Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Kinship with all Life
One of my all time favorite books is "Kinship with all Life" by J. Allen Boone. It’s the true story, written in the 1950s, of when the author had a big Hollywood star, a German shepherd by the name of Strongheart, come to live with him. Boone began to learn some amazing and wonderful things from Strongheart, about getting along with others, about communication and some of the basic principles of living a life in harmony with the world and its creatures.
I first read this book about twenty years ago, and it stretched my thinking. I found a lot of truth in it, and was delighted not only by the possibilities of more communication with non-humans, but also at how the principles apply to our human relationships. He wrote of learning how to listen, of letting go of preconceptions and being present. He also found that when he focused on the positive qualities of whatever creature he was in relationship with, those qualities grew in them and in him. He emphasized qualities such as appreciation, respect, sincerity, generosity, affection, a sense of fellowship, flexibility as ways to find right relationship, be it with a dog, a camel, a lizard, a fly…maybe our fellow humans?
I go back to the book now and then, to see what I find in it at this stage of my life. I always find it to be a fun, affecting read, and I always learn something. It has the flavor of the 1950s, and yet it’s timeless. The book is still in print…jump on into it and hang out with the critters!
I first read this book about twenty years ago, and it stretched my thinking. I found a lot of truth in it, and was delighted not only by the possibilities of more communication with non-humans, but also at how the principles apply to our human relationships. He wrote of learning how to listen, of letting go of preconceptions and being present. He also found that when he focused on the positive qualities of whatever creature he was in relationship with, those qualities grew in them and in him. He emphasized qualities such as appreciation, respect, sincerity, generosity, affection, a sense of fellowship, flexibility as ways to find right relationship, be it with a dog, a camel, a lizard, a fly…maybe our fellow humans?
I go back to the book now and then, to see what I find in it at this stage of my life. I always find it to be a fun, affecting read, and I always learn something. It has the flavor of the 1950s, and yet it’s timeless. The book is still in print…jump on into it and hang out with the critters!
Leon Fleisher
On vacation in Maui, I came across an article on Leon Fleisher that I found an inspiring reminder that conflict is opportunity.
A virtuoso classical pianist, Leon was stricken in 1965 by a rare neurological disease that silenced his right hand. For 40 years, he played only with his right. Then, in the late 1990's a combination of botox injections and massage therapy gradually restored dexterity to the pianist's right hand. In 2004, at age 76, Fleisher celebrated his recovery with his first two-handed recording in more than 40 years.
What caught my eye was a quote from an National Public Radio interview with Bob Edwards in 2006. Rather than judging his loss of ability as a limitation, Fleisher described it as an unlooked for opportunity.
"The whole adventure of trying to find an answer to the problem opened up no end of doors to me. I learned conducting, I got further into teaching, and I looked for left hand repertory."
To learn more about Leon, please click here.
A virtuoso classical pianist, Leon was stricken in 1965 by a rare neurological disease that silenced his right hand. For 40 years, he played only with his right. Then, in the late 1990's a combination of botox injections and massage therapy gradually restored dexterity to the pianist's right hand. In 2004, at age 76, Fleisher celebrated his recovery with his first two-handed recording in more than 40 years.
What caught my eye was a quote from an National Public Radio interview with Bob Edwards in 2006. Rather than judging his loss of ability as a limitation, Fleisher described it as an unlooked for opportunity.
"The whole adventure of trying to find an answer to the problem opened up no end of doors to me. I learned conducting, I got further into teaching, and I looked for left hand repertory."
To learn more about Leon, please click here.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
AI – What is Appreciative Inquiry?
I recently attended a training on AI – Appreciative Inquiry, defined by one of our instructors, Jane Magruder Watkins, as:
I think what fascinates me about AI is how it blends with Aikido in supporting the kind of work I do and the kind of life I want to live. Like Aikido, AI suggests we focus not on the problem but on our purpose and on the direction we want to move towards; that the stories we tell ourselves about what we experience determine our experience; and that the questions we ask influence what we look for and what we find.
I think my favorite AI premise, though, is this one: AI believes that a positive approach to any issue is just as valid a basis for learning and just as contagious as a negative approach (paraphrase from Jane Magruder Watkins), and is more likely to contribute to sustainable solutions.
Would you like an AI view on how to approach this holiday season? Read my story "You Get What You Look For" in the December issue of my newsletter, Ki Moments.
Interested in looking further into AI? Visit the AI Commons.
Good ki!
Judy Ringer
- "a process for engaging people in building the kinds of families, communities, organizations and world they want to live in; and,
- "a practical daily philosophy ... based on the realization that what we learn from what works and gives life is more effective and sustainable than what we learn from breakdowns and pathologies."
I think what fascinates me about AI is how it blends with Aikido in supporting the kind of work I do and the kind of life I want to live. Like Aikido, AI suggests we focus not on the problem but on our purpose and on the direction we want to move towards; that the stories we tell ourselves about what we experience determine our experience; and that the questions we ask influence what we look for and what we find.
I think my favorite AI premise, though, is this one: AI believes that a positive approach to any issue is just as valid a basis for learning and just as contagious as a negative approach (paraphrase from Jane Magruder Watkins), and is more likely to contribute to sustainable solutions.
Would you like an AI view on how to approach this holiday season? Read my story "You Get What You Look For" in the December issue of my newsletter, Ki Moments.
Interested in looking further into AI? Visit the AI Commons.
Good ki!
Judy Ringer
Monday, December 8, 2008
Words from Robert Browning
From “Paracelsus” by Robert Browning:
Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost centre in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception—which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and, to know,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.
Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost centre in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception—which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and, to know,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.
Friday, December 5, 2008
A New Resource
I would like to extend an invitation to all to visit my new website: www.magicofstretching.com. I will be posting exercises and other information related to The Magic of Stretching on this site in the coming months.
Judy Warner
Judy Warner
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