The Intention of Becoming One

David Cates borrows from the science of neurobiology to describe the ways in which human beings relate, and proposes that the rhythmic entrainment of music, dance and breath is a way to reduce the tension between “large mammals in close proximity.” He puts this idea into action, showing how we can switch off the high-alert signals of social anxiety and emotional guardedness, and flood the body with oxytocin. And he invites us to notice that the human nervous system is not independent of others, and that tension operates not just at the muscular level, but at the electromagnetic level too. Meditation may bring about the cessation of thought, he says, but enlightenment is a function of the cessation of all tension at all levels in the system.