The heart of SS is the flow of energy.

 

ShapeShifting is the flow of energy from the subatomic vibrating strings in the immediate surroundings of your body; it is the flow of energy in and through all of the levels and functions of your body’s processes; it is the flow of energy as it emerges from your body; it is the flow of energy from your body to another body as you interact with other bodies; it is the flow of energy from the sound waves of the music or ambient sound to which you are moving; it is the flow of energy through the shapes that your body makes as it moves. Without this ubiquitous flow of energy ShapeShifting does not exist.

 

And it turns out that it is the flow of energy through ever looping and self-referential feed back systems in your body that gives rise to the many levels of consciousness that make you who you are. The single most pervasive element in all human biological, physiological, and thought processes is energy. From the electrochemical sub atomic and molecular interactions to the most complicated physical movements and mental processes that occur in your body at any given nano-second, the single most driving and organizing element is energy. It is energy working through physical processes that gives rise to all levels of human consciousness.

 

The flow of energy in the brain and the creation of levels of consciousness.

 

Robert Pepperell makes this argument in his lengthy article, “Consciousness as a Physical Process Caused by the Organization of Energy in the Brain”.

 

“(T)he energy-hungry brain might be understood as a kind of ‘difference engine’ that works by actuating complex patterns of motion (action potential propagation) and tension (antagonistic pushes and pulls between forces) at various spatiotemporal scales. Firing rates and electrical potentials vary within neurons, between neurons, between networks of neurons, and between brain regions, so maximizing the differential states the brain undergoes.

 

…?(O)ne of the roles of energetic activity in the brain is to efficiently actuate differences of motion and tension that advance the interests of the brain-bearing organism.

 

….A potential mechanism supporting global integration of local differentiation is recurrent or reentrant processing, in which widely distributed areas of the brain engage in complex loops of cortical feedback via massively parallel connections.

 

….Feedback systems are self-referential; one part of the system casually affects another, which in turn affects the first. Such systems are apt to generate behaviors that are an irreducible property of the system as a whole.

 

…If consciousness is a physical (biological and chemical) process, and if physical processes are caused by energetic activity (alongside forces and work), then consciousness, in principle, could be caused by energetic activity and the way it is organized.

 

….Treating the brain as a difference engine that works to actualize and organize differences of motion and tension to serve the interests of the organism is, I submit, a natural approach to understanding consciousness as a physical process.”

 

So in summary, “(i)t is proposed that a particular kind of activity occurs in human brains that causes our conscious experience. It is a certain dynamic organization of energetic processes having a high degree of differentiation and integration. This organization is recursively self-referential and results in a pattern of energetic activity that blossoms to a degree of complexity sufficient for consciousness.

 

If consciousness is a physical process, and physical processes are driven by actualized differences of motion and tension, then there is something it is like to undergo actualized differences organized in a certain way in the brain, and this is what we experience – intrinsically.”

 

In addition to Pepperell's description of the process that forms consciousness in general, there are levels or states of consciousness or awareness in the brain- the conscious, unconscious, and subconscious, for example- and all of these levels have energy as their actuating and organizing force. Energy is the entrance key that opens up all of these states of mind. It is the connecting fluid that allows interaction at all levels. Though energy has many forms, it is the same energy that has existed from the beginning of our universe until this moment. It is the connecting force that flows throughout the empty spaces of the sub atomic particle world to the empty spaces of the cosmos.

 

There is also a level of consciousness accessed through energy flow that is dedicated to our creative and expressive processes as humans. I call it our preconscious mind. It is not a conscious, subconscious or unconscious state of mind. It ,in fact, functions best when the conscious mind is shut down. Its sole purpose is to promote and insure spontaneous moments of creativity.

 

The connection between the medial prefrontal cortex of your brain, spontaneous creativity, and your preconscious mind.

 

Dr. Charles Limb is a surgeon, neuroscientist, and musician at the University of California, San Francisco who has carried out research on the neural basis of musical creativity. He has spent years observing brain activity with an fMRI scanner. This scanner registers increased and decreased activity in areas of the brain. He has focused his attention on monitoring jazz musicians and freestyle rappers as they improvise (make music and assemble words spontaneously) inside of one of these scanners.

 

Though the frontal lobe of the brain is considered the seat of consciousness, there are subdivisions, the medial prefrontal cortex and the lateral prefrontal cortex, which do very different things. The lateral prefrontal cortex is involved in self-reflection, introspection, and self-monitoring which would tend to inhibit an individual’s freedom because of a fear of mistakes, for example. This part of the prefrontal cortex shuts down when the musicians and rappers start creating. At the same time, the medial prefrontal cortex suddenly lights up. This part of the brain is the center for self expression which sets you free to risk mistakes and not worry about what comes next. It also opens up expressive communication which has to do with language. Both rapping and making music are forms of language.

