Ross "Imposed" Shiatsu on Me... and I survived...

Ross was affiliated with a Shiatsu school on the East end of the city close to the lake shore...
It was an old neighbourhood... mostly immigrants... workers... and bohemian passers by... 
Every day he took the bus and went to the downtown core... Union Station... and from their walked to work for half an hour whenever it was not raining or too cold for a retired chaplain...
He loved the streetcars too and did not mind riding on them... He greeted everybody on the streetcar and was happy for that... 
"My thumbs are doing the magic...," He boasted to me... "My Master at the school tells me that my hands have all that it takes... My palms have a warmth which is transmitted to the patient... My hands have healing power..." 
It reminded me of the televangelist healing on the TV programs... But Ross's quest was genuine and his Master indeed had praised his hands... Coaxed him into more and more devotion... I was fearing that Ross was beginning to sing into an abyss... a sinkhole with hazardous consequences...
I was worried for him and his financial well being...
Six months into the Shiatsu adventure... He set shop at home too... All he needed was a mat and his thumbs... Ross had much more than that...
Friends visited him in the morning... Strangers came to his mat in the afternoons... 
He was happy that he is indeed needed... "People come to me for therapy..." He insisted... and I kept my peace... He pointed to a beer-bellied older guy... and insisted that he was losing weight because of his treatment... But I did not see any difference... The guys belly was still sagging and the pants almost falling...  
 
I did not believe Ross's claims... But I kept silence... Did not want to upset him...
***
Several times he had hinted that I should get a Massage too... But immediately added; "I know you are a head over the body guy... You don't believe much in therapy... even you do not take pills when you have a cold... Your head governs you..." That was true, but he did not know that I do not appreciate people touching my body... 
I don't like hands crawling over all over me... and he was correct, definitely my head governed my body... But I was wanted Ross to be happy and succumbed to his requests...

I do not believe that crawling snakes over my body are therapeutic... Cool and healing 

But on a Saturday I headed to his downtown clinic and abandoned myself to his thumbs... He was happy like a child... and I was depressed because I became a medium for non-essential fancy... 
But that's the stuff that friendships are made of... I was depressingly joyful... 
The next day my body was soar all over... and I do not think it was any healthier... Ross told me that the pain is caused because of the years long imbalances in my body.... I pretended that I agree... But Ross had realized that I will never subjected myself to the painful experience again... and he was absolutely correct...

***

... And the Diogenes Moment ... 

Unbelievably In Italy of all the places on Earth... 

Iran's President visited Italy this past week for reintroducing himself... and Iran to Europe... and see what happened...

Boxes covered nude statues in the Capitoline Museum in Rome during 

the visit by Mr. Rouhani... The Italian bureaucrats did not want to 

insult the sensitives of Islam...

A Question...?

Why European women have to cover themselves when visiting Saudi Arabia or Iran... or the ISIS controlled lands...?

Why the Judaeo-Christian West succumbed to the IRRATIONAL sensitives and diktats of the Muslim East...

Ross knew... Money corrupts... money dictates terms... People are greedy and Ross said; "This culture is so rotten that people will shoot their mother for money...!"

Indeed they will... The Italians were the sad example of materialist corruption last week...

The statue is covered with cloths... Ross always wanted to visit Europe to appreciate the art and culture ...  They covered the statue so as Iran will open its purse... Their money is crushing the European culture...

Florence is preparing for the Rouhani visit... and David is ashamed...
Did David eat an apple... Like Adam and Eve...?

But France responded in a different way...!
When the Iranian President insisted that they should serve Halal meat, according to Islamic culture... and no wine at the official dinner... They did not succumb to the absurd request... They just cancelled the dinner... 
BRAVO...!

Also...
The Prison Castle has become a money making tourist attraction...!

Built between 1838 and 1855, and closed in 1989, the notorious Siberian prison was considered stricter than most. As many as 2,500 inmates considered enemies of the state were executed here during the Soviet Union’s political repression campaign of 1937-1938, and it’s believed that no one ever escaped the "Caste"...

Guests will be treated to prison food and check the solitary confinement cells and even stay in the cell for an evening or few hours during the day... experience the clunky iron locks fixed to the cell block doors... caress them and reminisce the times when Dostoevsky , Czar Nicholas and other politically unwanted people were confined to the cells... 
  

The cell block and the heavy doors... No one escaped the "Castle..." No one dared to...!

  

Guests can now check into sparsely decorated “sweat-box” punishment cells. 

An inmate mannequin has the right side of his head shaved – a practice that made it easy to identify escapees... and shoot them... 

Dostoevsky survived The Crime and Punishment... 

