Born in the wrong era?

Were you born in the right era? Absolutely, as the Universal way of things brings our fore-bearers and ancestors in the succession that transpired; how could it be any other way? But do you ever feel that maybe you would be happy in a different time? Sometimes I feel that I am living outside of the era with which I have the most affinity. Yes, I was a 1950's lad and now I'm 'coping' with the technological gadgetry that is apparently essential for modern living and for my own part, am entirely happy with life as it is. I enjoy life 'right now' and all the comforts and 'modern' luxuries that we take for granted and of which our ancestors would never have dreamed. But a big part of me connects very fully with a period in time that's many decades earlier; I have the strangest affinity with the late 19th and early 20th century.

For instance my music tastes are strictly classical, and while I love Bach and Mozart, the music of Faure, Borodin, Ravel, Debusy, Rachmaninov, Dvorjak and Elgar, all composers from the last century, do something special to my soul. My favourite period in painting is the late 19th century Impressionist and early 20th century. While email is convenient and 'essential', I prefer to write letters with a fountain pen and wet ink that needs time to dry; I do my correspondence in this way at least once a week. I'm an enthusiastic photographer in my spare time and a Fellow of the RPS; my preferences are still with traditional skills using film and darkroom processes to produce fine prints in black and white, all with minimal manipulation and void of SFX. I play the violin and having struggled with a shoulder rest for support I threw it away and studied the techniques of old masters of last century before the shoulder rest was invented as "a means of making playing easier" (but can cause problems). Dissatisfied with my vibrato I studied and am now using (to the best of my ability) the 'fingertip impulse vibrato' used by early 20th century violin virtuosos such as Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, Misha Elman and which is now almost a lost art. Although I get superb tuition from my violin teacher, if I refer to a book, it's not a new publication with the latest ideas but a 1921 classic by Leopold Auer, teacher of Heifetz, written as an old man and in which he refers to his time studying with Joachim in 1862. I love antique furniture, natural materials of leather, wood, paper and other organic materials and although I appreciate the benefits of modern carbon-fibre and plastics I'd rather be free of them.

So am I living in the present? Well, I'd answer "Absolutely". While I connect with all these elements from previous eras, I use them in the here and now. This is what I do on a day-to-day basis. It's not a fanciful idea of keeping 'tradition alive' but how I enjoy my time and I gain a deal of satisfaction from it. Naturally there are aspects of life in a previous times that would not be too pleasant; poor sanitation, excessive working hours and poor conditions, but if this was all we knew (having never glimpsed 21st century living) then we would not think twice about it. (How crude will today's living standards be considered in another 100 years time.) But take away these 'negatives', there are many great things to be appreciated in previous eras. No Blackberry's or IPhones for starters!

I believe I was born in the right era; how else could it be? However, with my traditional leanings it is likely that no matter which century I was born, I would connect with a period that has gone before. And does it all matter? Not one bit. As long as we're happy and enjoying ourselves, that's all that counts (while ensuring that in the process we do no harm to others!)

I shall go and write a letter now.....with a pen. :-)

Use of time

So how do you spend your day? Or put it another way, if you take all the waking hours available to you during the week, how do you devote your time? Clearly it seems I've nothing better to do than calculate some arbitrary numbers that produce nothing except some.....well arbitrary statistics that will get put on one side. But it has taken all of about five minutes to reckon how I use my life on a general day-to-day basis. I thought the exercise may help me see any shortcomings and excesses so I may realise how to adjust it to achieve a better balance.

For instance, it's quite possible to devote most of our time to helping others, looking after the kids, working for a company, housework (if anyone still does any) and then travel time can take up quite a bit. How much time do you actually get that is entirely devoted to yourself for enjoyment and pleasure? How much time do you share with your partner, husband or wife and how much time do you give to your friends? And how much time do you give to just stopping and doing nothing to get some peace and calm into your life?

With just a few minutes calculation I've arrived at some numbers that represent roughly how I spend most of my time on a regular basis (excluding holidays away and special occasions) and the results do not surprise me, however I want to make a few adjustments to make a better balance. I'll share them with you if you can be bothered reading on.

For starters, we all need around 7-8 hours sleep every 24 hours which is a third (yes 33%) of our lives! As we can't do much with those hours except get beauty sleep that refreshes our mind and body, I'll take these hours out of the equation. (It makes sense to have a good quality bed if we sleep so much!)

There are 168 hours in one week and out of that I sleep around 7.5 hours daily including my mid-day nap. So my waking hours number 116 each week. This is roughly how I use them...

47.5 hours at work (although I don't count my Alexander Technique teaching as work because it's more of a vocation and I enjoy it. ......Anyway......

% of week
Work - 9.5 hours daily x 5 days = 47.5 hours - 40%
Eating - 1.5 hours daily = 10.5 - 9%
Social time with my partner and friends - 27%
Travel to/from work - 40 minutes daily - 2%
Violin practice -1.5 hours daily - 9%
Photography - 4%
Reading for leisure - 2%
Bathing and toilet - 2%
TV - around 5 hours per week 4%

Total 99%

The time I calculated for eating does not include dining out with my partner or friend which is more of a social event. I don't have children and if I did, the numbers would look quite different. On looking at this it's clear that I don't have much time for just stopping, meditating or for quiet relaxation. I enjoy being busy and am happiest in activity. But I want to address the balance. I think a little more time to my partner may be appropriate and I'm horrified that my passion for photography has been sidelined by my desire to learn to play the violin, so that would be nice to re-address. I should also stop more often for some quiet contemplation.

