FTWMI: What (and How) Do You Recollect? / A Strenuous, Deliberate Life Photo (w/excerpt) July 12, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, First Nations, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Books, Eastman Kodak, Florence McAnaney, George Eastman, HBCUs, Henry David Thoreau, In Search of Lost Time, Life in the Woods, Marcel Proust, Nature, Philosophy, Remembrance of Things Past, Sinners, Swann's Way, The Captive, thoreau, Walden, yoga philosophy
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Peace and blessings to all, and especially to those completing the the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast during this 5th Week after Pentecost and/or beginning the month of Kalimát (“Words”)!
For Those Who Missed It: The following compilation post containing was originally posted in 2023. Class details and some formatting have been revised. Links and a little extra note have been added for context, and one link was converted into an excerpt.
“When from a long distance past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny, and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”
— quoted from “Overture” in Swann’s Way, Volume 1 of Remembrance of Things Past (or In Search of Lost Time) by Marcel Proust
You’re probably familiar with that old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but what’s the value of a thousand words that paint a picture? For that matter, what of a million? As I mentioned a few days ago, Marcel Proust wrote over a million words about memories and reflections — and, also, about how we recollect. He wrote about the very human thing we all do: look back over our days.
Sometimes we do it intentionally, deliberately — like the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who would end each day by reviewing what he had done between rising and retiring. The stoic emperor’s practice is a good reflection meditation, which can help us be more productive and (sometimes) can help us to sleep better. It’s a way to literally put to bed unresolved issues that might otherwise keep us awake. Unfortunately, sometimes, we find ourselves in bed regurgitating memories that no longer serve us.
“We are able to find everything in our memory, which is like a dispensary or chemical laboratory in which chance steers our hand sometimes to a soothing drug and sometimes to a dangerous poison.”
— quoted from The Captive, Volume 5 of Remembrance of Things Past (or In Search of Lost Time) by Marcel Proust
Memories can also pop up, unexpectedly. We can be eating a madeleine or a biscuit, sitting by a moonlit lake, reading a book, listening to music, sitting down to take off or put on our shoes, or practicing on our mat and suddenly — out of nowhere it seems — we are bombarded with a very visceral memory. It seems as if it comes from nowhere, but it actually comes from inside of us. It is visceral because we not only feel it all the way to our bones, it comes out of our bones, out of our tissues, out of our minds and bodies.
So, how do you show up, in the present, when your mind-body can — at any given moment — transport you into the past? How do you make remembering useful? How do you very deliberately, very intentionally, harness the power of your memories and your ability to reflect?
What I’m really asking is: How do you remember with the intention of Thoreau and the eye of Eastman? (And, if you have that “eye of Eastman” how do you use it without (metaphorically) losing focus of the present moment?)
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
— quoted from a journal entry dated August 5, 1851, as printed in The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal, Walden Edition by Henry David Thoreau, compiled and edited by Franklin Benjamin Sanborn and Bradford Torrey
Born today in 1817, in Concord Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau was a teacher and a writer, who is remembered as a writer and naturalist. He is also remembered as being very close to his brother John. I have heard that the brothers were close despite having different temperaments. Henry David was introverted and all about the books; John was out-going, extroverted, and fun-loving. Additionally, John supported Henry David’s every endeavor — helping him pay for tuition at Harvard and even started a new school when Henry David was fired for objecting to corporal punishment. They shared a lot of memories.
When John died, unexpectedly, in his brother’s arms, Henry David floundered. He lived with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s family for a period of time and served as a teacher to the Emerson children. Along with Edward Hoar, he accidentally burned down several hundred acres of Walden Woods. Not long after the fire, Emerson allowed Thoreau to retreat to a cabin located on 14 acres of land, about 1.5 miles from Emerson House.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
— quoted from “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau lived in the cabin, on the banks of Walden Pond, for two years, two months, and two days. He spent that time writing his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, which he self-published on May 30, 1849. The book was a memorial for his brother and it related the story of a trip the brothers took in 1839. He also wrote the work most people associate with the name Thoreau: a collection of essays entitled Walden, or Life in the Woods.
Both of Thoreau’s books are full of words that painted pictures. He was, after all, a “mental picture” taker. After his brother died unexpectedly, Henry David Thoreau was undoubtedly comforted by the images formed by his words, but think of how he might have felt (or might have written) had he and John been born decades after George Eastman.
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”
— quoted from “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
George Eastman, born today in 1854, in Waterville, New York, was an entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist who founded the Eastman Kodak Company. He and two older sisters (Ellen Maria and Katie) were initially raised on a 10-acre farm his parents purchased shortly before George was born. Unfortunately, their father — a successful entrepreneur himself — died of a brain disorder when Eastman was almost 8 years old. By then, the Eastman family was living in Rochester, NY and life on the farm was but a memory.
George, who had been self-taught until his father’s death, was sent to private school and his mother took in boarders in order to survive. By the time he was 15, the youngest of his sisters (Katie) had died of polio. Soon after her death, George left school and started a photography business. By the time he was 30 years old, he had patented the first practical “roll of film”. Before the age of 35, he had developed the Kodak Black camera, designed to use roll film. Eventually, his company became the first, and the leading company, to supply film stock. Along the way, George Eastman changed the way people remembered — and he incorporated what would become a billion dollar company (all with a made up name).
“What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”
— George Eastman
While some of details of their lives are very different, Henry David Thoreau and George Eastman were both very private men, who lived very solitary lives, and who believed in community. They also believed in serving the community — albeit in slightly different ways.
Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist and an abolitionist who read the Bhagavad Gītā and believed in civil disobedience. He was criticized for a number of things throughout his lifetime, including the decision to live alone with those regulated to the fringes of society (which some viewed as “unmanly”). His maternal grandfather, Asa Dunbar, led a student revolt at Harvard in 1766 (the first recorded in the United States) and Henry David spent a (very) short period of time in jail for “tax evasion” — which was not the first time he had refused to pay something he thought he should not have to pay. It is possible (and probable) that he also helped others escape tax liens.
“Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained…. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.”
— quoted from “Economy” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
George Eastman also lived a solitary life (in that he never married or had children). He was considered a progressive in the social and political sense. He fought the labor union movement by offering worker benefit programs, which included employee profit-sharing for all employees. He also promoted Florence McAnaney to the top position in the personnel department — establishing her as one of the first women to hold an executive position in a major U. S. company. He also founded “an independent non-partisan agency for keeping citizens informed” in Rochester, which continues to this day.
“If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up. He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get it into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting it into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work.”
— George Eastman
Henry David Thoreau was not a financially wealthy man. However his contributions to the world are priceless. His philosophy and viewpoints regarding “unjust laws” (like the Fugitive Slave Law, which he frequently attacked in lectures), influenced Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. His legacy to the modern world includes over 20 volumes worth of articles, essays, journals, and poetry.
On the flip side, George Eastman was a philanthropist, who donated (often anonymously, as “Mr. Smith”) millions of dollars to a variety of organizations including the University of Rochester (which was also the beneficiary of his estate); the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He established the Eastman School of Music and schools of dentistry and medicine at the University of Rochester, as well as the Eastman Dental Hospital in London, England. Low-income residents of London and other European cities also benefited from Eastman’s generosity as he provided funds for multiple clinics across the pond. Additionally, donated millions to Tuskegee University and Hampton University — historically Black universities.
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth….”
— George Eastman
Please join me today (Saturday, July 12th) 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 “07122020 Strenuous, Deliberate Life Photo”]
If you’re interested in another look at how things “develop,” click on the excerpt title below.
A Strenuous, Deliberate “Photo” of You (the “missing” Monday post)
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.)
