Barrett Dorko
17-03-2007, 02:44 PM
On Tuesday I flew from Cleveland one hour west to Chicago, turned around and then spent two more hours flying east to Albany. I know this sort of traveling isn’t especially unusual but it got me thinking about this trip’s post, and reminded me of my appreciation of a 1992 movie starring Billy Crystal; Mr. Saturday Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Saturday_Night).
If you Google “going the other way” you get 289 million hits, which I guess means that I’m not the only one thinking about this. It’s a line used recurrently in this movie, and, when I think about it, it was the one thing I really liked about the film. The line was used in reference to a way of speaking or behaving that was totally unexpected, typically in an effort to be funny and, when done with the proper timing, it certainly is.
It’s my understanding that successful humor typically contains elements of truth combined with surprise. The truth of what we witness or hear allows us to relate personally to some aspect of the line or story and when we see ourselves in it somehow many things once considered tragic can be transformed. We know there’s a lot of therapy (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3145) in there somewhere.
So what’s the connection to therapy here? Well, it’s been my experience ten of thousands of times that ideomotion that proves corrective for the abnormal neurodynamic contains movement in a direction previously avoided. Unconsciously motivated, people “go the other way,” and aside from sensing relief they are surprised - laughter isn’t uncommon. The patient, in effect, tells a joke, entirely nonverbal but completely their own. They can relate, and that’s no small thing when someone’s suffered from the disassociation chronic pain can promote.
When they eventually respond to their own movement and change with a smile I know there’s some hope of recovery. If not, I rarely help them.
I rushed to finish teaching early in Scranton Pennsylvania on Friday, anticipating the foot of snow that began to descend about noon. The class got out in time but I stayed another night, trapped by forces I can’t control and usually ignore. Instead of going home I went the other way, back to my room, back to some writing I couldn’t have done on the plane.
As usual, going the other way wakened me, and it was worth it.
If you Google “going the other way” you get 289 million hits, which I guess means that I’m not the only one thinking about this. It’s a line used recurrently in this movie, and, when I think about it, it was the one thing I really liked about the film. The line was used in reference to a way of speaking or behaving that was totally unexpected, typically in an effort to be funny and, when done with the proper timing, it certainly is.
It’s my understanding that successful humor typically contains elements of truth combined with surprise. The truth of what we witness or hear allows us to relate personally to some aspect of the line or story and when we see ourselves in it somehow many things once considered tragic can be transformed. We know there’s a lot of therapy (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3145) in there somewhere.
So what’s the connection to therapy here? Well, it’s been my experience ten of thousands of times that ideomotion that proves corrective for the abnormal neurodynamic contains movement in a direction previously avoided. Unconsciously motivated, people “go the other way,” and aside from sensing relief they are surprised - laughter isn’t uncommon. The patient, in effect, tells a joke, entirely nonverbal but completely their own. They can relate, and that’s no small thing when someone’s suffered from the disassociation chronic pain can promote.
When they eventually respond to their own movement and change with a smile I know there’s some hope of recovery. If not, I rarely help them.
I rushed to finish teaching early in Scranton Pennsylvania on Friday, anticipating the foot of snow that began to descend about noon. The class got out in time but I stayed another night, trapped by forces I can’t control and usually ignore. Instead of going home I went the other way, back to my room, back to some writing I couldn’t have done on the plane.
As usual, going the other way wakened me, and it was worth it.