the individual.

Try making experiments of anything you conceive and are intensely interested in. Don’t be disappointed if something doesn’t work. That is what you want to know—the truth about everything—and then the truth about combinations of things. Some combinations have such logic and integrity that they can work coherently despite non-working elements embraced by their system.

Whenever you come to a word with which you are not familiar, find it in the dictionary and write a sentence which uses that new word. Words are tools—and once you have learned how to use a tool you will never forget it. Just looking for the meaning of the word is not enough. If your vocabulary is comprehensive, you can comprehend both fine and large patterns of experience. 

You have what is most important in life — initiative. Because of it, you wrote to me. I am answering to the best of my capability. You will find the world responding to your earnest initiative. 

Sincerely yours, 
Buckminster Fuller

7.

So– what are the things that need doing, that no one else seems to see need doing? – for me right now it’s the development of a truly western mind-body practice. I’ll write more later about why this matters, and how it helps solve many problems normally seen as practical OR spiritual but ‘never the twain shall meet.’ I’m already making experiments and teaching people how to do their own experiments.

8.

If you’d like to try a private lesson, get in touch for the details:

• Reply directly to this newsletter

• email: psychophysicaleducation@gmail.com

• or DM me on Twitter/X

Cheers,

Kevin

1.

I've been trying to write a book, but the subject matter isn't very "book-shaped." The working title is "Let's Get Psychophysical: The Quest for a Western Mind-Body Practice." However, as soon as I started writing out the linear structure, it exploded into a thousand directions at once, and I can't figure out how to put it all back in order. So instead, I'll let it be "blog-shaped" and publish it in a more messy, non-linear way here on Substack with an accompanying YouTube channel.

2.

The central idea of the book, or rather the blog, is that the West doesn't have its own "mind-body movement practice" in the same way other cultures do. For example, Tai Chi in China, Yoga in India, and Zen in Japan. People in the West are practicing various methods and techniques in the realms of ‘mind,’ ‘body,’ and ‘spirit,’ but there isn't one practice that brings them all together, something we can point to and say, "Yes, that's the Western one."

3.

This would just be a historical curiosity if not for the fact that the West faces a unique set of practical and spiritual problems, which may seem unrelated at first glance but can be summarized as "mind-body malfunctions." The typical Westerner struggles with bad posture, can't stay focused on tasks, lacks emotional control, and feels a disconnection between mind and body. This mind-body split also manifests at the cultural level, with a significant gap between theory and practice in the education system, a 'competency crisis' revealing how few people know how to convert ideas into actions, and many psychological beliefs that have lost touch with physical facts.

4.

People have responded to this mind-body split in different ways, mostly treating the symptoms. We’ll discuss the benefits and limitations of these responses on the blog. However, the root cause of many—though not all—of our problems lies in the disconnect between mind and body, between theory and practice, and between words and actions. I've experimented with many methods, systems, and practices over the years, both Eastern and Western, ancient and modern. They either don't encompass the whole PSYCHOPHYSICAL person (even when they believe they do!), aren't sufficiently WESTERN (even when created by Westerners and practiced in the West!), or aren't PRACTICAL enough for modern Westerners to learn and use independently.

5.

We need a different approach. First, we must understand the true purpose of a mind-body movement practice—it’s not just about sensing and feeling your body more deeply. Next, we need a better definition of the West—what makes it distinct from other cultures (both positively and negatively) and why it needs its own practice developed from within itself, just as other cultures did in the past. We also need to clarify what we mean by "practice"—it's not just "going through the motions" and then returning to real life. We require a new approach to discussing the psychophysical, and for this, we need a new format and teaching method, which are themselves psychophysical in nature.

6.

I will introduce a specific technique that I believe is the ideal foundation for constructing a truly Western mind-body movement practice. While I didn't invent this technique, I'm placing it within a broader intellectual and historical context, integrating it with other methods, and presenting it in a new way. I’m also teaching this practice one-on-one over Zoom with private pupils. It's still quite experimental and a work in progress, so you can get a cheaper rate for now if you don't mind being a bit of a guinea pig :)

7.

