May all of us together be safe and protected / May we be peaceful and happy.
For Those Who Missed It: This slightly revised “missing” post for Monday, October 30th, was originally posted in 2022. Some formatting, syntax, and links have been revised. A picture* has been added.
You can request an audio recording of a related practice via a comment belowor (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at 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.
“Lt. Daniel Kaffee (portrayed by Tom Cruise): I want the truth!
Col. Nathan R. Jessup (portrayed by Jack Nicholson): YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”
— quoted from the movie A Few Good Men, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner
How dedicated are you to seeking the truth?
Actually, before you answer that, let’s establish how equipped you are at knowing the truth when you encounter it. How capable are you at recognizing the truth when you see it, hear it, and/or experience it? Most people might automatically say — or at least think — that they can easily tell the difference between something that is the truth and something that is not. But, is that even true?
Consider, for a moment, that our ability to identify the truth – and, therefore, our ability to identify what is not the truth — is predicated by how we feel and how we think (which is also partially based on how we feel). Additionally, how we feel and think is partially based on where we come from (i.e., where we started in life and how we were raised); the people that surround us (and who form our echo chamber); and how each of us feels about our self; as well as how we interact with the world and how we find balance in the world. I often reference this paradigm when I talk about how the chakra system in Yoga and Āyurveda can symbolically and energetically be a system through which we gain understanding about our lives and our lived experiences. It’s a system that allows us to see how things are connected and gain some insight about why, as Patanjali stated, we can only see/understand what our mind shows us:
— “The Seer is the pure power of seeing, yet its understanding is through the mind/intellect.” [Translation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait (for comparative analysis), “The sheer power of seeing is the seer. It is pure, and yet it sees only what the mind shows it.”]
One way to look at Yoga Sūtra 2.20 is that our subconscious and unconscious mind only shows us what it thinks we are ready to consciously comprehend — or, at least consider. And, while all of the aforementioned elements play a part in what we are ready to comprehend or consider, there are times when how we feel, on a very visceral level, holds the heaviest weight.
For instance, let’s say you are deathly afraid of something and you think you are coming into contact with that something. Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat and the emotion activates the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn prepares your whole being to do the thing(s) you need to do in order to survive. In that moment, when the the fight/flight/freeze (or collapse) response kicks in, it doesn’t matter if the threat is real: it only matters that the fear is real. Remember, there is some part of us that viscerally responds to fear of loss (especially as the result of a change in circumstances) in the same way we would respond to fear of physical death. So, the fear kicks in, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, and (for many people) that means our ability to know/comprehend the truth diminishes — especially if we are not actively dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
Classic texts from India philosophies often use the example of someone walking through the woods and seeing (what appears to be) a snake. The snake is humongous and appears to lying in the sun, directly in your path. If you have ophidiophobia and are deathly afraid of snakes, it may not matter that you also know giant snakes (like anacondas and pythons) are not indigenous to your region. You have no intention of getting a little closer — even in a mindfully safe way — to see if that thing really is a constricting snake. Similarly, it may not even occur to you to look through the binoculars hanging around your neck. After all, if there is one, there might be more, and you’re better off just fleeing the area.
In the sacred texts, the truth is that the “snake” is actually a giant hunk of rope. Of course, in this example, the way one feels and thinks, combined with one’s previous experiences and other factors (like if you are alone or with someone who is also afraid of snakes) means that you may never know the truth. Another example of this kind of phenomenon occurred on Mischief Night 1938.
“At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regard this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth twentieth century came the great disillusionment.”
— quoted from “Book I: The Coming of the Martians — Chapter 1. The Eve of the War” in War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
“‘With infinite complacence, people went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their dominion over this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood which by chance or design man has inherited out of the dark mystery of Time and Space. Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. In the 39th year of the 20th century came the great disillusionment. It was near the end of October. Business was better. The war scare was over. More men were back at work. Sales were picking up. On this particular evening, October 30th, the Crossley service estimated that 32 million people were listening in on radios…’”
— quoted from Orson Welles introduction at the beginning of the radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds
On October 30, 1938, at 8 PM ET, The Mercury Theater on the Air started broadcasting its Halloween episode on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Radio and its affiliates. The show was a live radio series created and hosted by Orson Welles, who had recently turned 23 years old. Starting on July 11, 1938, with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a company of actors had presented dramatizations of great novels, plays, and short stories accompanied by Bernard Hermann’s dramatic musical scores. The works selected were, by and large, already familiar to the people who tuned in. Maybe everyone hadn’t read all of Charles Dickens’s serialized novels or seen a production of John Drinkwater’s play about Abraham Lincoln, but the 1938 audience for sure knew about about A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist, just as they knew about President Lincoln and his life. Similarly, people would have been familiar with the novel selected for the 17th episode of the radio show: H. G. Wells’s 1898 novel War of the Worlds, a story about Martians invading Earth.
Sunday newspapers ran charts of what was scheduled to air on any given day and, in this case, very clearly listed the title and author. The broadcast began, as those broadcasts typically did, with an announcement that the radio play was a fictional, dramatization of the novel — again, indicating title and author. Similar announcements were made, as they typically would be, before and after the intermission and at the end of the broadcast. In fact, at the end of the broadcast, Orson Welles even reinforced the idea that the broadcast had simply and innocently been a little bit of Halloween fun.
Alas, the announcements turned out to be like binoculars around a scared person’s neck.
Some people apparently missed the first announcement. Maybe they were preoccupied, rushing to finish something before they sat down to listen. Maybe they were in the habit of first listening to The Chase and Sanborn Hour with Edgar Bergen, over on NBC Radio Network, and then flipping over to CBS during a musical interlude. Maybe they just weren’t paying attention because they were in the habit of tuning out the radio stations “commercials.” Either way, some people thought Martians really were invading. Others thought, given the timing, that the Germans were invading.
“Ham Radio Operator (portrayed by Frank Readick): 2X2L calling CQ, New York. Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?
[SILENCE]
Radio Announcer, Dan Seymour: You are listening to a CBS presentation of Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre on the Air, in an original dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The performance will continue after a brief intermission. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.”
— quoted from The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds
Normally, it wouldn’t matter if someone missed the first announcement, ran to the bathroom during the intermission and missed the next two announcements. It also wouldn’t normally matter if someone turned off the radio as soon as the final announcement was being made. Normally, there would be all kinds of clues to let the audience know they were listening to actors — who could be described as professional liars — creating a scenario that someone made up for their entertainment. Normally, they might hear the very words they had previously read about their favorite characters and scenarios and think, “Oh, this is my favorite part!”
But, the broadcast on Mischief Night 1938 was not exactly normal.
One of the things that made the Mischief Night radio production different was that the adaptation by Howard Koch moved the alien invasion from the beginning of 20th century England to mid-20th century United States. Specifically, the radio play set the action in Grovers Mill, New Jersey, an unincorporated rural area in West Windsor Township. (NOTE: According to the 1940 census, the township’s total population was 2,160, and Grovers Mill is a tiny portion of that.) Another change in the content was that, at the beginning of the novel, H. G. Wells kind of breaks the “fourth wall” and reminds readers that they are, in fact, reading… a book. On the other hand, the creators of the radio play actually went out of their way to reinforce the “fourth wall.”
A day and a half before the rehearsals began, Mr. Koch and his secretary Anne Froelick called the show’s producer, John Houseman, to say that the adaptation wasn’t going to work. The three got together and reworked the script. Unfortunately, when Orson Welles heard a mock recording, he thought it was boring. He wanted the dramatization to sound like the evening news being interrupted by a “breaking news” report, complete with eyewitness accounts and remote correspondents.