My considerations now are, how do I squeeze a few hours a day to write my next book..... Hmm.

You can see that I am not a mathematician or statistician and I have done this very crudely. I'm sure you are far more able than I to calculate this and make more sense of it. But if you haven't got anything better to do or would like to calculate your own use of time then it's easy. Work out how many hours you sleep per night, multiply by 7 and subtract that from 168 hours in the week. Then calculate roughly how many hours you devote to different activities, multiply that number by 100 then divide by your total weekly waking hours to get the %.

i.e. No. hours in an activity x 100, divided by no. of waking hours a week = %

Ooh la la, how the time flies by when you're busy! :-)

Identity Theft

I've always considered myself and everyone I meet in life as individual with our own unique personality, idiosyncrasies, postural habits, abilities, talents and identity. Now I read and hear so much about Identity Theft that I am beginning to question my own understanding of what is unique and what is not.

If I ever tried to 'sell' my identity (not that I would consider doing such a foolish thing) no one would pay for it. Nor could I really 'lose' it... "Excuse me, you haven't seen my 'identity' anywhere have you? I seem to have misplaced it." But apparently there are a great many people out there who would steal it if they possibly could. Hmmm.... confusing.

I consider 'Who I am' as being personality, character, sense of humour, attitudes, how I prioritise, my loves, likes, tastes in art, clothing, music, friends, preferences in activities, how I spend my time, hobbies, my intellect (notice how this comes low down the list!?) intelligence and then there's facial features, body age, build, shape, height, skin colour, hair colour (I still have some despite being in mid-life), etc, etc. But these are all apparently worthless (I agree there's not much I can offer of value there); what apparently is of value is the name or coding and numbers that are associated with my persona that help me to be identifiable, not in person but on paper. What some naughty people may wish to do is not steal my body and 'real' self, (and I understand absolutely why in my case) but bits of paper such as driving licence, passport, bank details that represent me. However ransom may be considered fruitful if the victim's family has wealth, but again we're referring to numbers!

I hope never to make that trip to the Police station, "I've had my identity stolen. I can't find it anywhere!" "I don't know who I am anymore!" "Well actually I do know who I am, but other naughty people also know who I am. Which is why I'm told I should be worried. They've got some of my numbers!"

I have become so alarmed about all this in the last week I have signed up and paid my annual fee for Insurance against Identity Theft with CPP, not to protect the 'real me', personality, my physical being and character traits(!), but some bits of paper and numbers that represent my 'being'. And I'm glad to have done so. The Welcome Pack from CPP and their helpful advice on how to avoid Identity Theft is really worth a read and although I was familiar with most of the advice, there was a surprising amount of it that had not occurred to me. I can now help make sure that it is harder for my Identity to be stolen and if it is, the £50,000 insurance cover will ensure that I am not out of pocket in expenses on recovering my identity and I just have the inconvenience of it all to deal with....

Better safe than sorry.... :-)

Lengthen in stature

As children we're mostly interested in what's going on around us and playing with our toys. While a few of these things are on the floor, most things of interest are above our heads, what Mummy and Daddy are doing....up there. We look out and see the world around us far more than when we look down. This tendency, along with not having any postural habits at the age of 2-3 means that we are truly lengthening in stature up to our full height. We lead with our heads upwards it is 'up' that interests us.

When we get older, we tend to pick up habits of posture from parents, friends, pop stars, film stars and we also get stressed. We also start doing what adults do when they go to work. Guess what that is....... We start sitting at desks and focusing on what is below our eye level. far more than looking out and up as we used to do.

In nature, all vertebrates lead with their head. The main difference between most other mammals and humans is that they are on four legs while we are on two. What interests the majority of animals is going forwards, chasing their prey. They lead with their heads as all vertebrates do and as this direction is forwards, they lengthen in their spine and back muscles which activates their hind-quarters and legs to move forwards. All locomotion in mammals initiates with the need of the head to move forwards. It's the same in the toddler child, they lengthen in stature as they walk forwards and this whole movement is allowed by the freedom of their neck, the slightly forward roll of their head on their spine which puts the weight of their head (which is enormous in relation to their body at such a young age) forward off balance slightly and they walk, almost to catch up with their head!

All healthy mammals lead with their heads. But humans do not, at least the majority do not any more, although we did as children. All this sitting at desks for up to 10 or more hours a day begins to draw us downwards. We get more interested in what is below our eye level than what is around us or above. This affects our posture enormously. It's fair to say, that wherever we put our attention is where our posture goes. As most of us are looking down, peering at the problem on the papers in front of us and poking our head forwards to peer at the computer screen; this all affects us so our back rounds, we get rounded and hunched shoulders, stiff neck, collapsed lower back where the healthy lumbar curve is reversed into kyphosis. We also get into a twist in our chair, holding the phone under one ear while typing or writing, or carrying heavy bags for long periods over the same shoulder will also cause scoliosis.

