An Introduction to the Optimal Stance – Part 1
We’ve discussed the practice, which is a way to think about what to do next: what to think about, what to build, what actions to take. Then we discussed a model for what it is and how it works. But these two facets of updrafting are incomplete without understanding exactly how we figure into the picture. Now it is time to talk about how we, human beings, relate to the universe’s ongoing creative endeavor. As it turns out, the way we think about the world and what’s happening, and why we do things is just about as important as what we do. (I might argue that they are really more important.) It seems a bit strange at first, but your habitual ways of relating to your life are critical to the creative process. We call our habitual way of relating to the world our stance.
What is a stance?
A stance is a position, relationship, or posture we take relative to the world. Physically, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally, it embodies:
- How we understand what is happening, and
- The position from which action arises.
It is a point of view and a perspective, but it is dynamic in that it guides and directs our actions. One could say that it mediates (or filters) the incoming information and entrains (or controls) the outgoing actions.
We often think of stance as a physical position and there are many examples of specific stances:
- Aikido, judo, and yoga all have particular ways of holding the body and the mind as we participate in the movement.
- A dancer has a very particular sense of balance, muscle awareness, and attention as he prepares to be ready to move in any direction.
- A surfer, a glider, or a horse and rider all have very specific physical and mental relationships to the environment in which they participate.
In our usage here, a stance is not purely physical, though it can include a physical component. It is our particular relationship to our work, the world, what is happening, and other people that represents a specific way of being in any activity. In its most refined form, the optimal stance (which we will explore further) is all you need. As we will grow to understand, if you are able to maintain the optimal stance, you don’t really need of a lot of the details of the practice or an understanding of the model, because the stance itself guides your choices. But most of us are working from some less-than-optimal stance, and the practice and the explanations of the arising world model help us make those moment to moment decisions when our stance isn’t perfection, but is off in the weeds somewhere. In fact, they are tools to help us refine our stance in addition to helping us figure out what to do next.
