The Enigma of Changing Habits
Essays on Somatic Psychotherapy
2017 published in Medium.com
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2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the publishing of Job's Body by Deane Juhan.
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“I am free to create a new stable pattern, but once it is established, I am not free to dismiss it with a snap of my fingers… I do not have to consciously think about what to do with all of my muscles; on the other hand, my muscles are not necessarily doing what I consciously think.”
— Deane Juhan, Job’s Body
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In 2013 I wrote an 11,500 word essay for the Journal of Holistic Psychology Vol III, "The Enigma of Changing Habits - You Have to Get Somatic" that highlighted just a few of the many intriguing aspects of Job's Body. It also introduced a hypothesis developed by crossing Juhan's Job's Body with Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
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However, the third volume of the Journal was put on hold.
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Recently I chose to self-publish it in 8 very abridged parts on Medium.com, in time to celebrate Job's Body's 30th anniversary.
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Part 1: The Enigma of Changing Habits - You Have to Get Somatic
Part 2: We Need to Talk About the Gamma Motor System
Part 3: Reclaiming Locus of Control
https://medium.com/@maenkacerny/part-3-reclaiming-locus-of-control-801a5121961c#.vdog03gpk
Part 4: A Physical Anchor for Unconscious Resistance
Part 5: The Sensory End of the Nervous System
https://medium.com/@maenkacerny/part-5-the-sensory-end-of-the-nervous-system-e9055716610f#.m8wpcw4ry
Part 6: Liberation from Groundhog Day
https://medium.com/@maenkacerny/part-6-liberation-from-groundhog-day-62253910c5dd#.seol4d4er
Part 7: Attention as Contact
https://medium.com/@maenkacerny/part-7-attention-as-contact-1660d6337be4#.tfeolqc2h
Part 8: The Muscle Settings of “Psychological Time”: Relationship Between the Ego and the Golgis
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Job's Body was monumentally influential in my pursuit of understanding how the mind and the body influence each other, with its emphasis on the psycho-physiological aspects of the mind-body... conundrum. While it took many years to grasp the concepts of Job's Body enough to make Juhan's writing applicable to my work, I found his writing so intriguing I made the effort to read it long before I had even a rudimentary understanding of how the body works. In other words, back in 1995 it was far and above my ability to comprehend, yet it was endlessly inspiring and motivating.
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I hope this essay will inspire you to (re)discover Job's Body and the many fascinating insights of what it means to be a human body.
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