--- In craniosacralnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "inverin1969
<inverin1969@y...>" <inverin1969@y...> wrote:
> Colleagues,
>
> It seems that discussion on this list has picked up a bit lately,
and
> I would appreciate any feedback regarding the article posted on
12/3
> regarding the lack of interexaminer agreement in palpation of the
> cranial rhythm. Thanks.
>
> JMN

Dr. Norton,

I must thank you for posting your article to this group (and other
craniosacral groups) for the benefit of arousing an inquiry into what
really is at the heart of these elusive rhythms.

Please note that I used the word rhythm in the plural; this is
intentional because there is one Tide that may be observed as
different rhythms. Yes, you have discerned correctly that the
perception of the practitioner is significant to the rate of the
rhythm observed. The evidence in your data shows that each
practitioner seemed to be consistent in the range of the rate he/she
was observing. I would like to suggest that perhaps he/she may not
realize his/her habituated field of reference for observing the Tidal
phenomenon. That is to say, not every practitioner in the field is
conscious of the correlation between practitioner awareness and the
rhythm perceived. As far as I know, this was explained for the first
time by Franklyn Sills of Karuna Institute. I will do my best to
honour Franklyn's work, for the sake of clarifying what's happening.

If a practioner happens to be focused narrowly into osseous or
membraneous mobility (this is a specific usage of the word mobility
and refers to the articular or reciprocal movement that tissue
makes), then he/she will most likely perceive a quick rate of
rhythm. This is the cranial rhythmic impulse. It is movement that
organises around conditions (e.g., injury, trauma, toxins) that are
present in the tissue field. As it organises around conditions, it is
irregular (6-12 cycles per minute) and sometimes even not palpable
due to the impact of the condition upon the subject. In the case of
trauma, for instance, the physiological system may be either hyper-
aroused or hypo-aroused; the subject's lack of resources may further
influence the tissue field; all this contributes to dampening the CRI.

If a practitioner happens to soften his/her focus and widen his/her
awareness to the longitudinal fluctuation of the fluids of the body,
then he/she will most likely perceive a mid-range rate of rhythm.
This will be a fairly stable rate of about 2.5 cycles per minute, or
24 second cycles. Also, in this state of awareness, a practioner may
perceive tissue motility. Again, this is a specific usage of this
word to represent an omnidirectional, or spherical, expansion and
contraction of tissue within itself. This is to say that bones and
membranes swell and shrink rhythmically as a field of fluid-crystal
matrix. This is not a function of any specific system of the body
that has been determined, but a principle of living organisms in
general. This principle is called Potency in our practice. This
quality of awareness relates to what has been called the Fluid Tide,
or Mid-Tide. It should be noted here that the subject's available
resources may influence how strongly or weakly this rhythm will
present; however, the rate of this rhythm remains fairly stable.

If a practioner instead should widen his/her field of perception just
beyond the bioelectromagnetic field of the subject, then he/she would
perceive a rate that is rather slow: one long cycle each 100
seconds. This is the awareness that observes the Forces that underly
the conditions perceived in the CRI awareness and the ebb and flow
that emerges in the Mid-Tide. This relates to the healing capacity
of the body physiology in the presence of forces that are residual of
a past event. This also relates to the centripedal and centrifugal
forces that manifest a subject into being (We call this the
groundswell). This is the awareness of creation and existence
happening in the moment. This is called the Long Tide.

So, it is no wonder to me that practioners might not be in agreement
as regards the rate of the rhythm they are observing, even if two
practioners were palpating the same subject at the same time. If
these two practioners were holding the awareness of different aspects
of the Tidal phenomenon, they would observe different rhythms. What
is important, however, is that these rhythms are all manifestations
of the same Tide. It is like a composite wave that has to be broken
into its constituent waves in order to explain. Again, this is not
common parlence in the practicing field because it is only recently
being understood.

So, yes, Dr. Norton, what you have noticed about a practioner's
experience of various subjects' cranial rhythms is significant. As I
see it, most practitioners have a strong habit of perceiving the
rhythm in one way because they know no other. It is my hope that
practioners will begin to recognise what is going on that "they don't
know that they don't know." This would enable them to start seeing
the composite phenomenon.

May this inspire new testing that incorporates the various aspects of
the Tidal phenomenon. Perhaps, we will be able to demonstrate and
explain what we are doing that seems to work so well clinically.

By the way, as to what manifests the Tidal phenomenon in the first
place: well, this is where our founding father, Blunt Bone Bill, had
to find words to express the ineffable: the Breath of Life.

May you be peaceful,
May you be happy,
May you enjoy radiant health.

Brian L. McPherson