I grew up with his books... Ross loved the books...

It will be difficult to imagine a world devoid of the Greats... Dostoevsky... Gogol... Pushkin... and the rest...

They created beauty... promoted understanding and harmony...

I grew up when literature was not an escape from everyday life... But essential to resist the invasion of the apparatchiks... It was the safer way of resistance... 

Ross loved the books but hated the Big Brothers passionately... His Shiatsu was his form of helping and rebelling... I wish he had written his thoughts and his fancies...

But that's too late now...

Ross and His Vision of Things... and Other Things to Come...

Ross gets infatuated with simple things... 
He quite often fell in love with his dreams... and as an impeccant child got carried away with extremes... sometimes...
His immaculate vision was at times taken as naivete... and selfish people, unscrupulous individuals exploited him as gullible... abused his embrace and his friendship... because they could and Ross was not judgmental... He respected Archbishop Romero... He loved the Bishop from the Les Miserable...
Actually he was the Bishop... in his modest chapel...
A year before his retirement he got infatuated with Shiatsu... He said, "So far I used my head to teach and do the math... Once I retire I want to use my hands to cure and make people happy...
I did not object... I had understood long before that once he had decided on a course of action... It was absolutely pointless to object... 
So I kept my thoughts to myself and Ross studied biology and physiology and the rest... preparing his hands to do the magic... 
But the hands never replaced his mouth... He still laughed aloud and talked to strangers on the street... 
But once he retired Shiatsu possessed him... 

***

  

Some liken Shiatsu to acupressure massage. It originated in feudal Japan and is a blend of anma (massage) and traditional Chinese medicine.

Anma – anma was a type of massage practised by the blind in feudal Japan. Because of their heightened sense of touch it made them particularly intuitive with their hands and subsequently good at healing physical ailments.

The only difference between shiatsu and acupuncture is that an acupuncturist uses needles and we use our hands.

To balance and to restore with Zen Shiatsu

Eastern philosophy is based on the premise that all life occurs within the circle of nature – a single unified system with polar and complementary aspects known as Yin and Yang. These energetic elements reside in the “nature” of the human body, as well, and when they are in balance, life is harmonious and flourishes. When their balance is upset by “blockages”, disharmony occurs in the form of various discomforts like muscular pain, digestive upsets, poor sleep, emotional upheaval, stress and so on. These life-giving energetic elements in the body are known as Qi, and the concept of Qi is absolutely at the heart of Oriental medicine. Qi maintains and nourishes our physical bodies as well as our minds. When our bodies are healthy, we say our Qi is balanced and flowing freely. In Shiatsu, therapists are trained to feel the Qi with their hands, to find imbalanced areas in the body, appropriately stimulate the imbalanced Qi meridians, and bring the flow of Qi back into balance.

***

And...also, 

Diogenes Moments... and Beyond

 In 1972...and she had guts...                                                         

 "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."  

Shirley Chisolm said;                                "I met more discrimination as a woman than for being black," after all, "Men are men."

So said Shirley Chisolm, who is by no          means is a household name in the US.          A desire to break boundaries was what        drove this pioneer for her generation to        make a run for the presidency in 1972,          seeking the Democratic nomination a            mere three years    after she became a          congresswoman.  "Men are men," she          said while running for the President of          the U.S. of A.... She definitely had guts to    stand up against "double Jeopardy"...          She was both black and woman and in          the U.S.

...And still "Men are men..."

In 2013,  Sanjida left home to study, and she fell in love. But her partner was another woman, and same-sex marriage is not accepted in Bangladesh.                           The couple ran away from their conservative provincial town, the father of Sanjida's partner went to the police and asked them to bring his daughter home. Now Sanjida is accused of abduction. "If my country ever legalises same-sex marriage, I'll be the first one to come forward," she says.

Ross was not judgmental... They are allowed he would have insisted... Jesus was not interested in fault finding... 
 "Judge not, that ye be not judged...," He insisted... 

  

And on another occasion He admonished; 
" So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her..."


Note:

Both quotations are from the King James version of the Bible... that Ross gifted to me one morning out of the blue... There was no occasion and he said; "I could not wait for Christmas... I know you studied literature and math without numbers... So here is the King James version..." Ross knew that it was a required reading for literature... He knew that I had a copy of it... He wanted me to have this one too... 
I have that, The Rossian King on my desk... and I read whenever I am bored of "alone-ness"... It reminds me of good things and Ross too...
***
One day Ross came to my classroom and had an icon in his hand... It was his... He had taken it down from the wall of his office in the chapel... He presented it to me... 
He wanted us to attend a play on Friday... and he was attempting to cajole me... into it... and also invited me to lunch at the caretakers... as he knew I will love to... If students and teachers and time allowed...
I have the Bible on my desk... I have the icon on my wall besides my desk... 
Both encourage me to write and do the math without numbers... and hence exists... 

