You cannot think your way into right action. You have to act your way into right thinking
— Bill Wilson
An actress called me from her trailer. She was facing the challenge of an emotional scene and wondered how she could access the emotion to serve the work.
This made me think about creating structures that can help us climb into the emotional states we need. I often talk in these Substack pages about the exercises I use to create connection or to create conflict.
So, in our phone conversation we came up with some ideas and exercises to create a pathway to emotion.
This quote is perfect for my theme in this article:
You cannot think your way into right action. You have to act your way into right thinking
It is about embodiment. It is only by using your whole self — your breath, your voice, your body and your imagination — that you can create a pathway to the emotion you need. I do not think you can do this as effectively with your mind alone.
Let's take a moment to acknowledge that the quote…