The Growing Edge Howard Thurman

living the questions Parker Palmer

We look with uncertainty
by Anne Hillman

We look with uncertainty
beyond the old choices for
clear-cut answers
to a softer, more permeable aliveness
which is every moment
at the brink of death;
for something new is being born in us
if we but let it.
We stand at a new doorway,
awaiting that which comes…
daring to be human creatures,
vulnerable to the beauty of existence.
Learning to love.

I’m going to pass on making New Year’s resolutions this time around. Instead, I’ll take Rilke’s famous advice about “living the questions,” and carry into the New Year a few of the wonderings Hillman’s poem evokes in me:

• How can I let go of my need for fixed answers in favor of aliveness?
• What is my next challenge in daring to be human?
• How can I open myself to the beauty of nature and human nature?
• Who or what do I need to learn to love next? And next? And next?
• What is the new creation that wants to be born in and through me?

We look with uncertainty to the year ahead. But if we wrap our lives around life-giving questions — and live our way into their answers a bit more every day — the better world we want and need is more likely to come into being.

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2015 be a year of light and life for you and yours. And may we help make it so for others with whom we share this ride.  Parker Palmer

call me by my true names

 words by Thich Nhat Hanh.

"Please Call Me by My True Names"

" Don't say that I will depart tomorrow—
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.

I am a mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am a frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin a bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to, my people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart
could be left open,
the door of compassion".

Breathing

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in.

Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out.

(In. Out.)

Breathing in, my breath grows deep.Breathing out, my breath grows slow.(Deep. Slow.)

Breathing in, I’m aware of my body.Breathing out, I calm my body.(Aware of body. Calming.)

Breathing in, I smile.Breathing out, I release.(Smile. Release.)

Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment.Breathing out, I enjoy the present moment.(Present moment. Enjoy.)

Untucked pelvis, etc

An untucked pelvis allows your gluteus maximus to be completely relaxed when standing and the big butt muscle is lifted off of the back of the thigh where it habitually resides. Once you have found this placement of the pelvis try to engage your pelvic floor andtransverse abdominis without engaging your butt or tucking your pelvis.

This action should bring extension to the lower spine as you bring balance to the front and back of the body between the pelvis and the ribcage. If the length of your belly matches the length of your back and your pelvis is untucked, your lower back should be extended in a proper curve.

This often begs the question: “Do I have to walk around with my stomach engaged all the time?” The answer is a resounding no but if you happen to be very weak, working this way for a little while can help you get the ball rolling. The danger of living with engaged abdominal muscles is that they can easily interfere with natural breathing processes.

This is where core work comes into play. Your body will not become balanced by osmosis. You have to figure out the muscles that need shortening (the front of the body) and the muscles that need lengthening (the back of the body) and do specific exercises to make that happen. Only then can you start to figure out the correct curvature of the spine. But I can promise that you won’t figure it out by tucking your pelvis.

here are four abdominal muscles. This post covers the transverse abdominis function and its role in helping with back pain. The transverse abdominis, referred to as the corset in pilates, is the deepest of them from the belly button up to the rib cage. Below the rib cage, the transverse switches with the rectus abdominis which moves behind the transverse to attach to the pubic bone.

TA  The transverse abdominis wraps horizontally from the back of the body to the front. There is one transverse muscle on each side joined by a fascial sheet that connects them and allows them to act as one solid muscle.

The transverse abdominis function is to maintain tone of the abdominal organs; when one side works it bends and rotates the body to the side. And whenever we employ deep breathing, for sports or what have you, the transverse abdominis muscle gets involved. Throwing up, coughing, defecating, labor and also forced exhalation— like playing a wind instrument, blowing up balloons or moving heavy objects all bring the transverse abdominis function into play. Pushing out an exhale is an excellent way to feel this muscle at work as the essential transverse abdominis function is to compress the abdomen.

Transverse abdominis function has an interplay with many core components— the spine, and the muscles surrounding the spine, the psoas and the other abdominal muscles as well. Your core is the essential originator of most body movement, as well as being the determinant for the quality of an individual’s posture, aligning the trunk if the muscles all have their proper tone. Because of this building the core is a good way to help with lower back pain.

While this is true, none of the abdominal muscles actually connect to the spine. But the fascia (the connective tissue that wraps the whole body in many different ways) of the transverse abdominis goes all the way around to the outside attachments of the lumbar spine.

The transverse abdominis attaches at the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the iliac crest of the pelvis. The lower part of the muscle runs out of the iliac crest and wraps itself into the inguinal ligament which, among other things, straps down the psoas major.

Decent muscle tone in the transverse abdominis and the internal and external obliques keep the organs in place and supports the lumbar spine helping considerably with back pain relief. Low tone in these muscles allows for the organs to spill out of the abdominal cavity. Too much tone, which is possible but I don’t see it much, can lead to hernia, hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence, and other digestive troubles.

stress relief

http://wellwithin.net/energymedicinetopics/stress-relief/

Brazilian Toe

http://www.examiner.com/article/insomnia-101-brazilian-toe-massage

5 questions

Keeping It Simple

I also learned over the years that asking straightforward, simply-worded questions can be just as effective as those intricate ones. With that in mind, if you are a new teacher or perhaps not so new but know that question-asking is an area where you'd like to grow, start tomorrow with these five:

#1. What do you think?

