in a dry skillet, crisp up some dulse and crumble on top. dulse is a purple seaweed and adds salty crunch.

mmmmmmm

In a talk delivered at Google, one of the early collaborators responsible for the development of the scrum process, Jeff Sutherland described the basics of scrum, and some tips for creating hyper-performing scrum teams. Sutherland states that the most important thing a scrum master can do to increase the performance of a team is to learn the principles of complex adaptive systems. The basic principles underlying complex system are straight forward, and though they are easy to grasp, it’s not always apparent to see how they are relevant to the social and professional interactions of daily life. When applied to a professional team with goals and deadlines, the principles of complex systems run counter to much of what we believe to be true about how things get done. Most of us come to believe that organization and management generally work best when controlled from the top down. We have a strong perception that, in both individuals and groups, there is a central planner that holds the vision and makes it happen according to some plan. The interesting thing about this perception is that it persists despite the ubiquity of evidence to the contrary. In this paper I’ll provide a basic introduction to complex adaptive systems, providing examples of the ways in which bottom-up organization seems to work to well. I’ll also describe the ways in which we ourselves are embodied complex systems, and suggest some tools that you, as a scrum master, can introduce to take advantage of this fact, and make your team happier, more cohesive, and higher-functioning.

To read the rest of the paper on Embodied Cognition you will need to wait a bit. I’d like to submit it for a conference — will post pdf here once paper is rejected :)

full article

I was surprised to see a copy on the shelf at my not-so-well-stocked local library recently and grabbed it along with the books I’d come for. Wide awake at 3 a.m. last night I picked it up and was treated to a most unexpected explosion of my mental phase space (I might be addicted to these explosions).

This book is a revelation. The ways in which she clearly articulates the disproportionate allocation of neuronal territory to pretty much everything in our experience (all of which builds up from our motor and sensory maps) has changed the way I look at everything from emotional intelligence, to my sucky cello playing, to teaching yoga (I’m only marginally better at that). I can’t recommend this book enough.

The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better

self-organization, emergence, and adaptation (a pdf)

This morning, I was up early making cornbread when I realized the show was just about to start Today’s interview was a lucid dialog on the science of mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn. Score! It’s a gem.

You can listen to the this morning’s interview as well as the earlier ones mentioned on Speaking of Faith’s website:

Janna Levin: Mathematics + Truth = Purpose

The Power of Eckart Tolle’s Now

Jon Kabat-Zinn on the Science of Mindfulness

The practice runs just under 45 minutes. I recorded this at a higher quality than usual so you might want to stream directly from the speakers of your computer as downloading it might be time consuming.

As usual, if you enjoy the practice or have comments, I’d love to hear from you.
yoganidra at this domain (i.e. contemplatethis.org)

click to listen

Ojas wellness in Mount Washington will be hosting an ongoing yoga nidra practice the 3rd Sunday of every month at 2 p.m. See their website to register or for directions. www.ojaswellness.com

Ojas is a lovely studio with yoga classes as well as massage and other wellness treatments.

The studio is fully equipped with props to make for a fabulous yoga nidra experience!

With the change-over from Quantum to Baltimore Yoga Vilage has come a change in time for yoga nidra practices on the first weekend of the month. Practice will now be on Saturdays from 1:30 to 2:30.

Same location: 6080 Falls Rd. Baltimore, 21209) under the new auspices of Baltimore Yoga Village.

Still by donation(!) though now with a suggested amount of $10. Please don’t let the suggestion keep you from coming though.