Another exploration of Gift Economy

http://showmanshaman.wordpress.com/

Check out another version of Gift Economy exploration with lots of Lewis Hyde quotes. And the blog is by my son Ben Lloyd who's created a theater and arts residency program at this old magnificent mansion near Elkins Park PA.

Meditation and Ego gossip

EXPOSING THE GOSSIP OF EGO ~ Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The basic practice of meditation is related with exposing the subconscious gossip of ego as well as exposing the conscious maneuvers of ego. Other schools of thought might say the practice of meditation is about trying to get higher, gain more, or stuff all kinds of things into your mind. In other words, these approaches are concerned with numerous techniques. But here, the idea of meditation is not designed to be collecting or producing more, but it is letting go.

what is meditation practice in dance.art.lab?

what are we doing when we meditate?
is it important that we do the same thing?
what does it bring to us to train the mind through shamatha-vipashyana meditation techniques?
how much instruction is helpful?
when do we ask questions about the process and experiences of mind-training?
do some folks want to be left alone with their practice and others to receive more instruction?
how is your posture?
what do you do with big thought patterns that return again and again?
who is resting awake and relaxed?
who uses the eye practices/ear practices during sitting meditation sessions?
is anyone reading this?

evolution of DAL

What is organic?

How does BD want to participate, what does she need?

what’s the ethos/culture?

what’s the intention?

what’s the organizing principle?

SUPPORT IDEAS:

Submit what you’d be comfortable leading/holding space for, then be invited by Barbara to lead something. Also, don't mind volunteering for tasks

Zen practice models, seniors/students for taking care of administrative and timekeeping business. co-facilitators lead - holding the space of wisdom (wearing the space suit of wisdom & breaking down "little jobs" in style of martial arts/zen retreat)

EVOLUTION IDEAS:

How do we deepen/advance of dal?

people deepen practice perhaps with sitting, writing, etc? for the month before coming

silent lunch?

If incorporating/expanding to 24:

break out rooms in the afternoon and late morning model

WHAT'S NECESSARY?:

what’s the intention of DAL?

To:

continue BD's lineage & gathering of the tribe

laboratory & news from the front

retreat/renew/reflect

day three is the hard day: Barbara to lead the morning is important

Elements of a dal/some things are always there:

contemplative dance practice in mornings

solo quads & parallel corridors

afternoon - everybody brings in scores scores – laboratory

group conversation – on a relevant philosophical question

evening potluck at Barbara’s - celebration

what’s on Barbara’s mind (like "follow me" this year)

themes of investigation from Barbara like notecards

gift economy conversation

call to have participants keeping conversation going thru blog, response

CDP/NYC reflections from 8/16

CDP/NYC reflections from 8/16 (last date of summer session):

Myself, Carolyn, Taavo, Deb, Jeremy and Jessica:

We continued in the format of "flow" from sanctuary, sitting and personal awareness.

Warming up around perception: Jeremy quotes from CTR: "three levels/types of perception:

emptiness (recognizing space)

experience (noticing what's actually there and interacting with it)

luminosity (clarity to ?)

Taavo notes: In the search as actor for kinesthetic delight the support of gravity, weight & momentum act as support (great to have something fundamental occur as an "insight!)

* How does kinesthetic delight find support in character, story and image?

We continued the evolution of "the Solo Quads Aunt" with sound and light!

* How is the witnesser not part of a duet if they are holding a light

* How do we negotiate simultaneous music choice?

* Where is the line between influence/support/collaboration?

* How do we deal with questions around discretion, light as support, sound as support, witnesser as support (an exploration of all the elements via red square?)

The suggestion was made for each of us to contribute to a bag of support objects (lights, props) that may remain in the space/in circulation. evolving our recycled vocabulary.

Reflections from 8/9

FROM LAST SESSION 8/9

Jessica, Carolyn, Taavo, Deb, Teana, Benj and Damaris.

We tried a "seamless flow" from PAP to Open Space (one hour of open space!) Very delicious. General consensus of much more sustained kinesthetic delight. We finished up with a "five minute recall aunt" (rough changing brain works from lengthy open space to tracking...).

FOR 8/16

Our last session for the summer/721 Broadway!

We will repeat last weeks format of "seamless flow" from PAP to (45 minutes of) Open Space.

