Experience and Movement

"In general, there is no isolated sensory experience.  From the beginning, there is a tendency towards testing each new sensory experience by the other senses.  ... We have shown that it is not legitimate to speak of a sensory impression separately from motor-vegetative changes."
-  Moshe Feldenkrais, Body and Mature Behavior, 1949, p.112



The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion.  By Moshe Feldenkrais.  Foreword by Mark Reese.  This book was originally written in the late 1940's.  Frog Books, 2002.  288 pages.  ISBN: 978-1583940686.  VSCL.  

"Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc., a visionary scientist who pioneered the field of mind-body education and therapy, has inspired countless people worldwide.  His ability to translate his theories on human function into action resulted in the creation of his technique, now known as the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education.  In The Potent Self, Feldenkrais delves deeply into the relationship between faulty posture, pain, and the underlying emotional mechanisms that lead to compulsive and dependent human behavior. He shares remarkable insights into resistance, motivation, habit formation, and the place of sex in full human potential.  The Potent Self offers Feldenkrais' vision of how to achieve physical and mental wellness through the development of authentic maturity.  This edition includes and extensive Forward by Mark Reese, a longtime student of Feldenkrais, in which Reese discusses many of the important ideas in the book and places them in the context of Feldenkrais' life and the intellectual and historical milieu of his time."  - Quote from AmazonBooks



Body and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation, and Learning.  By Moshe Feldenkrais.  Foreword by Carl Ginsburg.  Berkeley, California, Frog Books, Somatic Resources, 2005.  Index, 233 pages.  ISBN: 978-1583941157.  VSCL.

These essays were first presented as lectures to members of the Association of Scientific Workers at Fairlie, Scotland, given in 1943-1944.  They were first printed in book form in 1949.  Moshe Feldenkrais worked for the British Admiralty during World War II on submarine research in Scotland, and taught self-defense since he was a Judo Master.  Dr. Feldenkrais discusses learning, movement and consciousness, the psychological and physiological development of humans, recent research in psychology, training and reeducation, mind-body unity, instincts, anxiety, habits, and the impact of gravity on our soma/psyche.  It was written before Dr. Feldenkrais developed his somatic Awareness Through Movement methods and educational theories.  His topics and conclusions are wide-ranging. 


Moshe Feldenkrais  (1904-1984)
Awareness Through Movement, Functional Integration
Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Notes

    

Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 12

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter 12


"The five colors combined
the human eye will blind;
The five notes in one sound
the human ear confound;
The five tastes when they blend
the human mouth offend.

Racing and hunting will human hearts turn mad,
Treasures high-prized make human conduct bad.

Therefore,
The sage attends to the inner and not to the outer.
He abandons the latter and chooses the former."
- Translated by Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 12 

"The meaning of the verses quoted in Chapter 12 carries out the principle enunciated in Chapter 11. The utility of things, as well as the worth of life, is attained not by having everything in completion and in fullness, but by selecting some parts and omitting others, by moderation and by discrete elimination. Together, all the colors blind you, while a discrete selection will make a picture. Together, all the notes just make noise, while a few of them in proper succession make a melody. Together, all the tastes mixed together are offensive, but a choice of them is pleasant. Such is Lao-Tzu's method of teaching that the form of things is more important that the substance. The phrase 'he attends to the inner and not to the outer: reads in a literal translation 'acts on the stomach, not acts on the eye'. The outer and the inner are called in Chapter 38 the flower and the fruit, the former being more show, while the latter is the true import of life."
- Paul Carus, 1913

The Teachings of Lao-Tzu: The Tao Te Ching. Translation, commentary, and notes by Paul Carus, 1913. New York, St. Martin's Press, 2000. ISBN: 0312261098.  D.T. Suzuki worked and studied with Paul Carus around 1905 in Illinois, and translated together the Tao Te Ching.   

