Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Scent of Fallen Apples
"Smoke hangs like
haze over harvested fields
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring
Come to us, Lord of Harvest
Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us
The bounty of your sacrifice
The warmth and the light of friends gathered around the bounty of the earth.
Dionysus, Osiris, Cernunnos, Dumuzi, Frey,
Lord of the grain,
Welcome!"
- Autumn Equinox Celebration
Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead Preparations
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring
Come to us, Lord of Harvest
Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us
The bounty of your sacrifice
The warmth and the light of friends gathered around the bounty of the earth.
Dionysus, Osiris, Cernunnos, Dumuzi, Frey,
Lord of the grain,
Welcome!"
- Autumn Equinox Celebration
Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead Preparations
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Creative Coyotes
Last night, around 10:30 pm, I heard a ruckus on my back porch. The metal top of the container holding cat food crashed on the floor. A mother raccoon and three of her babies were enjoying a feast of cat food. The door to the back porch had been left open, and the four agile raccoons easily entered the porch area.
Numerous coyotes also wander the vast fields to the west of our home. Their barking-yipping sometimes fills the night air. The local dogs then go into a barking fit. I'm sure the racoons are far up in a tree as needed to avoid being eaten for dinner by coyotes.
We live in a rural area with almond, olive, walnut, and prune plume orchards; and pastures for cows, goats, and horses. We live six miles south of the small city of Red Bluff (14,000 population).
"According to one Coast Miwok version "Coyote shook his walik" (something similar to a blanket of tule) to the four directions south, east, north and west. The water dried, and land appeared. In one creation myth called The Diver Coyote creates the earth and land from the Ocean or endless water. Coyote sends a duck to dive for some "earth". The duck dives to the bottom and comes up with some "earth". Coyote takes the earth and mixes it with "Chanit" seeds and water. The mixture swells and "the earth was there. Another creation story says that there is "no earth, only water". Silver Fox (a female) feels lonely and mentions this in a prayer song, and then meets the Coyote. Silver Fox makes an artistic proposal: "We will sing the world". They create the world together by dancing and singing. As they do so, the earth forms and takes shape In The Creation of Man myth, Coyote catches a turkey buzzard, raven and crow, plucks their feathers and place the feathers in different parts of the earth. They turn into the Miwok people and their villages. Coyote comes from the west alone, followed by Chicken Hawk, who is his grandson. Coyote turned "his first people" into animals. He made the Pomo people from mud and the Miwok people out of sticks. From the Sierra Miwoks, another creation myth is more comparable to Pomo mythology: Coyote and Lizard create the world "and everything in it". Coyote create human beings from some twigs. They argue over whether human beings should have hands. Lizard wants humans to have hands but Coyote does not. Lizard wins a scuffle, and humans are created with hands. According to Coast Miwok, the dead jumped into the ocean at Point Reyes and followed something like a string leading west beyond the breaker waves, that took them to the setting sun. There they remained with Coyote in an afterworld "ute-yomigo" or "ute-yomi", meaning "dead home. Many of the ideas, plots and characters in Miwok mythology are shared with neighboring people of Northern California. For example the Coyote-lizard story is like the tale told by their neighbors, the Pomo people. In addition, the Ohlone also believed that Coyote was the grandfather of the Falcon and maker of mankind. The relationship and similarity to Yokuts mythology is also evident. The myths of creation after an epic flood or ocean, the Earth Diver, and the Coyote as ancestor and trickser compare to Central and Northern California mythemes of Yokuts mythology, Ohlone mythology and Pomo mythology. The myths of "First People" dying out to be replaced with the Miwok people is a "deeply impressed conception" shared by Natives in Northwestern California."
- Miwok Mythology
Nature Spirits
Numerous coyotes also wander the vast fields to the west of our home. Their barking-yipping sometimes fills the night air. The local dogs then go into a barking fit. I'm sure the racoons are far up in a tree as needed to avoid being eaten for dinner by coyotes.
We live in a rural area with almond, olive, walnut, and prune plume orchards; and pastures for cows, goats, and horses. We live six miles south of the small city of Red Bluff (14,000 population).
