No Practice. But You Can Still Practice. (Part II) June 20, 2021

Happy Summer (or Winter) Solstice – depending on your hemisphere!

“I remember everything about him. He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”

– Sonora Smart Dodd, speaking to the Spokane Daily Chronicle about her father

“The foremost reason my father became a scholar of Sanskrit was because of his family tradition. In the old days, people like my father’s forbears were well known as advisors, even to the kings. Nowadays we would call my father’s grandfather something like prime minister, for example, but at that time the position of prime minister was not a political one in the way that we know it now. He was rather an advisor who told the rulers what was right and what was wrong.”

– T. K. V. Desikachar answering a question about his father, Sri T. Krishnamacharya (known as the “Father of Yoga”), The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice

Happy Dad’s Day to all of the dads. Check out last year’s blog post about Dad’s Day (a.k.a Father’s Day), which coincided with a bunch of different observations, including International Yoga Day – which falls on the anniversary of the birth of the “Father of Yoga,” Sri T. Krishnamacharya.

Today is also Summer (or Winter) Solstice – depending on your hemisphere – and World Refuge Day. This year’s World Refuge Day theme is “Together we heal, learn and shine.” If you are interested in a more philosophical, date-specific post, check out last year’s post about  Summer Solstice and World Refuge Day.

“This startling discrimination against central, eastern and southern Europe points out the gap between what we say and what we do. On the one hand we publicly pronounce the equality of all peoples, discarding all racialistic theories; on the other hand, in our immigration laws, we embrace in practice these very theories we abhor and verbally condemn.”

– United States Representative Emanuel Celler (D-NY) speaking to the Senate about immigration quotes in 1948

There is no class today, but I will be back on schedule (and on Zoom) tomorrow. If you are on my Sunday recording list, I have sent you a copy of last year’s Dad’s Day practice and a copy of last year’s June 20th practice. If you want to be added to my Sunday list (or any other list), please email me or comment below.

Playlists are available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Dad’s Big Day 2020” or “06202020 #WorldRefugeeDay”]

The UN Chamber Music Society of the UN Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), is holding a pre-recorded virtual concert, which will also be broadcasted 9:00 AM EST (New York, New York Time) and 4:00 PM EST (Mafraq, Jordan Time). You can find a link and more information about the performance here.

### PEACE ###