Floating

Have you ever spent an hour in a floating tank? I have come to love the experience. I have known about this practice for decades. Back in the 90s, I had a friend who installed a small floating pod in his home. He tried to build a business selling time in it. I never tried it even though I am generally interested in and open to experiences of this nature. But for my last birthday, my wife gave me a gift certificate at FloatingKC in Kansas City, Missouri. It is a wonderful salon in my part of town that has state of the art facilities. Finally, I embraced the experience and I am hooked! 

If is difficult to describe the experience to represent what it is like. Because it is not the same for everyone. In fact, it is not the same every time anyone does it. But it can be transforming at best, and wonderfully relaxing at the least. People who struggle with claustrophobia might be hesitant. But from my own experience it would seem that the case would have to be high on the spectrum. When a patron feels anxiety for any reason, it is suggested they simply step out of the tank and recompose themselves for a moment. Then step back in and resume the session. That does not break any rules.  And it affirms to the patron they are in control.

I will not attempt to describe the sensations of the floating experience. Many have already done that and their efforts are probably far better than what I could do. I still consider myself a novice at this practice and I am still learning about how it benefits me. I have a another session scheduled in the coming week as a matter of fact.

I want to call attention to a fact that does not help bring about a positive image of the floating experience. That has to do with the lexicon that has followed it ever since it created by John Lilly back in the mid 50s. You may know of him as the scientist who experimented with teaching dolphins how to understand human language. Lilly was a consummate explorer of the mind and psyche on several levels. Floating as we know it on a clinical level today was his invention.

I am referring to the negative descriptors associated with floating. It includes words like “isolation” and “deprivation”. We enter an “isolation tank” to experience “sensory deprivation”. Why would anyone voluntarily do that? Those are trigger words that cause people to take pause at the idea. We rely on our senses to navigate and survive in the world. It is true that one isolates themselves in a room that has a salt water tank. Once in the session, the environment is adjusted to reduce normal sensory awareness by depriving autonomic functions of their familiar stimulators. That is what makes it possible to focus on nothing other than our conscious state in the moment. Rather than feeling any sense of loss, it can be the most freeing experience many people ever have.

So, what might be better words than isolation and deprivation? For example, instead of “isolation”, consider “solitude”, or “reclusion”, or even “seclusion”. Are those words less intimidating? And instead of “deprivation”, how about “neutralization”, “removal”, or “disassociation”?

Words have power. They stir emotion and reaction. They repel and attract. Let’s replace negative descriptors with more positive ones. That may attract a larger population to the floating experience.

You should take acting lessons!

You should take acting lessons at a professional studio. Read that sentence carefully. I did not say you should become an actor. That is a different idea. But you should take the training that actors take.

Why? Because you are already an actor who performs every day. But you don’t think in that context. Everyone you interact with in your life, be it family, friends business associates, or strangers, makes you step into a role that the moment calls for. You don’t think about it, and you may not be doing it well. But that is what you are doing. Think about this for a moment. You know you do not engage conversationally with a stranger in the same way you converse with your parent or your children. 

Does that mean you have a split personality and are not genuinely yourself? Are you not being authentic with people you interact with? No, that is not what I mean. We can be authentic in all of our contacts with others regardless of how we change the way we speak and act within different experiences. The key to authenticity is to set aside your inclination to pay attention to yourself, and to instead pay careful attention to the other. You are at your best when you make a genuine connection with the person you are engaged with.

And that is what good acting instruction and coaching helps you master. It is not very likely that you will master this ability on your own unassisted, because you probably do not have the tools to do work with. They are not something we are born with, or that comes totally naturally for most of us.

If you are not going to become an actor, why bother with this? You don’t need to take actor training to have better conversations with your mom, you are saying to yourself. That is true. But think about all the interactions your day or week require you to participate in. Do you make presentations at your work, or give talks anywhere in public for any reason? Are you a salesperson in any capacity? Do you have to participate in conversations with anyone that can potentially become contentious? I can promise you that if the answer to any of these questions is yes, you can benefit and grow remarkably from taking acting training from a professional.

Brian Cutler is just such a professional coach. For many years, he operated Commercial Actors Studio in Kansas City with his wife, Jill. Several years ago he moved his studio business back to Southern California. It can be found in Burbank. The website is at www.actorsstudio.com. Check it out. It may turn out the be the best gift you ever give to yourself.