Permission to Worry

Permission to Worry - a skit by Lura Astor based on a True Story

Lura: Permission to worry.

Other:  Really? Oh,

Lura:  Absolutely, as a matter of fact, you can worry as much as you want to and

Other:  Oh, see when people tell me not to worry then I do, just to

Lura:  Take as much time as you need. No pressure - uh, unless you want pressure. Worry as long as it takes

Other:  Can I put it off 'til tomorrow?

Lura:  Yes. You can even procrastinate.

Other: I multi-task

Lura: You can multi-task your worries and procrastinations, you can juggle a whole bunch of plates filled with procrastinations

Other:  Oh, thank you!I'm going off to worry now, I love you!

Lura:  Back atcha

-end-

Techqua Ikachi: Land - My Life 
cinematographer Jürg V. Walther, Anka Schmid

Quiet Treat

For friends imbibing in Silent Retreats, Heart Retreats,
daily walk re-treats

Paul Simon says it here in his Quiet

 











I am heading for a time of quiet
When my restlessness is past
And I can lie down on my blanket
And release my fists at last

I am heading for a time of solitude
Of peace without illusions
When the perfect circle
Marries all beginnings and conclusions

And when they say
That you're not good enough
Well the answer is
You're not
But who are they
Or what is it
That eats at what you've got
With the hunger of ambition
For the change inside the purse
They are handcuffs on the soul, my friends
Handcuffs on the soul
And worse

I am heading for a place of quiet
Where the sage and sweetgrass grow
By a lake of sacred water
From the mountain's melted snow
-Paul Simon

pastel: Berlin Pond Vermont   Deb Dwyer

photo: Forsythia   Deb Imershein

She Changed the Air When She Danced

Mary Hinkson

Judith Jamison in Cry 1976

 

 Isadora Duncan

Loie Fuller 1902

1983ish me with 50 yards of silk
I was lucky enough to dance Loie's and Isadora's dances

via historical reconstruction by Karoun Tootikian click here

Lucky enough to see Mary and Judith perform, and take classes from them. They had stature, baby.

It has taken me years of struggle, hard work, and research

to learn to make one simple gesture,

and I know enough about the art of writing

to realize that it would take as many years

of concentrated effort to write

one simple, beautiful sentence.  

~ Isadora Duncan

You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.

~ Isadora Duncan

Parfum Inconnu by Houbigant 1925

Did You Take That Picnic?

on a building rooftop

by some water
in a car
on a bike

at sunrise
in a garden
by a lake
or ocean's gate

share some food
with others
people, birds, lizards and clouds
yes, even the ants


Three Picnicking Bears: Rosa C. Petherick

Don't Let the Bahastahds Get Ya Down

love the song written by

Adrienne Shelly & Andrew Hollander

performed in vaudeville fashion

in a bittersweet, touching scene

in the quirky film I'll Take You There 1999

The Bastard Song
- Adrienne Shelly & Andrew Hollander

 

It's a world of suffering
In a sea of pain

No matter how much sun you bring
You're pummeled by the rain

So what's the use in getting up
And what's the use in tryin'?
And what's the use in listening
When everybody's lyin'?

Don't let the heartless get you down

Don't greet the heartless at your door

Don't live among the heartless

The life you lead just turns to shit

Your joy it falls to treason

There isn't any rhyme to it
There isn't any reason

Don't let the bastards get you down

Don't greet the bastards at your door

Don't live among the bastards

In this dead-end universe
Where there seems to be no grace
There are heavens on the map
There are humans in the race
There are people you can trust
When you need some decency
You can trust someone like you
You can trust someone like me

Don't let the strangers get you down

Don't greet the strangers at your door

Don't live among the strangers
My friend

Don't live among the strangers
The heartless
The bastards
My love...

A Day in Life in the World

I remember when Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention and crew brought 200 Motels to cinema, shot in videotape.

I remember when Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming shot The Anniversary Party in  SONY DSR-500 digital video and we saw that technology on big screen. 

Now comes Ridley Scott's use of you-tube and people around our world sharing Life in a Day on the big screen.

Bloom Baby Bloom

Bloom the petal of peace from your own hot water

Burn, baby, Burn has new meaning
when dona nobis pacem begins at
home, your heart, your lungs, your soulfulness

Whether it's tee time or tea time

Steep and brew hear-t, lung, and soul petals in
the hot water of our making and

Let's make the world sing! not singe.

painting: Petals lastor

Meditation

Keep it Light!
 

 Meditation

Make sure you really need this
on top of the worries
you've already got.

- J.P. Donleavy

  The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners

animation: lastor

Summer's Still Here = Spread Some Glitter

Wheeeeeeeeee

animation: lastor

Swim with the Lumberjack!

When Aerobics classes were new in the States, I received certifications but never enjoyed the choreography, pace or music. I observed bodies becoming boxier as the muscle training lacked lengthening and stretching. That came later.