You can see why this project isn't "book-shaped." Think of this Substack and YouTube channel as a dynamic, living book where we convert all of our ideas into practical procedures. So instead of just passively reading on autopilot, you'll actively move from words to images to videos, to daily self-experiments, to one-on-one lessons with me, and then back to words again. Let's get psychophysical.

To book a one-on-one lesson: Reply directly to this newsletter, or Message me on Twitter/X

If you have questions ask me anything in the comments.

If you want a one-to-one Posture Consultation over Zoom book a session.

Enjoy.

Principles of Posture #3: Posture Is Not a Fixed Position (Posture is Made of Movements)

Here’s video 2 of 10. If you have questions ask me anything in the comments.

If you want a one-to-one Posture Consultation over Zoom book a session here.

Enjoy.

Principles of Posture #2:
Don't Judge Your Posture According To How It Feels

If you want help or comments book a 1-to-1 session.

Principles of Posture #1:

Stop Outsourcing Your Posture To Other People And Inanimate Objects!

1. QUOTE

Mens sana in corpore sano
– Roman proverb

[‘A sound mind in a sound body’, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body"]

I like this phrase… but it still implies the body and mind are separate, that the body is just a vehicle you need to maintain so it can drive around your mind, and that they must trained in different ways, at different times.

Yes you can train the body (physical culture.) Yes you can train the mind (intellectual culture.) But you can also train both at the same time (psychophysical culture.)

2. ARTICLE

Here is an article by John W Krakauer, an interesting (and non-reductionist) neurologist & neuroscientist whose research aligns well with my own practical work.

Apologies for linking to the NY Times ‘toiletpaper of record,’ but it’s short, fun to read… and of course I wanted to steal their title for my newsletter.

Is the ‘Dumb Jock’ Really a Nerd?

“Neuroscience has not vindicated the cultural distinction between practical and theoretical activities.”

“For any given skill, it’s an open question as to how much knowledge is needed to acquire it and improve significantly. Skilled football players and cabinetmakers possess a large amount of complex knowledge about these activities, which accumulates over time and contributes to success. That someone can master such a complex knowledge base for these “practical” skills suggests that they could also be successful at activities that are considered more intellectual.”

3. VIDEO

Here he is again in a short, but excellent presentation, on youtube. It’s worth following the leads in this one. Notice how intelligence in movement includes cognition – it’s not all “embodied” and “automated,” so you can’t just get out of your head and trust your body (sorry noble savage enjoyers.)

John W. Krakauer: The Intelligence of Movement (12min)

4. PAPER

Mentioned in the above talk, this paper is amazing – one of the most important I’ve ever read in this field – and will need a video of its own for me to go through in detail.

The “complex motor training” they describe is exactly what you are doing in the 1 to 1 lessons with me (specifically applied to your postural system and visible everyday movements – i.e. the ones doing the most damage!)

But the general cognitive enhancement in “non-physical” areas is undeniable if you practice for a few months (e.g. ability to focus, emotional self control etc.)

An ecological approach to cognitive enhancement: Complex motor training

“Complex motor activities combining physical and cognitive demands appear to be a promising way to train cognition.”

“The aim of the present study was to assess the potential of a novel cognitive training program based on complex motor skills, which we have labeled designed sport. Designed sport includes spatial ability and working memory demands while concurrently requiring sustained physical activity. Therefore, this regimen offers an integrated approach to cognitive training, bridging psychology and exercise sciences literatures.”

5. BOOK

I think the reason we can get these cognitive enhancements from seemingly physical tasks is that this is how cognition developed in the first place! For still the best book on how complex psychological intelligence seems to arise out of physiological intelligence, I will once again recommend this classic.

Dexterity and its Development by Nikolai Bernstein

“Demand for dexterity is not in the movements themselves but in the surrounding conditions. There is no movement that would not place high demands on dexterity, given appropriate conditions. The conditions increase the complexity of a motor task or demand the emergence of an absolutely new motor task requiring motor wits. Walking on the floor does not require dexterity whereas walking on a rope does because it is much harder to walk on a rope successfully...

In all cases in which motor initiative or adjustment is required, there is a certain tuning of the movements to an emergent task”

Thanks for reading with your body and mind,

Kevin

***

Each week I share 5 things to help you bridge the gap between psychology and physiology.