I would like to continue with the solo quad evolution, incorporating the call for witnesser to have the option of selecting music, AND having the witnesser have the option of a lighting instrument.

After practice we are going to Veselka, and there we can pick our next "evolution meeting" date.

We begin our fall session monday september 20th at Bill Young Studios 100 Grand, and continue for twelve consecutive mondays.

CDP/NYC refelctions from 8/2

FROM LAST SESSION 8/2

We discussed a quote of CTR's from Training the Mind & Cultivating Loving Kindness:

"When neurosis arises, you first have to recognize it as neurosis. Then you have to apply a technique or antidote to overcome it. Since neurosis basically comes fro selfishness, from placing too much importance on yourself, the antidote is that you have to cut through the ego. Finally, you have to have the determination not to follow the neurosis or continue to be attracted to it.There is a sense of abruptly overcoming neurosis."

We took a long sanctuary and sat, we then went into PAP and then played in open space.

CDP/NYC reflections from 7/26

Hello,

FROM LAST SESSION 7/26

We finally read and discussed the dharma art letter - thanks Taavo! (let me know anyone if you want a copy, I can make some).

Words/questions/ideas that came up:

aggression, neurosis, benefit, insecurity/overconfidence/the healthy ego, any situation being workable, intention to ourselves and to others, gift, cutting through spiritual materialism, in conversation, humble.

So pithy and short that it's somehow threatening (genuine art?). Or, a call to action - examine what you do/mindful. Can we bridge the gap ever between audience and creator?

Last session we discussed the DAL after PAP, and then started a new PAP directly into open space.

although kinesthetic delight was strong at beginning, it seemed there was very little play between folks, compositionally more of a quality of holding something lightly, like red square; what would support a deep connection to kinesthetic delight AND a strong compositional eye in open space?

what would it be like to go from PAP into open space without any in between event (not our discussion of the DAL)?

how do we define entrances and exits?

what would it be like to actually answer "yes" to the self question "I can't really do this for the whole time, can I?"

We also did a solo quad aunt that built from last week with witnessers and added the option for each soloist to use their own music in one of the two speaker systems. Any two quads could be occupied simultaneously.

How much influence do you take from your soundscape?

How do we negotiate feeling the other soloists energy and awareness of their choice/volume in music?

What would it be like to have your witnesser chose your music for you?

What would it be like to do this practice wit hall these layers for a couple of hours?

FOR 8/1

Sara, Jeremy, Teana and Taavo will not be with us next week, We will be small but mighty!

I would like to share a very short reading that is in the same vein as the dharma art letter, and is also from CTR.

I would like to continue with the solo quad evolution, incorporating the call for witnesser to have the option of selecting music, AND having the witnesser have the option of a lighting instrument, but if there are only four of us, it may have to wait...

Are there any other calls?

xoxo

CDP/NYC reflections from 7/19

Hello!

FROM LAST SESSION 7/19

we were joined by drop-ins Caitlin and Steve.

some categories of qualities of text:

judgement/observation, stream of consciousness/deliberate or intentional, poetic abstract/logic or compositional commenting/non commenting

we worked last night on an aunt with the constraint of when choosing to speak, noting whether you are following a judgement or observation and then staying with that one "thought" 'till it's done:

does directness in speech (non-self-consious) allows the audience to relax and absorb?

does use of props act as an entry into conversation with other improvers (a way to break through the "membrane"?

does bowing in/out of open space support clear endings of moments? what would bowing out in open space the moment you noticed you were "out" support?

is there a relationship between hight of audience eye gaze preference and village view? proscenium? what view supports which eye practices inside and outside?

we also did some solo quad practice with witnessers:

with solo quads which eye practices allow the quad witnesser the most support in viewing?

Carolyn, Benj and Sara had some aunt ideas for evolutions of solo quads relating to the role of the witnesser and moving the solos through open space.

We note that outside audience watching solo quads layers a lot of story on.

FOR 7/26

Sara, Jeremy, Teana will not be with us next week, but we should be joined by Benj (and rejoined by Jessica).

Meet again by guard desk by 5 'till so we can get changed and in space at 6p.

I have made a call to continue evolution of my solo quads aunt. PLEASE BRING A PIECE OF MUSIC YOU WOULD LIKE TO SOLO WITH EITHER ON AN IPOD OR IPHONE. (Maybe Carolyn, you might bring your radio/cd player?)

