A Joyful Practice

A Quick Note & Excerpts About Dreaming, Being Human, & Answering the Call (the “missing” Saturday post) February 8, 2025

“Happy (Lunar) New Year!”, “Happy Hokkien New Year!”, and/or “Happy Carnival!” to those who are celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, and especially those observing Maha Kumbh Mela.

Peace, ease, and contemplation throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons! May your most hopeful dreams come true!!!

This “missing” post for Saturday, February 8^th is a compilation post. It includes some new material, some revised material, and excerpts. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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.

“I want a little sugar in my bowl
I want a little sweetness down in my soul
I could stand some lovin’, oh so bad
Feel so funny, I feel so sad”

— quoted from the song “I Want A Little Sugar in My Bowl” by Nina Simone

Before I ask what you do with leftovers, or things left over from previous seasons, it might be prudent to ask how you feel about leftovers (and things left over from previous seasons). Because, while some people are quick to repurpose leftovers; some people (hello, brother) can’t stand leftovers. Then there are people who love leftovers, and may even prefer leftovers to the first serving. There are people who take leftovers for granted and people who are grateful for the abundance that leads to leftovers. So, yes, it might be prudent to ask how someone feels about leftovers (and things left over), because that informs how attached they are and what actions come from that attachment (even when it’s aversion).

For those who celebrated the Jade Emperor’s birthday (on Thursday), the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days of the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival are all about leftovers. Some traditions view the Jade Emperor as the creator and/or ruler of heaven and earth, whose origins are beyond the physical; however, in some traditions, it is believed that the Jade Emperor was originally a (real) man who took away the suffering of others. Still others celebrate the Jade Emperor as a savior (see link above). In any of those cases, there can be lots of leftovers.

While I do not serve any food during the practice, I do serve up a little “food for thought” and nourishment for the mind-body-spirit. So, the “leftovers days” are an opportunity to revisit themes, stories, and related poses from earlier in the (Lunar) New Year. On Saturday, this meant revisiting questions about what it means to be human. Especially since February 8^th is the anniversary of the birth of the existential philosopher Martin Buber (in Vienna in 1878).

“The basic word I-Thou can only be spoken with one’s whole being. The concentration and fusion into a whole being can never be accomplished by me, can never be accomplished without me. I require a You/Thou to become; becoming I, I say you.”

— quoted from Ich und Du by Martin Buber (English translation by Walter Kaufmann)

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

Being Human, the prequel (the “missing” Wednesday post)

“Let us strive to know more about ourselves, –it is human, it is Christian-like to do so. Then there will be minds from which to select students for the college, that may come forth to the community graduates in Pharmacy, Surgery, Dentistry, and Medicine. It is well known that many noble-minded women have graced the chambers of the sick with good service, in different conditions of need, too; but at the present women appear to shrink from any responsibilities demanding patience and sacrifice, or rather seem not to rely on the union of their strength with that of our great Creator, in time of need.

What we need o-day in every community, is, not a shrinking or flagging of womanly usefulness in this field of labor, but renewed and courageous readiness to do when and whatever duty calls.”

— quoted from “Chapter XIX. General Remarks.” in A Book of Medical Discourses, In Two Parts by Rebecca Crumpler, M. D.

The “Season for Nonviolence” principle for Saturday was “Dreaming” — which (I think) is a very important part of being human and a big part of the stories of two exceptional humans who share a birthday with Martin Buber: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler (who was born in Christiana, Delaware, in 1831) and Lisa Perez Jackson (who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1962). Both women centered their lives around a purpose (or calling) and relationships, the latter of which (as Martin Buber pointed out) is essential to being human.

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

From the Earth (a special Black History 2.5-for-1 note)

“The first girls to attend [the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy] were previously at the city’s lowest-ranked middle school. This year the school’s eighth graders earned one of the highest scores of all public schools in Atlanta on a state exam.

They’re Jackson’s sweet spot, these kids. African-American girls, who, like her, may have faced obstacles but are full of promise. ‘Listen,’ she says, ‘if these young women don’t grow up strong and talented and committed to our environment, then our country’s gonna suffer, not just them.’

Her speech hits home: ‘You have a right to clean air and clean water,’ she tells the girls, touching on one of her core initiatives, environmental justice—that is, to give a voice to the people, usually poor minorities, who are most severely affected by environmental hazards and calamities. ‘You have a right to have a healthy school to learn in.’ But such heady rights come with responsibility. The girls must be willing to do their part, she tells them—to blow past the wheezing stereotypes that only young men wearing pocket protectors are good at math and science, and that black women don’t set policy or lead. ‘You will bring clean air to your community,’ she tells them. ‘Which you can’t do if you don’t have the education.’”

— quoted from the O, The Oprah Magazine (June 2011) article “Clean Power: Lisa Jackson Fights for Our Right to Healthy Air, Water and Land: Somebody has to do it. We’re lucky it’s her.” by Lisa Depaulo

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.  [Look for “02082023 Being Human, prequel”]

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).

“Alles wirkliche Leben ist Begegnung.”

“All real life is meeting.”

“All actual life is encounter.”

— quoted from Ich und Du by Martin Buber (English translations by Ronald Gregor Smith and Walter Kaufmann, respectively)

### “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.” ~ Jesse Jackson ###