The Life You Give: Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin *April 1 1755

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, born Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, on April 1, 1755, in Belley, France, was lawyer, politician, [judge, violinist}, and author of a celebrated work on gastronomy, Physiologie du goût (The Physiology of Taste).Brillat-Savarin followed the family profession of law. A deputy of the Third Estate at the Estates-General of 1789, he was forced to flee the… Continue reading The Life You Give: Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin *April 1 1755

Johann Sebastian Bach, and the beginnings of a musical family

A pretty noise they must have made together! However, he learnt to keep time, and this apparently was the beginning of music in our family.”Johann Sebastian Bach, referring to his great-great-grandfather Veit Bach, a Lutheran baker who used to take his cittern to the mill, and play it while the mill was grinding. (Source: Britannica)

“It is not your paintings I like, it is your painting.”*

My father, lovingly, forced me to think but I am not a philosopher. During my upbringing I was taught to trust, believe. I do but filled with questions because I believe in the intellect which dwells on beauty and the ugly alike — perhaps the fruit of thinking. I surrender increasingly to the vibrancy of… Continue reading “It is not your paintings I like, it is your painting.”*

Some Madiba Words

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”Nelson Mandela, born on July 18… Continue reading Some Madiba Words

Frida, in words

“I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” “They are so damn 'intellectual' and rotten that I can't stand them anymore....I [would] rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than have anything to do with those 'artistic' bitches of Paris.” “I wish I could do whatever… Continue reading Frida, in words

Listening while relaying a message

The musician on stage is a hearing conglomerate. He has to listen to himself, perceive what he plays, and react to it. At the same time, he has to anticipate his playing and overlook the complete piece. Simultaneously, he plays for the listeners in the tenth or twenty-third row, and listens, as it were, with… Continue reading Listening while relaying a message

Prolonging Transcendental States

“Transcendent states are often desperately short-lived: a few moments late at night or at dusk; on a plane or train journey across wide open country. But we can, through certain ingredients (especially lavender, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon), access them a little more systematically and thereby loosen the grip of our insistent egos.”In “Thinking & Eating”,… Continue reading Prolonging Transcendental States

On Taste

On a superficial view, we may seem to differ very widely from each other in our reasonings, and no less in our pleasures: but notwithstanding this difference, which I think to be rather apparent than real, it is probable that the standard both of reason and Taste is the same in all human creatures. For… Continue reading On Taste

Handmade

People who are unable to use their hands skillfully for all kinds of work, will not become good thinkers and will behave awkwardly in life. It is not the head alone, but the whole human being that is a logician. Activities demanding manual and bodily skill, such as knitting, leads to the enhancement of the… Continue reading Handmade

Imaginative, True, Responsible Human

Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility— these three forces are the very nerve of educationRudolf Steiner (27 February 1861 - 30 March 1925)