I suspect we will have another text/corridors aunt...

For reals we will also look at the dharma art letter, so bring that too if you have it.

CDP/NYC reflections from 7/11

Hello!

Some reflections from last week's session:

What is unselfconsciousness in relationship to text? Can we work with the intention of that?

How do constraints support?

Does pedestrian movement support deeper discovery in text work?

Also, we note some have a preference for proscenium, others for village view, as far as feeling supported in open space.

Let's meet a little before 6p at guard desk again.

Teana will not be with us for the next three sessions, but Ben will!

Our schedule:

traditional format with open space

and two aunts: one based on solos from me and one an evolution of the "commenting aunt" from Jeremy (Taavo?) last week.

Dharma Art Letter the next week for reals!

Also, us in the core group should probably set an new date for the next evolution meeting...

xoxo

THIS VERY MOMENT: Portland Workshop

THIS VERY MOMENT:

Disciplines for Improvisation and Composition

"This very moment is always the occasion."

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Saturday August 28, 1-4pm

FINDING FOUNDATION: Using the Four Postures of Mindfulness as a source for

dance improvisation and TAMING THE DISCURSIVE BODY with Stillness,

Slow Motion and Repetition to make solos on-the-spot.

Sunday August 29, 1-4pm

THE RED SQUARE: Investigating composition practices beginning with seeing yourself

in the space and engaging with props as 'allies'.

With New York based teaching artist Damaris Webb

Damaris is a performer, director and teaching artist

whose work explores

the intersection of

contemplative dance, improvisational performance art,

and contemporary theater.

She holds an MFA

: Contemporary Performance

from Naropa University,

and a BFA from The Experimental Theater Wing of NYU.

With an extensive background in Viewpoints Practice, Moment Work,

Composition & P

erformance Making

and Psychophysical Acting,

she merges her love for deep play, artistic discernment and search for personal sustainability.

$50 for both sessions.

Bodies in Balance

208 Southwest 1st Avenue #340

Portland, OR 97204

A $25 non refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot.

Please contact damaris.webb@gmail.com with

“This Very Moment”

in the subject heading to make a reservation

or for further questions

Limited to 10 participants

Visitors comments - Fall 08

Please leave any comments here if you've visited our Monday night events. Just click on the icon below. Many thanks!

Images and comments from 'Mythologies of a Species'

You can comment and/or describe images from the 2 performances April 25-26 by clicking on the icon below. And thank you!

The thought about the future occurs in the present

Can we continue to support evolution? Support through commitment to participating, though experiments, though discussion and examination and though each one's inner practice of waking up. How do we support evolution when every day is complete? And we must plan for the future?

What is a definition of improvisation? We make something in time and in space with what we already know. We use the tools we have. We let the environment be heard. Together with our tools and the environment something occurs....not planned, but true. Is this the mythogies of our species? What stories do we find in space?

We rehearse improvisation. Is that a crazy twist or sane training? Who is the director? I felt stuck at the Faculty OUt Front concert last Thursday. How do I direct in such a classic setting? It felt so awkward. I wanted to be in a different place, not stuck on the edge of the stage. Where is the place for the director's chair in a classical performing arena?

Does each person view the desolatedelight AUNT through their personal lens? Are the myths private to each one who watches? Is there a shared story somewhere?

What do we want to give?

Naropa Community Practice Day show - March 4

Below you can click the comment icon and leave any thoughts, images for the Project.
Thank you.

Post Your comments from last Monday 2/25 here

Expanding out - How can this be an offering?

“Whatever it is, passionate and complete involvement engages the heart and body in one activity. We are contained, not dribbling away our energy or entertaining ourselves in half- hearted frivolity. Practicing these art forms springs from a longing to see things as they are, longing to connect ourselves to the order and harmony of the natural world, and longing to communicate this harmony to others…your perceptions are sensitized and this intensifies the presence of the world. You see more vividly and deeply and from that clarity you can execute your work of art. You empty yourself of the small mind and perform the action so completely that you loose self-consciousness. There is a precise awareness undisturbed by inner chatter. Then you can tap into the larger, mote creative mind in which you do not feel separate from your materials and your art. Everything clicks and your action feels unified and effortless. When you persevere in practicing the forms, then you can actually connect with them so thoroughly that sometimes you feel as if you did nothing – the form of your work just come through you.”
- Sacred World Jeremy & Karen Hayward

Dark with Light Menu Laurie takes the director’s chair
Barbara is using a timer with a meditation or mindfulness alarm (although it’s not here this week!), so that the Aunt can be timed without someone watching the clock. Working with an evolving solo quad form, lights, stones, musing stool, votives.

