Two Quick Notes & EXCERPT: “2024 / ‘For Those Who Missed It (& those who still don’t get it): Divine Remembrance’” January 27, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Loss, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, auschwitz, Dante Alighieri, Dr. Viktor Frankl, Exodus, Franz Vesely, history, Holocaust, Indiana University Press, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, poland, Shemot, travel, United Nations General Assembly, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. Peace and safe passage to all on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“…music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure.”
— quoted from a letter (dated September 26, 1781) from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756) to his father, as printed in W. A. Mozart by Hermann Abert (Editor: Professor Cliff Eisen and Translator: Stewart Spencer)
When we are in the midst of terrible situations, it is sometimes easy to forget about the fact that life is still happening… that there is still pleasure. This is one of the things that I mention in today’s practice and in the post and excerpt below.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2025. The 2025 prompt question was, “What is your hope for the future?” The linked post and practice reference political conflict, war, and genocide.
Same day related references and links have been updated or added.
“What we create, experience, and suffer, in this time, we create, experience, and suffer for all eternity. As far as we bear responsibility for an event, as far as it is ‘history,’ our responsibility, it is incredibly burdened by the fact that something has happened that cannot be ‘taken out of the world.’ However, at the same time an appeal is made to our responsibility—precisely to bring what has not yet happened into the world! And each of us must do this as part of our daily work, as part of our everyday lives. So everyday life becomes the reality per se, and this reality becomes a potential for action. And so, the ‘metaphysics of everyday life’ only at first leads us out of everyday life, but then—consciously and responsibly—leads us back to everyday life.”
— quoted from “Experimentum Crucis” in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl (with an introduction by Daniel Goleman and an afterword by Franz Vesely)
While you probably did not hear anyone else talk about the other events I mention during the practice (and in the post excerpted below), there is a good chance — depending on your bubble — that at some point today you heard someone mention that Auschwitz-Birkenau (the largest Nazi concentration and death camp complex) was liberated today (January 27th) in 1945. Perhaps you also know that, in November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 designated January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
You might have even heard, as I did, that a large number of adults around the world can not name a single concentration camp. The statistics vary, depending on the country, from over 25% in the United Kingdom, France, and Romania to over 50% in the United States. I was shocked by these statistics and thought, ‘Well, I know 4 or 5, so I can look up the rest and post them on the blog with the excerpt.’
Of course, you will notice that there is no such list here.
There is no list, because Nazi Germany operated over a thousand concentration camps (including subcamps) from 1933 — 1945. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and Indiana University Press published a seven-part encyclopedia series, called Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945, which covered over 42,500 sites in Europe and Africa (controlled by the Nazis and the other Axis powers during that time period). According to the encyclopedia, there were 23 main camps — most of which had satellite camps. Auschwitz was not only a main camp, it was a complex in Nazi-occupied Poland with over 40 concentration and extermination camps.
Which brings me to the reason I’m not even listing the one I already knew: At least 2 are just part of a larger complex.
The hope that I shared during the [2025] practice is that there will be a time and a place when we can all breathe more easily and deeply; free of stress and strain, anxiety and fear, discomfort and disease. That is my hope for the future. But, I have another hope, a hope for right now: I hope, in this moment, that you will be disturbed enough by the information above that you will look into the history — at the very least, check out the blog post below. Then, I hope that the history will disturb you enough that you will pay attention to what is happening in the world today.
“Distance yourself from a false matter; and do not kill a truly innocent person or one who has been declared innocent, for I will not vindicate a guilty person.
You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe will blind the clear sighted and corrupt words that are right.
And you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
— “ordinances” in Shemot / Exodus 23:7–9
CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
2024 / “For Those Who Missed It (& those who still don’t get it): Divine Remembrance”
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 27th) 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 in 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 on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “012701 Holocaust Liberation & Remembrance”]
MUSIC NOTE: The playlists are slightly different, as some music is not available on Spotify. The YouTube playlist also includes videos of Holocaust survivors telling their stories (one of which is embedded below).
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.
### PEACE IN, PEACE OUT ###
### AUM ###
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Creativity & Change (a post-practice Monday post) January 26, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Baseball, Books, Changing Perspectives, Confessions, Food, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alicia Keys, Bessie Coleman, change, Creativity, January 26th, Queen Bess, Virginia Woolf
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong! May you create the circumstance that all you to soar!
This is a short post-practice post for Monday, January 26th (with excerpts). The 2026 prompt question was, “How do you express your creativity?” 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.
