Perhaps one could lead a totally instinctual life
and everything
would just fall into place.
People talk as if that's true,
and every time I've heard someone say that
I've heard a person spouting a set of words
that they believed in and had spouted
many times,
and they were never present to me nor to themselves as they
were spouting the words.
So, this is the trap folks:
to speak is to enter the world of the abstract,
the world of words,
and in that world,
a "tree" is just a set of letters, or a set of sounds
that can point us in "reality" to one real tree,
that is different from every other tree in the world,
or can at least point us toward the
tree beings out in the world.
And yet, if we were on some land
and wanted to improve that land,
perhaps best thing we could do for that land would be to plant it
in fifty to eighty percent trees.
That's thinking:
using mental pictures
to pre-view reality,
to set up a plan to change reality.
And we would need to use thinking
to explore why trees would be good for our soil,
and the water in the air,
and our eating,
and a windbreak
and a food source for our own chickens and goats
and a food source for the wild things
and a future source of timber for anyone who wanted to build with wood
and a wish of our own to have an income source in the future
and a wish and desire and commitment to keeping some of our land "wild"
And we could "think" about
which is plan mental pictures
and conduct thought experiments
in what percent of our land we wanted in orchard
and what percent in timber
and what percent in wild/ hedgerow trees
and where we might create windbreaks with trees
This is permaculture,
which is applying thinking to land use
and what better way to use thinking?
To improve relationships.
That might be a better way,
or we could think of relationships as a big swatch of land
and what percentage of our relationship
is mindless chatter
is business / getting things done talk
is admiring and supporting the other
is listening to the other
is having physical contract
is complaining
is demanding and correcting and ordering
is fuming inside and having inner complaining
is ignoring
is talking to friends about what's "good" or what's "bad" with the partner
Which is to say:
we can use the brain's joy in seeing how much
and which is more than something else
to get a good look at our relationship.
And then, the core of the Anat Baniel work
and the Feldenkrais work:
what variations could we create
in our relationship
in our land use
in our day use
in our thinking patterns
in our feeling patterns
in our moving patterns
..................
I'm laying in a lot of thought possibilities
Ideas as a kind of food.
Most of my essays I strive to have a kind of high density
nutritional value.
They might require reading several times.
Think about how often you slow down
and really allow your mind to chew
over (rather than stew over)
new information
and especially,
new ways of organizing that information
and
PUTTING THAT NEW ORGANIZATION
INTO ACTION
IN YOUR LIFE
This is the purpose of thinking:
to create possibilities for an
even more wonderful life
for ourselves,
those in our community
and
the world.
Good.
Showing posts with label real thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real thinking. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Thinking about Thinking:
In college, if a professor was lazy,
she or he could always ask question like:
"Compare and contrast the Crusades and
Casablanca."
Or more likely:
"Compare and contrast Faulkner's Sound and Fury
and Conrad's Heart of Darkness."
Hopefully the last question would come in a course on Conrad and Faulkner.
And, lazy, as the question is or was,
it still set us up for how to use our thinking at
what it does best.
Contrast. Find Differences.
Notice differences.
Compare two or three things.
Now, this can lead to a life of hell
if we add emotions to this and compare,
say,
ourselves,
to say,
Mozart or Bob Dylan in terms of creative output.
(Those in their league probably aren't reading this,
so we'll stick with the "normal," non genius run of humanity.)
And comparing ourselves to Bob or to Wolfie,
we add on the overtone: oh gad, what's the matter with me.
Then we've used thinking to drive ourselves into suffering.
And as the book goes along, we'll see that most of our so-called "suffering"
comes from so-called thinking.
And what if we were to must play around with thinking
as thinking.
We could imagine ourselves 3 inches taller or shorter.
We could imagine being born 50 or 100 years earlier, or later.
We could look at various problems in our life and set out to list 3 ways
that we've already tried to solve them, and then imagine up 5 more ways we
might go about that.
We could watch ourselves when we are happy
and discover our posture and breathing then,
and experiment around to find 3 other ways of being happy
in slightly different postures and breathing.
Likewise with unhappiness,
we could discover posture and breathing
and search for three different postures and breathing patterns
in which to be unhappy.
Careful though:
getting curious and changing things
around
could undermine our unhappiness.
Oh, well, worse things have happened.
Today is the day of playing with playing with
thinking.
Mess around with ideas
options
possibilities
contrasts
comparisons
and
other stuff
in your mind.
It's your mind. Practice playing it.
she or he could always ask question like:
"Compare and contrast the Crusades and
Casablanca."