### YS: 1.36 VIŚOKĀ VĀ JYOTIŞMATĪ ###
A Little Note & FTWMI: Contemplating Death, Dying, and All the Living in Between July 8, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Women, Writing.Tags: 988, Death, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, grief, Ken Ross, Life, Loss, meditation, mental health, On Death and Dying, On Grief and Grieving, Philosophy, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh, yoga
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Peace and blessings to all!
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
“Strange though it may seem to you, one of the most productive avenues for growth is found through the study and experience of death. Perhaps death reminds us that our time is limited and that we’d better accomplish our purpose here on earth before our time runs out. Whatever the reason….Those who have been immersed in the tragedy of massive death during wartime, and who have faced it squarely, never allowing their senses and feelings to become numbed and indifferent, have emerged from their experiences with growth and humanness greater than that achieved through almost any other means.”
— quoted from Death: The Final Stage of Growth by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
There are places in the world where people have almost always had to grapple with life and death and dying on a daily basis. However, for many in the world, the last few years have included more struggles with life and death and dying.
These are hard things to contemplate, but they are also important things to contemplate; because, death and dying (and the feelings associated with them) are all part of life.
My condolences to people who are dealing with death and dying, especially when it is an unexpected loss, a tragic loss, and/or the loss of those who were so very young.
May their memories bring you comfort.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted today in 2020 & 2023. Class details and some formatting have been updated. I have also moved some quotes around.
“I cannot leave out the problem of life and death. Many young people and others have come out to serve others and to labor for peace, through their love for all who are suffering. They are always mindful of the fact that the most important question is the question of life and death, but often not realizing that life and death are but two faces of one reality. Once we realize that we will have the courage to encounter both of them….
Now I see that if one doesn’t know how to die, one can hardly know how to live—because death is a part of life.”
— quoted from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thích Nhất Hạnh
Today’s post and class will be tricky for some. Today’s theme is always tricky for some. Although, I would assert that it shouldn’t be. After all, death is part of life. That can come off glib and easy to say — specifically because it is a little glib, or shallow, because it belies the fact that loss is hard and that most of us haven’t/don’t really face the concept of death until we (or someone we love) is dying. The statement “death is part of life” is also shallow because it belies the fact that, even if we meditate on and prepare for death, loss is still hard. Yes, death and dying are something that we all have to deal with, but to just leave it at that is what makes the subject tricky. We have to, as Thích Nhất Hạnh instructs in The Miracle of Mindfulness, go deeper.
“The five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one[s] we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or goes in a prescribed order.”
— quoted from On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Grief by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler
Born in Zürich, Switzerland today in 1926, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was the oldest triplet in a family of Protestant Christians. Despite her father’s wishes, she grew up to be a psychiatrist known for her work on death and dying, life and death, and the five stages of grief. Her ultimate work was in part inspired by her work with refugees in Zürich during World War II. After the war, she participated in relief efforts in Poland and, at some point, visited the Maidanek concentration camp in Poland. As a young woman, standing in a place of destruction, she was struck by the compassion and human resilience that would inspire someone to carve hundreds of butterflies into the walls of the death camp.
Dr. Kübler-Ross originally planned on being a pediatrician. However, she married a fellow medical student (in New York in 1958) and became pregnant. The pregnancy resulted in the loss of her pediatrics residency, so she switched to psychiatry. Unfortunately, she also suffered two miscarriages before giving birth to two children. The loss of her residency and her miscarriages were not her first (or last) experiences with loss. Her marriage ended in divorce and, when she attempted to build a Virginia hospice for infants and children with HIV/AIDS, someone set fire to her home (in 1994). The house and all of the belongings inside were lost to arson.
When she started her psychiatry residency, Dr. Kübler-Ross was struck by the way hospitals in the United States treated patients who were dying. She began to host lectures where medical students were forced to meet and listen to dying people outside of a clinical setting. Her intention was to get medical students to “[react] like human beings instead of scientists…and be able to treat [terminal patients] with compassion the same compassion that you would want for yourself.” As she moved through her career, she continued hosting the series of seminars which used interviews with terminally ill patients. Her work was met with both praise and criticism — most of the latter was because she was so obviously questioning the traditional practices of psychiatry. In 1969, she released her seminal book On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families, which provided a grief model for people who were dying and for those they were leaving behind.
“Those who have the strength and the love to sit with a dying patient in the silence that goes beyond words will know that this moment is neither frightening nor painful, but a peaceful cessation of the functioning of the body.”
— quoted from On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Dr. Kübler-Ross explained from the beginning that her outline was not intended to be linear and yet, people wanted to be able to step through the stages with grace and ease. The problem with that mindset is… life is messy and so is grieving. A perfect example of the messiness of life and death can be found in Dr. Kübler-Ross’s own life… and death. In 1995, after a series of strokes which left her partially paralyzed on her left side, she found herself confronted with the reality of her own death. Added to her grief was the closing of Shanti Nilaya (“Final Home of Peace”), a healing and growth center which she had established in the later 1970’s (shortly before her divorce) after convincing her husband to buy 40-acres of land in Escondido, California.
Despite a 2002 interview with The Arizona Republic, where she stated that she was ready to die, Dr. Kübler-Ross struggled with the fact that she could not choose her own time of death. He son Ken, Founder and President of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation, served as her caregiver for the last decade of her life. In a 2019 interview with the hosts of ABC Radio’s Life Matters, Ken said, “A few weeks before she passed she said to me, ‘Kenneth, I don’t want to die.’”
“It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we’re alive – to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.”
— quoted from Death: The Final Stage of Growth by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Ken Ross admitted that he was taken aback by his mother’s statement that she did not want to die. It turned out, Dr. Kübler-Ross was not only physically paralyzed; she was also stuck in the anger stage of her own grief model. She caught flak in the media — as if she were somehow above being human simply because she had studied, taught, and spoken so openly and so frequently on the subject of death and dying. She did not stay there (in the anger stage), however, as her family and friends encouraged her to keep living and to keep processing the experience of dying. Her son even literally pushed her out of her comfort zone by assisting her in wheelchair marathons and in visiting her sisters in Europe.
“[She] let herself be loved and taken care of, then that was her final lesson — and then she was allowed to graduate. For years I thought about this and what I realized was that’s exactly what she teaches. [When] you learn your lessons you’re allowed to graduate.”
— Ken Ross in a 2019 “Life Matters” interview on ABC Radio National
“In Switzerland I was educated in line with the basic premise: work, work, work. You are only a valuable human being if you work. This is utterly wrong. Half working, half dancing – that is the right mixture. I myself have danced and played too little.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. in an interview
Please join me today (Tuesday, July 8th) 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 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. [Look for “07082020 On Death & Dying”]
“If we could raise one generation with unconditional love, there would be no Hitlers. We need to teach the next generation of children from Day One that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D.
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.)
Revised 07/08/2023 & 2025.
### “People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” EKR ###
Biographies of People Who Have Always Been Here, PRIDE edition (the “missing” Sunday post) June 29, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, First Nations, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Mathematics, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: "Impossible" People, 2S, 44, 988, Alan Beaven, Alan Hart, Alan Turing, Alice Anderson, Amisha Padnani, Bayard Rustin, Beau Brink, Brohny Doyle, Carl Seante Mcgrier, Caster Semenya, Cee Cee Ross-Lyles, DeLesslin George-Warren, Dr. Alan Hart, Ed Patton, gender, George Orwell, Gil Scott-Heron, Gladys Bentley, Gordon Brown, Haleema Shah, history, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Jade Novah, Jean-yves G. Ducornet, Jeanne Thornton, Jeremy Glick, Jim Wilson, Jimmy Wheeler, John Kenley, Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jones, Keala Settle, Kofi A. Owusi-ofori, Lana Wachowski, Laverne Cox, lgbt, lgbtq, LGBTQIA+, Lilly Wachowski, Lily Gladstone, Linda Gronlund, Lou Nacke, Mark Bingham, Marsha P. Johnson, Melissa Etheridge, Melody McKiver, MLK, Muxe, Neverending Nina, PRIDE, queer, Rich Guadagno, Robert Allen Bamford Jr, Sally Ride, Sandra Bradshaw, Sewell Chan, sex, sexuality, Shorty Harris, Stormé DeLarverie, Tam O’Shaughnessy, Terri Rogers, The New York Times Obituaries Desk, The Wachowskis, Thomas Edward Burnett Jr., Todd Beamer, Todrick Dramaul Hall, Todrick Hall, transgender, Two Spirit, United Nations, Val Andrews, William Cashman
2 comments
Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone!!
