Home

By iamronen | Published: June 14, 2009

For months I’ve been playing around with this post in my head – it is about a wish. Over the last two weeks this wish has taken a turn and matured into something I can embrace and share. I wish for a home for myself and for Andreea and a family that may grow from our shared journey.

A few months ago we moved to live in the north of Israel (Galil area) with two convictions: (1) we love this area and living here, it is rightfully considered a heaven in Israel; (2) this is our last stop in Israel. The next stop will be somewhere else in the world. Home is a wish embodied in the 2nd conviction. It has evolved from “leaving Israel” to “finding a home”.

  • Home is a welcoming embrace.
  • Home is where our energy can settle and expand.
  • Home is where our destiny can manifest.
  • Home is where we can live a productive and balanced life.
  • Home is where we can pursue our passions & our passions can pursue us.
  • Home is where our passions & actions resonate harmoniously with others.
  • Home is an intimate island in an ever-changing life.

I feel these qualities absent from our lives. In the past this has led to self-judgment and injury and a tiring list of what home is not – no more. It’s time for us to go home.

Related: Coming Through, Expanding, Featured, WishesComments: Click here to read 10 comments and leave a commentDonate:

re: Designing for WordPress

By iamronen | Published: March 11, 2010

This post is inspired by this presentation by Brent Spore:

Brent touched on designing for WordPress and faced quite a challenge – facing an audiences with diverse knowledge, experience and expectations. He touched on some good ideas and I have the pleasure of sitting at home in my own time, relating to his talk.

Are you a Driver or a Mechanic?

I believe that in order to relate to the topic of designing for WordPress the first question you need to ask yourself is “Do you want to be a blogger or a designer… or maybe both?”. It’s kind of like asking “Do you want to be a driver or a car mechanic…. or maybe both?”. The skills, tools and discipline required for the two tasks are very different. Designing for WordPress often comes across as simple – because so many people are playing around with it – but there’s really nothing simple about it. Just to give you an example..

Photoshop

Someone asked Brent about modifying a theme’s Photoshop file. Even a “simple” task like replacing a header image assumes at least the following technical proficiencies:

  • Getting Photoshop (pretty expensive for non-professionals) … or finding a suitable alternative.
  • Learning the Photoshop basics … it’s a powerful program but not very intuitive … the initial learning curve is demanding.
  • Learning to work with layers
  • Learning to work with guides and selection tools
  • Learning about saving graphic formats for the web
  • Learning how to insert your header image into a theme

… and that’s the bare minimum and that list doesn’t cover anything having to do with the aesthetic and functional aspects of design.

Expression& Content

I believe that websites are all about content. Expressing yourself is a huge thing – it’s about asking yourself “Who is ‘myself’? What do I want to say? Why do I want to say these things? To whom do I want to say them?”. Blogging, writing for the web is a technical expression of a personal journey – and it is an art and a skill in it’s own right. WordPress is very much in tune with all these things – spiritually and technically.

… in fact I believe that the Internet is dominated by and gravitating towards personal expression. So much so that if you’re thinking of, or someone is trying to convince you to put up a website with just a few static page – that its most likely a waste of your time, attention and money. If you put up a few static pages and expect someone to find you through Google you are mistaken. No one will find you because:

  1. There are probably zillions like you and no way (for people or for search engines) to tell you apart from the rest.
  2. You can’t use keywords to cheat the system, because lot’s of others have tried that, search engines picked up on it and … it simply doesn’t work anymore = don’t waste even more money on search engine optimization con-artists who will promise to magically lift your dead-in-the-water website up in the ranking of search engines.
  3. There are probably a few people who are making an effort to express themselves in your area of expertise (with a very good chance they are are using WordPress to do it) – and they will be found on search engine results and by people looking for you!

This sets the table for a deeper look into what design can be … and instead of making it a tedious academic lecture… let’s use another example Brent put out for us. ..

Dishwasher Guy

If all dishwasher guy wants to do is get more customers – then instead of creating a static dead-in-the-water website he should list himself in some local online directories , place a few more adds in local papers, hand out a few more magnets for people to place on their refrigerators (or dish washers?)…

On the other hand a website creates many new interesting opportunities. What can a dishwasher guy possible write about:

  • What can you do to keep your dishwasher working and in good condition?
  • What cleaning materials are recommended or should be avoided?
  • Are there eco-friendly materials thaht can be used? What if they don’t get the stains out?
  • How to use the dishwaser effectively? Should dishes be accumulated?
  • How about the quality of the water – does that affect the dishwasher lifespan? Would a filter onthe main pipe help?
  • How did dishwashers begin? What did the first one look like? What is the future of dishwashers?
  • How to buy a dishwasher? What should we look for?
  • Are there recommended dishwashers? Product reviews? What do other people have to say?
  • Where is a good place to get a dishwasher?