Where we put our attention is where our posture goes and sitting at desks for so long does nothing to help us maintain healthy poise. We forget completely about our poor old body that needs to do the job of carrying our head around and only remember it when we feel pain or observe it's getting a bit fat for our slinky and stylish clothes.

We would do well to remember that we need to lengthen in line with our spine in order for our whole muscular-skeletal system to function healthily. As bipeds standing on just two feet instead of four, we therefore need to lengthen upwards. This means lengthening up away from what is lying on our desk; it means lengthening upwards despite our computer screen in front being like a magnet; it means coming back into balance so we're not leaning forwards in such a hurry when we're late and remembering that where we put our thoughts is where we're going physically. We'd do well to remember just two simple things that are fundamental to healthy life and which FM Alexander observed in the 19th century; if we 'think' of freeing our neck, it will release some of its tension. If we intend or 'think' of our heads going upwards (without making any effort), then we'll start to lengthen, naturally. As vertebrates, it is the need of the head to go somewhere that initiates movement; as bipeds we need to 'think' up far more than we do. Then we will be heading in the same direction we were as young children when the attraction of problems and desk-work have not been experienced.

Try it for yourself if you have not already. Free your neck by 'thinking' it free and then 'think' tall. Allow yourself to lengthen to your full height. It will all happen without any effort if you let it. It's the natural way to be.

Community Spirit

So it may seem there's not much to be thankful for today in the UK. The English football squad failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament last night, the Government has 'lost' data and personal details for 25 million people and Northern Rock building society is needing to be shored up by public funds. Oh dear, it's all looking pretty bleak.

In the US however, all is happiness and conviviality as families and friends reunite to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and all (or many) troubles are forgotten in favour of cutting the roast turkey and sharing love and companionship. Now.....in the UK we did not have Founding Fathers or Pilgrims who shared a meal with the Wampanoag in 1621 when they settled in Massachusetts, whose celebration meal became an annual tradition. But that's no reason not to be 'thankful' in the UK. Where is our community spirit?

I think we should all have a Thanksgiving Day including the UK as its background is not particularly unique to the US. Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks (traditionally to God) for the things one has at the close of the harvest season when families and friends usually gather for a large meal or dinner. This results in Thanksgiving holiday weekend being one of the busiest travel periods of the year. And while the main celebration usually focuses around a wonderful traditional meal of turkey and trimmings (but no giving of presents) there are also other events including many parades. But the majority of countries have a harvest, so it's not an unreasonable idea for everyone to celebrate for what we have received and also for all those things we take for granted and the love of those around us.

In our 'modern' society of intense activity, high-powered business, global economy there is rather an attitude of 'man eat dog'; everyone is out for themselves. We get together with families at Christmas but this event, having lost it's association with its Christian origins and become a shop-fest of billion pound/dollar spending, does not reflect the honest-to-goodness and purely social and family affair that is Thanksgiving Day in the US.

Can we not have a day in the year......just one day out of 365 when the focus of all our attention is to share with others, to give kindness, to share love, to embrace our friends and family as the lovely people they are irrespective of race, religion, social standing and monetary wealth? Can we please have a day that we can just enjoy the simple pleasures of sharing time with those we love, without the expense of present buying? It would be so nice if we could see and experience just a little more community spirit where we are all equals standing together and just sharing the joy of gratitude for all we've got. No matter how bad things may seem, we've still got a lot for which to be grateful. Oh Yeah!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

:-)

Traditional photography group

St Mary the Virgin Church, Powerstock, Dorset Photographed using manual Leica M6 with 50mm lens on Delta 100 film rated at 50ASA and developed in Dixactol Ultra. Printed in my traditional darkroom using wet chemicals under a red light!

Today my photographic group of specialist black and white photographers are coming to my practice for our monthly meeting. There are currently 5 of us who specialise in traditional printing methods and use darkroom chemical processes to produce our own images. We don't use digital because we all enjoy the traditional techniques. So I provide a lunch of sandwiches etc and we chat around the oval table about techniques, problems, news and recent adventures like Ian's recent trip to New Zealand and Richard's trekking trip in the Himalayas, then we clear away the debris from lunch, wash our hands then get the pictures out. We discuss each other's work, commenting on technical aspects as well as the visual appeal of the image. There is never any rush and each member gets quite some time to show his or her latest work.

This image is one I've recently developed and printed and brought along to show the group. I am pleased with the wide range of grey tones and lighting. I scanned it a few minutes ago and thought I'd share it with you before the others arrive. I hope you like it.

I recently bought a small digital compact camera, a Leica C-Lux 2 which is small enough to attach to a belt and is great for snaps. For all the photography I do, we lack having snaps of family events and holidays etc which I do not normally get the time to develop and print. This super little camera will now do the job of providing good quality snaps of all our little family occasions. :-) So you see....I'm not anti-digital at all. Everything has its benefits!

One in a million shot

I thought I'd share this One in a Million shot that Terry Tillman sent me....

Thanks Terry.

Blog Ads - Necessary Evil?