This is a “missing” post for Sunday, June 29th. This post includes passing references to sex, gender, sexuality, and to incidents of terrorism and of homophobia. Also, note that at least one of the embedded links directs you to YouTube. My gratitude for your patience if you came to the Zoom practice and my apologies for not posting this earlier. 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.
“Now you cannot change this
You can’t erase this
You can’t pretend this is not the truth”
— quoted from the song “Tuesday Morning” by Melissa Etheridge (written by Melissa Etheridge and Jonathan Taylor)
Since this is the last weekend of June, some people are celebrating PRIDE (and some people who are celebrating PRIDE are also bringing awareness to men’s mental health, since June is dedicated to both). I mentioned, yesterday, that this year hits / feels different to me because the days and dates coincide exactly with the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. So, obviously, I shared bits of PRIDE’s backstory and offered a brief history of the Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall Uprising — which included gay people, lesbians, bisexual people, transgender people, queer (and questioning) people, intersex people, asexual people (ace), aromantic people (aro), demi-sexual people, non-binary people, and a whole lot of other people. My catch-all “a whole lot of other people” includes straight people; because, allies have always been part of PRIDE.
Sadly, haters — in all categories — have also always been part of the story.
And there’s the other reason this year hits hard for a lot of people: because there are people in power who want to strip people within the LGBTQIA+ community of their civil rights, their humanity, their identity, their history, their hope, and their joy. While, a lot of people get distracted (positively and negatively) by the PARTY that is PRIDE, aspects of PRIDE have always been about maintaining / retaining civil rights and humanity as well as giving people an opportunity to define themselves while also sharing history, hope, and joy.
So today, as this month’s PRIDE celebrations are coming to a close, I wanted to go a little deeper into the history and share the true stories of some people you may not know were/are in the community.
“It was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience – it wasn’t no damn riot!”
— Stormé DeLarverie
Just to clarify, I talk about people within the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the year. Sometimes, I mention their sexuality and/or their identity; but, sometimes I don’t — because, honestly, it’s often the least interesting thing about the people I highlight throughout the year. The same can be said about the people I am highlighting today. In most cases, their identity and/or sexuality is only notable because of the times in which the lived (and often thrived, despite the sociopolitical climate in which they lived).
So, why not highlight these people throughout the year?
Honestly, there’s just too many things and people I would like to highlight.
Some of these people I’ve struggled to figure out days when I can squeeze them all in. This year, this became the day (because of the last person I am highlighting).
“So what do we do when they say our love is forbidden
And what if I don’t wanna pray our love is forgiven
I’m willing to fight every day of life that I’m given
You’re a rule that I’m willing to break
An exception I’m willing to make
You’re a risk that I’m willing to take”
— quoted from the song “Forbidden” by Todrick Hall, featuring Jade Novah & Keala Settle (written by Carl Seante Mcgrier, Jean-yves G. Ducornet, Todrick Dramaul Hall, Kofi A. Owusi-ofori)
Most of the people on today’s list are people I have never mentioned in class (or on the blog). However, the first person I highlighted is someone I have referenced — in passing — over the years. Her name is Tam O’Shaughnessy, PhD (b. January 27, 1952). She is a science teacher and an associate professor emeritus of school psychology, who researched preventive interventions for children with reading difficulties — which I find super interesting, as someone who loves to read (and is also interested in how the brain works). She is also a former professional tennis player (who played in the U.S. National Championships, now known as the U.S. Open, in 1966, 1970, and 1972.
Dr. O’Shaughnessy is the author of 12 science books for children — 6 of which she wrote with the astronaut Sally Ride, who was her life partner for 27 years. In addition to writing together, the couple co-founded the science education company Sally Ride Science at University of California, San Diego (along with Karen Flammer, Terry McEntee, and Alann Lopes).
“Gladstone calls herself ‘queer’, ‘pansexual’ and ‘straight’. ‘I can’t put a label on it,’ she says. ‘One of the big things that tipped me to my queerness is I don’t have the draw to motherhood the way a lot of women have. There was a period of my life when I thought I might be asexual because I had no sexual attraction to anybody. I had a romantic attraction to everybody but no sexual desire. Then the word “demisexual” came into play, where it’s, like, I don’t feel sexual stirring at all unless I actually care about this person, no matter who they are.’ That’s a better fit, she thinks, although she won’t say if she has a partner.”
— quoted from the April 25 2025, The Times article, entitled “Lily Gladstone: queer, pansexual or straight? I might be demisexual — The star of Killers of the Flower Moon talks about her new comedy Wedding Banquet, defining her sexuality and hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio” by Ed Potton
Lily Gladstone (born August 2, 1986) is an actress who was raised on the Blackfeet reservation. She is of Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European heritage and her ancestors include a Kainai Nation chief (Red Crow) and a British Prime Minister (William Ewart Gladstone). She is the first Native American to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama and the first Native American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
To me, what is even more interesting than their awards, is the fact that they taught an image theatre acting method where the actor/sculptor molds the actors/statues through touch. This “sculpture garden”, as they called it, was part of a violence prevention program sponsored by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.
And, yes, I switched pronouns on you, which might be interesting when you consider the context — and the reminder that Two Spirit people (not to mention Muxe and other indigenous people who are gender non-conforming, by our modern/Western ideas) existed on this continent long before there was a United States of America (or even a set of European colonies).
“‘And in most Native languages, most Indigenous languages, Blackfeet included, there are no gendered pronouns. There is no he/she, there’s only they,’ Gladstone adds.”
“‘So Blackfeet, we don’t have gendered pronouns, but our gender is implied in our name. But even that’s not binary,’ says Gladstone….”
“‘So, yeah, my pronoun use is partly a way of decolonizing gender for myself.’”
— Lily Gladstone, quoted from the December 31, 2023, People article, entitled “Lily Gladstone on Why She Uses She/They Pronouns: A Way of ‘Decolonizing Gender for Myself’” by Eric Andersson
The musician Melody McKiver, who is featured on the playlist, is a member of the Obishikokaan Luc Seul First Nations, who shared similar sentiments in the April 12, 2017 ICT News interview “Great Videos and Music from 8 Indigenous LGBTIA and/or Two Spirit Musicians” by DeLesslin George-Warren, stating:
“‘Fundamentally, everything in my body of work is a part of my work as a 2S musician because it’s who I am’”
We like to put people in narrow boxes, but most people are not one thing. We are multifaceted and every bit of light is part of the whole. In that way, we are like a rainbow: people may see different things about us on the outside, but what shines through is coming from the same source.
Rainbows, as a symbol, show up in the world in a lot of different ways and they showed up in my childhood in multiple ways. They are a symbol of hope in the Abrahamic religions and, throughout my childhood, they also popped up as a symbol of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds coming together to fight for equality (here in the United States and in South Africa). Finally, there was that myth about a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Growing up, that leprechaun’s gold was Romantic and symbolized success and the life of one’s dreams. To me, doing what you love, loving what you do, and being successful is like finding the gold — which means we are all “chasing rainbows”. Just like Alice Anderson.
