My approach to learning has been outside the mainstream for decades. Not only with Feldenkrais, but learning Spanish and most recently going deeper into Ericksonian hypnosis. If you are reading this, you are likely outside the mainstream as well.

Perhaps in more ways than you realize consciously!

I do not know exactly, because I have not met all of you. But from my conversations with many, people have massive, untapped and unrealized potential.

(Though, strangely enough, not everyone wants to know about their untapped potentials. So I do not always explicitly mention it.)

Analog Learning Using Feldenkrais

Before I engaged in formal Feldenkrais training, I had about 5 years of studying and practicing his methods independently, without any formal training.

Have you done something similar?

I call pre-internet learning, "analog" because for me it largely involved reading sessions from books, doing them from audio cassettes and also recording transcripts on tape and then doing them.

The changes that I underwent exploring Feldenkrais on my own were very deep. And as I had no one to tell me otherwise, I began coming to my own conclusions and integrating Feldenkrais the with the work of Milton H. Erickson and many of his direct and indirect students such as Stephen Gilligan, John Grinder, Steve Andreas and many, many others.

From 1994 to 1998, I took a formal “Guild Certified Training.” The training was useful. But it was still largely analog. I could only review sessions via cassette tapes and paper notes. It was expensive to buy transcripts of sessions and they were still in paper format.

Digital Accelerated Learning (Feldenkrais, Spanish Hypnosis)

Fast forward a few years starting around 2003 and my experience began to accelerate, as it did for others.

I was able to scan my old physical transcripts of Feldenkrais sessions and acquire others in digital format (pdf). And I quickly amazed a database of over 1000 sessions (that is just an estimate, I did not count them).

Using text-to-speech software built into my Mac laptop. I was able to have my computer read the sessions to me. I did three sessions per day, every day, for months.

I estimate that I had the experience of doing 5 years of Feldenkrais classes, in about 3 months. To put that in perspective, Moshe Feldenkrais created and taught around 600 sessions at his studio on Alexander Yanai street in Israel. He taught there for about 27 years. One would have to go daily to Moshe’s classes for 5 years or more, to receive what I did in several months.

This strategy of leveraging technology for my Feldenkrais practice turbocharged my development in ways that were both astounding and sometimes painful. My feelings and actions changed so rapidly that I stopped fitting into my life contexts. It was psychologically and emotionally painful.

Feldenkrais trainings and trainers began to bore me. I could see how they were warping the ideas to fit their limited understanding and agenda of selling the work piece-by-piece to maximize their income and feed their egos.

My professors in grad school began to bore me as well. There were times in grad school meetings where I sometimes had to pinch myself to stop from laughing. I was in this altered physical state from doing Feldenkrais and they were talking about latent variables, manifest variables and all kinds of made-up ridiculous bullshit that I couldn’t take seriously anymore.

Don’t get me wrong. I still deeply study certain aspects of language and cognition. There are hugely valuable distinctions to learn and use. But the most valuable ideas are - like Feldenkrais - outside the mainstream (for now). And while trainings and classes are useful, they are not always necessary as you can get access to source material outside of Universities and professional organizations.

I didn’t have the language for it at the time, but I realize now that many of my teachers and colleagues were living in an analog, hierarchical, dominance world while I had shifte into digital, emergent ways of living without realizing it.

Many people are doing the same.

Gentle But Accelerated

When I started doing massive amounts of Feldenkrais sessions via computer I was speeding up my developmental time. I think of it now as a form of computer-augmented time-shifting (see comment section). By having my computer read the sessions, I was able to condense what would typically take a decade of weekly classes and sensory-motor learning into just a few months.

This concept has been on my mind a lot lately as it's becoming widespread. From chess to poker to software development, child prodigies and newly-minted adult superstars are emerging everywhere.

People can learn more deeply and quickly than ever before and they can do so outside dominance hierarchies, such as a University Department, Feldenkrais Guild or other professional organization.

My self-directed learning experiences led me to create an online practice in two different fields (Feldenkrais series and Psychotherapy conferences) and then sell most of my belongings, and leave the United States to live in Mexico.

Next

Now, I am in the process of making another significant shift. That is why I am writing now. I want to share it with you to stimulate your own processes. I am adapting using the same strategy that I used to do Feldenkrais to also master Ericksonian language patterns.

I have done this before, but not as intensely as I am doing it now. I am reviewing dozens of digitized books and papers by Milton Erickson to immerse myself in Ericksonian hypnosis, just as I did with Feldenkrais's work.