There is currently a discussion in 9 Rules 'Notes' called Blog Ads - Necessary Evil? Do bloggers display adverts and how do they weigh up the benefits in revenue from advertisers paying them to feature their advert against the smarter and cleaner look of the blog that's free of ads?

It seems that any benefit in displaying ads is reliant on the number of visitors one gets to the site; the more the merrier. But if the number of visitors to a site is not so many as to make much financial contribution to the blogger's income, then the consensus seems that most will not do so.

I have never had an issue with this in my mind as it is clear as day. I do not have any ads on my site except the one for my book 'Perfect Poise, Perfect Life'. The book is about the same subject as I often write here on my blog, so if one enjoys reading the blog (and I'm always grateful when you drop by! Thanks!) then the book may be of interest too and I offer it here at discount. That's all. Otherwise, no ads.

In general, I find advertising on the web unwelcome. It's visual pollution, along with marketing in magazines, TV, posters on roadsides, in public transport and on radio, one can rarely escape the onslaught. This visual 'noise' is so in your face these days it dulls the senses as we switch off and do not even notice any more.

As you know, my blog is about health, well being and success; it's name is www.thinkinghappy.com. Hopefully it is a stress free place for you to visit that is calm and welcoming as well as being fun, informative or diverting. That is my intention and if it is not, then please let me know so I can amend my ways!. This is why I do not display ads in general; the revenue has never been a consideration.

If you enjoy visiting my site or have a view about advertising on blogs, then please leave a comment. I'll be pleased to hear from you. Also please pass on the site address to any friends you think may enjoy visiting.

Hope you have a good day.

Healing water

Do you get enough water? When asked, most people say "Probably not." If this applies to you, then there are a number of factors that you may like to consider. The topic of water has been in my own mind for some time and although I do drink rather a lot of it compared to many, I am reviewing what I do as there are so many benefits. We don't need special water with healing properties; just normal, pure and unadulterated water can do wonders for our health and well being.

We should probably all be drinking around 2 litres of fresh water a day and if we are active and sweating then the amount should be up to double this amount.

In my own experience I find that drinking water regularly, helps me feel more awake, it clears my head, calms me down, I'm more relaxed in myself with more energy for running around. If ever I get a headache which may be once a year, the first thing I'll do is drink a large glass of water and the headache will usually disappear.

Our body is made up of around 70% water; the bulk of it being contained in our lungs, the digestive system, brain and bodily fluids such as blood, lymph, saliva. It is necessary for the healthy functioning of our entire body.

Most people will only drink water when they're thirsty but it's possible for us to be dehydrated without even knowing. Our body responds to lack of water by means of regulating the amount of water in our various organs in its attempt to cope, but long term lack of water can cause health problems. Apparently 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Thirst can be mistaken for hunger and lead to weight problems, but one glass of water before bed can shut down hunger pangs.

Lack of water is a major cause of daytime fatigue (apart from lack of sleep!). 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers and it can be of enormous help for those with arthritis. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory,trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

Adequate levels of water are needed for all chemical reactions in the body. It is a source of energy and the energy generated by the water in the cells helps transmit impulses and chemicals through the nervous system to every part of our body. .

Water helps maintain the moisture levels within the body and can be seen in the translucence and elasticity of our skin. (Drink more water and look younger!) Water also helps regulate body temperature while also removing toxins and poisons from our body through perspiration, breathing and urine.

It is believed that our body can lose around four litres of water every 24 hours so it's necessary to replenish this regularly. While we gain about 2/3 of our water requirement from food, we need to provide the remaining 1/3 by drinking water.

Tea, coffee and soft drinks may quench our thirst, warm us up and wake us up, but many act as a diuretic which will reduce the amount of water that our body absorbs. Such drinks require us to drink even more water to compensate for the diuretic effect.

There are truly some serious benefits from drinking adequate amounts of water. There are even claims that it can help cure diseases; if you're interested in this, check out The Healing Powers of Water. For further general information check out the benefits of water.

Perlman in concert

Itzhak Perlman performing last night in London

What do you do if you get polio at the age of four and are handicapped for the rest of your life so you can only walk with the aid of crutches and callipers on your legs? You become the world's greatest solo violinist, that's what you do. This is Itzhak Perlman, now 62 and still enthralling audiences with his virtuosity as he did last night at London's Barbican Centre. He played beautifully with flawless technique, panache and flair. During his life so far, he has picked up four Emmy Awards, 15 Grammy Awards and numerous honorary degrees from institutions including Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew Universities.

Not only does Perlman dash off the most complex and virtuosic pieces with dazzling care-free abandon he also charms his audience with little introductions between his plentiful encores. Picking up some sheet music he reads the cover out loud. "It says here that it this piece is for 'Very Advanced'......so we won't play that!" Then proceeds to play a piece that is probably even more complex and dazzling, as well as emotionally moving.

