(click to hear cole speak “million-mile body” – transcript follows)
imagine you are a million miles tall_
this would bring you far above your current horizon_
imagine now every movement that you make_
even if small_
is highly consequential to the earth you are standing on_
a slight adjustment might move mountains_
a kick or a jump might send the planet spinning off in a new direction_
with your million mile body_
be direct_
be intentional_
let nothing be done without great consideration first_
raise the hand, bend the knee, lower the ear_
change direction_
move swiftly away from the center of yourself_
raise a hand, bend a knee, lower an ear_
move swiftly away from the center of yourself_
raise your hand, bend your knee, lower your ear_
move swiftly away from the center of yourself_
…
let your belly button direct you to a wall_
connect your belly to that wall_
like a starfish imagine your belly button is a mouth_
this was our first mouth in the womb and it has all the sensorial capacity_
to take information in_
imagine you are sucking it through the wall_
information about the structure of the building you are in_
its relationship to the ground_
imagine all of this sensing information_
traveling through your million mile body_
think a thought of gratitude and disconnect from the wall_
proceed now in an angular and jagged exploration of the space immediately around your body_
an angular and jagged experience of the space immediately surrounding you_
a close kinesphere_
your million mile body has great effect on the earth as you move_
stop what you are doing now and find the ground_
you can kneel, lay, rest.
from the space between your bones_
write words_
from the space between your bones_
draw pictures_
from the space between your bones_
communicate your record of perception_
from the space between your cells_
celebrate something_
from the space between your past and your future_
settle in now_
through circles_
through rotation_
settle in to the center of you_
imagine gratitude rising off your skin like heat_
into the angles of the jagged space around you_
shift slightly in your million mile body and imagine your head closer to the sun_
allow your head to drop now closer to the core of the earth_
and, end.
“million-mile body” spoken score improvised by garlando for the collaborative movement+meditation practice benevolent instruction.
image: garlando’s “mountains4” acrylic, housepaint, watercolor on paper bag
Cole G 