A Note & EXCERPT: “Building From the Ground Up (II)” June 8, 2024

Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working to build a world of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).

“The talent works, the genius creates.”

— Robert Schumann, as quoted in The Atlantic Monthly (Vol. 112, 1913)

Whether we realize it or not, we are all creating ourselves, our lives, and the environments in which we live. Yes, it is true, that some people are more active in their building and some are more passive. However, awareness and determination create the opportunity for everyone to be more actively engaged in the building process.

Please note, that this is not an argument for or against the existence of God (whatever that means to you at this moment). If you are a person of faith, you might think of the Divine as the architect and each of us as someone responsible for doing some work. We can still be innovative, we can still be creative; but/and, we still have to do the work — especially when things do not seem to go according to the plan and we have to rebuild.

Like a building, every pose in our yoga practice is built from the ground up. Our Saturday warm-ups notwithstanding, every sequence is also built from the ground up — even when we aren’t moving through a “chakra flow.” This year, during the Saturday practices, we have been exploring from the ground up and have reached a point where can look at how things are built and how things are expressed. In other words, we can “see” how form and function go hand-in-hand — on, as well as off, the mat.

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the composer Robert Schumann (b. 1810) and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright (b. 1867). Click on the title below for the entire 2020 post about Frank Lloyd Wright.

Building From the Ground Up (II)

“As we work along our various ways, there takes shape within us, in some sort, an ideal – something we are to become – some work to be done. This, I think, is, denied to very few, and we begin really to live only when the thrill of this ideality moves us in what we will to accomplish!”

— quoted from the 1901 speech “The Art and Craft of the Machine” (delivered to the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society, at Hull House, March 6^th, and to the Western Society of Engineers, March 20^th) by Frank Lloyd Wright

Please join me today (Saturday, June 8^th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06082021 Building from the Ground”]

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.

### CREATE YOUR BREATHING SPACE ###