Forums > Social Discussion > SFWeekly article on Poi
Login/Join to ParticipateGOLD Member
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
Posted:
A friend forwarded the following link on to me, and I thought I'd post it here for those of you who might not otherwise hear about it:
https://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2004-11-03/news/feature.html
A friend forwarded the following link on to me, and I thought I'd post it here for those of you who might not otherwise hear about it:
https://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2004-11-03/news/feature.html
Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.
geek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere
Posted:
hey clare...
i don't think dom was calling you shallow.
it certainly wasn't that part of the thread he was talking about.
you have moved on to a whole different discussion about whether the media warps stories and whether there are people with honour and an interest in portraying the wrld in a truthful manner in the media(imo).
he was calling people who would stop spinning because of corporate poi shallow.
where is the link?
i'm not going to get into either arguement, except to say i am well aware of many journalists who twist things to have a personal stance even when it goes betond truth. there are also media folk who truly try to do the job in the manner in which most of us wish it was done. and hats off to them.
much love, i hope you are well otherwise.
smiles
Rob
hey clare...
i don't think dom was calling you shallow.
it certainly wasn't that part of the thread he was talking about.
you have moved on to a whole different discussion about whether the media warps stories and whether there are people with honour and an interest in portraying the wrld in a truthful manner in the media(imo).
he was calling people who would stop spinning because of corporate poi shallow.
where is the link?
i'm not going to get into either arguement, except to say i am well aware of many journalists who twist things to have a personal stance even when it goes betond truth. there are also media folk who truly try to do the job in the manner in which most of us wish it was done. and hats off to them.
much love, i hope you are well otherwise.
smiles
Rob
Holistic Spinner (I hope)
BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)
Posted:
Thanks mister,
I keep realising that it's pointless voicing too strong an opinion on such an open forum... ah wells, some day I'll learn
Thanks mister,
I keep realising that it's pointless voicing too strong an opinion on such an open forum... ah wells, some day I'll learn
Getting to the other side 
geek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere
Posted:
foolish girl.
disagree with you strongly there.
you just have to be prepared to argue your side ferociously, give a little, try to understand others POVs, give a little more, and know when to retire with graciousness and dignity without defeat.
and yes, i know,
foolish girl.
disagree with you strongly there.
you just have to be prepared to argue your side ferociously, give a little, try to understand others POVs, give a little more, and know when to retire with graciousness and dignity without defeat.
and yes, i know,
Holistic Spinner (I hope)
BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)
Posted:
Lol, everyone is fully entitled to their opinions - but so am I. I also understand others POVs, even when they don't always give the time to understand mine.
I was going to retire from this conversation a while ago, but I was fairly hurt by what Aidan said - fear not, that conversation has moved to email.
Lol, everyone is fully entitled to their opinions - but so am I. I also understand others POVs, even when they don't always give the time to understand mine.
I was going to retire from this conversation a while ago, but I was fairly hurt by what Aidan said - fear not, that conversation has moved to email.
Getting to the other side
BRONZE Member
enthusiast
272 posts
Location: bristol, uk
enthusiast
272 posts
Location: bristol, uk
Posted:
i kinda got confused over which attack was made in which thread and i know you've sort of moved on to other issues but i thought i'd post my thoughts on glittergirl here.
i met glittergirl in san francisco about a month ago. not only did i find her very willing to share her knowledge, i also found what she had to say very interesting.
she let me sit in on one of her workshops. she uses a number of techniques and learning tools that i'd never heard of and i think are damn clever. i also found her models of poi to be very interesting, even though i argued at length with her over them
. the people who took her workshop certainly looked like they thought they'd got more than their money's worth.
i really liked her col5 entry. she does something i hadn't seen before called "poi-la-hoop" and she does some very pretty tricks. her spinning is a lot more impressive in person. particularly her work on polyrhythms.
i'm not saying i agree with her entirely (actually most of the time i spent talking with her was discussing points i disagreed on in her poi models) but my overall impression was that she has a deep love of poi and that she is making a positive contribution to the poi community as a whole in her innovative approach and methods of teaching.
oh, and patrick, please might you introduce me to your octopus at some stage. they sound like fun. although, if you don't mind me saying, the skateboard thing sounds a little bit gimmicky.
i kinda got confused over which attack was made in which thread and i know you've sort of moved on to other issues but i thought i'd post my thoughts on glittergirl here.
i met glittergirl in san francisco about a month ago. not only did i find her very willing to share her knowledge, i also found what she had to say very interesting.
she let me sit in on one of her workshops. she uses a number of techniques and learning tools that i'd never heard of and i think are damn clever. i also found her models of poi to be very interesting, even though i argued at length with her over them
. the people who took her workshop certainly looked like they thought they'd got more than their money's worth.i really liked her col5 entry. she does something i hadn't seen before called "poi-la-hoop" and she does some very pretty tricks. her spinning is a lot more impressive in person. particularly her work on polyrhythms.
i'm not saying i agree with her entirely (actually most of the time i spent talking with her was discussing points i disagreed on in her poi models) but my overall impression was that she has a deep love of poi and that she is making a positive contribution to the poi community as a whole in her innovative approach and methods of teaching.
oh, and patrick, please might you introduce me to your octopus at some stage. they sound like fun. although, if you don't mind me saying, the skateboard thing sounds a little bit gimmicky.
GOLD Member
(the person actually known as Chris Bailey)
544 posts
Location: Austin, TX, USA
(the person actually known as Chris Bailey)
544 posts
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Posted:
I would never stop spinning if poi became mainstream but I do think it would suck big time. I like the fact that not alot of people spin or know what its about. If everyone started spinning I think it would take the novelty out of it. Last night while spinning a group of kids about 14 yrs old saw me spinning and stopped to watch. Two of the girls asked what I was doing, where I learned to spin, and I gave them some information and the name of this site. If they are really truly interested they'll come here and maybe start learning. I like this way of sharing knowledge but on the otherhand if poi becomes commercialized they mihgt just be sitting home watchiung tv and a celebrity comes on tellin how cool spinning is and that they should go buy a pair of ultra-super-spinny-rocket poi because they love to spin and they should too. You must understand though I am biased against most commercials and other advertising. It drives me crazy how stupid some commercials are and then it depresses me because the commercials are this stupid because this is the kind of advertsing that most people get sucked in by. One of my friends and I recently went through a ski magazine to look for examples of sex in advertising. We found like 30 different ads involvng sex or scantily clad women in a sport where your covered comepletely in layers of clothing 95% of the time. Anyway thats a lil off topic but I wouldn't want to see poi subjected to that kind of commmercialism.
I would never stop spinning if poi became mainstream but I do think it would suck big time. I like the fact that not alot of people spin or know what its about. If everyone started spinning I think it would take the novelty out of it. Last night while spinning a group of kids about 14 yrs old saw me spinning and stopped to watch. Two of the girls asked what I was doing, where I learned to spin, and I gave them some information and the name of this site. If they are really truly interested they'll come here and maybe start learning. I like this way of sharing knowledge but on the otherhand if poi becomes commercialized they mihgt just be sitting home watchiung tv and a celebrity comes on tellin how cool spinning is and that they should go buy a pair of ultra-super-spinny-rocket poi because they love to spin and they should too. You must understand though I am biased against most commercials and other advertising. It drives me crazy how stupid some commercials are and then it depresses me because the commercials are this stupid because this is the kind of advertsing that most people get sucked in by. One of my friends and I recently went through a ski magazine to look for examples of sex in advertising. We found like 30 different ads involvng sex or scantily clad women in a sport where your covered comepletely in layers of clothing 95% of the time. Anyway thats a lil off topic but I wouldn't want to see poi subjected to that kind of commmercialism.
Peace, Love, Circles
BRONZE Member
member
14 posts
Location: Marin, San Francisco, California, USA
member
14 posts
Location: Marin, San Francisco, California, USA
Posted:
Didn't the author say in the article that Madonna was into poi... You know how crazy everybody went when Madonna got into Kabbalah (even though she had a phony teacher teaching phony Kabbalah).