“Unconsciousness, which means presumably that the under-mind, works at top speed while the upper-mind drowses, is a state we all know. We all have experience of the work done by unconsciousness in our own daily lives. You have had a crowded day, let us suppose, sightseeing in London. Could you say what you had seen and done when you came back? Was it not all a blur, a confusion? But after what seemed a rest, a chance to turn aside and look at something different, the sights and sounds and sayings that had been of most interest to you swam to the surface, apparently of their own accord; and remained in memory; what was unimportant sank into forgetfulness. So it is with the writer. After a hard day’s work, trudging round, seeing all he can, feeling all he can, taking in the book of his mind innumerable notes, the writer becomes—if he can—unconscious. In fact, his under-mind works at top speed while his upper-mind drowses. Then, after a pause the veil lifts; and there is the thing—the thing he wants to write about—simplified, composed. Do we strain Wordsworth’s famous saying about emotion recollected in [tranquility] when we infer that by [tranquility] he meant that the writer needs to become unconscious before he can create?”
— quoted from the essay “The Leaning Tower (A paper read to the Workers’ Educational Association, Brighton, May 1940.)” as it appears in The Moment and Other Essays by Virginia Woolf (b. 01/25/1882)
Sometimes, like today, the January 26th. practice picks up where the January 25th practice left off — with a little focus on how we can create the causes and conditions that foster more practice. These are the same causes and conditions that we find in a more just and more productive world.
This practice is typically inspired by people who celebrate(d) birthdays today. While I initially thought I would skip most of the birthday and anniversary references this year, and focus more on creating space for the mind to create, it turns out we created space for both.
Click on the excerpt title to discover why the practice involves some “flying lessons”.
In addition to Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman (b. 1892), several other creative people were born today!
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE FOR MORE.
Creating: Music for This Date II (the “missing” Wednesday post)
“Create the world you want, and fill it with the opportunities that matter to you.”
— Alicia Keys (b. 01/25/1981)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
NOTE: Links for the playlist inspired by the January 26th birthdays and anniversary are available in the posts excerpted above.
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 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).
### PLAN TO SOAR! ###
A Quick Note & EXCERPTS: “Who’s Afraid of Sitting, Breathing… in a Room?” & “Sitting, Breathing… in a Room” January 25, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alicia Keys, Burns Day, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Robert Burns, The Air I Breathe, Virginia Woolf, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. “Happy Burns Day!” to those who are celebrating! May we all have sovereignty of our own selves.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“… a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction…”
— quoted from the essay “A Room of One’s Own,” as it appears in A Room of One’s Own And, Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns (b. 1759), Virginia Woolf (b. 1882), and Alicia Keys (b. 1981). As a side note, The Air I Breathe premiered in the United States today in 2008.
Not all of this comes up in the practice, but….
Click on the excerpt titles below for what Yoga and Virginia Woolf have in common.
NOTE: The excerpted posts begin the same, but are very different. The first (from 2025) focuses on storytelling. The second (from 2022) focuses on mental health.
Who’s Afraid of Sitting, Breathing… in a Room? (the “missing” Saturday post w/an excerpt)
“surājye dhārmike deśe subhikṣhe nirupadrave |
dhanuḥ pramāṇa-paryantaṃ śilāghni-jala-varjite |
ekānte maṭhikā-madhye sthātavyaṃ haṭha-yoghinā || 12 ||
The Yogī should practise [sic] Haṭha Yoga in a small room, situated in a solitary place, being 4 cubits square, and free from stones, fire, water, disturbances of all kinds, and in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully.”
— quoted from “Chapter 1. On Āsanas” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
Please join me today (Sunday, January 25th) at 2:30 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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01252022 Sitting, Breathing… in a Room”]
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 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.
### SIT, BREATHE, KNOW YOU ARE SITTING & BREATHING ###
Words for Today (and/or maybe Tomorrow) January 24, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Hope, Minneapolis, Minnesota, One Hoop, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Twin Cities, Yoga.Tags: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Twin Cities
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When I started Zoom for today’s practice, I was not aware that Alex Pretti had been murdered while attempting to assist another protester. Crushed, horrified, angry, and saddened in that moment, I also had people — in the Twin Cities — who had joined the practice in order to deal with what they were feeling. I can only hope (and trust) that this practice (and the following excerpt from the practice) was helpful.
If you are not ready for these words today, maybe you will be tomorrow.
There are no words to deal with some of the things that we’re facing right now.
There are no words.
But there can be action.
And that action starts in your own heart. Every time you inhale, Every time you exhale.
It may seem impossible to overcome certain obstacles.
To find the goodness when there’s so much evil and so much bad.
