SCANNING SO WE CAN SEE EVERYTHING AT ONE
1.1 Trying to notice what is around us it’s difficult to notice everything at once. We can learn to see everything at once, but in the beginning it’s helpful to notice one thing at a time and so that we see everything one at a time it’s helpful to scan.
1.2 Scanning, I like to think of radar screens where the beam of light sweeps around in a circle and as it passes over objects those objects get momentarily brighter on the screen then slowly fade till the beam passes over them again. It smoothly scans an area looking at one section while staying aware of the others.
1.3 Scanning our body, we can smoothly move the focus of our awareness from point to point, perhaps from joint to joint, while staying aware of our whole body, what we are doing. Or we can scan the world around us keeping our eyes open but moving the focus of our attention around our field of vision. In either case as we shift our gaze we stay aware of the residual image of what we have just seen, like a blip that slowly fades until it is refreshed again.
1.4 I scan my body when I do yoga (and teach it). If I am doing a pose and I am starting from the ground upwards, I work my awareness upwards from my feet, adjusting my feet, my legs, my hips, spine and then my arms and then my neck, making adjustments, changes to each joint as I go. And then because all of that affects my whole body, I go back to my feet and start again, each time going a little bit deeper, finding my way into the pose.
1.5 I work in synch with my breath so that each inhale I move my awareness upwards or outwards through my body. If I move my awareness slowly I have the opportunity to see more but scanning quickly, I see less, but I also notice changes a lot quicker and so can act on them sooner.
1.6 Feeling our body one section at a time we can take action, adjusting each point, each joint so it is balanced. However, when we change one joint we affect all of the others. It’s one of the challenges of yoga (of life). Every time we change one aspect of a pose, it affects everything else. And so scanning, we can see how one change affects the whole body.
1.7 Scanning our body while doing yoga, we can learn to feel our entire body and adjust it, without missing anything. Eventually, we learn to feel our entire body at once, in a single sweep as it were.
1.8 And likewise driving, we learn to open our eyes in such a way that we see everything at once. We may need to turn our head from time to time, but as we do we keep our eyes wide open seeing as much as we can. It’s like finding the ease in a pose instead of fighting or using strength. In the same way it’s allowing the eyes to see rather than focusing.
1.9 Scanning the pieces, the parts, the relationships, we are training ourselves to notice those things one at a time, then, once we’ve trained ourselves we move on to notice another type of little thing, another detail. Then once we’ve trained ourselves to notice all the little things that matter it is easier to notice in a single glance all the little things at once, and it is easier to notice when one of those things is out of place or different in such a way that it requires more of our attention.
1.10 Eventually when we are able to feel our entire body at once, we can go into the pose instantaneously. Not just bit by bit, but all at once, the whole body unified. It’s like riding a bike and acting as one, turning as one, the bike and our body an extension of one mind. Like a group of skaters all aware of the leader, accelerating as one simultaneously, staying together, working together, one.
1.11 Seeing everything at once, it’s like looking at the center point of a circle and seeing the edge of the circle at the same time.
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Frameworks for Seeing, Frameworks for Expression,
RATIO, ANOTHER WORD FOR RELATIONSHIP
1.1 Before I joined the army one of my favorite past times was hanging out in bookstores. I normally hung out in the Sci Fi/Fantasy Section but on one occasion I was in the art section.
1.2 I came across a book called “Dynamic Figure Drawing” by a man named Burne Hogarth. It was filled with sketches of human figures drawn without using models. They’d been drawn instead from an understanding of the relationships within the human body. The author used his understanding of these “ratios” (relationships) as a framework for drawing basic human figures.
1.2.1 They served as a framework for drawing non-ideal, real figures.
1.3 The book discussed the ratios that related all the parts of the body to each other using the head as the basic unit of measurement. From the front the torso from the pubic bone to the base of the neck was three heads tall. The legs, from the crests of the pelvis down to the soles of the feet, were four heads tall. From the back view the torso measured from the bottom crease of the buttocks was three and a half heads tall.
1.4 Testing some of the ratios on my own body I noticed that when I was kneeling that my sitting bones did indeed rest on my heels. That meant the distance from my heels to the knees was about the same as the distance from my knees to my sitting bones.
1.5 Hugging my knees I saw that they came up to about the top of my chest, so that meant the distance from my knees to the hips was approximately the same as the distance from my hips to my collarbones. And sure enough my face from my chin to my hairline was just about the length of my hand. That ratio can change with age.