"According to one Coast Miwok version "Coyote shook his walik" (something similar to a blanket of tule) to the four directions south, east, north and west. The water dried, and land appeared. In one creation myth called The Diver Coyote creates the earth and land from the Ocean or endless water. Coyote sends a duck to dive for some "earth". The duck dives to the bottom and comes up with some "earth". Coyote takes the earth and mixes it with "Chanit" seeds and water. The mixture swells and "the earth was there. Another creation story says that there is "no earth, only water". Silver Fox (a female) feels lonely and mentions this in a prayer song, and then meets the Coyote. Silver Fox makes an artistic proposal: "We will sing the world". They create the world together by dancing and singing. As they do so, the earth forms and takes shape In The Creation of Man myth, Coyote catches a turkey buzzard, raven and crow, plucks their feathers and place the feathers in different parts of the earth. They turn into the Miwok people and their villages. Coyote comes from the west alone, followed by Chicken Hawk, who is his grandson. Coyote turned "his first people" into animals. He made the Pomo people from mud and the Miwok people out of sticks. From the Sierra Miwoks, another creation myth is more comparable to Pomo mythology: Coyote and Lizard create the world "and everything in it". Coyote create human beings from some twigs. They argue over whether human beings should have hands. Lizard wants humans to have hands but Coyote does not. Lizard wins a scuffle, and humans are created with hands. According to Coast Miwok, the dead jumped into the ocean at Point Reyes and followed something like a string leading west beyond the breaker waves, that took them to the setting sun. There they remained with Coyote in an afterworld "ute-yomigo" or "ute-yomi", meaning "dead home. Many of the ideas, plots and characters in Miwok mythology are shared with neighboring people of Northern California. For example the Coyote-lizard story is like the tale told by their neighbors, the Pomo people. In addition, the Ohlone also believed that Coyote was the grandfather of the Falcon and maker of mankind. The relationship and similarity to Yokuts mythology is also evident. The myths of creation after an epic flood or ocean, the Earth Diver, and the Coyote as ancestor and trickser compare to Central and Northern California mythemes of Yokuts mythology, Ohlone mythology and Pomo mythology. The myths of "First People" dying out to be replaced with the Miwok people is a "deeply impressed conception" shared by Natives in Northwestern California."
- Miwok Mythology
Nature Spirits
Friday, October 12, 2012
Press On
"Nothing in the world can take
the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than
unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has
solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President
I think that persistence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for problem solving, accomplishing good work, and general success in life. Persistence is not "omnipotent." We need sound knowledge, realism, correct values, the help of others, luck, talent, and persistence to carry on successfully in life.
Willpower: Quotations
The Good Life
- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President
I think that persistence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for problem solving, accomplishing good work, and general success in life. Persistence is not "omnipotent." We need sound knowledge, realism, correct values, the help of others, luck, talent, and persistence to carry on successfully in life.
Willpower: Quotations
The Good Life
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 46
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 46
"When the Way prevails below the sky
Disbanded chargers dung the lad;
But when the Way the world deserts
War horses breed outside the towns.
No crime exceeds desire sanctioned,
No woe is worse than discontent,
No omen more dire than desire gained.
Truly with few wants content,
Contentment lasts as long as life."
- Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, Chapter 46
"When the Dao rules, even the great war horses are used to plow the field,
When the Dao is overruled, even the pregnant horses are used in battle.
The biggest disaster is not knowing when to be satisfied,
The biggest mistake is to always want more.
Therefore, knowing when to be satisfied is the ever-lasting satisfaction."
- Translated by Xiaolin Yang, Chapter 46
"In a land where the way of life is understood
Race-horses are led back to serve the field;
In a land where the way of life is not understood
War-horses are bred on the autumn yield.
Owning is the entanglement,
Wanting is the bewilderment,
Taking is the presentiment:
Only he who contains content
Remains content."
- Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 46
"When dao reigns in the kingdom, galloping horses are turned back to fertilise certain fields with their manure.
If the world in accord with dao, racing horses are turned back to pull refuse carts.
When the world hardly lives in accord with dao, dao doesn't prevail or win.
Next war horses will be reared even on a sacred hill below the city walls, and blatant cavalry will frolic in the countryside, driving and riding pestering war horses in suburbs in between.
Dao does hardly prevail if war is on in city suburbs.
No lure is greater than to possess what others want.
There's no greater guilt than [sudden] discontent.
There's (...) greater disaster than greed.
