ANIMATED CHAOS
aka Body scan for pain relief I have been having weird pains these last couple of days. It all began with my right wrist. I noticed it during yoga. There was a sharp pain whenever I had my wrist at an angle. It wasn't intolerable, but it was also far from being pleasant. The next … Continue reading MBSR 3: How I achieved a state of no bones
There is an old Zen Buddhist story about how we tend to see events as either good or bad, not simply neutral happenings in life as a bigger whole. I have copied the story at the end of this post and I encourage you all to read it because what happened to me today was … Continue reading Maybe so, maybe not
Exercise Take a few moments to be still. Congratulate yourself for taking this time for meditation practice. Begin this mindful check-in by feeling into your body and mind and simply allowing any waves of thought, emotion, or physical sensation to just be. Perhaps this is the first break you’ve taken amidst a busy day. As … Continue reading MBSR 2: Mindful check-in
Exercise Place a few raisins in your hand. If you don’t have raisins, any food will do. Imagine that you have just come to Earth from a distant planet without such food. Now, with this food in hand, you can begin to explore it with all of your senses. Focus on one of the objects … Continue reading MBSR 1: Mindfully eating a pecan nut
I went to a lesson of contact improvisation by Kahbam and Loby Lam. Contact improvisation is a form of improvised dancing that focuses on body awareness, sharing touch, weight, body contact, and movement. The workshop took place in Prismare in Enschede. The group was not big. There were eight of us altogether, mostly international people … Continue reading I feel like swimming through the air
Lately, I have been feeling dissatisfied. Restless. Anxious. Worried. Worn. I feel like I am sitting in a pressure cooker. Yet I am unsure where the pressure comes from. Yes, I have a Master's graduation project to do, but I am a clever girl, I should manage just fine. I have a company to collaborate … Continue reading From worries to motivations
My Slush certificate came in. It states that I did good in my volunteer position. While I agree with them that I was, indeed, excellent and maybe even surpassed my capabilities as a member of the Drivers team, I do feel that I should mention some things in regard to Slush and volunteering there in … Continue reading Driving in Slush
Last night I woke up to a car alarm. It took me a while to realise that the noise I heard through my deep sleep was indeed a car alarm. As a fellow car owner myself, I know that car alarms usually have a reason to go off (unless we are talking about *my* car … Continue reading Who you gonna call? Night Watchers.
According to the paper "The Familiar Stranger: Anxiety, Comfort, and Play in Public Spaces" by Eric Paulos and Elizabeth Goodman [1], Familiar Strangers are people we regularly encounter during our daily activities in public spaces, yet never interact with directly. They are people who wait alongside us at the bus station, do their groceries the … Continue reading Are Familiar Strangers Becoming an Endangered Species?
A metal bird makes one last turnas the final rays of a setting starglance over its wingsdisappearing into the soft milkinessas light as a lovers’ first kissleaving behind a glowing belt of pink. The night has arrived.And so have I.