Alice Anderson (born June 8, 1897) was the founder and owner of Miss Anderson’s Motor Service (Kew Garage), the first all-women garage in Australia. She also wrote a regular motoring column for Woman’s World and once drove the smallest car in the world across the Never Never. While anyone could use the services of Miss Anderson’s garage — services that included full auto repair, chauffeuring, interstate touring trips, driving classes, and petrol stations — Alice Anderson only hired women as mechanics and professional drivers. Like those in her employment, Miss Anderson not only worked in a male-dominated industry, she wore breeches, suits, and ties.
It’s important to remember that people’s concepts of what is gender-conforming is different in different cultures and can change (within a culture) over time. For example, there was a time when “a proper man” in some European cultures wore stockings, wigs, and painted their face (as well as their nails). Similarly, Alice Anderson lived in a time and place where the things she liked to do (and the clothes she liked to wear) were, on a certain level, acceptable. Of course, that didn’t stop her mother (who was born and bred in Ireland) from disapproving of her career and life choices.
Neither did it stop Alice from inspiring generation after generation of drivers, mechanics, and entrepreneurs.
“An LGBTQ advocacy group has taken the name Alice’s Garage, and Anderson’s tie pin, engraved with same Joan of Arc-inspired motto that was stamped on her business cards—‘Qui ne risque, rien n’a rien,’ or ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained,’— is on permanent display at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia.”
— quoted from “Founder of Australia’s First All-Women Garage Alice Anderson 1897–1926” by Briohny Doyle, published in Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World by Amisha Padnani and the [New York Times] Obituaries Desk
Inspiration is one of the reasons that representation matters; because it is hard to believe you can do something if you haven’t seen anyone like you do anything remotely like the thing you want to do. Without representation, certain things can feel “impossible”.
Just consider, for a moment, that there is a young ventriloquist who is very popular in this day and age. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and is sweet as a button. She looks and sounds like a southern belle, In other words, she fits some people’s stereotype of classic femininity. In interviews, she has mentioned being inspired by a particular male ventriloquist and, if you are of a certain age, maybe you can only think of a handful of male ventriloquist. However, there are some women who became famous as ventriloquist — including Terri Rogers (born May 4, 1937).
Terri Rogers and her doll, Shorty Harris, toured the world and even appeared on the HBO special Blockheads. She was also a magician — although, when it came to magic, she is remembered more for the illusions she crafted from people like David Copperfield and Paul Daniels.
Her comedy could be shocking and bawdy (the doll’s name was Cockney slang for “short arse” after all), but could also be cleaned up for shows like the ones she did at NATO headquarters. What really stood out for people, though, was the way she made you forget that she was acting and that she was also the doll. Then there was her voice. People were often struck by Terri Rogers’s her incredible vocal range. What most of those people didn’t know was that she was transgender.
“[Terri] Roger’s partner, the magician Val Andrews, once wrote that she remembered the comedian Jimmy Wheeler admonishing her audience: ‘Blimey, you don’t realize what you’ve seen and heard!’”
— quoted from “Transgender Ventriloquist and Magician Terri Rogers 1937–1999” by Jeanne Thornton, published in Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World by Amisha Padnani and the [New York Times] Obituaries Desk
Terri Rogers wasn’t the first (nor the last) to perform in clothes typically associated with a different sex or gender from the one they were assigned at birth. There is a difference, however, between someone who dresses and/or performs in drag and someone who is transgender (who might also perform in drag). Consider many (if not most) actors have appeared in drag. Similarly, many politicians have dressed in drag — which makes some of them hypocrites, but that’s another story for another day.
While drag queens get a lot of attention (just as there is a lot of focus on transgender women), there are drag kings (just as there are transgender men). But, again, there is a difference. Of course, when we look back at people in history, it can be hard to tell sometimes if someone was performing in drag, transgender, or both.
For example, Gladys Bentley (born August 12, 1907) was one of the most famous entertainers of the Harlem Renaissance. Poets like Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen sang her praises. If you’re thinking, “Wait a minute, how can someone be so famous and I’ve never heard of them?” Well, she was a Black, gay/lesbian person who mostly performed sang, danced, and played the piano in a top hat and tails. She referred to herself as a woman and yet she is quoted as saying that she didn’t feel like a woman. In fact, she felt more comfortable in men’s clothes and, when necessity required it, she presented as a man.
The thing about Gladys Bentley is that she was focused on survival at a young age. She ran away from home at 16 years old — after what was essentially 16 years of rejection from most of her family members — and she got her first job as an entertainer, because she presented as a man. Later, as the government changed and laws changed, she forced herself to wear a dress to perform (and even married a man, after claiming she had married a woman). But, Gladys Bentley wasn’t as successful as an entertainer wearing dresses as she was wearing pants.
Maybe, because she wasn’t comfortable in the dresses, because she didn’t feel like herself.
“Scholars who have studied [Gladys] Bentley’s life said that the story Bentley told about being ‘cured’ in the Ebony article [‘I Am A Woman Again’, written in 1952] was likely a response to the McCarthy Era and its hostile claims that homosexuality and communism were threats to the country. [Jim] Wilson also says that Bentley, who was aging and no stranger to reinvention, was likely making deft use of the press. ‘I like to believe that Gladys Bentley had her thumb on the pulse of the time. She knew what was popular, what she could do, and what people would pay to see,’ he says.”
— quoted from the March 14, 2019 “Women Who Shaped History: A Smithsonian magazine special report” entitled “The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules: For the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s” by Haleema Shah
The next person on the list is the second person that I sometimes mention is passing: Marsha P. Johnson, one of the people who was at Stonewall on June 28-29, 1969. She was a transgender, gay rights activist who also worked as a prostitute and (occasionally) performed in drag. While she battled with mental health issues and was often homeless, she seemed tireless when working on behalf of homeless youth and/or advocating for the healthcare of people with HIV and AIDS.
Since “transgender” was not a widely used term during much of her lifetime, Marsha P. Johnson used women’s pronouns and “referred to herself as gay, as a transvestite, or simply as a queen” (according to her Overlooked obituary written by Sewell Chan). People have describe Marsha P. Johnson as fierce and fearless and people also remember her for her grace, her whimsical nature, and her joy for life. She was all that… and a bag of chips.
Or, er, peaches.
“Johnson was also part of a drag performance group, Hot Peaches, which began performing in 1972. She told anyone who asked—including, once, a judge— that her middle initial stood for ‘pay it no mind.’ The surname came from a Howard Johnson’s restaurant where she liked to hang out.”
— quoted from “Transgender Pioneer and Activist 1945–1992” by Sewell Chan, published in Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World by Amisha Padnani and the [New York Times] Obituaries Desk
Just in passing (since I’m about to quote them), I want to mention the Wachowski Sisters. Lana (born June 21, 1965) and Lilly (December 29, 1967) Wachowski are writers, directors, and producers who co-created the Matrix franchise as well as V for Vendetta (2005) and live-action Speed Racer (2008). In addition to movies and television, the siblings have also collaborated on comic books and video games. With regarded to their gender identity, they have repeatedly stated that the original Matrix (1999) movie was an allegory about how we consume information and how we form identity and understanding based on our consumption of media — and, in particular, how a person’s outward identity may or may not reflect the inward experience (and vice versa). In other words, it’s a transgender allegory that is also about waking up to reality — something a lot of people seem to have missed.
“Morpheos [to Neo]: …Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.”
— quoted from the 1999 movie The Matrix written and directed by The Wachowskis
While we are on the subject of gender identity, it’s important to remember that sex and gender (as well as gender expression) are not the same things (and not the same for everyone). Again, different countries and cultures have different expectations around sex and gender and individuals have individual experiences. Someone can be female, be a cisgender woman, and present in a very feminine (girly way) and/or in a very masculine way — simply based on what feels good and how they think they look — and they may not get the side or a double take. This is also true for other people; however, it can be more challenging for someone who is a cisgender man to present as feminine in some places.