1.6 My parents also had a lot of fun testing these ratios. One in particular was interesting. Our arms when stretched out from finger to finger measure the same as our height. So in Leonardo’s sketch the use of a square is appropriate. With arms outstretched we are as wide as we are tall.
1.7 Buying “Dynamic Anatomy” I started to study and learn the relationships between the different parts of the body so I could see how its parts relate. Dynamic Anatomy taught me a particular “Cannon of Proportion” for relating parts of the body by length.
1.8 A cannon of proportion is a way of noticing the relationships within the human body. It’s a starting point both for seeing the body and being able to portray it. And because it is a starting point it doesn’t really matter which cannon of proportion we use. We can vary from them to suit our needs.
1.9 In dynamic anatomy I learned a cannon of proportion where the basic body was eight and a half heads tall. Other cannons might have slightly different proportions or starting points. Perhaps a body that is seven heads tall. What mattered was that I became aware of the relationships between the parts of the body, whatever those relationships were. Then I could adjust the relative ratios of the legs and body to give a figure either a long legged look or a short-legged look. I could do the same with the arms and the body.
1.10 So that the body could draw be drawn in any position and from any viewing angle Dynamic Anatomy showed how the relationships between parts of the body changed depending on the way we were viewing the body. The head appears wider the more side onwards we view it. The upper body becomes thinner the more we view it from the side, unless we’re drawing or looking at someone with a generous abdomen. The limbs appear relatively longer or shorter depending on how we view them but their width remains the same.
1.11 I learned to see how the parts of the body related to each other and also how they related to the person who was viewing them. I was learning how to draw any figure in any pose from any viewing angle. Dynamic anatomy was teaching me to draw the human figure without needing a model but the same tools enabled me to see people as well.
1.12 Painting or drawing or just plain seeing someone I could look at them and see how all of their parts related. I could look at them and understand that because I was viewing them from a particular angle certain relationships appeared different. I could see how I related to that person.
1.13 Teaching yoga, some of the poses use the leg as a fulcrum but if a person has a long torso and shorter legs then such a pose won’t work very well for them because their legs are too short for their arms to cross their thighs easily. Understanding this if I noticed someone with legs a lot shorter than their torso I could modify the pose to suit the person, using blocks or other means of changing relationships so that the pose did suit them.
1.14 Learning a cannon of proportion I learned how to see freely, I learned how to see why someone may not be able to do a pose or why someone looked different. I began to be able to see how people were different and how they were beautiful.
1.1 Before I joined the army one of my favorite past times was hanging out in bookstores. I normally hung out in the Sci Fi/Fantasy Section but on one occasion I was in the art section.
1.2 I came across a book called “Dynamic Figure Drawing” by a man named Burne Hogarth. It was filled with sketches of human figures drawn without using models. They’d been drawn instead from an understanding of the relationships within the human body. The author used his understanding of these “ratios” (relationships) as a framework for drawing basic human figures.
1.2.1 They served as a framework for drawing non-ideal, real figures.
1.3 The book discussed the ratios that related all the parts of the body to each other using the head as the basic unit of measurement. From the front the torso from the pubic bone to the base of the neck was three heads tall. The legs, from the crests of the pelvis down to the soles of the feet, were four heads tall. From the back view the torso measured from the bottom crease of the buttocks was three and a half heads tall.
1.4 Testing some of the ratios on my own body I noticed that when I was kneeling that my sitting bones did indeed rest on my heels. That meant the distance from my heels to the knees was about the same as the distance from my knees to my sitting bones.
1.5 Hugging my knees I saw that they came up to about the top of my chest, so that meant the distance from my knees to the hips was approximately the same as the distance from my hips to my collarbones. And sure enough my face from my chin to my hairline was just about the length of my hand. That ratio can change with age.
1.6 My parents also had a lot of fun testing these ratios. One in particular was interesting. Our arms when stretched out from finger to finger measure the same as our height. So in Leonardo’s sketch the use of a square is appropriate. With arms outstretched we are as wide as we are tall.
1.7 Buying “Dynamic Anatomy” I started to study and learn the relationships between the different parts of the body so I could see how its parts relate. Dynamic Anatomy taught me a particular “Cannon of Proportion” for relating parts of the body by length.