Associate Producer Paul Stewart joined the original trio in another late night effort to re-work the script. The group added details to make the radio play more dramatic, more intense and more realistic. When the legal department reviewed the script, 2 days before the broadcast, they said it was too realistic and wanted some details tweaked and some deleted. Music and sound effects were added — and then Orson Welles requested interlude music to be played in longer stretches, as if the station was stretching out the time as they for waited more updates. All the changes in format ended up meaning that the typical midway intermission break got pushed back a little; further convincing the audience that the broadcast was real news. Additionally, only the final act of the radio play sounded and felt like a radio play.
“Question: Were you aware of the terror such a broadcast would stir up?
Welles: Definitely not. The technique I used was not original with me. It was not even new. I anticipated nothing unusual.
Question: Should you have toned down the language of the drama?
Welles: No, you don’t play murder in soft words.
Question: Why was the story changed to put in names of American cities and government officers?
Welles: H. G. Wells used real cities in Europe, and to make the play more acceptable to American listeners we used real cities in America. Of course, I’m terribly sorry now.”
— quoted from the 1938 Halloween press conference regarding The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds
According to John Houseman’s autobiography, Run-Through: A Memoir, Executive Producer Davidson Taylor left the studio to take a phone call at 8:32 PM and returned at 8:36 PM — this was the first indication that something had gone wrong. They station was being ordered to halt the broadcast and announce, again, that it was all fake. They were so close to a break that they decided to continue. Shortly thereafter, one of the actors noticed police officers arriving. More police officers followed, as well as radio attendants and executives. More phone calls came in. Journalists from actual news stations showed up and/or called the station and their affiliates.
When the actors left The Mercury Theater on the Air theatre, they stood at 42nd and Broadway, the intersection known for the performing arts, and saw the headline ticker on the New York Times building proclaiming, “ORSON WELLES CAUSES PANIC.” They didn’t know, at the time, that an unrelated blackout in Washington state contributed to some people’s confusion. Neither could they know that Jack Paar, the announcer for Cleveland’s CBS affiliate WGAR, who would go on to host The Tonight Show, was having a hard time convincing people that the show was just a Halloween “trick.” People were already convinced that they knew the actual truth — the aliens, or the Germans, were coming. Jack Paar, and anyone else who said otherwise, were all part of an elaborate cover-up.
“‘The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?’”
— Jack Paar, announcing for WGAR, October 30, 1938
Some people who have studied the events of October 30, 1938, have said that the journalists of the time exaggerated how many people were actually fooled and how many actually went into a panic. Some people have said that the degree to which “panic ensued” has become an urban myth. That, rather than millions, the number of people who actually thought the Martians, or Germans, were invading New Jersey (of all places) was a few hundred thousand… or maybe just a few thousand. Some people might even say that a post like this is part of the problem.
What no one disputes, however, is that some people did panic.
And, the truth is, I don’t know how much the number of people who were a little confused and/or who completely panicked matters. I’m not even sure I care if a (presumably) drunken resident of Grovers Mill shot at the water tower — that had been there all of his life — because he thought it was an Martian spaceship or if someone had to talk him out of shooting at the water tower. (That, again, had been there all of his life.) What’s important to me, in this moment, is how the human mind works and the fact that how it worked in 1938 is the way it works today, in 2022 [… and 2023].
According to the Yoga Philosophy, suffering is caused by avidyā (“ignorance”), which is an afflicted/dysfunctional thought pattern. Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras outlines different examples of avidyā and also explains that ignorance is the bedrock for the other four types of afflicted/dysfunctional thinking — including fear of loss/death. So, what’s important to me is that how we feel and think affects what we say and do and if what we feel and think leads us to untruths, we will say and do things that create suffering.
It’s easy to look at someone else, someone who believes something we “absolutely know is not true,” and pass judgement. It is easy to disparage their character and describe them in negative ways. It’s takes a little more effort to question why they believe what they believe what they believe; to go a little deeper. It takes even more effort to do a little svādhyāya (self-study) and question why we believe what we believe. Do the work.
“Question 1: Is it true? Question 2: Can you absolutely know its true? Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought? Question 4: Who would you be without the thought? Bonus: Turn the thought around.”
— Byron Katie’s “4 Questions” from “The Work”
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The playlist for previous years is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10302021 Out of Our Worlds”]
*NOTE: Yes, that’s been there all my life and I just didn’t pay any attention to it until last week.
May all of us together be safe and protected / May we be peaceful and happy.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2022. It includes history related to the next three (3) days/nights/practices. Class details (and some formatting) have been updated.
“Violence is clearly destructive. It springs from fear, one of the fundamental afflictions. According to this sutra, the practice of non-violence requires us to arrest our violent tendencies by cultivating thoughts opposite to violence.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
By all accounts, it started off simply and innocently enough. Just a few childish pranks at the end of Thanksgiving: knocking at the door that opened to reveal no one; random, unexplained noises, cabbage being uprooted and then tossed around; patio furniture inexplicably shifting and moving to a neighbor’s porch. You know, things that ghost, goblins, and devils might do when the veil between worlds was lifted. It was so simple and innocent, in fact, that in 1790, a headmaster at Saint John’s College in Oxford even ended a school play with a little encouragement: “an Ode to Fun which praises children’s tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms.”
Mischief Night, the night before Halloween, is also known as Hell Night, Cabbage Night, Gate Night, Moving Night, Devil’s Night, and a variety of other names throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It was just supposed to be a little “trick” before the treats. References to Devil’s Night and Mischief Night in Michigan can be found as early as the 1910’s — when college students reportedly started bonfires and then handed cigars to the firefighters who came to put out the flames. However, the vandalism and arson increased in the 1930’s and 1940’s. By the 1970’s, the simple and innocent pranks in Detroit turned into criminal mischief and started extending into October 29th. From the 1970’s through the 1990’s, there was serious vandalism and arson that resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage. In 1983, over 550 fires were reported. In 1984, the number of reported fires was more than 800. Some officials started theorizing that some people were using the reputation of Devil’s Night to commit insurance fraud. And, speaking of that reputation, by the mid-1980’s, people were not only driving into town from other states to watch the fires, they were flying in from other countries.
“Fire buffs, newspeople and just plain gawkers came to watch Detroit burn Wednesday night.
They even came all the way from Tokyo.
Director Nobi Shigemoto was here with an eight-person crew from Asahi national TV network. The crew planned to follow fire trucks Wednesday night and do a live shot from in front of Highland park fire headquarters before returning to Japan.”
“Shigemoto said Detroiters ask him why he is ‘looking at bad things.’
His reply:
This is the truth. US (is a) most rich country. When you look at Detroit, it looks nothing like rich.’”
— quoted from the Detroit Free Press article “Keeping the watch – Reporters, fire buffs, gawkers come to track night’s events” by Bill McGraw (printed in the “Devil’s Night” section, dated 31 Oct 1985, Thu)
In the mid-1980’s, then-Detroit mayor Coleman Young and city officials created the “No More Devil’s Night” campaign, which included a dusk-to-dawn curfew for teenagers, neighborhood watches, the opportunity to “adopt” empty properties, and a coordinated “patrol” effort by police officers, firefighters, and miscellaneous city workers. Over 11,000 volunteers participated that first year — and the number of reported fires was cut in half. Local cable television offered free access to premium channels so that more people would stay home. News outlets agreed not to air footage that might glamorize arson and/or encourage copycats — and the number of fires dropped. The number of volunteers rose (to ~17,000) in 1987, and again the number of reported fires dropped.