Laurie will be using the mindfulness bell as a signal to pause.

Reflections on the first 15 minutes of this Aunt:
The lights go out. Barbara enters along the wall to US wall and places three votives on a plate against the US wall. She returns to downstage and takes three more votives on another paper plate and pads to the evolving line of candles upstage. Eliza puts on music from Barbara’s CD collection as five crawl from the cushions to onstage together. Barbara is returning after the third trip with the lit votives, there is now a line of candles against the back wall. She returns to the cushions. The five in all black begin squat-walking, torsos erect, legs in a crouch, both hands on the ground. They stop and agree to move together, then in dust and trios. Variations of the squat walk become manifest. Christa enters upright walking. Tyler turns on the mag-light highlighting certain activities in the space. Everything is moving quickly. Laurie rings the pause bell, the group pauses for maybe five seconds. Eliza asks, “Does the bell mean something? “Pause!” is the group response.

Beautiful spatial and timing agreements are being made, beautiful simultaneous trios, duet and solos that flows in and out of flocking (is this due to the influence of the music?) “Does the bell mean something? “Pause!” Beautiful moments of stillness and again new duets and trios. Barbara turns off the cd. The sound of smooth rocks is heard and a duet’s footsteps falling as the run out of the space and rejoin the cushions. A trio now remains. They are suspended, balanced and backlit by the votives. Tyler’s flashlight now illuminates only Erika’s feet.

The whistles and sound of screeching train brakes from across the road accompanies the sound of the rocks in Eliza’s hands. Katherine remains looking out the back window for the train.

Barbara has entered from the other wall with a clip light and supports the images that Tyler chooses to light. A large shadow of Christa’s hands with the rocks plays on the upstage wall. She abruptly lets the rocks drop to the floor. “Shit”. I feel a little lost right now. Laurie rings the pause bell.
The clip light and flashlight go out.

A horizontal beam of light from the mag cuts through the space. Barbara and Eliza both proceed up opposite walls and plug in clip lamps.

Katherine begins speaking about her experience of remembering that she left a muffin wrapper in her parked car at the long-term parking lot. Others from the cushion begin echoing bits of her text. Eliza asks “what kind of a wrapper?”. The text begins building with side conversations echoing and interweaving with Katherine’s monologue. Katherine exits as Barbara makes her way across the space to Eliza.

Laurie rings the pause bell.

Tyler, Christa and Miriam enter echoing the squat walk from the beginning of the improv. The commitment to the physicality results in some of the most hilarious physical humor I’ve seen in a long time.

Katherine’s monologue returns now standing on the stool upstage with a metronome.

Notes from a Monday Evening Practice

Below is Damaris Webb's notes, which she has been taking for every Monday Evening Practice since Sept 07.



Monday 2/18 D/D notes – Damaris
Eliza absent
One MFA outside gaze
Evolution of Group Mind

Evening Format:
6:30 – 7:30 Sitting and Personal awareness practice
7:30 – 7:40 Break/the Gaze
7:40 – 9:30 two sets of Light and Dark - 45 minutes each with a 15-minute silent break
9:30 - 10:00 Housekeeping/Discussion

Dark with Light Menu - Tyler takes the director’s chair
Barbara is using a timer with a meditation or mindfulness alarm, so that the Aunt can be timed without someone watching the clock. Working with an evolving solo quad form, lights, stones, musing stool, votives

Before we start Cara asks if an aesthetic is developing with the lights or a trend. To her it feels perhaps like a shift towards theatrical from dance.

As a culture we then begin to list the moments that seem to be recalled from our mythology:
Zen walks, votives in arches on the wall, prostration and crawling groups, lying Buddah, the corded people against the wall, two people sharing a stool and musing, looking out the darkened window to the parking lot, laughing geese on the back, the musing stool, solo quads, flocking, herding, swarming. We also call upon reinforcement of repetition and stillness.

