Viagra for Skateboarders

 'An erection is like the theory of relativity - the more you think about it, the harder it gets.' 

Author Unknown

'And Adam Knew Eve...' (Genesis)

Why does the Bible use 'knowing' as a reference to the sexual act? 

Because sexuality hinges on awareness and focussed thinking. 

Chassidic Commentary 

What are the core features of sexuality?

1. Bonding forged through strong pleasure;
2. Reciprocity whereby giving and receiving pleasure become simultaneous;
3. Revelation of a deep part of oneself, be it in the form of an orgasm or the transmission of one's genetic code;
4. Creativity effected through the blending of two genetic codes.

According to a basic principle of Kabbalah, Hitkallelut, inter-inclusion, where every human psychic force is seen to contain all others, the sexual dynamic is visible at every level of the psyche:

In the realm of thought it brings us into a pleasurable bond with subject matter and rouses the creative mind to flow and combine with the subject matter to yield a personal and unique conception of it.

At the emotional level it allows us to forge a delightful bond with another which heightens our awareness and sensitivity to their person and cultivates authentic emotional exchange.

It also affords the body a heightened responsiveness to stimuli. When dancing to music, for instance, one may bond with the music so profoundly that the body locks into and moves with it automatically.

Interestingly, sexuality and thinking are tightly bound. This holds true despite the positioning of the head and genitals at opposite ends of the body and irrespective of their clashing natures wherein thinking accommodates multiple alternatives, order, and high levels of abstraction - even transcendence - while sexual energy pulls one into a singular focus involving physical bodily pleasure.

The strong link between sexual energy and thinking is visible in that while most external body parts can be activated and controlled directly by an assertion of will, the genitals are less compliant, requiring  something additional for activation: sustained thought about the beautiful and desirable aspects of an object. Will your hand, leg or eye lid to move and you get a near instant response. The same can't be said about the genitals. (So calling the male organ, 'Willy', as some do, really makes no sense!)

At all levels, such focused thinking fortifies intimate bonding while distraction - due to fear, other enticing opportunities and the like - diminishes it.

A skater's bond with his board is quite sexual. It's forged out of pleasure, involves simultaneous devotion and gratification and evokes both deep seated euphoria and creativity. The ability to consistently kindle and sustain a genuine desire to skate is thus an important part of the activity.

So what can one with waining inspiration do to re-activate, strengthen or disencumber their bond with  their board? In light of the above, here are a few basic suggestions:

a. Contemplate the beauty and elegance of skateboarding or specific skateboarding tricks (watching skateboarding DVD's can help);
b. Recall the satisfaction one gains when mastering a new trick;
c. Set goals in the mastery of tricks (since sexual energy entails a desire to culminate);
d. Improve one's ability to focus the mind in general;
e. Approach skating with a relaxed playful attitude so that one's spontaneous and creative self has the freedom to emerge...  

      

 

Hear O' humanity: the board and the brain: the board and the brain are ONE!!!

 Man has two means to succeed in life: education and physical activity. 

Not separately, one for the soul and one for the body, but in conjunction. Only then can he perfect himself.

-PLATO.

'Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside a dog, it's too dark to read!'

- Groucho Marx

If your brain is bored, get a board for your brain!

 - Dovid Tsap

'Learning' and 'action' are interdependent; genuine success at either requires input from both.

In Judaism, typically at sunrise, men wear two leather boxes containing scriptures that declare Divine Unity. The first goes on the left bicep; the second, between the eyes, just above the hairline. One binds them to oneself with leather straps, hence their name, 'Tefillin', denoting a 'bonding with God' - a bonding of body, as signified by the box on the arm, and a bonding of mind, as represented by the box on the head.

One puts on the arm Tefilin first to signify that only through faith-based action does the mind's door open to Heaven's mysteries. Conversely, one removes the head Tefilin first to indicate that insight within the mind's eye ought to flow into body movement - if it's to be integrated into one's life and bring benefit to the world.