I’ve been thinking about the relation between theory and practice, and how it overlaps with the relation between mind and body. Your mind does the theorising and your body does the practicing. Kind of.

The thing is, we can only separate these things verbally. In Real Reality™ both mind & body, and theory & practice, are interdependent, inseparable, and interactive. Scratch your nose. Was that mostly mental or physical? Read a few scientific papers on experiments you nothing about. Were they mostly theory or practice?

There is a time for ‘just thinking',’ and a time for ‘acting without thinking’ (I enjoy a bit of both myself) but some people are lost in theory and never do anything. While others never seem to think before they act and do the wrong things.

Theory 🤝 Practice

Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in thinking about this. Just short introductions. You have to do your own synthesis to get the psychophysical benefits.

1. BOOK

Here is F. Matthias Alexander on the importance of being able to convert your ideas into practical procedures.

To a certain point I am in sympathy with all workers in either " physical," " mental," or " spiritual" spheres, for I believe that "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy," but it has always seemed to me that the first duty of man was and is to understand and develop those potentialities which are well within the sphere of his activities here on this earth.

… it forces the philosopher or teacher to give to the world practical procedures, which may be applied to the actual activities of life, instead of theoretical conclusions which too often have no practical bearing upon life.

… he is in duty bound to devote years of labour and investigation to the valuable but difficult process of converting to practical use each and every original idea (opinion).

… if at the end of each experiment he gives to the world only those ideas which he has succeeded in reducing to practical procedures, rejecting all others, he will be making a great contribution to humanity: he will be offering practical experiences in a field where for centuries we have too often been offered little but personal opinions.

– F. Matthias Alexander; Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual (1923/55)

2. MOVIE

The Edge (1997)

Can an intellectual billionaire also be a man of action? Can you make fire from ice? (And should billionaires be having bear fights instead of cage fights?!)

I first heard of this movie in Robert Anton Wilson’s book Prometheus Rising. One of those turning point books for me age 20, and now that I think about it, his synthesizing style is a direct influence on the way I’m doing these newsletters toooo many years later.

There are two interlinking themes in this movie: Theory v Practice, and Action v Inaction. But David Lynch told me not to explain films, so you’ll have to watch it.

3. STORY

“So you’re saying just throw away all this pesky thinking and just action, action, action?” Nope, that would be a different kind of stupid.

Here is an old Sufi story that gets the point across:

Discovering the speed of sound

One day Mullah Nasruddin climbed up a minaret and shouted at the top of his lungs. Then he immediately rushed down and began running as fast as his legs would carry him

“What’s happening? Why are you running so hard, Mullah?” asked a passer-by.

“To see how far my voice carries!” Nasruddin replied, rushing off into the distance.

4. QUOTE

I stumbled across the following quote while writing this newsletter, thank you cosmic coincidence control center.

“There is nothing as practical as a good theory.”

– Kurt Lewin

5. EXAMPLE

So it appears theory needs practice – and practice needs theory. So how do we do something with this idea?

Here is an example of how I use this principle in a new discipline I’m calling “psychophysical culture.” You can apply this approach to your own “thing.”

1. In 1 to 1 sessions I keep alternating between “theory” and “practice” in a way that might look erratic to an outsider, an inefficient use of time, or even worse, a lack of oPTiMiZaTiOn. This isn’t a lecture followed by a few action steps at the end. Theory and practice are intertwined and twisted together all the way through each session. It keeps you on your toes.

2. For every physical movement, you also have a mental conception of that movement and how these mechanisms work. Different conceptions will lead to different movements. Change the conception, change the movement. The problem is these “theories” are usually subconscious, automated and feel right. And if you do something new and different it feels wrong so you stop!

3. So first I need to discover the “theory” you are working with which is causing problems (e.g. bad posture, lack of focus) or is preventing you from performing at a higher level (e.g. in sports, music, productivity.) This unconscious theory of yours can only be made conscious (and visible) when you perform some movement experiments – on camera – which we then analyse together.