PEACE
Jessy
Written by: Rovo
...but on the otherhand if poi becomes commercialized they mihgt just be sitting home watchiung tv and a celebrity comes on tellin how cool spinning is and that they should go buy a pair of ultra-super-spinny-rocket poi because they love to spin and they should too.
Didn't the author say in the article that Madonna was into poi... You know how crazy everybody went when Madonna got into Kabbalah (even though she had a phony teacher teaching phony Kabbalah).
PEACE
Jessy
¡Viva La Pacha Mama!
GOLD Member
(the person actually known as Chris Bailey)
544 posts
Location: Austin, TX, USA
(the person actually known as Chris Bailey)
544 posts
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Posted:
It said she had a fire spinner on tour with her, but not that she spins.
It said she had a fire spinner on tour with her, but not that she spins.
Peace, Love, Circles
newbie
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
Posted:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. You were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within
you. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others."
---marrion williamson
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. You were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within
you. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others."
---marrion williamson
'Grace' is not demonstrated when things are going well; rather, when things aren't what you expected...
isa "glittergirl" isaacs
founder, temple of poi
not a stranger
558 posts
Location: wales
558 posts
Location: wales
Posted:
Are you the same glitter girl who was on this forum in 2001 asking how to make flags?
Or is that a different one?
And did you ever make any?
And were they good?
(just wondering, cos I'm thinking of making some)
Are you the same glitter girl who was on this forum in 2001 asking how to make flags?
Or is that a different one?
And did you ever make any?
And were they good?
(just wondering, cos I'm thinking of making some)
Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
Beautiful poem! Keep following your heart!
Beautiful poem! Keep following your heart!
newbie
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
Posted:
i am not the same glittergirl. I have not asked how to make flags.
:-)
meanwhile, i'm really getting a kick out of watching everyone's response to all this. I'm amazed that people think they know all about me after reading one article.
have you even looked at my site? checked out my mission statement? reviewed my guiding principles?
I hope you're getting everything you want for yourself....
i am not the same glittergirl. I have not asked how to make flags.
:-)
meanwhile, i'm really getting a kick out of watching everyone's response to all this. I'm amazed that people think they know all about me after reading one article.
have you even looked at my site? checked out my mission statement? reviewed my guiding principles?
I hope you're getting everything you want for yourself....
'Grace' is not demonstrated when things are going well; rather, when things aren't what you expected...
isa "glittergirl" isaacs
founder, temple of poi
not a stranger
558 posts
Location: wales
558 posts
Location: wales
Posted:
Oh well, it was worth an ask.
See, I don't know you, I mixed you up with someone else.
But I did look at your site.
Oh well, it was worth an ask.
See, I don't know you, I mixed you up with someone else.
But I did look at your site.
Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road
newbie
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
Posted:
Greetings from San Francisco. This is my first post here… I hope you like it.
Thanks 2Bags for alerting me to this thread!
WOW! Thanks for all the feedback!. I appreciate that you shared your experience 2Bags, (And Nix, I am nodding to you with warmth and respect.)
I could go through all the posts and attempt some line by line dissection in a futile ego driven attempt to prove something to someone somewhere which really doesn’t matter to anyone anywhere anyway. Since that seems pointless, instead I've created a _very_ long post that addresses (directly and indirectly) a lot of the points brought up in this thread.
My objective is to give you more information that might empower you to formulate more educated opinions.
I write this response presupposing you are rational beings who don’t blindly respond out of emotion. I also assume you aren't really judging who I am based on one news article and that you understand I'm three dimensional while the article is 3000 words. I also presuppose you recognize there is a huge gap between my 35 years of life and an article written for the San Francisco community. Finally, I assume that you read the article and kept it in context understanding it as something delivered in a weekly rag in SF rather than a nation or international publication.
I reiterate: this is a long note. I do not anticipate actually putting this much time into crafting another post on this topic if I publish another post at all.
You can of course choose to ignore this post and remain blissfully judgmental, jaded, closed and uninformed, if in fact that is where you’re at. And if that serves you, I encourage you to continue doing it with all your being. If, by chance, there is some possibility that that isn't serving you, maybe you can read this to garner a more complete understanding of who I am, what I stand for, how aligned we really are, why I communicate as I do, and perhaps even gain some tools you can utilize in your own poi development.
All of that said, Hello everyone!
*really warm smile*
====
MY VALUES AND PASSIONS
I love my life. I love who I am. I love what I have created and built in my life. I live my life fully. I give myself over to my experience and I again and again encourage other’s to do the same thing.
I am a woman of high standards and ethics. I am direct. I value time, the most precious resource of all as we have not figured out how to replace it yet. I keep my word. I value integrity. I empower people where I can. I am changing the world, if only in the US right now, by sharing my ideas with others and expanding their poi (r)evolution.
I am passionate about life, love, teaching, being, flowing, smiling, laughing, intimacy, relating, opening, warmth, comfort, compassion, evolution, dancing and understanding.
On the grand scale, I believe I am here to inspire, educate, facilitate and empower people to make the changes in their lives necessary to become more aligned with who they want to be. Part of that is helping people realize that no matter where they are and what they are doing, they _can_ change and _do_ have a choice.
=====
DEVELOPING THE EGO
Ego. It is fascinating. Most "perception" is, in my experience, projection. That is, when we express our perception of how another person is behaving, we are basing this on our own ability to perceive which is only as vast as our knowledge and experiences allow it to be.
For example, imagine you are a child who is struggling to learn how to tie your shoelaces. As a result of your lack of skill in mastering "shoe lace tying", you may often have your shoes untied.
Then you see someone else with their shoes untied. Because you can’t tie you’re shoelaces yet, you will likely assume someone else who has untied shoe laces can't tie their shoes yet either.
It is a logical conclusion based on the level of development of the child. As an adult, we likely can create other possible reasons for untied shoe laces; it came undone, the shoes are too small, someone's foot is swollen, it is fashionable, etc.
The point is, we are empowered and limited in our ability to perceive by what we have already experienced and currently comprehend. How else can we judge and assess?
When we have egos that are young and haven’t had much time to develop, we may even get defensive when presented with ideas we don’t understand. We may even call someone else’s ideas “wrong,” “stupid,” “arrogant” and any number of other judgmental terms simply because we don’t understand. We may speak as if we have a rational reason, then later realize that the reason was based in fear (of judgment, being wrong, being judged, etc.). A child who can’t tie their shoelaces may even feel like a "bad" person if an individual teases them about it.
As we gain more reasoning skills, life experience and confidence we develop our ego. As an adult, we know that a child is not a “bad” person simply because they can’t tie their shoelaces. If someone teased an adult about an untied shoelace, they’d fix it and move on while a child may cringe, cower and feel “bad.”
On the topic of ego…
Am I arrogant? No. I am clear. I own who I am with purpose, direction, intention, confidence, determination and a willingness to evolve again and again.
Do I appear arrogant to you? That depends on your level of development and your ability to comprehend the difference between…
=====
PERSONAL v. PRACTICAL
When one doesn’t know how to differentiate between a value judgment (good/bad) and a skill assessment (has skill/doesn’t have skill), one often falls into the trap of taking something personally when it really is practical.
Personal is about who you are. Practical is about objective reality. Personal is about ego. Practical is about egolessness.
Objectively, a being is neither good nor bad because they can or can't tie shoelaces. This is simply practical in nature.
Everything you do is like tying shoelaces. You are neither good nor bad because you can or can't do something. You simply are who you are. You either have that skill or you don’t. Neither having it nor not having makes you a better or worse person.
Only _you_ can assign a value judgment. If you can’t do the behind the back weave, all the means is that you can’t do the behind the back weave. That is all. If you decide you’re a bad poi artist because of it, you can just as easily choose to think you are a good poi artist. Either way, the ego has taken over and things suddenly become personal.
It certainly makes sense that we take things personally because we are (or at least in the USA) largely raised in systems that reward “good” behavior and punish “bad” behavior. Those who exhibit “good” behavior are therefore “good people” while those who exhibit “bad behavior” are “bad people.”
