Communication spectrum

There’s something fascinating about how people interact physically, and how communication becomes involved in those interactions.  It can be the way people look at each other, move around each other (or drive), congregate in a group, try to get someone’s attention without speaking, etc.  Movements in these situations act as signals for other things that may or may not be stated with words.  It’s been discovered that the language parts of the brain also coincide with the gestural parts of the brain, so that the function of movement operates as a part of communication.

For me, it’s interesting to think about playing drums in this regard.  There are, of course, many actions within this practice that are indicative of the act itself – creating a sense of rhythm, utilizing some technique, etc., but there seems to be more involved than that sometimes  – and those times are when it seems like something is being communicated beyond the individual parts.  Maybe it’s the function of these gestures, and the brain feels like it is using a higher level of resources – both right and left at work – all cylinders firing.

But what is being communicated? This is a question I’ve pursued for a long time, and in various forms; when you feel like something is being revealed to you, but it is not easily identifiable.  What do you do with that communication?  How do you respond? And how can one practice to achieve that level of ‘dialog’ at will? How can that energy be utilized as a resource for our daily lives?