4. Next I give you a new “theory” of how those movements or postures can be performed with less effort, more poise and mechanical advantage. This includes explanations, diagrams, images, video analysis, analogies, stories, and verbal instructions (maybe some bad jokes.) It’s not a lecture or random list of facts, but is designed to change your unique conception on the inside – in order to change your actions on the outside.

5. Then I devise some new psychophysical “experiments” to help you enact this new conception of the movements. Just giving you a new theory about how the mechanisms work is not enough. You must also learn a method of doing the movements in a new way, to change your psychophysical understanding, which changes your physical behaviour.

6. My role as teacher is to guide you through a series of such experiments. So you learn how to develop your own theories and then test them in practice. You are being trained in a system of self-experimentation you can apply to any activity which benefits from a better mind-body connection.

7. I don’t know what your own “thing” is… but what are you learning or teaching right now, where you can apply this principle of “synthesized” theory and practice?” (Thraxis?)

Feel free to comment below with what you’re up to in the borderlands between theory and practice…

Thanks for reading,

Kevin

PLUS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you bridge the gap between psychology and physiology:

• Get a FREE posture analysis. Normally $99, but you get free if I can use your clips and images in a youtube video. You can be as anon as you want!

• Become a paid subscriber and get access to members-only courses, Q&A sessions, etc. “Principles of Posture” video course is already in there, plus new courses on the way. Join here

• Book a 1-to-1 session with me. We meet on Zoom (unless you’re in Cyprus or I’m on tour!) Cost is $99 per session, or $66 if you have a low income. Reply to this email with your Time Zone.

• Train as a teacher of Psychophysical Culture. Under the apprenticeship model of learning, with weekly 1-to-1 lessons, coaching, small group sessions. You also start teaching others ASAP (I’ll show you how.) Reply to this email.

I’m planning some new mini-courses for the Substack.

Which of these would you be most interested in learning first…?

1. Psychophysical Culture (like ‘physical culture’ but focussed on mind-body techniques, self-experimentation, and bridging the gap between psychology and physiology.)

2. Anti-Meditation (a short daily practice for developing focus and avoiding distractions - but has nothing to do with ‘concentration’ exercises or creating new habits.)

3. Intro to the Alexander Technique (note: my approach is unorthodox and not what they teach in training courses or what you’ll see on youtube etc, although I’ve trained in both ways.)

4. Walking Through Words (the theory & practice of not reacting to the things people say, getting angry at the news, negative self-talk etc.)

5. Or maybe something else I’ve written about here or talked (ranted) about on the podcast, but you’d like to know more?

Cheers! You can either reply to this email, leave a comment, or get me on Twitter

Thanks for reading,

Kevin

This is 48/100 of the daily substack posts – and I’m done with this experiment!

I'm publishing more, yes – but the daily constraint is ruining my thinking and writing. I had 3 main themes I wanted to write about and haven't got to publishing ANY of those yet – need more time to distill.

So switching this to weekly posts.

This means many will be longer but not necessarily – just more in depth and practically useful in a way that can’t be done in a day (or at least I can’t do in a day!)

Everything has its own gestation period, including ideas. There is doing the practices, experimenting with techniques, generating new insights, then articulating those insights, as well as making it all practically useful to others. Looks like I am condemned to be a slow reader, writer and thinker.

But on the other hand my problem before was never publishing at all – which was the whole point of doing the 100 posts in 100 days experiment. And it did work for this which is great – I don’t care at all now about clicking send to everyone. Plus a few interesting readers have been in touch to share ideas which is nice, but I’d rather have something better to share with you all!

So I’m not going to tread water with this for another 52 days just so I can say i managed to do 100 days in a row, aren’t I cool. I am glad I demolished the fear of publishing but I’m not happy with the low quality and let’s be realistic, only a few of these posts are “keepers” anyway.

So from now on, just one post per week, but better quality and something people might still want to read in 20 years.

And for anyone interested in such things… I don’t think I increased subscribers during this experiment. A few people unsubscribed because of the volume, which I expected, while a few new people joined – so it stayed about the same.

But might also be my lack of twitter promotion and refusing to join the thread bois.

Cheers for reading, new post out next week..