Ultimately, experiencing situations as personal does not serve our long term evolution. When we begin to evaluate each other in terms of “good” and “bad,” “better” and “worse” become important. We then create an artificial importance and create our lives with the goal of being “better.” In our attempts to attain the artificial goal of self worth in being judged “better”, we are expending energy and aren’t even “being” in the moment.
The other significant consequence of this approach is that we seek our self worth through others rather than having it inside us all the time. As we validate ourselves through comparison and judgment of others, we find it hard to be alone because our self worth is intrinsically linked to our relative worth in an arbitrary system of comparison to others.
=====
WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL RIGHT NOW
Imagine you are comparing a wild exotic flower to a dandelion flower. They are both flowers. Objectively they are flowers with particular sizes, shapes, colors, dimensions, fragrances, etc. Subjectively, some may see beauty in both flows, some may see beauty in one flower, and some may see no beauty at all.
“Seeing beauty” is a choice itself though. We create beauty in our interpretation; beauty is not omni present. Therefore, we can choose to embrace the idea that all of the flowers are beautiful for what they are just as we can also choose to say they are all ugly for what they are.
If we can choose what we interpret the (flower’s) aesthetic to be, wouldn’t it make sense, in each moment, to choose the most luscious, fun, opening, beautiful, flowing choice possible?
Despite the limitless possibilities, over the past several years I have noticed poi artists expressing "judgment" and "cattiness" toward other poi artists who are not doing. It doesn’t make sense to me to judge another performer based on what moves they aren’t doing.
It seems more sensible to assess them based on what they _are_ doing.
I assert we (all poi artists and all beings) are all beautiful exactly where we are. Does that mean everyone is equally compelling to watch? No. Does that mean that everyone has the same level of skill as everyone else? No. Does that matter? No.
=====
OPEN MINDED
With all that in mind, I am presupposing you are open minded individuals. Some of you may have jumped to some quick conclusions based on limited information. Given what you read, what you believe and what you’ve experienced, your conclusions probably make sense. I'll also assume the conversation was lively and fun and since you don't know me, typing something up without thinking about other possibilities just happened easily.
I invite you to let go of your preconceived notions since you don't actually know me, don't know what I stand for, and, best as I can tell, with the exception of 2Bags and Nix, no one commenting on me has actually even communicated with me directly let alone met me, looked in my eyes and understood the depth of my being.
=====
ARTICLE FOCUS
This feature was about my journey, what I have accomplished, that which I have experienced and who I am in this world. That does include poi though the writer explicitly said poi was not the focus of the article.
I have read through the many posts here and I feel that people are perhaps experiencing who I am as somehow devaluing who they are. I am saddened by this thought and I hope I am wrong.
I never once disparage anyone else. Nor do I wish to. I appreciate that HOP and Sphericulism and Poi in the Park and other community venues exist. I value them all. And each of them offers its own flavor of experience. I offer my flavor. There are so many flavors of ice cream; you are bound to prefer one over another.
Preference is practical and it makes sense.
The challenge arises when me being who I am somehow is “wrong” and diminishes who someone else is. That is personal. We are all beautiful right now, as we are. Each of us. Even if you think I’m an arrogant horses behind.
SF Weekly wrote a very relevant piece to the SF community. Poi is pretty big over here and we have thousands of fire dancers in the bay area. If you ignore your own objections to me teaching poi, Isa Isaacs, the woman, has a pretty cool and interesting life. For some, my story is inspirational, though clearly, not many people here. *laugh*
I also imagine you’re looking at a local newspaper in San Francisco and reading it from the perspective of whoever you are and where you live. The target audience is Liberal San Franciscan’s.
Locally, I’m fairly well known in the poi community. Not because I’m the best performer in the world. Not because I’m an awesome instructor. Not because I’m a great DJ. Not because I teach poi for a living. I am well known because of the sum total of my experiences and even if you’re not inspired by it, many people are encouraged to know that someone else has transformed and continues to do so again and again to constantly become more fully aligned.
In our country, there are still more people who don’t like their job than do and there are few people who have a job that is their passion. When someone is doing something they love, loving what they do, and doing it well it is newsworthy. I do wish it were different and that everyone did what they love. Then I wouldn’t be newsworthy. And how much better would our world be if we all loved what we did, did what we loved and excelled at it?
=====
JUST BEING ME
At the same time, I am offering something that other people find value in purchasing to the extent that the school keeps growing and the number of artists we’ve worked with continues to increase.
There are people here who think it is wrong to sell my time, training, education, distinctions and support. I simply disagree. If it ended there, I would not be sending this note.
The problem is that some people think I devalue who they are, the origin of the art form and they think they are being insulted, offended, hurt or put off by my choice.
I am sorry you are hurt. I really am.
The truth is, if you feel that way, you are choosing it. You are creating your own experience.
You are likely judging me by your standards and assuming I not only have the same standards, but that I want to have the same standards, even though I don’t even know what they are because I live in a different part of the world, was raised in a different culture and pursued different ideals. Subsequently, because you expect me to meet your standards – standards you think I “should” have that I never agreed to -- you are choosing to be insulted/offended/hurt/etc. because I didn’t live up your expectation. You are creating the whole cycle. You are taking it personally when I am just being who I am being.
I actually look forward to a time when the whole poi community can gather and share all the diversity each of us brings to the party so we can share the ways we create the art form from a space of openness openly rather than closedness.
Those of you who are hurt/offended/put off/etc. can decide to notice who I am and say, "I do not prefer that flavor" rather than saying, "how could she do that!" or “I’m so hurt!” or “How arrogant!” or some other judgment.
=====
SHARING INSPIRATION
I was 300 pounds and I now stand at 175 pounds. I am not a twig AND I am fit. I express myself as a woman who has extra flesh on her body, moves her body well and who is also fit. I empower people, especially women in similar positions, to love and accept themselves through their process.
Is my sharing personal information a cry for help? No. Is my willingness to be free with who I am a desperate plea for attention? No.
Of course, if the reasons you would share these things is a cry for help or a desperate plea for attention, much like the shoelace example above, you would likely think that of me.
The real reasons I shared these things with the media was with the possibility that someone reading my story would be inspired to change their life. The first step is really hard to make and if I can help some fat couch potato get up and move or I can reduce someone’s pain and suffering, it is worth ever disparaging remark anyone can ever make about me. Several have already shared how the article impacted them and I am so grateful that what I experienced can provide inspiration for others. That is a gift.
=====
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE TEMPLE OF POI:
There have been some accusations in this thread implying that I do not understand the meditative aspects of poi and I am not particularly spiritual. I would like to dispel that notion by sharing the guiding principles of the Temple of Poi. The basis of the philosophy is this invitation:
"Express yourself fully and completely until and unless you take away someone else's right to express themselves fully and completely."
It is our goal to create an environment that not only facilitates the student’s poi/hoop/staff skill development but also cultivates the individual style and artistry each person uniquely brings to their art form. To promote the highest quality learning experience for all the students, we ask each student to follow three principles to the best of their ability as they study with us -- and, if they dare, to apply these ideas to the rest of their lives:
1. Leave your self judgment outside the door. Learning can be challenging enough without adding the unnecessary challenges of self judgment. We have witnessed countless students feeling discouraged simply because they judged themselves. We ask students to embrace the process of learning, understanding that flow arts are a practice, not something learned over night. We ask students to be compassionate with their own learning process and, naturally, to offer each other the same grace.
2. Use empowering language and hold a positive attitude. For example, instead of saying, "I can't do this!" say, "I can't do this yet." By adding the word "yet" to the sentence, students allow for the possibility of eventually learning the move. This helps the practitioner maintain a positive attitude, even when faced with increasingly more challenging moves. When students are learning, nothing can replace a positive attitude.
3. Utilize self to self comparisons rather than self to other comparisons. We can always find someone "better" than we are; we can always find someone "worse" than we are. If a student has the desire to gauge their progress, one effective measure is to do a self to self comparison through time. That is, assess the level of achievement at various points in time and compare them to each other rather than comparing to anyone else's progress. Everyone's journey is unique and people learn different moves in different times. One way to gauge success is to ask yourself, "Do I know more now than I did before?" As long as you can answer yes to that question, you are successful.