And amazingly, the list goes on and on and on… even for a dishwaser technician… if she cares and is willing to take on the formidable task of writing for the web!

This, to me, is what designing a WordPress site is all about. It is about finding a way to express yourself – it is a wonderous undertaking, and there is so much more to it then choosing a header image, colors and fonts. A superficial, beautifully designed website with nothing interesting to say will last a few seconds. A consistently updated site with sincere & curious content will be captivating and keep people coming back, almost regardless of it’s visual design.

Maybe this is what people like Merlin Mann are talking about when they say find your niche – even dishwashers have a niche:

Related: Tech Stuff, WordpressComments: Click here to read 2 comments and leave a commentDonate:

Cucumbers & Shakuhachi, Doubt & Faith

By iamronen | Published: March 9, 2010

Cucumbers

I recall some months ago I was preparing a salad for breakfast. I was peeling (and later seeded) a pair of cucumbers – and as I was doing that I thought to myself ‘Why am I peeling the cucumbers?’. Of course, there is a ‘logical’ answer – since we can’t afford organic vegetables we prefer to remove any potential traces of insecticide which, we assume, concentrate in the peels and in the watery center. But then it hit me that this recurring act of peeling is actually an internal movement of doubt – doubt in the intentions and methods used by the farmers that grow my food. Doubt had become an unconscious yet constant part of my nourishment.

Shakuhachi

Also some months my wish for a new Shakuhachi came true – and a semi-professional flute entered my life. The purpose of this flute was to open a door to studying with a teacher. I was under the impression that a more fine-tuned instrument is required for formal studies. Indeed shortly after it arrived I found a teacher who is kind and generous and fulfills my indulgence for a lesson once in a while.

During the first lesson my teacher attempted to assess the quality of tuning of the flute – which is difficult to do over Skype. Getting a correct pitch in Shakuhachi is a challenge – it depends on the tuning of the flute, on breathing technique, the embouchure (shape) of the lips .. and on the weather (bamboo changes pitch in varying temperature and humidity conditions). Knowing the flute enables my teacher to better guide me (or maybe more importantly not misguide me) in my playing. I was left with a doubt about the tuning of the flute. Doubt, again, this time in Shakuhachi, an instrument I took on as a part of my meditative practices.

Faith

All of my attempts to dispel my doubts regarding the tuning of my Shakuhachi failed and led to unpleasantness. I questioned the maker (who’s life work made it possible for me to hold a Shakuhachi). I resented my teacher (for causing me to question myself and the maker). I pushed myself too hard to play better, to prove that the flute is in tune and that I can play in tune, which ultimately inhibited my playing – and left me with even more doubts … until … a recollection of an incident during a lesson in my Yoga teachers training course rescued me.

We were studying Ayurveda. Our group included numerous students who had come from a background of modern alternative-medicine studies. My teacher indicated at the beginning of the lesson that some of the ideas he will be introducing may strike some of us as counter-intuitive to what we already know and believe. He suggested that we refrain from dissecting and judging the teachings, that we take them with us as a complimentary perspective to what we already know, and that only after we’ve lived them for a few years, we indulge in evaluating their truths and relevancy to our lives as practitioners and teachers. Ironically, a few minutes later, some of the soon-to-be Yoga teachers railed out against the teachings that were offered.

I applied this lesson to my Shakuhachi predicament. I decided to embrace my Shakuhachi settings, including my instrument, it’s maker, my teacher and myself. I decided that I would take a few years before making any observations or coming to any conclusions. This choice has replaced my doubts with faith. It has fostered a softer setting in which I can explore and fluctuate in my relationship with Shakuhachi.

As for cucumbers… it’s getting better but I still haven’t achieved peace. I have been asking myself why I don’t trust farmers in my society… and though I have strong intuitions I have not yet found or formulated clear answers that I can put in writing. But inquiring into the matter has brought farmers and farming in my soceity closer to my mind and heart. I am more in touch with the things I have in common with them and therefore able to experience more sympathy for them and for their choices. Sometimes I go crazy and refrain from peeling or seeding (sometimes both!!) my cucumbers.

Wait, Just Wait

In my consciousness there is an instinct associated with doubt, and it’s programmed to ‘go out and find who’s responsible … and fix it!’. It’s a stubborn instinct (as instincts will be)… and it’s pointless. Instead, waiting, patiently and softly, usually creates a window of opportunity for my attention to move inward, and given time, magical occurs: pushing morphs into embracing and the disturbing energy of doubt becomes a soothing energy of faith.

