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 The
San Francisco Zen Hospice, an organization
called Men Overcoming Violence, San Francisco
General Hospital's screening service for
immigrants who are survivors of torture,
a battered women's shelter, and suicide
prevention clinics —these are some
of the places our students are putting into
practice what they are learning in the Somatic
Psychology Program at the Institute.
Somatic psychology is a body-oriented approach
to psychology whose aim is to bring human
beings more closely into relationship with
each other and back into relationship with
trees, frogs, coyotes — all of the
Earth community. There is an endangered
wisdom inherent in the ancient structures
of collagen, nerve fiber, and cerebrospinal
fluid. Somatic psychology is a crucial counterbalance
to the history of the West in the last 400
years, which has promoted a sense of self
apart from nature that has had devastating
effects. As somatics pioneer and founder
of Continuum, Emilie Conrad says, "Awareness
of deep body processes helps us become planetary
beings, not simply cultural and psychological
beings."
One of the especially exciting aspects
of my work at the Institute — that
I've done in association with a study group
that includes pioneers in the field of somatics
— has been to produce a series of books
that is for the first time documenting and
moving forward the work of 150 years of
that has given rise to the field of somatics.
The series is serving as a reference point
for further theory building and provides
raw material for future empirical research.
In a larger sense, helping people to become
planetary beings is what CIIS is about.
The integration of the spiritual and the
academic — in a nondenominational way
— is something quite unique to CIIS
in higher education. An exciting dimension
of the Institute is that there is a great
receptivity to all the different approaches
to psychology, not only by the various psychology
programs here, but also by programs such
as Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness
and East-West Psychology. There is truly
an integral approach, an awareness that
consciousness and culture are in large part
shaped by the fact that we are embodied,
physical beings. I'm increasingly fascinated
by the interesting variety of people at
CIIS. They have traveled so much, experienced
so much, they have good senses of humor
— it's a rich mix of people and this
produces fascinating dialogue in our classes.
I love what happens when all these people
get together and talk.
Somatic
Psychology Program
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