Tyler requests that the room to settle in the dark before we begin, then someone define the space with the votives. Tyler suggests that if we encounter a time when we don’t know what to do next, return to the menu of stillness, repetition, Let it come down so something else can come up.

REFLECTIONS on the first three minutes of this Aunt:

As I sit and wait and listen in the dark with the rest of the ensemble on the cushions, I flash a very clear call into the darkness, a very clear image of how the votives wish to be in space. I wait for three beats and then I enter the space and set up votives demarking the four quads. There is a moment as I walk back into the area of the cushions where I look back to see how my image looks to me from here, to discriminate if it is set up correctly.

The first entrance is the flashlight! The large, unfocused light sweeps along the back wall and ceiling, as the focus of the center is slowly turned into view.

Barbara enters from downstage slowly leaning/dragging along the wall with a clip lamp and long extension cord. Very purposefully, almost rhythmically, she uncoils the roll of extension cord, casting it before her as if she’s casting out a line, into the darkness before her.

In a few moments I join into the Aunt on stage, memories of this experience include the unspoken agreement in the moment of one group freezing when the light went on and another group beginning movement. It feels as if the culture has developed a group awareness for timing and space! I also have a strong impression of an improved dialogue, reflecting in the moment on the moment of acting or not acting on impulse, whisper spoke with Katherine as we looked out the back window.

Dark with Light Menu 2 - Miriam takes the director’s chair
Some images in particular:
The tick/tock of the slow metronome influencing a tick/tock vocabulary of movement, first with Tyler and Erika, then joined by Bobby.

In general many cool problem solving techniques. I kept watning to see images at the outside of the door, but was afraid if I went out of the room , by the time I got to the outside door, the image in the room would have changed.

Miriam from the director’s chair asks Tyler to tell us about his brother. Also my improved text spoken by me with Christa Ray as echo or underscore or chorus (somewhat ala Gertrude Stein) about my perceptions about what can be seen at the reservoir.

post AUNT discussion
Our group mind is evolving! Both Tyler and Miriam from the perspective of the director’s chair note they would imagine something in the space and before they could call it, it would be done. We note that having someone sit in the director’s chair, whether they say one thing or not, helps to hold the space so that the energy doesn’t leak out.

Housekeeping
Community Practice Day showing is Tuesday 3/4 from 3:45 to 4:30 at Nalanda. We will meet at 2pm for an abbreviated sit and w-up.

Dark and with Light (and Sound)

Light & Dark Menu
Barbara is using a timer with a meditation or mindfulness alarm, so that the Aunt can be timed without someone watching the clock. Working with an evolving solo quad form, lights, stones, musing stool, votives. Eric Lacossa’s Dessert Soundscape

It’s a very different experience writing in the dark. Frankly I’m not so sure about how to document this process now. I feel my gaze is very subjective, what I’ll record are not facts or quotes. Do I trust that the group mind has developed enough that what I perceive is what is necessary to record? For what reason do I record this? Are we so in the now that my observations are superfluous? Are the moments and images that arrest/stimulate/relax me moments that point to something deeper, actually pointing to synchronicities or set ups that occurred seconds or hours or days earlier? How do I record that process?

I’m so exhausted I’m not sure I can trust what I’m thinking or feeling. We start in the darkness. I am sitting on a cushion, like the rest of the ensemble. Barbara is in the director’s chair. Barbara enters with the smooth little rocks in the straw basket, kneeling. Bobby sets the candles up in a repeat of the cross formation from last week, delineating the four quads of our playing space. After a little Laurie whispers to me to pass her the flashlight. Tyler comes to the CD player and turns it off. How bold! Cara enters from the audience as Laurie begins slowly rolling the large mag flashlight in a semi circle on the floor. Erika, Eliza and Katherine join Cara in the slow crawl from their seats on the cushions in the audience. I am aware that the green tea is especially hot and delicious and restorative. The four crawlers have reached the back of the space and two of them begin crawling up the wall. Synchronicity is strong in group agreement to hold images.
Laurie investigates walking along the wall with the flashlight the arching the flashlight again in half circles on the floor. Each sound is part of the choreography. The darkness of the room intensifies our awareness of sound. Although I cannot see her do it from the angle I am resting at I hear Cara roll the small rocks onto the floor. A satisfying sound. A recognizable sound. How many sounds do I know in the this studio? What is a surprise in the dark? What sounds are a part of our culture? I feel calm and bathed sitting in the dark, I notice the red light glowing from the silent boom box and I feel relieved that my back hurts a little less with the rolled up cushion in the small of my back.