Detroit’s “No More Devil’s Night” campaign was so successful that when Dennis Archer was elected mayor, in January of 1994, he decided his predecessor’s official campaign was no longer needed. People warned him he was wrong. Unfortunately, those people were right. According to a New York Times article (dated November 1, 1994), there were 40,000 volunteers working to combat the arson and other criminal mischief in 1993 versus 8,000 in 1994. That difference in volunteers reflected a trend well established in previous years: more volunteers resulted in less arson and criminal mischief; less volunteers meant more arson. While there were significantly less fires in 1994 than there had been in 1984, one of those fires — set on October 30, 1994, in the same suburb Nobi Shigemoto filmed nine years earlier — resulted in the death of 1-year old Destiny Wilson and the serious injury of several others, including Destiny’s mother, 3-year old sister Ivory, and two older siblings. Then-mayor Archer and other city officials rebranded the original campaign and got more serious about cultivating the opposite energy; being angels instead of devils.
“However, if the process of non-violence is to be effective in counteracting violence, we must first describe and outline it clearly and methodically. Because violent thoughts always precede a violent act, an act of non-violence will be effective only if it is preceded by non-violent thoughts. Violence is an active phenomenon, whereas non-violence is mistakenly thought to be passive — simply the absence of violence. Non-violence must be as active as violence itself.”
— commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
The rebranded Angels’ Night(s) encouraged volunteers to do what they could to actively combat the violence with non-violence, from October 29th – 31st. It was based on the idea that if everyone cared, everyone could do something to make a difference. Some people volunteered to patrol their neighborhood with flashing amber lights on their vehicles. Others agreed to wear orange ribbons and participated in neighborhood watches — even adopting an “empty” property. Still others agreed to leave their lights on and to enforce — or honor — the curfew. Official activities were organized at recreation and community centers. Bottom line, there was a way for everyone, regardless of age or ability, to stay alert and stay connected. In 1995, 40,000 – 50,000 volunteers agreed to be “angels.” As before, arson and vandalism steadily declined.
While there was a spike in arsons around Halloween 2010, the overall decline in “devilish” activity continued through the 2000’s and 2010’s. In 2005, official “Angels’ Night” activities were cancelled as the entire city mourned the death of Rosa Parks. In 2015, there were “only” 52 fires (with 24 appearing to be arson). Interestingly, this steady decline around Halloween was paralleled by a slight increase in fires around the 4th of July. In 2018, there were only three reported fires and the city officially ended the campaign. Citizens, however, continue to be angels.
“The earliest recorded instance of someone saying ‘Hurt people hurt people’ appears in the Feb. 26, 1959, edition of a local Texas newspaper, the Amarillo Globe-Times, in its review of a lecture program put on by the Parent Teacher Association of Fannin Junior High School. The Globe-Times attributes the line to a speaker named Charles Eads, who, judging from the article’s description, spoke in the manner of vaudeville satirist and cowboy Will Rogers:…’”Hurt people hurt people.’ So, maybe before I wound someone next time, I’ll stop and think if it’s because I’ve been hurt, myself.’”
— quoted from the article “The History of ‘Hurt People Hurt People’ – The adage has been credited to everyone from pastors to self-help gurus to Andrew Garfield. It’s much older.” By Matthew Phelan (posted on slate.com, Sept 17, 2019)
We’ve all been hurt. We all suffer. According to the Yoga Philosophy, dysfunctional/afflicted thought patterns create suffering. The question – which is also addressed in philosophies like Buddhism, and even in the major religions – is, “What do we do with our own suffering?” Do we alleviate it? That’s the next question, because the philosophies say that we have the ability to alleviate our own suffering? Of course, there’s always the flipside, where our hurt/suffering becomes the foundation for more suffering and “devilish” behavior?
To answer the questions, take a moment to do a little svādhyāya (“self-study”) or discernment — what some might call “metacognition.” Consider your own reaction to the aforementioned Devil’s Night, especially with regard to the arson and vandalism. Consider, who you think was responsible — not only for the problem, but also for the solution. Are you keeping in mind that the initial fires, even in Detroit, were set by college students? Have you thought about what was happening in the world when the arson first increased? Did you remember that the Wilson family lived in the suburbs?
Consider how you feel when you take it all in and then consider how those feelings translate into thoughts that precede your words and then your deeds. Given the opportunity to counteract violence and destruction, would your active response to the “devilish” behavior be functional and skillful – or would it be just another form of damage?
In the first section of the Yoga Sūtras, there are several different ways in which we can achieve transparency of mind. One way is to focus on the breath. (YS 1.34) Another way is to “focus on someone who is free from all desire.” (YS 1.37) This is what people are ostensibly doing when they ask themselves, “What would … do?” Of course, the commentary indicates that in the absence of resonating with some great figure — from religion, philosophy, or mythology — we could focus on the best version of ourselves: What would we do/say if we were free from desire? What would we do/say if we were not attached to a particular outcome?
“Then concentrate upon [the] heart. Try to imagine how it must feel to be a great saint; pure and untroubled by sense-objects….”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.37 from How To Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
Another method for achieving clarity of mind, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras, is to offer friendliness to those who are happy, compassion to those who are suffering, happiness to those who are virtuous, and indifference/non-judgement to those who (we consider) are non-virtuous. (YS 1.33) I personally love this idea, but I also know it can be challenging. Different parts may be challenging for different people — and under different circumstances — but the part that is usually challenging for me is the last part: offering indifference/non-judgement to someone (I consider) non-virtuous — or whose actions are not virtuous. Sure, ideally, we could ignore those non-virtuous people/actions and they would go away or stop their “devilish” behavior; but, life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes we have to directly engage and actively combat the violence in a non-violent way.
My non-violent way is logic. While I often believe that (my) logic will resolve conflict and/or get people to do what I think is right, that is not actually how the world works — because that’s not how the human mind works. Remember, according to Yoga Sūtra 2.20, we can only see/comprehend what our mind-intellect is ready to show us. This is not an idea restricted to the people we think are wrong in their thinking; this also applies to each and every one of us.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that logic doesn’t work. I’m saying that if someone we consider to be non-virtuous, or acting in a way that is non-virtuous, were to think (and feel) the way we think (and feel) they would speak and act the way we do. So, applying our own logic on someone else does not work. They have to apply their own logic. While we may be able to help someone apply their own logic, we can only do so with a clear mind.
In other words, to truly alleviate suffering, we have to turn inward. We have to understand our own feelings and thoughts and how those become our words and deeds. In turn, we have to understand the impact/effect of our words and deeds. It is only then that we can effectively, as Patanjali said in Yoga Sūtra 2.44, be in the company of angels.
“No, don’t give up
I won’t give up
‘Cause there must be angels”
*
— quoted from the song “Angels” by Tom Walker (written by Emma Davidson-Dillon / James Eliot / Thomas Alexander Walker)
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, October 29th) 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 “10292022 Angels, Devils, Mischief, Cabbage”]
2023 NOTE: This playlist has been updated in a way that may slightly change the timing when paired with previous practices.
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.)
“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Sharada Navaratri!” May everyone have peace and happiness. May everyone be healthy and strong; may everyone be peaceful and happy. May everyone follow through on a good idea!!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted today in 2020. Even though I will talk about elements of this post, today’s practice is REALLY not about the lightbulb (or dynamite). Class details have been updated.
