06.32
Visiting the small room around 01.25 – did I hear guitars thrumming away?
Rising at 05.51. Walking around the cloisters, Tom was laying out the tables for breakfast.
14.25 Morning Sitting at 07.15 for 07.30.
Breakfast at 08.00. An Intro Team Full Circle entered the dining room shortly afterwards for a whole-group performance. Wonderful.
Q: Did anyone listen to their voice while speaking, as recommended at our personal (group) meeting?
Only one reply, from the person next to me on the table: while speaking, they heard nonsense-noise.
Several comments offered; one, of a “good” experience. A specific example of “good” was requested. If we are specific with our comment, specific with our experience, we can return to that experience at a later time, to recapitulate, interrogate and continue learning from our experience.
Several spontaneous meetings on the way to Room One for a NAFGC Quorum at 09.00 where we looked at what is needed for this course.
Personal Meetings for the House/Kitchen Team at 10.00. Good experiential comments and questions, holding necessity.
T’ai Chi at 12.30.
Lunch at 13.00. A very good duet from two members of the Intro Team.
15.47 Small groups are werning away in and around the Paradise Garden I…
II...
III...
IV...
V...
20.42 An afternoon on The Writing Project. No tea.
A call to Bill R, participating on this course AAD. A question from Bill: In the Morning Sitting, why do we relax the eyes? Shortly after our call, this came to mind...
The quality of our perceptions determines how we see the world;
how we see the world determines our judgment;
our judgment determines how we interact with the world;
how we interact with the world changes the world.
So, the quality of our perceptions changes the world.
The above in a sentence: How we see the world changes the world.
My personal prayer...
May we have the clarity to see what is required of us.
May we have the courage to accept what is required of us.
May we have the capacity to discharge what is required of us.
Q: So, to see clearly, innocently, what do we do, in a simple and practical fashion?
A: We begin by relaxing the eyes.
Quiet Time 17.30.
Dinner at 18.00 became 18.30. Dessert was deferred until after the performance.
Q: Would the Intro Team like the performance deferred 30 minutes?
A: No.
Immediately after dinner, a few words with the Intro Team
addressing inter alia preparations for the performance. An early
prototype of the GC pick was distributed to all members of the
Intro Circle. These are not ideal, and have no grip, but if they are
of no practical use they may be kept as a souvenir and memento of our time together here.
A recent knock on the door: the performance is deferred to 21.00.
Immediately into one of my two cancelled meetings: the First Secondary Exercise c. 19.45-20.25 in The Room Next Door.
22.45 Performance at 21.00.
The Performance Team entered. There was some confusion with each player finding their designated chair; this, without any help from the audience. Eventually, it was discovered that there was in fact a chair missing.
Solo, duos, trios, quartet, quintet and sextet. No whole group piece, a first in my memory.
Some feeble encouragements were offered from the audience in the form of various sounds from smartphones, including what sounded like a cockerel crowing. I had hoped for lesser audience participation of this kind; but a hard lesson learnt over a period of 52 years in front of the public: you cannot tell an audience how to behave, despite whatever appeals you make to them. So, the performer must always be alert and present on their feet, their chair, their stool.
No applause until the Team left. Slow hand-clapping brought the performers back for a second-time through, with the same set-list as the first time, finally leaving c. 22.27.
In the Ballroom we heard un-fisting whoops from the Cloisters.
Dessert is being served.
"Playing fast is easier than playing slow."