"The five colors cause man's eyes to be blinded.
The five tones cause man's ears to be deafened.
The five flavors cause man's palate to be cloyed.
Racing about on horseback and hunting cause man's mind to be maddened.
Hard to obtain merchandise cause mankind to do wrong,
So the Sage concerns himself with the abdomen and not the eyes.
Therefore, he rejects the one and chooses the other."
- Cheng Man-ch'ing, 1981, Chapter 12


"Color's five hues from the eyes their sight will take;
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavors five deprive the mouth of taste;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind;
And objects rare and strange,
Sought for,
Men's conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy the craving of the belly,
and not the insatiable longing of the eyes.
He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 12  


"The five colors
blind our eyes.
The five notes
deafen our ears.
The five flavors
dull our taste.
Racing, chasing, hunting,
drives people crazy.
Trying to get rich
ties people in knots.
So the wise soul
watches with the inner
not with the outward eye,
letting that go,
keeping this."
-  Translation by Ursula K. Le Guin, 2009, Chapter 12  


"An excess of light blinds the human eye; an excess of noise ruins the ear; an excess of condiments deadens the taste.
The effect of too much horse racing and hunting is bad, and the lure of hidden treasure tempts one to do evil.
Therefore the wise man attends to the inner significance of things and does not concern himself with outward appearances.
Therefore he ignores matter and seeks the spirit."
-  Translated by Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel, 1919, Chapter 12 


"The fives colours confuse the eye,
The fives sounds dull the ear,
The five tastes spoil the palate.
Excess of hunting and chasing
Makes minds go mad.
Products that are hard to get
Impede their owner's movements.
Therefore the Sage
Considers the belly not the eye.
Truly, “he rejects that but takes this”."
-  Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 12 



"Five excessive colors make people blind;
five excessive sounds make people deaf;
five excessive flavors rob people's taste;
racing and hunting make people mad;
and rare goods make people steal.
Thus a Sage ruler took care of people's basic-needs (stomachs),
not their excessive-desires (luxuries).
Thus he eliminated desires and supplied needs."
-  Translated by Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 12 

"Los cinco colores ciegan el ojo.
Las cinco notas ensordecen el oído.
Los cinco sabores empalagan el paladar.
La carrera y la caza enloquecen la mente.
Los objetos preciosos tientan al hombre a hacer el mal.
Por eso, el Sabio cuida del vientre, y no del ojo.
Prefiere lo que está dentro a lo que está afuera."
-  Translated into Spanish by Alfonso Colodrón from the English translation by
    John C. H. Wu, 1993, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 12  

"wu se ling ren mu mang.
wu yin ling ren er long.
wu we ling ren kou shuang.
chi cheng tian lie, ling ren xin fa kuang.
nan de zhi huo, ling ren xing fang.
shi yi sheng ren wei fu bu wei mu.
gu qu bi qu ci."
-  Hanyu Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 12

  "Iridescent colours cause blindness.
 Beautiful music causes deafness.
 Delicious food causes loss of taste.
 Racing and hunting cause madness.
 Rare goods tempt people to rob and steal.
 Therefore the sage only wants to feed the people rather than to dazzle them.
 That's why he goes for the former and turns down the latter."
 -  Translated by Jiyu Ren, 1985, Chapter 12 

"The five colours blind the eyes of men.
The five tones deafen their ears.
The five flavours vitiate their palates.
Galloping and hunting induce derangement of the mind.
Objects that are difficult of attainment lead them to incur obstacles or injury.
Thus the Sage cares for his inner self, and not for that which his eye can see;
for which reason he discards the latter and preserves the former."
- Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 12

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. 

