Mental Fitness

Back in 1988, during my Jazz years in Los Angeles,  I was fortunate to be introduced to Michiko Rolek,  the great granddaughter of Sokei-an Sasaki  who founded the First Zen Institute of America in New York City  at the early turn of the 20 th century. “Michi” as I came to know her then, and I became friends  while waitressing at The Loa in West Los Angeles,  where well-known jazz musicians performed. Michi opened a new world to me. The Los Angeles born dancer  and artist  introduced me to ballet, yoga, Pilates, Martial Arts,  and her own class The Centered Stretch while also providing me with  the first insights into the mind, Zen, meditation, and a changed  perspective  on all things I had come to know up until then. Soon, Michi became my teacher in meditation and movement arts.  We had a lab going, and through her guidance,  I crossed the first bridges on the way to my Self....

I see an old man holding with a backpack sitting at the end of a branch  and holding on to a big branch in front of him.  Oh, and I see a chain. What do you see? You see, we may or may not see the same thing  in what seems to be the same thing  when we look at something. So can there be a better or worse? Perhaps not so much in what we see,  but definitely in how we choose to look at things. Thus, we determine many aspects of the quality of our lives.  I can choose to see the good, or the bad, or the ugly  and everything between and beyond those options. When we change the way we look at things,  the things we look at, change. Wayne Dyer You see?

At this time, we are at home more than usual and we wander between rooms,  mundane wandering, carrying mundane things around  – like a cup of tea or clean laundry –  and, if you are like me, spend a lot of time in the kitchen,  perhaps checking to see if anything new has happened in the fridge. It is out of boredom that we keep it mundane? How can we put spirit back into things? Please post your thoughts.  

Being aware of how my energy is influenced moment by moment  is a result of waking up to the fact that  energies are blown about like leaves in the wind. Today, I decided to see beauty.

It is a good time to speak about team, isn’t it? Phil Jackson in his book Sacred Hoops (1995) makes a simple, yet challenging observation: “… the most effective way to forge a winning team is to call on the players’ need to connect with something larger than themselves ” (p. 5). He then goes on to say “It requires individuals involved to surrender their self-interest for the greater good so that the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts” (p.5). Is this not the most fitting moment in time to come together to form a strong team, a team of citizens committed to take care of each other by a)     Adhering to the measures given by our leaders b)     Lending a helping hand to those in need c)      Becoming creative with how we spend our time (e.g. not blocking the internet because all we can think to do is to stream movies or play games) My son Julian made some good suggestions: get to know your parents bett...

Inspiration aus Interpretation Iyengar erkl ä rt den Baum des Yoga anschaulich und leicht verständlich. Heute bin ich von seiner Darstellung der Zweige des Baumes inspiriert und habe meine Yoga Praxis demnach gerichtet. Hast du in der Ü bung der Stellung (Asana) eher eine Herausforderung des Körpers oder des Geistes? Fühlst du die Stellung in ihren Einzelheiten, oder denkst du darüber nach, was die Stellung bewirkt und ob du diese Wirkung erfährst? Versuchst du, die von jemand anderes beschriebene Erfahrung zu machen, oder forschst du in deinem Körper und Geist danach, welche Erfahrung du machst? Asanas haben zwei Aspekte: sich in die Position bewegen, und in der Position sein. Du nimmst die Position ein, das ist Aktion, Handlung. Dein Körper nimmt eine durch den Namen der Asana beschriebene Haltung ein, z. B. Tadasana. Dann hältst du Tadasana, und kommst in die Reflektion. Du richtest dich so lange aus, bis du Ruhe und Gelassenheit erfährst. In dieser Phase erkundes...