Ross and I attended the Les Miserables... It was expensive... This days all beautiful things are expensive... They say Wall Street jumps after everything and anything that can be bought and sold for a profit... The musical brought memories back from so many years before... when I read the book ... The Bishop reminded me of Ross...

The door opened. A singular and violent group made its appearance on the threshold. Three men were holding a fourth man by the collar. The three men were gendarmes; the other was Jean Valjean. A brigadier of gendarmes, who seemed to be in command of the group, was standing near the door. He entered and advanced to the Bishop, making a military salute. "Monseigneur--" said he. At this word, Jean Valjean, who was dejected and seemed overwhelmed, raised his head with an air of stupefaction. "Monseigneur!" he murmured. "So he is not the cure?" "Silence!" said the gendarme. "He is Monseigneur the Bishop." In the meantime, Monseigneur Bienvenu had advanced as quickly as his great age permitted. "Ah! here you are!" he exclaimed, looking at Jean Valjean. "I am glad to see you. Well, but how is this? I gave you the candlesticks too, which are of silver like the rest, and for which you can certainly get two hundred francs. Why did you not carry them away with your forks and spoons?" Jean Valjean opened his eyes wide, and stared at the venerable Bishop with an expression which no human tongue can render any account of. "Monseigneur," said the brigadier of gendarmes, "so what this man said is true, then? We came across him. He was walking like a man who is running away. We stopped him to look into the matter. He had this silver--" "And he told you," interposed the Bishop with a smile, "that it had been given to him by a kind old fellow of a priest with whom he had passed the night? I see how the matter stands. And you have brought him back here? It is a mistake."

...And to say goodbye for the day... Enjoy the beauty... and the colour and delve into the imagination of the artist... 
It the weekend, after all...

 

This is actually a cloud that was captured earlier this week by photographer and weather blogger Rogerio Pacheco on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He dubbed the cloud as "the hand of God". 

Ross on the Whole World is a Stage... and other things...

Summer is wonderful in the park... It brings out the fairies and the better things withing you... Summer is the season to dream again... and the "Dream" in the High Park is a wonderful place to be...
Ross loved the "Dream in the Park" and wanted to attend the two plays that each summer they offered...
He repeated; "What's there not to like...?" Of course he did not expect an answer...
Ross wanted to be there, but as in everything  he had his ritual too...

We had to be there early... Have a "happy hour"... In the Park he insisted on wine only... So it was...  Then we had to dine in the Park restaurant or somewhere close by... He did not mind to step out of the park for a bite... So we did that too...

Life is more enjoyable when you are dreaming with the greats... 

Life is witching where the whole world is an stage and when you are the performer and the admirer too... Fairies will love you more... they will hug you more... kiss you more too...

         The stage protected by the huge tree is indeed something to see...

    The words have meaning and consequences ... and mystery too... 
A professor said; "Anyone who does not know Shakespeare, does not know English too..."

The natural amphitheater is a beautiful place to be...  At the earlier times... the rising hill was natural... and we sat on whatever the nature offered... Now it is more domesticated... for the tender bums of the people... Reference to bums was Ross's way of displeasure... But still Shakespeare on the stage under that huge tree was magical... 

Listening to Shakespeare... Sipping the wine... nibbling on cheese... and topping it all with a bite if bread was just what a summer evening has to be... Surrounded by good people and Ross was happy... 

After the play, Ross had to visit the stage... Chat with the performers and smile under that magical tree... He was in no hurry... and once things settled down... The stage was left for him... and Rossie made his move and acted... sloppily...  clownish... but always a smile on his face... He invited me to the stage, but I was more self- conscious than he was... He had absolutely no inhibitions... and he was  a kid let loose in the park, on the stage... 

Ross loved the space that he was in and time never bothered him... specially when he was having fun... Rossie was unpredictable on the stage... 

We repeated the ritual twice each summer... and every time Ross came up with something new... and we had fun... 

No one should be deprived of the magic of fairies in the park...

***

We had a last coffee outside the park... Ross always had something else in his coffee... "It will make me sleep better," he added... The kid had not settled down in Ross yet... It will take the train ride to home to calm his nerves and make his ready for the day to come...

***

And Other things...

The scientists set the "Doomsday Clock" to 3 minutes to midnight...

Manhattan project scientists, concerned about the first atomic weapons, founded the nonprofit Bulletin in 1945... 