  
Chapter 12, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List     
A Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

Wisdom Within Our Flesh

"The human body is not an instrument to be used, but a realm of one's being to be experienced, explored, enriched and, thereby, educated."
-  Thomas Hanna

"There is deep wisdom within our very flesh,  if we can only come to our senses and feel it."
 -  Elizabeth A. Behnke

"He who feels it, knows it more."-  Bob Marley  

 "The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."
-  Jacob Bronowski


'The Heavenly Level is the function of feeling."
-  Cheng Man-ch'ing

"No matter how closely we look, it is difficult to find a mental act that can take place without the support of some physical function."
-  Moshe Feldenkrais  

"I would have touched it like a child
But knew my finger could but have touched
Cold stone and water.   I grew wild,
Even accusing heaven because
It had set down among its laws:
Nothing that we love over-much
Is ponderable to our touch."-  W. B. Yeats  

Touching, Feeling, Sensation: Quotations

The Five Senses

Bodymind Theory and Practices, Somaesthetics

Self-Massage 

Body-Mind-Spirit Movement Arts

Lunge Exercises, Yoga Lunges, Taijiquan Lunges

Dao De Jing, Chapter 12

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter 12

"The five colors combined
the human eye will blind;
The five notes in one sound
the human ear confound;
The five tastes when they blend
the human mouth offend.

Racing and hunting will human hearts turn mad,
Treasures high-prized make human conduct bad.

Therefore,
The sage attends to the inner and not to the outer.
He abandons the latter and chooses the former."
- Translated by Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 12 


"The meaning of the verses quoted in Chapter 12 carries out the principle enunciated in Chapter 11. The utility of things, as well as the worth of life, is attained not by having everything in completion and in fullness, but by selecting some parts and omitting others, by moderation and by discrete elimination. Together, all the colors blind you, while a discrete selection will make a picture. Together, all the notes just make noise, while a few of them in proper succession make a melody. Together, all the tastes mixed together are offensive, but a choice of them is pleasant. Such is Lao-Tzu's method of teaching that the form of things is more important that the substance. The phrase 'he attends to the inner and not to the outer: reads in a literal translation 'acts on the stomach, not acts on the eye'. The outer and the inner are called in Chapter 38 the flower and the fruit, the former being more show, while the latter is the true import of life."
- Paul Carus, 1913

The Teachings of Lao-Tzu: The Tao Te Ching. Translation, commentary, and notes by Paul Carus, 1913. New York, St. Martin's Press, 2000. ISBN: 0312261098.  D.T. Suzuki worked and studied with Paul Carus around 1905 in Illinois, and translated together the Tao Te Ching.   

"The five colors cause man's eyes to be blinded.
The five tones cause man's ears to be deafened.
The five flavors cause man's palate to be cloyed.
Racing about on horseback and hunting cause man's mind to be maddened.
Hard to obtain merchandise cause mankind to do wrong,
So the Sage concerns himself with the abdomen and not the eyes.
Therefore, he rejects the one and chooses the other."
- Cheng Man-ch'ing, 1981, Chapter 12


"Color's five hues from the eyes their sight will take;
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavors five deprive the mouth of taste;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind;
And objects rare and strange,
Sought for,
Men's conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy the craving of the belly,
and not the insatiable longing of the eyes.
He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 12  


"The five colors
blind our eyes.
The five notes
deafen our ears.
The five flavors
dull our taste.
Racing, chasing, hunting,
drives people crazy.
Trying to get rich
ties people in knots.
So the wise soul
watches with the inner
not with the outward eye,
letting that go,
keeping this."
-  Translation by Ursula K. Le Guin, 2009, Chapter 12  


"An excess of light blinds the human eye; an excess of noise ruins the ear; an excess of condiments deadens the taste.
The effect of too much horse racing and hunting is bad, and the lure of hidden treasure tempts one to do evil.
Therefore the wise man attends to the inner significance of things and does not concern himself with outward appearances.
Therefore he ignores matter and seeks the spirit."
-  Translated by Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel, 1919, Chapter 12 


"The fives colours confuse the eye,
The fives sounds dull the ear,
The five tastes spoil the palate.
Excess of hunting and chasing
Makes minds go mad.
Products that are hard to get
Impede their owner's movements.
Therefore the Sage
Considers the belly not the eye.
Truly, “he rejects that but takes this”."
-  Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 12 


"Five excessive colors make people blind;
five excessive sounds make people deaf;
five excessive flavors rob people's taste;
racing and hunting make people mad;
and rare goods make people steal.
Thus a Sage ruler took care of people's basic-needs (stomachs),
not their excessive-desires (luxuries).
Thus he eliminated desires and supplied needs."
-  Translated by Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 12 

