There is a traditional painterly approach to painting in which the techniques and styles run the gamut from impressionism, surrealism and symbolism to neo-expressionism, postmodernism and so forth. These artists place figuration at the service of illustrative concerns, whether those interests are philosophical, spiritual, emotional, historical, anecdotal, mythical or symbolical. Paintings by Robert Sylvain, Sylla, Kristo (Christian Nicolas), Dominik Ambroise and Alpi (Alphonse Piard) generally fall into this category.
Masakatsu Mori is the former Chairman and Representative Director of Accenture Japan Ltd. He was with the organization for over 30 years and helped major clients like Sony, Toshiba and Yamaha remain globally competitive. He was President of the International University of Japan from 2011 to 2012 where he currently serves as Vice-Chairman. He is currently an Executive of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), and a member of the board of directors of SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings, Stanley Electric and Yamato Holdings.
We need hope. The battle against despair, pain, and repression seems so overwhelmingly hopeless. We need lots of hope. The world is still a horrific place for far too many. Resilient, irrepressible and spirited inspiration is needed.
Have you ever wondered what you could do to make an impact in this world? Do you have a passion for a social issue that affects your community? While many people have the goodwill, they often lack the path and the time to take action. As an inspiration, I’d like to introduce the Melton Foundation. It is a 20-year-old organization devoted to making global citizenship tangible. The Melton Fellows from around the world work together to address global challenges. They define global citizenship as awareness of, and responsibility for, our actions as they can affect communities, and the world at large.
There are things our children do that are absolutely objectionable. They may be dangerous, disrespectful, or even illegal. Sometimes they do or say things that are objectionable, but are very cute, demonstrate high intelligence and/or express feelings that we share with them, but for any number of reasons we don’t want to share with the world.
One of Haiti’s greatest exports to the world is its beautiful art. To illustrate the four major trends of the Haitian diaspora, as outlined in previous issues of the Tokyo Journal, Haitian art experts Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas take a closer look at the works of specific artists.
A photograph enables us to permanently own the scenery or subject we see in the viewfinder by capturing what is right in front of us with a camera. Sometimes, it creates an unusual space beyond our imagination.
Of course, it is nothing more than coincidence when one encounters an exciting subject and a satisfactory shot is only possible when all the conditions are perfect. A photo shoot might be a journey to find a lucky coincidence.
HOW long is it since you experienced a little excitement in your relationship? How long since you felt that romantic spark that made you long to get home to your partner, knowing that you would be greeted with love and affection? For many couples, these feelings are a distant memory. They seem to be drowned by routines and trivialities. We blame our hectic lifestyles for the lack of love and affection in our lives. Can we find a solution that our schedules can tolerate?
As this California home has large windows with views of the pool in the front and a hilltop scenery at the side and back, the owners faced the challenge of selecting window coverings that would restrict direct sunlight during peak hours without blocking the magnificent views.
A regular visitor to Tokyo, New York City- based yoga instructor and interculturalist Judit Torok shares her techniques for alleviating big city stress.
Warrior for Confidence
Body language and non-verbal communication have a profound effect on not just how others perceive us, but on how we feel about ourselves.
I N a TED talk (a platform for discussing technology, entertainment and design), titled “Body Language Shapes Who You Are,” Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School associate professor and social psychologist, describes her research on the effects of physical poses for regulating our emotions. She claims that a person’s level of confidence, self-esteem and determination, all of which are closely linked with higher levels of testosterone (competition hormone) and lower levels of cortisol (stress hormone), depends on what body shape or posture a person habitually holds. The way we shape our bodies communicates non-verbally to others and, more importantly to ourselves, how we feel. Cuddy explains that holding a pose for as little as two minutes can radically change our self-perception and lead to significant life outcomes. So to feel more empowered, we should shape our body into a pose that promotes confidence. While it might be “pretend” at first, the more often we shape our bodies into powerful poses the more likely we will become confident people over time.
These ideas seem very powerful, but how do they relate to yoga?