Creating Conditions
“I can’t teach you anything. The only thing I can do is create the conditions for learning.”
Entries by Gika Rector
Deep Listening
Valerie Johns does a lot of deep listening—to herself, to her clients, to her dreams. One of the things that has emerged from her listening is poetry. Her words are deeply resonant reflections of her experiences, the stories she’s heard.
Well, Duh!
Not so many years ago, I could not have imagined that I would be an IAPPC Certified Coach, a Feldenkrais practitioner, and that I would teach felt-making. What a strange combination!
Studio Time
So, here’s my invitation to you. Find some time to play. With whatever medium appeals to you. Maybe it’s fabric or fiber; maybe it’s clay; maybe it’s music or gardening. Have some fun, and remind yourself that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
A Little More Rain
A nice break from quite a bit of chatter. The chatter in the news and on social media. The chatter in my own head. We all have stuff to deal with, worry about, fuss over. And the rain keeps on raining, and the sun keeps on shining, and the moon keeps on rising.
What Remains the Same
All of this creates complex problems to be addressed. Power outages; drainage; food and shelter; loss of income; loss of housing. How do we allocate resources? How do we manage our individual and community responses to situations like this?
A Little Time Off
Sometimes you gotta just practice what you preach. Every time I teach a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson, there are instructions to pause in between movements. Sometimes short pauses; sometimes long pauses. Sometimes lots of pauses; sometimes few pauses.
Clearing the Table
Every day. So far, it’s been every day for 12 years! She mentioned that she had to go deep, to look more deeply, to go beyond the obvious.
Connecting the Dots
Our brains work in amazing ways. We learn through patterns, we follow patterns, we create patterns, and sometimes we disrupt patterns. One of my favorite things is the expansion that happens, the lives that improve, when we activate this kind of learning.
Wool and a Beach Ball
Pairing some wool fiber and a beach ball is an odd choice. Odd, but fun. Who would have guessed how much fun you can have indoors with a ball, some soapy water, and a pile of colorful wool?
