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Convention 2004
Letter to Presenters
The Primal Mind—Valuing Intellect and Emotion
Dear Friends,
In the IPA, cherishing our feelings and working with them to promote growth is almost taken for granted. We are also more and more accepting that emotional openness and clearing of emotional blocks leads to spiritual well-being, and that this is a worthwhile goal as well. However, the third factor in the human equation, the intellect, has not been explored in our community as thoroughly as the others. It is the intention of the 2004 Annual Convention, The Primal Mind—Valuing Intellect and Emotion, to adjust that imbalance.
In discussing ideas for a convention theme, we realized that we both came to primal initially needing to learn how to set our overactive brains aside and trust our bodies and feelings. But, for us, the ultimate goal is to create a balance between these two parts of ourselves-where intellect and emotion play an equal and complementary role, working together to facilitate healthy living and being. We hope that a convention on The Primal Mind will stimulate us all to re-evaluate some of our mental qualities that may have been overlooked or denigrated and let them make our lives richer. We hope that we are moved to support one another's left-brain strivings with the same enthusiasm we have always had for one another's feelings.
We are pleased that our keynote presenter is someone who exemplifies the confluence of mind and body that we wish to investigate. Al Pesso, the co-founder of Pesso-Boyden System/Psychomotor (Psychomotor Therapy), works in a group with one individual at a time in a session called a "structure." He identifies where energy is held in the body and brings about its release and consequent healing by enrolling group members as archetypal and familial introjects who interact with the subject. Please visit his website, www.pbsp.org, to learn more about Al and his therapy.
Many possibilities for workshops suggest themselves under this theme:
- Primal Theory: Thinking as a Tool for Healing
- How We Use Thinking as a Defense
- The Dumbing Down of Women
- The Loss of Mental Capacity with Age
- Society's Choosing Intellect Over Emotion
- Smart or Smart Alec?
- Harnessing Our Brains in the Service of Our Feelings
- Are Thinking and Creativity Incompatible?
- and, of course, Softball from the Left Side of the Brain.
The program will also include workshops and other events of general interest to the Primal community.
Please consider what you would like to offer this year and send us your application. Let your mind be challenged and your heart be open to new possibilities.
Warmest regards,
Harriet Geller and Jane Lewis
2004 Convention Co-Chairs
To return to the 2004 call to presenters, click here.
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