“‘I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come indirectly through accident, except the phonograph. No, when I have, fully decided that a result is worth getting, I go about it, and make trial after trial, until it comes.’”
— Thomas Edison, as quoted in “A Photographic Talk with Edison” by Theodore Dreiser (printed in Success Magazine, Feb. 1898)
We often think of “ah-ha” or “eureka” moments, light bulb moments, and epiphanies as being sudden and unexpected. In fact, the word “epiphany” comes to us from Greek (by way of Middle English, Latin, and in some sense Old French) from a word that means “reveal.” And, one of the definitions is “a moment of sudden revelation or insight” – reinforcing the idea that something is happening in the snap of a finger. The reality, however, is that there is a back story to ah-ha moments, epiphanies, and even the Epiphany.
Consider that The Three Magi wouldn’t follow the star from the East to honor “‘the child who has been born king of the Jews’” if there wasn’t a foundation of faith. Theoretically, without his background in science, Ian Fleming would have returned to his lab and thrown out the culture plates he had forgotten to clean when he left for his 2-week vacation in 1928. Without all his previous years of research, he wouldn’t have known what he was looking at and he wouldn’t be credited with discovering penicillin. Then there is Thomas Edison, who had a lot of “light bulb moments.”
Thomas Alva Edison, born February 11, 1847, didn’t invent electric lights (or even light bulbs). They already existed when he set up his Menlo Park, New Jersey lab in 1876, but electric lights were too bright for household use, burned too quickly, and could be dangerous when they melted. So, most people just stuck with gaslights. The problem with gaslight was that it was also dangerous and didn’t provide consistent light (because it flickered). Edison decided he could do better… he just had to invent the infrastructure to safely bring electricity into people’s homes, interior fixtures, and some kind of cost-effective and efficient bulb. The bulb, it turned out, was the rub.
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
— (attributed to) Thomas Edison
Edison and his team spent several months working 16 – 18 hours at a stretch and testing at least 1,600 different materials – including fishing line, coconut fibers, beard hair, and platinum wire. The platinum wire was moderately successful in that it typically had a high melting point. However, additional research showed that air absorption weakened the filament causing it to melt at lower temperatures than expected. Edison, resolved the issue with a vacuum bulb, but ultimately deemed the design (with its low electrical resistance) too expensive. So, back to the drawing board they went; breaking up their hours upon hours of work with beer and music played (by Edison) on the lab’s pipe organ.
Some would say that the “ah-ha” moment came to Thomas Edison one night when he was “absent mindedly” rolling a piece of lampblack (or black carbon) between his fingers. But such a depiction ignores all the previous experiments, his scientific knowledge, and the fact he had used lampblack in his telephone transmitter. Such a premise also discounts the additional changes that would be made before the bulb was commercially viable. Either way, at some point late on the evening of October 21st, or sometime in the wee early morning hours of October 22nd, 1879, Thomas Edison, age 32, tested what we now consider the first successful (commercially viable) electric light bulb. The carbonized cotton could burn for up to 14½ hours. Later, Edison would switch to bamboo fiber, which lasted for 1,200 hours.
During his lifetime, Thomas Edison would be granted over 1,083 patents for things like the phonograph, the carbon transmitter, the motion picture camera, and the commercial electric light bulb. He was married with children, had influential friends in high (and low) places, and successfully ran an industry that provided for his family and the families of others. Then, at an age that was considered significantly old at the time, he lost “everything. At around 5:20 PM on December 9th, 1914 an explosion ripped through the lab, destroying ten buildings, thousands of prototypes, and years of research. By the time the fire was contained, a little after midnight on December 10th, the damage was estimated at over $2 million dollars and affected over half of the plant’s property. The loss was even bigger when people realized that the insurance wouldn’t even cover a half of the damage.
While those around him were devastated, the 67-year old was in awe of the fire produced by all the different chemicals, fibers, fabrics, and elements in the labs. He was also energized about the possibility of starting over the very next day! His resilient attitude was contagious and, thanks in part to a loan from his friend Henry Ford, the plant was back in operation within three weeks. By the end of the following year, the plant had almost $10 million dollars in revenue.
“It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.”
— Thomas Edison (to his son Charles), as quoted in a 1961 Reader’s Digest article
“There’s only one thing to do, and that is to jump right in and rebuild.”
— A. H. Wilson, vice president and general manager of Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park
Speaking of resilience and starting over: Today is the anniversary of the birth of the chemist, engineer, inventor, and philanthropist Alfred Nobel. Born today in 1833, the founder of the Nobel Prizes was flabbergasted when his brother Ludvig died (in 1888) to discover that all of his efforts to make gunpowder safer had been completely misunderstood and condemned. A French newspaper erroneously reported the wrong brother’s death and proclaimed Alfred “The merchant of death” who “became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.” Losing (yet another) sibling, reading your own obituary, and having your “death” celebrated by people who considered your life’s work to be evil would be devastating to most. And, it probably was to Dr. Nobel. It was also, however, the catalyst that led to the Nobel Prizes, which are given to “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Officially presented on the (actual) anniversary of Dr. Nobel’s death, December 10th (1896), the prizes in physical science, in chemistry, in medical science or medicine, in literature are presented at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden; while the Peace Prize, given to someone who has “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses,” is awarded in Oslo, Sweden. In addition to the original five prizes established by Dr. Nobel’s will, there is a “memorial” prize in Economics, which is also presented at the Stockholm ceremony. Nobel Laureates receive a gold medal, a diploma, and a substantial monetary award.
“If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.”
— Dr. Alfred Nobel
Please join me today (Saturday, October 21st) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10212020 Lightbulb Moments”]
“Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.”
— Thomas Edison (to his son Charles), as quoted in a 1961 Reader’s Digest article
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.)
More peace, love, and blessings for everyone everywhere!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted today in 2020. It contains a message (or two) we could all use right now. Class information has been updated.
“‘FRATELLI TUTTI’.[1] With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel. Of the counsels Francis offered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother ‘as much when he is far away from him as when he is with him’.[2] In his simple and direct way, Saint Francis expressed the essence of a fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.”
— quoted from Encyclical Letter “Fratelli Tutti” of the Holy Father Francis on Fraternity and Social Friendship (signed October 3, 2020)
Nothing happened today in 1582 — at least not in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and places like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These Papal-governed nations were the first to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory XIII) and, therefore, skipped 10 days (October 5 — 14). The switch was primarily motivated by the Church’s desire to consistently observe Easter during the same season in which it had originally been celebrated. Of course, that date was (and is) a movable feast, but by the early third century people were no longer able to rely on an annual announcement from the Pope to tell them when to celebrate.
The First Council of Nicaea (in 325 AD) proposed a standard date, such as March 21st, which would correspond with the ecclesiastical full moon. Ultimately, however, the Church developed the computes (“computation”) which allowed clergy to independently calculate what was essentially the Passover moon — but without depending on the Hebrew calendar. The only problem was that as early as the 8th century people noted that the Julian calendar contained a calculation error that was already throwing things off. Pope Sixtus IV tried to introduce a reform in 1475, but his efforts were thwarted by the untimely (and unfortunately timed) death of the mathematician Johannes Müller von Königsberg (a.k.a. Regiomontanus).