It's interesting and humbling to see people such as Perlman who are handicapped in one way or another, turning their hand to an activity or artistic endeavour and they excel to the highest level. It's as though the determination to succeed in an endeavour despite personal limitations sees them through; they have a vision, the perseverance and sheer determination to perform and they throw themselves into it completely. There is a lesson here for me and maybe for others too. If we were all to throw ourselves into our chosen field with such determination and unwavering belief that we can achieve our goals; and if we work, work, work at it, we would probably achieve some success. The celebrated violin teacher Aaron Rosand has said he believes that natural talent accounts for about 15%; the rest is hard work.

Watching Itzhak Perlman last night we experienced the results of many thousands of hours of hard work combined with his natural talent. There are no shortcuts to this height of performance. Jasha Heifetz apparently had someone say to him "Aren't you lucky to be able to play the violin like you do?" which angered him enormously; despite having a natural gift, there is no way one gets to the top without thousands of hours of practice, much of which can be gruelling and disheartening.

I get such a thrill from seeing such virtuosity in performance. I love to see people being successful. And in violin playing such as we heard last night, I also love what it does for my soul. They are so inspiring. Perlman is inspiring. I shall reach for my violin and play a few more scales this evening, not ever to perform in public, but just to have fun; that's my objective and I'll definitely be successful in this endeavour.

:-)

Thinking, not doing

When people come for lessons in the Alexander Technique, it's a frequently held idea that they are coming for treatment and the practitioner will 'do it' for them. I wrote about the fact that sessions in the Alexander Technique are 'lessons' and not treatment in a previous post.

When it's understood that the client or 'pupil' as is the case here, needs to participate and we need to learn how to apply the technique for ourselves, we have another 'problem' to deal with and that is how we're doing things. In Alexander Technique sessions we do a variety of different movements and activities such as standing, walking, sitting, bending, writing at a desk or using a keyboard and it's understandable that we want to know the correct way. People often ask me, "Should I sit like this?" or " "Should I hold myself like this?" etc. Such comments bring up a key point. There is no 'correct position' to hold yourself in whether you're standing, sitting or anything. One position is far too limiting; what happens when you want to move? Nor are there ten positions to switch from one to another; we're not robots. The people with the best posture in the whole world are young children who have not yet learnt any bad postural habits and they move around the whole time. Even the idea of 'holding' a position is problematic as the very 'holding' causes fixation and we're actually meant to be free and loose, not stuck.

It needs to be understood that Alexander Technique does not involve learning how to hold ourselves. But it is about learning to bring about the correct muscular tone and co-ordination within us that will allow us to move, bend or sit in any position we like, but we will be free and expansive all the time....and it feels effortless. We re-learn the poise we had as young children. We tap into the instinct we've got for healthy poise that we were born with and will be with us until we die.

We learn to bring about a quality of freedom in all the joints as well as a condition of expansiveness that brings us up tall and broad without any sense of effort. There is no holding required. Our body knows what to do if we 'let it'. It's more about preventing or 'inhibiting' the wrong tendencies such as stiffening, stooping or getting off balance. And we learn to bring about (direct) ourselves to lengthen and widen in stature; but we do it all by thinking. No effort is required. Indeed if we make effort to 'pull ourselves up straight' then we are interfering again with a co-ordination that is far more subtle, and we'll get into further problems. Do not 'pull yourself up straight' and don't 'pull your shoulders back'; all these things cause tension and different problems. It needs to come from our 'intention'; we do it by thinking and nothing else. 100% thought. It's not difficult, just a little unfamiliar at first.

FM Alexander had a way of explaining this. Let me quote FM. "You come to learn to inhibit and to direct your activity. You learn, first, to inhibit the habitual reaction to certain classes of stimuli, and second, to direct yourself consciously in such a way as to affect certain muscular pulls, which processes bring about a new reaction to these stimuli. Boiled down, it all comes to inhibiting a particular reaction to a given stimulus. But no one will see it that way. They will all see it as getting in and out of a chair the right way. It is nothing of the kind. It is that a pupil decides what he will or will not consent to do. They may teach you anatomy and physiology till they are black in the face - you will still have this to face, sticking to a decision against your habit of life." i.e. If you choose to not stiffen your neck as you move, you can have direct control over your life-time's habits.

Well Alexander's words sound rather heavy and it's really not like that at all. The point to take, is that it's not about physically doing anything, but giving a little thought that can change the 'way' you do things. That's what it's all about. It's easy when you're shown how. It's the thinking that changes how your body works. It's thinking that makes you feel like you've got a new body 10 years younger. If you haven't experienced it, get a teacher of the Alexander Technique to show you. In short,....it feels great. But it does require your participation....

:-)

Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships

Procession from Old Bridge to Village Hall, Carrbridge

Some days you just wake up and wonder where the year has gone, as I did today. We've had the most wonderful autumn weather with glorious colours in the trees and it's been unseasonally warm too. And suddenly I realise that it's not only approaching mid-November but I missed one of the highlights of the calendar, namely the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships in Carrbridge, Inverness-shire. How could I have forgotten the event in October?

Being a keen porridge eater myself, during the winter months and knowing how difficult it is to make a really good bowl of the gooey stuff, I appreciate all the care, training and dedication that goes into making a World-Class porridge chef! The task is not to be under-estimated!