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ENLIGHTENED SELF INTEREST:
When one walks through the world with the clarity that success for one person in an industry lays the foundation for success for all others in the industry and then chooses to support the success of others (call it "co-opetition" --- cooperative competition), one is acting from a place of enlightened self interest.
For example, as each artist develops and increases their skill, their development fundamentally raises the bar for all other artists. As they get performances, more people are exposed to it, thereby increasing the demand for performers. If we are thinking cooperatively, we look at this as a good thing because we are moving the art form forward, creating distinctions that allow for more possibilities to be built and creating the very demand that will continue to propel the business forward.
When someone takes the original idea of poi created in New Zealand and synthesizes it into something else, they are expanding what was there, not destroying it. Endless iterations of this expansive process _is_ evolution and possibility.
This extends to all things that can grow. As an instructor, if I am promoting other instructors, poi sites, flow toy manufacturers, performers, etc., and that will serve me because it expands the consumer market size. I am helping them which in turn creates opportunity for me.
Where capitalism gets a bad reputation is in those places where one person/company in the industry works to destroy the others. This stunts the growth of the marketplace. If there is no competition, new ideas will only emerge as quickly as that one company/mind can create them. If multiple sources for a product/service exist, only the best, brightest, and most valuable products will be supported because more choices present themselves. This fundamentally helps consumers because they have multiple places to select from which keeps prices low and quality high. This is how supply and demand works. Only the most effective, efficient and innovative organizations will survive. If one is confident in their ability to continue to grow with the industry, one is happy to support their competition, because their competition is marketing and expanding the consumer based.
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CAPITALISM
Capitalism does not mean money. Capitalism means freedom and opportunity: free trade or unregulated value for value exchanges. Company X and Consumer Y mutually agree to trade items of value with each other. In the USA, that often amounts to cash for products and/or services.
Some people think it is wrong to sell poi instruction. I find this idea fascinating and humorous. What is “wrong” with someone rewarding you for the work you do to help them? You pay a mover to help you move, don’t you? Why should art be excluded from “items that can be purchased?”
I can understand where an individual might not _want_ to charge someone else for their art. I am a published pianist and I have never sold my music. That is because I didn’t know how to value the product. At times, I thought it was so priceless who could afford it? At other times my perspective is that the quality of the product is not competitive enough with others who produce similar products. I opt to give it away because I don’t need the money and I am not trying to generate profit from it. At the same time, I continue to support other artists who do want to make money from their music creating and production.
The hardest part of this conversation for me is that so many people think it is “wrong” to teach poi for money. That alone is a challenge. The fact that some people seem to think they are “right” is the real opportunity for growth here. We live on a planet with 6 billion people. How can their be a universal answer to the question, “Should art be free?” when there are so many people with so many ideas, beliefs, gods, rituals, practices and backgrounds? Even if I know what is right for me, what gives me the right to impose my ideas and values on other beings?
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SPIRITUAL CAPITALISM
Why is it that “starving” and “artist” are so frequently used together as a phrase? My experience is that people perceive that business people who will be rich can make the money because they are “heartless” and lack spirit. The other side of this is that artists, who are abundant in spirit, are poor because they lack the heartlessness necessary to make money.
I would hate to live my life thinking I couldn’t be both spirited and rich. Compassionate selling becomes spiritual capitalism. I am a living example that one can integrate both spirit and money.
The formula? Be in your body. Know what you want and what you value. Act in alignment with that. In that way you will be acting in accord with your spirit. Approach your experience egolessly, knowing your value fully. From this place you can ask for what your worth, be it a lunch or $100.
If you think that is "wrong", I understand. I used to think so too. You may want it for yourself yet belief you can’t do it or aren’t worth it. Or you might have some religious or cultural belief that requires you judge this behavior as “wrong”.
Whatever the case, once you start believing it is possible be a spiritual capitalist you will begin to make choices that create that reality.
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PERSONAL EVOLUTION:
We are all many things: men, women, teachers, students, performers, friends, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and countless other things to describe us. In each of these areas, we develop as we experience more of our lives.
I am a student of poi. I am a teacher of poi. I am a performer of poi. I am a poi practitioner. I am a poi-la-hoop pioneer.
In each of these areas, I am at a different level of development today than I was at in the beginning of the year. For example, I didn’t even hoop until January 1 of this year; poi-la-hoop (the COL5 video shows my 2nd time doing it with fire) came several months later. As time has past, I have grown.
To support your position regarding my character, some of you judged my skill as represented in the COL4 video and presented that as who I am today. I’m sure I don’t need to point out that my COL4 entry is 1.5 years old.
I am a great performer. The COL4 entry, while demonstrating some interesting body undulations as I was spinning the poi, is quite funny to me now given my current level of development. I’m so different from who I was then. I thought that 6 months after I shot the video when I received my COL4 tape. I had a similar experience when I watched COL5. Funnier still is the comparison between COL4 and COL5. Not surprisingly, I evolved from one video to the next. And let me say, I should hope so! *laugh*
I am grateful to see the COL4 video so I can smile and love who I was then as I compare it to the COL5 entry (the full version of which is available on my site and was edited significantly for the DVD). Even that entry from June is remarkably out of date compared to my current level of development as a performer.
These videos provide a tool for me. I choose to leave old videos on my site to offer people a way of seeing my progress through time as well. I have nothing to hide because I love everywhere I’ve been. As I love myself fully in front of my students and embrace my own student within. My ability to be humble and say, yeah, the COL4 entry wasn’t that great sets an example of self acceptance and willingness to grow. I choose this consciously in an effort to inspire other’s to embrace their process.
We are all changing in each moment. Even now you might be noticing your thoughts about who I was are shifting. You may like me more or less. You may understand me more or less. Whatever is going on for you, something is changing. And this is happening every moment.
All of that said, while I am a great performer (the videos really don’t do it justice as 2Bags said) and a far more distinguished and talented instructor.
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EDUCATION, FACILITATION AND CHANGING PEOPLE'S LIVES:
I have yet to interact with more than a handful of individuals who teach. I am an excellent teacher by my own criteria in that I:
- connect well with students
- facilitate their ability to gain a richer understanding of their body and poi movements
- guide students toward deepening the relationship between the body and the poi
- give students specific moves, combinations and practices that increase their skill
- encourage each individual’s evolution
- assist students in deepening their understanding of and connection with flow
- facilitate student healing through tools which help connect and align their body, mind and spirit
- increase student’s connection to their core muscles, balance, strength and center
- present extensive learning models that enable ongoing development after the course is completed
- offer tools for ego development so individuals can simultaneously love who they are without needing to prove their worth to others
- change their lives
On a technical level, I actually have the skill to analyze students as they are learning moves and pinpoint the precise adjustment(s) necessary such that they get the move, including moves I don’t actually do myself. That is a particular level of skill that is not shared by many on the planet that I am aware of.
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DISTINCTIONS:
As I began instructing and, I questioned the fundamental criteria being used to "judge" other people. An instructor cannot “judge” their students, particularly when asking these students to not judge themselves. Yet, without judgment, how can a student measure the effectiveness of their work?
As I moved away from judging students –as in good or bad – I moved toward assessing their development against objective standards. This is not to say my objective standards are 1. the only objective standards; 2. the right objective standards; or 3. the only way to learn. I merely present these standards to assist and support their evolution.
What I experience as I gain more knowledge is that fewer and fewer people have considered these ideas at the level of complexity and depth that I have. I respectfully submit that this is a distinction. Does this make me superior? No. Does it mean I have ideas other’s haven’t considered? Likely. Does this mean I am at a level of development not many share? Yes.
Please note that the level of development of which I speak is as an instructor, facilitator, healer and guide, not as a performer. I’m a great performer. I’m a far better instructor.
I look forward to the time when I speak with others who have developed as many distinctions, models, and tools as I have so we can expand each other’s thinking. (Andy? You out there?!?!?!) That is not to say there aren't people out there who have as many distinctions as I do. I simply have not met them in the _literally_ thousands of people with whom I have interacted.
