Code

So its the middle of winter and I spent to much time online which got me thinking of how we are being influenced by our technology and by those who program our technology. My thoughts once again wondered over to the power of language, which made me reflect how I use language in as a massage therapist.

We live in interesting times. The line between psychosis-inducing science fiction and the mundane is blurry. We are living through a mystical time where no one can be quite certain where the boundaries of our potentials lie. Things that would seem magical only a few generations ago are now obsolete. The first (at least practical) light bulbs are less than 150 years old. They are still operational. My phone which was the cheapest I could find surely has more computing powers than the supercomputers of a few generations ago that would take up an entire room.

Anyone who is determined to learn how to can program language into a computer, creating whatever binary world they so desire. If enough people frequent a particular cite they will, being social animals, be influenced by the internal logic that was intentionally programmed into whatever world they are clicking through. If for example, we are only giving the choice between liking and unliking something do we not lose a bit of nuance? What begins as simple computer coding can end up restructuring our collective thought process, morphing social norms. Programmers are not just programming technology but are programming society (that's us) through technology.

This is not to say we should be fearful of this brave new world we are in, but I think we all should be skeptical of how we are being subtly influenced. To be fair our minds have always been susceptible to influence both for good and bad. What I see as the difference and danger now, is we all have so much more power to influence each other. Whereas in the past only a select few could weave a narrative that would become the standard narrative for most people, now almost anyone can amplify their thoughts through social media. Of course, this is good in many ways. So many more stories get told. We have a richer more varied view of the world. There is a dark side too of course. As we gain exponential power we become no more attuned to the effects of our actions. From drones strikes to twitter mobs it's easy to see how disconnected people seeking power cause so much more pain than necessary.

So what does this have to do with massage? Well, a crucial component of massage is language. The language I or anyone else who is in a healing profession uses can be just as important as the techniques we employ. I have to ask myself when trying to describe what I think may be going on with someone body, is what I am saying helping to empower someone or is it turning someone into a victim of there circumstances. Do I say someone “has a tight back” as if that is just a facet of who they are, Rather I try to find a way to explain things in a way that increases someone's agency.

To put this another way, bodies are adaptative. They are in a constant state of adjusting to the circumstances we are putting them in. Whatever pain or “imbalance” we are experiencing is ultimately the result of the body trying to adapt to the stress we are putting it under. Massage can work out whatever stress is stored in the body. A good massage will make us aware of how we are overburdening the body. It is the language during the massage that I believe will nudge someone to pivot their ways as to decrease their future pain.

And like our techno priest programming friends I believe the influence of language within the healing arts extends well past the people we directly interact with. As I mentioned earlier we are a social animal. Language, whether spoken or coded can be seen as contagion. We pick up on the language around us, for both good and bad.

Anthony Bruni