I\u2019m taking a class now in Chinese philosophy. It starts with Confucius and right off the bat we find out his name is Kongzi. Who knew? Jesuits changed the names to Confucius and Mencius (another significant thinker) in the 16th century. The first time I toured Germany and played Cologne and found out it\u2019s actually called K\u00f6ln, I was so annoyed. Why do we do that? How many people I\u2019ve met in life who say they play piano but it’s only in C. Among the first ideas taught about Kongzi (you know who), is to subscribe to ritual. Something may be lost in the translation but I\u2019m giving the instructor the benefit of the doubt. He offered an example I enjoyed, asking us to consider the space where an adult is trying to teach a kid to use words like please or thank you. Often it plays out with the kid wanting something and the adult prompting them with statements like \u201cwhat do you say?\u201d Eventually the kid realizes the necessary password, realizes they have to participate in a specific altered way of being. The teacher relays this as an example of the value of ritual, an altered state of consciousness insinuating the possibility of inner control is attainable through these intentional agreements to enter into ritual. I like how much this gives me to think about and it\u2019s true when I practice piano, I could call it ritual, I could say I\u2019m trying to achieve something that requires an altering of my attention and which often results in experiencing an inner control much different than ordinary life pushing and pulling in all directions at once.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"