A Joyful Practice

Another Quick Note & More Excerpts About Freedom & Liberation July 2, 2024

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).

“There is a story that the king of the gods, Indra, once became a pig, wallowing in mire; he had a she-pig and a lot of baby pigs, and was very happy. Then some gods saw his plight, and came to him, and told him, ‘You are the king of the gods, you have all the gods under your command. Why are you here?’ But Indra said, ‘Never mind; I am all right here; I do not care for heaven, while I have this sow and these little pigs.’ The poor gods were at their wits’ end….”

“Thus is it with us all in this Mâyâ, this dream world, where it is all misery, weeping and crying, where a few golden balls are rolled, and the world scrambles after them. You were never bound by laws, nature never had a bond for you. That is what the Yogi tells you. Have patience to learn it. And the Yogi shows how, by junction with nature, and identifying itself with the mind and the world, the Purusha thinks itself miserable. Then the Yogi goes on to show you that the way out is through experience. You have to get all this experience, but finish it quickly. We have placed ourselves in this net, and will have to get out. We have got ourselves caught in the trap, and we will have to work out our freedom. So get this experience of husbands, and wives, and friends, and little loves; you will get through them safely if you never forget what you really are. Never forget this is only a momentary state, and that we have to pass through it. Experience is the one great teacher — experience of pleasure and pain — but know it is only experience. It leads, step by step, to that state where all things become small, and the Purusha so great that the whole universe seems as a drop in the ocean and falls off by its own nothingness. We have to go through different experiences, but let us never forget the ideal.”

— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.18 from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

In their commentary to Yoga Sūtras 2.17 – 2.18, Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood referenced the story above and indicated that it was “Patañjali’s answer to the pig-people; to those who want to stay wallowing in their mire.” For the record, we are all in the mud and the mire and we all have the opportunity to “work out our freedom…. We [just] have to go through different experiences, but let us never forget the ideal.”

In addition to being the Tuesday in 1776 when Caesar Rodney cast his vote for independence, today is also the anniversary of the birth Thurgood Marshall (b. 1908) — a man who spent his entire life fighting for freedom — and the day then-President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It is also the day John Adams expected us to celebrate!

The excerpts below are related to July 2nd and are continuations of the ongoing saga about freedom, liberty, and independence in the United States of America.

CLICK THE EXCERPT TITLES FOR MORE.

Because Every Vote Counted (Part 2)

Because Every Vote Counted (Part 3): more aptly titled “To Ensure Every Vote Counted”

“As I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence.”

— Caesar Rodney, Delaware delegate to the Second Continental Congress, July 2, 1776

Please join me today (Tuesday, July 2^nd) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07012020 Caesar Rodney’s Ride”]

“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”

— Supreme Court Justice (and former NAACP chief counsel) Thurgood Marshall referencing his SCOTUS successor in a Newsweek interview (dated October 28, 1991)

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.

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