Balancing Act, text and ink drawing, 19 x 28 cm, United Network c/o Ystad Art Museum, 2008.

BALANCING ACT
In the sound between heart and thoughts there is the possibility of words. A flow, a torrent through the throat. The throat is squeezed by a lump of flesh in the throat. That lump is not controlled by the will, but belongs to the autonomic nervous system. It’s kind of magical, even if Science wouldn’t express it like that. The thyroid gland forms part of the network of glands throughout the body, a straw with wild strawberries that defines who we are, how we act and react. The position of the glands coincide with the Chakra system used by the 2000-year old Yoga teachings. The straw with the roots in the earth and the other end pointing towards God, and each wild strawberry a point of contact for the Etheric Body to join with our physical body. In a paperback from 1957, “Yoga for Everyone”, which I found in the bookshelves of my aunt in 1984 when I was 12 years old, it says, under “Chakra Vishoudda”:

“If you breathe and concentrate on the Chakra Vishoudda, you will be endowed with an hypnotic eloquence and ability to penetrate the mysteries of nature.”

Chakra Vishoudda is in the throat, where the sound gushes. I breathed through the Chakra Vishoudda during the ‘80s, and used the eloquence against my father who was very violent and erratic. Words like “Protection”, “The Protection of Eloquence”. What happens when you forget to breathe through the heart? An imbalance in the Chakra system means that the Divine Energy Flow (the Prana Energy) doesn’t flow as it should, which causes all sorts of physical ailments and finally the loss of contact with the Spiritual in yourself as well as with Truth. In the same way, in the system of Science, an imbalance in a gland has physical and, indirectly, psychological consequences. An imbalance in the thyroid gland of Science is inherited, just like God’s punishment in the Old Testament. It can take the shape of both under- or overproduction of thyroid hormones.

UNDERPRODUCTION
easily irritated,
increased need of sleep, tiredness,
decreased powers of initiative and and cognitive ability,
uninterested,
difficulty concentrating,
memory loss,
decreased ability to co-ordinate,
less sense of taste,
headaches,
slower speech,
impaired hearing,
dizziness,
less appetite,
weight-loss,
sensitivity to cold,
lower body temperature,
lower sexual appetite or even impotence,
lower fertility,
muscular pain and stiffness,
numbness, shooting pains and ache in hands,
abnormally subjective feelings without any rational reason, for instance a piercing sensation in the toes,
långsammare hjärtverksamhet,
decreased blood circulation,
ileus,
constipation,
decreased ability to absorb in bowels,
hernia,
hoarseness,
swollen vocal cords,
difficulties swallowing,
anaemia,
lowered ability to sweat.
Depression and inner psychosis that arise due to inner biological factors. This entails impaired perception, decreased ability to perceive the surrounding reality and [its own] the personality.

OVERPRODUCTION
excessive sweating,
nervousness,
restlessness,
irritation,
palpitations,
shaking hands,
insomnia,
increased appetite,
weight-gain (sometimes),
loose stool,
tiredness,
decreased fitness,
irregular menstruation (girls),
back pain,
weaker bone tissue,
nervous stare,
retracting eyelids,
swollen eye muscles and tissue,
bulging eyes,
various skin conditions,
swollen shins,
changes in hair growth, hair loss,
faster nail growth,
increased pressure in cranium and ears,
eyes fill with tears,
the thyroid gland can grow to the extent that it becomes visible,
the cell activity increases, the body "rushes" and the accelerator is being pushed to the floor.

In popular parlance, these kinds of disorder were called “old woman’s disease”. The scurrilous portrait is of an aggressive, almost hysterical old woman who lives some distance from the village. One also says that fear and sorrow are like a lump in the throat. We all know how it feels when you can’t swallow. In “Yoga for Everyone”, it says that the reason for problems with glands are due to impulsive emotions:

“...since it’s really through our impulses, through the mechanism in our thoughts, that we affect the glands.”

If an imbalance in the thyroid gland is an Old Testament punishment, you might as well accept God’s will. And God can punish several generations. If it’s the imaginings and agitations of the grumpy old lady that are causing the imbalance - well, she’s only got herself to blame. But research during the 21st century has shown that persons who live under severe pressure for a long time, for instance those who suffer war, can experience an impaired thyroid gland, something which has been observed in young men, soldiers. Then you’re a victim.

God’s will
Emotional agitation
Victims
Genes
Inheritance
Destiny
Wild strawberries on a straw

Idea: Balancing act for a choir (to [manifest] a balancing act in the world)

Put together a choir where everyone has an imbalance in their thyroid gland. We rehearse a piece. Perform it once, and have some coffee afterwards.

Text by Madelene Oldeman 2008