In recent times, science has revealed some astonishing connections between body movement and success in the classroom. Some of the following facts were utter taboo in the scientific community of only half a century ago:

1. Balancing board and brain:

The brain contains various chemicals which influence thinking and mood. Serotonin helps keep brain activity under control and regulates mood and impulsiveness; Nor-epinephrine amplifies signals influencing attention and motivation; Dopamine affects smoothness of movement and a sense of satisfaction. 

Most psychiatric prescription drugs target these brain chemicals. Zoloft, alongside most current anti-depressants, influences Serotonin; Ritalin, an Amphetamine used to control ADHD, increases levels of Dopamine at the brain's fore.

Exercise has proved more effective than Zoloft at increasing Serotonin levels! More importantly, exercise balances the assortment of brain chemicals in their optimal and desired proportions. According to this, an early morning skate session can prepare a student's brain with the right balance of neurotransmitters - brain chemicals - thus setting the stage for high performance study sessions.

2. Hear O' humanity: the board and the brain: the board and the brain are ONE!!!

The Cerebellum, a lower back part of the brain involved in the co-ordination of movement, has been shown to not only co-ordinate the movements of the body but also the movements involved in the thinking process: sequencing of thoughts, shifting smoothly from one idea to the next, etc. These are coordinated by the Cerebellum as are the sequencing of steps in the execution of a Kickflip or a 360 Degree No-Comply.

In exercising the cerebellum for the sophisticated co-ordination required in skateboarding, one not only warms it up for class learning but also develops new patterns and sequences of movement in the arena of thought itself!

3. "And the L-rd said, 'Let US make Adam...'"

A medical dye injected into the bloodstream to highlight areas in the body where cells are rapidly multiplying (used to detect/control cancer) was surprisingly found in the hippocampus, an are of the brain central in learning and memory formation. Which cells proliferate in the hippocampus? Stem cells! Cells that can form into any cell of the human body and which are essential if any real learning - which involves the creation of new neural circuitry and patterns - is to be had. 

The amount of Stem Cells generated is strongly related to the amount a person exercises! Moreover, the more complex the exercises, the more stem cells are generated in order to allow the individual to learn or succeed at the new movements!

But the production of more Stem Cells in the hippocampus, on its own, is insufficient for learning to take place. The cells must be integrated into the neurological circuitry already existing in the brain by using them during study and deep thinking or problem solving. Otherwise the newborn cells don't have what to attach to and wither!

The process has been dubbed 'Neorogenesis' (bloody love it!) and explains why in reference to Adam, God said in the plural, 'Let US make Adam...!' As Neurogenesis reveals, we are co-creators with G-d in our own creation on an ongoing basis. By skateboarding before classes and then applying our brains during classes we constantly re-create and transform ourselves. 

Yes, it is we, and only we, that can transform our 'bird-brains' into 'board-brains!'         

            

Skateboarding: What's Love Got to Do With It?

What does love have to do with skateboarding?

Intrinsically, nothing and everything:

NOTHING - in the absence of skateboarding love continues to exist, just as it exists independently of all other activities aside the act of loving itself.

EVERYTHING - without a love of skateboarding people wouldn't skate, or at least not creatively and adventurously.

Ultimately, all forms of love spring from 'self-love' as the line 'Love your friend as you love yourself' suggests. But what is self-love?

Love for self springs from an awareness that one is a manifestation of God, a branch of the Tree of Life, formed with absolute attention to fine detail and a precision that utterly defies human comprehension.     

With self-love, one ceases seeking love and approval from others and liberates his mind to experience skateboarding sensually; as an art-form and medium for soulful expression.

With all embracing self-love one becomes a robust organic whole rather than comprising of many vulnerable parts or components and injects his entire being into every maneuver. 

Love fosters devotion to the object of love and draws one to focus their attention to fine detail. Love thus engenders a skating style that's smooth, stylish, and sophisticated.

Sometimes we collide with a soul so unconditionally loving that our self-love is ignited and fanned, instantly transforming our skateboarding into as newfound an experience as the love itself.

Here, love is a cocoon that allows one to free himself of his shell like inhibitions and to skate as an extension of his core - his unique psychic fingerprint...