If you believe you have distinctions and models and developmental tools that define the holarchy of poi, the structure of poi movement or an objective developmental model for poi exploration – or anything else for that matter -- I welcome an opportunity to have a lengthy, geeky discussion of such systems/structures/tools/models.
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GEEKY THOUGHTS: POI CONCENTRATIONS
Here is a bit of information I offer my students as they expand their development. I don’t expect it is new to the experienced spinners (Nix, Matt, etc.). I am sharing it with you to give you a sense of my work so you don’t just think I’m puffing smoke.
Once artists get past basic moves, they generally begin to focus on "concentrations". What is a concentration, you may ask?
Briefly, it is a particular way of either consistently and reproducibly manipulating moves, ways the artist moves relative to the moves being performed, or location where the move is performed.
Ways of manipulating the moves include: multi-beat moves, wraps, stalls, hyperloops, isolations, behind the back and my own specialty, poly-rhythmic and multi-poi.
Ways of moving your body relative to the poi include: dancing, floorwork, aerial, and acrobatic.
Move placement locations include: legs, arms, horizontal, and behind the back.
Once you have some competence in a concentration, you can work with "poly concentrations" -- where one applies multiple concentrations to one move as in a 5bt isolated TTN. This combines multi beat with isolations.
As I’ve said, I'm sure you've all thought of this already as experienced poi artists, so this probably isn't new to you. For people who are just learning, this sort of breakdown offers distinctions and guidance that can dramatically reduce the student learning curve.
Now the other reason I bring this up is because someone misrepresented how I communicated on the Sphericulism site.
I contend that I generated an entire poly-rhythmic concentration. Does that mean that other’s haven’t generated it themselves elsewhere? No. Have I seen other’s do it? Well, with the exception of something Andy (Brother and Son) did on the COL5 entry I just saw a few weeks ago and students I have taught, I have not ever seen anyone else who does, let alone focuses on poly-rhythmic moves.
I posit that having dozens and dozens of patterns based on an integrated concentration that you have never seen anyone else do is a particular level of development that not everyone attains. To be clear, I’m fairly certain there are over 50 patterns and likely over 100, but I’d have to count which seems so silly. I have definitely pushed the edges of poly rhythmic movement in a way I have not seen anywhere else.
In my own assessment, I see that as a generative artist. I haven’t met many folks who have pushed out a concentration they never saw before to create that many patterns. I’d love to chat with those who have though as my mind is aching to connect with other poi geeks who are open minded spiritual capitalist types who comprehend and value the difference between confidence and arrogance.
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If you have actually read down this far in this message, I thank you for opening yourself up enough to read my words.
Glittering in light and flow,
...glittergirl
Greetings from San Francisco. This is my first post here… I hope you like it.
Thanks 2Bags for alerting me to this thread!
WOW! Thanks for all the feedback!. I appreciate that you shared your experience 2Bags, (And Nix, I am nodding to you with warmth and respect.)
I could go through all the posts and attempt some line by line dissection in a futile ego driven attempt to prove something to someone somewhere which really doesn’t matter to anyone anywhere anyway. Since that seems pointless, instead I've created a _very_ long post that addresses (directly and indirectly) a lot of the points brought up in this thread.
My objective is to give you more information that might empower you to formulate more educated opinions.
I write this response presupposing you are rational beings who don’t blindly respond out of emotion. I also assume you aren't really judging who I am based on one news article and that you understand I'm three dimensional while the article is 3000 words. I also presuppose you recognize there is a huge gap between my 35 years of life and an article written for the San Francisco community. Finally, I assume that you read the article and kept it in context understanding it as something delivered in a weekly rag in SF rather than a nation or international publication.
I reiterate: this is a long note. I do not anticipate actually putting this much time into crafting another post on this topic if I publish another post at all.
You can of course choose to ignore this post and remain blissfully judgmental, jaded, closed and uninformed, if in fact that is where you’re at. And if that serves you, I encourage you to continue doing it with all your being. If, by chance, there is some possibility that that isn't serving you, maybe you can read this to garner a more complete understanding of who I am, what I stand for, how aligned we really are, why I communicate as I do, and perhaps even gain some tools you can utilize in your own poi development.
All of that said, Hello everyone!
*really warm smile*
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MY VALUES AND PASSIONS
I love my life. I love who I am. I love what I have created and built in my life. I live my life fully. I give myself over to my experience and I again and again encourage other’s to do the same thing.
I am a woman of high standards and ethics. I am direct. I value time, the most precious resource of all as we have not figured out how to replace it yet. I keep my word. I value integrity. I empower people where I can. I am changing the world, if only in the US right now, by sharing my ideas with others and expanding their poi (r)evolution.
I am passionate about life, love, teaching, being, flowing, smiling, laughing, intimacy, relating, opening, warmth, comfort, compassion, evolution, dancing and understanding.
On the grand scale, I believe I am here to inspire, educate, facilitate and empower people to make the changes in their lives necessary to become more aligned with who they want to be. Part of that is helping people realize that no matter where they are and what they are doing, they _can_ change and _do_ have a choice.
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DEVELOPING THE EGO
Ego. It is fascinating. Most "perception" is, in my experience, projection. That is, when we express our perception of how another person is behaving, we are basing this on our own ability to perceive which is only as vast as our knowledge and experiences allow it to be.
For example, imagine you are a child who is struggling to learn how to tie your shoelaces. As a result of your lack of skill in mastering "shoe lace tying", you may often have your shoes untied.
Then you see someone else with their shoes untied. Because you can’t tie you’re shoelaces yet, you will likely assume someone else who has untied shoe laces can't tie their shoes yet either.
It is a logical conclusion based on the level of development of the child. As an adult, we likely can create other possible reasons for untied shoe laces; it came undone, the shoes are too small, someone's foot is swollen, it is fashionable, etc.
The point is, we are empowered and limited in our ability to perceive by what we have already experienced and currently comprehend. How else can we judge and assess?
When we have egos that are young and haven’t had much time to develop, we may even get defensive when presented with ideas we don’t understand. We may even call someone else’s ideas “wrong,” “stupid,” “arrogant” and any number of other judgmental terms simply because we don’t understand. We may speak as if we have a rational reason, then later realize that the reason was based in fear (of judgment, being wrong, being judged, etc.). A child who can’t tie their shoelaces may even feel like a "bad" person if an individual teases them about it.
As we gain more reasoning skills, life experience and confidence we develop our ego. As an adult, we know that a child is not a “bad” person simply because they can’t tie their shoelaces. If someone teased an adult about an untied shoelace, they’d fix it and move on while a child may cringe, cower and feel “bad.”
On the topic of ego…
Am I arrogant? No. I am clear. I own who I am with purpose, direction, intention, confidence, determination and a willingness to evolve again and again.
Do I appear arrogant to you? That depends on your level of development and your ability to comprehend the difference between…
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PERSONAL v. PRACTICAL
When one doesn’t know how to differentiate between a value judgment (good/bad) and a skill assessment (has skill/doesn’t have skill), one often falls into the trap of taking something personally when it really is practical.
Personal is about who you are. Practical is about objective reality. Personal is about ego. Practical is about egolessness.
Objectively, a being is neither good nor bad because they can or can't tie shoelaces. This is simply practical in nature.
Everything you do is like tying shoelaces. You are neither good nor bad because you can or can't do something. You simply are who you are. You either have that skill or you don’t. Neither having it nor not having makes you a better or worse person.
Only _you_ can assign a value judgment. If you can’t do the behind the back weave, all the means is that you can’t do the behind the back weave. That is all. If you decide you’re a bad poi artist because of it, you can just as easily choose to think you are a good poi artist. Either way, the ego has taken over and things suddenly become personal.
It certainly makes sense that we take things personally because we are (or at least in the USA) largely raised in systems that reward “good” behavior and punish “bad” behavior. Those who exhibit “good” behavior are therefore “good people” while those who exhibit “bad behavior” are “bad people.”