Often referred to as 'The Happy Food', porridge is renowned for lifting one's spirits and putting a smile on one's face in the morning, and that's without the dram of whisky that some may be tempted to blend in! Straight forward, unadulterated organically grown porridge (I favour Jordan's Organic Porridge as it has lovely combination of creaminess along with the rougher texture of whole oats), with salt, and if you must have sugar, just a weeny bit, but don't tell anyone at Carrbridge!

Winners Maria Soep and Al Beaton

The title of World Porridge Making Champion is awarded to the chef deemed to have made the best traditional porridge using oatmeal, water and salt. As well as the coveted title and the 'Golden Spurtle' trophy, the winner of the competition, sponsored by 'Scotland’s leading Oatmeal producer', Hamlyns of Scotland, gets a £350 hotel voucher and a cash prize of £250.

This year's winner of the Organic Porridge classification goes to Maria Soep of Taynuilt while the top prize for the Speciality classification goes to Al Beaton for his exotic entry. Apparently the judges were impressed by the inventiveness and creative ingenuity of all the speciality porridge competitors, but it was Al's Porridge Bowl recipe that won the day with a combination of stewed apples, cinnamon and raisins with whipped cream dusted with grapenuts and served with a chocolate scroll. The delighted chef was awarded the Duncan Hilditch Memorial Trophy named in memory of porridge making legend and four times world champion Duncan Hilditch and a £150 cash prize. Congratulations to both Maria and Al!

Maria making her winning bowl of porridge

The championship attracted a strong line up of competitors from across Scotland as well other parts of the UK including professional chefs, caterers and individuals keen to prove they could make a perfect bowl of porridge.

Other main highlights of the programme included the pipe band led parade of porridge competitors and judges at 12.30pm from the Old Bridge along the main street to Carrbridge Village Hall and then one highlight I'm sorry to miss, the traditional 'Toast to the Porridge' before the championship got underway with the first of the heats. The tension must have been unbearable.

Don't you just wish you were there?
:-)

Forgive and forget

This morning I am a little betwixt and between, or is it ambivalent? I'm not sure whether to be angry (no point), upset (no point), pleased (lots of point but difficult) or just laissez-faire. I remind myself of my own post a few days ago about my 102 year old client who said that she lived such a healthy long life because she always forgave and forgot and didn't hold a grudge, as anger makes you sick; if anything did not work out favourably she accepted it with a smile and if things did go well, she was always very grateful. She was a lovely lady and I'm still learning her lessons.

Now don't get me wrong, this is no BIG deal; not at all. Today, when I came into our clinic and passed through the waiting room to get a glass of water from the chilled dispenser I discovered that the display stand that usually holds a copy of my book 'Perfect Poise, Perfect Life' is empty. To ensure that the book remains there for more people to read and doesn't go 'walkies', it has a big sticker on it saying "Waiting Room - Please do not remove". But the book has gone. As I said, no big deal.

On one hand I'm thinking "How dare someone take that away (subtext - steal)!" And then I remember my elderly client and allow the air to pass freely into my lungs, I free my neck, think tall, sigh and smile and say "Ah well, that's fine. At least someone thinks highly enough of my book to consider it worth taking. Isn't it a lovely day today?"

Reflecting back on all the times the display copy of my book has been 'taken' away from the clinic in the two years it's been displayed there, I count the number as three. Three times! But that's not a lot! I'm beginning to feel saddened that it's not been stolen more often. Surely there are lots more people who would like to read it.....with or without paying. (By the way, it is on offer at my clinic for a discounted price, so it's not exactly a money spinner or profit making exercise; far from it; I provide it here just as a courtesy to my clients in case someone would like a copy!) Indeed if anyone said they'd like to read my book but they didn't have any money, I'd happily give them a copy with my compliments.

So I'm pleased that someone likes it enough to remove the only display copy from the waiting room, despite its big sticker and I'm also saddened that more people have not thought similarly; I'm trying very hard to be laissez-faire about it and think 'That's life'. This is truly not a big deal.

Maybe you can do me a favour. If you pass by my practice sometime (we're in Cavendish Square, London W1) please come in, sit surreptitiously in the corner of the waiting room on the pretence of meeting someone here and when no-one is looking, just pop the display book into your bag. Then I'll surely believe that the book is in terrific demand, it's a great success and I'll be able to tell the shops with confidence that they should stock more as it's just so hugely popular!

:-)

Stepping back from detail

Joshua Bell plays with emotion

My last post about 'Getting into Detail' leads me to ponder a few other things that may be still more subtle. Examining the minutiae in rehearsal and practice is fine and helpful; not examining the minutiae is also helpful. When you're out there are benefits of 'getting in'. When you're in, there are benefits in 'getting out'.