Kevin

I’m doing this podcast with Alex of Breath Wish. We met online after our mutual Gil-Martin noticed similar themes in our work and writing. Well it turns out we were on the same obscure forum years ago, are influenced by some of the same people, and both teach psychophysical techniques which complement each other.

Oh and we both have a similar harsh attitude to all this online self development and esoteric stuff, which is mostly just another distraction and doesn’t lead to real self-change. So hopefully the conversation strikes the right balance between friendly advice and unfriendly rants.

The name of the podcast comes from Christopher Hyatt, author of “Undoing Yourself” who called himself a Bio-Individual Philosopher. We’ll talk more about him and his work in future episodes, his influence on us, and where our current work differs in some ways.

Alex teaches interesting breath work and meditation techniques – which are different in theory and practice from anything else I’ve heard about – so you should sign up to his newsletter here:

Breath Wish Newsletter

Practice, exercises, tips, rants for those unsatisfied with mere blabber

By Breath Wish Blog

Watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify below.

The Bio-Individual: The Somewhat Badly Wired Human Brain & Psycho-Physiological Practice

The Bio-Individual - Reading, Language, Self-Transcendence & The Badly Wired Human Brain

Unlock the Power of the Bio-Individual: What You Need to Know about Wilhelm Reich & Reichian Work

Unravel the Mystery of the Brain Orgasm & Character Change - Reichian Work & the Bio-Individual

The Mind-blowing Impact of "Balancing Hemispheres": Ideas of Iain McGilchrist & the BioIndividual

Psychophysical Practices for Westerners: Do We Need Traditions or a Faustian Bargain?

A Direct Path to Brain Balance with Koans and Non-Rational Language

[to be continued…]

So here are all the videos from the Developing Dexterity youtube series. This was a series of conversations I had with Keith Walkiewicz (& guests) about the book Dexterity and its Development by Nicholai Bernstein.

And if you want to learn a mind-body technique for developing your dexterity, book a 1 to 1 session with me.

What is Dexterity? A book recommendation + videos

The Psychophysical Gymnasium We need somewhere to develop the powers of the mind and of the body at the same time.

New episode of the “Bio-Individual” podcast A Direct Path to Brain Balance with Koans and Non-Rational Language

Learning, Music and Dexterity Another episode from the "Developing Dexterity" series we did on Youtube.

What is Physical Intelligence? Problems with the current physical education paradigm

Write When It's Ripe A stupid mistake I make when writing

Read My Newsletters Archive of the old "Let's Get Psychophysical" weekly newsletters (which are better than I remember!)

Real Self-Change Can’t Be Mass Produced Why it makes sense from a teaching perspective, as well as a “marketing” perspective, to have different “entry points” to the work for different people…

Words, Words, Words Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

A Tale of Two Senses Can we trust our senses to tell us the truth?

The Self-Experimenter's Guide to Posture How to stop outsourcing your posture to other people and inanimate objects.

The Philosophy of Movement Practices Three old essays

The Psychophysical Youtube ChannelNew video series coming soon

New Episode of the Bio-Individual podcast Psychophysical Practices for Westerners: Do We Need Traditions or a Faustian Bargain?

100 posts in 100 days (15-29) Bi-weekly update with links to new essays etc

MAR 9

Dexterity is one of those ideas you start to see everywhere – that is, as soon as it’s pointed out to you, and you have a word for it.

Dexterity = motor skills + quick wits.

Maybe the single most important concept almost no one is talking about, but yet is central to fitness, education, evolution, even spirituality – plus a bunch of other fields and domains of life.

Book:

A book recommendation for you:– Nicholai Bernstein’s neglected masterpiece Dexterity and its Development. This is a top 5 book in the upcoming Psychophysical Recommended Reading List.

Here are some quotes, followed by links to a couple of videos about dexterity.

PSYCHOPHYSICAL CAPACITIES

“The banner of physical culture bears the names of four notions that are commonly addressed as psychophysical capacities: force, speed, endurance, and dexterity.

These four are quite unlike each other.

Force is virtually a purely physical feature of the body. It depends directly on the volume and quality of the muscles and only indirectly on other factors.

Speed is a more complex feature that combines elements of both physiology and psychology.