My basic process is this: When I am interested in a certain idea in the area of hypnosis and language, I will search my personal database of digitized books (using a software program called DevonThink Pro Office). DevonThink will give me each and every example in the books. For example, I search for “double bind” “post hypnotic” and every unique group of words that interest me.

And those that do, I write down on index cards (yes, physically). And then I create audios of myself reading those words and experience them. This is very close to what I did when learning to teach Feldenkrais. I would record sessions in my voice. And then I would do the sessions. That would give me the experience of being the teacher and the student.

You can do the same, if you want. Pick any transcript from any teacher. Record it and then do it. Over the course of days, weeks and months, you will start to create your next transformation almost automatically.

Whether that transformation is teaching live for the first time, or creating a new product or workshop it does not matter. By experimenting with whatever materials that you can get your hands on, you begin to see yourself (bit by bit) as a knowledgeable person who has a ton to offer.

Or, perhaps you already know that.

And knowing that you create your own next-level transformation.

Just some ideas.

I hope you find them useful at some level.

Ryan

The post Unlocking Genius. Accelerated Learning in the Digital Age appeared first on Emergent Somatics.

I am still working away in the middle of nowhere: Privada Cocoteros in Gran Santa Fe, Yucatan, Mexico. I am waiting for my girlfriend and her family to work through some child custody issues and care for an aging pet. It has been an intellectually productive time, though I am SO ready to start traveling again. Here is a picture of the simple, comfortable house that we are renting for 7000 pesos per month (about $360 U.S. dollars). Amazingly cheap and yet we have private parks and 24-hour security.

The beach is about 35 minutes away. We go weekly:

Previous thoughts on Digital Nomad Visas

I have been thinking today of the countries such as Dubai and Estonia that offer easy-to-obtain 1-year digital nomad work visas. As I mentioned in a previous post about traveling in Mexico during the pandemic:

I have been looking for what countries offer a "digital nomad" visa for self-employed people such as myself. I was fascinated to see that Dubai has a great program. If you can prove 5k in income for the past 3-months you can get a 1-year visa. The Spanish visa looks a bit complicated, but still possible. The Estonian Visa looks very simple and easy to get. You simply need to be a freelancer or someone with a company outside of Estonia with a monthly income of €3504 that is about $4300 U.S.

If you have the requisite income you can get a visa to work in those countries for a year. Estonia offers the ability to renew for one year. And in Dubai, apparently, you can renew on a yearly basis for an indefinite period. But there is no getting around the fact that those digital nomad visas do not offer a way to permanent residency. That is not a problem if you simply want to try out various countries and travel the world.

But what if you want to put down roots?

When I arrived in Mexico on September 1st, 2010 I came in on a 6-month tourist visa. Before my visa expired, I converted it to a 1-year renewable residency visa (with help from a lawyer the first year). After renewing that visa several times, I was able to apply for a 2-year residency permit and then applied for and received a permanent residency. And now, if I want to I can nationalize and become a Mexican Citizen.

You will never have the option of nationalizing if you are in a country that only gives 1-year digital nomad visas. That might not be a problem for many people, but it is something to consider. It might not be fun to have your renewal visa rejected and be forced to leave the country. And it can be a hassle to have to renew your visa every year. Not having to go to the Mexican immigration office every year to renew my visa has saved a great deal of time and anxiety.

Peace! I hope you are doing well out there...

Traveling Mexico During The COVID Pandemic

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Traveling in Mexico During The Covid Pandemic

July 5th, 2020: The Journey Begins

We (me, my girlfriend, two dogs, and cat) are traveling within Mexico for an extended period. It may seem crazy to be traveling during COVID. But social distancing is actually quite easy when renting a place on Airbnb or Booking.com. And for the moment, we are not going far. We recently moved out of our house in Merida and still have some things to take care of here before we leave.

Deep Work While Traveling

Welcome to Atlixco, Puebla

After a week in Merida, and two weeks out in the jungle, we have now safely arrived in Atlixco, a pueblo about 25 minutes outside the city of Puebla. Apart from having to sanitize my hands and car at every toll road (there are tons of toll roads called "cuotas" in Mexico) the trip was relatively easy and uneventful. One of the benefits of traveling now during "the pandemic" is that there is much less traffic on the road. And there are fewer police and military checkpoints. This is the first cross-country Mexico trip that I have taken where we did not get stopped and searched. The police, it seems are afraid of COVID as well. I sure as hell don't blame them.

I am still recording the weekly Feldenkrais session for my Easy Feldenkrais membership site.

How do I record on the road?

It is simple...I do it in the back seat of my Jeep Cherokee. I have a new iPhone SE connected to my Apogee iMic (nearly 8 years old now and still rocking). And I put the mic on one of the "gorilla tripods" hanging over the back seat. I will share a video or photo in a future blog post.

