Really??? Zara Altair Observation is all what is told on TedTalks TedX, through social media, the sciences, through LIFE its self. It is a growing art!!!
Milton Erickson is an interesting figure in regard to observation. He was struck by Polio as a late teen and was completely paralyzed except for his eyes. He developed a very powerful, astute level of observation and other deep observational skills due to his confinement.
Zara Altair yes we all do, to what level is to be determined. Even a person in a coma observes, for many repeat what they have heard, which is an observation technique, all senses are part of observation. The brain has millions of sensors continually observing. We observe with our eyes, ears, nose. To run as Jeff Bond stated, is from an observation point of view. Even plant life observes.
What you are evaluating is "_degrees of observation_" thereby stating we all do not observe. Blind people observe, babies observe, it is inherent ability from point of inception.
Degrees are different per individual. Observation is life encapsulated. All decisions first come from an observation, then transferred into a perception - good or bad, is indifferent to the subject. Cheers
Peter Hatherley, it's amazing how we not only adapt to our circumstances, but also materialize new strengths and abilities in a sort of way of grace. And... of course, neuroplasticity.
Agree MicheleElys MER we all observe and yet some observe from a completely different angle than others.
Sometimes we observe far too narrowly and become too self serving by taking an exclusive position in the observation stakes, where on the other hand if we look through the eyes of inclusivity we see a far more empathetic view of others than serving our own interests as the primary point, where if we see the wider impact of our actions as a wider consequence we are better for it.
I'm for anything that turns ourselves to the needs of others yet many volumes put the emphasis on our own self serving perspective
For instance prioritising the importance of an interaction may make others feel unnecessarily excluded without the observer even being aware that it is having that effect on those on the peripheral edges of it, be it by judgement or decisiveness. Such are the hidden disadvantages of observing from the viewpoint of personalised self interest which pushes others away quite unnecessarily.
Peter Hatherley that is true!! This would come under perceptions, awareness, cultural history, and what a person aims for in life other than their genetics.
Gina Fiedel It is the norm for many who have backgrounds in science and are afflicted in some way to come forth with remedies, they must recover themselves. Erickson, Feldenkrist, Freud, Jung, Satire..... the list is endless. We only need to google Autodidacts and it is apparent
MicheleElys MER, what you're saying makes sence and Erikson was still a boy when he had his illness and transformative experiences. So I imagine it inspired him to pursue medicine/psychiatry.
Gina Fiedel Hi ;D I'm going to take this from a personal view and also those whom I have studied (Feldenkrist and more), it is not inspiration! It is the need to recover and find a way to leave agony behind, to live a full life we feel inside of ourselves. PING Giselle Minoli to chime in if you have the time
Aston patterning was developed by Judith Aston, she was a dancer etc and had been in auto accidents earlier and could not find appropriate relief. I believe she died an early death, however, she recovered with her own methods. While she did under rolfing, it was not as effective I have gone through aston method it is incredible for a damage body, literally allowed my body to completely heal from my car accident and my severe fall.
We develop (scientists, dancers, etc no limitations) out of need. I developed these past years TBI symptom recovery systems, for the exact same reason. And have successfully recovered, which I write on, now in detail. It is not an easy transition for others to believe, except those whose hope has been relinquished and all is loss.
Feldenkrist was inspired, due to his bad painful leg with Kong Fu movements and further developed more intensive movements, following the Tai Chi he developed Feldenkrist methods. Never requiring surgery on a bad leg and knee as all the surgeons suggested.
It's a little rebellion that takes place in our brain, which states there is a better way to remove the agony.
Honesly, MicheleElys MER, I think we've entered into some semantics here. I am in complete agreement with what you're saying and from my perspective, drive, a need to overcome agony, surpass trauma.... all of those things are potentially connected to and lead to what I am calling inspiration. That's just what I call it. It doesn't, in any way contradict what you're describing. It's a word that for me pertains to a desire or compulsion to do something, a spark, an idea, stimulation, creative impetus, insight, transmission, artistry. Whatever it is about trauma that leads us to a path we take might be called inspiration or a grace that comes from adversity. A solution. A problem-solver. From my own personal experience, this is how I perceive or interpret some of my own drives towards the things I discover, invent and pursue for myself. I'm not sure what it is about the word that doesn't work for you so emphatically.