Endurance is even more complex. It is based on the cooperation of all the subsystems and organs of the body. It requires a high level of cooperation of metabolism among the working organs, transport system (the circulatory system, which delivers supplies and eliminates wastes), organ providers (respiration and digestion), and all the organs of higher command and control (the central nervous system). In fact, a hardy body should satisfy three conditions of endurance: It should have ample supplies of energy to spend when necessary. It should be able, at a proper time, to generously offer these supplies without sparing a single unit of energy. Finally, it should be able to spend the resources with a tight, sensible frugality so that they last for the maximal amount of useful work. Briefly, to possess endurance is to have much, to spend generously, and to pay miserly. Obviously, this capacity characterizes the complex organization of the body as a whole.

The degree of complexity is even higher for dexterity. One can hardly say what prevails in it— physical or psychic. At least, as we are going to see, dexterity is a function of control, and, therefore, the main role in dexterity is played by the central nervous system.

Dexterity stands aside from the other capacities in many aspects. It is certainly more flexible and more universal than any other capacity. Dexterity is a kind of currency for which all other currencies are readily traded. It is a trump suit that beats all other cards”

“Motor skill and quick wits – that is, Dexterity”

“Dexterity is the ability to find a motor solution for any external situation, that is, to adequately solve any emerging motor problem

correctly (i.e., adequately and accurately),
quickly (with respect to both decision making and achieving a correct result),
rationally (i.e., expediently and economically), and
resourcefully (i.e., quick-wittedly and initiatively).|”

Nicholai Bernstein
Dexterity and its Development

Video 1: example

Video 2: discussion

Here are me and Keith Walkiewicz talking about Bernstein’s book. In this video we introduce the basic concept of dexterity with some examples.

Then we look at a passage from Homer which show Odysseus as the master of Dexterity, according to Bernstein’s definition.

***

Developing psychophysical dexterity is the goal of the 1 to 1 lessons with me. Reply to this email or contact: kevindmackay@gmail.com to book a session.

Subscribe now

I first wrote about the concept of the Psychophysical Gymnasium in the newsletter.

This was one of my better newsletters using the ‘5 interrelated things’ format. So if you’re interested, read that one first – then watch my conversation with Keith Walkiewicz on youtube (link below.)

Some of my ideas on this have changed a lot this past year – especially the relation between ancient Greece and the modern West – but there are a few good ideas here no one else is talking about.

Here it is on Youtube and Spotify:

This series was based on the book “Developing Dexterity” by Nikolai Bernstein (a neglected masterpiece.)

Alex joined to talk about dexterity as it relates to music and learning. He is a keyboardist and developer and shares insights about how the skill of dexterity has been the common thread that allows people to excel in these fields. Alex’s website is Way of Keys

This video is criminally under watched.

Richard is a Lecturer in Human Movement and researcher of physical intelligence. We discuss the field of study, problems with the current physical education paradigm, and try to answer the question: "What is physical intelligence?"

A stupid mistake I make when writing: I get a good idea but don’t start writing straight away – thinking I will come back to this later at a better time, but never do.

Or when I do write something straight away, it’s often just a few scribbled notes, not formulated in complete sentences, all out of context and in a random order, and so impossible for me to get into that flow where:

one word chased another word
flowing from my mouth,
one deed chased another deed
flowing from my hands

Havamal 141, Poetic Edda (transl. Crawford)

The reason to start writing straight away isn’t because you simply want to avoid forgetting your idea, although that is another side effect. The reason is you need to begin a writing PROCESS - a protracted action with an aim - which creates the conditions necessary to unfold an implicit whole thought into explicit sequential words.

This is why it’s important to begin writing as soon as you have the idea and not wait until you feel you are ready. It is not the phrases and explicit thoughts in your head that need written down. It’s the WHOLE thought that is ripe and ready now, which needs unfolded now.

Although you can summon up the phrases and words in your mind at a later time, you cannot summon up the complete thought again because it is embedded in a specific time and place in your life, in the universe as a whole, and was dependent on a unique chain of events and conditions leading up to that insight, that idea that just “popped” into your mind from “nowhere.”

By the time the fruit of a whole thought reaches up into your conscious mind – as a few words or images – it’s telling you that it is ripe and ready to eat. If you don’t begin the writing process now the branch withers.