Barbara goes back to sit in the director’s chair, Erika crawls to downstage and off into the cushions. Meanwhile the cross formation of the votives is being dismantled.

What are the rules again?

Barbara asks that we “Continue to emphasize repetition”. Repetition from my personal vocabulary? Influence from another in the moment? Recycled images and moments from an earlier Aunt? On another night?

We have no outside gaze in our audience tonight. We are the only witnesses, the only interpreters of our offering tonight. It is so dark in the studio that I can hear a rock making a long rolling journey but I can’t see where it is, but know it’s trajectory none the less.

Barbara calls “Pause. For as long as you want.” Me? Should I pause in my gaze? Return my attention to my breath? Am I at this moment the gaze or the performer or the recorder or all simultaneously. How the audience perceives what you are doing affects what you are doing. Christa clears her throat. I can’t see that it’s Christa, but rather I recognize her sound, even though she does not speak. Booby hums from the audience. Laurie sweeps the flashlight and for a moment it illuminates this page I am writing. I see the black ink against the white paper and the shadow made from my pen.

Barbara asks “Christa, tell us a dream”.
Christa tells us about her dream about the Maharishi who had just died.
Barbara asks Christa to stay where she is as she is telling the story and asks Eliza to plug a clip lamp into the long extension cord.
It goes dark again and I become aware of Miriam dancing by a group of votive candles.

Emerging

While I have been such an advocate for giving feedback through appreciation of specific events/moments we see at the end of an AUNT that delight us, I'm now wondering if even this way of building our 'myths' will deter the emerging properties of the next creative forms.

For instance, if I say I like the solo Bobby did with the 'flock/herd' moving in influence around the edges of the space (this was last Monday), and I don't mention another event, will this give the message that this other 'event' was not appreciated and therefore should die out?

We natually delight in the familiar, those performance images that we recognize and have enjoyed. But the emerging properties coming though spontaneous responses are not going to be familiar to us. How do we cultivate the delight in the more familier mythologies of our species and also support the unfamiliar, newly arising, soon-to-be-dominate experiences?

Can we still give feedback and know that if your actions were not mentioned they are still essential to the culture as a whole? It feels that the issue here is vitality, aliveness, responsiveness and a certain trust in being spontaneous without having a lot of second thoughts.

Perhaps the image of a certain event, say an AUNT, which is directed, polished, repeated, and coached,...over and over....happening in the space....at the same time as other present moment AUNTS are arising from the nowness of the space.... perhaps this kind of overlay will allow for a multiple field of aesthetics to emerge.

What marks a culture?

Musing today I wondered about the identity of cultures. Some cultures are healing, caring; some are full of commerce, and buy and sell all the time; some cultures make war; some cultures make beauty, and poetry and song.

What identifies desolate/delight culture? Maybe sometimes we do all of these energetic activities, then there is a transformation and we energize differently? What makes some form trans form? Why do we change and when? Why do we resist changing? Are we afraid? What do we need to learn to change without resistance?

The answers are in my experience....how to know my experience without avoiding what is unfamiliar?

What is subconscious gossip about change? What is my neurosis when something new is rising up to the consciousness?

What are the forms in a culture that support beauty? Or perhaps what allows beauty to emerge in conflict? What songs do we sing to heal? What do we sell that creates peace? Merging in and out of states of knowing.

When do I feel relaxed and whole? What is my kinesthetic delight?

When does impulse obscure knowing, avoid being? When do I repress impulse? When do I follow?

How long does it take to evolve? Now the questions are circling around the disciplines of the warrior-artist-in-training. This image from the Shambhala teachings....the Y-WAIT notion. The artist in a culture explores these questions. The artist never averts her eyes. The artist keeps the gaze, the watchers, the audience in her awareness, making a clear offering of her passion, aggression, her ignorance without self-consciousness. The artist makes beauty and surrenders it to any buyer, offers it to any struggle, sings it to any dying person, animal, plant, body of water, mountain....sings to the sun.