In 1545, the Council of Trent authorized another attempt at calendar reform — this time to return Easter celebrations to the same time they had been observed in 325 AD and also to ensure no future drift. Progress was slow. Several decades passed before proposals were solicited from outside of the Church. The adopted proposal was a modification of one submitted by Aloysius Lilius (a.k.a. Luigi Lilio and Luigi Giglio). It corrected the length of the year, changed the duration between and occurrences of leap years, and required the deletion of ten days in order to reset.
Granted, the days didn’t actually disappear. In reality, they were still there; just renamed / renumbered. This “deletion of days” would occur at different times throughout the year and over the years — even as recently as 2016 – and, as the drift continued for countries still using the Julian calendar, sometimes were as many as 14. When these dates pop up on our current calendar, I like to think of them as “extra days,” like a little bit of lagniappe that we’ve been given. And, of course, I ask the question, “How could I spend this extra bit of time?”
“i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes”
— quoted from “i thank You God for most this amazing” by e e cummings
So, nothing happened in certain countries in 1582. But, in 1894, the author of some of my favorite poems was born. Edward Estlin Cummings (a.k.a. “E. E. Cummings” or “e e cummings”) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts — which had been a British colony when Great Britain and its colonies switched calendars in 1752. In addition to at least 2900 poems, he wrote essays, four plays, and two autobiographical novels. He also painted. Cummings grew up in a Unitarian household (his father was a well known professor and minister) and he was exposed to a variety of philosophers.
Not surprisingly, his affinity to nature combined with his creativity and exposure to different philosophical and theological thinking led him to believe in the inherent goodness of people and nature: distinctly transcendental beliefs. He also developed an Ich und Du relationship with God that resulted in many poems and journal entries which are nothing less than prayers. He wrote about his service in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, about being arrested and detained by the French military (for suspicion of espionage), and his service in the United States Army. It was his father’s death, however, that marked a pivot in how his poetry addressed life and the time we spend living it.
“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)“
— quoted from “[i carry your heart with me(I carry it in)]” by e e cummings
Please join me today (Saturday, October 14th) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10142020 “I carry you in my heart””]
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.)
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.”
More peace and more ease for everyone on World Mental Health Day!
“World Mental Health Day 2023 is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right’ to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right.
Mental health is a basic human right for all people. Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. This includes the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality care, and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.
Good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being. Yet one in eight people globally are living with mental health conditions, which can impact their physical health, their well-being, how they connect with others, and their livelihoods.”
— quoted from the 2023 World Mental Health Day message by the World Health Organization
Please join me today (Tuesday, October 10th) 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 (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10102021 World Mental Health Day (redux)”]
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.
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.)
“Chag sameach!” to those observing the Sukkot. Many blessings to everyone!!
“Every relationship you develop, from casual to intimate, helps you become more conscious. No union is without spiritual value.”
— quoted from “Morning Visual Meditation” (Chakra 2) by Caroline Myss
In 99.99% of my classes, I reference “master teachers and precious jewels.” These are the people who push our buttons and “get us hooked.” These are the people we might think of as pains in our necks (or bums) and with whom we associate our suffering. These are the people we wish would see things our way (and/or do things the quote-unquote right way). You know who I mean; the brick walls in our lives.
In her 2016 Tedx Talk about “The 5 People You Need to Be Happy” (cheerleader, mentor, coach, friend, and peer), Stacey Flowers identified this type of person as a “coach.” These are the people who give us master classes in our selves and teach us some of the most precious things about our selves and about the way we interact with the world. If we look back over our lives, there are undoubtedly people who taught us lessons for which we are now grateful — even though, at the time we were interacting with those people, we might have wished they were not in our lives.
Take a moment to express a little gratitude for those master teachers and precious jewels in your past, and for the things you learned because of them.
Now, fair warning, this part is a little more challenging: Give thanks for your future master teachers and precious jewels. Express gratitude for someone you haven’t yet encountered who will challenge you and, in the process, make you a better version of yourself.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2020. Class details, one date reference, and the Stacey Flowers video have been updated and/or added. Also, please note that the post below is directly related to a 2020 sūtra-focused practice that is slightly different from today’s practice.
“And this too shall pass.”
— The old saying “Gam zeh ya’avor,“ in Hebrew (with Persian and Jewish origins)
“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’ How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! — how consoling in the depths of affliction!”
— Abraham Lincoln speaking to the Wisconsin State Agriculture Society at the Wisconsin State Fair, September 30, 1859
There’s an old saying in Hebrew, “Gam zeh ya’avor. This too shall pass,” that is often associated with a very wise Rabbi of old and also with King Solomon (although the words do not appear in the Bible) and has origins in Persian and Sufi poetry. American historians may hear the words and think of Abraham Lincoln speaking at the Wisconsin State Fair a year before he was elected president — although, he would end his speech with a bit of caveat, saying that he hoped the best things lasted. I think of my grandmother saying those words, a lot, but also of (what I was taught was) a Chinese parable.
In the parable, a farmer reacts to everything that happens to him (and around him) with the words, “We’ll see.” While others get excited for what they believe to be his good fortunate or agitated over what they perceive as unfortunate events, the farmer maintains a steady outlook and an understanding that all things are connected: every beginning is an ending and every ending is a beginning. As the parable progresses, the reader (and the farmer’s neighbors) start to recognize the wisdom in his attitude. Of course, in real life it is a little harder to let go of our desires and accept the present moment. Harder still is appreciating the present moment without judgment. The hardest thing, however, is to be open to appreciating whatever comes.
“Be joyful at your festival — you and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow who live within your city.
For seven days you must celebrate the Festival to YHVH*, your God, in the place which YHVH* shall choose, because the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your produce, and in all the work of your hands, and you will only be happy.”
(*NOTE: YHVH is commonly translated as “the Lord” in English.)
— quoted from Devarim — Deuteronomy (16:14 – 15)
Around this time in 2015, I was so excited about all the things happening for me. Personally, professionally, and even spiritually, I was riding a high. I would like to think that, in the moment, I truly appreciated everything and everyone around me. I especially would like to think that considering that one of the highlights of that week was co-leading my first weekend-long Sukkot retreat in Darwin, MN, with Sandra Razieli. Sukkot is sometimes referred to as “the Season of Happiness” and there is an extra focus on gratitude. The thing is when I look back, and keep in mind how things changed after that retreat; I realize I wasn’t practicing what I preached. Yes, I was appreciating people and things in the present moment — but I was also attached to how I wanted them to continue.
As is stated in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, there is a period of time — after the harvest — when people are commanded to celebrate. The curious thing is that the passage related to the “Festival of the Booths” or “Festival of the Tabernacles” does not instruct people to celebrate the harvest they just brought in from the fields. Instead, people are commanded to gather and celebrate what will be. So, in some ways, the holiday which the Jewish community began observing last night at sunset, is all about having faith that not only will things pass, but that how things change will be a blessing. “Gam zeu tovah,” is another Hebrew saying. It means, “This too is for the good.”
— “From purity/cleanliness arises sensitivity to the unclean nature of one’s own body and [physical] unmixing.”
Yoga Sūtra 2.41: sattvaśuddhisaumanasyaikāgreyendriyayātmadarśanayogyatvāni ca
— “[From purity/cleanliness arises] pure wisdom of the heart, cheerfulness of mind, the power of concentration, victory over the senses, and the ability to directly experience our Self.”
Normally, when Sukkot rolls around, I am super excited to talk about Yoga Sūtra 2.42 and the how the second niyamā (“internal observation”) connects to the practice of gratitude and the emotional experience of happiness. However, we are not there yet. There is a preliminary practice, which actually gives us two sūtras on which we will focus. Part of me, was like, “Oo, they are short and connected.” Another part of me remembered something we kept saying back in 2015:
“Don’t be greedy, be grateful.”
