F.M. Alexander: aphorisms - Toledo

77 Pages·2010·2.02 MB·English

F. M Alexander—
aphorisms
selected by
NANCY CREGO

"Whenpeoplearewrong,thethingthatis
rightisboundtobewrongtothem."
"Youcan'tdosomethingyoudon'tknow,if
youkeepondoingwhatyouknow."
"Everyonewantstoberight,butnoonestops
toconsideriftheirideaofrightisright."
"Changeinvolvescarryingoutanactivity
againstthehabitoflife."
"Youarenotheretodoexercises,ortolearn
todosomethingright,buttogetabletomeet
astimulusthatalwaysputsyouwrongandto
learntodealwithit."
"Youcometolearntoinhibitandtodirectyouractivity.
Youlearn,first,toinhibitthehabitualreactiontocertain
classesofstimuli,andsecond,todirectyourself
consciouslyinsuchawayastoaffectcertainmuscular
pulls,whichprocessesbringanewreactiontothese
stimuli.Boileddown,itallcomestoinhibitingaparticular
reactiontoagivenstimulus.Butnoonewillseeitthat
way.Theywillallseeitasgettinginandoutofthechair
therightway.Itisnothingofthekind.Itisthatapupil
decideswhathewillorwillnotconsenttodo.Theymay
teachyouanatomyandphysiologytilltheyareblackin
theface--youwillstillhavethistoface,stickingtoa
decisionagainstyourhabitofalife."
"Youcan'tknowathingbyaninstrument
that'swrong."