And yet, as I quote that Adidas ad all the time, the one that’s associated with Muhammad Ali, impossible is just a word. Impossible is a word specifically for people whose minds are too small, whose hearts are too small, to conceive of the possible.
I was talking about Stacey Flowers not too long ago, and one of the things that she talked about was how, for some people, it is so much easier to see obstacles than it is for possibilities.
Today, what I want you to do… as much as you’re able, is to go a little deeper into the possibilities within your own heart. Trust the possibilities within your own heart, which requires trusting yourself.
### Be Safe & Be Sage ###
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Freedom [& Dreaming] (a post-practice Monday post) January 20, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, B. A. Parker, Buddhism, Code Switch, Dolly Lama, Dolly Parton, freedom, injustice, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Jr, Michael E. Eidenmuller, Nicholas Buccola, Racism, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially for anyone celebrating the Holy Theophany of Jesus (Baptism of the Lord) May everyone breathe deeply and savor the richness of living a three dimensional life!
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
This is a short post-practice post for Monday, January 19th (with excerpts). It includes some links that will direct you to a site outside of this blog. The 2026 prompt question was, “‘…which age would you like to live in?’” 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.
“Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, ‘Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?’ I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God’s children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there.”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
In anticipation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day — which is the third Monday in January for most of the United States1 — the January 17th episode of Code Switch featured B. A. Parker interviewing Nicholas Buccola, the historian and author of One Man’s Freedom. The book uses the activism and political engagement of Martin Luther King and Barry Goldwater to examine the concept of freedom and the interview discussed the ways in which these two public figures had different concepts of freedom.
The idea that “freedom” means something different to different people — and/or different groups of people — is something I have considered before. Of course, in philosophies like Yoga and Buddhism, freedom (and liberation) are related to the end of suffering; with pain being something physical and suffering being something mental and/or emotional. Physical pain can lead to mental and emotional suffering, and vice versa; however, one does not automatically lead to the other. Suffering, ultimately, comes down to attitude — even when someone is intentionally inflicting pain and suffering on others.
This is why someone very rich and (politically) powerful can be miserable, while someone financially and/or physically poor can have a good time.
This is why, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. illustrated in his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, someone can be happy even as they are struggling — and, sometimes, specifically because they believe their suffering will ultimately lead to the end of suffering.
Click on the excerpt titles below for other sermons that I have highlighted on MLK Day and for more about MLK.
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Life (a post-practice Monday post)
“Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, ‘If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy.’
Now that’s a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding.
Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: ‘We want to be free.’”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today’s prompt question might seem strange and out of place in the context of a practice about being present, right here and right now. And I debated using it — even though I lifted it directly from Reverend King’s final speech. It is interesting to note that, like MLK’s answers, the answers on Monday night were related to change and, more than once, to times when people were struggling for civil rights and civil liberties.
It seems many people dream of change and, also, of being part of making those dreams come true.
“And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Speaking of dreams, this year (2026), the third Monday in January happens to fall on the birthday of another dreamer, seeker, and preacher: the “Dolly Lama”!
Click on the excerpt title below for more about Dolly Partin, born January 19, 1946.
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
— Dolly Parton
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
NOTE: The “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech was Martin Luther King Jr’s final speech, as he was assassinated the following day (on April 4, 1968).
Click here to listen and/or read the speech on the American Rhetoric website.
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 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).
NOTE: 1While the third Monday in January is a federal holiday observed in all 50 states and the United States territories, not everyone observes it simply as “MLK Day”. Some states include “Civil Rights”, “Human Rights”, or “Equality” in the name. Other states (umm, specifically states in the South), have historically named the day after King and at least one Confederate general. While some of those Confederate observations have been eliminated, some were simply moved to other dates.
CORRECTION: During the 2026 practice, I erroneously said that Nicholas Buccola wrote about Martin Luther King Jr. and Bull Connors, as opposed to MLK and Barry Goldwater.
### “We need all of you.” ~ MLK ###
EXCERPT: “Searching….” January 18, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Meditation, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 9 Days, 988, A. A. Milne, Alan Alexander Milne, Art, Christopher Robin Milne, E. H. Shephard, Ernest Howard Shephard, Hope, meditation, Poetry, Winnie-the-Pooh, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone. May everyone breathe deeply and have sovereignty over your self!
May you know you are and be safe and protected / peaceful and happy / healthy and strong!
