Greek Art - The Power of Beauty and Physical Hiding Interiority

For years I have reflected on the linear beauty of ancient Greek sculpture accompanied by a complete lack of interiority in these sculptures. I wondered how such masterful artists could capture the marvels of the human physique but not simple facial mannerisms. But in my morning meditation I think I discovered something here.

Two times during my prep school years, I attained a level that I could only describe as bliss. The first was in my fifth form (junior year), I came early to the school year so that I could participate in football preparation. I had a rare single room and had recently purchased a stereo system. After I came back from football practice, I would turn on music and finish my summer reading list on the Italian renaissance. The second was at the end of my sixth form (senior year) when I simply quit doing any homework except for the reading of poetry in my Humanities class. The only real break was to go to track practice.

As I recall these periods, the bliss is the same - it felt civilized and composed. I did not feel the struggles with identity or goals or love. Instead, I marveled at what my be termed, oddly, a clean space. In my meditation, I realized that these were periods in which I had no sense of interiority and yet, at the same time, did not attempt to escape interiority. Instead, I had found a placement that put me at some harmony with my environment.

Given the importance of my interior space, I think that these periods may have borne witness to something the Greeks found - in the presence of physical engagement and artistic endeavor is a space that generates no struggle for the mind. The reason that these sculptures do not convey interiority is not a mistake. Instead, these artists were conveying that such a place exists for those fortunate enough to find it by participating in appropriately or humanistic-ally in art and sport.

 

High Importance of Nasal Breathing

Of course breathing is all important - we do it between 12,000 and 25,000 times per day and we don't live long if we quit this activity. But after reading numerous works (especially James Nestor's Breath book), I have taken away a new sense of the importance of nasal breathing. 

When I was younger, I would regularly have some sinus issues and breathe through my mouth. Generally, it was not a good look - inviting me to be included in the "mouth breather" group. But even at home, I couldn't relax into breathing through my mouth. When I did so, my father would chastise me and I bitterly resented it. It was so difficult to breathe through my nose but he forced the issue - fortunately as it turns out. 

Researchers have discovered dramatic systemic differences when we breathe through our noses as opposed to breathing through our mouths. One study found that people tend to inhale just before a cognitive task — and that doing so tends to improve performance. But they have found that it is only breathing through the nose that has these effects; breathing through the mouth does not.

Another study found it can affect people’s performance on tasks involving emotion and memory. In an experiment researchers monitored subjects’ respiration and asked them to identify the emotion expressed by people in a set of photos developed by psychologists to test emotion recognition. Subjects were quicker to identify fearful faces when the photo appeared as they were taking a breath compared to during exhalation. In a different test, subjects more accurately remembered whether they’d seen a photo previously when it was presented as they inhaled. Again, the effects were strongest when subjects breathed through the nose.

I was fortunate that later as an adult I worked with a doctor who discovered that repeated cases of sinus affection had created scarring that made nasal breathing really difficult and prescribed a daily regimen of spraying with saline solution to keep nasal passages open. So even when it's difficult and I'm tempted to breathe through my mouth, I focus on relaxing, reassuring myself that I'm getting adequate oxygen and keeping my big, fat mouth shut!

Limits to Entitlement? Or Ignorance of Capitalism?

The improvements in quality of food, shelter and clothing, the ease of production and the support of healthcare experienced over the prior four generations has been astonishing. Consistent with these improvements has been a general move towards a charitable attitude towards those less fortunate. So when I heard peers in my generation complain about the "entitled" attitude of the upcoming generation, I dismissed it as typical ideation of "the good ole days" at work.

But a recent discussion about Portland has caused me to reflect that there may be limits to entitlement. I have had quite a few anecdotes concerning the lawlessness of Portland and even know long-term Portlanders who are moving away. Portland is a lovely town which I had always viewed as safe and welcoming to all people and things artisanal. If this change is real (and I believe it is), what has caused the change?

It appears that the stay-at-home mandate of Covid has played a role in Portland's shift. As people stayed home and were allowed to do whatever they wanted, a natural thought occurred to many - "do we really need to work if the US Government could just print out money?" I fielded this narrative frequently as I explained the pitfalls of AOC's money theories. In fact, the inflationary impact of that approach is manifesting itself right now.

