Barrett L.
Dorko, P.T.
There is a distinct difference
between your desire and your intention. When you desire something,
you are attached to the outcome. Intention, on the other hand, is desire without
any attachment to the outcome. You intend to do something, but you are no longer
obsessed with the idea. By letting go of desire and by participating with
detached involvement, you open yourself to infinite possibilities, allowing your
destiny to unfold spontaneously- in tune with the fluidity of the cosmos.
From The Zen of Oz by Joey
Green
More than anything, Dorothy wants
to move her neck without pain. She�s scared to death to try, of course, and
she�s told me how much it�s been hurting about six times during the first
two minutes. Perhaps she thinks I�m deaf, but it�s more likely that this is
her way of warning me not to hurt her further, and I struggle not to tell her to
please be quiet for a while. Slowly, very slowly, I�ve learned to be patient
with this kind of problem, and to listen more than talk.
My job at this point is to
somehow elicit movement from Dorothy that corrects the mechanical deformation
responsible for her discomfort. When the patient is as scared as Dorothy, it
makes no sense to push them at all, especially if you don�t know in which
direction to go. Without any way of figuring this out, I have to depend upon the
patient to move actively. This is the dilemma described by countless therapists
when they say, �I can�t treat her. She just won�t relax.�
This is where the distinction
between desire and intention comes in. If the patient�s obsession with pain
relief (their desire) remains foremost in their mind, the journey toward it will
be full of uncertainty and false starts. Green�s point is that desire clouds
our vision of the present and what it has to offer. I would say as well that
desire interferes with naturally occurring instinctive movements that might not
resemble the patient�s goal in any way. If restricted movement in one
direction will only resolve with movement in the opposite direction, at least to
begin with, desire will not allow its expression. Intention, as defined here,
allows the patient to proceed with movements that might not directly lead them
toward their goal, but keeps them moving toward correction just the same. If
they relinquish their obsession with relief and free movement, that is, if they surrender,
they will have a better chance of reaching their goal eventually.
Green speaks of Dorothy�s
successful movement back to Kansas as a series of surrenders. He points out that
her early decision not to remain in Munchkinland, but rather to choose the
tortuous path deeper into Oz is an excellent example of intention, not desire.
Finally, her last movement to Kansas is made clear, but only after she
correctly answers questions about what she has learned. (Essentially that she
already has all she needs in her own backyard)
If I can get my Dorothy to attend to the movement in her own backyard, the stuff her body intends to do, and get her to focus on this and not some �miraculous� manipulation or rapid, active maneuver, she will display the qualities of surrender that precede the return to a familiar state. If I say when she first arrives, �You�re not in Kansas anymore,� she�ll probably agree, and, I hope, begin to follow the road home.