Or more likely:
"Compare and contrast Faulkner's Sound and Fury
and Conrad's Heart of Darkness."
Hopefully the last question would come in a course on Conrad and Faulkner.
And, lazy, as the question is or was,
it still set us up for how to use our thinking at
what it does best.
Contrast. Find Differences.
Notice differences.
Compare two or three things.
Now, this can lead to a life of hell
if we add emotions to this and compare,
say,
ourselves,
to say,
Mozart or Bob Dylan in terms of creative output.
(Those in their league probably aren't reading this,
so we'll stick with the "normal," non genius run of humanity.)
And comparing ourselves to Bob or to Wolfie,
we add on the overtone: oh gad, what's the matter with me.
Then we've used thinking to drive ourselves into suffering.
And as the book goes along, we'll see that most of our so-called "suffering"
comes from so-called thinking.
And what if we were to must play around with thinking
as thinking.
We could imagine ourselves 3 inches taller or shorter.
We could imagine being born 50 or 100 years earlier, or later.
We could look at various problems in our life and set out to list 3 ways
that we've already tried to solve them, and then imagine up 5 more ways we
might go about that.
We could watch ourselves when we are happy
and discover our posture and breathing then,
and experiment around to find 3 other ways of being happy
in slightly different postures and breathing.
Likewise with unhappiness,
we could discover posture and breathing
and search for three different postures and breathing patterns
in which to be unhappy.
Careful though:
getting curious and changing things
around
could undermine our unhappiness.
Oh, well, worse things have happened.
Today is the day of playing with playing with
thinking.
Mess around with ideas
options
possibilities
contrasts
comparisons
and
other stuff
in your mind.
It's your mind. Practice playing it.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Moving Brain: Sitting and Moving, in a Chair, Rotation and Option
Sit comfortably in a chair, near the front of the chair,
feet on the floor, and
feel your 5 line:
two arms,
two legs,
one spine.
Feel how you sit and hold up your head in this wonderful and
relentless world of gravity.
1. Turn your head easily right and left.
Go far less than your "limit."
Keep it easy and pleasurable.
If there is pain in any movement, do less, or do
none
and visualize the movement.
Feel the differences between right and left.
Rest.
2. Now pick which ever way is easiest to turn,
and turn just that way a number of times. Turn that way,
easily,
gently,
less than your "limit,"
with awareness and comfort,
and then
turn back to the middle.
Do at least a few of the movements with your eyes open,
so you can see what the starting range is for you
when you turn easily and without efforting.
Feel this as a movement that you can learn
from.
Study and be aware and enjoy this.
After a number of times, rest.
3. Which ever way you have decided to turn,
put that hand on the chair behind and beside you as support.
Then take your other hand, and put the back of that hand,
on the check opposite,
which is to say on the check in the direction you are turning.
(Throughout this movement lesson, you will keep turning whatever was your "easiest" way.)
These directions may seem "hard."
Oh, well. Go slowly in figuring them out.
Any movement you make is going to improve awareness.
So, one hand on the chair, the other hand with its back on the opposite side of the face.
Begin to turn in your chosen direction and back to the middle
a number of times.
Feel your elbow and ribs as involved in the turning now.
Does that make a difference?
Can you enjoy and learn from that difference?
Do this a number of times, and then
rest.
In the REST don't space out, but sit in a way to really feel what is going on in your body
and mind
from these movements.
This is important integration time for your whole being.
4. Sit again at the front of your chair if you rested in another position.
Put the same hand on the chair beside you, and the other hand a
about eight inches in front of your nose
with the wrist in a floppily relaxed position, thumb nearest to your face.
In this position, turn in your chosen direction and back to the middle a number of times,
having the floppy wrist hand make that same amount of rotation.
As you rotate, allow yourself to come over onto the side of the pelvis
that is the same
as the direction you are turning.
Feel this movement from feet through pelvis thru ribs
up thru neck and even nose and eyes.
Enjoy this.
Rest.
5. Now do the same thing as the last movement a few times.
Then, do this: stop about halfway to wherever you are
turning,
and go both ways with hand and nose,
but these will be opposite.
Which means your hand will come back to the middle,
as your nose turns further in the direction you have been
turning,
and then they reverse,
so that the nose ends up looking forward
and the hand comes across to the side you
have been turning.
Let this movement have something like a neutral space
where both hand and head are turned halfway,
and the pelvis is flat on the chair then.
And each movement after that,
either hand to the side or
nose to the side,
let the pelvis shift that way.
