Alexander Technique, awareness, being aware of being aware, non-doing. On this month's episode of @imagine_apple, @@frabcus and I speak to none other than @m_ashcroft himself on the what Alexander Technique is and how it alters consciousness. Link below zencastr.com/z/ST9vDWiJ

Just finished recording an episode of @imagine_apple with @m_ashcroft and @frabcus where we talked about what the inner experience of Alexander Technique feels like. Excited to edit this one and publish it in the near future!

Why do the natives of Sabah have better relationships with the Chinese than with the Muslims? Sabah consists of different people. Muslims are ethnically diverse, comprising Bruneians, Bajaus, Suluks, etc. The Chinese, on the other hand, are religiously diverse. Many adhere to Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Folk Chinese beliefs, and yes, a small minority are also Muslim. But why, generally speaking, do the Chinese in particular, have greater cultural compatibility with natives who are themselves both ethnically and religiously diverse? If you ask a non-Muslim native, the first answer they'll give without really thinking about it is that the Muslims don't eat pork and the Chinese do. But that can't be right, can it? That's a seemingly shallow reason for preferentially marrying Chinese than Muslims. There must be some other hidden reason, perhaps economic or political, that biases natives to the Chinese. And indeed I'm sure there are a whole host of hidden political and economic factors at play. But assuming arguendo that the pork reason is serious, why would this be the case? In the adat (custom) of the Kadazans and many other Dusun groups, there is an elaborate system of norms that regulate familial matters. As part of the North Borneo Chartered Company's Charter (or constitution) "to uphold and preserve the customs or religion of the natives" they established the Native Courts to systemize the conflict-resolution of the natives without imposing foreign laws. In the penology (system of punishment) of Kadazan adat, there are three levels of severity for wrongdoing that correspond to the three animals that serve as sacrificial atonement. These are the kalabau (carabao buffalo), the vogok (pig), and the manuk (cockerel or hen). The purpose of sacrificing and spilling the blood of these animals is to "cool" the "heated" relationship between the aggrieved and the wrongdoer, thus bringing reconciliation. This atonement is made not only between man and wife but also between individual and collective. The marital matters of a couple are also village matters. So, the sacrificial animal is not only for the benefit of the spouse but also for the wider social network of kin, village, and community. Interpersonal relationships are enough to ensure good behaviour and the distribution of the sacrificed meat is symbolic of the atonement. Pork consumption, therefore, is not just a dietary difference but also a penological and, therefore, reconciliational disagreement. If you cannot be held accountable to conduct a vogok (pig) sacrifice and participate in the atonement feast, then your ability to reconcile with the community is compromised. Now, of course, Islamic dietary prohibitions notwithstanding, there are workarounds beyond this. Many Islamized Dusuns either substitute the vogok sacrifice for one of the other two animals or they simply eat the pork tapuk-tapuk (secretly). But this is one reason why marriages between Chinese and native is less inconvenient.