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About 10 years ago I found myself on a workshop with Arnold and Amy Mindell, which was about COMA and near death states. I am still not quite sure what compelled me to do the workshop except that I had read his amazing book Coma key to awakening and it had seemed to explain to me some of the things that had happened to my own grandmother at the time of her death.
I felt very reticent about being there amongst people who were primarily therapists, however I was soon drawn into the work Arny was doing by his great playfulness and the skill with which he seemed to be able to use all aspects of what was happening within a group for potential discovery and creativity. It seemed to make total sense to me and to be strongly related to the work we had been doing with improvisation and storytelling for theatre. I have been strongly influenced by Mindell's other books and amazed at how his work seems to relate to all aspects of life on a personal and global level; ranging from bodywork and dreams to conflict resolution and art. The creation of Improbable theatre's first show 70 HILL LANE was particularly influenced by Process work and has encouraged us to be braver as a company in trusting process as a means of creation.
The idea of creating a show based on Arnold Mindell's work with coma seems like a brave and a foolish decision. Brave because the importance of the work makes the project close to our hearts and foolish because it might be impossible to create theatre from this subject!
At the heart of Arny and Amy Mindell's work with comatose states is their proposition that:
"a person is not simply lost to a coma, but is going through potentially meaningful inner experiences, and that, after all possible medical emergencies and causes are cared for, we can communicate with the person through special methods. The outcome of these methods... varies from patient to patient. Some awaken or partially awaken to tell amazing stories of their inner journeys, especially when the coma is due to near death-conditions. Sometimes people give feedback about their inner experiences and remain in the coma. Others are able to communicate with family members about their inner experiences. Some emerge from the coma and return to life; others find an entry into death."
One of the striking things I remember from the workshop was the simple suggestion that if we want to find out what it is like to be in a coma all we have to do is lie on the floor and do it: pretend. Or if we want to find out what it is like to die then rehearse it now. It is from this starting point that our work begins. We do not suggest that we have special knowledge of people who are in coma states but we do know that we will all die. If we can discover something about that before we get there then as Arny says:
"Perhaps life will become more interesting and death less of a problem."
PHELIM MCDERMOTT March 1999
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