1.8 A cannon of proportion is a way of noticing the relationships within the human body. It’s a starting point both for seeing the body and being able to portray it. And because it is a starting point it doesn’t really matter which cannon of proportion we use. We can vary from them to suit our needs.
1.9 In dynamic anatomy I learned a cannon of proportion where the basic body was eight and a half heads tall. Other cannons might have slightly different proportions or starting points. Perhaps a body that is seven heads tall. What mattered was that I became aware of the relationships between the parts of the body, whatever those relationships were. Then I could adjust the relative ratios of the legs and body to give a figure either a long legged look or a short-legged look. I could do the same with the arms and the body.
1.10 So that the body could draw be drawn in any position and from any viewing angle Dynamic Anatomy showed how the relationships between parts of the body changed depending on the way we were viewing the body. The head appears wider the more side onwards we view it. The upper body becomes thinner the more we view it from the side, unless we’re drawing or looking at someone with a generous abdomen. The limbs appear relatively longer or shorter depending on how we view them but their width remains the same.
1.11 I learned to see how the parts of the body related to each other and also how they related to the person who was viewing them. I was learning how to draw any figure in any pose from any viewing angle. Dynamic anatomy was teaching me to draw the human figure without needing a model but the same tools enabled me to see people as well.
1.12 Painting or drawing or just plain seeing someone I could look at them and see how all of their parts related. I could look at them and understand that because I was viewing them from a particular angle certain relationships appeared different. I could see how I related to that person.
1.13 Teaching yoga, some of the poses use the leg as a fulcrum but if a person has a long torso and shorter legs then such a pose won’t work very well for them because their legs are too short for their arms to cross their thighs easily. Understanding this if I noticed someone with legs a lot shorter than their torso I could modify the pose to suit the person, using blocks or other means of changing relationships so that the pose did suit them.
1.14 Learning a cannon of proportion I learned how to see freely, I learned how to see why someone may not be able to do a pose or why someone looked different. I began to be able to see how people were different and how they were beautiful.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Ideas, Parts and Pieces
Parts and Pieces
1.1 After I left the army I went to university and while I was there my dad decided to buy a partially assembled motorcycle frame from a friend. The idea was that he and I, with some help from my uncle and various others were going to build a motorcycle, a custom Harley.
1.2 We thought we were getting a deal when we bought the partially assemble bike even though there was still a lot we didn’t have, an engine, transmission, controls and experience.
1.3 As the bike got built we found out that building a bike piece by piece is actually a very expensive proposition, more so than buying one ready assembled. Buying a bike partially assembled is even more expensive, especially as we undid a lot of the work the previous owner had already done, such as the paintwork. And because we had only part of an idea for the finished product there were quite a few learning experiences to be had. It was like me getting on my first bike and not realizing that steering a bike and stopping it were a special skill, a necessary skill.
1.4 We slowly bought the pieces we needed. Well actually, my dad slowly bought the things we needed while my uncle and I put the thing together. Some of the parts where brand new and some parts had probably seen the insides of several bikes. Several parts had to be modified to fit. But we got it together eventually and the day came when we tried to fire her up. We put fuel in the tank and pressed the start button. The starter motor turned but there was a noticeable lack of thunder. Though the starter motor was turning it wasn’t turning the engine and so the engine didn’t start. We wondered what was going wrong.
1.5 The problem was that the starter motor wasn’t turning the clutch.
1.6 There’s a little gear that slides out of the starter motor when the starter motor turns. It catches the teeth of a gear wheel on the outside of the clutch basket. When everything is working perfectly the starter gear is supposed to engage the teeth on the clutch basket, which then turns the motor and ideally starts it.
1.7 After scratching our heads my dad and I realized that whoever had the clutch basket before us had modified it so that the ring gear was in a different location. The starter gear popped out to a position where the clutch basket gear was supposed to be but wasn’t.
1.8 We took the clutch basket to a mechanic who re-welded the gear on to the clutch basket at the correct location. Excitedly we took it home and put the bike back together again.
1.9 Alas the bike still would not start.
1.10 Now the starter gear was engaging with the gear wheel on the clutch basket but while the starter was turning the clutch basket still wasn’t.
