Isaac Newton and The Occult.
Isaac Newton
Saw Nature’s simple yet stupendous laws, And proved the effects, though not explained the cause.”
“…how did the force of gravitation manage to make itself felt across gulfs of empty space, without benefit of any medium of contact between the planets involved?
This absence of causal explanation for gravity in Newton’s theory prompted sharp criticism: Leibniz branded Newton’s conception of gravity “occult,” and Huygens called it “absurd.”
Newton agreed, calling the idea of gravity acting at a distance “so great an absurdity, that I believe no man who has in philosophical matters a competent faculty of thinking, can ever fall into it.”
Oh yes, we all have our doubts from time-to-time. And facts that don’t fit the prevailing worldview. And critics. (Yawn)
From Coming of Age in the Milky Way
Feldenkrais MP3 Store: A New Look And A Major Discount
I’ve recently started updating my html and programming skills by working with a “local” expat programmer here in Mexico. It’s been a great deal of fun having immediate access to someone who likes to teach and knows a great deal more than I do about programming. If I stay in Mexico long enough, I may start inviting some Feldenkrais practitioners down here for a similar type of immersion.
In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you the new look of my mp3 store and website that came about through my collaboration: Feldenkrais mp3 store. If you find anything that you would like to purchase, use the discount code “2012″ when you checkout for 30% off of whatever you order. I rarely discount my prices, so take advantage of this deal before it expires. I won’t do another for a year or more: Feldenkrais Downloads.
By the way – Let me know what you think of the new design?
- Ryan
Moshe Feldenkrais: “If It’s Not Good For You, Let It Die.”
I really enjoyed the implications of the quote below as one of the systems that Moshe is talking about letting die is, in fact, “The Feldenkrais Method.” Though the method that he is speaking to was his method and way of acting in the world, not the representations that came afterward.
“It must be good for you and not for the yoga and not for the Feldenkais teaching. It should be good for you. Find out what is good for you and let all the other systems die if they want. But you live. You live the way you want it.”
Here’s the quote in Moshe’s words with a litte more context:
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Feldenkrais Quote: Let It Die.
Feldenkrais Podcasts: Ralph Hadden, Australia
Ralph Hadden, Feldenkrais Australia
This particular podcast that I am re-broadcasting is Rob McNeilly interviewing Ralph Hadden, a Feldenkrais practitioner who works in and around Melbourne, Australia.
I think this one is fun because in addition to speaking about Ralph’s journey into the Feldenkrais work, it also has some wonderful bits and pieces of Feldenkrais history in Australia and elsewhere and also some stories about Frank Wildman, who introduced the trademarked version of Feldenkrais into Australia. And also you can hear a bit about Thomas Hanna and perhaps some other names that you might recognize.
It’s also fascinating because you get to hear Rob McNeilly, who is an Ericksonian hypnotist and former medical doctor, who spent some time with Milton Erickson really listening and wondering about what this set of processes – that some people call “The Feldenkrais Method – “IS” about and what it can do.
To me this is really a lovely interview, it’s about 38 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it:
Listen Online:
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Ralph Hadden Podcast
Feldenkrais: Skeleton And Consciousness
I hesitated in posting the video below as the topic is not one that particularly resonates with me at this very moment. But I really like the idea of more and more people creating their own compilations and “mash ups” related to Moshe and his ideas.
Below we have a video and thoughts compiled by Helen Workman. I hope she creates some more to share. The voice you hear near the end is John Chester, MD. John took some time during and after his training to triangulate the ideas he learned in his Feldenkrais training with what he called, “the functional neurology of the skeleton.”
For me, written, audio and video representations of what Moshe said or did are nothing more than a potential source of ideas. And Moshe himself could do no more than attempt point to an idea through his words and movement. But they can, at times, be a useful place to begin:
skeleton_consciousness_wellbeing from helen workman on Vimeo
Download the video to your computer: Feldenkrais Video Skeleten And Consciousness.
Special thanks to Lea Kauffman who made me aware of the above video through an email promoting a workshop: Alan Questel, Skeletal Power (In Mexico).
