A Joyful Practice

Taking Another Look @ Madiba’s Lessons on Compassion, Peace, and Music (the “missing” Saturday compilation post) July 18, 2026

“Shabbat Shalom” to anyone observing Shabbat Chazon! Peace and many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside)!

This is the “missing” compilation post for Saturday, July 18^th. It includes some new and “remixed/re-purposed” content, as well as excerpts. 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.

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.

“If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it….”

— quoted from a March 4, 1979, speech at Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana by Jesse Jackson¹

According to the old adage, “What man can conceive, man can achieve”. And, while there are a plethora of different ways to express this sentiment, the Reverend Jesse Jackson proclaimed a crucial piece of the formula: Belief. We have to believe in the thing that we conceive. We have to believe in ourselves. On a certain level, we have to believe in the world. Belief is the tricky part. Because our beliefs are based on previous experiences, doing the “impossible”, requires belief in something with which we have little-to-no experience.

Svādhyāya (“self-study”) is the fourth niyama (internal “observation”) in the Yoga Philosophy and one of the ways that we can examine our beliefs in order to be understand what paves the way to our success and what gets in the way of our success. We can do a little contemplation every time we practice with the 2026 group sankalpa, which includes the word “beliefs”. We can also do a little introspection by putting ourselves in the shoes of another person — not only imagining what it would be like to be in a certain situation, but, also, considering what we would believe if we were in that situation.

Remember, our thoughts (i.e., our beliefs) precede our words and actions. So, what would it take for you to believe you were more than a number? What would it take for you to believe in your own freedom? What would it take for you to believe in your ability to (help) alleviate the suffering of a whole nation?

“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on me.

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.”

— quoted from Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, who was born today in 1918, was more than a number. He was Madiba and “Father of the Nation” and so much more. Imagine, for a moment, what you would believe if you lived his circumstances?

What would you believe if you were simultaneously a member of a royal family, a lawyer, and a second-class citizen of your country. Would you believe you could use your personal privilege to fight the injustices that made it impossible for you to live in a free, just, and equitable society?

How would your beliefs change if you spent over 27 years in prison (some of it in solitary confinement and some of it with the least amount of privileges) – while simultaneously being heralded around the world as a hero? Which part of those contradictory experiences would shape your beliefs the most?

Finally, what would you believe if you were a Nobel Peace Prize winner and President of your country?

Now, go back and consider how your beliefs shift/change if consider each belief from the perspective of someone who was also a husband and father, a son and a friend.

Click on the excerpt title below for my 2020 post related to Nelson Mandela, with reference to the Yoga Sūtras.

Compassion and Peace (with reference to a “separated” time)

“During apartheid, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela once summoned Yvonne Chaka Chaka to her Soweto home to deliver a note and a message from her husband in prison on Robben Island.

‘It was just a note to say “your music keeps us, your fathers, alive in jail”,’ the Princess of Africa told me earlier this year. I asked her if Madiba ever told her what song of hers he enjoyed most.

‘Umqombothi,’ she replied. It remains her most popular track.”

— quoted from the 12 Dec 2013 City Press article, “Who was Mandela’s favourite singer?” by Charl Blignaut

What would it take for you to believe that you would one day dance to the music that brightened your darkest days? What would it take for you to believe you would one day raise the glass that marked your homecoming?

Click on the excerpt title below for my 2021 “More Than 46664” post related to Nelson Mandela, with reference to music and vedanā (“sensation” or “feeling”).

More Than 46664 (the “missing” Sunday post, with a reference to Monday’s practice)

“[The reign of truth, charity, and love] are now considerations for the men of progress; for those who are imbued with the sincere desire to improve the condition of the human race, and who are prepared to make personal sacrifices to attain so great, so good, so glorious an object; to attain the emancipation of the world from falsehood, and to establish the universal reign of truth; because truth alone can make all the nations of the earth free from mental bondage, and all the evils thence ensuing.

It is this spirit of language and truth which must pervade the whole mass and the entire of society, before man can conceive what man can achieve, or society united can accomplish.”

— quoted from “Chapter VII. Principles and Practice of Religion.” in “Part First.” of  The Book of the New Moral World: Containing the Rational System of Society, Founded on Demonstrable Facts, Developing the Constitution and Laws of Human Nature and of Society by Robert Owen

According to the Quote Investigator, the earliest printed version of the aforementioned old adage can be found in the 1845 edition of The Book of the New Moral World: Containing the Rational System of Society, Founded on Demonstrable Facts, Developing the Constitution and Laws of Human Nature and of Society by Robert Owen. A philosopher, social reformer, and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the co-operative movement, Mr. Owen indicated that the achievements (and beliefs) of one person are predicated on the beliefs (and achievements) of an entire society. Nelson Mandela understood this, believed this, lived this, and endeavored to achieve it.

“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”

— Nelson Mandela

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07182021 More Than 46664”]

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 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 need 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).

You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!

September 25 — 27, 2026

NOTES:¹ Jesse Jackson used variations of this refrain in many speeches. This particular phrasing is cited in Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith (1987) by David G. Myers and Malcolm A. Jeeves.

### Believe in Freedom & Liberation ###