1.11 The starter motor was also second hand. We discovered that its magnets were switched so it was spinning the wrong way. We took it apart and reversed the magnets so that the starter spun the right way. Now when we tried to start the bike the engine turned over but the wires from the battery to the starter smoked. So we had to put thicker wires on the starter so it could get enough juice. After repeated test runs the bike again wouldn’t start. It took us a while to figure out that the bike had run out of gas.
1.12 I learned a lot working on that bike. I became conscious of the smaller ideas of a motorcycle and how those ideas relate. The starter gear comes out a set distance so it meshes with the clutch basket. The starter has to turn a certain way. I also learned that it’s fun figuring out how things work, but more so when I am not endangering my life.
1.13 Now that we know what it’s like to build a bike my dad and I agreed we could do much better if we ever do it again. We understood the pieces of a bike and how they go together so that now we can make another one if we choose. Now all I had to do is learn how to ride one.
1.1 After I left the army I went to university and while I was there my dad decided to buy a partially assembled motorcycle frame from a friend. The idea was that he and I, with some help from my uncle and various others were going to build a motorcycle, a custom Harley.
1.2 We thought we were getting a deal when we bought the partially assemble bike even though there was still a lot we didn’t have, an engine, transmission, controls and experience.
1.3 As the bike got built we found out that building a bike piece by piece is actually a very expensive proposition, more so than buying one ready assembled. Buying a bike partially assembled is even more expensive, especially as we undid a lot of the work the previous owner had already done, such as the paintwork. And because we had only part of an idea for the finished product there were quite a few learning experiences to be had. It was like me getting on my first bike and not realizing that steering a bike and stopping it were a special skill, a necessary skill.
1.4 We slowly bought the pieces we needed. Well actually, my dad slowly bought the things we needed while my uncle and I put the thing together. Some of the parts where brand new and some parts had probably seen the insides of several bikes. Several parts had to be modified to fit. But we got it together eventually and the day came when we tried to fire her up. We put fuel in the tank and pressed the start button. The starter motor turned but there was a noticeable lack of thunder. Though the starter motor was turning it wasn’t turning the engine and so the engine didn’t start. We wondered what was going wrong.
1.5 The problem was that the starter motor wasn’t turning the clutch.
1.6 There’s a little gear that slides out of the starter motor when the starter motor turns. It catches the teeth of a gear wheel on the outside of the clutch basket. When everything is working perfectly the starter gear is supposed to engage the teeth on the clutch basket, which then turns the motor and ideally starts it.
1.7 After scratching our heads my dad and I realized that whoever had the clutch basket before us had modified it so that the ring gear was in a different location. The starter gear popped out to a position where the clutch basket gear was supposed to be but wasn’t.
1.8 We took the clutch basket to a mechanic who re-welded the gear on to the clutch basket at the correct location. Excitedly we took it home and put the bike back together again.
1.9 Alas the bike still would not start.
1.10 Now the starter gear was engaging with the gear wheel on the clutch basket but while the starter was turning the clutch basket still wasn’t.
1.11 The starter motor was also second hand. We discovered that its magnets were switched so it was spinning the wrong way. We took it apart and reversed the magnets so that the starter spun the right way. Now when we tried to start the bike the engine turned over but the wires from the battery to the starter smoked. So we had to put thicker wires on the starter so it could get enough juice. After repeated test runs the bike again wouldn’t start. It took us a while to figure out that the bike had run out of gas.
1.12 I learned a lot working on that bike. I became conscious of the smaller ideas of a motorcycle and how those ideas relate. The starter gear comes out a set distance so it meshes with the clutch basket. The starter has to turn a certain way. I also learned that it’s fun figuring out how things work, but more so when I am not endangering my life.
1.13 Now that we know what it’s like to build a bike my dad and I agreed we could do much better if we ever do it again. We understood the pieces of a bike and how they go together so that now we can make another one if we choose. Now all I had to do is learn how to ride one.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ideas, Growth and Expression
1.1 We are ideas. And we are made up of other ideas, things we have learned. As our consciousness radiates outwards from our center we express ourselves. We dance, we write, we sing, we talk, we sew we cook. Any of the ideas that are already apart of us we express. We share our true nature and others see this expression and enjoy it and perhaps are even inspired or energized by it or they get another view of all that is, a view that they haven’t got time to experience themselves.
1.2 Expressing ourselves we send energy outwards from our center so that other centers of consciousness can pull that energy inwards.
