To take a stand for the Living

To take a stand for the living

Column by Per Johansson

In cynical moments, the thought occurs to me that the only knowledge and competence that is considered and promoted today is that which is compatible with and benefits the Machine.

There is also no lack of evidence that this is the case.

So what to do?

One way is to ignore this state of affairs on one level and think and act from another, yet entirely valid perspective, namely that of the living.

You are alive. I am alive.

The Machine only lives because we run along and let ourselves be grafted into it. To some extent, it is unavoidable.

But we are more than that, and we need to express and talk about it.

I have done this in many podcasts and live contexts over the years.

Often, I have emphasized that all mental and “spiritual” development must be grounded, expressed, and thus tested in everyday life.

In this everyday life, we are present through our bodies, which we know too little about, despite the fact that they live as much as we do on the “inside.”

There is much that could become more genuinely alive in society if we had as much compassion, empathy with our own bodies as we have with our thoughts and emotions. They are not really separable in everyday life, even though we are good at doing so. I am too.

Therefore, it is significant that our thoughts about the living, everyday lives of our bodies somewhat match how they actually behave, often unbeknownst to us.

Knowledge based on the foundation of the living then becomes important. A knowledge that is not entirely compatible with the Machine, troublesome enough. But which promotes our lives.

Everything I have said now is the only reason why I have been engaged for the past few years in contributing to spreading knowledge about fascia, the body’s largest organ, its “whole organ,” whose very existence and functions literally require a focus on living, whole bodies. Such as you and I, where we actually find ourselves in everyday life.

In traditional Chinese philosophy, practice, and medicine (qi gong, acupuncture), this has been known, the important role of fascia, for thousands of years. The same is true in India and elsewhere.

Now, Western modern knowledge development has the opportunity to catch up, even on its own terms.

But it does not directly benefit the Machine.

It is a revolutionary, possible paradigm shift.

For all the above reasons, I am stimulated to participate in a major international conference in Uppsala at the beginning of November – Swedish Fascia Convention 2024. The website has just been launched so you can take a look at what it will be about. It would be nice if we met there.

It will be a conference of meetings and discussions, not long lectures.

To Swedish Fascia Convention

By Per Johansson Doctor of human ecology and historian of science and ideas

About Swedish Fascia Convention

For over ten years, we have been trying to understand and explain what fascia is, why it’s so important to understand, and how our entire perception of the body and humanity changes when we see ourselves as living beings.

We are not alone in this. Prominent researchers like Guimberteau, Theise, Pollack, and Levy have been struggling against the odds to get people to embrace the concept of the living body.

In November 2024, we will be discussing this live in Uppsala, Sweden.