The Radical Aliveness / Core Energetics Lineage

Core Energetics' lineage can be traced back to Wilhelm Reich, a contemporary of Freud, who developed an original approach incorporating the body into the therapeutic process. John Pierrakos expanded these concepts and practices into Core Energetics—widely seen as an evolution of the Reichian process. Ann Bradney, a former student of Pierrakos, founded Radical Aliveness, which represents a logical progression and more recent development in the field. Along with its predecessors, the Radical Aliveness / Core Energetics model understands that the way in which energy is held or moved in the body is a reflection of a person's personality and emotional and psychological states. The Radical Aliveness / Core Energetics approach is marked by its distinct ability to apply this knowledge to group interactions and conflict resolution out in the world.

THE VISION
The Radical Aliveness model was developed by Ann Bradney while teaching Core Energetics to students and workshop participants during the past two decades. She found that the Core techniques and principles could be expanded upon and used as a springboard for a new type of leadership and involvement in the world as agents of positive change.

 

THE PROCESS
With Radical Aliveness, we work with group energy, a collective intelligence that requires each member's total presence, participation, and connection. We learn to surrender to the energy inside of us and outside of us, allowing all of life to lead us. What's really different about this work is that by opening to multiple perspectives and diverse expressions, and letting go of the conventional trappings of of leadership, we discover we are able to have a much more powerful impact on the group - and ultimately, on our outside communities and the world.

We learn and practice Core Energetics techniques and concepts throughout the Radical Aliveness Training. Core brings together feelings and consciousness using your body's energy through such actions as kicking, punching, holding positions that cause muscles to vibrate and energy to flow, breathing, exaggerating postures, using sounds and facial expressions, and connecting statements to movements. Because this work brings a dynamic, body-based experience to issues and conflicts, people often find that they undergo healing and noticeable progress much more quickly than with other self-development work - and access deep emotions that talking alone won't easily uncover.

 

WHAT IS REQUIRED
Radical Aliveness work is challenging, because it asks individuals to be fully present and honest; surprising, because it builds on the energy, emotions, and issues that pop up at any given moment; and exciting, because it connects us with our potential to bring a more authentic and powerful self to our lives, our interactions with others, and our connection with the world.

Radical Aliveness moves our focus beyond individual power, and toward our larger self. It teaches us how to be effective, influential leaders in a new socio-political environment where we are all connected, where we can all participate, and where each individual is needed to create the wisdom of the whole.

Radically alive leadership requires the ability to let go of one's objectives, assumptions, and need to control. We learn to be exquisitely present, fully alive, and unafraid to know anything about ourselves. When we can experience the powerful feelings of others in a group without the need to mold or tame them, that's Radical Aliveness. And when we can learn to hold a space where conflict and challenge are welcome because they serve as doorways to fresh insights, ingenious solutions, and new possibilities, that's radically alive leadership.

This type of leadership training is especially beneficial for anyone who deals with conflict and discord, such as community organizers, politicians, businesspeople, therapists, healers, teachers, social workers, social entrepreneurs, and mediators, to name a few.

Radical Aliveness requires participants to take emotional risks and interact with unpredictable group energy in creative and constructive ways. It is for people who are ready to take responsibility for their actions and behaviors, step into a bigger relationship with self and others, and learn how to practice this work out in the world.

Click here for details about the Radical Aliveness Training program.