[Eventually] there's hardly a greater sin than desire for possession.
No disaster could be greater than [...] to be content with what one has [in dire need and disabling poverty].
No presage of [airy] evil is greater than men wanting to get more.
He who has once known the pure [orgasm] contentment that comes simply through being content [at its peak], gets rather content-centred a long time after."
- Translated by Tormond Byrn, Chapter 46
Chapter 46
"When the Way prevails below the sky
Disbanded chargers dung the lad;
But when the Way the world deserts
War horses breed outside the towns.
No crime exceeds desire sanctioned,
No woe is worse than discontent,
No omen more dire than desire gained.
Truly with few wants content,
Contentment lasts as long as life."
- Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, Chapter 46
"When the Dao rules, even the great war horses are used to plow the field,
When the Dao is overruled, even the pregnant horses are used in battle.
The biggest disaster is not knowing when to be satisfied,
The biggest mistake is to always want more.
Therefore, knowing when to be satisfied is the ever-lasting satisfaction."
- Translated by Xiaolin Yang, Chapter 46
"In a land where the way of life is understood
Race-horses are led back to serve the field;
In a land where the way of life is not understood
War-horses are bred on the autumn yield.
Owning is the entanglement,
Wanting is the bewilderment,
Taking is the presentiment:
Only he who contains content
Remains content."
- Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 46
"When dao reigns in the kingdom, galloping horses are turned back to fertilise certain fields with their manure.
If the world in accord with dao, racing horses are turned back to pull refuse carts.
When the world hardly lives in accord with dao, dao doesn't prevail or win.
Next war horses will be reared even on a sacred hill below the city walls, and blatant cavalry will frolic in the countryside, driving and riding pestering war horses in suburbs in between.
Dao does hardly prevail if war is on in city suburbs.
No lure is greater than to possess what others want.
There's no greater guilt than [sudden] discontent.
There's (...) greater disaster than greed.
[Eventually] there's hardly a greater sin than desire for possession.
No disaster could be greater than [...] to be content with what one has [in dire need and disabling poverty].
No presage of [airy] evil is greater than men wanting to get more.
He who has once known the pure [orgasm] contentment that comes simply through being content [at its peak], gets rather content-centred a long time after."
- Translated by Tormond Byrn, Chapter 46
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
It's a Gas
Life provides all kinds of disappointments, regrets, sorrows, failures, disappointments, tragedies, pain, suffering, disease, death ... Despite all of these challenges we try our best to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and carry on. When the sorrow and grief subside, and the sky clears, we find ourselves in a position to stand up tall and walk on. Carry on! Set an example for courage and toughness, and acknowledge the good we can do and the joys and satisfactions that remain.
We are Jumpin' Jack Flash, and despite the disappointments, Life is a Gas!
"I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
We are Jumpin' Jack Flash, and despite the disappointments, Life is a Gas!
"I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas."
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, it's a gas."
- Jumpin' Jack Flash by the Rolling Stones
Lyrics by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Lyrics by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
1968
Purchase the MP3 version of Jumpin' Jack Flash from Amazon
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Positive Mindset for Seniors
"What are the qualities that make one's mindset positive?
They include being able to:
Think in a calm, pacified, and reflective manner instead of being disturbed, agitated, and impulsive in one's reactions.
Put ideas together rationally and arrive at the right judgment even in the absence of obvious evidence or proof.
Decide, plan, and execute a course of action in a patient, persistent, and disciplined manner.
Recognize the changes and be flexible in adapting to them.
Observe and perceive things with a sense of humor instead of outrage, indignation, and anger.
Let go of useless and counterproductive thoughts, desires, and ambitions instead of being preoccupied with them.
Relax and meditate or rest.
Resist temptation and coercion."
- Michael Fekete, Strength Training for Seniors, Hunter House, 2006, p. 36
Strength and Muscle Building Search Portal
Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons
They include being able to:
Think in a calm, pacified, and reflective manner instead of being disturbed, agitated, and impulsive in one's reactions.
Put ideas together rationally and arrive at the right judgment even in the absence of obvious evidence or proof.
Decide, plan, and execute a course of action in a patient, persistent, and disciplined manner.
Recognize the changes and be flexible in adapting to them.
Observe and perceive things with a sense of humor instead of outrage, indignation, and anger.