Related: Expanding, Shakuhachi, Yoga, Yoga & LifeComments: Click here to leave a commentDonate:

A Political Headstand

By iamronen | Published: March 7, 2010

There is a famous image of Israel’s first prime minister Ben Gurion doing a headstand. I think it’s pretty impressive that a newborn country’s first prime minister was a yoga practitioner. But this morning, it is not a romantic notion that set me thinking on this path, it is a critical one.

Headstand provides a popular image for Yoga – it stands out. It providers an easily accessible metaphor for a fresh perspective on life. For many people it is a challenging posture – and when it’s finally conquered it can bring a gratifying sense of achievement.

Beyond it’s obvious physical qualities, headstand posture has energetic qualities and it can be used to affect the body’s energy system. These energetic qualities are available in additional more accessible postures that provide less distraction and enable a practitioner to go deeper and experience more subtle qualities in practice. They are much less “sensational” and it takes persistence and patience to sense and appreciate them. They require intricate breath work and lead to meditative places.

Following is a quote (source Wikipedia) from 1957 attributed to Ben Gurion:

“Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country … There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that? They may perhaps forget in one or two generations’ time, but for the moment there is no chance. So it is simple: we have to stay strong and maintain a powerful army.”

Ben Gurion made his mark on life in a time of extremism – a conflicted birth of a conflicted country from a conflicted background in a conflicted world. A country that exemplifies and in which manifests one of the most powerful forces of friction on the planet – a conflict between east & west, between established religion and fmodern politics, between tradition and free thought. An extremism that I feel almost every where around me in Israel, and as the years go bye seems to be insinuating itself all over the world.

I don’t know what Ben Gurion’s Yoga practice was like, but I wonder if instead of doing headstands and making them famous he would have have practiced and made famous forward seated bends with long and quality breath. Would he have made different decisions and planted different seeds in Israeli society, culture & politics? If he was instead famous for inhaling 12 seconds, holding his breath for 12 seconds, exhaling for 12 seconds and holding his breath for another 12 seconds – what effect that would have had on Israeli society? What if this would have fostered amongst popular Israeli traits, things like patience, attention and respect?

If Ben Gurion’s teacher was Desikachar or even Krishnamacharya and he practiced more Pranayama, could that have made a different world for us today?

Related: Asana, Expanding, Yoga, Yoga & LifeComments: Click here to leave a commentDonate:

Breathing Formulas in Asana

By iamronen | Published: March 3, 2010

Pranayama breathing practices and Asana practices create a cycle of growth and expansion of (amongst other thing) breath. Ujjayi breathing in Asana develops a strong and enduring breath. Then in Pranayama that strength and capacity is used to refine the breath and make it longer. Then that refinement and length of breath is again carried over into Asana practices – and this goes on and on in a never ending cycle of strength and length (similar to the gradual development of strength and flexibility in a physical body).

It is possible to intensify this cycle by introducing breathing formulas into Asana. To do this you must first have an established relationship with:

  • Asana – you need to have a well defined and rooted physical practice before introducing another dimension of physical and consciousness effort.
  • Ujjayi – ujjayi should be an inseparable part of your asana practice.
  • Pranayama – you need to be familiar and comfortable with your breathing capacity and with structured breath formulas.

The first meeting between breathing formulas and asana should occur in familiar and comfortable settings:

  • Breath length – choose an inhale length (your basic breathing duration) that is less then what you use in your Pranayama practice. If in Pranayama you use an 8 second inhale then in Asana start with 6 seconds.
  • Breath formula – start with an equal inhale and exhale and with a 1 second pause after inhale and exhale to allow for a controlled and smooth transition. For example, if your inhale is 6 seconds your breathing formula in asana would be 6.1.6.1
  • Asana – start with simple and accessible Asana, introduction of the breath is a worthy challenge, don’t overdo it by choosing difficult or challenging asana. If you have a personal practice that is gradual and balanced then it is probably best to start with the first set of postures.

This meeting of structured breath and asana can be a rich experience. You may find that each asana leads to a different experience. Some asana may seem connected and flowing with the breath, others may lead to friction. Different asana will challenge different parts of the breath – some asana may be aligned with inhaling and others with exhaling. Remember to retain a healthy relationship between breath and movement – the breath is a home to movement, movement takes place inside the breath. Adjusting breath to movement will probably lead to over-exertion, friction and tension -  the breath will “run-out”. On the other hand, adjusting movement to breath is fairly simple and may at most lead to some friction with the ego.

Practicing Asana with structured breathing may take some getting-used-to and it will intensify the development of the breath. When it becomes an established part of your practice you will have gained access to the alchemy of energy in Yoga.

Related: Asana, Breath, YogaComments: Click here to leave a commentDonate:
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