What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither;
Ripeness is all: come on.

– Shakespeare, King Lear

If you want to get mystical you can say that the universe was configured in a unique way at the moment the implicit thought started to become explicit in words, and everything had to be exactly how it was then, for you to have that exact thought. Change one thing and you change everything.

So what arrogance to think you can just summon up the same few words or images later as if “you” chose that thought when it appeared in the first place. And if you had chosen this thought, it was already known to you on some level, so wasn’t new or interesting enough for you to want to write about in the first place!

A whole complete thought is an intuition-feeling, unconscious, implicit, and appears as a destiny not a choice. But it must be unfolded and made conscious and explicit in words. Thoughts are whole, but words are sequential.

The whole thought wants to come into the world through you. It needs your words. Don’t kill it at birth because you want to wait until the time is right. The time will never be more right than the time the thought has just broken through into your conscious mind and has started to unfold itself in words.

Einstein and some mathematicians have said they see intuition-images first, and only after the inner certainty of truth did they look for the equations to prove it later. Making the implicit explicit. Unfolding a living feeling-intuition into ‘dead’ words and symbols.

And yes, I did write this essay down as soon as it emerged. I’d had similar intuitions before and never acted on them, but it re-appeared full and fresh and ripe today, and although tired and dehydrated and wanting to go to bed I pulled out the laptop and wrote as fast as I could. The first draft is a bit rough and needs editing but the fruit is here – it just needs washed and peeled, and now you’re eating it.

The ripe fruit is asking to fall and spread its seeds on the ground. It is asking to be picked and eaten and its seeds spread through humans and animals. But try to eat the fruit too early or too soon and you don’t get more or less fruit (quantity) – what you get instead is a different and worse fruit (quality).

The newsletter was called “Let’s Get Psychophysical” and out once a week (maybe that’s why the quality was a bit better than the daily posts.) This was back in 2021 and can’t remember why I stopped sending them, so let’s assume laziness.

But I might resurrect the same format I used to structure those emails.

The rule was I had to take 5 different things I was reading, thinking or talking about that week, and then somehow work them all in together, integrate them into a coherent whole, making connections and seeing what new insights emerged.

It was a useful practice for disciplining my thoughts and learning to use my brain a bit – instead of just consuming random shit and moving on to the next thing.

There are a few throwaway comments and hot takes scattered throughout, which I should probably expand into essays of their own. But we both know I won’t so all the links are below (in reverse order.)

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #17 An Awakened Mind in an Awakened Body

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #16 Becoming a Biped

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #15 The Three Approaches to Posture

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #14 The Primal Power of Play

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #13 The Necessary Tension of Opposites

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #12 The Psychophysical Gymnasium

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #11 In and Out of Wholes

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #10 The Psyche and the Physical

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #9 The Map is Not the Territory

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #8 Aiming for Alignment

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #7 Creating Order From Chaos

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #6 Mental models & Not-so-mental models.

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #5 Program or be programmed.

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #4 "Useful fictions" v Useless fictions

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #3 Winged Feet and Winged Words

Let’s Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #2 A list of 5 things to integrate "mind," "body" and "spirit."

Let's Get Psychophysical - Newsletter #1 A list of 5 things to integrate your body, emotions, mind and spirit.

1.

Rob Hardy, who gave me the idea for the 100 posts in 100 days, wrote somewhere recently about creating a membership site for his business that is non linear. I don’t know the details, it sounds interesting, but it reminded me of my original plan for the posture course.

I first thought of doing a non linear approach a couple of years ago, then dismissed it because of the logistics of setting up, managing and marketing a complex course structure like that – especially my first course and while I had no idea yet how best to present the materials when not in a 1 to 1 situation.

So when I eventually did make the course “principles of posture” it was the usual linear series of 10 videos, 45-70 minutes long, each with a presentation of theory followed by some practical procedures. If I made it today I would do it a little bit different. I wouldn’t have such long videos for a start, I would break it up into much smaller ‘bite size’ videos.

2.

One problem with the online course format in general, is it’s too linear. You start here and you end up there. You start with video #1 and work your way through to video #10, in numerical order, the same path for everyone.