More to the point, however, there are people who can now be identified by Western science as intersex, which is an umbrella term to describe a variety of people whose sex characteristics — including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals — “do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies”. (NOTE: The fact that Western science is constantly evolving means that there might come a day when doctors pinpoint a reason some people are transgender.)
Here, again, if you have heard of someone (on the news, on social media, or even in a book) who is intersex, there is a good chance that it was an athlete like Caster Semenya (born January 7, 1991) who, for most of her life, did not know she could be medically diagnosed as intersex. You may not, however, have heard of someone like the John Kenley (born February 20, 1906) whose atypical sex organs were identified at birth, but whose parents decided his life would be easier as a man than as a woman. Even though he was baptized in the Russian Orthodox church as a boy and served in the Merchant Marines during World War II, the American theatre producer (of Slovakian descent) never really felt comfortable as a man and reportedly spent his downtime living as a woman named Joan.
John Kenley may not have been comfortable in his own skin, but he was successful. He revolutionized summer stock by inviting celebrities (specifically television and movie stars) to star in live theatre productions. He was also the first theatre producer to desegregate a theatre in Washington, D. C.
“The ways in which trans people have been represented have suggested that we’re mentally ill, that we’re that we won’t exist. And yet here we are. And we’ve always been here.”
— Laverne Cox, quoted in the trailer for her 2020 Netflix documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen
During the (live) 2025 class, I inadvertently mixed up some of the details about John Kenley with the details about Alan L. Hart (born October 4, 1890). Also known as Robert Allen Bamford Jr., Dr. Alan Hart was a physician, radiologist, tuberculosis researcher, and writer. He published over nine short stories and four novels and his revolutionary (at the time) use of X-ray photography in tuberculosis detection continues to save innumerable lives.
However, much of what he accomplished professional almost didn’t happen because he was transgender and his medical degree was issued in his birth name (with a note added to his records) — which did not match his outward appearance and effect or his name once he legally changed it.
Alan Hart was one of the first people (in the United States) to receive counseling and surgery (including a hysterectomy) with regard to his gender dysphoria. At the point (in his adulthood) that he medically transitioned, he had lived most of his life as a man and he was fortunate that his family accepted his gender identity at a very young age. He was also fortunate that, for the most part, he was able to be recognized as a boy and then a man throughout his school years. However, he did fear that his prospects were limited because how he appeared on the outside (and felt on the inside) did not match his credentials.
“Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. Anyone who has lived long in a foreign country will know of instances of sensational items of news — things which on their own merits would get the big headlines-being kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that ‘it wouldn’t do’ to mention that particular fact. So far as the daily newspapers go, this is easy to understand. The British press is extremely centralised, and most of it is owned by wealthy men who have every motive to be dishonest on certain important topics. But the same kind of veiled censorship also operates in books and periodicals, as well as in plays, films and radio. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to say it, just as in mid-Victorian times it was ‘not done’ to mention trousers in the presence of a lady. Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.”
— quoted from an originally unpublished introduction to Animal Farm by George Orwell
Just as there is a difference between sex and gender, there is also a difference between someone’s sex and/or gender and their sexuality. And this is a big point of contention for some folks within the community, who feel like the community is too inclusive and/or has become like a big state whose geographic regions have completely different interests, concerns, and priorities.
And yet, the same people who want to erase transgender people from history (including from the history of Stonewall) are the same people who want to ignore the fact that Bayard Rustin (born March 17, 1912) was a gay rights activist as well as the primary organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (in 1963) and the Freedom Rides, as well as one of the organizers of Southern Christian Leadership Conference — all of which provided a platform for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The same people that made it impossible for Mr. Rustin and his partner, Walter Naegle, to get married want you to ignore the fact that the couple found a creative work around so that could legally be connected and not let their sexuality overshadow their activism.
Those same people don’t want you to know that Tam O’Shaughnessy and Walter Naegle both accepted Presidential Medal of Freedom awards that were posthumously awarded to their late partners in 2013.
Those same people also don’t want you to know that the British mathematician Alan Turing, PhD (born June 23, 1912) was persecuted for being gay — even though his computer and code breaking skills accelerated the end of World War II. Using a computer called the Bombe, Dr. Turing was one of the cryptanalysts charged with deciphering the Enigma code used by Nazi Germany. In doing so, they enabled the Allied forces to evade German submarines. His success meant that he had briefings with then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill and then-President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was also the inventor of the Turing Machine and innovations in computing that are still leading to advancements in computer technology.
Now, someone may say that his persecution was really just justice for gross indecency. However, if you look at the details of his case, you will find that Dr. Turing called the police to report a burglar. When it came out he and the other victim in the crime were in a relationship, they were both charged with breaking Section 11 of the United Kingdom’s Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 69). The law, most of which has been repealed, was intended to protect women and girls. Somehow, however, it included a provision that meant a man could be charged and convicted for having a consensual romantic relationship with another man. Note: This law applied to public and private spaces and was not (necessarily) related to sexual intercourse.
In Dr. Alan Turing’s case, his security clearances were revoked, he lost his ability to continue his work with the government, he was barred from traveling to the United States and he had to undergo “chemical castration” — which was basically hormone therapy. While it was not intended to make him sterile, the therapy did make him impotent and caused his breast tissue to grow. Additionally, the British government monitored his correspondence (which he may or may not have known) and deported someone coming to visit him before they could meet.
In 2009, then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown responded to the first in a series of petitions by acknowledging the the travesty of Alan Turing’s situation and offering a formal apology to “Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted, as he was, under homophobic laws….” There was, however, no pardon. More petitions and letter writing campaigns followed, which led to several bills being presented to Parliament requesting that Alan Turing be pardoned (posthumously). Despite the fact that people in the House of Lords and the House of Commons repeatedly blocked the bills, Queen Elizabeth II signed an immediate pardon for Alan Turing on December 24, 2013 and pronounced it in August 2014. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 includes a a passage referred to as the “Alan Turing law”, which pardons men who were convicted for homosexual acts that are no longer considered criminal offenses.
“44”
— can be police radio code for “suspicious person”, “aggravated kidnapping”, etc. depending on country, region, and department
In my book, as in many people’s books, Alan Turing was a hero who saved countless lives — and you can’t change that fact. Neither can you change the fact that Mark Bingham, another hero, was gay.
You may or may not know Mark Bingham (born May 22, 1970) by name. You may or may not remember his smile. However, if I mention that he died on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 — and reference United Airlines Flight 93 — you start to get the picture.
Mr. Bingham was a 6-foot, 4 inches (193 cm) tall, 225-pound (102 kg) rugby player who was interested in filmmaking and worked as a Public Relations executive. He was the owner of the Bingham Group and, since he had just opened up a satellite office in New York, he was planning to put together a rugby team so he could play on both coasts. He was running late that ill-fated Tuesday and almost the flight that was headed to San Francisco, where one of his fraternity brothers was getting married.
Mark Bingham ended up sitting next to Thomas Edward Burnett Jr., who was originally from Bloomington, Minnesota. The PR exec and the vice-president and chief operating officer of a medical devices company weren’t that far apart in age (31 and 38, respectively) and they grew up in different parts of the country. But, they probably could have had a really great conversation during their trip — even though their lives were different in some fairly obvious ways. Mr. Burnett was married and had 4 children (included a daughter he had given up adoption when he was young). Todd Beamer and Jeremy Glick, sitting a few rows back, were also married with children (3 and 1, respectively). On the flip side, Mark Bingham couldn’t legally get married.