Ultimately, experiencing situations as personal does not serve our long term evolution. When we begin to evaluate each other in terms of “good” and “bad,” “better” and “worse” become important. We then create an artificial importance and create our lives with the goal of being “better.” In our attempts to attain the artificial goal of self worth in being judged “better”, we are expending energy and aren’t even “being” in the moment.
The other significant consequence of this approach is that we seek our self worth through others rather than having it inside us all the time. As we validate ourselves through comparison and judgment of others, we find it hard to be alone because our self worth is intrinsically linked to our relative worth in an arbitrary system of comparison to others.
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WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL RIGHT NOW
Imagine you are comparing a wild exotic flower to a dandelion flower. They are both flowers. Objectively they are flowers with particular sizes, shapes, colors, dimensions, fragrances, etc. Subjectively, some may see beauty in both flows, some may see beauty in one flower, and some may see no beauty at all.
“Seeing beauty” is a choice itself though. We create beauty in our interpretation; beauty is not omni present. Therefore, we can choose to embrace the idea that all of the flowers are beautiful for what they are just as we can also choose to say they are all ugly for what they are.
If we can choose what we interpret the (flower’s) aesthetic to be, wouldn’t it make sense, in each moment, to choose the most luscious, fun, opening, beautiful, flowing choice possible?
Despite the limitless possibilities, over the past several years I have noticed poi artists expressing "judgment" and "cattiness" toward other poi artists who are not doing
It seems more sensible to assess them based on what they _are_ doing.
I assert we (all poi artists and all beings) are all beautiful exactly where we are. Does that mean everyone is equally compelling to watch? No. Does that mean that everyone has the same level of skill as everyone else? No. Does that matter? No.
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OPEN MINDED
With all that in mind, I am presupposing you are open minded individuals. Some of you may have jumped to some quick conclusions based on limited information. Given what you read, what you believe and what you’ve experienced, your conclusions probably make sense. I'll also assume the conversation was lively and fun and since you don't know me, typing something up without thinking about other possibilities just happened easily.
I invite you to let go of your preconceived notions since you don't actually know me, don't know what I stand for, and, best as I can tell, with the exception of 2Bags and Nix, no one commenting on me has actually even communicated with me directly let alone met me, looked in my eyes and understood the depth of my being.
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ARTICLE FOCUS
This feature was about my journey, what I have accomplished, that which I have experienced and who I am in this world. That does include poi though the writer explicitly said poi was not the focus of the article.
I have read through the many posts here and I feel that people are perhaps experiencing who I am as somehow devaluing who they are. I am saddened by this thought and I hope I am wrong.
I never once disparage anyone else. Nor do I wish to. I appreciate that HOP and Sphericulism and Poi in the Park and other community venues exist. I value them all. And each of them offers its own flavor of experience. I offer my flavor. There are so many flavors of ice cream; you are bound to prefer one over another.
Preference is practical and it makes sense.
The challenge arises when me being who I am somehow is “wrong” and diminishes who someone else is. That is personal. We are all beautiful right now, as we are. Each of us. Even if you think I’m an arrogant horses behind.
SF Weekly wrote a very relevant piece to the SF community. Poi is pretty big over here and we have thousands of fire dancers in the bay area. If you ignore your own objections to me teaching poi, Isa Isaacs, the woman, has a pretty cool and interesting life. For some, my story is inspirational, though clearly, not many people here. *laugh*
I also imagine you’re looking at a local newspaper in San Francisco and reading it from the perspective of whoever you are and where you live. The target audience is Liberal San Franciscan’s.
Locally, I’m fairly well known in the poi community. Not because I’m the best performer in the world. Not because I’m an awesome instructor. Not because I’m a great DJ. Not because I teach poi for a living. I am well known because of the sum total of my experiences and even if you’re not inspired by it, many people are encouraged to know that someone else has transformed and continues to do so again and again to constantly become more fully aligned.
In our country, there are still more people who don’t like their job than do and there are few people who have a job that is their passion. When someone is doing something they love, loving what they do, and doing it well it is newsworthy. I do wish it were different and that everyone did what they love. Then I wouldn’t be newsworthy. And how much better would our world be if we all loved what we did, did what we loved and excelled at it?
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JUST BEING ME
At the same time, I am offering something that other people find value in purchasing to the extent that the school keeps growing and the number of artists we’ve worked with continues to increase.
There are people here who think it is wrong to sell my time, training, education, distinctions and support. I simply disagree. If it ended there, I would not be sending this note.
The problem is that some people think I devalue who they are, the origin of the art form and they think they are being insulted, offended, hurt or put off by my choice.
I am sorry you are hurt. I really am.
The truth is, if you feel that way, you are choosing it. You are creating your own experience.
You are likely judging me by your standards and assuming I not only have the same standards, but that I want to have the same standards, even though I don’t even know what they are because I live in a different part of the world, was raised in a different culture and pursued different ideals. Subsequently, because you expect me to meet your standards – standards you think I “should” have that I never agreed to -- you are choosing to be insulted/offended/hurt/etc. because I didn’t live up your expectation. You are creating the whole cycle. You are taking it personally when I am just being who I am being.
I actually look forward to a time when the whole poi community can gather and share all the diversity each of us brings to the party so we can share the ways we create the art form from a space of openness openly rather than closedness.
Those of you who are hurt/offended/put off/etc. can decide to notice who I am and say, "I do not prefer that flavor" rather than saying, "how could she do that!" or “I’m so hurt!” or “How arrogant!” or some other judgment.
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SHARING INSPIRATION
I was 300 pounds and I now stand at 175 pounds. I am not a twig AND I am fit. I express myself as a woman who has extra flesh on her body, moves her body well and who is also fit. I empower people, especially women in similar positions, to love and accept themselves through their process.
Is my sharing personal information a cry for help? No. Is my willingness to be free with who I am a desperate plea for attention? No.
Of course, if the reasons you would share these things is a cry for help or a desperate plea for attention, much like the shoelace example above, you would likely think that of me.
The real reasons I shared these things with the media was with the possibility that someone reading my story would be inspired to change their life. The first step is really hard to make and if I can help some fat couch potato get up and move or I can reduce someone’s pain and suffering, it is worth ever disparaging remark anyone can ever make about me. Several have already shared how the article impacted them and I am so grateful that what I experienced can provide inspiration for others. That is a gift.
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE TEMPLE OF POI:
There have been some accusations in this thread implying that I do not understand the meditative aspects of poi and I am not particularly spiritual. I would like to dispel that notion by sharing the guiding principles of the Temple of Poi. The basis of the philosophy is this invitation:
"Express yourself fully and completely until and unless you take away someone else's right to express themselves fully and completely."
It is our goal to create an environment that not only facilitates the student’s poi/hoop/staff skill development but also cultivates the individual style and artistry each person uniquely brings to their art form. To promote the highest quality learning experience for all the students, we ask each student to follow three principles to the best of their ability as they study with us -- and, if they dare, to apply these ideas to the rest of their lives:
1. Leave your self judgment outside the door. Learning can be challenging enough without adding the unnecessary challenges of self judgment. We have witnessed countless students feeling discouraged simply because they judged themselves. We ask students to embrace the process of learning, understanding that flow arts are a practice, not something learned over night. We ask students to be compassionate with their own learning process and, naturally, to offer each other the same grace.
2. Use empowering language and hold a positive attitude. For example, instead of saying, "I can't do this!" say, "I can't do this yet." By adding the word "yet" to the sentence, students allow for the possibility of eventually learning the move. This helps the practitioner maintain a positive attitude, even when faced with increasingly more challenging moves. When students are learning, nothing can replace a positive attitude.
3. Utilize self to self comparisons rather than self to other comparisons. We can always find someone "better" than we are; we can always find someone "worse" than we are. If a student has the desire to gauge their progress, one effective measure is to do a self to self comparison through time. That is, assess the level of achievement at various points in time and compare them to each other rather than comparing to anyone else's progress. Everyone's journey is unique and people learn different moves in different times. One way to gauge success is to ask yourself, "Do I know more now than I did before?" As long as you can answer yes to that question, you are successful.
