LEIMAY's Movement Think Tanks - conectom2024-03-29T14:20:52Zhttp://conectom.leimay.org/forum/topics/movement-think-tanks?commentId=5831649%3AComment%3A39007&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBlossoming//Belonging//Return…tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-07-29:5831649:Comment:407712013-07-29T17:55:01.424ZGeorgia Johnsonhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/GeorgiaJohnson
<p align="center"><u>Blossoming//Belonging//Returning</u></p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I think about the word becoming, three other words come to mind. Those words are: blossoming, belonging, and returning. To me, becoming is like blossoming in such that it is a process, with an inherent direction and a desired ideal destination. Like the way that the pinecone already contains its destiny to become a great pine tree, each of us already has the inherent potential to unfold into the radiant, whole,…</p>
<p align="center"><u>Blossoming//Belonging//Returning</u></p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I think about the word becoming, three other words come to mind. Those words are: blossoming, belonging, and returning. To me, becoming is like blossoming in such that it is a process, with an inherent direction and a desired ideal destination. Like the way that the pinecone already contains its destiny to become a great pine tree, each of us already has the inherent potential to unfold into the radiant, whole, beautiful being we are designed to grow into. One cannot predict how this process will play out by looking forward, and even in the middle of the process it is awkward and seems to not make any sense; but many years down the road, one will be able to look back and see how everything unfolded perfectly, and how everything that seemed like an obstacle was actually an opportunity for growth.</p>
<p>I also think of the word belonging, because to me, the individual process of becoming is not separate from the process of evolution of one’s environment. As I continue to grow and change and discover new things about myself, I find more and more the unique way that I fit into a larger picture. As I change, my relationships change, and the people around me change and vice versa. As the world around me changes, I change, and it feels like the journey I am on is simply one individual expression of a larger transformation going on around me. A few years ago, I felt very alone in the world, and I was not able to see how my life was so intricately interconnected with all the lives around me. Today, I am becoming more perceptive of my place in the web of things, how my thoughts and actions affect the lives around me.</p>
<p>I also think of the word returning, because to me, the process of becoming is a return to a state of original wholeness. Philosopher Alan Watts likens the Big Bang to a bottle of ink being smashed at a wall. At one time, the ink was one thing, and suddenly it is smashed and scattered across a surface, and spreads out into finer and more complicated droplets. Watts says that we are the droplets, and the mistake we make as human beings is to cut ourselves off, and we think that we are just the droplet, and do not see that we are actually the bottle of ink. My voice teacher, Lisa Sokolov once told me that everything is moving towards repair. In this way, we are like the droplets of ink moving back towards one whole bottle of ink, back to an original state of wholeness. </p>
giving, receiving touch …tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-07-09:5831649:Comment:405322013-07-09T21:33:24.900Zangelihttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/angeli
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172232?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
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<p> </p>
<p><em>giving, receiving touch how does the body carry? what can you let go…</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172232?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172282?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172282?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>giving, receiving touch how does the body carry? what can you let go of, what can you retain?</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong><em>notes:</em></strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>angeli's notes:</em></p>
<p></p>
<p class="p1"><i>mapping points of contact</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>in creating, finding</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>video as trace </i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>1st question</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>what comes to mind when you think of becoming?</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"inner feeling... something inside... continuous growing"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>-anabell, dancer</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"growth... transformation by which those things happen"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- james, musician, choreographer, in soak festival, lives at the cave</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"linear process... transformation in a direction"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>-raul, interdisciplinary artist</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"seed growth"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>-saiko (spelling?), actress, film-maker, lives at the cave</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"mixture"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>-james lim, fashion casting</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"shifting of matter, these states of being... the simple things"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- raul</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"implication of getting to something else in the future"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- averil, actor</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"states of transition... states of matter... physicality... obsession of shifts... fractals"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- andy, leimay dancer</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"precipice"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- raul</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>car crash, scar, transformation, how it becomes a part of you, gaining in losing</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- averil</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>becoming american, somewhere in between the mental & physical</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- saiko</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"what are you?"