Let's look at our painting again. If we firstly view it from a distance we see the overall broad statement made by the artist; the colours, composition, the subject and its interpretation. If we get closer we can see more detail; the brush strokes that appear random yet from afar look organised; the small details within the picture that go unnoticed. There is great reward in looking close at detail. Now if we step back again and view the painting, we no longer see it as we originally did on our first encounter; our appreciation of the picture is more informed, we know more about it, we have more intimate knowledge and appreciation of what makes up this painting. After all, a painting is the sum total of all the elements within working together. A piece of music is the sum of the notes put together. But if all these brush strokes or musical notes are assembled in a certain way, with subtlety, with nuance, with deep instinct and sensitivity, the collective outcome of all these individual parts makes something that is far greater than their sum. The synergy between all the intrinsic details works to make something that has a new meaning. It can become great. My father who has been a professional flute player all his working life has often commented on various compositions and their composer. With regards to Mozart, his compositions are so perfect that to remove any single note from a piece will result in a reduction of its overall quality or meaning; every note means something and contributes to the whole. This cannot be said for many other composers, and certainly not for all they wrote.

As a painting is made of its thousands of brushstrokes and a concerto of many thousands of notes, they are meaningless without the arrangement that brings them together with form, phrasing, harmony, rhythm and tempo. Now, getting to the point I want to make (at last I hear you say!), when looking at the details of how one plays an instrument, or swing a golf club, tennis racquet, horse rides or any other activity that demands skill, it is also necessary to step back from the detail and 'let it happen'.

By practise and rehearsal, by training and by repetition of good technique we develop the skill to repeat the subtleties required for our highest standard of performance. By repetition of any action, the experience gets into our 'muscle memory' so without consciously thinking of every 'minutiae' we are able to play the stroke well, perform the piece of music and dance the movements of an entire ballet. As Hillary Hahn said about playing the Beethoven violin concerto at short notice when she was asked to replace an invalided soloist, she said that having played the piece fairly recently on tour, "The Beethoven was in my fingers". In other words, it was her muscle memory that allowed her to perform the entire concerto without 'thinking' about every note.

When we've got the muscle memory of positive experiences, of performing a specific task and particularly with music, then we can move on to another level; we do not now think of the individual notes or small actions but we consider the whole picture. We play the music, dance the dance, play the 'game' intuitively. We put our heart into it, we play from our soul, we create life, love and all other emotions through the creation of sound. If we're playing sport, then all our training supports our every move. A musician will practice scales and arpeggios for hours daily, but they do not perform them in public; they perform the Bach or Mozart.

My own endeavours with the violin are currently involving me in practicing long bow strokes on open strings for 30 minutes a day: see yesterday's post. Eventually the technique will get into my system and muscle memory, and I won't need to focus so closely on such minutiae of detail; the experience of today's study will support me next month/year when I play music. The intention will be to allow all the details that I currently focus on to weld together; to homogenize as I play. There comes a point where 'how this works' probably cannot be explained or taught. It requires us to 'allow' our detailed learnings, study and rehearsal of minutiae to fuse into our total performance. This is where we must make 'less effort'; we must not try hard to do well. We need to 'allow' our psycho-physical self to assimilate all our experiences and training. The sum of all this will hopefully come out as greater than the individual parts. This will be where 5+5 =12. The subtle muscle co-ordination; the combined use of so many parts of our being; 'coloured' by our heart-felt emotions and led by our soul can produce something truly artistic and heaven sent. And when we produce such a sound or performance we may be staggered by its beauty and wonder where it came from; "How did I do that?" And we may never know because it is beyond 'knowing' consciously. But rest assured that our body knows how to do so many wonderful things; it is only up to us to let it. It so often means 'getting out of the way' to let it happen.

In the meantime, I continue with my daily routine of long bows on open strings..... :-)

Getting into detail

Tiger Woods

The more you get 'into' something the more you notice. The more you examine something or a situation in fine detail, the more detail you see. This is true when looking at a painting from afar, observing the overall composition, layout, colour style, subject and broad statement made by the painter. But when you get close and examine the detail, there is so much more to be seen that is missed when only viewed from a distance. Close inspection may show the broad and almost carefree brush-strokes that from a distance look like an entire village on a hillside, or a group of people huddled together. Close inspection shows the thickness of the applied paint and the detail within the picture that cannot otherwise be seen. The more one looks the more one sees.

This situation is what I am experiencing right now with my efforts with learning the violin. Violin, I hear you ask? What about Tiger Woods and golf? What I'm talking about relates to any activity. Let me explain. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in a post that I was now focusing on my bowing hand, referring to a suggestion by a celebrated teacher from early last century that to be good, one should practice playing long bows on open strings for 30 minutes a day for 6 months. On first consideration this exercise seems as though it could be as boring as watching paint dry. What can one possibly learn by doing something so mundane? Naturally one is keen (I am keen) to play music, to play the pieces I'm learning as that's what it's ultimately all about. And I do this still for an hour a day. But I am also applying myself to the exercise of playing open strings for 30 minutes daily. And guess what.....it's not boring.

Indeed the closer one looks at a situation, the more one sees. Superficially the action seems simple enough, having gained a reasonable ability to hold the bow quite well, I can make quite a nice sound; I can bow it in a straight line or a reasonable approximation to a straight line and I can play fortissimo and pianissimo with a modicum of finesse. What more can I ask for? I ask for a quality of tone that brings tears to our eyes because the resonances within the note touch our soul. I guess this is what all violinists and all musicians and singers would like to achieve.

