The Enchanted Loom
In thinking about a possible name for my newsletter, I was drawn to metaphors of threads and weaving—something that could evoke artful intentionality and the cultivation of liveliness in a way that does not require relinquishing or banishing the difficult parts of our story, but instead integrates them more fully into a rich tapestry of experience, honoring the full range of what it means to be human. I’m interested in a telling of stories that doesn’t lean on computer or mechanical analogies or metaphors (e.g. “wiring”).
As I imagined possibilities, I wanted to honor many parts of my lineage, including:
Growing up in Mexico and learning to value feminine creation, cultural identity and relational belonging. There, the telar de cintura (backstrap loom) offers a living connection to the stories and relational webs that constitute us, while also welcoming innovation and resilience, It speaks to the creation and birthing of an idea—a wish that materializes through patience and intention—as the skillful motions of weaving bring into being a tapestry that reflects care and devotion.
A resistance of systems of domination and a commitment to practices that lead toward integration and liberation.
The many discoveries in the field of medicine and neuroscience that expand possibilities for healing and have given me the gift of freedom from chronic pain.
I came to the name bodymind loom, and as I searched online to get a domain, I encountered the metaphor of “enchanted loom” by pioneering neuroscientist Sir Charles S. Sherrington*.
In a passage from his book Man on His Nature (Chapter VII, The Brain and Its Work), published in 1940, he illustrates the dynamic and intricate activity of the brain as it transitions from sleep to wakefulness:
“Should we continue to watch the scheme we should observe after a time an impressive change which suddenly accrues. In the great head-end which has been mostly darkness spring up myriads of twinkling stationary lights and myriads of trains of moving lights of many different directions. It is as though activity from one of those local places which continued restless in the darkened main-mass suddenly spread far and wide and invaded all. The great topmost sheet of the mass, that where hardly a light had twinkled or moved, becomes now a sparkling field of rhythmic flashing points with trains of travelling sparks hurrying hither and thither. The brain is waking and with it the mind is returning. It is as if the Milky Way entered upon some cosmic dance. Swiftly the head-mass becomes an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a meaningful pattern though never an abiding one; a shifting harmony of subpatterns. Now as the waking body rouses, subpatterns of this great harmony of activity stretch down into the unlit tracks of the stalk piece of the scheme. Strings of flashing and travelling sparks engage the lengths of it. This means that the body is up and rises to meet its waking day.”
I found deep beauty in this passage—and in the idea of awakening as both a literal and a metaphorical process: awakening to life, to healing, and to the ongoing path of liberation.
*Few concepts have meant more to neuroscience than the synapse, commonly understood as the junction between two excitable cells. The term was introduced by Charles Sherrington in 1897. In addition to his many contributions to neuroscience, Sherrington also advocated for the admission of women to the medical school at Oxford University, where he taught.
Stay connected! Subscribe to The Enchanted Loom for fresh insights. I write to support people seeking freedom from persistent pain, chronic conditions, and symptoms that often defy simple answers—and those who care for them.