Original document by Eva Laser
The Hebrew original of the book Awareness Through Movement (1972) was published in February 1967 in Israel. The book has a different title: Improving ability – theory & practice.
It is divided into two sections:
- Part 1: Understanding while doing
- Part 2: Doing to understand: twelve practical lessons.
On one page, before the preface, Moshe Feldenkrais has placed an instruction that is missing in the English and Swedish translations, and probably in other languages too. He writes:
“Part 2 of the book is written in such a way that it is possible for the reader to start with the practical work before reading Part 1. But it is better to read the book in the order as written. It gives the reader a broader horizon and a deeper understanding of the practical lessons and practicing will be much more effective.”
And then the preface, here in my translation from Hebrew:
“We act according to our self-image. I eat, walk, talk, think, look, love, etc. according to how I feel when I perform these actions. That our self-image comes to us in part by inheritance in part by education and in part through self-education …”
It is in my mind richer than the other English version. I suggest that you compare. Comparing different translations usually creates a new meaning for the reader.
Preface from the 1972 U.S. A by Harper &’ Row version:
“We act in accordance with our self-image. This self-image—which, in turn, governs our every act—is conditioned in varying degree by three factors: heritage, education, and self-education.”
And I like to add:
Advances, cultivation, development, improvement, growth, maturation, refinement, sophistication are all examples of this elusive self-education. Dear child has many names.