week 2 - Response to Blogger - 2

Week 2 Reading - Art of Possibility

As I cracked the text, Art of Possibility by Rosumund and Benjamin Zander this week, I was reminded of the first time I ever did a sun salutation. The advice of the authors seems to correlate well with the practice of Yoga and balance. In Yoga, the teacher often reminds us to plant our feet solidly on the ground to gather positive energy equally from both sides of the body and the earth, then breathe it back out in equal measure. I've experienced moments when it seemed as if this breathing transformed the energy in the room and all participants smiled as they basked in the brightness of the "sun" we saluted. If you are not ready for me to wax hippie, it is time to stop reading.

The Zanders pinpoint some key limitations to common thinking in their book, Art of Possibility and ask us to remove ourselves from the game, reminding us that that it's all invented. Speaking from a point of awareness, they emote "Life appears as variety, pattern and shimmering movement, inviting us in every moment to engage." How easily could we shed the constraints of our measured world if we reflected this attitude to everyone we met? The authors answer my query "...resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life."

The authors also offer up some sound advice for teachers in chapter 3, where they speak of giving an A. I wholeheartedly agree with their premise that grades only serve to compare students to one another and tell us little of what they can accomplish or the work they have done. "When you give an A, you find yourself speaking to people not from a place of how they stack up against your standards, but from a place of respect that gives them room to realize themselves." I'm reminded again of the gentle coaching from my yoga guru who reminds us to take stock of what we've accomplished and reward ourselves for the little gains we made as individuals while on the mat. I also liken this to our experts here at Full Sail, who give us the opportunity to pass/fail/realize new material and software and compose to our own limit without comparing all of us to a gold standard. I think back on my first panic-stricken months, looking over the work of others in awe and worrying that I'd never measure up. It was Rena Hanaway that helped me as I entered the universe of possibility albeit with trepidation. With her gentle guidance and the freely given A we are afforded in the EMDTMS program, I shed the limited view that I'd brought from the "measured world" and was better able to embrace my individual growth and strive to the best I could and share what I had to offer. That's funny, that sounded a bit like the Thurgood Marshall quote.

I enthusiastically realign my thinking and draw in my breath as I delve further into this exploration of possibility. This book promises that its practices are geared toward causing a total shift of posture, perceptions, beliefs, and thought processes and transformation of my world. And so, I move my breath to the spot needing healing and articulate my spine to a posture accepting of this new "outlook" and read on.

Sources:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lululemonathletica/5123967968/

______________________________________________________

1 comments:

Babs said...

@ Tina,
Exactly! The balance and mindfulness of yoga is a perfect compliment to the words of the Zanders. There are the two sides of you to balance, left and right, and the mindfulness of inner and outer, and the sheer otherness of the ground below and your own aliveness of breath. In a moment, all is possible but nothing matters more than aliveness.

I think our goal in life after we get through growing up our bodies and learn to walk and talk, is to re-learn what it means to be alive spiritually. Our spirits are not our bodies, or our emotions, but can so easily be oppressed and shut down by illness, trauma, abuse, neglect, stress and emotional pain. These are the outcomes of daily life - it’s hard to get through the days for many of us - and I am sure you all see so much of this in the lives of the kids you teach.
What a gift it is to offer a space for them to find themselves so that can be a gift also to whomever they come in contact with. Brokenness is abundant but healing more so...if we know how to preserve the spirit. I think teachers have a unique and highly valuable contribution to make everyday. I agree that our EMDT professors are modeling the concepts of creativity, acceptance and place a high value and faith on our innate abilities. It is not just because in graduate school you are expected to further develop your own voice, but the Full Sail mission in general is about creativity and contribution. I really feel that the modeling we are getting is more important than the content. We are learning by being taught how to learn ourselves.

August 11, 2011 11:10 AM