Content, Are We? – Martial-Arts
Content, Are We?
I asked a simple question at the last seminar:"How much has everyone improved in the year since we last got together?"I've practiced the same basics everyday for decades.Everyday Rain or shine. Summer, winter, spring and fall. Over and over and over.............................................And I'm never satisfied. I'm not fast enough, I don't hit hard enough, my basic "technique" is NOT at all satisfactory.I don't train a lot of "techniques". But, I train those "techniques" a lot.Basic fundamental stuff. That's all I can handle.Over and over and over and over and over................................Know why?Because I'm NEVER satisfied. I'm not fast enough, I don't hit hard enough, my basic "technique" is NOT at all satisfactory.Nope! I'm NEVER happy.It might be nice to "do" more advanced, complex, and exotic stuff.But personally I can't justify it. I see far too much room for improvement in just the most basic fundamental stuff.Because I'm never satisfied. I'm not fast enough, I don't hit hard enough, my basic "technique" is NOT at all satisfactory.I guess the problem is that I don't have a clue as to when these basics become "good" enough. Seems to me I could spend the rest of my life constantly working at improving just a handful of solid basics and still NEVER be satisfied. Never be fast enough, never hit hard enough.Damn. Consigned to an existence of fundamental basics. Well, I guess I'm just one of the unlucky few.Copyright 2003 http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com
Attraction: What We Attract With Our Creative Choices
Attraction: What We Attract With Our Creative Choices
I used to be a jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, they were wonderful and I strived to sing like they did. But no one impressed me as much as Billie Holiday. The tragedy and the talent meshed together into a musical offering unlike any I'd heard. I was inexplicably drawn to the drama and the heartache.Louise Montello points out, in her book, Essential Musical Intelligence, that I was drawn to those songs for a reason. They corresponded with how I was feeling about myself and my life, and the real or imagined conflicts or unresolved issues that were going on for me.Later, I found myself still listening to music that was at a different 'frequency' than me, simply out of habit. I either didn't notice that all the songs I was choosing were focused on 'negative' topics or content I didn't agree with anymore, or sometimes I was drawn to the music or musicality of the performers. Or it was simply habit.There was sometimes a 'coolness' factor - maybe the performer emulated a quality I wanted to possess. Maybe it was their version of success I was after.A common concept in the personal growth field is that whatever we put our attention on, we unconsciously manifest into our lives. This is the purpose behind the gratitude list - taking time each day to focus on what we're grateful for. It helps to balance out the time that most of us spend lamenting what we DON'T have.Last night I saw the new movie, 'What the Bleep do We Know?'. My mind is still reeling from all of the scientific evidence that supports the notion that the possibilities, for all of us, are infinite - AND definitely within our control if we choose to think a certain way.One of the most fascinating and concrete examples came from a Japanese researcher who documented how water crystals changed depending on which thoughts were directed towards them. For more information about the movie, see http://www.whatthebleep.com.This is not to say that we shouldn't ever sing sad songs, that we should only paint with pink and yellow, or that we should use our computer to filter out negative words in our writing. It's not to say that we should in ANY way censor our authentic expression.My point here, as it with many of the topics I speak about, is that we should consciously choose and be aware of what we're expressing. AND, as an experiment, we can choose to try and manifest what we want by describing THAT in our art, instead of focusing on expressing our feelings about what we don't.Today I experiment with choosing songs, both to listen to and to sing, which evoke images of things I want to create in my life, or things I'm grateful for.I have a very special collection of songs that I listen to every morning. Every song in there is very deliberate. Some of the songs remind me to be grateful, some songs remind me to celebrate and all of the songs connect me in some way to my spirituality.(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, "Everyday Artist", subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html
What Do We Choose? – Positive-Attitude
What Do We Choose?
Life is an enigma...It starts without our knowledge, grows without our suggestions and ends without our consent. Life is not about 'either-or', its all about 'this-and-that.'This is a space where joy and sorrow walk hand in hand, this is a space where triumph and disaster are two sides of the same coin, this is a space where all and none exists!!!!! It is on us.... what we wish to see and what we choose to ignore.Failure brings with it the joys of learning, the knowledge to appreciate that its human to err and the wisdom to accept that certain things are beyond our control.Life is beautiful with all its colours, some bright some dull some in stark contrast while some in shades. Its the amalgamation of all that makes it so rich. The light wouldnt be welcome if there was no darkness, success wouldnt be celebrated if there were no fear of failure, a smile wouldnt be appreciated if there were no tears.The good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the right and the wrong- they are all within us. its all about what we choose and when??Happines is a choice and not a chance. Afterall, life is 15% of what happens to us and 85% of how we react to it. As Henry Ford said, "If you think you can or you can't, you are always right."So today, lets make a choice.......Srirupa Chakraborty - Lecturer in HR, Pune, India. My interests include music, poems, philosophy, and sports.