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Archive for the ‘life’ Category

the world poetizes

Posted in books, from the dark room, from the reading room, life, perception, photography on December 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

When I read the word “poetizes” I thought it was a neologism, or maybe a bit of French-English creation, but, of course, it’s a regular English word, meaning “To describe or express in poetry or a poetic manner”. I stumbled over this beautiful verb today in the following quote

From the moment we begin to look at things, the world changes, the world poetizes immediately if you begin to pay attention to the grain of a jacket, the color of a curtain, or a falling drop tap…….says Thomas Clerc

 

Here’s a little collection of some of my photos which I think show that phenomenon clearly……enjoy yourself for a moment as the world poetizes itself…….

rock face

weaving

perrier

sunlit

peacock

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A better life (for more of us) (for longer)

Posted in books, from the living room, from the reading room, from the viewing room, life, philosophy, science, video on December 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

José Mujica, Uruguay’s president acts very differently in power from most of the world’s leading politicians. He lives in a one bedroomed farmhouse instead of the Presidential palace, and gives away 90% of his monthly salary.

He is described as the world’s poorest President but he rejects that description preferring Seneca’s teaching about poverty – “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” He most refreshingly rails against hyperconsumption and waste pointing out that

We can almost recycle everything now. If we lived within our means – by being prudent – the 7 billion people in the world could have everything they needed. Global politics should be moving in that direction but we think as people and countries, not as a species.

This is such an important point which is almost never made by our politicians. Global population is doubling every few years and shows no sign of stopping. Just how is that sustainable? Can we keep growing the population by that much, and all keep pushing for “growth” (by which we mean great consumption and accumulation) and not hit a wall at some point? Isn’t the Earth finite?

But I especially like his last point there – that we think “as people and countries, not as a species”. We need to start living as if we are species, not isolated groups trying to beat each other, dominate each other, exploit each other.

Watch this for THE most coherent and convincing exposition of this case –

He also makes the excellent point about our enslavement to the market –

I’m just sick of the way things are. We’re in an age in which we can’t live without accepting the logic of the market,” he said. “Contemporary politics is all about short-term pragmatism. We have abandoned religion and philosophy … What we have left is the automatisation of doing what the market tells us.

Halévy says all this too in his publications. He challenges us to ask what’s the purpose of our current socio-economic system and who does it serve? Go on, ask yourself, read around a bit, and see what answers you come up with.

Both Halévy and Mujica focus on the need for quality instead of quantity. Halévy uses the term “frugality” and Mujica says “prudent” but neither are setting out the case for a worse life. Quite the opposite, they say we should concentrate on getting more quality from less consumption, and in so doing, create a sustainable way of life on this little planet.

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Awe

Posted in creativity, from the consulting room, from the living room, from the viewing room, health, life, personal growth on December 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

One of the greatest emotions to you can experience. When I teach Heartmath, I ask people to think of a moment of AWE as one of the possible “heart feelings”

If you’re not quite sure what constitutes AWE try this – it is (no, I’m not going to say “awesome” – yuk!) FANTASTIC!

 

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The danger of…..

Posted in books, from the reading room, life on December 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This article in the Guardian collects together some of the books which the authorities who run Guatanamo Bay refuse to allow their prisoners to read. If you can figure out their logic you’re doing better then me!

However, one whole class of writing gets an outright ban – poetry!

Poetry … presents a special risk, and DOD [Department of Defense] standards are to not approve the release of any poetry in its original form or language. This is based on an analysis of risk of both content and format

You know, terrible and ridiculous as this whole sorry episode is, there’s a bit of me which is in awe of the power of poetry – for me, that’s something to celebrate, not to fear.

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the other understanding

Posted in books, from the living room, from the reading room, life, personal growth, philosophy, science on December 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

For a long time there have been two broad views of the universe. Determinism and meaningless chance.

Most religious traditions have the idea of a Creator, of some super-natural spirit or force which is in control. There is comfort in this view, in that it helps to make sense of Life, and brings a feeling of there being some control over events (even if that control is in the hands of God, rather than of human beings).

With the rise of materialism and decline in religious beliefs, many feel that the universe is a heartless, meaningless place where we are all the repeated victims of chance. Of course, some who see the universe this way gain great comfort and security from humanistic principles ie that we are the masters of our own destiny.

In the second half of the 20th century a third view has arisen. Complexity science has allowed us to understand that chaos is absolutely not the same as randomness. Once you understand the principles of complex systems (networks and webs of interconnected parts which are all acting on each other), then you find that whilst the behaviour of chaos can be hard to discern, it allows us to see that everything holds together. Indeed, if you consider the “universe story” of energy, to the first atoms, the creation of stars and planets, to the first elements, the emergence of Life, and evolution of consciousness in human beings, you can see this other view appear – one which does not require an external “super-natural” controller, but isn’t random and meaningless either. There is a direction of travel in the universe story towards ever and ever greater complexity. As complex systems move to “far from their equilibrium” points into the chaos zone they can develop completely unpredictable levels of greater organisation and complexity (see the concept or “dissipative structures“)

I do think we are in the early days of this new paradigm, but, for me, it makes a lot more sense than the materialistic, nihilistic scientism which has dominated the last century and more, and doesn’t require me to believe in any super-natural beings. I’m very happy to know such a new paradigm is emerging because so much seems to be falling apart – the economic/financial system, social structures, the health of the planet and the health of human beings who consume ever more drugs to try and control ever more chronic disorders. We need new ways, different, more creative ways of understanding and organising our shared Life.

If you’ve read anything about this emerging paradigm, do let me know – I’m keen to read whatever I can get a hold of!

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catching, having or becoming?

Posted in from the consulting room, from the living room, health, life on December 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

I’ve caught a cold.