From the small amount I have learned, Erickson is known for his astute powers of observation in others, insights about communication and it is attributed, at least in part, to his confinement and apparently his own descriptions of wanting to entertain himself. And then later, within his choice of career/vocation he "invented' and developed ways to apply what he'd learned, hypnosis and styles of psychotherapy his own ordeal to help others. Personally, I hold him as an inspiration. He shows me that limitation can be blossomed into a gift, a skill, a talent, a usefulness, a service. I see his choice to go into the medical field as having been inspired by his life experience. AND I honestly can't possibly know what drove him to become who he became. I haven't read, in his words, his explanations about that.
MicheleElys MER thank you for pinging me, knowing somehow that this would interest me. Zara Altair I confess that before I even read everyone's comments I immediately started free-associating about what the word observation means to me and I am struck by the numerous parallel tracks my brain has to juggle in order to wrap itself around the one that has the most, perhaps inspirational meaning as Gina Fiedel describes.
My first feeling/instinct is that Observation is a Dying Art. As I write this, I am sitting in near an open window, the cool fall breeze rustling the blinds, watching a trio of Hummingbirds fight over the sugar water, because, you know, there will never be enough sugar water.
Sitting quietly and watching this aerial dance is what I would call The Art of Observation. It's an absorbing, a taking in, an experiencing. Once I share that in this way, no matter how simply, it becomes commentary, another thing entirely. Were I to take it and write a poem about it, the underlying influence never necessarily being revealed to anyone in the end product, that might be both artistic inspiration (Gina) and healing, as MicheleElys could be describing.
Yet the reason I feel the art itself is dying is because so much of it is inspired by the rush to comment, to share, to post to communicate whatever we observe outwardly, as though we all have been asked to show proof we are busy observing at all.
In my acting, performing and theatre directing days we lived by the mantra that you are only as good an actor, a director, a photographer, an artist of any kind that you are an observer of life.
I cherish my own many moments of pure observation.
And then, almost immediately, I feel like I am missing out on promoting myself because I rarely share any of it with anyone.
I think I need to see Eyes Wide Shut again. And Jeff Bond, I too like to watch!
As for Socrates, What does it mean to examine? And much observation goes into that? And meditation? And a recording of what one examines?...
Hi, Giselle Minoli, it's so nice to see you on an early Sunday morning. :) Jeff Bond, MicheleElys MER, Zara Altair, Peter Hatherley.
What if we could, just for the sake of friendship, all of us put aside for a moment that we are having this conversation via keyboard.
Imagine we are sitting together in a room or on a porch or taking a rest along the trail on some rocks and logs. We are friends enough that if we remove distance, it's not at all unlikely that we might do that. No promoting, no bits and bytes, no spellcheck or editing, no public or unobserved folks to overhear. No observer effect.
It's quiet. Maybe we are sitting together in meditation. It's quiet until there is a caw, or a rustle, a tiny insect making a scratchy noise, a toilet flushing somewhere, a car drives by, a siren somewhere distant or a plane overhead. We notice. One of us coughs. Or shifts their position and there's the sound of fabric rubbing on other fabric. We sit. Together. Breathing.
We are each in a state of observation. It's so simple. Things happen or they don't. Our minds travel in thought or they are still and relatively bland and empty-ish. We observe our inner and outer worlds in whatever way is ours.
My thought is that in one way or another everyone is always observing. They just don't necessarily notice or cherish it. Or maybe they do but they don't think to crystalize it into something to be communicated outward. It hasn't been valued in that particular way.
If it's dead, maybe that's the art that is capable of dying. The valuing, cherishing part. The part that requires slowing down for. That gives credence to mere breath and cycles, the "nature" that is always living outside our bodies. The part that gives it a name: observation. Defines it. Puts it on an alter or pedestal to make something of.
I love how you said all of that, Jeff Bond. Thank you. Have a lovely walk. I am headed in that direction, myself. Although Tilly and Lulu are both asleep at the moment.
