CINEMORPHICS
A Brief Overview
(Revised)
“The universe is not made of atoms, it is made of characters and their stories.”
Muriel Rukeyser
WHAT IS CINEMORPHICS?
The name Cinemorphics refers to the process and art of changing, transforming, transmuting the construct known as the ego, persona, self, etc....(what someone thinks of when asked to describe himself or herself...one's idea of oneself)...from one form into another, by making use of the methods and techniques of acting and movie/theater production. Bodily changes may also be addressed or result from this change in the construct, and emotional as well as physical health may be improved.
WHAT CAN CINEMORPHICS DO FOR ME?
Such changes may be sought for a number of reasons...to fix some problem either physical or psychological...for serious personal growth (e.g. specific intelligence development) or, possibly most importantly, as a form of PLAY.
"You" are a bodymind, not a body with a mind or vice versa. Things that influence either, influence both…powerfully.
"You" are a verb, not a noun. "You" are fluid, constantly changing…at every level. The static "you" is a persistent illusion.
"You"… "Your self", persona, ego…”who you are”…however named, is a construct that is formed by the interaction of genetics, imprinting, conditioning and learning. "You" have little input into this process until after "you" have been thoroughly shaped by "your" parents, peers, culture.
Now consider that this "you" that "you" now seem to be is, actually, very much like a fictitious character that may appear in a novel, play or movie and may be re-written, re-produced and re-performed, using the techniques of those media…
More specifically…
When someone asks, who are you?, your response may include your name, age, sex, race, height, weight, hair and eye color, where you live, whether you are married or not, whether you have children, what you do for a living, your hobbies, your likes and dislikes, your religious beliefs, your hopes, fears, hang-ups, skills, etc. If pushed, you could produce an exhaustive "character" description of all of the things that, when combined, make up what you take to be you. You identify with this description, this construct.
This description of who you take yourself to be...your ego...includes genetic, biological and physical components as well as culturally conditioned, learned and psychologically "shaped" components. Most of these components have been assembled over a long period of time without your intervention. (e.g. you were born with black hair and learned to speak Spanish growing up.) Some you believe you have intentionally cultivated (e.g. you decided to learn to play the guitar and make your living as a musician). In many cases the distinction between which of your attributes were come by intentionally and which were thrust upon you by nature or nurture is very blurry.
In any case, this description of whom you think you really are, this construct with which you identify, can be looked at in another way. If written out, your description of yourself reads like a character description in a movie script, play or novel. Consider yourself a fictitious character that has been devised by the haphazard, natural forces of ordinary life in the world but which you have believed is the real and only you.
Now that you realize that this "you" that you can observe and describe is very much like a character in a movie, consider the possibilities. If your life is like a movie or play and you are the main character, lets have a look at how your character was written...to a great extent not by you...and how you are being directed...also in many cases not by you. If you don't like what you see, demand a re-write. Your character...your self...is not written in stone. It is malleable and can be re-written, then rehearsed and performed by you...at first with the collaboration of and direction by a professional and then by you alone. You can also learn to be your own best, most discerning audience, write your own reviews...decide what is working and what is not. You become the producer, the star performer, the critic. You learn how to take charge.
From now on, you are THE PLAYER.
"If you think you are and everybody else thinks you are, then you are."
Jean Genet
HOW DO I DO THIS?
This self shift is accomplished either through a series of one on one sessions (production meetings) with a Cinemorphics facilitator (producer/director), or one or more intensive workshops. What follows is an overview of how these sessions and workshops are conducted.
You will be asked to provide a brief medical and psychological history and a summary of what you want to accomplish by using this process. The director of the sessions or workshop will describe the types and levels of change that Cinemorphics can provide, outline the procedures of, as well as the dangers inherent in the process.
You will then write a character description of "you"...your character as you now see it...which will be reviewed, discussed and then re-scripted, rehearsed and then performed, first in the private session or workshop environment and then in ordinary, day-to-day surroundings. (This involves a deconstruction of the “old you” followed by a reconstruction of the revised version and is a far more detailed process than is implied by this brief overview.) Videotape may be used as a feedback device in these rehearsal and performance stages. During the course of the sessions you will possibly have assignments to do which relate to certain components of your new character. (e.g., if you decide that your new character speaks French, you could be directed to take a course in French. Or, you may simply be directed to go shopping...finally buy that intriguing hat you always thought would make you look mysterious, but always put off getting.) Following the rehearsal, then performance and "audience" stage, you and your director will evaluate the effectiveness of your re-written character and your enactment of it...whether it "plays" or needs more development. (See Cinemorphics 2.0: Exercises, Games & Experiments to get a more detailed sense of the kinds of things that can happen at this stage of the process.)