But now after applying myself diligently to the playing of open strings (not fingered to make other notes) I begin to notice more and more. And the more I notice the more interesting and demanding it gets. I'm looking at minutiae; the subtleties that go unnoticed when concentrating on playing an actual piece of music. Take away the music and I'm left with looking at my technique on open strings. Now I'm interested in the lightness of touch of my fingers on the bow so they are springy and not tight. I'm now discovering the importance of the right wrist in the production of sound and quality of tone. As for the violin, well the instrument is responding to my enquiries and experimentation. It is beginning to vibrate differently as though the pores in the wood are opening up. You know, I play without a shoulder rest so the edge of the instrument sits on my collarbone. I like this 'intimate' connection with the instrument. It sits on my skin. As I bow to make a note, I can now feel the resonance and vibration of the instrument not only in my collarbone, but in my chest and down into my lower back. I can feel the resonance in the right hand that holds the bow; the back of my hand vibrates with the notes. And as I engage my muscles in the most gentle ways, I notice subtle but important changes to the quality of sound. Indeed my whole posture can change the quality of sound.

This exercise that I'm doing daily is becoming a meditation. Excluding all thoughts except for observing and noticing the way my hand holds the bow, the muscle tension within the hand and wrist, the amount that I can reduce my own effort which seems to be proportionate to the increase in resonance of the instrument; I feel that I'm setting out on a journey that is just so rewarding; and that's before I play any music!! My playing ability has already improved in two weeks in ways it would not have done if I'd not started this quest.

Observing the minutiae shows up all sorts of issues. Experimenting and observing the sensations within oneself and one's instrument brings huge rewards and it's so fascinating. I'm sure you think I'm mad and you'd find it truly dull. Well this may be the case. But I'll put a bet on it; if you apply the same consideration to basics that I am with the violin, to any other activity such as archery, swimming, horse riding, running, singing, piano, dance, guitar or any other instrument or activity that demands the highest co-ordination of yourself and accuracy in skill, .....you will make huge improvements in your abilities.

This shouldn't be seen as 'taking' the time to do such exercises. We 'give' our time, as it's an investment that will repay itself a thousand fold. The positive experiences we get from dealing with such detail will inform our performance on every occasion ever after.

The more one gets into a situation, the more one can see. The more one examines and experiments, the deeper and rewarding it can be.

Ps. And if you're still wondering why I've put a picture of Tiger Woods into this post, it's just because the techniques I mention apply to virtually any other activity you care to mention....and I've shown enough photos of violinists recently!

I'll keep you posted.... :-)

Holding a grudge?

When someone lets us down, disappoints us or does something to upset us, it's very easy to feel resentment or even have a grudge against them. "How dare they!" "Don't they understand me?"

I had a centenarian client some time ago (she passed on at the grand age of 104 having had an extraordinary life). I asked her once how she'd managed to live so long when most of her immediate family had all died young; none older than in their mid 60s. She said that she never held a grudge or felt resentment and if something happened, she always 'let it go'. She was a Christian lady and was always grateful for what she got and if things didn't work out the way she'd hope, she would just think 'Ah well, never mind' and smile. She always smiled....always. She said "All these young people are getting angry at one thing or another and it makes them sick!" When I asked if she'd always felt this way, she replied "Oh No! Only since I was 70!" Thank you for such great wisdom, I thought. I was privileged to work with her every week for two years.

Reflecting about this, getting angry, holding a grudge or feeling resentment does nothing to anyone except to ourselves. It is 'us' who feels the anger and negative emotion; it is 'us' who feels the knot in the stomach and it's us that has the ill feeling. And if we're not feeling it consciously it's working away inside of us; our blockage to our own emotions only serves to make us less sensitive to the state we are in. All this negative emotion does nothing to the other person; it does not punish them. Indeed we punish ourselves first, last and only us. Only us. So why bother?

Feeling resentment, anger and holding a grudge fixes us in the past. The situation that enraged us is over yet we continue to hold the emotion. We're stuck in the past, yet life is all about moving on.

Even if we feel justified about our anger, it's likely that we do not know the full extent of what was going on in the other person's mind or life to make them 'appear' to behave the way they did. (Our perception is only one angle on the situation and may not hold true to reality. We all have our own reality.)

If we feel any hurt or resentment, I think it's a good idea to follow the example of a 104 year old who smiled her way through a very happy life in the best of health; let it go and be thankful for what we've got. Life isn't all bad. Indeed it can be as good as we'd like to make it.

Do you like to enjoy life? Yeah!

Do we like to feel bad? No!

Why beat ourselves up then? Let's let it all go. Have a smile, have a laugh. Give the person a hug. Remember the actions that people do are not 'who they are', but what they did. Underneath the armour, beyond the action about which we chose to feel resentment is the most loving person we can every hope to meet. And if you don't think that of someone, then you're not looking deep enough. Remember we choose our emotions. We choose to feel resentment. We can equally choose to let it go and be happy. Being 'friends' is much more fun than being 'enemies'!

Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. We can start by forgiving ourselves for causing such pain...for ourselves. We do not 'intend' to hurt ourselves with anger and resentment; it can be a habit. Forgiveness to ourselves can help some healing and forgiveness to another helps the healing of a relationship. Just let it go.

It's our life and we can choose to be happy,.....if we like! :-)