That's all for now. Peace!

*There are Amazon affiliate links on this page. If you click the link to the book and buy it or another product, Amazon will send me an "advertising fee." As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It does not affect how much you pay.

August, 2020: Huejotzingo, Puebla

Since my last update nearly 2 months ago, we have spent several weeks in Huejotzingo about 20 miles outside Puebla.
Beyond the field, you can see the white buildings of our privada. It looks a bit like a prison, does it not?

We stayed in this tiny little house for free for about month. All that we had to do was pay about $1500 pesos to pay for a canister of gas so that we could cook. I was very relaxed and happy there.

Truth be told, there was a "family abduction" in my extended family and things have been rather crazy and tense. A five-year-old child was taken by one of her estranged parents during an overnight visit. It was and is (two years later) one of the saddest and strangest situations that I have been through.

Child custody situations can be very difficult to deal with in the best of times and with a sane and predictable legal system. But add in the pandemic, Mexican lawlessness and corruption, and bad faith from many actors, it quickly spins out of control. I have mainly been involved as the supportive partner, but the constant emotional upheavals have been draining.

But I have continued to work and be productive. I am thankful to have an online and "portable" business so that I can move and support my girlfriend and family as needed.

November 2nd, 2020. Querétaro.

Writing from El Doce, one of my favorite pet-friendly AirBnbs where I have been living through Airbnb since September, 25th.

Last Travel Update for this post: We are "home."

Update: February 10th, 2023: We are still here after two years! Though, I am leaving in about 6 days. More to come in a future post.

Shall I continue being a Digital Nomad

Next year in Dubai? France? China? I have been looking at the various work-visas available for "Digital Nomads" such as myself. Dubai has an interesting program that grants a 1-year visa and there are many visa opportunities in Europe. There are not too many in South East Asia. I will not say much more about it until (and unless) I decide to take action. One issue for me as I explore visas is to go to a country with no quarantine for pets. Dubai has no quarantine. Peace.

I have been doing a great deal of thinking as to where I want to go next. I have been looking for what countries offer a "digital nomad" visa for self-employed people such as myself. I was fascinated to see that Dubai has a great program. If you can prove 5k in income for the past 3-months you can get a 1-year visa. The Spanish visa looks a bit complicated, but still possible. The Estonian Visa looks very simple and easy to get. You simply need to be a freelancer or someone with a company outside of Estonia with a monthly income of €3504 that is about $4300 U.S.

The Mexican visa is fairly straight forward, you just have to prove about $1600 in monthly income. But, hey! I am already here and I have permanent residence and I am even eligible to become a nationalized citizen.

If you want to get a list of some countries that have specific visas for digital nomads check out: The Best Countries With Long Term Visas for Digital Nomads
Peace!

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Many of you here expect posts related to the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. And my habit has been to post about the man and his work. But my "other" lifelong interests -practical philosophy and epistemology, psychology, Ericksonian hypnosis and brief psychotherapy, travel, language learning - are all crying out for more attention. And, for the love of god - please help me- I may start blogging about Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and politics.

So...It may be time to start writing about whatever the hell I want here, just like a personal blog, but more incisive (and offensive, I hope). If I do that, and my future thoughts do not interest you, no problem. Feel free to unsubscribe, no hard feelings.

Content and Process

That being said, I have been doing a great deal of work online but I have not talked to you about it. Why?

Because the "content" of what I am doing - events for psychotherapists - is likely not interesting to you. I believe in creating specific products and solutions for specific groups of people - and then marketing directly to those people. So when I launch a product not geared towards Feldenkrais folks, I rarely mention it here. For example, in August of 2015 I launched Ericksonian Strategies in the Treatment of Depression. It was a very large and very successful online event. A month ago, I launched a similar online conference called "Solutions for Anxiety." and again, I did not promote it here on ryannagy.com for similar reasons: Most of you reading this blog are doing work related to that of Moshe Feldenkrais not Milton H. Erickson. And though I see many parallels to the two approaches, I have not had much luck convincing others. And I have come to see that convincing others is a massive waste of time.

However the process or the "what" of what I am doing - creating online events - may be relevant to you. Why? Because you could do what I do, but create Feldenkrais-themed online events or events for your particular niche. But the process of how to do those type of events is not something that I have the time to write about and teach.

Anyhow...I am a big believer in creating momentum for change by making small changes and doing something small - taking some small action - sometimes the smaller the better. And here I am writing you a blog post to make a change, create to build some momentum for future blog posts and conversations (I hope) and to say hello, to let you know a bit (just a bit) of what I have been up to and .

