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From: Walt Manning
Date: 10/14/02
Time: 2:40:00 PM
Remote Name: 141.225.97.53
Andreas - I enjoyed your comments and seeing your picture. I can't say that I fully comprehend all that you are saying but possibly I enjoyed it because we are very nearly the same age, my mother's side of the family is from southern Germany (Kiser, Derr) and I spend what time I can riding cross-country on my BMW RT1100 motorrad. The only thing related to Zen that I've red is Pirsig's book but I do think that the processes you discuss can be nicely applied to stuttering. I know what you mean about achieving a "set" or "being in a zone" when performing sports or some reasonably complicated physical activity (such as Karate). I've experienced it a number or ways including kayaking and speaking. I especially like your comments about paradoxes and the fact that there are so many of them and that's certainly the case with stuttering (e.g. the more we try to control our speech system the less well it works). It seems to me that lots of practicing is essential. I try to impress that onmy students and clients. The techniques are only that, nothing that difficult in many cases. But until you make the technique part of you so that it "becomes you" and there is no separation between you, your thought process, your planning, your action, you've not accomplished much. And oh yes, I drive an Audi A4 quatro.