Please join me today (Saturday, September 30th) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available onYouTube [Look for “Sukkot 1+”] and Spotify [Look for “Sukkot 1”].
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.)
### Sunshine, the practice, friends (and family) ###
May you be safe and protected. May you be healthy and strong. May you be peaceful and happy.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”
— from “Ode of Remembrance” taken from “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon
Please join me for a 75-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Monday, September 11th) at 5:30 PM. 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
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.)
Make sure to rest, relax, hydrate, and smile (when you can).
“Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.”
– quoted from the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley
The following excerpt is from a 2020 post, as re-posted in 2022:
“Born today in 1849, in Gloucester, England, William Ernest Henley was a poet, a literary critic, an editor, and poet whose work and life has inspired billions of people around the world, including presidents and prime ministers, royalty, soldiers, athletes, captains of industries (and of starships), and other writers. Even though he wrote and published thousands of poems, he is remembered for one: an originally untitled work that we now call ‘Invictus.’ It is a poem that in many ways encapsulates the old fashioned understanding of stoicism.
In modern times, we often think of someone who stuffs down their pain and pretends like it doesn’t exists. We might even associate the philosophy with having a ‘stiff upper lip’ – which is the characteristic of someone who ‘grins and bears it’ (but is in too much pain to actually grin). We might even think of someone who is stoic as someone who is unhappy. However, to the ancient stoics like Epictetus, Seneca, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius stoicism was about finding happiness within a given fate, which meant accepting ones fate and figuring out how to move forward. And, William Ernest Henley was nothing if not stoic.”
Please join me for a “spirited” virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Wednesday, August 23rd) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 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.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08232020 Henley’s Invictus Day”]
(NOTE: The playlists have slightly different before/after practice content. Both include the poem, but the YouTube playlist has a little more!)
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 (non-professional) support.
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.)
Stay hydrated, y’all, and “may our hearts be open!”
This is a “missing” post for Tuesday, July 25th.NOTE: Some links direct to sites outside of this blog.You can request an audio recording of either 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.
“When we suffer, we tend to think that suffering is all there is at that moment, and happiness belongs to some other time or place.”
― quoted from from “1. The Art of Transforming Suffering: Suffering and Happiness are not Separate” in No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh
How are you doing today?
Seriously. I really want know how you’re feeling and how you’re doing today.
I’m asking because I care.
I’m also asking because, in order to answer (honestly), you have to check in with yourself – and that’s an important part of the practice.
My personal practice includes this blog, my class notes (a. k. a. the notebooks full of hieroglyphics), videos and playlists, and my personal journals. All of those bits and pieces of the process give me the ability to look back and notice how the ways I’m feeling change: from one moment/day/week/month/year to the next. Nestled together are big changes and little changes that I might have missed if I didn’t have this type of practice. There are instances where I find myself experiencing the same things around the same time of year (or month). Similarly, there are times when an emotion/sensation that was simmering in the background comes to a boil.
Then, there are times when something like anger is still present, but no longer carries the same charge.
“Anger is a mental, psychological phenomenon, yet it is closely linked to biological and biochemical elements. Anger makes you tense your muscles, but when you know how to smile, you begin to relax and your anger will decrease. Smiling allows the energy of mindfulness to be born in you, helping you to embrace your anger.”
― quoted from “Two – Putting Out the Fire of Anger: Tools for Cooling the Flames” in Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
A couple of years ago, I was contemplating anger, because it was everywhere. As I do, I turned to my practice, which included a bit of history and the wisdom of teachers like Thích Nhất Hạnh and Pema Chödrön. I noted that external factors, like the “great heat, major heat”, can affect our emotions. I even dived into the tropes and stereotypes around “angry Black women” and I touched on the flip side of that – people thinking I shouldn’t feel strong emotions because I practice yoga and meditation. That last part is something that some men in certain cultures have also had to deal with because of tropes and stereotypes related to their gender and emotions.
I also mentioned how eastern philosophies and their medical sciences – like Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Yoga and Ayurveda – view every emotion as an energetic experience (as well as a mental, psychological, physiological, biological, and biochemical experience) whereby energy is either in-balance or out-of-balance. Finally, I outlined some steps any one of us can take in order to move into balance. Keep in mind, as Dr. Beau Lotto pointed out, that what may seem like a baby step to me, may feel like a giant leap to you (and vice versa).
The thing is, all of the anger that I referenced, in 2021, is still present. For some people, it has even been magnified. However, anger is no longer on the top of the list of the things I’m feeling. Instead, I’m a little weary… and tired of the shenanigans that previously made me so angry. This feeling is something that I brought up this time last year, in a “9 Days” video* inspired by a map (that a little kid gave me back in 2008) and a Dermot Kennedy song.
“My sense of wonder’s just a little tired”
― quoted from the song “Lost” by Dermot Kennedy, co-written by Carey Willetts
Considering our emotional experiences from an energetic standpoint may help us accept our emotions as natural (which they are) – even if we don’t believe in the traditional sciences. First, they give us a place to start; a first and second step if you will. The eastern philosophies and their sister sciences can be useful processing paradigms, because every energetic experience has an opposite reaction (as well as what we can consider a near-peer) and we are encouraged to cultivate the opposites (when we are out of balance). As I mentioned on Sunday and Monday, heart (YIN) and small intestine (YANG) meridians have several associations, including joy (when in-balance) versus anxiety (when out-of-balance). The other big emotion pairs (based on Yin Yoga) include:
Anger and Frustration versus Kindness/Lovingkindness
Worry versus Peace, Faith, and Acceptance (or Trustful Surrender)
Grief and Sorrow versus Courage, Resilience, Tenacity (balanced with non-attachment), and Reverence
Fear versus Wisdom
Consider, for a moment, how your emotions shift when you are feeling angry and/or frustrated and then do something kind (for yourself and/or for someone else). Consider, also, what happens when cultivating a moment of peace/acceptance enables you to let go of a worry. Maybe, in that moment, of trustful surrender you find the wisdom inside of yourself that alleviates some fear.
Years ago, in a meditation group, my dharma and yoga buddy Lenice dropped a little wisdom during a particularly harsh winter: What if we were more like the trees? Think about it, as long as they are alive, they grow and blossom and let go of the things that no longer serve them. In the essay, “Africa,” published in the collection Even the Stars Look Lonesome, Maya Angelou wrote about trauma and stated, “An African proverb spells out the truth: ‘The ax forgets. The tree remembers.’” Another way to think about that is: the tree remembers it’s trauma, but keeps living; keeps blossoming and growing; keeps letting go of what no longer serves it.
Of course, Dr. Angelou and Victor Hugo also remind us that we are (or can be) like birds – and, sometimes the practice just comes down to knowing what we need in order to blossom, grow, sing, and let go of what no longer serves us.
“Be like the bird, who Halting in his flight On limb too slight Feels it give way beneath him, Yet sings Knowing he hath wings.”
– quoted from the poem “Be Like the Bird” by Victor Hugo
NOTE: In Abbie Betinis’s musical composition (which is on the playlists), “she” has wings.
Again, you might be having a moment where some (or all) of this feels like giant leaps. And, that’s OK. Maybe it’s too much to think about smiling, blossoming, singing, and flying. Maybe you just need to focus on the breathing! The key is to find the thing that makes sense for you in this moment.