Even though their lives were different, when it became obvious that the plane had been hijacked by terrorists and that the hijacking was part of a larger plan, the four men came together and decided to retake the plane. They were the tip of the arrow; Lou Nacke, Rich Guadagno, Alan Beaven, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Linda Gronlund, and William Cashman, as well as flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and Cee Cee Ross-Lyles joined in the planning and became the shaft.
The four men were not able to land the plane, but they were able to prevent the hijackers from hitting their intended target — and, in doing so, they saved hundred of lives.
“And the things you might take for granted
Your inalienable rights
Some might choose to deny him
Even though he gave his life
Can you live with yourself in the land of the free
And make him less of a hero than the other three?”
— quoted from the song “Tuesday Morning” by Melissa Etheridge (written by Melissa Etheridge and Jonathan Taylor)
Even though I tell the story of 9/11 on that date, I don’t know the individual stories of all the passengers, all the people in and around the Twin Towers, all the people at the Pentagon that day, and all the first responders. For instance, I didn’t know that one of those big burly, heroic men was gay.
But now I can’t unknow it — and neither can you.
And, if you are one of those people who only thinks in stereotypes, consider this: When Todd Beamer said, “Okay. Let’s roll.”, Mark Bingham did did not back down; he did not let go.
“So you have to, at some point, start putting aside your lack of understanding and saying, like, ‘I support human rights, period. It doesn’t matter if I understand.’ Because, look, I don’t understand your experiences as a cis-person, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to withhold my support for your civil and human rights until you can explain it to me.”
— Journalist, author, artist, parent, and activist Beau Brink, interviewed in the Conspirituality podcast episode “143: Trans Reality, Trans Possibility”
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [“06292025 PRIDE, biographies”]
NOTE: The Spotify playlist includes an extra interlude track (since this message Sunday is not part of the studio recording. The YouTube playlist includes videos, at least one of which is referenced during the practice.
“When you look at me
What do you see
Am I not breathing with the same
Respiratory”
— quoted from the song “Stop Killing Us” by Neverending Nina
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).
“But [Gil] Scott-Heron also had something else in mind—you can’t see the revolution on TV because you can’t see it at all. As he [said] in a 1990s interview:
‘The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move. The thing that’s going to change people is something that nobody will ever be able to capture on film. It’s just something that you see and you’ll think, “Oh I’m on the wrong page,” or “I’m on I’m on the right page but the wrong note. And I’ve got to get in sync with everyone else to find out what’s happening in this country.”’
If we realize we’re out of sync with what’s really happening, we cannot find out more on television. The information is where the battles are being fought, at street level, and in the mechanisms of the legal process.”
— quoted from the Open Culture article “Gil Scott-Heron Spells Out Why ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’” by Josh Jones (posted June 2nd, 2020)
### PROTECT YOUR JOY / MAINTAIN YOUR PEACE & DIGNITY ###
EXCERPT (2): “A Thought from ‘Anne no Nikki’” June 25, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, amsterdam, Anne Frank, Anne no Nikki, avidya, Buddhism, Diary of A Young Girl, Frank H. Otto, Gerrit Bolkestein, history, Holocaust, ignorance, Larry Yang, Maha Ghosananda, Michael Nyman, Miep Gies, Mirjam Pressler, samskāras, Susan Massotty, truth, vasanas, vāsanā, world-war-2, yoga philosophy
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Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast during this 3rd Week after Pentecost!!!.
“Anne Frank kept a diary from June 12, 1942, to August 1, 1944. Initially, she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, Gerrit Bolkestein, a member of the Dutch government in exile, announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specifically mentioned letters and diaries.
Impressed by this speech, Anne Frank decided that when the war was over she would publish a book based on her diary.”
“The last entry in Anne’s diary is dated August 1, 1944. On August 4, 1944, the eight people hiding in the Secret Annex were arrested. Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, the two secretaries working in the building, found Anne’s diaries strewn all over the floor. Miep Gies tucked them away in a desk drawer for safekeeping. After the war, when it became clear that Anne was dead, she gave the diaries, unread, to Anne’s father, Otto Frank.”
— quoted from the Foreword to The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank (edited by Otto H. Frank & Mirjam Pressler, translated by Susan Massotty)
Diary of a Young Girl was first published today in 1947. CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW for the philosophy-based 2020 post.
Please join me today (Wednesday, June 25th) 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 “06252022 A Young Girl’s Thoughts”]
NOTE: The opening tracks are slightly different as some music was not available on Spotify. Click on the excerpt title above for the entire “Anne No Nikki” soundtrack.
“The cheerful Anne laughs about it, gives cheeky answers, shrugs her shoulders indifferently, behaves as if she doesn’t care, but, oh dearie me, the quiet Anne’s reactions are just the opposite. If I’m to be quite honest, then I must admit that it does hurt me, that I try terribly hard to change myself, but that I’m always fighting against a more powerful enemy.
A voice sobs within me: ‘There you are, that’s what’s become of you: you’re uncharitable, you look supercilious and peevish, people dislike you and all because you won’t listen to the advice given you by your own better half.’ Oh, I would like to listen, but it doesn’t work; if I’m quiet and serious, everyone thinks it’s a new comedy and then I have to get out of it by turning it into a joke, not to mention my own family, who are sure to think I’m ill, make me swallow pills for headaches and nerves, feel my neck and my head to see whether I’m running a temperature, ask me if I’m constipated and criticize me for being in a bad mood. I can’t keep that up: if I’m watched to that extent, I start by getting snappy, then unhappy, and finally I twist my heart around again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and what I could be, if there weren’t any people living in the world.”
— quoted from the last entry by Anne Frank, written in her diary (“Kitty”) on Tuesday, August 1, 1944
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.
### HONOR YOUR HEART >> THOUGHTS >> WORD >> DEEDS ###
Sunday music (just the music & salutations) June 22, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Yoga.Tags: 988, Galileo Galilei
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Happy Pride!
Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to any observing the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast during this 2nd Week after Pentecost!!!
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, June 22nd) at 2:30 PM. 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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [“06222021 Staying Centered & Grounded”]
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.)
### 🎶 ###
Tuesday music [for friendship] (just the music & salutations) June 17, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Yoga.Tags: 988, Soweto uprising, Statue of Liberty
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Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone!!!
Please join me today (Tuesday, June 17th) 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 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. [Look for “06172020 The Lady’s Power”]
MUSIC NOTE: The playlist starts with instrumental music. If your Spotify is on shuffle, you will want your music volume low at the beginning of the practice.
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.)
### 🎶 ###
A Quick PSA & FTWMI: The Power of Giving & Sharing June 14, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Donate, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Super Heroes, Tragedy, Twin Cities, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, © National center for blood transfusion (NCBT) Rwanda, Dana, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, Dr. Karl Landsteiner, Dr. Linus Pauling, Flag Day, Kristin Houser, No Kings Day, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, samkhya, siddhis, Sāṃkhya Karika, Sāmkhya Karika, WHO, World Blood Donor Day, World Health Organization, Yoga Sutra 2.24
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Happy Pride! Many blessing to everyone on World Blood Donor Day!!!
A Quick Public Service Announcement
My heart and condolences go out to the family, friends, and constituents being affected by the attacks in the Twin Cities.
Be safe today if you are participating in a No Kings Day! observation (or Flag Day celebration) and/or if you are in an area where protests and parades are taking place. Stay centered and calm, breathe, and practice the four (+1) R’s:
Recognize when your buttons are getting pushed (and things are escalating).
Refrain from your knee jerk reaction (which may be to push back).
Relax (even if you just pause and take a breath).
Resolve to move forward, centered and grounded.