Gina Fiedel I do that sitting thing a lot in my life, alone, with friends, it is one of my favorite things to do. My experience is that (or, rather, I observe that) this is lifelong practiced art for elderly Americans, sitting on the porch, 'watching the world go by,' or, as John Lennon sand, 'watching the world go 'round and 'round.'
I also observe, whenever I do my frequent cross country drives, there are communities springing up around town centers in virtually every city I drive through that are designed to look like little communities centered around social interaction. Each house apartment has a porch or patio or veranda and they are all decorated with the requisite fittings and trappings of the 'stock photos' they represent, usually two chairs, sometimes rocking chairs, or a little bistro table and two chairs, often some sort of grill and or umbrella to shade the sun, a few pots of flowers, maybe Hybiscus, Oleander, trailing vines.
But I cannot remember the last time I ever saw anyone sitting on one of those patios or verandas or porches, observing the world outside their windows, nodding their head to a passerby.
...'cept for the elderly. And then there are the bunk house porches with Adirondack chairs at airfields across America, where war veterans come to watch planes land and take off.
These men are master sitters. Master observers. And I envy them.
What a sad image Giselle Minoli. It really breaks my heart to think of people creating a "stage set" to live in and then not living in it. I think that maybe we aren't living our lives at all if we are not aware, not observing, not noticing - whatever we want to call it.
I think the building boom underway in New York City reflects the stage set mentality. The last time I visited Venice, Italy, I think that something absurd, like 70% of the houses were empty, owned by foreigners. This stage setting of homes in New York City, at staggering cost is everywhere, quite prominently in the skyline, but also along the High Line, which was redeveloped as a walk way that stretches from 34th street down to the new Whitney Museum South of 14th Street. On any beautiful day, thousands of people flock to the High Line, I think very much just to be, just to be one with the city.
Giselle Minoli To be completely inclusive! Jeff Bond Zara AltairGina Fiedel Peter Hatherley
Giselle Minoli I knew this would pique beautiful thoughts. Your words dance as you spirit often does. When you enter with your words, softly my spirit soars with you in world of artistry.
Jeff Bond Wide Eyes Shut would be seen with different eyes for myself now! Thank you for all you appreciative input. This is the first time we have had a wondrous discussion on a topic, as streams of thoughts interweave each other.
Zara Altair thank you for bringing this subject to light. As our phone conversation never really ended, neither does any subject of life, for both of us. We are Wide Eyed fascinated together. Sharing - exploring - reaching out to each other - stretching ourselves and collaborating in heart
Gina Fiedel - As always your tenderness shows. Yes it is all about our own semantics, expressing slightly different views, and this is the beauty of our relationships - there is a slight breeze as we drift in and out - hands brushing in the passing - As Giselle stated, similar to the Humming birds as they come to drink their sugar water, a beauty often no words can describe, we experience the moments in our hearts.
Peter Hatherley The synchronicity of minds meeting each other in brief moments. We have been on the same road together many times while skipping off and on, giving light to more awareness of our own lives, highlighting our humanness.
To All: A great discussion. Thank you for sharing the portions of yourself.
Giselle! What I am seeing is an underground emergence to bring the human factor touch back. Co-housing is springing up around the world. yes, porches are being built, waiting - wanting - inviting us to come back to our face to face need in interaction. Sharing our personal sights of inspiration or needs, beauty of the birds in flight, cloud drifting, the aromas of sea shores.
REmembering what it is like to walk in the sand was the tide comes in around our ankles.
My personal favorite, my Arabians' smooth muscular body with his head on my shoulder as we breathe together. HIs soft brown eyes of tender trust.
I'm going through a collection of poems and just stumbled upon this. Thought you guys might enjoy it in light of this conversation.
The Peace of Wild Things ~ by Wendell Berry
When despair grows in me and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting for their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Really??? Zara Altair Observation is all what is told on TedTalks TedX, through social media, the sciences, through LIFE its self. It is a growing art!!!
ReplyDeleteDeep observation sees things that others can't and then delivers it to them ';D
ReplyDeleteEinstein and Jung are perfect examples
ReplyDeleteMilton Erickson is an interesting figure in regard to observation. He was struck by Polio as a late teen and was completely paralyzed except for his eyes. He developed a very powerful, astute level of observation and other deep observational skills due to his confinement.