1.3 Resting for a moment while still expanding outwards, we see the expression of other ideas around us, and as a result we are inspired, and we see the world in a way that we aren’t able to directly experience. Energy flows from out of us and then into us, and each cycle the expression of ourselves changes slightly, affected by what is around us.
1.4 Now imagine expressing ourselves while directly connected to someone else. At the same time they are expressing themselves and so we change, we both do. And even as we are expressing ourselves we are changed by what we are connected to. Sometimes we change more, or what we are connected to changes more. Sometimes change goes from one to the other sometimes the other way around. Or perhaps the change also originates from a center outside of the centers of the two connected ideas, like they are part of a bigger idea.
1.5 Now imagine that as well as happening across time this happens across space, that we allow energy in at the same time as we radiate it out. So we are changing even as we express ourselves because we are seeing what is around us and seeing how what is around us is changing too.
1.6 It’s like dancing with someone on a really crowded dance floor. We are expressing ourselves but the way we express ourselves is shaped by the expression of all the other dancers in the room. We express ourselves according to the room we have at the time. But at the same time everyone else is doing the same thing. So we all affect each other even as we express ourselves.
1.7 Over a slightly longer time period, as we expand outwards more we connect, with new ideas, new things to learn new people to experience and we change as a result of this connection. We learn new things and how to do them, we learn new people how to dance with them until the connection becomes firm (or we choose to let it go). When the connection is firm, the idea is a part of us, how to do a certain type of math problem, a new girlfriend or boy friend, knowing how to ride a bike. Or we are part of a new idea. And so we express the new idea, radiating outwards from its center as well as out own.
1.8 Resting, we pull inwards from all of the ideas into the idea of ourselves so that we can rest and look inwards across time at the way we have expressed ourselves.
1.2 Expressing ourselves we send energy outwards from our center so that other centers of consciousness can pull that energy inwards.
1.3 Resting for a moment while still expanding outwards, we see the expression of other ideas around us, and as a result we are inspired, and we see the world in a way that we aren’t able to directly experience. Energy flows from out of us and then into us, and each cycle the expression of ourselves changes slightly, affected by what is around us.
1.4 Now imagine expressing ourselves while directly connected to someone else. At the same time they are expressing themselves and so we change, we both do. And even as we are expressing ourselves we are changed by what we are connected to. Sometimes we change more, or what we are connected to changes more. Sometimes change goes from one to the other sometimes the other way around. Or perhaps the change also originates from a center outside of the centers of the two connected ideas, like they are part of a bigger idea.
1.5 Now imagine that as well as happening across time this happens across space, that we allow energy in at the same time as we radiate it out. So we are changing even as we express ourselves because we are seeing what is around us and seeing how what is around us is changing too.
1.6 It’s like dancing with someone on a really crowded dance floor. We are expressing ourselves but the way we express ourselves is shaped by the expression of all the other dancers in the room. We express ourselves according to the room we have at the time. But at the same time everyone else is doing the same thing. So we all affect each other even as we express ourselves.
1.7 Over a slightly longer time period, as we expand outwards more we connect, with new ideas, new things to learn new people to experience and we change as a result of this connection. We learn new things and how to do them, we learn new people how to dance with them until the connection becomes firm (or we choose to let it go). When the connection is firm, the idea is a part of us, how to do a certain type of math problem, a new girlfriend or boy friend, knowing how to ride a bike. Or we are part of a new idea. And so we express the new idea, radiating outwards from its center as well as out own.
1.8 Resting, we pull inwards from all of the ideas into the idea of ourselves so that we can rest and look inwards across time at the way we have expressed ourselves.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Working with the Forces that are Acting On Us
BALANCING THE RELATIONSHIPS IN OUR LIVES
1.1 Riding a bike or skating, balance is easy when we are conscious of the forces acting on us because we can use those forces to our advantage, we find the easy way to stay aligned. We can do the same when balancing aspects of our lives through time. Feel the forces acting on us and use our moods, what we feel like doing to help us get things done. In the mood for studying, then study, in the mood for exercise, then its time to go to the gym. At the same time we stay aware of our relationship with each of these ideas. And so that we know what those ideas are we can ask ourselves “Why am I doing this?” Knowing the ideas in our life and why we are doing them, we can maintain a balanced relationship with each of them.