While there is definitely a linear progression in how you learn any skill – e.g. you can’t do, or even understand, some things until you’ve done certain preparatory work – but there is still a lot of wiggle room for going off in different directions, and doing things in your own way, going through the materials in an order that is unique to you.

I still think the best way to learn a skill is in a master-apprentice relationship, where possible, but for most it isn’t realistic. So I have mixed feelings about self-directed online courses - both as buyer and seller! – but lots of people do want and need a course for various reasons – if nothing else just to see if this internet guy knows what’s he talking about before they decide to become his apprentice.

3.

When planning how to teach someone a skill you also need to take into account motivation and emotional drives – not just the mechanics of what and how they should learn, structure and style etc. If the person doesn’t feel they want to do it, or is unable to make themselves do it, then all that stuff is useless.

So it makes sense from a teaching perspective, as well as a “marketing” perspective, to have interesting and relevant “entry points” to the work for different people, with their different interests and goals, and not just the same planned route for everybody. Even though these different entry points might not be optimal in terms of learning, in the strict matter of fact mechanical way, the fact is it gets them to engage with the work because it feels meaningful to them and their immediate problems and goals.

For example, giving someone the general posture mechanics while sitting at a desk is quite dry and boring, because at the desk you are trying to focus on something else more interesting and important to you – not sitting at a desk for the sake of it! – so posture is just a means to an end. The person is distracted and conflicted all the way through, desperate to get to the good stuff!

Whereas, if the postural mechanics was related to, say, the specific warm up routine you do for your sport, which you do regularly anyway and have to as part of your training, then it is already meaningful and important to you, so no motivation is required. Creating a lesson on mechanics using this angle will be much more successful at getting the pupil to actually do the work on himself and engage with the practical experiments in the course.

The issue is how to create this experience for as many people as possible without making a new course for each person. And we come full circle back to the master-apprentice model of learning once again.

4.

But let’s imagine some perfect version of the course where there are 1,000+ of these different “entry points” for all sorts of skills, activities, behaviours and pastimes, and each new person can find their own way in using the one most interesting to them at this time. The trick would be having basic and fundamental enough information with action steps for each, without it either dumbing down the course concepts OR being at too high a technical level for beginners – all the while not compromising them when doing their activity.

In other words, can they actually use it in life starting today? Something that will make them want to practice and master the skill applied to this for no other reason than they are going to be doing it all the time anyway. And then they can come back to the course for another “bite” later once they chew and digest this one first.

This is where a more non linear approach might be useful. Instead of strict step by step everyone forced into the same formula, you would have a choice of paths to take, within a loose framework of “circles” where you have to work your way around that circle first, but in any order you please, before moving onto the next circle. Each circle increasing in complexity, and where some things can be ‘true’ in the first circle for beginners but not necessarily as ‘true’ for advanced students.

There are basic setups and procedures you need to master before going onto more complex ones, this is normal, but the same strict order for everyone forces you to reduce the materials to the lowest common denominator, and it’s not possible or aesthetically pleasing to be constantly putting in caveats and exceptions-to-the-rule every 20 seconds and ruining the flow of a training video.

5.

Maybe a non-linear approach would be much easier now I have everything here in the Substack – you just need to become a paying member and then get access to all the materials. In a way, I don’t mind new members seeing the more advanced “circles” straight away (everyone will take a peek!) because it gives you a better idea of where you’re headed, and shows you some of the things that are possible. Or maybe it is better if I use one of the newer platforms and block you from access until I know you have the basics down first. Circles within circles within circles.

One of the downsides of focussing the original course specifically on “posture” was it limited the potential areas of growth and development from learning the technique – it induces the wrong aim in the student of “I just want to get my posture fixed and move on to more interesting things.”

When really you are learning a method for becoming more conscious, as a human animal, not in a woo woo, wishful thinking kind of way, but in real physical visible ways which make your life better. Posture is where we apply it first, the perfect training ground, but you can use it in multiple areas of life, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual ways – it’s all up to you.

So a more non linear approach has the advantage of it being built in from the start, that you will be going in your own direction with this work. Real self-change can’t be mass produced.

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