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ENLIGHTENED SELF INTEREST:
When one walks through the world with the clarity that success for one person in an industry lays the foundation for success for all others in the industry and then chooses to support the success of others (call it "co-opetition" --- cooperative competition), one is acting from a place of enlightened self interest.
For example, as each artist develops and increases their skill, their development fundamentally raises the bar for all other artists. As they get performances, more people are exposed to it, thereby increasing the demand for performers. If we are thinking cooperatively, we look at this as a good thing because we are moving the art form forward, creating distinctions that allow for more possibilities to be built and creating the very demand that will continue to propel the business forward.
When someone takes the original idea of poi created in New Zealand and synthesizes it into something else, they are expanding what was there, not destroying it. Endless iterations of this expansive process _is_ evolution and possibility.
This extends to all things that can grow. As an instructor, if I am promoting other instructors, poi sites, flow toy manufacturers, performers, etc., and that will serve me because it expands the consumer market size. I am helping them which in turn creates opportunity for me.
Where capitalism gets a bad reputation is in those places where one person/company in the industry works to destroy the others. This stunts the growth of the marketplace. If there is no competition, new ideas will only emerge as quickly as that one company/mind can create them. If multiple sources for a product/service exist, only the best, brightest, and most valuable products will be supported because more choices present themselves. This fundamentally helps consumers because they have multiple places to select from which keeps prices low and quality high. This is how supply and demand works. Only the most effective, efficient and innovative organizations will survive. If one is confident in their ability to continue to grow with the industry, one is happy to support their competition, because their competition is marketing and expanding the consumer based.
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CAPITALISM
Capitalism does not mean money. Capitalism means freedom and opportunity: free trade or unregulated value for value exchanges. Company X and Consumer Y mutually agree to trade items of value with each other. In the USA, that often amounts to cash for products and/or services.
Some people think it is wrong to sell poi instruction. I find this idea fascinating and humorous. What is “wrong” with someone rewarding you for the work you do to help them? You pay a mover to help you move, don’t you? Why should art be excluded from “items that can be purchased?”
I can understand where an individual might not _want_ to charge someone else for their art. I am a published pianist and I have never sold my music. That is because I didn’t know how to value the product. At times, I thought it was so priceless who could afford it? At other times my perspective is that the quality of the product is not competitive enough with others who produce similar products. I opt to give it away because I don’t need the money and I am not trying to generate profit from it. At the same time, I continue to support other artists who do want to make money from their music creating and production.
The hardest part of this conversation for me is that so many people think it is “wrong” to teach poi for money. That alone is a challenge. The fact that some people seem to think they are “right” is the real opportunity for growth here. We live on a planet with 6 billion people. How can their be a universal answer to the question, “Should art be free?” when there are so many people with so many ideas, beliefs, gods, rituals, practices and backgrounds? Even if I know what is right for me, what gives me the right to impose my ideas and values on other beings?
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SPIRITUAL CAPITALISM
Why is it that “starving” and “artist” are so frequently used together as a phrase? My experience is that people perceive that business people who will be rich can make the money because they are “heartless” and lack spirit. The other side of this is that artists, who are abundant in spirit, are poor because they lack the heartlessness necessary to make money.
I would hate to live my life thinking I couldn’t be both spirited and rich. Compassionate selling becomes spiritual capitalism. I am a living example that one can integrate both spirit and money.
The formula? Be in your body. Know what you want and what you value. Act in alignment with that. In that way you will be acting in accord with your spirit. Approach your experience egolessly, knowing your value fully. From this place you can ask for what your worth, be it a lunch or $100.
If you think that is "wrong", I understand. I used to think so too. You may want it for yourself yet belief you can’t do it or aren’t worth it. Or you might have some religious or cultural belief that requires you judge this behavior as “wrong”.
Whatever the case, once you start believing it is possible be a spiritual capitalist you will begin to make choices that create that reality.
======
PERSONAL EVOLUTION:
We are all many things: men, women, teachers, students, performers, friends, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and countless other things to describe us. In each of these areas, we develop as we experience more of our lives.
I am a student of poi. I am a teacher of poi. I am a performer of poi. I am a poi practitioner. I am a poi-la-hoop pioneer.
In each of these areas, I am at a different level of development today than I was at in the beginning of the year. For example, I didn’t even hoop until January 1 of this year; poi-la-hoop (the COL5 video shows my 2nd time doing it with fire) came several months later. As time has past, I have grown.
To support your position regarding my character, some of you judged my skill as represented in the COL4 video and presented that as who I am today. I’m sure I don’t need to point out that my COL4 entry is 1.5 years old.
I am a great performer. The COL4 entry, while demonstrating some interesting body undulations as I was spinning the poi, is quite funny to me now given my current level of development. I’m so different from who I was then. I thought that 6 months after I shot the video when I received my COL4 tape. I had a similar experience when I watched COL5. Funnier still is the comparison between COL4 and COL5. Not surprisingly, I evolved from one video to the next. And let me say, I should hope so! *laugh*
I am grateful to see the COL4 video so I can smile and love who I was then as I compare it to the COL5 entry (the full version of which is available on my site and was edited significantly for the DVD). Even that entry from June is remarkably out of date compared to my current level of development as a performer.
These videos provide a tool for me. I choose to leave old videos on my site to offer people a way of seeing my progress through time as well. I have nothing to hide because I love everywhere I’ve been. As I love myself fully in front of my students and embrace my own student within. My ability to be humble and say, yeah, the COL4 entry wasn’t that great sets an example of self acceptance and willingness to grow. I choose this consciously in an effort to inspire other’s to embrace their process.
We are all changing in each moment. Even now you might be noticing your thoughts about who I was are shifting. You may like me more or less. You may understand me more or less. Whatever is going on for you, something is changing. And this is happening every moment.
All of that said, while I am a great performer (the videos really don’t do it justice as 2Bags said) and a far more distinguished and talented instructor.
=====
EDUCATION, FACILITATION AND CHANGING PEOPLE'S LIVES:
I have yet to interact with more than a handful of individuals who teach. I am an excellent teacher by my own criteria in that I:
- connect well with students
- facilitate their ability to gain a richer understanding of their body and poi movements
- guide students toward deepening the relationship between the body and the poi
- give students specific moves, combinations and practices that increase their skill
- encourage each individual’s evolution
- assist students in deepening their understanding of and connection with flow
- facilitate student healing through tools which help connect and align their body, mind and spirit
- increase student’s connection to their core muscles, balance, strength and center
- present extensive learning models that enable ongoing development after the course is completed
- offer tools for ego development so individuals can simultaneously love who they are without needing to prove their worth to others
- change their lives
On a technical level, I actually have the skill to analyze students as they are learning moves and pinpoint the precise adjustment(s) necessary such that they get the move, including moves I don’t actually do myself. That is a particular level of skill that is not shared by many on the planet that I am aware of.
=====
DISTINCTIONS:
As I began instructing and, I questioned the fundamental criteria being used to "judge" other people. An instructor cannot “judge” their students, particularly when asking these students to not judge themselves. Yet, without judgment, how can a student measure the effectiveness of their work?
As I moved away from judging students –as in good or bad – I moved toward assessing their development against objective standards. This is not to say my objective standards are 1. the only objective standards; 2. the right objective standards; or 3. the only way to learn. I merely present these standards to assist and support their evolution.
What I experience as I gain more knowledge is that fewer and fewer people have considered these ideas at the level of complexity and depth that I have. I respectfully submit that this is a distinction. Does this make me superior? No. Does it mean I have ideas other’s haven’t considered? Likely. Does this mean I am at a level of development not many share? Yes.
Please note that the level of development of which I speak is as an instructor, facilitator, healer and guide, not as a performer. I’m a great performer. I’m a far better instructor.
I look forward to the time when I speak with others who have developed as many distinctions, models, and tools as I have so we can expand each other’s thinking. (Andy? You out there?!?!?!) That is not to say there aren't people out there who have as many distinctions as I do. I simply have not met them in the _literally_ thousands of people with whom I have interacted.