ReplyDeleteMicheleElys MER Not everyone does those things.
ReplyDeleteZara Altair yes we all do, to what level is to be determined. Even a person in a coma observes, for many repeat what they have heard, which is an observation technique, all senses are part of observation. The brain has millions of sensors continually observing. We observe with our eyes, ears, nose. To run as Jeff Bond stated, is from an observation point of view. Even plant life observes.
ReplyDeleteWhat you are evaluating is "_degrees of observation_" thereby stating we all do not observe. Blind people observe, babies observe, it is inherent ability from point of inception.
Degrees are different per individual. Observation is life encapsulated. All decisions first come from an observation, then transferred into a perception - good or bad, is indifferent to the subject.
Cheers
Yes Gina Fiedel Erickson was hyper-observant to say the least
ReplyDeletePeter Hatherley, it's amazing how we not only adapt to our circumstances, but also materialize new strengths and abilities in a sort of way of grace. And... of course, neuroplasticity.
ReplyDeleteAgree MicheleElys MER we all observe and yet some observe from a completely different angle than others.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we observe far too narrowly and become too self serving by taking an exclusive position in the observation stakes, where on the other hand if we look through the eyes of inclusivity we see a far more empathetic view of others than serving our own interests as the primary point, where if we see the wider impact of our actions as a wider consequence we are better for it.
I'm for anything that turns ourselves to the needs of others yet many volumes put the emphasis on our own self serving perspective
For instance prioritising the importance of an interaction may make others feel unnecessarily excluded without the observer even being aware that it is having that effect on those on the peripheral edges of it, be it by judgement or decisiveness. Such are the hidden disadvantages of observing from the viewpoint of personalised self interest which pushes others away quite unnecessarily.
Peter Hatherley that is true!! This would come under perceptions, awareness, cultural history, and what a person aims for in life other than their genetics.
ReplyDeleteGina Fiedel It is the norm for many who have backgrounds in science and are afflicted in some way to come forth with remedies, they must recover themselves. Erickson, Feldenkrist, Freud, Jung, Satire..... the list is endless. We only need to google Autodidacts and it is apparent
MicheleElys MER, what you're saying makes sence and Erikson was still a boy when he had his illness and transformative experiences. So I imagine it inspired him to pursue medicine/psychiatry.
ReplyDeleteGina Fiedel Hi ;D I'm going to take this from a personal view and also those whom I have studied (Feldenkrist and more), it is not inspiration! It is the need to recover and find a way to leave agony behind, to live a full life we feel inside of ourselves.
ReplyDeletePING Giselle Minoli to chime in if you have the time
Aston patterning was developed by Judith Aston, she was a dancer etc and had been in auto accidents earlier and could not find appropriate relief.
I believe she died an early death, however, she recovered with her own methods. While she did under rolfing, it was not as effective
I have gone through aston method it is incredible for a damage body, literally allowed my body to completely heal from my car accident and my severe fall.
We develop (scientists, dancers, etc no limitations) out of need. I developed these past years TBI symptom recovery systems, for the exact same reason. And have successfully recovered, which I write on, now in detail. It is not an easy transition for others to believe, except those whose hope has been relinquished and all is loss.
Feldenkrist was inspired, due to his bad painful leg with Kong Fu movements and further developed more intensive movements, following the Tai Chi he developed Feldenkrist methods. Never requiring surgery on a bad leg and knee as all the surgeons suggested.
It's a little rebellion that takes place in our brain, which states there is a better way to remove the agony.
Honesly, MicheleElys MER, I think we've entered into some semantics here. I am in complete agreement with what you're saying and from my perspective, drive, a need to overcome agony, surpass trauma.... all of those things are potentially connected to and lead to what I am calling inspiration. That's just what I call it. It doesn't, in any way contradict what you're describing. It's a word that for me pertains to a desire or compulsion to do something, a spark, an idea, stimulation, creative impetus, insight, transmission, artistry. Whatever it is about trauma that leads us to a path we take might be called inspiration or a grace that comes from adversity. A solution. A problem-solver. From my own personal experience, this is how I perceive or interpret some of my own drives towards the things I discover, invent and pursue for myself. I'm not sure what it is about the word that doesn't work for you so emphatically.
