Many of you reading this know that I have several huge databases of materials related to the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and the history of the work... along with an even bigger archive of materials related to Milton H. Erickson and his contemporaries like Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. I love exploring that stuff!
Just a few moments ago, I bumped into a note from several decades ago where a Feldenkrais trainer expressed online one of the founding myths of the Feldenkrais Guild system:
"Moshe wanted a strong guild to protect his work. That was his expressed wish."
That's a myth about Moshe. A good myth for someone who wants to claim to be a direct descendant of Moshe, working on his behalf. But it flies in the face of what some of Moshe’s closest students have said over the years, including:
Moshe had no interest in the incorporation process, and not very much interest in the “Guild.” With Moshe working hard and traveling, he did not want to waste time with the confusion common to the Guild, with several factions wanting to control and influence its activities. From: Moshe, No Interest In The Guild
And even more to the point: All the polices, procedures and politics of the various organizations came about after Moshe's death. Apart from one of Moshe's original Israeli students - Mia Segal - none of the original American Feldenkrais trainers were training with permission from Moshe. Moshe did not certify anyone as a "trainer" and never used that word. I can say that with complete confidence as Moshe was dead when the first group of people began calling themselves Feldenkrais Trainers!
If that is true, where did the first Feldenkrais Trainers come from? They were chosen by Moshe's "traveling companion" Jerry Karzen. Karzen himself was not a Feldenkrais trainer and had never trained others to do this work. You might ask on what basis he chose others to train?! A great question. I published an article on this in 2013: A Letter from Jerry Karzen.
Just a short reminder: Every tribe nation, religion and yes, professional group has its origin myths. They are designed to create legitimacy and authority, keep money flowing to the founders and keep system intact—whether the myth is true...or not.