"Los cinco colores ciegan el ojo.
Las cinco notas ensordecen el oído.
Los cinco sabores empalagan el paladar.
La carrera y la caza enloquecen la mente.
Los objetos preciosos tientan al hombre a hacer el mal.
Por eso, el Sabio cuida del vientre, y no del ojo.
Prefiere lo que está dentro a lo que está afuera."
-  Translated into Spanish by Alfonso Colodrón from the English translation by
    John C. H. Wu, 1993, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 12  

"wu se ling ren mu mang.
wu yin ling ren er long.
wu we ling ren kou shuang.
chi cheng tian lie, ling ren xin fa kuang.
nan de zhi huo, ling ren xing fang.
shi yi sheng ren wei fu bu wei mu.
gu qu bi qu ci."
-  Hanyu Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 12

  "Iridescent colours cause blindness.
 Beautiful music causes deafness.
 Delicious food causes loss of taste.
 Racing and hunting cause madness.
 Rare goods tempt people to rob and steal.
 Therefore the sage only wants to feed the people rather than to dazzle them.
 That's why he goes for the former and turns down the latter."
 -  Translated by Jiyu Ren, 1985, Chapter 12 

"The five colours blind the eyes of men.
The five tones deafen their ears.
The five flavours vitiate their palates.
Galloping and hunting induce derangement of the mind.
Objects that are difficult of attainment lead them to incur obstacles or injury.
Thus the Sage cares for his inner self, and not for that which his eye can see;
for which reason he discards the latter and preserves the former."
- Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 12

Daodejing 81 Website 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 or more different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 or more Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.

Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization. 

An electronic Concordance for all 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching is provided.

Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. 


Chapter 12, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Concordance for the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Daodejing 81 Website

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Natural Movement Principles

Lately, I've been reading a book by Tara Stiles titled "Guiding Strala: The Yoga Training Manual.  To Ignite Freedom, Get Connected, and Build Radiant Health and Happiness.  By Tara Stiles.  Carlsbad, California, Hay House Inc., 2017.  Index, 361 pages.  ISBN: 978-1401948108.  The Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries supply me with plenty of good books, CDs, VCDs, ebooks, etc. 

In Guiding Strala, she outlines "11 Principles of Natural Movement" (pp.69-85)  These 11 Principles are then discussed throughout the book mostly in the context of Vinyasa style yoga.

These Principles can also be found in Tai Chi Chuan theory and practices.  Qigong and Feldenkrais practices and theory use some of same concepts. 

"So here they are: 11 principles to natural movement that will get you moving easily and powerfully, without tiring, in everything you do."

1.  Soften
2.  Establish Your Breath-Body Connection
3.  Lead From Your Middle
4.  Use Your Opposites
5.  Use Momentum
6.  Use Your Whole Body
7.  Open the Door, Close the Door
8.  Conserve Energy
9.  Sensitize
10.  Focus on Body Position
11.  Play

For example, Principle 7 (Open the Door, Close the Door): "Always move into challenges from where you are comfortable and open. Always open the door to movement first so you don't have to force your way through."  Relax while learning new movements, be open, don't rush, welcome yourself in.  Don't let impatience, immaturity, or pride close the door to your progress.  Overly stressful exertion, too much effort, or high octane challenges might delay your overall progress and close the door on real progress, benefits, and mastery.  Close the door on dis-ease, and open the door to ease.  Breathing practices (pranayama) use inhaling (opening the door) and exhaling (closing the door) to our benefit and mental-spiritual well-being. Mind-body yoga practices enable us to close the door on unhealthy practices, and open the door to a healthier lifestyle.  [The "Door" metaphor works in many ways.]