If you believe you have distinctions and models and developmental tools that define the holarchy of poi, the structure of poi movement or an objective developmental model for poi exploration – or anything else for that matter -- I welcome an opportunity to have a lengthy, geeky discussion of such systems/structures/tools/models.
=====
GEEKY THOUGHTS: POI CONCENTRATIONS
Here is a bit of information I offer my students as they expand their development. I don’t expect it is new to the experienced spinners (Nix, Matt, etc.). I am sharing it with you to give you a sense of my work so you don’t just think I’m puffing smoke.
Once artists get past basic moves, they generally begin to focus on "concentrations". What is a concentration, you may ask?
Briefly, it is a particular way of either consistently and reproducibly manipulating moves, ways the artist moves relative to the moves being performed, or location where the move is performed.
Ways of manipulating the moves include: multi-beat moves, wraps, stalls, hyperloops, isolations, behind the back and my own specialty, poly-rhythmic and multi-poi.
Ways of moving your body relative to the poi include: dancing, floorwork, aerial, and acrobatic.
Move placement locations include: legs, arms, horizontal, and behind the back.
Once you have some competence in a concentration, you can work with "poly concentrations" -- where one applies multiple concentrations to one move as in a 5bt isolated TTN. This combines multi beat with isolations.
As I’ve said, I'm sure you've all thought of this already as experienced poi artists, so this probably isn't new to you. For people who are just learning, this sort of breakdown offers distinctions and guidance that can dramatically reduce the student learning curve.
Now the other reason I bring this up is because someone misrepresented how I communicated on the Sphericulism site.
I contend that I generated an entire poly-rhythmic concentration. Does that mean that other’s haven’t generated it themselves elsewhere? No. Have I seen other’s do it? Well, with the exception of something Andy (Brother and Son) did on the COL5 entry I just saw a few weeks ago and students I have taught, I have not ever seen anyone else who does, let alone focuses on poly-rhythmic moves.
I posit that having dozens and dozens of patterns based on an integrated concentration that you have never seen anyone else do is a particular level of development that not everyone attains. To be clear, I’m fairly certain there are over 50 patterns and likely over 100, but I’d have to count which seems so silly. I have definitely pushed the edges of poly rhythmic movement in a way I have not seen anywhere else.
In my own assessment, I see that as a generative artist. I haven’t met many folks who have pushed out a concentration they never saw before to create that many patterns. I’d love to chat with those who have though as my mind is aching to connect with other poi geeks who are open minded spiritual capitalist types who comprehend and value the difference between confidence and arrogance.
=====
If you have actually read down this far in this message, I thank you for opening yourself up enough to read my words.
Glittering in light and flow,
...glittergirl
'Grace' is not demonstrated when things are going well; rather, when things aren't what you expected...
isa "glittergirl" isaacs
founder, temple of poi
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
marrian williamson talking about manifest destiny. How frightfully american and unoriginal.
Written by: glittergirl
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. You were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within
you. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others."
---marrion williamson
marrian williamson talking about manifest destiny. How frightfully american and unoriginal.
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
Errrrm! Was a "Course in Miracles" about manifest destiny?
Errrrm! Was a "Course in Miracles" about manifest destiny?
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
look it speaks for it's self.
Ayn rand plus mcdonalds=glittergirl.
EDITED_BY: Dom (1100520103)
Written by: glittergirl
Greetings from San Francisco. This is my first post here… I hope you like it....
...glittergirl
look it speaks for it's self.
Ayn rand plus mcdonalds=glittergirl.
EDITED_BY: Dom (1100520103)
newbie
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
18 posts
Location: san francisco, CA
Posted:
i think you intended that as an insult though i take it as a compliment.
Though, i am pretty committed to a higher quality experience than a mcdonald's burger. I don't prefer it.
Written by: Astar
look it speaks for it's self.
Ayn rand plus mcdonalds=glittergirl.
i think you intended that as an insult though i take it as a compliment.
Though, i am pretty committed to a higher quality experience than a mcdonald's burger. I don't prefer it.
'Grace' is not demonstrated when things are going well; rather, when things aren't what you expected...
isa "glittergirl" isaacs
founder, temple of poi
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
actually let me rephrase, the previous equation didn't exactly express what I meant to say.
ayn rand plus soy milk=glittergirl
You really showed me you aren't overcompensating for something by writeing a block of masturbatory regurtiatated ayn rand philosphy that took me 6 seconds to scroll past with my mouse wheel just to double check to make sure it was insanely long (edited from "wrong" which according to you is highly significant, but I think it rhymes with long is an easy typo) after I quoted it.
EDITED_BY: Astar (1100312166)
actually let me rephrase, the previous equation didn't exactly express what I meant to say.
ayn rand plus soy milk=glittergirl
You really showed me you aren't overcompensating for something by writeing a block of masturbatory regurtiatated ayn rand philosphy that took me 6 seconds to scroll past with my mouse wheel just to double check to make sure it was insanely long (edited from "wrong" which according to you is highly significant, but I think it rhymes with long is an easy typo) after I quoted it.
EDITED_BY: Astar (1100312166)
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
Still wondering about manifest destiny? Sorry! I didn't know that Glitter Girl was planning to take over North America!
Still wondering about manifest destiny? Sorry! I didn't know that Glitter Girl was planning to take over North America!
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
Read the quote, it's about manifest destiny, it's written in such a clear way it can't be interputed as anything else.
It's not national manifest destiny, it's individual manifest destiny.
Which I believe was the original manifest destiny idea that lead to the national manifest idea, which didn't even orginate in america but they loved so much they wrote endless books about it and still do.
Read the quote, it's about manifest destiny, it's written in such a clear way it can't be interputed as anything else.
It's not national manifest destiny, it's individual manifest destiny.
Which I believe was the original manifest destiny idea that lead to the national manifest idea, which didn't even orginate in america but they loved so much they wrote endless books about it and still do.
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
ps-go to the manifest destiny section of your unabridged giant bookstore that carries every book ever written. In the "manifest destiny" section go to the "american section" and then realize it's so big if it fell on you, you certainly would die.
ps-go to the manifest destiny section of your unabridged giant bookstore that carries every book ever written. In the "manifest destiny" section go to the "american section" and then realize it's so big if it fell on you, you certainly would die.
not a stranger
558 posts
Location: wales
558 posts
Location: wales
Posted:
Bloody hell!
I once told someone that I had found 'this nice site where everyone is nice to each other.........'
Funny old world.
Bloody hell!
I once told someone that I had found 'this nice site where everyone is nice to each other.........'
Funny old world.
Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
well, god lives inside me. I am all powerful and unafraid. glittergirl has crossed my path and she has offended me.
Any action I take is the right one so says god, who is inside me.
Now im going to write 9 pages about how great I am.
well, god lives inside me. I am all powerful and unafraid. glittergirl has crossed my path and she has offended me.
Any action I take is the right one so says god, who is inside me.
Now im going to write 9 pages about how great I am.
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
Why don't you start with writng how that poem directly relates to mainfest destiny before you start attacking an individual?
Why don't you start with writng how that poem directly relates to mainfest destiny before you start attacking an individual?
not a stranger
558 posts
Location: wales
558 posts
Location: wales
Posted:
What's this manifest destiny thing any way?
I'm British, I don't think we have it here.
I think we might have had it 150 years ago, but then we lost it.
All we've got now is sarcasm.
What's this manifest destiny thing any way?
I'm British, I don't think we have it here.
I think we might have had it 150 years ago, but then we lost it.
All we've got now is sarcasm.
Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
Lillie, I love you!
Lillie, I love you!
member
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted:
How can it be about anything else? Do you even know what manifest destiny is besides what you learned in history class?
How can it be about anything else? Do you even know what manifest destiny is besides what you learned in history class?
AnonymousPLATINUM Member
Posted:
And you are still avoiding the question? Enlighten me, oh so wise one!
And you are still avoiding the question? Enlighten me, oh so wise one!
not a stranger
558 posts
Location: wales
558 posts
Location: wales
Posted:
Big hug for Patrick,
Big hug for Patrick,
Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road
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