Hoorray for me, too bad for you? Let's face it folks: end-gaining, as it is known in the Alexander parlance - works! It clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. End-gaining in all its forms; the desire to win, to obtain, to conquer, to defeat and to overcome has marked the upward surge of Western civilization as we know it.
End-gaining is the principle means by which most ends are accomplished - and History reflects this mindset with all-too-familiar results: cruelty, waste, violence, pain, and the erosion of common-sense values that could help all of us live peacefully on our increasingly tiny blue planet.
Bad for your posture also! Blue moods are those times in your life that leave you feeling, well, soggy. Most of us, earthlings, experience times when we’re just not at our best.
Down in the dumps?
We find ourselves dwelling on our failures, or anticipating difficult times ahead. It’s an uncomfortable time filled with temptations to indulge in self destructive behaviors and other ‘comfort’ habits.
Healthy mind, healthy body We all carry the extra baggage of our mental fat. Useless and repetitive thinking can stifle your spontaneity, squash your creativity, and give you unsightly mental bloat. This is usually characterized by not being much fun to be around.
Blast away those sluggish thoughts!
Poorly-directed thoughts and feelings can clog your brain. In extreme cases, cyclic and persistent negative thinking can cause mental illness and depression. Doctors refer to this as a separation from reality - or cognitive dissonance. Consider the following humble exercises as mental fiber for your thought-digestion with the added spice of piquant logic and sumptuous reason.
Walking with mindfulness Being able to walk upright for long distances allowed our ancestors to hunt game across the frozen wastes of the Siberian tundra, explore the Americas, master animal husbandry, and reap endless bounty from the land.
Walking upright enabled humans to explore every habitable corner of our planet millenia ago, long before combustion engines and turbine engines were invented.
Yet, when was the last time you gave a second thought to the manner in which you walk?
Think 'up' instead It's very likely that most of us have been admonished at one point or another for having poor posture. Very few adults retain the natural, upright poise we enjoyed in toddler-hood.
But a little-understood consequence of our parents' and teachers' admonitions of 'Sit up straight!' and 'Stand up straight!' is even more stiffness, pain, and accumulated layers of wrong-thinking.
Poor posture and slouching is stiffening!
Go 'with' the flow I am teaching myself how to swim, again. I have never been very adept at swimming, in fact it always seemed like some great mystery. Some people seemed to float and glide so easily, while I always had to kick and paddle and struggle.
Moreover, I've been given a lot of bad advice by well meaning friends and teachers. "Well you've got to do this," they would advise. "Watch me," they would implore; before chugging and shoving themselves through the water.
Or worse, glide effortlessly in a way they never seemed to be able to communicate to me.