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- raul</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"when words didn't appear," the trauma, when work is not articulated through language</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- ximena</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"breathing... how you become in your own body"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- anabell</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"body and breath... connection"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- james</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"when someone declares it [a becoming] on you," criminality, a doctor's diagnosis</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- raul</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>2nd question</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>what do you think of when you think of mind, body spirit?</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>yoga, limitations of the body</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- james</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"something came out... air... particles of bodies... how do you relate to your own bodies?"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- saiko</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"mind is noise for my spirit"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- anabell</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"expansions of body"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- angeli</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>what if your spirit was not yours? multiple spirits?</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- raul</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>power animals, no possession, the ghosts that are part of you</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- angeli</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"internal space can be very different person to person. it's not monolithic"</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- andy</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"becoming a woman/man", age, do you will yourself into it?</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>- averil</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>we tell each other where our bodies are now, what we're feeling, then move, then again after moving</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>averil's notes:</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>on becoming--</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"Transformation...in a linear process. Always in Linearity" - Raul</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"Becoming is something that's in motion...a substance in motion like a spine"- Anabell </i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Right now, it's just myself, the world" James Lim</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"Simple: bread becoming toast." Raul</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"When the words didn't come, but the body was fighting to become it" (? Ximena?)</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>"Becoming isn't a personal thing...but is forced on you" (?)</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="font-size-3"><i>immediate reflections:</i></span></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>James Gardella:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Enlivening; overwhelmed initially by so much sensation, which transformed to delight through surrendering to the power of touch; and how much information can be received, exchanged in this manner by closing your eyes and remaining in contact.</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Raul:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Expansive, I feel at once whole and dismembered, like my limbs are bound by something otherworldly, near ethereal</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>James Lim: e-mail (james.sy.lim@gmail.com) add to mailing list</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Nice. Relaxing. Difficult. Challenging. Interesting. Engaging. Enjoyable.</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Thanks.</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Anonymous:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Fantastic, interesting, sharing, connecting, smile, laugh, soft, hard, music that rings to my soul.</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Angeli:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>length of space between bones to measure with all states of matter</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Anabell Cuevas:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>I felt very nervous at the beginning but through the moment I felt very happy, released and free. My breathing now is very soft and gentle. I loved the contact exercise.</i></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1"><i>Averil Kelkar:</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>I feel immersed and open. Beautiful to be reminded of the unlimited body and how this</i></p>
<p class="p1"><i>experience has made it come to be. I miss being in a young body.</i></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p> </p> tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-06-29:5831649:Comment:405102013-06-29T19:09:49.904ZLEIMAYhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/LEIMAY_CAVE
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172228?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172228?profile=original" width="661" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172228?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172228?profile=original" width="661" class="align-full"/></a></p> tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-06-29:5831649:Comment:402952013-06-29T19:09:28.412ZLEIMAYhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/LEIMAY_CAVE
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172276?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172276?profile=original" width="664" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172276?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172276?profile=original" width="664" class="align-full"/></a></p> tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-06-29:5831649:Comment:404192013-06-29T19:09:06.395ZLEIMAYhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/LEIMAY_CAVE
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172190?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172190?profile=original" width="647" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172190?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172190?profile=original" width="647" class="align-full"/></a></p> tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-06-29:5831649:Comment:404152013-06-29T19:08:13.669ZLEIMAYhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/LEIMAY_CAVE
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172188?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172188?profile=original" width="651" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172188?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/55172188?profile=original" width="651" class="align-full"/></a></p> What is “BECOMING” to me?