As a lover of words, I love movement terms in different disciplines.

On that note, enjoy this!

Drive the weasels to Chester

Express through the Fingers

 

From the Tai Chi Classics

Strength is

rooted in the heels

developed in the thighs

controlled by the waist

and

expressed through the fingers

Montage: Hands of Light lastor

Breathe Beauty

breathe beauty in
breathe beauty out

create something new
for you
forever

breathe beauty out
breathe beauty in

and again

I Would Like This Guy as My Neighbor!

Pay attention to the fluidity of the knee joints.

Joint health is vital - it's in the Tai Chi warm up that I give you!

Kind of Kind

A friend from childhood recently went to a week-long silent retreat. She wrote to me:

Biggest take-home message: 

Be kind to yourself, no matter what.

And stay aware of, and relaxed in, your body.

Pastel: Wellfleet Farm Deb Dwyer

Worth the Time to Listen to this "Medicine"

3 items listed - take note

Stay Hungry - Stay Foolish

Keep your appetite for Life

Play

Play Workshops - coming soon

Meditation is Such a Funny Thing

More so than when I was growing up, there are now many "flavors" of meditation from which to choose, quite a variety from which to become confused.

The Basics are the Basics
As you deal with franchised templates, expert advice, iconic labeling, shoulds and daren'ts, remember this: Basics are Basics.

Regarding Meditation
I strongly believe in working with a person's temperament. Some people are much more energetic than others. Take into account interests, needs at that particular moment in life and desires. Yes, desires - for they will guide as a compass to your personal expressions.

Life Changes - We Change
What worked then, may not work now.

Different times in life require different tools. You don't carry all your tools around with you all the time - you use tools as required.

For people who are more active, meditation is completely different than for people less physically active.

Strongly intellectual people enter meditation differently than others.

Julia Roberts said of the book/film Eat, Pray, Love that it is important for people to take the time to find these things where you are for, not everyone can afford to travel, or take extended breaks.

Julia Cameron writes of taking Artist Dates, identify things near to your heart and chase them on a regular basis, scheduling the time.

My Tai Chi teacher used to call the practice of Tai Chi, Meditation in Action, and Yoga, Meditation in Repose. The idea is, with whichever practice/s you play with - take it into daily life.

The book Chop Wood, Carry Water: A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Every Day Life brought this to people's attention in the mid-1970's and we now have a vast library available to dip into for inspiration.

My yoga teacher insisted, you already know. We each have within us the guidance, the knowing, the teaching. A challenging pill to swallow at any age, but especially when young!

Dream teachers help us unravel our own living and dreaming symbols.
You Be the Guide

Shop around. Feel what is right for you, at the particular time. Commit. Show up. Enjoy.

In my teaching, I synthesize and integrate the various tools to meet individual and group needs.


Photo: Hand of Life Lura Astor

* Pina Bausch * Wim Wenders *

PINA (3D) : BANDE-ANNONCE by baryla

A Century - in Earth Years - not on the Bike!

When my namesake turned 100 I was fortunate to have time to spend with her beyond the family reunion. While her present day memory gave her hiccups, she was lucid clear in memories of long ago, shared as stories.

Ever since I was a kid, elders fascinate me. As a young healer I sought them out.

When 17, the film maker in our dance/theater troupe brought back black and white photographs of the elders on Greek islands and the folds on face and hands revealed so much.

No matter the nationality or practice, the truth in healing remains the same.

Here Susun Weed mentions meeting with elders when in her 20's to gain from their wisdom. In this segment, she states that they universally mention the Live-r. Listen here.

I love how interviewee Thea Summer Deer mentions how all is in Relationship when dealing with healing; micro- and macro-. Human longing for connection, includes connection with Nature. By reconnecting with our bodies, we reconnect with Nature.

Our Vision is clouded when our livers are stagnant, affecting eyes, hormones, allergies, headaches, and much more.

Recipe
One yogi friend drinks a daily liver drink, blending water, olive oil, lemon juice and green = parsley and/or arugula.

Those familiar with my Stretch classes know the Tai Chi Chuan movement for massaging the internal organs in the early warm-up. The interview connects Chi with liver function.

Fail Better

Joseph Fiennes said:

It's a mercurial world of alchemy

Who has gone through their lives without those ups and downs, whether they are a journalist or an actor or a painter or an accountant? There are always going to be times when it doesn't flow as much as you were hoping. So of course I'm going to fail. And when I do fail I hope I fail better and better, again and again. I am happy to fail.

Photo: you may know Joseph Fiennes from Shakespeare in Love among other work, including a great small role in Stealing Beauty with funny "actor business" in his bits.

Sitting Pose - a Variation

Here is
Meditation in Repose
Very quiet
Attentive for a long time






photo: Angelics Lura Astor