Do this slowly,
don't make a big movement out of it,
keep enjoyment and learning and awareness as constants
more important than how far or how 'well' you move.
Rest and breathe and sense your five lines and integrate.
6. Sit at the front edge of the chair,
and put the same turning side hand on the chair.
Put the other hand on the opposite shoulder,
which is going to be the side to which you are turning.
In this configuration,
turn about half way to your chosen direction
and stop.
Now play the eye and head game.
Slowly.
Slowly and small.
Slowly and small and low effort.
Turn your eyes left as your nose turns to the right,
and then come back,
turning your eyes to the right, as your nose turns to the left.
Go slow.
Go small.
Follow your breathing.
Enjoy.
Rest in a neutral position.
Feel if you feel different from the beginning.
7. Now simple sit at the front edge of your chair and
turn your head right and left,
and see what changes have occurred.
Review in your mind the way the ribs and the shoulder and the eyes
and your pelvis can be involved in turning your head.
Now turn your head right and left again,
and feel yourself as a magnificence of possibilities.
feet on the floor, and
feel your 5 line:
two arms,
two legs,
one spine.
Feel how you sit and hold up your head in this wonderful and
relentless world of gravity.
1. Turn your head easily right and left.
Go far less than your "limit."
Keep it easy and pleasurable.
If there is pain in any movement, do less, or do
none
and visualize the movement.
Feel the differences between right and left.
Rest.
2. Now pick which ever way is easiest to turn,
and turn just that way a number of times. Turn that way,
easily,
gently,
less than your "limit,"
with awareness and comfort,
and then
turn back to the middle.
Do at least a few of the movements with your eyes open,
so you can see what the starting range is for you
when you turn easily and without efforting.
Feel this as a movement that you can learn
from.
Study and be aware and enjoy this.
After a number of times, rest.
3. Which ever way you have decided to turn,
put that hand on the chair behind and beside you as support.
Then take your other hand, and put the back of that hand,
on the check opposite,
which is to say on the check in the direction you are turning.
(Throughout this movement lesson, you will keep turning whatever was your "easiest" way.)
These directions may seem "hard."
Oh, well. Go slowly in figuring them out.
Any movement you make is going to improve awareness.
So, one hand on the chair, the other hand with its back on the opposite side of the face.
Begin to turn in your chosen direction and back to the middle
a number of times.
Feel your elbow and ribs as involved in the turning now.
Does that make a difference?
Can you enjoy and learn from that difference?
Do this a number of times, and then
rest.
In the REST don't space out, but sit in a way to really feel what is going on in your body
and mind
from these movements.
This is important integration time for your whole being.
4. Sit again at the front of your chair if you rested in another position.
Put the same hand on the chair beside you, and the other hand a
about eight inches in front of your nose
with the wrist in a floppily relaxed position, thumb nearest to your face.
In this position, turn in your chosen direction and back to the middle a number of times,
having the floppy wrist hand make that same amount of rotation.
As you rotate, allow yourself to come over onto the side of the pelvis
that is the same
as the direction you are turning.
Feel this movement from feet through pelvis thru ribs
up thru neck and even nose and eyes.
Enjoy this.
Rest.
5. Now do the same thing as the last movement a few times.
Then, do this: stop about halfway to wherever you are
turning,
and go both ways with hand and nose,
but these will be opposite.
Which means your hand will come back to the middle,
as your nose turns further in the direction you have been
turning,
and then they reverse,
so that the nose ends up looking forward
and the hand comes across to the side you
have been turning.
Let this movement have something like a neutral space
where both hand and head are turned halfway,
and the pelvis is flat on the chair then.
And each movement after that,
either hand to the side or
nose to the side,
let the pelvis shift that way.
Do this slowly,
don't make a big movement out of it,
keep enjoyment and learning and awareness as constants
more important than how far or how 'well' you move.
Rest and breathe and sense your five lines and integrate.
6. Sit at the front edge of the chair,
and put the same turning side hand on the chair.
Put the other hand on the opposite shoulder,
which is going to be the side to which you are turning.
In this configuration,
turn about half way to your chosen direction
and stop.
Now play the eye and head game.
Slowly.
Slowly and small.
Slowly and small and low effort.
Turn your eyes left as your nose turns to the right,
and then come back,
turning your eyes to the right, as your nose turns to the left.
Go slow.
Go small.
Follow your breathing.
Enjoy.
Rest in a neutral position.
Feel if you feel different from the beginning.
7. Now simple sit at the front edge of your chair and
turn your head right and left,
and see what changes have occurred.
