Post 4

1.  Society tells our children that he or she is on probation and not really a human being. Only that he or she is a candidate for human life. We condition the child in a way to a defective sense of identity. Therefore their problems are solved with frustration and it puts their attitude towards the future because our society demands you have a future.

2. Our society's preparation for life is that we have a system of schooling in preparation for something that is going to happen. For example, kindergarten prepares us for the first grade or high school prepares us for college.

3.  We feel cheated when we meet that expectation because life feels the same as it has always been and you are conditioned to be in desperate need of a future through the schooling given to us as children.

4. The final goal of our society is retirement. You will be a senior citizen and have the wealth and the leisure to do what you always wanted.

5. The problem with living for the future is that we are never educated in living in the moment. Making plans for the future is of use only to people capable of living in the present.


1. The Chinese word for nature is ziran, which means that which happens of itself, not under any control of an outside boss

2. According to Watts, you stop the spontaneous flowering of nature if you tell it you must do it. It is like saying to someone that you must love me. When you try to command this process of spontaneity, you stop it

3. According to Watts, human beings are deep down far in is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself.

4. What is the secret of life, according to Watts, is to be completely engaged in what you are doing in the here and now.  Instead of calling it work, realize that it is play.


1. Dr. Brewer's experience of flow is when he was focusing on staying on a trail while riding a bike. It felt effortless and joyous. He said there just was, he did not feel like he was there, but after it was over his sense of self said when can i do that again?

2. According to the Harvard study mentioned by Brewer, we get caught up thinking 50 percent of the time about the future and problems in the past. We get in our own way.

3. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind

4. During meditation, the brain gets quiet and the bad part of the brain that activates when are nervous, gets quiet as well. Experienced meditators were getting in to flow. The novices got caught up thinking at some point, but learned how to get out of their own way.

5. In nine minutes, the test subject mentioned by Brewer learned the difference between getting caught up and getting out of his own way.

Reflection:
   In terms of yoga, i feel like i get caught up thinking when we do it. I say things to myself such as man this hurt or this is tough, rather than relaxing and breathing. I feel like i am just trying to make it through. I need to be engaged in what I am doing. If i tell myself things like that, i lose the state of mindfulness I once had and I take that experience out into the world. In performing, i feel like you should never try to just make it through a performance. You need to be in that moment doing the best you can, but not thinking about it. Get rid of the past or the future and just be there and that is when a good performance is noticeable and effective. In life, people realize when you are not there with them in simple conversation. We are sometimes worried about the next conversation or the next class we are going to. As a person, you figure out who you really are when you are present and in the moment. In terms of killer ball, we had to work together to achieve a task, but a certain two people had to work together as well. I notice when people are present in that game when no matter what, people are smiling and enjoying it with other people. Not worried about the next class, but worried about how they can achieve this task. This lead to us having fun and when the class was over, everyone wanted to keep playing. If there was something that stood out to in these videos, it was the secret of life and who i am as a human being. I need to be engaged in what I am doing and live in the moment. I can acknowledge the problems in classes or life problems, but i have to come back into the present in which I can be my best self.