ReplyDeleteFrom the small amount I have learned, Erickson is known for his astute powers of observation in others, insights about communication and it is attributed, at least in part, to his confinement and apparently his own descriptions of wanting to entertain himself. And then later, within his choice of career/vocation he "invented' and developed ways to apply what he'd learned, hypnosis and styles of psychotherapy his own ordeal to help others. Personally, I hold him as an inspiration. He shows me that limitation can be blossomed into a gift, a skill, a talent, a usefulness, a service. I see his choice to go into the medical field as having been inspired by his life experience. AND I honestly can't possibly know what drove him to become who he became. I haven't read, in his words, his explanations about that.
MicheleElys MER thank you for pinging me, knowing somehow that this would interest me. Zara Altair I confess that before I even read everyone's comments I immediately started free-associating about what the word observation means to me and I am struck by the numerous parallel tracks my brain has to juggle in order to wrap itself around the one that has the most, perhaps inspirational meaning as Gina Fiedel describes.
ReplyDeleteMy first feeling/instinct is that Observation is a Dying Art. As I write this, I am sitting in near an open window, the cool fall breeze rustling the blinds, watching a trio of Hummingbirds fight over the sugar water, because, you know, there will never be enough sugar water.
Sitting quietly and watching this aerial dance is what I would call The Art of Observation. It's an absorbing, a taking in, an experiencing. Once I share that in this way, no matter how simply, it becomes commentary, another thing entirely. Were I to take it and write a poem about it, the underlying influence never necessarily being revealed to anyone in the end product, that might be both artistic inspiration (Gina) and healing, as MicheleElys could be describing.
Yet the reason I feel the art itself is dying is because so much of it is inspired by the rush to comment, to share, to post to communicate whatever we observe outwardly, as though we all have been asked to show proof we are busy observing at all.
In my acting, performing and theatre directing days we lived by the mantra that you are only as good an actor, a director, a photographer, an artist of any kind that you are an observer of life.
I cherish my own many moments of pure observation.
And then, almost immediately, I feel like I am missing out on promoting myself because I rarely share any of it with anyone.
I think I need to see Eyes Wide Shut again. And Jeff Bond, I too like to watch!
As for Socrates, What does it mean to examine? And much observation goes into that? And meditation? And a recording of what one examines?...
Sigh.
Hi, Giselle Minoli, it's so nice to see you on an early Sunday morning. :) Jeff Bond, MicheleElys MER, Zara Altair, Peter Hatherley.
ReplyDeleteWhat if we could, just for the sake of friendship, all of us put aside for a moment that we are having this conversation via keyboard.
Imagine we are sitting together in a room or on a porch or taking a rest along the trail on some rocks and logs. We are friends enough that if we remove distance, it's not at all unlikely that we might do that. No promoting, no bits and bytes, no spellcheck or editing, no public or unobserved folks to overhear. No observer effect.
It's quiet. Maybe we are sitting together in meditation. It's quiet until there is a caw, or a rustle, a tiny insect making a scratchy noise, a toilet flushing somewhere, a car drives by, a siren somewhere distant or a plane overhead. We notice. One of us coughs. Or shifts their position and there's the sound of fabric rubbing on other fabric. We sit. Together. Breathing.
We are each in a state of observation. It's so simple. Things happen or they don't. Our minds travel in thought or they are still and relatively bland and empty-ish. We observe our inner and outer worlds in whatever way is ours.
My thought is that in one way or another everyone is always observing. They just don't necessarily notice or cherish it. Or maybe they do but they don't think to crystalize it into something to be communicated outward. It hasn't been valued in that particular way.
If it's dead, maybe that's the art that is capable of dying. The valuing, cherishing part. The part that requires slowing down for. That gives credence to mere breath and cycles, the "nature" that is always living outside our bodies. The part that gives it a name: observation. Defines it. Puts it on an alter or pedestal to make something of.
