Have you seen this classic quote from Moshe Feldenkrais on the unity of mind and body?
"My contention is that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality, that they are not entities related to each other in one fashion or another, but an inseparable whole... " (link original source at the end of this email)
Over the years, I have spent as much time studying language and psychology through Milton H. Erickson as I have Moshe's work. And it has always nagged at me, that I did not understand why metaphor and language can evoke such powerful responses in the body.
If Feldenkrais was correct, there must be some type of brain and nervous system processing of metaphors, no?
Well, I was amazed recently to discover that there are various scientists who are now attempting to show how metaphorical language is created and processed in the human nervous system.
They want to demonstrate that metaphors activate specific sensory-processing areas of the brain.
And they are beginning to do so.
For example, tactile/sensory language such as "She had a rough day," or "The session will be smooth sailing from here" seem to activate the same areas of the brain that process touch. That is, the areas of your brain that become active when you touch your own skin or a rough or smooth object can also be activated when you think about metaphors that evoke roughness and smoothness.
How cool is that?
I spent several hours last weekend reading about some of the various ideas. Some scientists would disagree with the findings and take issue with them. But to me, it is heartening that the ideas of embodiment and embodied cognition have more of a foothold now in academia via research and research labs.
Below is a link to one full-text article on the topic that you might find interesting. It is called:
Metaphorically feeling: Comprehending textural metaphors activates somatosensory cortex.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318916/
Peace out!
Ryan
By the way, if you want to see Moshe's words on the unity of mind and body in context, it is from the interview below:
https://www.ryannagy.com/pdf/ImageMovementActorFeldenkrais.pdf