1.2 While I was at university I loved to exercise. At the same time I had to find time to study. Sometimes when I was studying I found that I was getting tired or unable to concentrate. So I used that as an excuse to go rollerblading or running. Generally, after I had exercised I was in a better mood to study. Meanwhile I couldn’t exercise so long that I didn’t have time to study, so the two kept each other in balance. Sometimes, going out for a run or a skate, I was able to figure out problems that I couldn’t figure out while staring at a book. And when I wasn’t in the mood for either I’d chat with my roommates or play video games or go out for a beer.
1.3 When I studied, I studied and I did it for long enough that I got into a groove and did something useful, learned something. Likewise, exercising, I gave myself enough time to warm up, exercise and cool down. When I wasn’t doing one thing I was doing another and I was enjoying myself.
1.4 That was the one term I did well enough to make it to the dean’s honors list.
1.5 Feeling the forces that act on us, the moods that take us, we can work on balance across time, taking turns one at a time with each of the ideas in our lives, feeling our relationship with each one and maintaining it and then moving on to the next one, cycling through them all continuously but paying attention to each one as we are with them.
1.6 Balance is maintaining a relationship with all of the ideas in our lives while working with the forces that act on us.
1.1 Riding a bike or skating, balance is easy when we are conscious of the forces acting on us because we can use those forces to our advantage, we find the easy way to stay aligned. We can do the same when balancing aspects of our lives through time. Feel the forces acting on us and use our moods, what we feel like doing to help us get things done. In the mood for studying, then study, in the mood for exercise, then its time to go to the gym. At the same time we stay aware of our relationship with each of these ideas. And so that we know what those ideas are we can ask ourselves “Why am I doing this?” Knowing the ideas in our life and why we are doing them, we can maintain a balanced relationship with each of them.
1.2 While I was at university I loved to exercise. At the same time I had to find time to study. Sometimes when I was studying I found that I was getting tired or unable to concentrate. So I used that as an excuse to go rollerblading or running. Generally, after I had exercised I was in a better mood to study. Meanwhile I couldn’t exercise so long that I didn’t have time to study, so the two kept each other in balance. Sometimes, going out for a run or a skate, I was able to figure out problems that I couldn’t figure out while staring at a book. And when I wasn’t in the mood for either I’d chat with my roommates or play video games or go out for a beer.
1.3 When I studied, I studied and I did it for long enough that I got into a groove and did something useful, learned something. Likewise, exercising, I gave myself enough time to warm up, exercise and cool down. When I wasn’t doing one thing I was doing another and I was enjoying myself.
1.4 That was the one term I did well enough to make it to the dean’s honors list.
1.5 Feeling the forces that act on us, the moods that take us, we can work on balance across time, taking turns one at a time with each of the ideas in our lives, feeling our relationship with each one and maintaining it and then moving on to the next one, cycling through them all continuously but paying attention to each one as we are with them.
1.6 Balance is maintaining a relationship with all of the ideas in our lives while working with the forces that act on us.
The Process of Maintaining A Relationship Despite The Forces Acting On It
MAINTAINING A RELATIONSHIP DESPITE THE FORCES ACTING ON IT
1.1 When I was in the army and living in England I used to go cycling with a friend after work. We’d often cycle one behind the other so that the person in back got to rest while the person in front did the work of blocking the wind. Because my friend was training to compete in triathlon’s I stayed in the back as often as possible, purely for his benefit.
1.2 Because I was in the back it was easy to speed up without any extra effort so I had to coast or if I did start to accelerate, then stick my head up into the wind to help me slow down so that I didn’t crash into my friend. Then, once I had matched speeds again I pulled my head back down into the draft.
1.3 When we were going straight and there was no wind then I’d position myself directly behind my partner for the best draught. If there was a wind blowing from the side then I would have to shift relative to my friend. We’d still be going straight ahead, but I’d be behind and slightly to the side, so that we were both pointing in the direction we were going but angled in line with the wind. We both had to lean to the side slightly to balance the push of the wind and keep on going straight.
1.4 Going around a bend something similar happened. We’d both lean inwards but to keep the draught the rider in the back, me again, would shift his line slightly outwards. If we were going around a bend to the left, I’d shift slightly to the right to stay in my friends slipstream.
1.5 Whether we were experiencing a side wind or going around a corner we maintained our relationship by lining up with the forces that acting on us. And if we slipped out of balance then the person behind would slow down or speed up until we were back in balance.
