bentenlaughing

Jan.s:  I invited Narelle to talk about perception and in her inimitable style here is what she wrote..... Narelle:  Lenses of Perception My yoga teacher of many years, Alan Goode, used to say, "Yoga cleanses the lenses of perception". And indeed I experience it does; at least on the mat. My relationship with myself, my perception of what is possible, or how I might commune within or "do" an asana, continues to open out over these years of practice. My practice is an act of creation. I move myself toward asana, I enter it, I interact with it and with myself through it, and, as long as I am available to myself and to my direct experience, I Experience myself. Information comes in. If I don't filter this experience, or defend against it, it impacts me. There is space. Change happens. My active engagement with this, is an act of creation. Much of this, of course, I have also learnt from my Spiritual practice of meditation and of Transformation. ...

Jan.s: Frank, when did your interest in the indigenous arts of the Americas begin? Frank: My parents, JD and Grace came to Arizona in the 1930's and worked for the Santa Fe railroad along the mainline of the Santa Fe in Winslow and Holbrook , Arizona bordering the Navajo and Hopi reservations. So I grew up with Navajo weavings and jewelry in our house.   Gibson   They had moved to Glendale, Arizona by the time my brother Fred and I were born, but we had a pass to ride the Santa Fe and would visit Winslow, the Grand Canyon, and on to see my aunt Inez in Albuquerque.   They knew old cowboys and Navajos and  western characters.  From the time I was a kid, I've always loved the romance and history of the southwestern part of this country.   Starting in my early 20's, influenced by the environmentalists and the writer Ed Abbey, I began hiking, backpacking and mountain climbing as a hobby and have rarely left Arizona and New M...

Jan.s  Miro, as both a player and composer you've remained a seminal figure in Australian Jazz now for several decades. Would you share with us is your ethos & inspiration behind your playing and writing.... Miro: I never think of myself as a composer really.True composers are a rare breed. They have an original musical imagination, developed sense of form, architecture, drama, texture and great skills of orchestration. I think I am more of a faciltator of musical expression where my written ideas can be just a skeleton which invites the players to create their own version of the parts.That way the pieces will never sound the same and each performance is unique and no one really knows what is going to happen through the piece. I find that sense of adventure very satisfying. That varies to some degree depending on the band I’m writing for. I’d have to orchestrate much more accurately when I write for TPI. My inspiration comes from all kinds of music I’ve pl...

Jan.s:   Chisayo, in our last interview you mentioned the influence both your grandmother and mother had on you with your sewing...can you tell us more... Chisayo: Janice, I don't know where to start...Let's try to remember my grand mother first ....My grand mother was born in 1912 in a wealthy Bushi (Samurai) family. My grand mother talked a lots of stories about her childhood but I thought they were all made up stories because many of them were so unreal in many ways such as Monsters,Ghost and trick animals... .   Her family adopted a few  Sumo wrestlers. It was a big mistake of their family... They lost all their money at the end.     My grand mother  and grand father were arranged married. They both married before and had a child each. My grand father was born in a rich Shoya ( Village headman ) family in Nara. He was well educated  and good at various sports. Especially ...