“Between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney.”
Lon Chaney
YOU MENTIONED LEVELS OF CHANGE?
While one level of change is not inherently better than another, there are different kinds and amounts of change that are possible depending on what you want to accomplish. Some levels are more detailed and elaborate than others.
For example, your character synopsis may include shyness, which you eliminate in your re-write. This may be the only thing you want to change and the only thing you work on. When you are successful, of course, this one change can affect everything else in your life.
Or, your character synopsis may include obesity and shyness, which interact. Your new character is thin and flamboyant. You must work on both aspects of this in order to be able to play the part. In this case physical change must accompany rehearsal and "method" acting of flamboyant scenarios.
Or, you may want to make a more comprehensive change... be re-written and directed in identifying with and performing a character very different than the one you are playing at the beginning of the process. This could involve changing your name, your hair color, your wardrobe, your job, your routines, your skills, your "image", the way you conduct personal relationships, etc. You turn yourself into a work of art. (This type of Cinemorphic Play is has been developed into a form of ongoing, interactive performance art and is referred to as Cinemorphing. Cinemorphing is discussed in more detail elsewhere.)
Also, many well known studies have shown that behavioral changes can result in physiological changes...heart rate, blood pressure, neurochemistry, etc. So, as was alluded to above, one change can affect everything else in your life - or many changes can result in the manifestation of a single objective and/or situation, which you have desired that is now written into your script.
Additionally…after realizing that who you think you really are is simply a construct that you have identified with, a fictitious character that can
be altered and performed, a tool that you use as you live your life…you may begin to dig deeper and ask more basic questions. Who am I really...who or what identifies with this fictitious character I have taken to be myself? Who is the observer...the witness to all this...who is making the changes in the character I am playing now? These are extremely significant questions and looking at them may result in a "waking up", a dropping away of the husk of persona altogether. In this respect Cinemorphics allows another sideways approach - to Zen, Advaita, Taoism and the other nondual traditions which can also be explored in advanced sessions and workshops.
"The ego is just the dream of the Witness, the film that the Witness creates..., simply so it will have something to watch at the movies."
Ken Wilber
WHAT ABOUT DANGERS?
Individuals with certain medical conditions and diagnoses of certain types of mental illness should not use Cinemorphics alone as a tool for change. Conventional medical approaches and psychotherapy, SUPERVISED BY A DOCTOR OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, need to be used prior to and in conjunction with Cinemorphics in these cases.
Also, when someone significantly changes even one aspect of themselves and their life, everything else changes as well (for good or bad - see above). A prudent consideration of this must be taken before you decide to re-construct yourself.
“Be careful what you're dreaming...soon your dream'll be dreaming you.”
Willie Nelson
CAN YOU POINT TO EXAMPLES OF THE CINEMORPHIC EFFECT IN EVERYDAY LIFE?
As we look around our increasingly post-modern culture...particularly via the media...we can begin to identify powerful examples of the effect.
Many film/stage actors, musicians and other celebrities have gone through this process with striking effect. Character creation techniques are utilized extensively off the screen and stage as well as on. The process is evident in the political and business arena and is used by con-men, criminals and spies...and pro-wrestlers. Post- operative transsexuals take the Cinemorphic process to one of its extremes...physical sex change as well as persona identity change. Thousands use aliases and conjure up alternate personalities in internet chat rooms and role playing games. Hundreds of thousands make a geographic change, introduce themselves with a new nickname and experiment with being a new person in a new location. You, yourself, have probably experienced becoming a "different person" on vacation, particularly in a foreign country.
As you become aware of the effect you will begin to see it everywhere, applied unconsciously and unsystematically in most cases.
Cinemorphics can change that…at least for the conscious PLAYER.
“Play is the only way the highest
intelligence of humankind
can unfold.”
Joseph Chilton Pearce
“You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.”
Charlie Parker