Review in your mind the way the ribs and the shoulder and the eyes
and your pelvis can be involved in turning your head.
Now turn your head right and left again,
and feel yourself as a magnificence of possibilities.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Thinking: Thinking as Noticing Differences
Moshe Feldenkrais was fond of saying that "thinking" that didn't result in
real change
(improvement)
wasn't thinking at all. That it was just "mental masturbation."
We'll leave for later the obvious parallels to most of what passes for conversation
in our society, and just offer the missing 6 steps of yesterday's lesson
as a chance to "think without words."
In today's game/ exercise/ offering/ activity,
you get to think,
ie discover a new pattern of differences.
You have a problem to solve, the problem of moving your eyes one way,
while your head moves another. This is how learning takes place.
The numbers refer to yesterday's steps, and I would suggest starting the whole
movement lesson of yesterday from the start, and then adding this in.
The idea is to increase the complexity of rounding and arching by creating a
non-habitual movement of eyes and head relative to each other.
Or the idea is to notice differences we didn't know we could notice.
Or to revisit a difference, and feel it newly and freshly.
Or, to ...... be quiet and present while in "motion."
Or, to.......
In all the movement and thinking lessons
please
go slowly,
go gently,
look for pleasure,
look for ease,
search for learning.
Be present.
Here are the missing and additional steps, with at least a little backing up to add in from yesterday:
10. Come to the front of your chair. Put your hands on your face and head as in #8. (Hands at the side of your face, fingers and thumbs pointing backward, thumbs below your years, fingers above in the hair area).
Now combine #6 and #8.
Roll forward into a curled in ball,
so that
belly comes in
sternum comes back and down,
pelvis shifts to pressure on chair is more to the rear,
nose points down,
spine rolls toward itself top and bottom in the front
and then arch up into a looking up person
so that
belly come forward,
sternum comes up and forward,
head and nose tilt toward the skies
pelvis weight and pressure come more forward,
your back arches towards itself top and bottom in the rear of you.
Do not, do not, do not bring your neck back "too far."
Which is to say, don't "shorten" your neck.
Just have your nose tilting up easily in a way the it feels as if your neck's curve is a continuation of your spine's curve.
a. Go back and forth from belly in and rolling back on your pelvis, to belly out and rocking forward on your pelvis.
b. Feel each vertebrae.
c. Feel all the ribs.
d. Feel the sternum moving up and forward and then down and in.
e. Begin to sense your neck as part of your spine, not separate from it.
Brief tidbit for clarity in all of your life: THE FUNDAMENTAL UNIT OF INTELLIGENCE IS THE PERCEPTION OF DIFFERENCES.
Good.
11. Do the #10 again, rounding and arching and as you make and aware this movement notice differences between the folding part and the unfolding part:
a. in the ribs
b. the spine
c. the sternum
d. the pelvis
e. the head
f. your breathing
g. your eyes
12. Rest.
13. Now do folding and arching, almost like #10 and #11, but don't put your hands on your face and head. Notice the difference in how your head relates to your back without your hands on your head.
a. then go back and forth, hands on face to round and arch, and hands off
b. pay amused and delighted attention how one way connects up the movement of your head with the arching and rounding in your back.
14. Rest.
15. Now, do the movement of #10 with this added complexity:
a. Notice what your eyes are doing as you arch and lifted your head and round and tuck your head in
b. Deliberately move your eyes (open or closed, try both for more differences to experience) down as your head goes down and up as your head goes up
c. Now, try this, and go very slowly, and do just a little bit: but as your head goes down with rounding, have your eyes move to look up, as if at your forehead, and as your head (connected by hands to your back), lifts in the arching toward up, move your eyes slowly, slowly and gently down.
d. Do this many times. Take rests. Make the up and down of your head very small if you get wozzy or confused. Just notice the new difference: head up and eyes down, head down and eyes up.
e. See if you can become calm enough in this to begin to sense your spine and ribs and sternum and breathing and pelvis again, while still moving your head and eyes in opposition.
16. Rest.
17. Imagine doing #10 with the eyes in the same direction at your head. Don't DO anything. Just imagine.
a. Then do the movement once, and notice what wasn't available in imagination
b. Imagine it again, more fully.
c. Do it in reality.
d. Back and forth like this as long as you are curious and learning and in ease.
18. Rest in sitting in the 5 line meditation, and then rock forward onto your feet and feel the length of yourself in standing. Walk around and stay in the awareness mode for as long as you can. Notice the arms hanging from the spine and the legs holding up the pelvis and the pelvis holding up the head.
19. Enjoy being you today.
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