This question interrupts us from telling too much. There is a place for direct instruction where we give students information yet we need to always strive to balance this with plenty of opportunities for students to make sense of and apply that new information using their schemata and understanding.

#2. Why do you think that?

After students share what they think, this follow-up question pushes them to provide reasoning for their thinking.

#3. How do you know this?

When this question is asked, students can make connections to their ideas and thoughts with things they've experienced, read, and have seen.

#4. Can you tell me more?

This question can inspire students to extend their thinking and share further evidence for their ideas.

#5. What questions do you still have?

This allows students to offer up questions they have about the information, ideas or the evidence.

Dial up the magic of being alive at this moment Rilke and Macy

http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/12/10/joanna-macy-a-year-with-rilke-death-mortality/

LET THIS DARKNESS BE A BELLTOWER

Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

’m not insisting that we be brimming with hope — it’s OK not to be optimistic. Buddhist teachings say, you know, feeling that you have to maintain hope can wear you out, so just be present… The biggest gift you can give is to be absolutely present, and when you’re worrying about whether you’re hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you’re showing up, that you’re here, and that you’re finding ever more capacity to love this world — because it will not be healed without that. That [is] what is going to unleash our intelligence and our ingenuity and our solidarity for the healing of our world.

[…]

How is the story going to end? And that seems almost orchestrated to bring forth from us the biggest moral strength, courage, and creativity. I feel because when things are this unstable, a person’s determination, how they choose to invest their energy and their heart and mind can have much more effect on the larger picture than we’re accustomed to think. So I find it a very exciting time to be alive, if somewhat wearing emotionally.

Flat Rabbit book  http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/11/05/the-flat-rabbit-book/

Let it marinate...concientizacion

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/let-it-marinate-reflection-closing-joshua-block?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-let-it-marinate-reflection-closing-link-december-repost

The following is a list of different reflection and closing prompts:

• Share one thing you learned.
• Share a question for future investigation.
• Respond with a word.
• What worked? What didn’t work?
• What is one part of your work that you are proud of?
• How would you do this differently next time?

inner smile and 6 healing sounds

http://www.universal-tao.com/article/smile.html

parent connect; repairing after yelling; first 3 months; strong willed as gift

http://www.parentconnecteastbay.com/

http://www.parentconnecteastbay.com/

http://www.handinhandparenting.org/2011/06/repairing-a-relationship/

first 3 months

http://www.littleheartsbooks.com/2013/11/29/the-gift-of-a-strong-willed-child/

facing death, finding joy

http://www.shambhalamountain.org/facing-death-finding-joy-conversation-elysabeth-williamson/?inf_contact_key=61d04c5c7d95d71f81cb7b71a66fc249b5c6fa7a388a83262409a125966b2cbe

meditation on breath silence

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in.

Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out.

(In. Out.)

Breathing in, my breath grows deep.Breathing out, my breath grows slow.(Deep. Slow.)

Breathing in, I’m aware of my body.Breathing out, I calm my body.(Aware of body. Calming.)

Breathing in, I smile.Breathing out, I release.(Smile. Release.)

Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment.Breathing out, I enjoy the present moment.(Present moment. Enjoy.)

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist. He lives at Plum Village, a meditation center in the Dordogne region of southern France.

From Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hanh. Copyright © 2015 by Unified Buddhist Church, Inc. Reprinted with permission by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. The book will be released in January, 2015.

more on anxiety, yp sensitive

rooster comb  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTscM4Hq0as

taking down flame
heaven and earth
middle f
TW smoothing
Flippping hands back & forth, using them like a magnet over the area can also unfreeze it
selenite over Tw
poi balls 
crossover     shoulder to hip opp
poi balls

anxiety,anger,

Ankles and Toes corewalking

http://blog.corewalking.com/ankles-and-toes/

The quest for a happy body is a search for the balance of flexion and extension. This exercise offers a lot of information about your bodies imbalances. One stage is usually a lot easier than the other.

They should both be equally easy.

Ankles and Toes 1st stage-

• Point your feet bringing the heels as close together as possible. You can belt the ankles together to make it more exact.
• The idea is to get the heels to be inside of the sit bones so they can spread slightly opening the space of the pelvic floor.
• Sit up as tall as possible. Don’t suffer. If this seems impossible, either come into it and out of it repeatedly or put a blanket between your calves and hamstrings to cushion the intensity.
• Spread the toes open as much as possible, trying to touch all toes to the floor. Spread your effort evenly between the inner and outer foot.

2nd stage-

• Tuck your toes under and sit up on your heels.
• Try to stretch the toes so much that the ball of the foot touches  the floor.
• If it is too intense come in and out of the pose as often as needed.

Muscles that lift the arches of the feet corewalking

blog.corewalking.com/the-muscles-that-work-the-pulleys-that-lift-the-arches-of-the-feet/



  

Epigenetics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwOvg1rJfcM  Lipton on eminute healing

Sensory Processing challenges

http://www.sensoryprocessingchallenges.com/

a child's view of SP  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6Cm0WxEZA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6Cm0WxEZA  what is

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/07/107316/breakthrough-study-reveals-biological-basis-sensory-processing-disorders-kidsi

relationship tips for empaths  http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/6-relationship-tips-for-empaths/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201105/top-10-survival-tips-the-highly-sensitive-person-hsp