friday cartoon

"Frank Forencich of Exuberant Animal was one of the really early influential thinkers on applying the evolutionary paleo perspective to movement practice, one of the first great play advocates and great author."

-- Rafe Kelly (who also has a brilliant perspective on human movement) 

nothing but happiness

Pelle had already begun to dread the awful day when they would all have to go back to town. He had an old comb with as many teeth as the summer had days. Every morning he broke off a tooth and noticed anxiously how the comb grew thinner and thinner.

Melker saw the comb one morning and threw it away. To worry about the future was the wrong attitude toward life, he said. One should enjoy each day as it came. On a sunny morning like the present one, life was nothing but happiness. How wonderful it was to go straight out into the garden in pajamas, feeling the dew-wet grass under one’s feet, and then take a dip from the jetty and afterward sit down at the painted garden table to read a book or the paper while drinking delicious coffee, with the children milling around!

Astrid Lindgrin, Seacrow Island via evencleveland

I feel, therefore I am.

In the middle of the 17th century, Spinoza took on Descartes and lost.

According to Descartes' famous dualist theory, human beings were composed of physical bodies and immaterial minds. Spinoza disagreed. In ''The Ethics,'' his masterwork, published after his death in 1677, he argued that body and mind are not two separate entities but one continuous substance.

As for Descartes' view of the mind as a reasoning machine, Spinoza thought that was dead wrong. Reason, he insisted, is shot through with emotion. More radical still, he claimed that thoughts and feelings are not primarily reactions to external events but first and foremost about the body. In fact, he suggested, the mind exists purely for the body's sake, to ensure its survival.

For his beliefs, Spinoza was vilified and -- for extended periods -- ignored. Descartes, on the other hand, was immortalized as a visionary. His rationalist doctrine shaped the course of modern philosophy and became part of the cultural bedrock....

Read the full article by Emily Eakin in The New York Times.

"There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy."

 

--Nietzsche

"Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole. It is not the property of any one group or any one individual, but can be followed by any and all, in any corner of the globe, regardless of class, creed or religion."

- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

"Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our philosophy."

 -- W. Somerset Maugham, “The Razor’s Edge”

(photo by me)

Letting go

In yoga you make conscientious efforts towards your goals while, simultaneously, allowing for non-attachment and ease with the resultant outcomes of your pursuits.

These are the two of the core principles on which yoga rests:

Practice (abhyasa) and non-attachment (vairagya) 
They work together: With an attitude of persistent effort practice leads you in the right direction, while non-attachment allows you to continue the journey without getting sidetracked  - you learn to let go of the many attachments, aversions and fears that cloud the practice...a nice philosophy to carry into everyday life no?

isms...

My knowledge leads me to agnosticism. My philosophy leads me to atheism. And my morality leads me to humanism.

From loverandnotafighter
i think i agree...for now... 

10 Lessons from Einstien...

...and the most brilliant hair EVER.

1. Follow Your Curiosity “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

2. Perseverance is Priceless “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

3. Focus on the Present “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”

4. The Imagination is Powerful “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

5. Make Mistakes “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

6. Live in the Moment “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.”

7. Create Value “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

8. Don’t be repetitive “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

9. Knowledge Comes From Experience “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”

10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

Found here via here.

Tao Porchon-Lynch

The mental attitudes you bring to yoga greatly influence where yoga takes you, as with so many things in life, your practice will change as you grow older and that is something to embrace. Yoga is definitely a process to be lived rather than a goal to be achieved!

For the past three years I have been teaching a 73 year old man. He dances, cooks, goes for far flung holidays, reads constantly (he used to be a teacher) and he's always smiling. I'm always amazed that he can handle a session of strong Yoga with younger people who sometimes struggle, Mr 73 years old never does and he always respects his bodies limits. I have alot of respect for the older generation who still have the will of younger souls and I'm convinced that attitude is the key, when I came across this video of Tao Porchon-Lynch it convinced me even more...

When i grow up i want to be like Tao Porchon-Lynch, she is 92. I have posted the video link here for inspiration and you can read a little more about Tao here