Let go of useless and counterproductive thoughts, desires, and ambitions instead of being preoccupied with them.
Relax and meditate or rest.
Resist temptation and coercion."
- Michael Fekete, Strength Training for Seniors, Hunter House, 2006, p. 36
Strength and Muscle Building Search Portal
Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons
Monday, October 08, 2012
Complimentary Medicine
Dr. Amit Sood, Director of Research at the Complementary and Integrative
Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine wrote in 2007 about the 10 most popular complimentary medical treatment programs:
1. Acupuncture
2. Guided Imagery
3. Hypnosis
4. Massage
5. Meditation
6. Music Therapy
7. Spinal Manipulation
8. Spirituality
9. Tai Chi
10. Yoga
I am sure the order of the list has changed somewhat for Americans since 2007, nearly over 5 years ago. Also, "medical treatment" would imply a supplementary or complimentary "treatment" for a non-healthy person with some sort of disease like cancer, chronic pain, inflammatory diseases, heart disease, diabetes, ulcers, stress disorders, mental illness, insomnia, etc..
The first eight treatment modalities on the list are passive. The patient either uses psychological methods or somebody manipulates their body as they passively lie on a table. Most of these hardly cause any heat to build up in the body, no tapas, no sweat, no force. They primarily encourage staying cool and calm, and using focused positive thinking or meditating. Most of these involve resting, relaxing, or falling asleep.
The last two require some effort on the patients part: practicing, sweating, moving, working, learning, making some physical efforts, forcing change. If walking were included as a method of complimentary medicine, it would rank in the top five. I don't think Taijiquan (with complex flowing postures) would be more popular than non-Vinyasa Yoga (with simpler static postures).
Music therapy could involve the use of lively rhythmic music and dancing which would be heat producing. Most of the time, I think "music therapy" is understood to mean, in this context, listening to New Age music (ambient, spacy, calm, soothing, relaxing), sitting and falling asleep to music.
1. Acupuncture
2. Guided Imagery
3. Hypnosis
4. Massage
5. Meditation
6. Music Therapy
7. Spinal Manipulation
8. Spirituality
9. Tai Chi
10. Yoga
I am sure the order of the list has changed somewhat for Americans since 2007, nearly over 5 years ago. Also, "medical treatment" would imply a supplementary or complimentary "treatment" for a non-healthy person with some sort of disease like cancer, chronic pain, inflammatory diseases, heart disease, diabetes, ulcers, stress disorders, mental illness, insomnia, etc..
The first eight treatment modalities on the list are passive. The patient either uses psychological methods or somebody manipulates their body as they passively lie on a table. Most of these hardly cause any heat to build up in the body, no tapas, no sweat, no force. They primarily encourage staying cool and calm, and using focused positive thinking or meditating. Most of these involve resting, relaxing, or falling asleep.
The last two require some effort on the patients part: practicing, sweating, moving, working, learning, making some physical efforts, forcing change. If walking were included as a method of complimentary medicine, it would rank in the top five. I don't think Taijiquan (with complex flowing postures) would be more popular than non-Vinyasa Yoga (with simpler static postures).
Music therapy could involve the use of lively rhythmic music and dancing which would be heat producing. Most of the time, I think "music therapy" is understood to mean, in this context, listening to New Age music (ambient, spacy, calm, soothing, relaxing), sitting and falling asleep to music.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Enlivening the Sinking Mind
I was very busy with gardening and home maintenance activities on Saturday and Sunday.
A friend, Cathy, loaned us her roto-tiller. I fully weeded, heavily fertilized, and extensively roto-tilled all of the large sunny garden. I transplanted many plants from pots into the ground since daytime temperatures have dropped to below 80F. I did some roof repairs. I put all our outdoor tools into our sheds since some rain is predicted for next week. We planted many starts of vegetables for our winter garden and many seeds. I mowed. I watered. Busy, busy, busy - from dawn to dusk!
I walked 4 miles each day, and taught yoga on Saturday. Otherwise all exercise was from vigorous gardening.
Work - Quotations
"Man was not made to rust out in idleness. A degree of exercise is as necessary for the preservation of health, both of body and mind, as his daily food. And what exercise is more fitting, or more appropriate of one who is in the decline of life, than that of superintending a well-ordered garden? What more enlivens the sinking mind? What is more conducive to a long life?"