Remember why you are doing what you are doing.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023. It includes updated statistics (compared to the related linked posts). Class details and theme information (as well as some formatting) have been updated. Some links at the end of the post connect outside of this blog.
“I found that [Karl] Landsteiner and I had a much different approach to science: Landsteiner would ask, ‘What do these experimental observations force us to believe about the nature of the world?’ and I would ask, ‘What is the most simple, general and intellectually satisfying picture of the world that encompasses these observations and is not incompatible with them?’”
— quoted from “Fifty Years of Progress in Structural Chemistry and Molecular Biology.” By Dr. Linus Pauling (published in Daedalus, 99, 1005. 1970)
In addition to the typical philosophical questions, this week has been full of very practical questions: “Are you keeping your foundation in mind?” “What do you have a hard time wrapping your brain around (i.e., understanding)?” In other words, “How ignorant are you?” “What ails you?” “How do you cope with what ails you?” “Does the way you cope alleviate suffering or create more suffering?” And, rooted within each of those questions is one more: “Are you willing to alleviate your suffering and/or the suffering of another?”
Honestly, that last question is really just asking if you’re willing to be a hero(ine)?
Heroes and heroines have come up again and again over the last few weeks. Sometimes the reference was inferred; other times it was quite explicit. Either way, the idea that one person could do something to help — even save — themselves and/or another person comes up over and over again. And, yes, I will admit that I have a certain bias towards the idea. I definitely appreciate the fact that many of the heroes and heroines you find in so many cultural stories (not to mention in the stories of certain superheroes) are ordinary people who do extra-ordinary things. Sure, sometimes they are given superpowers, but what is more relevant is the power(s) they cultivate.
“The last category of our innate siddhis is dana, ‘the ability to give.’ We have both the wisdom and the courage to share what lawfully belongs to us with others. We are designed to experience the joy of giving. This joy is the architect of human civilization, characterized by self-sacrifice and selflessness.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.24 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
According to the Yoga Sūtras, when we eliminate suffering and the roots of suffering, we gain awareness of our true nature. We also gain access to the power and vitality of our true nature. In the Sāṃkhya Karika, that power and vitality includes six siddhis (“powers” or abilities) which are described as “powers unique to being human.” Everyone has these powers, but not everyone appreciates and cultivates them. Take for example, what happens when we harness the power of duḥkha-vighātaḥ-trayaḥ (the ability to “eliminate three-fold sorrow”, i.e., physical, mental, and spiritual sorrow) and combine it with the power of dana (“generosity”, i.e., the ability to give to another).
We all have something that legally belongs to us that we could give to another. We also have something that most of us can give away without ever missing. I’m not talking about a material possession — although some of us may have material things that we could give away and not miss. No, here, I am specifically talking about something that is the very essence of our life. Consider how powerful it is to literally give our lifeblood. We have the ability to do that thanks to Dr. Karl Landsteiner, the “Father of Transfusion Medicine”, who was born today in 1868.
Click here to read more about the significance of Dr. Karl Landsteiner’s work.
In honor of Dr. Landsteiner’s birthday, today is World Blood Donor Day. (Coincidentally, it falls just the day before the anniversary of Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys’s 1667 surgery on a 15-year old boy, using sheep’s blood.) Established in 2005, by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Blood Donor Day is a celebration of and an expression of gratitude for the millions of donors worldwide. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness for the universal need for safe blood and blood products.
In 2023, the host country is Algeria (through its National Blood Transfusion Service) and the theme is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”
The 2025 theme is “Give blood, give hope: together we save lives.”
“[The 2023 World Blood Donor Day theme] focuses on patients requiring life-long transfusion support and underlines the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma. It also highlights the importance of giving blood or plasma regularly to create a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products that can be always available, all over the world, so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment.”
— quoted from the World Health Organization’s 2023 World Blood Donor Day site
According to WHO, 42% of the world’s blood supply is collected in high income countries, which are home to only 16% of the world’s population. Additionally, as of 2018, only 79 countries have the majority (90%) of their blood supplied by voluntary, unpaid donors. Some of those countries also supply blood transfusions free of charge. Meanwhile, 54 countries depend on family and paid donors. When it comes to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP), less than half of the reporting countries (56 out of 171) produce PDMP through the fractionation (i.e., separation) of plasma collected in the reporting countries. A little over 53% of reporting countries (91 out of 171) import all PDMP. The remaining 14% either reported no usage or did not report any data.
Just as the demographics of people who donate is different, how different countries use blood varies. For example, in low income countries, more than half (54%) of blood transfusions are give to children under 5 years old. On the flip side, the majority of people receiving transfusions in high income countries (76%) are over the age of 60.
Go deeper and you will find that even in countries that can depend on voluntary donations, certain parts of those countries experience shortages which can only be alleviated by a mobilized network. In fact, one of the goals of World Blood Donor Day is to “mobilize support at national, regional, and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programmes.” That mobilized network can include electronic cold chain monitoring systems and drones — both of which can be found in Rwanda and in Ukraine.
“Rwanda’s policy since 1985 is that blood must be donated by unpaid volunteers and provided to patients in need free-of-charge. Donors around Rwanda are eager to help.
‘I always am happy to save a life of someone, even someone I don’t know, because in our (Rwandan) culture, we believe that to be human is to do good things to someone without being remunerated,’ said Euphrasie Uwase Maneno, a blood donor.”
— quoted from the 12 June 2019 World Health Organization report “Drones take Rwanda’s national blood service to new heights” by © National center for blood transfusion (NCBT) Rwanda
Please join me today (Saturday, June 14th) 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 on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06142020 World Blood Donor Day”]
“[Canadian drone manufacturer Draganfly’s] medical drones, meanwhile, are equipped with temperature-controlled payload boxes that can be used to transport up to 35 pounds of blood, insulin, vaccines, and other supplies. They can fly for 40 minutes on a single charge.”
— quoted from the Freethink article “Medical drones to transport blood being rushed to Ukraine” by Kristin Houser (dated March 31, 2022)
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.)
### WHAT QUESTION(S) ARE YOU ASKING? ###
FTWMI: A Note & EXCERPT: “Not So De-Lovely Circumstance(s)?” (a post-practice Monday post) June 9, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Basketball, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Loss, Men, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, accident, amputation, cancer, Changing Perspectives, Cole Porter, Day Of the Holy Spirit, disability, jazz, Loss, Matthew Sanford, mental health, Mind Body Solutions, music, trauma, Wayman Tisdale, yoga philosophy, yoga practice
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Happy Pride!
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating Pride and/or the Day of the Holy Spirit.
For Those Who Missed It: This post-practice post and excerpt for Monday, June 10th, was originally posted in 2024. The 2025 prompt question was, “How would you describe your attitude today?”
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.
“‘You can never give up because quitting is not an option,’ [Wayman] Tisdale says. ‘No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight.’”
— quoted from the Dec. 3, 2008 ESPN article “Tisdale reaches for his biggest rebound” by Anna K. Clemmons
The first question I asked in a 2020 blog post (see below) was, “Have you ever experienced trauma, loss, and disability?”
During yesterday’s practice, I mentioned how the trajectory of Robert Schumann’s life and career changed when he lost sensation in his right pinky finger. Eventually, he loss the use and dexterity of his whole right hand. The physical trauma, loss, and disability took an emotional toll that eventually landed him in sanatorium. Coincidentally, today is the anniversary of the birth of Cole Porter (b. 1891) and Wayman Tisdale (b. 1964) — two people who shared a lot in common with Robert Schumann, including music, love, and trauma, loss, and disability… again on the right side. However, they dealt with their circumstances in very different ways.
Click on the title of the excerpt below for the entire 2020 post about Cole Porter and Wayman Tisdale.