I love how you said all of that, Jeff Bond. Thank you. Have a lovely walk. I am headed in that direction, myself. Although Tilly and Lulu are both asleep at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGina Fiedel I do that sitting thing a lot in my life, alone, with friends, it is one of my favorite things to do. My experience is that (or, rather, I observe that) this is lifelong practiced art for elderly Americans, sitting on the porch, 'watching the world go by,' or, as John Lennon sand, 'watching the world go 'round and 'round.'
ReplyDeleteI also observe, whenever I do my frequent cross country drives, there are communities springing up around town centers in virtually every city I drive through that are designed to look like little communities centered around social interaction. Each house apartment has a porch or patio or veranda and they are all decorated with the requisite fittings and trappings of the 'stock photos' they represent, usually two chairs, sometimes rocking chairs, or a little bistro table and two chairs, often some sort of grill and or umbrella to shade the sun, a few pots of flowers, maybe Hybiscus, Oleander, trailing vines.
But I cannot remember the last time I ever saw anyone sitting on one of those patios or verandas or porches, observing the world outside their windows, nodding their head to a passerby.
...'cept for the elderly. And then there are the bunk house porches with Adirondack chairs at airfields across America, where war veterans come to watch planes land and take off.
These men are master sitters. Master observers. And I envy them.
What a sad image Giselle Minoli. It really breaks my heart to think of people creating a "stage set" to live in and then not living in it. I think that maybe we aren't living our lives at all if we are not aware, not observing, not noticing - whatever we want to call it.
ReplyDeleteI think the building boom underway in New York City reflects the stage set mentality. The last time I visited Venice, Italy, I think that something absurd, like 70% of the houses were empty, owned by foreigners. This stage setting of homes in New York City, at staggering cost is everywhere, quite prominently in the skyline, but also along the High Line, which was redeveloped as a walk way that stretches from 34th street down to the new Whitney Museum South of 14th Street. On any beautiful day, thousands of people flock to the High Line, I think very much just to be, just to be one with the city.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful. I love it. It makes me smile.
Giselle Minoli To be completely inclusive! Jeff Bond Zara AltairGina Fiedel Peter Hatherley
ReplyDeleteGiselle Minoli I knew this would pique beautiful thoughts. Your words dance as you spirit often does. When you enter with your words, softly my spirit soars with you in world of artistry.
Jeff Bond Wide Eyes Shut would be seen with different eyes for myself now! Thank you for all you appreciative input. This is the first time we have had a wondrous discussion on a topic, as streams of thoughts interweave each other.
Zara Altair thank you for bringing this subject to light. As our phone conversation never really ended, neither does any subject of life, for both of us. We are Wide Eyed fascinated together. Sharing - exploring - reaching out to each other - stretching ourselves and collaborating in heart
Gina Fiedel - As always your tenderness shows. Yes it is all about our own semantics, expressing slightly different views, and this is the beauty of our relationships - there is a slight breeze as we drift in and out - hands brushing in the passing - As Giselle stated, similar to the Humming birds as they come to drink their sugar water, a beauty often no words can describe, we experience the moments in our hearts.
Peter Hatherley The synchronicity of minds meeting each other in brief moments. We have been on the same road together many times while skipping off and on, giving light to more awareness of our own lives, highlighting our humanness.
To All: A great discussion. Thank you for sharing the portions of yourself.
Giselle! What I am seeing is an underground emergence to bring the human factor touch back. Co-housing is springing up around the world. yes, porches are being built, waiting - wanting - inviting us to come back to our face to face need in interaction. Sharing our personal sights of inspiration or needs, beauty of the birds in flight, cloud drifting, the aromas of sea shores.
REmembering what it is like to walk in the sand was the tide comes in around our ankles.
My personal favorite, my Arabians' smooth muscular body with his head on my shoulder as we breathe together. HIs soft brown eyes of tender trust.
SIGH
I'm going through a collection of poems and just stumbled upon this. Thought you guys might enjoy it in light of this conversation.
ReplyDeleteThe Peace of Wild Things ~ by Wendell Berry
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
It's perfect Gina Fiedel this the beauty of nature. Oh the familiarity of waking in the middle of the night. All my life. All my life...
ReplyDeleteGina Fiedel Perfection!!! Thank you for ending this part of the day with perfection
ReplyDelete