- Joseph Breck
Most of the time my mind is rising rather than sinking, even though I am an older man. My tendency is towards high energy, abundance, drive, over-working, over-thinking, scattering enthusiasm ... mania.
A friend, Cathy, loaned us her roto-tiller. I fully weeded, heavily fertilized, and extensively roto-tilled all of the large sunny garden. I transplanted many plants from pots into the ground since daytime temperatures have dropped to below 80F. I did some roof repairs. I put all our outdoor tools into our sheds since some rain is predicted for next week. We planted many starts of vegetables for our winter garden and many seeds. I mowed. I watered. Busy, busy, busy - from dawn to dusk!
I walked 4 miles each day, and taught yoga on Saturday. Otherwise all exercise was from vigorous gardening.
Work - Quotations
"Man was not made to rust out in idleness. A degree of exercise is as necessary for the preservation of health, both of body and mind, as his daily food. And what exercise is more fitting, or more appropriate of one who is in the decline of life, than that of superintending a well-ordered garden? What more enlivens the sinking mind? What is more conducive to a long life?"
- Joseph Breck
Most of the time my mind is rising rather than sinking, even though I am an older man. My tendency is towards high energy, abundance, drive, over-working, over-thinking, scattering enthusiasm ... mania.
Saturday, October 06, 2012
I'm Going to Live the Good Life
"Here I go, I’m on my way
With my Love glasses on
Here I go, I’m on my way
I see more clearly and I feel strong
More, More, More, More
There’s got to be so much more to this life
My heart is racing just to know what it is like
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
Here I go again on my mission to give it all
Give it all, give, give it all, all
Cause I’m aware that what I share
Will come back good measure
Pressed down, shaken together and running over
Life is whatever I receive it to be
Why not jump over doubt and dive into belief?
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
No eye has seen nor ear has heard
My faith is breathing only because
I hear these words
Exceeding and abundantly
More than we could even ask or think
Surpassing all human understanding
I’ve been given this amazing peace
This amazing peace
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim"
The Song "Life" by Beckah Shae
Lyrics by Jonathan Shocklee and Rebecca Wilson
Download MP3 "Life" from Amazon
With my Love glasses on
Here I go, I’m on my way
I see more clearly and I feel strong
More, More, More, More
There’s got to be so much more to this life
My heart is racing just to know what it is like
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
Here I go again on my mission to give it all
Give it all, give, give it all, all
Cause I’m aware that what I share
Will come back good measure
Pressed down, shaken together and running over
Life is whatever I receive it to be
Why not jump over doubt and dive into belief?
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
No eye has seen nor ear has heard
My faith is breathing only because
I hear these words
Exceeding and abundantly
More than we could even ask or think
Surpassing all human understanding
I’ve been given this amazing peace
This amazing peace
I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim"
The Song "Life" by Beckah Shae
Lyrics by Jonathan Shocklee and Rebecca Wilson
Download MP3 "Life" from Amazon
Friday, October 05, 2012
Essential Yoga Reference Books
I use these two books every day in my study
of yoga for my yoga teacher training program. They are both well
organized, well illustrated, and highly informative. Both are excellent
reference tools.
Yoga Anatomy
By Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews. Published by Human Kinetics, Champain,
Illinois, Second Edition, 2011. Copyright by The Breathe Trust 2007,
2012. Various indexes: by muscles, joints, position in English, position
in Sanskrit, bibliography, 276 pages. ISBN: 1450400248. VSCL.
An outstanding reference book on the anatomy of yoga!
By Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews. Published by Human Kinetics, Champain,
Illinois, Second Edition, 2011. Copyright by The Breathe Trust 2007,
2012. Various indexes: by muscles, joints, position in English, position
in Sanskrit, bibliography, 276 pages. ISBN: 1450400248. VSCL.
An outstanding reference book on the anatomy of yoga! 
By Martin Kirk and Brooke Boon. Photographs by Daniel DiTuro.
