Thursday 6 May 2010
Thursday 26 March 2009
Who Am I?
Who Am I? - Get Rid of the Ego.
To know who we are, we need to get rid of the ego. It is the ego which gives a false identity; it is this that is ultimately the source of our suffering. To do this we need to be able to be silent. At least silent for some of the time.. Sri Chimnoi
Lorien: Between moments. When we are born, we are allocated a finite number
of seconds. Each tick of the clock slices off a piece of us. Tick
-- a possibility for joy is gone. Tock -- a careless word ends one
path and opens another. Tick tock tick tock -- always running out
of time. Yours is almost used up. You're between seconds lost in
the infinite possibilities between tick and tock. Tick your alive
and tock -- well it was a good life but a short one. Tick tock
tick tock tick tock ... Babylon 5
What defines us and how do we define ourselves. Am I closer to a real me on the milonga dance floor than elsewhere? In life we become conditioned to respond to the people and circumstances around us. Accommodating the incessant but subtle pressures do we lose ourselves(in a bad way) lose who we truly are and recognising that we are lost how do we find our true selves. Something that is truer and deeper than our job; the roles we play, but even on the dance floor we influenced by the space available, the person yo are with; the music someone else has decided to play.
How would you dance if no-one was watching, if you chose the music; if there was no audience and you were alone?
"I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human."
The Invitation Oriah Mountain Dreamer
To know who we are, we need to get rid of the ego. It is the ego which gives a false identity; it is this that is ultimately the source of our suffering. To do this we need to be able to be silent. At least silent for some of the time.. Sri Chimnoi
Lorien: Between moments. When we are born, we are allocated a finite number
of seconds. Each tick of the clock slices off a piece of us. Tick
-- a possibility for joy is gone. Tock -- a careless word ends one
path and opens another. Tick tock tick tock -- always running out
of time. Yours is almost used up. You're between seconds lost in
the infinite possibilities between tick and tock. Tick your alive
and tock -- well it was a good life but a short one. Tick tock
tick tock tick tock ... Babylon 5
What defines us and how do we define ourselves. Am I closer to a real me on the milonga dance floor than elsewhere? In life we become conditioned to respond to the people and circumstances around us. Accommodating the incessant but subtle pressures do we lose ourselves(in a bad way) lose who we truly are and recognising that we are lost how do we find our true selves. Something that is truer and deeper than our job; the roles we play, but even on the dance floor we influenced by the space available, the person yo are with; the music someone else has decided to play.
How would you dance if no-one was watching, if you chose the music; if there was no audience and you were alone?
"I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human."
The Invitation Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Wednesday 25 March 2009
If upon a winter's night a milonguero
In search of the true milonguero way of dancing tango, where does one look when not in Buenos Aires?
the imagery that inspires creates a mythology that we can asire to; so what drives our desire. ho do we long to be. Who are we and how can we be tru to our selves on the tango dance floor?
the imagery that inspires creates a mythology that we can asire to; so what drives our desire. ho do we long to be. Who are we and how can we be tru to our selves on the tango dance floor?
Tango Personal Mythology
The Mythology of an Idea has to start in a coffee shop. Preferably in Paris, Bs As or NY but when push comes to shove any coffee shop will do, as long as the coffee is good "[Great Northern waitress pours Agent Cooper's coffee]Cooper: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! [sips, sighs blissfully]This is--excuse me--a DAMN fine cup of coffee. I've had I don't know how many cups of coffee in my life, but this is one of the best.""
Then comes another Tango idea; The Suit; specifically I saw this beutiful cream linen 2 piece suit Italian tailoring, but the sizes in the store didn't come close to what I could wear. And that's how it is. I don't fit. Its not that clothes dont fit me, its that I dont fit the clothes- or shoes for that matter; the sizes that accomodate the length of my feet, are always too wide. So what is the image I have of myself? it seems to be detemined by NOT-THIS rather than anything. I lack any real chutzpah to have STYLE, but there are days I want to be striking (without appearing a clown!) It happened once when I was madly in love and I found that a lot of women were staring at me so I must have been giving off a good, maybe amazing, vibe. But I cant recreate it, summon it up and its so long ago that I cant remember whats like to be in love, but I feel the vacuum,the empty space, thats left.
I am struggling with an elusive idea that is confounded by reality.The best tango images are i think where the people are beautiful. the dancing videos that I like contain probably a different number of elements that I find aesthetically pleasing; but how does this connect to my own dancing; I only feel what I dance I cant see it. I dont know if it has any quality of beauty within it. Even the stills photos of myself dont please me, in fact the opposite. I dont fit whatever self-image I am trying to acheive ( perhaps to have the same qualities as Chicho)There's the rub:Idea vs Reality;where do the two meet? if they ever do.
Then comes another Tango idea; The Suit; specifically I saw this beutiful cream linen 2 piece suit Italian tailoring, but the sizes in the store didn't come close to what I could wear. And that's how it is. I don't fit. Its not that clothes dont fit me, its that I dont fit the clothes- or shoes for that matter; the sizes that accomodate the length of my feet, are always too wide. So what is the image I have of myself? it seems to be detemined by NOT-THIS rather than anything. I lack any real chutzpah to have STYLE, but there are days I want to be striking (without appearing a clown!) It happened once when I was madly in love and I found that a lot of women were staring at me so I must have been giving off a good, maybe amazing, vibe. But I cant recreate it, summon it up and its so long ago that I cant remember whats like to be in love, but I feel the vacuum,the empty space, thats left.
I am struggling with an elusive idea that is confounded by reality.The best tango images are i think where the people are beautiful. the dancing videos that I like contain probably a different number of elements that I find aesthetically pleasing; but how does this connect to my own dancing; I only feel what I dance I cant see it. I dont know if it has any quality of beauty within it. Even the stills photos of myself dont please me, in fact the opposite. I dont fit whatever self-image I am trying to acheive ( perhaps to have the same qualities as Chicho)There's the rub:Idea vs Reality;where do the two meet? if they ever do.
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