Sensing Ourselves

“Proprioception is, literally, how we “sense ourselves.” There are three main sources of input into our proprioceptive system. One of them, kinesthesia, is the feeling of movement derived from all skeletal and muscular structures. Kinesthesia also includes the feeling of pain, our orientations in space, the passage of time, and rhythm. A second source, visceral feedback, consists of the miscellaneous impressions from our internal organ. Labyrinthine or vestibular feedback? The feeling of balance as related to our position in space is provided by the chochlea, and organ of the inner ear. The physiological term “proprioception” refers to the ability to evaluate, and respond to stimuli sensed by the proprioceptives, actual nerves imbedded in our tissues (muscles, joints and tendons). These cells constantly communicate with the brain, orienting the body to its movement, position, and tone. It is our sixth sense. The other five senses provide information about the outer world. Proprioception provides information about the inner world, which we alone inhabit. Physicist David Bohm used the term “proprioceptive intelligence” to describe an optimal state of self-sensing, self-correcting, and self-organizing awareness? allowing for coherent participation in life through the integral functioning of all modes of intelligence.”
- Risa Kaparo, Awakening Somatic Intelligence, 2012, p.25

"Awareness is the function of isolating "new" sensory-motor phenomena in order to learn to recognize and control them. It is only through the exclusionary function of awareness that the involuntary is made voluntary, the unknown made known, and the never-done the doable. Awareness serves as a probe, recruiting new material for the repertoire of voluntary consciousness. The upshot of this is somatic learning begins by focusing awareness of the unknown. This active functioning identifies traits of the unknown that can be associated with traits already known in one's conscious repertoire. Through the process the unknown becomes known by the voluntary consciousness. In a word, the unlearned becomes learned."
- Thomas Hanna

Body-Mind, Somaesthetics, Somatics: Quotations, Bibliography, Resources

Self-Organizing Awareness

“Proprioception is, literally, how we “sense ourselves.”  There are three main sources of input into our proprioceptive system.  One of them, kinesthesia, is the feeling of movement derived from all skeletal and muscular structures.  Kinesthesia also includes the feeling of pain, our orientations in space, the passage of time, and rhythm.  A second source, visceral feedback, consists of the miscellaneous impressions from our internal organ.  Labyrinthine or vestibular feedback?  The feeling of balance as related to our position in space is provided by the chochlea, and organ of the inner ear.  The physiological term “proprioception” refers to the ability to evaluate, and respond to stimuli sensed by the proprioceptives, actual nerves imbedded in our tissues (muscles, joints and tendons).  These cells constantly communicate with the brain, orienting the body to its movement, position, and tone.  It is our sixth sense.  The other five senses provide information about the outer world.  Proprioception provides information about the inner world, which we alone inhabit.  Physicist David Bohm used the term “proprioceptive intelligence” to describe an optimal state of self-sensing, self-correcting, and self-organizing awareness? allowing for coherent participation in life through the integral functioning of all modes of intelligence.”
- Risa Kaparo, Awakening Somatic Intelligence, 2012, p.25

"Awareness is the function of isolating "new" sensory-motor phenomena in order to learn to recognize and control them.  It is only through the exclusionary function of awareness that the involuntary is made voluntary, the unknown made known, and the never-done the doable.  Awareness serves as a probe, recruiting new material for the repertoire of voluntary consciousness.  The upshot of this is somatic learning begins by focusing awareness of the unknown.  This active functioning identifies traits of the unknown that can be associated with traits already known in one's conscious repertoire.  Through the process the unknown becomes known by the voluntary consciousness.  In a word, the unlearned becomes learned."
-  Thomas Hanna  