Champaign, Illinois, Human Kinetics, 2006. Suggested readings, resources,
index by Sanskrit name, index by English name, 233 pages. ISBN:
0736062033. VSCL. Practical, informative and well organized
information. I continue to work a little each day on my Hatha Yoga Postures List. This list is in alphabetical order by both the English and Sanskrit names for many common Hatha Yoga postures for beginning and intermediate yoga students. The list includes coding for the kind of yoga posture, e.g., balancing, standing, supine, backbend, etc. For each posture, the list includes reference to descriptions in yoga textbooks, including the two books mentioned above. The list also includes some Chi Kung postures that I teach in many of my yoga classes. My Hatha Yoga Postures List is now 14 pages long, in a PDF format, print only, at Version 6, 10/1/2012. I also have prepared numerous one page Study Lists that might be useful to yoga students and beginning teachers.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 47
Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 47
"The wise leader knows what is happening in a group by being aware of what is happening here and now.
This is more potent than wandering off into various theories or making complex interpretations of the situation at hand.
Stillness, clarity, and consciousness are more immediate than any number of expeditions into the distant lands of one's mind.
Such expeditions, however stimulating, distract both the leader and the group members from what is actually happening.
By staying present and aware of what is happening, the leader can do less yet achieve more."
- Translated by John Heider, 1985, Chapter 47
"No need to go outside a door
To see totality
Or look out of a window
For seeing what will always be
Going out you go astray
At home and center all is one
The seer doesn't have to do
To see that everything is done."
- Translated by Jim Clatfelter, 2001, Chapter 47
"Without traveling, we could know the world.
Without looking through the window, we could see the Tao of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Thus the sage knows without traveling.
He knows things without actually seeing them.
He success without effort."
- Translated by Tienzen Gong, Chapter 47
"Don't step outside your door. Know the social world.
Don't look out the window. See the natural guide.
The farther you go
the less you know what to do.
Using this: Sages don't go anywhere and yet know what to do.
Don't see and yet name things.
Don't deem-act and yet accomplish. "
- Translated by Chad Hansen, Chapter 47
Chapter 47
"The wise leader knows what is happening in a group by being aware of what is happening here and now.
This is more potent than wandering off into various theories or making complex interpretations of the situation at hand.
Stillness, clarity, and consciousness are more immediate than any number of expeditions into the distant lands of one's mind.
Such expeditions, however stimulating, distract both the leader and the group members from what is actually happening.
By staying present and aware of what is happening, the leader can do less yet achieve more."
- Translated by John Heider, 1985, Chapter 47
"No need to go outside a door
To see totality
Or look out of a window
For seeing what will always be
Going out you go astray
At home and center all is one
The seer doesn't have to do
To see that everything is done."
- Translated by Jim Clatfelter, 2001, Chapter 47
"Without traveling, we could know the world.
Without looking through the window, we could see the Tao of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Thus the sage knows without traveling.
He knows things without actually seeing them.
He success without effort."
- Translated by Tienzen Gong, Chapter 47
"Don't step outside your door. Know the social world.
Don't look out the window. See the natural guide.
The farther you go
the less you know what to do.
Using this: Sages don't go anywhere and yet know what to do.
Don't see and yet name things.
Don't deem-act and yet accomplish. "
- Translated by Chad Hansen, Chapter 47
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
October Gardening Chores
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
Removing dead and non-productive vegetable crops.
Planting starts and seeds of winter vegetable crops.
Ordering seed and garden catalogs.
Remove all peppers in case of frost.
Reduce watering as temperature drops.
Watering plants as needed.
Being attentive to the effects of the cold dry winds.
Planting potted trees and shrubs in the ground.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Planting bulbs.
Prune and mulch perennials.
Storing and repairing tools.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15.
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Picking pumpkins, squash, colored corn, and other crops for Thanksgiving decorations.
Finish all digging and construction projects before the first rain.
Bring in wood and kindling to rain free storage areas.
Repair roofs on sheds and house.
Add fallen leaves to the compost pile.
Be prepared for chilling frosts.
Collect seeds from plants.
Start pruning berry vines.
Planting starts and seeds of winter vegetable crops.
Ordering seed and garden catalogs.
Remove all peppers in case of frost.
Reduce watering as temperature drops.
Watering plants as needed.
Being attentive to the effects of the cold dry winds.
Planting potted trees and shrubs in the ground.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Planting bulbs.
Prune and mulch perennials.
Storing and repairing tools.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15.
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Picking pumpkins, squash, colored corn, and other crops for Thanksgiving decorations.
