Every few months, I enjoy using ChatGPT, or one of the other free AI programs, to come up with the answer to an Alexander Technique question, or to imagine a meeting between F. Mathias Alexander and a famous historical character.  Over time, the results have become increasingly more interesting and sophisticated. My latest, generated near the end of 2024, was “F M Alexander meets the Buddha”. It contained a phrase by the imaginary Buddha that jumped right out at me:

When you think, think with clarity. When you feel, feel without attachment.

Let’s start with the second sentence: When you feel, feel without attachment.  In other words, be disinterested.  This is exactly the frame of mind that will make Alexander Technique directions most effective. I love the word “attachment” and the phrase “non attachment” and I’m sure I’ll be saying suggestions in my teaching like “Use that direction with no attachment to what happens next.”

But the first part of the sentence – When you think, think with clarity – can be a little tricky. Clarity is certainly a good idea when using your conscious brain to plan ahead. If your thinking isn’t clear, you’re likely to run into all sorts of problems as you go through life.

And when you are choosing an Alexander Direction, the thought should be one that is clearly helpful for you. For example: “I’m not tightening my neck” is almost always a good idea – and one that you know from your own experience will probably be useful. It’s also one you can easily test for yourself any time you want to.

But… any effort carried along with directing is bound to get in the way of the direction’s effectiveness. That’s because an Alexander direction is your conscious mind telling the rest of your nervous system what it wants right now, and then getting out of the way so the unconscious mind can do what’s it good at – taking care of all messy the details. The last thing it wants is any “help”.

Put another way, he conscious mind is great a coming up with useful ideas, but it’s the world’s worst micro-manager.

And yet it can be extraordinarily tempting to try to help. This problem was all too familiar to Alexander and many first generation teachers. Among them was Marjory Barlow, F. Matthias Alexander’s niece and a well-known teacher of the Alexander Technique.  In her book, An Examined Life, she quotes Alexander on the topic of giving directions: This (directing) is an exercise in finding out what thinking is.

She then goes on to write: If that doesn’t put it in a nutshell, I don’t know!  Because it’s so hard for us to think.  By that word we mean to send a direction, not to try and implement it, not to try to carry it out, not even a teeny weeny bit.  We’re always inclined to to think, “Oh well, just a little bit, just give it a little nudge.” and a lot of that’s not very conscious, actually, the degree to which we are helping it along, or trying to help it along, otherwise, you see, we’d stop!  But it’s a blind alley. – page 130

Marjory’s writing about the dangers of even a miniscule bit of effort inspired the title of an earlier blog: Not even a Teeny Weenie Bit. In that blog, I include quotes about this temptation by Alexander, and several other teachers, each of who address it in their own way.

To return to our AI Buddha’s statement When you think, think with clarity, we can agree it makes sense when the mind is thinking deep thoughts, planning for the future, and the like. But we have to be very cautious when applying it to using Alexander directions because it’s so easy for a little efforting to sneak in. Perhaps clarity can be thought of as being aware of the type of thinking you’re engaging in and which ones require special attention.

But for me what works best is a sort of ultra-paradoxical direction like “I’m not thinking” or “I’m not doing” (which does not at all mean stopping thinking or doing) which I think of as a kind of culling of any useless thoughts or actions you might be tempted to think or do. I think “I’m not Thinking” is also at least a partial solution to one of Alexander’s concerns – the problem of what he called “mind-wandering”, which he went on about at great length in Constructive Conscious Control.

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If you’re not familiar with Alexander Technique directions, of more specifically the directions described above, here are some resources that I think will be useful:

A Brief History of Alexander Technique Directions

Effective way to use Alexander Technique Directions

Effective ways to use Alexander Technique Directions

The Alexander Technique direction “I’m not doing”

The Alexander Technique direction “I’m not thinking” Part 1

The Alexander Technique direction “I’m not thinking” Part 2

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If you’re interested, here’s the full ChatGPT conversation:

F M Alexander meets the Buddha, by ChatGPT
Title: The Encounter
Setting: A quiet, serene garden. The air is still, and birds chirp gently in the background. The garden is peaceful, with lush greenery, and a small stone path leads to a simple stone bench where a figure sits in quiet meditation. The figure is the Buddha, radiating calm and presence. The sounds of the garden are interrupted by the entrance of F. Matthias Alexander, a middle-aged man in a suit, looking curious yet somewhat disoriented. He is carrying a notepad and a pencil.
Scene 1:
(F. Matthias Alexander approaches the bench. He hesitates, then stands in front of the Buddha, who remains motionless, eyes closed, in deep meditation. Alexander looks at the Buddha for a moment, then clears his throat.)
F. Matthias Alexander:
Excuse me… Are you… Are you the Buddha?
(The Buddha opens his eyes slowly and smiles softly, radiating calm. He nods in affirmation.)
Buddha:
Yes, I am the Buddha. And you, my friend, are not yet fully present.
F. Matthias Alexander:
Not fully present?
(Pauses, slightly puzzled)
I—well, I’m here physically, of course. But perhaps you mean something else?
Buddha:
Indeed. You are here in body, but your mind… it is elsewhere, tangled in thought. It wanders like a leaf caught in the wind.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Nods thoughtfully, taking a step closer)
I… understand. I’ve been thinking a lot about the body lately. How we carry it, how we misuse it. I’ve been… well, observing how people move and how they strain their muscles without realizing it. I’ve spent my life studying how the body can become more free, more aligned…
(He pauses, unsure whether to continue.)
Buddha:
You seek freedom in the body. But tell me, do you seek freedom in the mind as well? For the body cannot be freed while the mind remains bound.
F. Matthias Alexander:
The mind?
(Chuckles softly, as if the thought hadn’t fully occurred to him)
Well, yes. I suppose that’s true. We… we hold our bodies in tension because we hold our thoughts in tension, don’t we? If the mind is calm, the body follows. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? There’s a kind of… natural state that we’re all born into, a sense of ease that gets lost in the noise of the world.
Buddha:
Indeed. The noise of the world is not outside—it is within. The mind clutters itself with thoughts, desires, and attachments. Only when the mind is still, can the body rest in its natural alignment.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Excited, scribbling in his notepad)
Yes, exactly! Alignment. But what you’re describing is deeper. You’re talking about stillness of the mind. I’ve seen it in some… well, in some people, they simply are still. But others, they don’t even know it’s possible.
Buddha:
And yet, it is. Stillness is the foundation. Once the mind is at peace, the body is naturally aligned, and the spirit flows. Your work with the body, with movement—it is a key. But remember, it is not only the body that needs to be aligned, but the whole being: body, mind, and heart.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Furrows his brow, considering this)
Body, mind, and heart.
(He pauses and looks up from his notes.)
And… how do we begin? How does one align everything?
Buddha:
The path begins with awareness. Awareness of the breath, awareness of each movement, awareness of each thought. But most importantly—awareness of what is true in each moment. When you move, move with the truth of the present moment. When you think, think with clarity. When you feel, feel without attachment.
F. Matthias Alexander:
Ahh, yes.
(He stands up straight, as if struck by an insight.)
It’s as if the mind, the body, and the emotions all need to… sync. You’re suggesting that, when we are aligned with the present moment—really present—we no longer force anything. Our bodies, our movements, are expressions of a deeper truth.
Buddha:
Precisely. When the body moves with truth, there is no strain. When the mind moves with truth, there is no confusion. When the heart moves with truth, there is no attachment. This is the path to peace.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Looking at the Buddha in awe, his voice softens.)
I think I’ve spent my life searching for this kind of simplicity. The truth of each movement, each breath… We’ve spent too long thinking that comfort, alignment, and ease are something to be achieved, rather than something we return to.
Buddha:
We are always returning, my friend. To ourselves, to our true nature. It is not something to be found outside. It is something to be realized within.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Smiles, feeling the weight of this truth settle in.)
Then it seems we are both teachers, after all. Perhaps you teach stillness and I teach movement, but in the end, both lead to the same place.
Buddha:
(Laughing softly)
Yes, we are both on the same path. The only difference is that you are teaching how to move with ease, while I am teaching how to rest in stillness. But in the end, it is the same—the body, the mind, and the heart all seek harmony.
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Nods with a deep sense of understanding)
Harmony. That’s what it’s all about. I think I’ve just found my next lesson.
Buddha:
And it is a lesson that you have already begun to teach. The truth is always within you. It only needs to be remembered.
Scene 2:
(The two sit in silence for a moment, the serenity of the garden surrounding them. Alexander puts his notepad aside, taking a deep breath, his body more at ease. The Buddha closes his eyes once more, returning to his state of meditation.)
F. Matthias Alexander:
(Whispering to himself, with a soft smile)
Harmony… Yes. It begins with stillness.
(The stage fades to black, leaving only the soft sounds of the garden in the background.)
End.