Feldenkrais

If I do write some Feldenkrais-themes posts, I may share with you my reasons for no longer writing about the FGNA and related matters such as what is happening with the "Feldenkrais Trainers" Short answer: The topics have little relevance to my professional life and even less relevance in the larger cultural dialogue. I can do everything that I want to do personally and professionally without involving any particular organization, so...why bother? I may share some ideas about when I think Feldenkrais is indicated as a modality. And when it is not. That is, what things can we say Feldenkrais is really good for, and for what things can we say it is not very effective. It is a conversation that is long overdue.

Or who knows, I may start blogging about my expat life here in Mexico and my journey into becoming reasonably fluent in Spanish. You want to change your self-image? Immerse yourself in a second and third language. It may not give you a complete self-image make over (nothing does, not even Feldenkrais), but it will help you evolve and find the limits of what is changeable and what is not. Perhaps we might talk about lifestyle design and running experiments as practitioners that help us create the ideal lives for our unique personalities, situations and bodies.

Anyhow, I hope you are doing great out there! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you are up to.

And here is a bonus photo for reading the entire post. The tattoo - alas -was temporary. It was for a "modern tribal" birthday party for a friend that lives in southern mexico where I was traveling at the time.

What are you up to these days?

The post I am rarely posting here. Do you care? appeared first on Emergent Somatics.

The first year in which I brought in over 100,000 dollars from my various online ventures was 2013. I remember it very distinctly as I massively underpaid my taxes and had to come up with a large tax payment very quickly! I brought in over 100K last year (2014) and in the year that is coming, I am on track to "hit it out of the ballpark" as the Americans like to say.

The World Needs Your Work....

When I first started doing podcasts years ago with people in the Feldenkrais community, I did not have any idea where it would lead me. I had not yet released my first Feldenkrais products that would earn me tens of thousands of dollars. I had not yet created my business organizing online conferences for psychotherapists and psychologists which would connect me with thousands of people all over the world. I had yet to leave the U.S.A and fulfill my life-long dream of living in a foreign country and learning a second language... in fact it had not even occurred to me to do any of those things... at least not consciously.

There Is One Key Thing You Need to Do...

I did however, do ONE thing right that allowed me to massively grow my influence and have an impact on the world. And I did it very well and continue to do so. And even though I have made some mistakes over the years, that one thing has continued to pay dividends for me, my business partners and friends...and for the Feldenkrais Method itself.

What is that one thing? Well, let me say it simply:

"Build A Following."

You need to have people reading your website, following your Facebook page, and checking to see what you are up to.

cheers! Ryan

By the way - What’s so special about Feldenkrais practitioners who are able to build large followings and have a large influence in the community?

The answer is nothing. No offense to my talented friends who do good work. But they (and I) are not all that different from you. In fact, you may be even more of an expert. Many of you are certainly more talented at the Feldenkrais Method and have more knowledge of your particular area of expertise. So what is the difference? Building a following.

If this idea interests you, stay tuned. I just might be promoting something that will help you build your own following and reach more people...for you...and for the amazing work that we do.

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Robert Trummer, of Nicaraguan and Swiss background is doing a project called, "Feldenkrais Without Borders " in Grenada, Nicaragua from the 5th to the 17th of August 2013. In this project practitioners will be working mainly with special needs children (and their families, caretakers and professionals when possible). Below are the details that I have. Feel free to post a comment if you want to know more. I will ask Robert to respond.

There is only space for a couple more Feldenkrais practitioners to join and share this unique experience, don't wait!

The dates this year are from Monday August 5th to Saturday August 17th (two weeks) 2013. It is in the rainy season but usually it does not rain much during the day and you will be happy for the cooler air ( temp 23 to 31 Celsius, 72 to 88 Fahrenheit).

Anybody interested in volunteering on an other date, any time of the year, is welcome to do so. Get in contact with Robert and he can help arrange your stay. Robert has a house in Granada (his mother was Nicaraguan) which you can use for free. The house has 3 bathrooms, two huge rooms (7mx7m) and two smaller ones, it also has interior gardens and a huge corridor which is actually bigger than the rooms. He can send you pictures of the house. People who want to stay longer can keep using the house, tell him and you can work out the details.

The places you will be volunteering at are in Granada (http://english.corazoncontentogranada.org) and Managua (http://fsdinternational.org/node/215).

Here are several YouTube video about the organizations that Robert sent me. They are in Spanish, but if you do not speak Spanish, you can stil get a feel for the children and what help they need:

Again, leave a comment if you want more information and I will ask Robert to respond.

cheers! - Ryan

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