Two years later, they created the clock and update its minute hand each year...

   

The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic countdown to the world's end, was set to three minutes until midnight... on Tuesday...

They cited as major concerns...

• Global climate change...
• Nuclear weapons proliferation...
• The various conflicts in the Middle East...

...And Diogenes Moments...

The world's most photogenic potato? 

A photogenic potato, at least for renowned celebrity photographer Kevin Abosch. His "Potato #345" -- a simple portrait of an organic Irish spud, reportedly sold for €1 million ($1.08 million) last year to a European businessman, who saw it while dining at Abosch's Paris home.

The 46-year-old Irish visual artist -- who typically charges up to $500,000 for portraits of famous figures -- revealed earlier this month that the sale, brokered over a few glasses of wine, was the biggest of his career.

Also...

Czech president prompts outrage over PM gun "joke"... and this other guy wants to shoot someone on 5th Avenue... Check below...

  

December 2015...  President Milos Zeman - who is known for his outspokenness - admitted in an interview in December he wished he could sack Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.  January 25 2016...  On Monday, at a public meeting, the president was asked how he would get rid of the prime minister, to which he replied: "The democratic option is one way, through free elections. The undemocratic option is a Kalashnikov."

In my culture there is a popular saying; "Damn the joke which is half true..." After All, every joke has a truth, maybe half-truth, to it... 

And on the other side of the Atlantic... "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters," Trump, a presidential candidate,  boasts at a campaign rally...

And of course Czechs are civilized... and the U.S. is a model democracy...

And further south in Chile... Nature's beauty and her outrage 

A massive tsunami wave hits the shore... The beauty and the beast...

The wave tumbles cars... terrorizes Chileans...

...and people run in panic... "Nature is coming...! Nature is coming...!"

Ross and I in the Park... and My Friend's email...

Ross loved to walk...
He had given away his car when he was much younger... and now he walked to school every day... holding an umbrella when it rained and enjoying the sunshine competing with the clouds while wearing his straw hat...

         

He insisted that rain or shine... he enjoyed walking and he did walk... At times his friend, the mechanical custodian of the school phoned him early in the morning... when it was very cold or snowing... to give him a ride... Ross agreed at times and insisted that he wants to enjoy the snow on other occasions...
In the Spring he had few places that he had to visit... There were few walks that he absolutely had to take... In the parks, across the river banks, in the nearby woods...and on the weekends in the downtown core... "The human jungle... The glass and concrete maze...," he called the downtown core... Both the "jungle" and the "maze" were his playgrounds on most weekends... 
He lived by himself, but he never tolerated solitary confinement... "Life has to much to offer..." and I enjoy it... "and you know what...?
God wants us to enjoy it..." According to Ross not enjoying life was a sin... He advised people to go out and do whatever they like to do... "Don't listen to other... Go out and do whatever you fancy... God wants you to be happy and enjoy...," was his advice to all, younger students and older people... "Enjoy... and be happy... never mind the others..." He despised the dictatorship of society... and wanted everyone to break the diktats of social norms and mores... "Be yourself... and be happy... you are allowed...," I overheard him admonish-advice a teacher... and when he noticed me from afar, he winked...
 
  He winked because he sensed that the teacher will not get and do what he was attempting to teach... He said, "Some teachers are unteachable...," and laughed one of his thunderous laughs... Obviously he was happy... and his joy was indeed contagious... It made my day... 
On a Saturday in the spring, we visited High Park... a gem tucked well within the city... adjacent to the downtown core...


He loved the park... He loved the atmosphere... The amalgamated 
milieu of trees, flowers, people, the scent of fresh are, the aroma of the  flowers, the breeze whispering magical notes in your ears... and Ross was metamorphosed into a kid... He hopped around... inviting me to follow him... 
Once he climbed a rock near the High Park sign... He stood there... motionless... his hands folded to his chest... and a smile hanging on his lips... He looked like a mischievous kid... The Rossie bouncing out of his skin... He stood motionless... five... and ten... and fifteen minutes... frozen in time and in space... Happy for his achievement... created by Rodin... maybe Michelangelo... maybe just Rossie...

The Thinker by Rodin... "I think, therefore I am...," said Descartes...

I waited for him... and he invited me to join him... and I did... We were on top of that cliff for about 30 minutes... Passers by were amused and smiled... Some wanted to talk... But we could not answer there questions... We were ossified... We were not there any more... and time and space and people were not part of our world... existence...  
When we stepped down they applauded... People had fun too...
Ross was unpredictable and to look around with his perspective was a bonus to me... and all who walked with him...

