Attunement vs. Attainment

Attunement has become a sacred part of my working life. It is a seminal part of Craniosacral Therapy training which has informed my sessions and teaching.

Attunement is a two way resonance where both parties greet each other in the quiet space of energetic vibration. The feeling is rather like two suns simultaneously rising and merging into a co-created skyscape. It’s a steady, slow, delicate process that relates to Nature and also to our essence. 

First contacts with someone’s field are often dense with communication, like seeing an old friend after a long interlude. The field must be respected to brighten and show itself. 

As attunement deepens, the system opens into a vast presentation of what is. The energy body appreciates systemic support without clinging to any kind of pattern, process, or problem. As the relationship deepen, reinvigoration begins. 

The thrill of craniosacral therapy is to create contexts to stay in this open territory. As soon as there is any grasping, knowing, or forcing the infinite possibility of attunement titrates down to the temporality of attainment. Attainment is not a negative thing. It helps us define ourselves, mark milestones, and come to terms with the finite nature of the physical body. It is the longing to be well without the shadow of illness or injury. 

The more I engage with biodynamic work, the more I am shifting away from attainment and embracing the complexity of human life. The  energetic body is holistic, timeless, and free. The more we identify with these qualities the less we limit our perceptions of ourselves. Entering into states of luminosity opens more internal space to discover our own timelessness. Attunement doesn’t magically take pain away but it can have a profound impact on how we experience it. The curiosity required to sustain attunement lures our attention away from labels, diagnoses, or fear. 

In my experience, those who are oriented to attune often are nonplussed by attainment. Those who are oriented to attain often struggle to attune. Profound autonomy arises when we can trust our energy body’s timeless expression of health. The hallmark of aliveness is to be able to be open to the options revealed by attunement and embrace life as it is.