Then, when it makes sense, consider what seems like the next logical step, given where you are and how you’re feeling. Maybe, what you need is a different perspective; so, you reach out to a friend or a professional. I recently heard of a new app, called “White Flag,” that cultivates peer-to-peer support. (Full disclosure, I haven’t checked it out or investigated it much, but I’ve heard good things.) Maybe what you need is to go back to that first step and breathe some more.
Maybe what you need is more movement or maybe less movement (depending on the weather). Maybe you don’t wanna move today (and there’s now a video on the Carry app for that). Either way, keep in mind that, as Sarah Powers pointed out in Insight Yoga: An innovative synthesis of traditional yoga, meditation, and Eastern approaches to healing and well-being, “All emotions associated with the organs are considered natural responses to life. Yet when they become compulsive or prolonged, they become injurious to our overall health.”
“If we can learn to see and skillfully engage with both the presence of happiness and the presence of suffering, we will go in the direction of enjoying life more. Every day we go a little farther in that direction, and eventually we realize that suffering and happiness are not two separate things.”
― quoted from from “1. The Art of Transforming Suffering: Suffering and Happiness are not Separate” in No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh
So, how are you doing, in this moment?
While I hope you are doing well, I also recognize that you may be, simultaneously, feeling a certain kind of way about things and that you might label some of those ways as “not so well” and/or “not so good.” You might even be having one of the moments/days/weeks/months/years/lifetimes that you would describe as “mostly good.”
Or, maybe in this moment, you’re “good” and you’re taking everything a moment at a time.
I see all that. I care about that. May you be where you need to be; “[going] in the direction of enjoying life more;” moving towards your experience of happiness – whether that experience is an ecstatic kind of joy, not being miserable, or somewhere in between.
“Happiness is possible right now, today―but happiness cannot be without suffering. Some people think that in order to be happy they must avoid all suffering, so they are constantly vigilant, constantly worrying. They end up sacrificing all their spontaneity, freedom, and joy. This isn’t correct. If you can recognize and accept your pain without running away from it, you will discover that although pain is there, joy can also be there at the same time.”
― quoted from from “1. The Art of Transforming Suffering: Suffering and Happiness are not Separate” in No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh
Due to technical difficulties, we used two different set of playlists for this practice. The evening playlist is the one specifically mixed for this date.
Tuesday afternoon’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04102021 Si se puede & Birds”]
Tuesday evening’s playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify.
NOTE: The evening playlist on YouTube contains additional videos. I was not aware of this “Birdsong” when I made the playlist, so it is not (currently) included on either format.
“Each morning I offer a stick of incense to the Buddha. I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live.”
― quoted from “Five – Compassionate Communication: Nourishing Ourselves” in Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
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.
During the practice, I mention a new app (White Flag), which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need (non-professional) support.
Stay hydrated, y’all, and “may our hearts be open!”
This is a “missing” post for Monday, July 24th. It contains some new material and some “leftovers” from 2022. You can request an audio recording of either 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.
No, not the symbol pi – but actual pie that you eat. Except, in this case, it’s just a symbol. In this case, when I ask people what pie symbolizes their faith, it’s just a starting point to go deeper into the practice.
“The lord Buddha continued:
‘If any person were to say that the Buddha, in his teachings, has constantly referred to himself, to other selves, to living beings, or to a universal self, what do you think, would that person have understood my meaning?’
Subhuti replied, ‘No, blessed lord. That person would not have understood the meaning of your teachings. For when you refer to those things, you are not referring to their actual existence, you only use the words as figures of speech, as symbols. Only in that sense can words be used, for conceptions, ideas, limited truths, and spiritual truths have no more reality than have matter or phenomena.’”
– quoted from “Chapter 31” of the Diamond Sutra – A New Translation, translated by Alex Johnson
According to the Yoga Sūtras, meditation is the way to overcome obstacles and the five debilitating conditions that arise from the obstacles. Meditation, in yoga, requires “withdrawing the senses” (pratyāhāra) – which means turning your awareness and senses towards a single focal point – and focusing on that single point until the focus becomes concentration. Concentration over a certain period of time becomes meditation, which is some degree of absorption. The various degrees of absorption involve the merging of the person meditating, the process of meditating, the awareness of meditating, and the initial focal point.
Patanjali detailed powers/abilities that come from meditating on certain things and described “seedless” meditation (meaning meditation without an object). However, in the first chapter of the Yoga Sūtras, he actually offered several different objects which can be used as a focal point (or starting point), including: aspects of the Divine, a single word, attributes of the heart, the breath, sensations experienced through a sense organ, inner light, a person who is free of desire, dream knowledge, or “whatever.”
Ok, Yoga Sūtra 1.39 doesn’t just say “whatever.” The instruction is actually to meditate on “a well-considered object.” The commentary specifically points to objects which have been “agreed upon or accepted” within a certain tradition. If we want to get precise, these are objects that have been proven (within the context of a tradition) to lead to peace, happiness, enlightenment… whatever that means to you in this moment.
It is interesting to me that the classical commentary (as well as the commentaries on that commentary) describe things as “proven” and then inevitably point to symbols of faith, i.e. spiritual and/or religious symbols. For example, in the commentary in The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, highlighted the “lotus of the heart, the Sri Chakra, the Star of David, the cross, an unwavering flame, [and] personified forms….” Similarly, the people most commonly suggested as being free of desire – i.e., those personified forms – are people who are recognized, in the various religions of the world, as people of faith and symbols of faith.
“FAITH, noun
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.”
– quoted from Oxford Languages
Faith means different things to different people. Therefore, just the thought of the concept of faith can turn people on – or it can turn people off. One thing to remember, however, is that faith is not necessarily religious. Ultimately, faith is about trust. We can trust (or not trust) anything. In fact, even the definition in The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews comes down to trust: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (11:1, New International Version)
Where we place our trust directly contributes to the way we move through the world. Even outside of the practice of yoga, giving some thought to who, what, and how we trust can provide some insight into how we move through the world. Contemplating our own concept of faith – even, maybe especially, when we say we don’t believe in anything – can give us insight into why we think, speak, and do the things we do. It can also help us better understand why we believe certain things are acceptable and why we believe certain things are unacceptable.
Gaining insight into ourselves is one of the benefits of practicing the Yoga Philosophy and, in particular, in practicing svādhyāya (“self-study”), which is the fourth the niyama (internal “observation”) in the philosophy. Now, if you look at an English translation, Yoga Sūtra 2.44 is simply a description of the benefit of practicing svādhyāya. Sometimes there is a reference to mantras and some commentaries point to those same religious and/or spiritual figures who are considered free of desire (and, therefore, free of suffering). In any case, the classic practice comes down to paying attention to what comes up – physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, and/or spiritually – when contemplating shastra, sacred text and/or scriptures.
Sometimes self-study is simply noticing what comes up (i.e., what one feels and/or thinks) about a passage or scenario. It can also be noticing what comes when contemplating being in the scenario. Sometimes it is noticing what comes up with regard to a vibration – which can be a mantra and can also be music. In a moving practice, the movement, the poses, and how one feels about the movement and the poses (as well as how one feels about what one is feeling) are all opportunities for svādhyāya. For a variety of reasons, my practice includes historical scenarios and figures from different religions, philosophical traditions, and a variety of cultures.
My practice also includes non-religious situations and people – some of whom may be people of faith, but not the ones we automatically think of as being free of desire.
In fact, sometimes, their desire (and how they acted based on their desire) is the point of the practice.