 

Limb further suggests that

 

 “(i)n the case of improvisation, it seems that during spontaneous creative modes there is deactivation in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex. This hypofrontal mode is also typical of other altered states of consciousness, when people would describe themselves as “in the zone” or in a flow state. There’s less self-monitoring and less self-awareness — these are processes that could impede the goal of being creative, of having free-flow output. If, as a jazz musician, you’re continually thinking about what could happen if you make a mistake, you take fewer risks, and so reducing self-inhibition is a necessary ingredient to actual generation of musical novelty.

 

…We’ve found in our studies that when you’re doing a creative spontaneous task, the senses and motor (movement) regions of the brain are more active.

 

…A lot of mind-altering substances have a parallel or similar effect — they also cause hypofrontal states, so it’s certainly plausible that they might augment or facilitate creativity.”

 

ShapeShifting, as an expressive form of movement, is yet another example of this creative, improvisational brain process. Movement, like language, has its own vocabulary. Shapes are a kind of vocabulary that get strung together to make movement phrases or sentences. And like a jazz musician or a free style rapper, ShapeShifters create movement sentences when they are in this zone or altered state of consciousness  which originates in that part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex. I consider this place or state of mind the preconscious mind.

 

The preconscious mind is not your unconscious or your subconscious. It is closer to an instinctual, primitive state of mind. It is the part of the brain that reacts split seconds before your conscious mind to sensual input from the environment around you and causes nanosecond spontaneous electrochemical (and once again energy driven) responses in body processes and movements. These responses are not conscious in the sense that they come from a thought process or any ideational intention. They are responses that the body’s own level of intelligence generates. This is a level of consciousness that is free of the inhibitory restraints of the conscious mind. In a sense it is your body speaking before you cm can capture the moment and stifle it with self-reflection, second guessing, or self-monitoring.

 

Your pre-conscious is the place where your body lives and breathes. It is a place where your body can tell its story. That place is in you. It is not some mystical place of oneness or heavenly bliss.

It is a place that taps into the conflict, tension, chaos, pleasure, pain, contradiction, and creative energy that your body will pass on to you if you let it tell its story.  That place can be reached by physically pushing yourself to fall and trusting your body to catch you.  This is a process of shutting down the conscious mind  so that you can move into a state of preconsciousness. Your body actually responds to the world around you split seconds before your conscious mind can filter out what it cannot handle. Your conscious mind diminishes your bodies ability to express itself. Your body, on the other hand, sees and remembers vast parts of your life that your conscious mind cannot.  By falling into a state of preconsciousness you let your body tell you who you really are.  You can shut off your conscious mind and fall into your body.  Your body is your voice; let it speak

 

The Flow Experience of Abraham Maslow

 

Yet another area of science gives us a view of what it is like to be in the altered state of mind in which the art of ShapeShifting takes place.

 

Abraham Maslow, a very influential psychologist in the 20th century, developed the idea that there is a hierarchy of needs that all humans have. These needs range from the very basic, such as, the need for food, shelter, and sleep all the way up to the more complex and often rarely achieved need for self actualization. This final level of need involved a person achieving what they saw as the purpose of their life. These moments of complete actualization did not last for long periods of time. They happened and then merged back into the less fulfilling and much more common moments of their lives. However, it was reaching these points of satisfaction that permeated the rest of their life.

 

Shapeshifting clearly fits the description of these fleeting moments of self actualization.

 

Mihaly Csikszentmihaly spent many years doing follow up research to flush out what these moments of “peak experience” looked like. He called what he observed over those years “the flow experience”. Here is what he saw:

 

Control in flow

 

This is not the kind of control that comes from the compulsive need for domination. It is a state of security and relaxation with the complete absence of worry: the paradox known in Zen Buddhism as “control without controlling”.

 

Effortlessness

 

Flow involves flexibility and ease; everything works harmoniously and. A tennis match or a solo performance on stage may look strenuous from the outside; yet, if in fact the player is in flow, he or she does not experience any particular strain. The activity runs smoothly, guided by an inner logic. All necessary decisions arise spontaneously from the demands of the activity without any deliberate reflection.

 

 An altered perception of time

 

In a deep flow-state, one’s normal perception of time is on hold. Time can either feel condensed - two hours feel like ten minutes, or expanded - seconds feel like minutes. That is why the flow-mode is called ‘timeless’.

 

The melting together of action and consciousness

 

Complete involvement creates a state in which there is no room for worry, fear, distraction or self-conscious rumination. Performers do not feel separated from their actions; they are one with their performance. This feeling of unity can expand to a person’s surroundings (nature) as well as to a whole group of people working together (team flow).

 

The autotelic quality of flow-experiences

 

From Greek autos – self and telos – goal. Not only achieving the goal of an activity is rewarding but the activity in itself is fulfilling. Flow is therefore “Immediate Return on Investment”.

 

What is being described here is a person feeling such a degree of satisfaction and spontaneity that they seem to transcend themselves.

 

This is the experience of ShapeShifting.

 

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