Stuff in my Mind
/I am interested in definitions of “the mind.” Here is mine: The mind is a constantly updating 3D sensual-picture of the the world.
One thing I sort of dread about the coming of Summer (a problem I never had in San Francisco cause it is always foggy) is that my mind shuts down complex and abstract thinking when the temperature gets above 75F/24C. Has anyone invented a device that regulates the temperature of your head? One that keeps it at the perfect temperature for thinking? Maybe the solution is to reverse the clock, so that most of my working time is at night or before sunrise?
What is the relationship between tonic postures and the freeze? Tonic postures are ones that use a frame, like the Waltz. I don’t mean structure in the sense of transferring force to the ground, I just mean well integrated shapes that resist change from outside forces. Here is the idea. Certain types of movement may have evolved to work with the freeze, and the freeze itself might be a way to make the body more tonic for fighting or fleeing. The popular/conventional explanation of the freeze is that it makes you invisible (or undesirable) to predators. But as an evolutionary survival mechanism I think it would have to integrate with the other two (or three if you include dispassionate sex). [This is an update to 4 F’s theory: freeze, fight, flight, sex.]
Here is the classic Maya Deren film: Divine Horseman, the Living Gods of Haiti. Everyone should see it. It’s like 10 Stars, or whatever.
I guess what happened is that there was a Kathak Festival planned in New York for this Spring. When the shutdown happened they decided to do a version of it online. Because of that it is uneven. Kathak is notoriously difficult to mic. I suspect some of these performers are much better than they appear. I like them all. Unfortunately, I think video has the potential to degrade our performance capacities by 90%. Fortunately some people are adapting, they have better floors and equipment for this type of performance. In this context two of the performers stand out as extraordinary.
Pallavi Degwekar Shaikh begins at 01:38:30 and is followed by Shivangi Dake Robert.
The Chinese Perception of Jainism 耆那教
This article was fascinating, it is from a book which I will have to order when things get a little more opened up. “Yoga and Sex What is the Purpose of Vajrolīmudrā?” by James Mallison, from the book Yoga in Transformation, 2018. (Academia.edu)