Some portions of the following were posted in 2022.
“Family worship succeeding, the portion of the Scripture read had in it the following words, ‘By the Grace of God I am what I am,’ –– It was [John Newton’s] custom to make a short familiar exposition on the passage read. After the reading, he paused for some moments and then uttered the following affected words –– –I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient – I am not what I wish to be, I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good –– I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection –– yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge; by the grace of God I am what I am, Let us pray.”
– quoted from passage entitled “Anecdote of Mr. John Newton” by Dr. Gill, in the “Gleanings” section of The Religious Monitor, or, Evangelical Repository (March 1825)
Born in London on July 24, 1725, John Newton, the Anglican clergyman known for hymns like “Amazing Grace,” was not always a man of faith. His life was full of hardship and trauma that included his mother dying just a couple of weeks before he turned seven years old. After a couple of years at boarding school and another couple of years living with his father and stepmother, he went to sea with his father. When he was 18 years old, he was pressed into the Royal Navy; but, he ended up being publicly punished after trying to desert. Eventually, he transferred to a slave ship – but, he didn’t have any better luck there and was himself enslaved by the time he was 20.
After three years (of being enslaved), John Newton was rescued. But, then he found himself in the middle of a terrible storm. Faced with the very real possibility of his own death, he prayed and made a promise to God: if he survived, he would turn his life around. True to his word, he gave up drinking, gambling, and cursing. Later, he would also give up working within the slave trade and begin serious religious study. He spent years applying to be ordained by several different churches. Finally, he was ordained and accepted by the Church of England.
Take a moment, especially if you do not believe as John Newton eventually believed, to consider how you would respond and react to the trauma and tragedies that he endured. Keep in mind, there is not a “right answer” here. There is simply your answer.
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no proof is possible.”
– quote attributed to Stuart Chase, economist, social theorist, author
July 24th is “Pioneer Day” in Utah. It marks the occasion, in 1847, when Brigham Young looked out of the back of a covered wagon and said, “It is enough. This is the Right Place.” Young was the successor of Joseph Smith, the founder of what is now known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and – before he was exiled from Illinois – Young had a vision of a place that these Mormon settlers could call home, a place where they would be free from religious persecution and conflict: “a place on this earth that nobody else wants.”
That last quote is what Brigham Young and his followers ostensibly believed. This belief and the desire to live without religious persecution were the reasons 148 settlers followed Brigham Young west. Most reached the Great Salt Lake Valley, at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, a couple of days ahead of their leader, who was suffering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Of course, they would eventually discover that at least one of their beliefs was misplaced – because there were already whole Nations of people living in the place, wanting the place.
“For generations, various Shoshone bands gathered on the lake’s shores for an annual fish festival to celebrate the lake’s bounty, according to Mary Murdock Meyer, chief executive of the Timpanogos Nation.
‘Our people raised families around these waters. We laughed and played. We worked and toiled. We swam. We fished. We utilized the surrounding foliage to make the necessary tools and medicines,’ Meyer said at last year’s Utah Lake Symposium. ‘Above all, we prayed. We held ceremonies. We danced, and we sang around the lake.’
Within a century of the pioneers’ arrival, much of this biological diversity would, like the Timpanogos, be gone….”
– quoted from The Salt Lake Tribune (March 31, 2022) article entitled, “How Utah Lake once sustained tribes and Mormon pioneers and why it needs help: After neglecting it for decades, Utahns want to make Utah Lake great again, but are sharply divided over how or even what that means.” by Brian Maffly
When contemplating those historical perspectives, we must keep in mind that what people did was also (partially) based on what people had already done. So, I also contemplate those religious pioneers that left New York, Illinois, and Missouri earlier (in 1846) and got trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains as they traveled to California. They got trapped and many – like in the case of the tragic Donner party of 18 – did not survive the extreme cold. Of course, when I talk about Brigham Young and those 148 pioneers, I think about the extreme heat.
While I have only ever been to the east side of Salt Lake City, to This Is the Place Heritage Park, in the winter, I can imagine what it would be like after traveling months on end through so much heat. I think about the religious fervor that carried people through the rocky terrain and I think about what it might have been like for Brigham Young, sick, feverish, maybe delirious, and (even if he was experiencing chills) surrounded by major heat, great heat.
Then I think about what I might have felt was acceptable (and unacceptable) given those conditions, beliefs, and major heat, great heat.
Just as I consider those different historical viewpoints as an opportunity for svādhyāya (“self-study”), I also think of people’s modern viewpoints. For instance, some people in Salt Lake City spend July 24th celebrating “Pie and Beer Day.” Some do so because they are not part of the Church and it’s a funny little rhyme. Some do so because they feel the official holiday isn’t as inclusive as it (theoretically) could be. On that same note, there is an Intertribal Powwow on this date that celebrates indigenous culture and the contributions of Native Americans to Utah. The powwow also highlights the fact that there were, in fact, people who wanted the land. They just didn’t see and/or articulate their relationship with the land in the same way as the Mormons; because they had different beliefs.
In some cases, they still have different beliefs… and those different beliefs inform what they think and say and do.
“What dredging proponents call ‘restoration,’ however, Mary Murdock Meyer describes as desecration of a sacred place. Her people may no longer live in Utah Valley, but she says they deserve a say in what happens to the lake that sustained their ancestors.
Like the endangered June suckers, the Timpanogos ‘have endured near extinction and deserve to live,’ Meyer says. ‘Think about tomorrow and the future generations. We, as native people, say you must look ahead seven generations when making decisions because what we decide today affects future generations.’”
– quoted from The Salt Lake Tribune (March 31, 2022) article entitled, “How Utah Lake once sustained tribes and Mormon pioneers and why it needs help: After neglecting it for decades, Utahns want to make Utah Lake great again, but are sharply divided over how or even what that means.” by Brian Maffly
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
*NOTE: The fact that people in the same place have different beliefs brings us back to pie. Just like we all have different beliefs (and different preferences in tacos), we all have different preferences in pie. But, Monday’s question wasn’t about favorite kinds of pie; it was about pie as a symbol of faith. If you consider the first pie that popped into your mind (when you contemplated your faith), you might learn something about yourself.
My answer, pecan pie, is super sweet, super crunchy, and has Southern roots. I love it, but too much can be detrimental – and it doesn’t take much to be too much! Also, depending on your source, it can leave an unpleasant aftertaste.
What’s your pie?
“[Utah] is home to five groups of Indigenous people: Navajo, Shoshone, Ute, Paiute and Goshute. But within each larger tribal grouping, there may be ‘bands’ or ‘clans’ that are subgroups, often very distinct in culture and tradition while still sharing common language and ancestry with the tribe as a whole.
From these five tribes, Utah has eight federally recognized tribal nations: Navajo Nation; Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation; Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah; San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe; Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation; Skull Valley Band of Goshute; White Mesa Community of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe; and Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Three of our tribes (the Ute, Paiute and Goshute) each have two distinct federally recognized nations.
Adding to the confusion is Utah’s flag with an eagle that has six arrows in its beak, said to represent the six tribes of Utah. Which there were — in the 19th century. But in the late 1800s the Bannock were moved to the Fort Hall Reservation in southern Idaho.”
– quoted from the Deseret News (Jul 19, 2021) op-ed entitled, “Pioneer Day is a chance to look at Utah’s many layered history: Native Americans in Utah illustrate the diversity and unique cultures that still exist today” by Heather Sundahl
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.
A Joyful Practice 