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Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, Scotland and Japan. Popular Dances like Choliya from the Kumaon region of India, and khukri dances from Nepal are prominent in the sub-continent, while all known linked ("hilt-and-point") sword dances are from Europe.  In this article from Oxford University, scientists discuss their research on: juggling! In a very exciting discovery, for scientific and flow communities, practicing a skill like juggling creates new connections in the white matter of the practitioner's brain. No previous studies have been able to show ways to improve these connections, called the "cabling network" of the brain because they pass messages between different grey matter areas (those parts that take care of processing and computation). So, what many of us have long suspected has now been proven true: juggling is good for your brain!  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a leading researcher in positive psychology, says creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. He has devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy: "When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life." Here he discusses the notion of "flow" -- the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake. This interview is part of a series being produced by Jaguar Mary. It features hoop master Jonathan Livingston Baxter, better known as simply Baxter. In this video, he discusses the concept of "emerge or die" and how it applies to Flow practice. Although he is a hooper and discusses ideas around developing a practice based on the hoop, what he's talking about in this clip is valuable to spinners/prop manipulators of any type. There is much that Flowsters can learn from others that play with different toys, and this is a prime example of that. OjnM2yEyeQw |
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