April: Creeping towards the Light! Peas, Vines, Spirals, Vision
RESOURCES:
How are your eyes? - How do they feel right now looking at the screen? Consider your eyes and your sensitivity to light in your practice and life this month, experimenting with soft eyes, focused gaze, closed eyes and palming.
Read Robin Kimmerer’s chapter Learning to See in Gathering Moss.
If you have Zoe Schlanger’s The Light Eaters, read the section on the Chameleon vine called Boquila Trifoliata. Its potential for mimicry scientists initially saw as evidence of sight in plants but this capacity may have a more cosmic, no self/anatta sort of explanation based on the fluidity of microbes that all life is subject to!!
If you don’t have this book, or you want an intro, try these audio interviews with Zoe.
- Nature Revisited #121 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nature-revisited/id1456657951?i=1000655398108
- Poured Over
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/poured-over-podcast-zoe-schlanger-on-the-light-eaters/Another intriguing investigator of plant intelligence and a broader perspective on plant science: Monica Gaglione
- https://bioneers.org/monica-gagliano-plant-intelligence-and-the-importance-of-imagination-in-science/
- https://bioneers.org/natures-intelligence-interviewing-the-vegetable-mind-robin-kimmerer-and-monica-gagliano/And if you havent had enough of podcasts/videos, check out the explanation of the Fibonacci series on a recent Radio Lab (mid section) audio
https://radiolab.org/podcast/growthFibonacci series explained for young art students! Pdf
Quote from What a Plant Knows from Chavowitz:
Chpt 1 What a Plant Sees
”Think about this; plants see you. In fact plants monitor their visible environment all the tiime. Plants see if you come near them, they know when you stand over them. They even know if you’re wearing a blue or red shirt…..”
Plants must be aware of the dynamic visual environment around them in order to survive. They need to know the direction, amount, duration, and color of light to do so…they translate light signals into different cues for growth…”
Boquila Trifoliolata Vine - The Mimicking Plant
Recordings and References for 4/7:
Practice:
Discussion:
References:
PRACTICE RESOURCES:
MP Audio File: Meditation on Plant Posture 25mins
MP Audio File: Simple Eye Oriented Asana Practice - 34mins + Pin figure PDF
MP Zoom LInk to 60min Basic Asana Practice - Vines and Tassels
Raveesha Nethmina
From Gathering Moss by Robin Kimmerer
Chpt Learning to See
”A Cheyenne Elder of my acquaintance once told me that the best way to find somethiing is not to looking for it. This is a hard concept for a scientist. But he said to watch out of the corner of your eye, open to possibility and what you seek will be revealed.”
Love Lies Bleeding - Elmer Canas (Extra Zoom Practice)