  
We took a long walk in the park... It was for time our Cherry Blossom  walk... Wonderful walk... and there was not much to talk... after our
marbleized adventure on the cliff at the entrance of the park...
We just enjoyed the atmosphere and the blossoms... Nature is marvelous... She protects us... and we should protect her... our symbiotic walk ended at the restaurant... We were hungry... and we were thirsty for a glass of wine...

...And more... From a Friend

I wanted to start off by letting you know that I don't get a chance every day to look at your blog, but at least every other day...so I take a second to catch up on the ones that I've missed.  Gives me a minute to stop and read something I enjoy. I had made a promise to a friend to read a book called What on Earth am I here for? The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  I know he's a popular person when it comes to religion, but I have to be honest and say I can't stand his blind word for word following of the bible.  I do not really enjoy reading that book, it's too narrow minded for me.  Your blog however, gets me thinking.  It opens up my mind to consider different views.  I'm very happy that you enjoy my e-mails, because I definitely enjoy your blog posts.  

I wanted to let you know something I think is super important about that designer "Islamic" clothing.
When I was in Turkey, I discussed a lot, with many different Turkish people, about their beliefs and the Quran.  I learned something very interesting.  The way they dress, their coverings for their heads and bodies, are actually NOT a religious belief. 

I was told by a university professor that it isn't found in their holy book that women must cover up in this way.  This means that the clothing is not RELIGIOUS, but is instead CULTURAL.  I'm not exactly sure why, but it really bothers me when people confuse this.  When the rest of the Middle East adopted Islam from Saudi Arabia, they not only adopted the religion and beliefs, but also the cultural habits and dress of the people.  It is an Arabian cultural dress, not Islamic.  This is why they do not all feel bound to dress in such a way.  I don't know, call me a hippie, but I feel that God made us naked, so anything we put on our body is already showing disrespect.  Covering up EVEN MORE...can't be more insulting to the being who made us in HIS IMAGE than that.  

[Just a fleeting thought... Maybe the fig leaves should be sufficient...]

             

Some people insists that Michelangelo's David should wear a fig leaf...

I am clearly not a politically correct person hahaha.  

   

My opinions define me, and I will never hide them because I'm afraid of offending someone.  I am a Christian, I am Middle Eastern, a generation of my family was killed by Muslims in the genocide, I am dealing with cancer, I am a Star Wars nerd, I am a Disney princess, I am so much more, and I'm not ashamed of any of it.  Who I am is a direct result of my environment and the people in it.  They decided they had the right to convert, to live in certain areas, to end lives, to pollute the environment, to do whatever they wanted, and I've decided that I have those rights as well.  I have the right to live my beliefs, to choose the places I want to spend my time and the people I want to spend it with, to be healthy (and to encourage people to be the same), to disapprove of negative energy, and to enjoy being silly and escaping reality.  I think that people who feel the need to be politically correct have never really experienced racism, faithism, sexism, or any other isms out there, I always thought it made me stronger and more understanding of others.  It's much easier to judge people for voicing their opinions than to voice your own for everyone to hear.  It frustrates me because people are ashamed to show who they really are and what they really believe in.  
I was laughing with a coworker the other day, we were talking about dating and attraction.  She asked me if I would ever date someone black or Asian, I said not a chance.  I simply don't find them to be attractive people.  I don't think there is anything wrong with that.  Some people though, they get all up in arms and think that it's racist!

  

I have a very good friend who is Muslim, he asked me on a date.  I had to tell him that as a friend, I love him, however there could never be a possible future for us because our religious beliefs would make it very complicated and it's something I'm not willing to compromise on.  He was very understanding of it, and we are still very good friends.  Other's think that is the most horrible reason I could ever give to not date someone.  Is all of that racist?! Absolutely not!!!! It's just realistic and honest! Does it stop me from being friends with different people? No. Other people annoy me when they start to judge me about what they interpret as me judging other people.  

I had to get that all out after reading your blog this afternoon hahahahaha please excuse my rant on political correctness...I don't know if there is anything that bothers me more than that.  I hope it wasn't too bad. 

***

Thank you for your wonderful email...

Just so as you know...

Ross and I stood on the cliff frozen in time and space... 

People looked at us... Some as if we were aliens... some laughed at us...

We stood there for about 30 minutes... and when we came down the people still standing there... applauded us...

It was indeed fun...

Who cares... !

....and, Just to let you know... 

The administration of an asylum was showing the facilities of the hospital to a group of potential donors...

When, "Why you are here...," asked one of the guests to an inmate...

"Because we are in a minority...," answered the inmate...

Once the guests departed they locked the inmate for impertinence...