Meditation and the Body/Mind connection

Every Sunday morning if I get up early enough I listen to a radio show on my local NPR station.
called Being with Krista Tippet. You can also listen to this program on line. I love radio; especially intelligent and mind opening discussions and stories. The following is an interview withe Arthur Zajonc who is a physics professor at Ameherst College in MA. He has been a contempative; a early meditator before the west began widely focusing on the eastern form. He studied Rudolph Steiner's work in the early days. He was diagnosed with Parkinsons a year ago and the following quote from the interview addresses this. Since I have a brother with Parkinsons, I was very interested.
"There are two main types of meditation and both of them are part of my life, which one is a concentration and the other is what I call open awareness. It's a very open presence. In the concentration phase, tremors actually worsened. You have a line of poetry or from scripture or an image and you bring your full undivided single-pointed attention to that content. But as we're straining mentally to do that, the hand begins to tremor more. And then when you release the image and become very still and quiet and open yourself wide, the hand slowly calms to the point where indeed your whole body feels at ease and the tremor disappears. Interesting… I can see that the mind and the body are so delicately attuned to one another that these practices affect the Parkinson's state itself. … So here's the question I pose to myself. Is it possible to be alive, active in the world, and yet have such calm, such kind of inner openness and presence that one can lead a life, at least in part, that is an expression of that quality of meditative quiescence that's on the one hand quite alert and on the other hand, completely at ease, completely at rest. … And I'll keep you posted as to whether that comes out all right or not."

Murmuration video

http://vimeo.com/31158841

Check out this "startling" natural phenomena. Isn't nature

Seasonal Wisdom - Autumn/Fall

"Going with the flow" does not come natural to our western culture. Honoring the seasons as a source of how to live life is a deeply rooted part of eastern cultures. Autumn is about letting go
just as the trees begin to let go of their leaves.
A time to ready ourselves for resting thru the
cold months.
The Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine
reveals how mother nature (the macrocosm)
shows up in our daily lives (the microcosm).
Each season is represented by a pair of organ
system. In autumn/fall it is the lungs and large
intestine. They are both about exchange and elimination. The lg int. is well understood as the elimination of waste (a letting go). The lungs
are about the exchange of chi/prana thru our breathe. If you listen to how people's voices sound you may also understand what may be out of balance in their body. Here are some of the sounds that may reveal the imbalance needing attention. Sighing or a weepy sound The
taste they may be craving might be spicy. It make sense for smokers or people with breathing issues as it dilates airways to bring in more air.

This is a small taste of the multi-layered facets of this theory. I will try to do a blog for the season as they come up.
Nature is food for the soul with its cycle of growth, abundance and beauty, decay and compost.
And then, new life. Watching the cycles and feeling and understanding the changes will help
us to reap the rewards it offers. Namaste Ginger the picture is called pink autumn girl by Nuttpukki.

I want to share something I read by Thomas A O'Kane who is a world traveler who speaks of the planet in transition; a planet trying to give birth to a greater consciousness.

The Center Must Hold

In our personal lives times of great transition are marked by deep uncertainly, fear, anger, grief, disillusionment, even despair. This can be balanced by the sense of a new calling filled with possibilities, hope, growth, dreams, expansion and a revivified life. During such passages we are asked to wait, listen, and stay connected to our soul while not clinging to the old identity or grasping onto a premature way of escaping. Imagine this condition magnified billions of times throughout the planet.

Given what is occurring throughout humanity we should not be surprised to find these conditions mirrored in our lives and all around us. It is a naive form of specialness to expect that because we are on a personal spiritual journey that we will not be affected by the state of the planet in crisis. The great gift of spirituality is that it offers us, through various traditions, a body of proven teaching and practices that will aid us in holding our own center.

Namaste

This was referred to me by Wm. to Wm Int'l and I thought you would be interested in tuning in.
I believe it starts tonight (10/11) and is a 5 part series that will air every Tues. nite thru Nov. 8th.

This Tuesday, tune in to PBS for an exciting television event you won't want to miss!
Women, War & Peace, a new PBS production, will take an in-depth look at the role of women in some of the most war-torn countries on earth. Women for Women International participants know the daily struggles that come with war only too well, and the series will provide a spotlight on two of the countries in which we work

Just to let you know I will be presenting the following class at two locations:

Sat. Oct 29th @3445 Preservation Dr. Fairfax,VA (off Pickett Rd.)-10am-noon Cost. $35

Sat. Nov. 5th @ 55 Lower Ct. Strasburg, VA 10am-noon Cost. $35

NOURISHING BODY AND SOUL
WITH COLOR and SOUND

Look around you... we are immersed in color .... nature, our clothes, our homes and even on line. We are told to eat deeply colored foods for their rich nutrient value.

Listen...sound permeates our daily lives. Often it is harsh and jarring; for many they are
"plugged in" all day.

In this class we will explore these two profound facets of life for their capacity to heal and
bring our body and soul into balance. The harmony and beauty of these two vibarations will
be explored using:

..... colored lights, color swatches, and color breathing meditation
into the chakras.

..... the sound of tibetian bowls and bells, the vibration of Acutonics
tuning forks and chanting The Biji Mantras.

to register send a check to Ginger Joy, 55 Lower Ct. Strasburg, VA 22657

For information on my work/practice go to www.thewellwoman.net
or e-mail me at gj42@comcast.net