Body-Mind, Somaesthetics, Somatics: Quotations, Bibliography, Resources    

Kinesthesia, Visceral and Vestibular Feedback Loops

“Proprioception is, literally, how we “sense ourselves.”  There are three main sources of input into our proprioceptive system.  One of them, kinesthesia, is the feeling of movement derived from all skeletal and muscular structures.  Kinesthesia also includes the feeling of pain, our orientations in space, the passage of time, and rhythm.  A second source, visceral feedback, consists of the miscellaneous impressions from our internal organ.  Labyrinthine or vestibular feedback?  The feeling of balance as related to our position in space is provided by the chochlea, and organ of the inner ear.  The physiological term “proprioception” refers to the ability to evaluate, and respond to stimuli sensed by the proprioceptives, actual nerves imbedded in our tissues (muscles, joints and tendons).  These cells constantly communicate with the brain, orienting the body to its movement, position, and tone.  It is our sixth sense.  The other five senses provide information about the outer world.  Proprioception provides information about the inner world, which we alone inhabit.  Physicist David Bohm used the term “proprioceptive intelligence” to describe an optimal state of self-sensing, self-correcting, and self-organizing awareness? allowing for coherent participation in life through the integral functioning of all modes of intelligence.”
- Risa Kaparo, Awakening Somatic Intelligence, 2012, p.25

"Awareness is the function of isolating "new" sensory-motor phenomena in order to learn to recognize and control them.  It is only through the exclusionary function of awareness that the involuntary is made voluntary, the unknown made known, and the never-done the doable.  Awareness serves as a probe, recruiting new material for the repertoire of voluntary consciousness.  The upshot of this is somatic learning begins by focusing awareness of the unknown.  This active functioning identifies traits of the unknown that can be associated with traits already known in one's conscious repertoire.  Through the process the unknown becomes known by the voluntary consciousness.  In a word, the unlearned becomes learned."
-  Thomas Hanna  

Body-Mind, Somaesthetics, Somatics: Quotations, Bibliography, Resources    

More Than Just a Rock

I have a keen interest in the subjects of somatics, somaesthetics, lived experience, sensations and perception, and consciousness.  The psychology and philosophy of these subject has stimulated my thinking and understanding for decades.  My practices of body-mind arts such as Tai Chi Chuan, Qigiong, walking, yoga, and gardening have provided insights and profound experiences related to these subjects.  

Somatics 

The Five Senses

I am now reading the following two books on the subject of how our experience is generated by our sensory relationship, interrelation, and participation with the manifold objects, beings and processes of the precious world.  

Phenomenology of Perception.  By Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961).  Translated by Donald Landes.  Foreword by Taylor Carman.  Routledge, 1st Edition, 2013.  Originally published in French in 1945.  696 pages.  ISBN: 978-0415834339.  VSCL.  

The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World.  By David Abram.  New York, Vintage, 1996.  Index, bibliography, notes, 326 pages.  ISBN: 978-0679776390.  VSCL. 

 

In our sacred circle garden, the outer edge of the circle is lined with stones we have collected from the mountains, canyons, rivers and sea shore of Northern California.  These stones are markers, signs, energies of our interactions with places that define and have enhanced our experiences.  I like to rest and reflect in their midst.  The are more than just rocks.  

David Abram (p.71) quotes a Lakota medicine person who addressed a stone  as "Tunkashila" - "Grandfather."

unmoved
from time without
end
you rest
there in the midst of the paths
in the midst of the winds
you rest
covered with the droppings of birds
grass growing from you feet
you head decked with the down of birds
you rest
in the midst of the winds
you wait
Aged one." 

Why Do You Walk?

As I walk 3.6 miles in the morning, seven wdays each week, I enjoy the interplay of all the senses and the kinesthetic exuberance of the flowing movement.  The scenery along my safe rural walking path is beautiful and changing with the seasons.  While walking, I mostly am just walking, and sometimes thinking, reflecting, contemplating, or meditating.  These experiences are something I treasure.  Walking is beneficial for my heart, and helps me keep my diabetes under control.  Walking is an integral component of my regular Sadhana ... my "spiritual" practices.  

"If you want to know if your brain is flabby, feel your legs." 
-  Bruce Barton   

"Think with your whole body."
-  Taisen Deshimaru

”If you want to find the answers to the Big Questions about your soul, you’d best begin with the Little Answers about your body.”
-  George Sheehan

"Isn't it really quite extraordinary to see that, since man took his first step, no one has asked himself why he walks, how he walks, if he has ever walked, if he could walk better, what he achieves in walking .. questions that are tied to all the philosophical, psychological, and political systems which preoccupy the world."
-  Honoré de Balzac, Theorie de la Demarché   

Walking: Quotations, Sayings, Facts, Lore, Poetry.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.   