Ou…tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-04-29:5831649:Comment:390262013-04-29T15:51:47.168ZSina Mehdianhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/SinaMehdian
<p><span><b>What is “BECOMING” to me?</b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>Our discussion in class really made me think about how important - or unimportant - a simple word could be. For an hour, we discussed only ONE word - one word - delving into psychological heady concepts as well as realistic grounded notions. Obviously, I didn’t agree with everything that was said- but it was definitely an interesting conversation to have because it got me thinking about my relation to the word “becoming,” my…</span></p>
<p><span><b>What is “BECOMING” to me?</b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>Our discussion in class really made me think about how important - or unimportant - a simple word could be. For an hour, we discussed only ONE word - one word - delving into psychological heady concepts as well as realistic grounded notions. Obviously, I didn’t agree with everything that was said- but it was definitely an interesting conversation to have because it got me thinking about my relation to the word “becoming,” my relation to words in general and how we shouldn’t take our words for granted.</span></p>
<p><span>“Be-coming.” The first thought that comes to mind when I slowly pronounce the word is that it is “be-<i>coming</i>” and</span> <span>not</span> <span>“be-<i>going</i>.” There is a sense of arrival someplace, which signifies that “becoming” has to do with going from a Point A to a Point B. If it were the latter choice, then one could not know exactly if they are going anywhere, but if one is coming - you must be coming someplace, though where exactly is left up in the air.</span></p>
<p><span>“Becoming” has both a sense of importance and a sense of expectation surrounding it. The former is due to the mystique that we automatically associate with the idea of “becoming.” We imagine transformation - the caterpillar is <i>becoming</i> a butterfly. And yet, at the same time - one could argue that everything is always in a state of “becoming” something else. Does that necessarily mean that we are always transforming? I don’t think so - I think it just signifies that we are always in the process of growing. Unless in cases of mental illness, I think it’s impossible for a person to completely lose every part of a previous self when “becoming” a new self. No matter what, we always retain <i>something</i> from our past, no matter how small and whether we know it or not. Additionally, there is a sense of expectation because automatically we wonder what <i>is</i> one exactly “becoming?” Yet, I think it is difficult to define what one is “becoming” until one has already <i>become</i> it simply because you can never assume with complete certainty.</span></p>
<p><span>I think it is impossible to bring “becoming” to a core definition or ida simply because it is such a vast concept which we restrict by such a short. “Becoming” holds power and some sense of certainty, I think, and the rest is relative to each case of “becoming.”</span></p>
<p><span>For me, I am in the process of “becoming” every day. Whether I am “becoming” a specific concrete thing or am “becoming” changed internally, I don’t think it’s always necessary to understand what that “becoming” <i>is</i> exactly, but it is important to simply be able to master how to work with it effectively. “Becoming” is a direct result of outside forces - due to all the various elements of our outside worlds, we are influenced and then are in the process of “becoming.” Hence, though it is not instinct - it is essential and important in the world that we have found ourselves living in.</span></p>
<p></p> It seemed very simple at firs…tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-04-28:5831649:Comment:390162013-04-28T01:59:05.066ZCassidy Graveshttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/CassidyGraves
<p>It seemed very simple at first. The first three or so people that spoke talked of "becoming" as a thing that can never truly be reached—one is in a constant state of becoming <em>something</em>. You may become something but you are typically on your way to becoming something else as soon as this happens. Becoming can be minuscule or quite vast. Some seemed to think of becoming as strictly progress, a more positive thing that one strives toward. However, when one regresses or stagnates they…</p>
<p>It seemed very simple at first. The first three or so people that spoke talked of "becoming" as a thing that can never truly be reached—one is in a constant state of becoming <em>something</em>. You may become something but you are typically on your way to becoming something else as soon as this happens. Becoming can be minuscule or quite vast. Some seemed to think of becoming as strictly progress, a more positive thing that one strives toward. However, when one regresses or stagnates they are becoming as well, just in a different way. A phrase that positively resonated in my mind during this entire discussion is "My god, what have I become?" "Become" implies stagnation, "becoming" implies a motion, either backward or forward.</p>
<p>Becoming certainly relates to the individual human experience and what each person becomes at certain points in their life affects the world around them, but I think we also are always "becoming" as a society. Cultural and social norms and the like are not the same as they were in the past, they have become different and will continue to shift and change. I see the world as a constantly changing shape, constantly becoming something else, for better or for worse.</p>