Our rising standards of living are driven by improvements in productivity. The dividends of these increases in productivity are more free time and more disposable income. In fact, the purchase of Portland's artisanal products are the result of the much (by Portlanders) derided improvements in mass production. Walmart is not the dream of Portlandia, but its productivity drivers do most of the heavy lifting to provide working people access to the dream. 

This blindspot of connecting productivity with increased standards of living came into focus during the pandemic because people were blinded to how productivity via the internet was the means by which we navigated the pandemic. Instead, people simply attributed it to government largess.  As discontent with capitalistic productivity simmered, it seemed to manifest itself with antagonism towards the police force. 

The police recognize that criminal elements will always have a negative attitude towards them. However, given the hazards of their work, part of their reward and willingness to undertake those hazards is the general respect from the population. When the population at large views the police negatively, the attitude of the police naturally moves to the passive aggressive - "well, let's see how it works for you."

It is likely that an unintended consequence of the Fed's tightening is to remind the population that the solution for an increased standard of living does not lie in the credit creating machinery of the government. Rather, securing the value of the dollar creates a mechanism to measure and drive increases in productivity.

Fundamental Errors: The Case of Obesity, Part 2

In a prior post, http://scottsrandombits.blogspot.com/2021/09/fundamental-errors-case-of-obesity.html, I posited that "obesity" or the process of excess fat accumulating is a function of the body's expression, in other words, likely a genetic function, rather than a defect in character or knowledge. In my opinion, no one likes to accumulate excess fat and shaming is not a solution.

I also commented that my weight does not seem to vary much, whether I exercise or not or whether I diet or not. Recent research from China seems to shed light on this issue. In a study published in a journal called Cell Metabolism, the authors focused on "healthy underweight" BMI (18.5 or lower). Expectations were that this group would be a high exercise, high food intake and good diet group. Instead they found lower food intake and lower activity levels, but accompanied by a resting rate that was "running hotter" - basically a high resting metabolism driven by elevated thyroid hormones.

This research confirms my basic experience. I'm fairly close to the "healthy underweight" BMI group. I have maintained this category regardless of exercise or eating. Further, I have seen that I eat less food, consume more cookies and sit around all day in meetings or research. I would think that my body would reflect these patterns and it doesn't. The answer is, I believe, in this concept of "running hotter." 

I have consistently struggled with issues around "running hotter" - including lighter sleep, higher anxiety and feedback from an aryuvedic-style doctor who claimed that my the back of my throat looked "like a jungle, when it should look like a forest." He told me to give up caffeine. But, weirdly enough for someone "running hot," caffeine (particularly in the Italian espresso form) is my compulsion - not a good one for increasing sleep and reducing anxiety. This research illumined the compulsive aspect of caffeine - the high intake of caffeine levels compensate for my body's tendency to be at a lower activity level relative to others, i.e., when my activity picks up, my sense of shame drops down.

A "New Normal" as best pathway out of addiction?

One day a friend of mine observed that I simply stopped eating partway through my meal. He said, "why did you stop eating?" I replied, "I always stop when I feel I've had enough." He laughed and said, "If I stopped eating when I felt like it, I would weigh 300 pounds!" His comment stuck with me. I am the same weight as I was in high school and had little change. Part genes, of course, but clearly not a function of self-discipline. There has been no effort on controlling my diet.

Recently I have read some information about addiction being based in a notion of homeostasis. We all have notions of what it's like to feel "normal." Go to any AA speaker meeting and the speaker will share the sense of "being normal" that occurred with the first time under the influence of alcohol. The idea that addiction is rooted in a biological commitment to "feeling normal" seems powerful and speaks to the movement away from addiction: setting a "new normal."

For example, I simply cannot have certain kinds of sweets in my home. The sweets that I enjoy are the ones which evoke a feeling of being loved - delicious chocolates for example. Others in my home can simply have a chocolate and, like me with food, say "I've had enough." But these chocolates evoke a different cycle for me. The first chocolate tells me not only "this is good," but also, "OMG...I know what love is!" That's a dangerous space for someone from a love-deprived upbringing.

To attack the problem by self-control is treating a symptom. My approach of simply not having such sweets around is effective, but in the apt description of my girlfriend is "pathetic." Moving to a "new normal" is a more powerful and long-term solution. To move a sense of "normal" means addressing the source - in my case, to address and heal the sensation of a love-deprived upbringing.