1.6 Balance, maintaining a relationship despite the forces that are acting on it. Balance, a process of maintaining the relationships we are in by monitoring the relationship and the forces acting on it and adjusting one or the other or both so that we continue to head in the direction we want to go.
1.7 It’s not that the relationship doesn’t change, it does, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot but the important thing is that the relationship is maintained. The idea is kept alive.
1.1 When I was in the army and living in England I used to go cycling with a friend after work. We’d often cycle one behind the other so that the person in back got to rest while the person in front did the work of blocking the wind. Because my friend was training to compete in triathlon’s I stayed in the back as often as possible, purely for his benefit.
1.2 Because I was in the back it was easy to speed up without any extra effort so I had to coast or if I did start to accelerate, then stick my head up into the wind to help me slow down so that I didn’t crash into my friend. Then, once I had matched speeds again I pulled my head back down into the draft.
1.3 When we were going straight and there was no wind then I’d position myself directly behind my partner for the best draught. If there was a wind blowing from the side then I would have to shift relative to my friend. We’d still be going straight ahead, but I’d be behind and slightly to the side, so that we were both pointing in the direction we were going but angled in line with the wind. We both had to lean to the side slightly to balance the push of the wind and keep on going straight.
1.4 Going around a bend something similar happened. We’d both lean inwards but to keep the draught the rider in the back, me again, would shift his line slightly outwards. If we were going around a bend to the left, I’d shift slightly to the right to stay in my friends slipstream.
1.5 Whether we were experiencing a side wind or going around a corner we maintained our relationship by lining up with the forces that acting on us. And if we slipped out of balance then the person behind would slow down or speed up until we were back in balance.
1.6 Balance, maintaining a relationship despite the forces that are acting on it. Balance, a process of maintaining the relationships we are in by monitoring the relationship and the forces acting on it and adjusting one or the other or both so that we continue to head in the direction we want to go.
1.7 It’s not that the relationship doesn’t change, it does, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot but the important thing is that the relationship is maintained. The idea is kept alive.
Balance
1 BALANCE
1.1 What is balance? It is maintaining the relationships we are in despite the forces acting on us. With respect to the earth that means aligning ourselves with gravity so that we can continue to stand (or sit, or do what it is that we are doing.)
1.2 Feeling where our center is by using our connection with the earth, we can tell if we are aligned with gravity. If we feel our center directly over our feet we know that we are aligned with gravity, and if not then we can use our legs to move our center so that it is. Aligning ourselves with gravity we balance. We maintain our relationship with the earth.
1.3 How do we know where our center is? By feeling the way our feet press into the ground. If we are standing on both feet and if we feel that one foot is pressing down more because of gravity, then our center is more over that foot. Feeling where our center is we can then we can use our legs to move it so that it is where we want it to be.
1.4 We can do the same whether we are standing on our hands or on our feet or sitting on our sitting bones. Feeling where our center is, we can shift it so that our weight is more centered or so that it is moving in the direction we want to move.
1.5 Riding a motorbike we can feel if we are balanced by feeling the way our sitting bones press down into the seat. When both our sitting bones press into the seat evenly we are aligned with the bike and together we are aligned with the forces acting on us. If we go around a corner then that action creates additional forces, but it we feel the way our sitting bones press down we can then align ourself and the bike with the combined force of gravity and turning. We maintain our relationship with the bike, the earth and the corner we are going around.
1.6 If we want to create more room for the bike to the inside of the corner (so we have room to lean more and turn more if we need to), we can push the bike outwards and lean ourselves inwards. As we do so we’ll feel the sitting bone to the inside press down while the sitting bone to the outside of the turn will lift up. Even though we then are out of balance with the bike, because we share a center with the bike, the bike and ourselves as a whole stay balanced. Out shared center of gravity lines up with our connection with the earth and the forces acting on us. Then as we come out of the turn we can align ourselves with the bike again, simply by repositioning ourselves so that both sitting bones are pressing down again.
1.7 Feeling the forces that act on a relationship we can maintain the relationship or change it the way we want to.
1.1 What is balance? It is maintaining the relationships we are in despite the forces acting on us. With respect to the earth that means aligning ourselves with gravity so that we can continue to stand (or sit, or do what it is that we are doing.)
1.2 Feeling where our center is by using our connection with the earth, we can tell if we are aligned with gravity. If we feel our center directly over our feet we know that we are aligned with gravity, and if not then we can use our legs to move our center so that it is. Aligning ourselves with gravity we balance. We maintain our relationship with the earth.
