A Quick Note & EXCERPTS: “A Little Maintenance & A Little Playful Inquiry” & “The Art of Moving Meditation” September 6, 2025

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone working to maintain friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).

Stay safe! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.

“It occurred to me that maybe I was the odd one on the subject, but that was disposed of too. Most touring cyclists know how to keep their machines tuned. Car owners usually won’t touch the engine, but every town of any size at all has a garage with expensive lifts, special tools and diagnostic equipment that the average owner can’t afford. And a car engine is more complex and inaccessible than a cycle engine so there’s more sense to this. But for John’s cycle, a BMW R60, I’ll bet there’s not a mechanic between here and Salt Lake City. If his points or plugs burn out, he’s done for. I know he doesn’t have a set of spare points with him. He doesn’t know what points are. If it quits on him in western South Dakota or Montana I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

— quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig

Since today is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Pirsig (b. 1928), we play and maintain and sit — which, in this context, is all the same.

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.

First Friday Night Special #47: An Invitation to “A Little Maintenance & A Little Playful Inquiry” (the “missing” invitation w/excerpt & links)

“I might have thought this was just a peculiar attitude of theirs about motorcycles but discovered later that it extended to other things — .”

— quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig

FTWMI: The Art of Moving Meditation

“The real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called yourself. The machine that appears to be ‘out there’ and the person that appears to be ‘in here’ are not two separate things. They grow toward Quality or fall away from Quality together.”

— quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig

Please join me today (Saturday, September 6^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 “09062020 The Art of Moving Meditation”]

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 an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need (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.)

“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”

— quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig

### BREATHE: You need air in your tires and wind in your sails. ###