Somatic Practices for Health, Well-Being and Mindfulness

"Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains of the moon.

Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
An horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known."
-  J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Katastematic ... What?

"It would be a condition of no pleasure and no pain classifiable as kinetic, but it would by no means be a condition of no pleasure and no pain at all. It would in fact be a condition of pleasure arising from the simple, undisturbed, undistracted, awareness of oneself, and of one's openness to the world through specific sensory inputs, but without being currently engaged with any. It would be an active awareness of one's constitution as a particular sort of animal—a constitution for such sensory engagement. And, one would not be experiencing this pleasant awareness unless one's condition were one of normal healthiness and ongoing natural functioning: if one's condition were not such, one would be experiencing some disturbing movements in one's consciousness—unhealthy or disturbed and distorted functioning is just what does cause kinetic pain. Accordingly, to pleasure arising in this second set of circumstances for the arousal of pleasure, Epicurus gave the name "katastematic," drawing upon a Greek term for a condition or state, or for the constitution, of a thing. It is called "katastematic" not so to indicate a special kind of pleasure, any more than kinetic pleasures are a kind of pleasure, but rather so as to draw attention to the special circumstances of pleasure's arousal, on which it is conditioned, in the case of this pleasure. We would describe this pleasure as pleasure in the awareness of the healthy functioning of one's own natural constitution, physical and psychic."
- John M. Cooper, Pursuits of Wisdom, 2012, p. 234

"For Epicurus, the only criterion for deciding on one's way of life is what will work out best form the point of view on one's own pursuit of a continuous experience of katastematic pleasure, varied suitably so as to conform to one's own, perhaps somewhat idiosyncratic, preferences among sources of kinetic pleasure."
- John M. Cooper, Pursuits of Wisdom, 2012, p. 263


Epicureanism
Notes, bibliography, resources. Research notes by Mike Garofalo.

The Unlearned Becomes Learned

“Proprioception is, literally, how we “sense ourselves.”  There are three main sources of input into our proprioceptive system.  One of them, kinesthesia, is the feeling of movement derived from all skeletal and muscular structures.  Kinesthesia also includes the feeling of pain, our orientations in space, the passage of time, and rhythm.  A second source, visceral feedback, consists of the miscellaneous impressions from our internal organ.  Labyrinthine or vestibular feedback?  The feeling of balance as related to our position in space is provided by the chochlea, and organ of the inner ear.  The physiological term “proprioception” refers to the ability to evaluate, and respond to stimuli sensed by the proprioceptives, actual nerves imbedded in our tissues (muscles, joints and tendons).  These cells constantly communicate with the brain, orienting the body to its movement, position, and tone.  It is our sixth sense.  The other five senses provide information about the outer world.  Proprioception provides information about the inner world, which we alone inhabit.  Physicist David Bohm used the term “proprioceptive intelligence” to describe an optimal state of self-sensing, self-correcting, and self-organizing awareness? allowing for coherent participation in life through the integral functioning of all modes of intelligence.”
- Risa Kaparo, Awakening Somatic Intelligence, 2012, p.25

"Awareness is the function of isolating "new" sensory-motor phenomena in order to learn to recognize and control them.  It is only through the exclusionary function of awareness that the involuntary is made voluntary, the unknown made known, and the never-done the doable.  Awareness serves as a probe, recruiting new material for the repertoire of voluntary consciousness.  The upshot of this is somatic learning begins by focusing awareness of the unknown.  This active functioning identifies traits of the unknown that can be associated with traits already known in one's conscious repertoire.  Through the process the unknown becomes known by the voluntary consciousness.  In a word, the unlearned becomes learned."
-  Thomas Hanna  

Body-Mind, Somaesthetics, Somatics: Quotations, Bibliography, Resources