“Christopher Robin came down from the Forest to the bridge, feeling all sunny and careless, and just as if twice nineteen didn’t matter a bit, as it didn’t on such a happy afternoon, and he thought if he stood on the bottom rail of the bridge, and leant over, and watched the river slipping slowly away beneath him, then he would suddenly know everything there was to be known, and he would be able to tell Pooh, who wasn’t quite sure of it. But when he got to the bridge and saw all the animals there, then he knew that it wasn’t that kind of afternoon, but the other kind, when you wanted to do something.”
— quoted from “Chapter Six, In Which – Pooh Invents a New Game and Eeyore Joins In” of The House at Pooh Corner by Alan Alexander Milne, with decorations by Ernest Howard Shephard
Since Alan Alexander Milne was born today in 1882, some people call today Winnie-the-Pooh Day.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE (including a video).
“Every child has his Pooh, but one would think it odd if every man still kept his Pooh to remind him of his childhood. But my Pooh is different, you say: he is the Pooh. No, this only makes him different to you. My toys were and are to me no more than yours were and are to you, not different to me. I do not love them more because they are known to children in Australia or Japan. Fame has nothing to do with love.”
— quoted from “12. The Toys” in The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne
Please join me today (Sunday, January 18th) at 2:30 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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08212021 An Afternoon of Just Knowing”]
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 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.
### “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” ~ A. A. M. ###
Trust & EXCERPT: “What We Need to Live Well” (the “missing” Saturday post) January 17, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, First Nations, Healing Stories, Hope, Japa, Japa-Ajapa, Life, Mantra, Meditation, One Hoop, Philosophy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Benjamin Franklin, Dakota, Diné, Japa-Ajapa, Navajo, Noah Webster, Ojibwe, sankalpa, Sanskrit, Sebastian Junger, trust, trustful surrender, Webster's 1828, Yoga Sutra 1.23, Yoga Sutra 2.45
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone celebrating the Forefeast of the Theophany.
May all beings everywhere experience a trustful surrender. May all beings everywhere feel a sense of belonging!
This is the “missing” post for Saturday, January 17th. The practice and the first post excerpted below include references to mental health issues and connected traumas. There are no graphic descriptions. 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.
“TRUST, noun
-
Confidence; a reliance or resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship or other sound principle of another person.
He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25.
-
He or that which is the ground of confidence.
O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth. Psalms 71:1.
-
Charge received in confidence.
Reward them well, if they observe their trust
-
That which is committed to one’s care. Never violate a sacred trust….”
— quoted from Webster’s Dictionary 1828: American Dictionary of the English Language
The root words of the Sanskrit word sankalpa are “truth” and “vow” and the word itself is often translated into English as “vow or highest vow”, “will”, or “determination”. In various religious and philosophical traditions, it has additional meanings, including (in the Yoga Philosophy) “intentional thought”. It can also be considered a “ritual intention” (in religious law). During the Saturday practices, I often explain it as “a positive, active statement, in the present tense, that comes from the heart.” It is a mantra or “tool”; although, not every mantra is a sankalpa.
While I usually just incorporate the group sankalpa into the last portion of the practice — as a form of japa-ajapa (“repeat and repeat” or “repeat and remember”) that integrates the idea into our being — this year is a little different. This year, I plan to use the (2026) Saturday practices to breakdown the group sankalpa, which begins with something you might find hard to do during these challenging times: “I trust….”
“TRUST, verb transitive To place confidence in; to rely on. We cannot trust those who have deceived us.
He that trusts every one without reserve, will at last be deceived.
-
To believe; to credit.”
— quoted from Webster’s Dictionary 1828: American Dictionary of the English Language
In the 1828 version of his American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster included 12 definitions of the word “trust” as a noun and five (5) definitions for verb forms, plus examples of how the word can be used in a sentence (based on each definition). Some of these definitions relate to legal entities, which I’m not getting into just yet. Neither am I going to spend a lot of time on these 17 different definitions, since most are still understood and used by modern audiences. You may remember, however, that Noah Webster studied (and incorporated) a variety of languages, including Sanskrit and Indigenous / Native / First Nation languages in order to create a dictionary and spelling and grammar tools that were uniquely American — and it is interesting to note how some words in other languages are translated into English as things other than “trust”.
For instance, apenimowin+an (in Ojibwe) can also mean “confidence”, “esteem”, “hope”, “optimism”, and “reliance”. Similarly, wac̣iƞye (in one of the Dakota Languages) can also be used to mean “depend on something” and “appreciate someone”. In Navajo (the language of Diné), one of the words used for “trust” can also be translated as “responsibility” or “duty”.
Whether you consciously realize it or not, these meanings underlie your ability to trust yourself and your skills — especially when you endeavor to do something “‘…of use to Mankind’”, as encouraged by Benjamin Franklin (born today in 1706, according to the Gregorian calendar).