<p></p>
<p>One thing discussed in my class was the possibility of utter stagnation in a human—can someone sink so far into a certain role that it consumes their life; flattens them so they cannot progress? Is it possible to stop becoming? We did not find a clear answer, but I do think that even though someone appears stagnant and stuck in a cycle of the same kind of toxic life, they may be, rather than stagnating, very very slowly "becoming", but perhaps that's just my optimism showing through. However, someone can also be becoming more and more hopeless and stuck in their ways as time progresses.</p>
<p></p>
<p>In terms of myself, I don't think it's productive to set very far-off goals of what you very specifically want to become, but rather focus on the present and more near future and just let life move you along the never-ending process of becoming. Kind of like a river's current, speeding up and slowing down at unpredictable intervals.</p> Being a part of the discussio…tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-04-27:5831649:Comment:390122013-04-27T21:58:08.989ZMeganhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/Megan
<p>Being a part of the discussion on "Becoming" opened my eyes to the many implications and multitude of meanings that our words carry. We first spoke about what it means to "become" something, whether it is an artist or adult or anything, really. What fascinated me about this part of the conversation was that we spoke about the time frame in which it takes to fully "become" something and whether or not you can ever really reach a point where you can define yourself so surely with a definitive…</p>
<p>Being a part of the discussion on "Becoming" opened my eyes to the many implications and multitude of meanings that our words carry. We first spoke about what it means to "become" something, whether it is an artist or adult or anything, really. What fascinated me about this part of the conversation was that we spoke about the time frame in which it takes to fully "become" something and whether or not you can ever really reach a point where you can define yourself so surely with a definitive name. I am reminded of the saying that people never really reach a goal, they just move the line forward in order to keep fulfilling their needs and wants. "Becoming" is a lot like that to me. It is as if you work to become something, but once you reach it you automatically start to become something else. It is a never-ending cycle that begins from your creation to death, and even in death you can affect the world “become” something even without you. I've always loved the idea that you are never the same person that you were 5 minutes ago, 5 hours ago, 5 days ago, 5 years ago, and so on. I find this idea incredibly hopeful because it gives you the opportunity to constantly reinvent yourself. </p> On Wednesday, we discussed th…tag:conectom.leimay.org,2013-04-27:5831649:Comment:390072013-04-27T17:20:30.117ZJake Simardhttp://conectom.leimay.org/profile/JakeSimard
<p>On Wednesday, we discussed the concept of becoming. A great deal of our conversation dealt with how it is to be viewed, be it something with a positive or neutral connotation, something that happens over time from point A to B or is cyclical, whether or not you can ever actually "become," those ideas being only a few that were brought to light.</p>
<p>In terms of the human experience, we seemed to dive into this sense of becoming being inevitable, it almost replacing the idea of "fate" and…</p>
<p>On Wednesday, we discussed the concept of becoming. A great deal of our conversation dealt with how it is to be viewed, be it something with a positive or neutral connotation, something that happens over time from point A to B or is cyclical, whether or not you can ever actually "become," those ideas being only a few that were brought to light.</p>
<p>In terms of the human experience, we seemed to dive into this sense of becoming being inevitable, it almost replacing the idea of "fate" and the whatever you become is, in a sense, unavoidable. Regardless whether it is "good" or "bad" (since the connotation of the word itself was brought to light), a person is always becoming. And regardless if the person realizes that they are "becoming" or if it is not until after the becoming has occurred that they realize it, there is always a "forward" direction to it. There is never a sense of going backwards or reverting, it is always progressive, even if the progression is to something simpler it is still a progression.</p>
<p>In light of things outside the human condition, we talked about the cycle of objects "becoming" as well. For example, we start with a log. If the log is to catch fire, the fire that ensues is the "becoming" that it undergoes while the ashes is the conclusion of the becoming. However, as years and years pass, those same ashes may once again become a log, thus resulting in a cycle. Something interesting that was brought up in terms of a cycle is if a 5th-dimensional being were to look down upon us, they would see us humans as convoluted versions of ourselves that contain our beginning and our end (almost like a loop). This would mean that we are our own beginning and end, creating a cycle in itself.</p>
<p>I thought that the Think Tank overall was a fantastic discussion, bringing to light a lot of philosophical debate between people. Although we didn't come to a consensus (of course), it was still incredibly interesting to hear everyone's different ideas and relations to the sense and experience of "becoming."</p>