How You Can Use What is “Happening” to Un-Cage Yourself (a compilation post with excerpts & a video) September 5, 2026

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Apodosis of the Dormition; offering prayers for forgiveness on Leil Selichot; and/or awakening friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).

May you be safe, protected, and appreciated.

“The past is not fact. The past is simply a big field that had a great deal of activity in it. I asked a historian once, ‘How do you write history?’ and he said, ‘Oh, you have to invent it.’ Well, the way we invent history is by doing what we do; and the more we do, the more we look into the past to see if there is anything that is like what we are doing. If there is, we get interested; and if there isn’t, we don’t.”

— quoted from “Three: His Own Music (to 1970)” in Conversing with Cage by Richard Kostelanetz

What we are doing right here, right now, in this present moment, is based on our past moments and our past experiences. What we do next is based on those past moments and experiences as well as whatever we do (are doing) in this present moment. It seems really obvious, right? And, yet, if we are not mindful, intentional, and deliberate, we will continue doing the same things over and over again — even when those things no longer serve us (or we realize they never served us). Even when they are the same mistakes and/or the same bad behavior, over and over again.

Change requires discipline. Tapas (“heat, discipline, austerity” and the practices that cultivate them) is such an important part of the Yoga Philosophy it is one of the niyamas (internal “observations”) and the first element in kriyā yoga (“union in action”). (YS 2.1) It is described in the Bhagavad Gita as a purification tool and defined as “‘to melt’, as in refining ore.” (BG 17.14)

Tapas is a part of the practice that requires repetition.

“And this repetition of the exercises, which resemble print more than electronics, which resemble classing dancing more than Happenings, is nevertheless physically necessary if [Merce Cunningham] is to dance at all. I think this is his principal problem at the present moment. Were he to give up the daily class, all the dancing, as he has lived to do it, it would become impossible, because the things that are done are athletic in character and are not possible unless you maintain a daily discipline in the same sense that one cannot high jump unless the body is physically disciplined.”

— quoted from “Nine: Dance” in Conversing with Cage by Richard Kostelanetz  

Because of the discipline involved, a yoga practice has a lot in common with dance (and other athletic endeavors). Yet, a yoga class can also haves a lot in common with a “Happening”: a performance or art event that may be lightly scripted, but/and is ultimately a collaboration between the performers, the audience, the time, and the place. The term (“happening”) is attributed to Allan Kaprow, who studied with John Cage.

Born today in 1912, John Cage played around with musical happenings in the 1950s, while also studying Buddhism and collaborating with his partner Merce Cunningham, the choreographer. He also experimented with prepared instruments and explored silence and chance, while grappling with his ever-evolving feelings about repetition (particularly in music).

“[The composer La Monte Young] is able either through the repetition of a single sound or through the continued performance of a single sound for a period like twenty minutes, to bring it about that after, say, five minutes, I discover what I have all along been thinking was the same thing is not the same thing after all, but full of variety. I find his work remarkable almost in the same sense that the change in experience of seeing is when you look through a microscope. You see that there is something other than what you thought there was.”

— quoted from “Ten: Successors” in Conversing with Cage by Richard Kostelanetz

In some ways, our yoga practice is like a lab or a microscope, giving us the opportunity to “see things [like our habits] in a special way”.

Ancient and modern sciences agree that if we repeatedly do something enough times, we will continue to do that thing. In other words, it will become a habit. It doesn’t matter if we look at this paradigm through the lens of modern science (which focuses on how neural pathways are formed and hardwired) or if we think of it through the lens of ancient sciences like Yoga and Āyurveda (which highlight samskara [a “mental impression”] and vasana [a literal “dwelling” place of our habits]). Do something enough and doing it begins to feel instinctual. This is true whether we consider the behavior good, bad, or neutral.

Regardless of the value we place on a behavior, most of the things we are in the habit of doing are things that we may not have intentionally set out to do. The Yoga Philosophy, however, encourages us to cultivate the habit of cultivating habits. Abhyasa is the “[continuous and deliberate] practice, [engaged with sincere devotion]”. Paired with vairagya (“non-attachment”), abhyasa is a mindful, intentional, and deliberate way of creating habits that serve you — on and off the mat. (YS. 1.12-1.14) This practice highlights the fact that, although we may find ourselves trapped in habitual behaviors, we forget (or never learned) that we can change our habits.

We just have to do the new thing again and again… and again.

“If something is boring after 2 minutes, try it for 4. If still boring, then 8. Then 16. Then 38. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

— John Cage

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.

First Friday Night Special #59 — Invitation for “How to Get Out of Your Cage” (with excerpt & video)

(FTWMI) Repeating The Echo: The Cagey Truth About Nothing

“Get yourself out of whatever cage you find yourself.”

— John Cage

Please join me today (Saturday, September 5^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 by emailing myra        (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09052020 The Cagey Truth About Nothing”]

FAIR WARNING: The volume on these tracks is quite dynamic, especially on the Spotify list. I love this music, however, I know some folks hate it; so, feel free to “randomly” pick another list or…practice in “silence.”

If you are interested in John Cage, and need something a little less dynamic, another playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09052025 How to Get Out of Your Cage”]

Pure Cage

Extreme heat (and a lot of changes) can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.

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).

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.

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

September 25 — 27, 2026

LIMITED SPACE FOR HOTEL DISCOUNTS!

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