“Sad times, may follow your tracks
Bad times, may bar you from Sak’s
At times, when Satan in slacks
Breaks down your self control
Maybe, as often it goes
Your Abe-y, may tire of his rose
So baby, this rule I propose
Always have an ace in the hole.”
— quoted from the song “Ace in the Hole” by Cole Porter
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
NOTE: If you are interested in the music referenced in the excerpted post (and practice), a playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06092020 Not So De-Lovely Circumstance(s)”]
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).
### NOTICE HOW YOU DEAL WITH CIRCUMSTANCES
(whether they be the de-lovely kind or not) ###
What Are We Doing? & FTWMI: A Note & EXCERPT: “Building From the Ground Up (II)” June 8, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Dorothy S. Hunt, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mother Teresa, Pentecost, Pentecost — Trinity Sunday, Robert Schumann, Whit Sunday, Whitsun, WhitSunday
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Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating Pride and/or observing Pentecost / Pentecost – Trinity Sunday / Whitsun (or Whit Sunday).
“It is not how much we are doing but how much love we put into doing it. (HP, 138).”
— quoted from “Pentecost: Martha and Mary — Monday — Wishing we were doing something else” in Love, A Fruit Always in Season: Daily Meditations From the Words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Mother Teresa, selected and edited by Dorothy S. Hunt
“What are we doing?” is another way to ask one of my favorite questions: “How could I spend my time?”. The second question obviously encourages us to use our curiosity and all of our siddhis (“abilities”) to speculate about possibilities, which may also lead us to consider cause-and-effect. The first question, however, is a little deceptive — especially when you are reading it out of context.
“What are we doing?” could be taken as a simple question about actions happening in the present moment, right here, right now. There could be no speculation and no reflection on cause-and-effect. However, if I state it — especially with certain intonation (and maybe with the addition of a few choice words) — it can become almost accusatory. Again, however, there may or may not be any thought about cause-and-effect.
“It makes no difference what we are doing. What you are doing, I cannot do, and what I am doing you cannot do. But all of us are doing what God has given us to do. Only sometimes we forget and spend more time looking at somebody else and wishing we were doing something else (HP, 138).”
— quoted from “Pentecost: Martha and Mary — Monday — Wishing we were doing something else” in Love, A Fruit Always in Season: Daily Meditations From the Words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Mother Teresa, selected and edited by Dorothy S. Hunt
Of course, for our yoga practice, I want you to go deeper and consider how everything we are doing today is built on a foundation of yesterdays and today is the foundation for tomorrow. We don’t always pay attention to how the story of our life is unfolding / being written. However, if you are religious, sacred stories are told throughout the year by way of rituals, traditions, holy observations, and sacred celebrations.
For instance, both Western Christian and Orthodox Christian traditions are celebrating Pentecost / Pentecost — Trinity Sunday today. Also known as Whitsun or Whit Sunday in some British countries and in some Anglican and Methodist traditions, Pentecost falls on the “fiftieth” day after Easter. Similar to (and related to) Shavuot, this is the feast day associated with the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles. In fact, in the Acts of the Apostles — which details what the apostles did and how their actions built a new faith, the very first Pentecost (in the Christian traditions) occurred on Shavuot.
For Those Who Missed It: The following is a slightly revised version of a 2024 post (with an excerpt).
“The talent works, the genius creates.”
— Robert Schumann, as quoted in The Atlantic Monthly (Vol. 112, 1913)
Whether we realize it or not, we are all creating ourselves, our lives, and the environments in which we live. Yes, it is true, that some people are more active in their building and some are more passive. However, awareness and determination create the opportunity for everyone to be more actively engaged in the building process.
Please note, that this is not an argument for or against the existence of God (whatever that means to you at this moment). If you are a person of faith, you might think of the Divine* as the architect and each of us as someone responsible for doing some work. We can still be innovative, we can still be creative; but/and, we still have to do the work — especially when things do not seem to go according to the plan and we have to rebuild.
Like a building, every pose in our yoga practice is built from the ground up. Our Saturday warm-ups notwithstanding, every sequence is also built from the ground up — even when we aren’t moving through a “chakra flow.” During the 2024 Saturday practices, we explored from the ground up and today was a day when we could look at how things are built and how things are expressed. In other words, we could “see” how form and function go hand-in-hand — on, as well as off, the mat.
Today is the anniversary of the birth of the composer Robert Schumann (b. 1810) and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright (b. 1867). Click on the title below for the entire 2020 post about Frank Lloyd Wright.
“As we work along our various ways, there takes shape within us, in some sort, an ideal – something we are to become – some work to be done. This, I think, is, denied to very few, and we begin really to live only when the thrill of this ideality moves us in what we will to accomplish!”
— quoted from the 1901 speech “The Art and Craft of the Machine” (delivered to the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society, at Hull House, March 6th, and to the Western Society of Engineers, March 20th) by Frank Lloyd Wright
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, June 8th) at 2:30 PM. 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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06082021 Building from the Ground”]
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.
### CREATE YOUR BREATHING SPACE ###
First Friday Night Special #56 — Invitation to “What We Believe II” (w/excerpts) June 6, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yin Yoga, Yoga.Tags: 988, D-Day, George Williams, Plato, Ralph Waldo Emerson, World War II, YMCA, yoga, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE and/or the Apodosis of the Ascension on the anniversary of D-Day.
Happy Pride!
“And what is the right way of living? Are we to live in sports always? If so, in what kind of sports? We ought to live sacrificing, and singing, and dancing, and then a man will be able to propitiate the Gods, and to defend himself against his enemies and conquer them in battle. The type of song or dance by which he will propitiate them has been described, and the paths along which he is to proceed have been cut for him.” (Book 7)
— quoted from The Laws by Plato
Before we consider the “right way [to live]”, we must consider what we believe. Not “In what” or “In whom”; but simply what is it that we believe with every bone and every fiber, and every day of every year? It is a simple, yet tricky question.. Because if you believe something — really, truly, believe with your whole heart and every fiber of your being — then your actions will reflect your beliefs. Right? Everything will be in alignment. Right?
Only, we humans tend to be a little more complicated than that. So, maybe the next thing to consider isn’t whether your every thought, word, and deed perfectly reflects what you believe. Maybe the next thing to consider is whether or not you are willing to put all of your efforts — all of your thoughts, words, and deeds — on the line, in support of a campaign (or an organization…or a country…) in which you believe.
What would you do for freedom, for country, for God (whatever that means to you at this moment)?
On a certain level, this last question was answered by George Williams and the other founders of the YMCA, today in 1844, and by those who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, exactly 100 years later (today in 1944).
The stories of these two events are very (very) different and yet they come back to the same thing(s): What people believe.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.
“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said, ‘I don’t care so much for what they say as I do for what makes them say it.’”
— quoted from 1875 essay “Social Aims” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Please join me tonight, Friday, June 6, 2025, 7:15 PM – 8:20 PM (CST) for “What We Believe II”. 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.
This Yin Yoga practice is accessible and open to all.
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
NOTE: At the beginning of the practice, you will be prompted to pause and select a track. The playlist tracks are slightly different in length and duration; however, the overall content is the same.
A playlist inspired by D-Day and the founding of the YMCA is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06062020 D-Day & YMCA]
Prop wise, I will suggest using a table or a chair and this is a kitchen sink practice. You can practice without props or you can use “studio” and/or “householder” props. Example of “Studio” props: 1 – 2 blankets, 2 – 3 blocks, a bolster, a strap, and an eye pillow. Example of “Householder” props: 1 – 2 blankets or bath towels, 2 – 3 books (similar in size), 2 standard pillows (or 1 body pillow), a belt/tie/sash, and a face towel.
You may want extra layers (as your body may cool down during this practice). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table will also be handy.
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.)
ERRATA: Updated invitation number.
A Joyful Practice 