Finish all digging and construction projects before the first rain.
Bring in wood and kindling to rain free storage areas.
Repair roofs on sheds and house.
Add fallen leaves to the compost pile.
Be prepared for chilling frosts.
Collect seeds from plants.
Start pruning berry vines.
"Since
we do experience droughts nearly every summer, it is crucial to provide
supplemental irrigation to newly installed (spring) landscapes.
Generally this means a couple of hours of watering once or twice a week.
Keep in mind that trees and shrubs planted in the spring and summer use
a significant amount of their resources for above-ground growth.
Since root growth is favored during the dormant season, it’s best to
install landscape plants in the fall. It has been demonstrated that
shrubs and trees planted during the fall suffer less environmental
stress than those planted in the spring or summer."
- Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott
- Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott
We favor planting potted trees and shrubs in the ground starting in late October in Red Bluff. Basically, after daytime temperatures drop into the low 80sF.
The
Raywood Ash trees in our backyard provide a fine fall display. This
tree does very well in our summertime heat and is not prone to trunk
destruction by borers. This photo was taken in mid-November.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Daily Routines - Stay Busy
The first day of October was a busy one for me. I began my morning walk at 6am. There was a full moon in the western sky. The temperature was around 57F. I walked for four miles and practiced some Taijiquan. Listened to an audio CD on Buddhism by Pema Chodron. Then I watered my garden and weeded. I went to the TFFC gym and participated in Theresa Wood's spin cycling class (45 minutes) and her yoga class (60 minutes). Then off to Home Depot for purchasing home supplies and manure. More watering and gardening. Reading and writing. Temperatures reached 100F in the afternoon, with very low humidity. Then back to the TFFC gym for squating (5 sets w 225lbs) and other weightlifting, then teach a yoga class (60 minutes). Eating four meals with under 2,100 calories total for the day. Reading and going to bed.
A typical day at home for me. No CUESD school job today.
Published Version 6, 10/1/2012, of my Hatha Yoga Postures List.
I need to work on my Taijiquan practice more!!
Studying the anatomy of the lower body from the hips to the toes.
Reading books on Vajrayana Buddhism by Reggie Ray, the Ten Paramitas by Lama Sura Das, Yoga by Iyengar, and anatomy by Coulter.
Lots of email correspondence lately. Questions and comments from older men and women wanting to learn Qigong and/or Taijiquan.
Actions that I took to free up more time: don't look at Google News, don't look at Facebook, don't watch television, do far less Internet browsing. I am committed to focus on activities where I am directly engaged in both mind and body by doing, creating, and physically improving. First hand experiences, not second hand watching.
A typical day at home for me. No CUESD school job today.
Published Version 6, 10/1/2012, of my Hatha Yoga Postures List.
I need to work on my Taijiquan practice more!!
Studying the anatomy of the lower body from the hips to the toes.
Reading books on Vajrayana Buddhism by Reggie Ray, the Ten Paramitas by Lama Sura Das, Yoga by Iyengar, and anatomy by Coulter.
Lots of email correspondence lately. Questions and comments from older men and women wanting to learn Qigong and/or Taijiquan.
Actions that I took to free up more time: don't look at Google News, don't look at Facebook, don't watch television, do far less Internet browsing. I am committed to focus on activities where I am directly engaged in both mind and body by doing, creating, and physically improving. First hand experiences, not second hand watching.
Monday, October 01, 2012
Guide Yourself
"Be a light unto yourself."
- Buddha
"There is also a self-contained guru principle that operates within each individual. In his book Healing Mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand writes, "The true guru is not some person to whom you give complete and slavish obedience. The true guru is a principle that resides in your own heart. ... In Sanskrit, this guru principle is called the upaguru, or "teacher without form.'" So in the ultimate sense you can serve as your own guru, the finder of light and truth in your own heart."
- Donald Altman, Living Kindness, p.68
- Buddha
"There is also a self-contained guru principle that operates within each individual. In his book Healing Mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand writes, "The true guru is not some person to whom you give complete and slavish obedience. The true guru is a principle that resides in your own heart. ... In Sanskrit, this guru principle is called the upaguru, or "teacher without form.'" So in the ultimate sense you can serve as your own guru, the finder of light and truth in your own heart."
- Donald Altman, Living Kindness, p.68
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