While they may not have used these exact words, this multi-faceted understanding of “trust” is also integral to observations about community made by Mr. Franklin and by Sebastian Junger (born today in 1962).
Click on the excerpt title below for more about Benjamin Franklin and Sebastian Junger.
The post excerpted below references mental health issues and connected traumas. There are no graphic descriptions.
Yoga Sūtra 1.23: īśvarapraņidhānādvā
— “[A perfectly still, pristine state of mind] also comes from trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine],”
Yoga Sūtra 2.45: samādhisiddhirīśvarapraņidhānāt
— “From trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine], [a perfectly still, pristine state of mind] comes.”
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01172021 Franklin Junger”]
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 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).
### FAITH ###
EXCERPT: “Out of This World Firsts” January 14, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Surya Namaskar, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, brain, inspiration, Makar Sankrantani, mind, neuroscience, Norman Doidge MD, Robert A. Heinlein, samskaras, samskāras, travel, vasana, vāsanā
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“Happy Makar Sankranti!” to all who are celebrating a new beginning. Many blessings to all!!
May everyone breathe deeply and savor the richness of doing something amazing for the first time!
“If you want to lift a hundred pounds, you don’t expect to succeed the first time. You start with a lighter weight and work up little by little. You actually fail to lift a hundred pounds, every day, until the day you succeed. But it is in the days when you are exerting yourself that growth is occurring.”
— quoted from the “Notes and References [related to Chapter 6. Brain Lock Unlocked — Using Plasticity to Stop Worries, Obsessions, Compulsions, and Bad Habits]” in The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge, M.D.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE (including a video).
“… Don protested. ‘But that’s theoretically impossible— isn’t it?’
Dr. Jefferson brushed it aside. ‘Everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done. One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen. Studied any mathematical philosophy, Don? Familiar with infinite universe sheafs and open-ended postulate systems?’
‘Uh, I’m afraid not, sir.’
‘Simple idea and very tempting. The notion that everything is possible—and I mean everything—and everything has happened. Everything.’”
— quoted from “II: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel,Upharsin’” in Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein
Please join me today (Wednesday, January 14th) at 4:30 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 (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01142024 Out of This World Firsts”]
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 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.
### FIRST!! ###
EXCERPT: “Understanding [Your] Karma & Putting Cash in Your Karmic Bank Account” January 13, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, California, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Volunteer, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Carl Perkins, Folsom State Prison, inspiration, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Karma, Karma Yoga, kriya, kriyā, music, Statler Brothers, The Tennessee Three, Yoga Sutra 2.1, Yoga Sutra 2.12
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May your mind-body-spirit be well, be great, and be in harmony with your thoughts, words, and deeds.
“Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
Today in 1968, Johnny Cash, June Carter (who wouldn’t become a Cash until March 1, 1968), Carl Perkins, The Tennessee Three, and the Statler Brothers performed and recorded two (2) concerts at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.
CLICK ON THE EXCEPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
“I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime
But is there because he’s a victim of the times”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 13th) 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 in 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. [“01132021 Karma Cash I”]
“Each week we lose a hundred fine young men
And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believin’ that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred-thousand who have died
Believin’ that we all were on their side
… Well, there’s things that never will be right, I know
And things need changin’ everywhere you go
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white
Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything’s okay
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
’Til things are brighter, I’m the man in black”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
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 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.
### GIVE ###
EXCERPT: “A Simple, Radical, ‘Bad to the Bone’ Man” January 11, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Religion, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, activism, Cardinal August Bea, Dr. Susannah Heschel, Feast of the Holy Innocents, habits, John F. Kennedy, kabbalah, Martin Luther King Jr, mitzvot, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, samskāras, Selma to Montgomery, vasanas, Vatican II
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Happy New Year! Many blessings to all and especially to anyone celebrating the Sunday after the Nativity and remembering the 14,000 Infants (Holy Innocents).
May your mind-body-spirit be well, be great, and be in harmony with your thoughts, words, and deeds.
“Our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs but how to remain human in the skyscrapers.”
— quoted from “Part V: The Meaning of this Hour – 40. Religion in Modern Society” in Between God and Man by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was born today in 1907. Click on the excerpt title below to learn why I think he was…
“The hour calls for moral grandeur and spiritual audacity.”
— quoted from a telegram to then U. S. President John F. Kennedy, (dated June 16, 1963) by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Please join me today (Sunday, January 11th) at 2:30 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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01112023 To The Bone, II”]
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 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.
A Joyful Practice 