1.3 How do we know where our center is? By feeling the way our feet press into the ground. If we are standing on both feet and if we feel that one foot is pressing down more because of gravity, then our center is more over that foot. Feeling where our center is we can then we can use our legs to move it so that it is where we want it to be.
1.4 We can do the same whether we are standing on our hands or on our feet or sitting on our sitting bones. Feeling where our center is, we can shift it so that our weight is more centered or so that it is moving in the direction we want to move.
1.5 Riding a motorbike we can feel if we are balanced by feeling the way our sitting bones press down into the seat. When both our sitting bones press into the seat evenly we are aligned with the bike and together we are aligned with the forces acting on us. If we go around a corner then that action creates additional forces, but it we feel the way our sitting bones press down we can then align ourself and the bike with the combined force of gravity and turning. We maintain our relationship with the bike, the earth and the corner we are going around.
1.6 If we want to create more room for the bike to the inside of the corner (so we have room to lean more and turn more if we need to), we can push the bike outwards and lean ourselves inwards. As we do so we’ll feel the sitting bone to the inside press down while the sitting bone to the outside of the turn will lift up. Even though we then are out of balance with the bike, because we share a center with the bike, the bike and ourselves as a whole stay balanced. Out shared center of gravity lines up with our connection with the earth and the forces acting on us. Then as we come out of the turn we can align ourselves with the bike again, simply by repositioning ourselves so that both sitting bones are pressing down again.
1.7 Feeling the forces that act on a relationship we can maintain the relationship or change it the way we want to.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Connection, Change and Relationship
CONNECTION, CHANGE AND RELATIONSHIP
1.1 Computer systems deal with the flow of information from one idea to another. As that information flows from one part of the system to another it causes change. The part of the system sending the information changes as it sends the information, just as we change when we open our mouth to speak. And the part of the system listening for information, it changes when it receives the information as we might do when we see the traffic light ahead of us turn to red while we are driving. In going from one place to another information causes change. And when that information is read and acted on even more change occurs. (Sitting in a car, the speedometer is always there, but do we always notice it changing? “...Sorry officer, I was not conscious of my actual speed...”)
1.2 Even the simple act of delivering the information, electrons flowing along wires, is change but in order for change to occur, for one idea to change another they have to be connected. They have to have a relationship so that information can be exchanged.
1.3 A relationship is two or more ideas connected in such a way that information can be exchanged so that change is caused. Depending on the connection and the relative size of each idea that change may be big or it may be small. One idea may change more than the other. Change may occur simultaneously, fish turning simultaneously as one or it may occur sequentially, like in a conversation, two people taking turns listening to each other.
1.4 I am connecting to this idea, that of basic principles, and in connecting to my computer I am helping to give that idea form. And in the process of writing I am changing myself. Both the small changes as my fingers tap out words on the keyboard and bigger changes as my understanding of what I am writing about improves. The more I connect to this idea the better I understand it and the more I grow and change as a result.
1.1 Computer systems deal with the flow of information from one idea to another. As that information flows from one part of the system to another it causes change. The part of the system sending the information changes as it sends the information, just as we change when we open our mouth to speak. And the part of the system listening for information, it changes when it receives the information as we might do when we see the traffic light ahead of us turn to red while we are driving. In going from one place to another information causes change. And when that information is read and acted on even more change occurs. (Sitting in a car, the speedometer is always there, but do we always notice it changing? “...Sorry officer, I was not conscious of my actual speed...”)
1.2 Even the simple act of delivering the information, electrons flowing along wires, is change but in order for change to occur, for one idea to change another they have to be connected. They have to have a relationship so that information can be exchanged.
1.3 A relationship is two or more ideas connected in such a way that information can be exchanged so that change is caused. Depending on the connection and the relative size of each idea that change may be big or it may be small. One idea may change more than the other. Change may occur simultaneously, fish turning simultaneously as one or it may occur sequentially, like in a conversation, two people taking turns listening to each other.
1.4 I am connecting to this idea, that of basic principles, and in connecting to my computer I am helping to give that idea form. And in the process of writing I am changing myself. Both the small changes as my fingers tap out words on the keyboard and bigger changes as my understanding of what I am writing about improves. The more I connect to this idea the better I understand it and the more I grow and change as a result.
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