I bet you’ll say something very like that at some point in the next few weeks, but why do we use that word “caught”? I thought “well caught, sir!” “Good catch!” But, wait! Why on earth would I want to catch this particular experience? We tend to reserve this idea of catching for infections, don’t we? We don’t talk about catching diabetes, or catching asthma, do we?

With chronic, non-infective, diseases we often use the verb, “to have”. We say, “he has diabetes” or “he has asthma”. We might even add an “ic” to the end of name of the disease and claim it as an identity. “I am diabetic”, “I am asthmatic”. Why do we do that? Why do we, first of all, claim some kind of possession by “having”, then turn that having into an identity….a disease which defines us?

It gets even more interesting when we think about health, rather than about disease or illness.

We never talk of “catching health”, and we don’t so often claim possession (although people do say they “have good health”). Do claim health as an identity, “I am healthy”. I suppose we do. However, we don’t really think of health as an object the way we do disease, do we?

Maybe it would be interesting to consider what it would mean to “catch health”. How would we go about that? How would we create favourable conditions to allow us to make such a good catch?

Let me finish this little thought with a consideration of “becoming” (my favourite verb!)

Aren’t we always in a process of becoming? Becoming more or less healthy? Becoming more or less ill?

I prefer the “becoming” verb because it doesn’t objectify either disease or health. It insists on understanding that both disease and health are processes, processes which are an inextricable part of living.

So maybe I woke up having caught a cold, but I’m already becoming well!

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The challenge to mind body dualism isn’t new

Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, perception, personal growth, photography, psychology on December 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I don’t really like the term “mind body medicine” because it assumes a duality which is a delusion. That delusion isn’t just a problem which prevents real understanding of a patient’s suffering, it has wider and deeper effects…..as John Dewey (1859 – 1952) describes –

“The very problem of mind and body suggests division; I do not know of anything so disastrously affected by the habit of division as this particular theme. In its discussion are reflected the splitting off from each other of religion, morals and science; the divorce of philosophy from science and of both from the arts of conduct. The evils which we suffer in education, in religion, in the materialism of business and the aloofness of ‘intellectuals’ from life, in the whole separation of knowledge and practice — all testify to the necessity of seeing mind-body as an integral whole.”

I really like that phrase “habit of division” – a nicely different way of referring to reductionism and one which recalls Ian McGilchrist’s brilliant analysis of how we use our two cerebral hemispheres. Like all dualities, each part offers something unique, but either part, on its own, is just missing something important…….

bridge

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my one sentence (more)

Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, photography on December 7, 2013| 1 Comment »

more from my one sentence….

a sleeping baby in an unusual place,

 

Sleeping baby on hoarding

to a Buddha with unusual jewellery,

the statue with the earing

from children engrossed,

fascination

to old folks at play,

petanque

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what makes life special……..

Posted in from the dark room, from the reading room, life, narrative, personal growth, photography on December 4, 2013| 3 Comments »

No, there’s no question mark at the end of that title. I’m not asking a question. I’m thinking about all the little everyday experiences which make life special

melon and ham

In the summer this year, in a little bookshop in the heart of France, I stumbled across a beautiful, inspirational book called “Le Sel de la Vie”, by Françoise Héritier. Then a couple of weeks ago, in my favourite independent little bookshop in Scotland, The Watermill, I stumbled across an English translation of the same book. I had no idea it had been translated and its just as engaging and inspiring in translation as it was in the original French. One of the strange things about translation is that “le sel” is “salt”, so the literal translation of the title would be “The salt of life”. However, to grasp the true essence of the original text it’s been translated as “The Sweetness of Life”. How interesting! Salt or sweet? Both work for me, and when combined (like in my delicious starter above) it can be even more special.

This little book is like no other book I’ve ever read. The author wrote it in response to a colleague’s postcard from his holiday on the Isle of Skye. He described the holiday as “stolen” and that got her thinking about how we spend our time and how he was stealing his own life by failing to be in touch with all the daily little experiences which made life so special, so sweet……

Given my recent post on the one sentence, I was really struck by this part of her introduction

So what follows here is an enumeration, an ordinary list in one long sentence……

I can’t really quote you any of the book because whenever I start it, I can’t stop it! She writes, in one long flowing list, using a free association method, listing sensations, experiences, memories which she considered to be everyday special. Does “everyday special” strike you as odd? I think this is such a key element to living a great life – to be constantly in touch with the “everyday special”. Believe me, if you can’t find the special in the everyday, you’re not awake!

OK, difficult though it is to stop, here’s a wee sample

….phone calls made for no reason, handwritten letters, family meals (well, some of them), meals with friends, a beer at the bar, a glass of red or white wine, coffee in the sun, a siesta in the shade, eating oysters at the seaside or cherries straight off the tree…..

You get the idea?

I think if you dip into this little book and read a line or two before setting off into the day each morning, you’ll heighten your “everyday special” awareness. It’s almost like a different kind of meditation. But the other thing which this book inspires is to start your own list (in fact, the English language version has a few blank lined pages at the end to encourage you to do just that)

Go on, try it…..

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the one sentence

Posted in books, creativity, from the dark room, from the living room, life, photography on December 3, 2013| 2 Comments »

entangled

Mary Ruefle quotes Ernest Fenollosa saying

we each only really speak one sentence in our lifetime. That sentence begins with your first words, toddling around the kitchen, and ends with your last words . . . in a nursing home, the night-duty attendant vaguely on hand. Or, if you are blessed, they are heard by someone who knows you and loves you and will be sorry to hear the sentence end.

Well, that’s quite a thought…..the one sentence which meanders around, entwining itself amongst the events and moments of your life (just like this tree growing year by year amongst the temple lanterns).

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