Abilities & Achievements (the post-practice Monday post) October 19, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, 9-Day Challenge, Abhyasa, Art, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.Tags: 8 Limbs of Yoga Philosophy, 988, Ayudha Puja, Buddha, Buddhism, Herman Hesse, Lal Dĕd, Lalla, Lalleshwari, Navaratri, Philosophy, Ranjit Hoskote, Samyama, Sharada Navaratri, Siddhartha, Siddhartha Gautama, Siddhidhatri, siddhis, Swami Vivekananda, yoga philosophy, Yoga Sutra 1.3, Yoga Sutra 1.30-1.32, Yoga Sutra 1.30-32, Yoga Sutra 1.32-1.39, Yoga Sutra 3.1-3.6, Yoga Sutra 3.45, Yoga Sutra 3.46, Yoga Sutra 4.1
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“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Sharada Navaratri!” Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating their stories about friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.
Stay safe! Live well! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.
This post-practice compilation post for Monday, October 19th, includes new and re-purposed content, as well as an excerpt. The 2026 prompt question was, “What is something you are able to do well and what is an ability you are still working on doing?” You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“At one time, when the two young men had lived among the Samanas for about three years and had shared their exercises, some news, a rumour, a myth reached them after being retold many times: A man had appeared, Gotama by name, the exalted one, the Buddha, he had overcome the suffering of the world in himself and had halted the cycle of rebirths. He was said to wander through the land, teaching, surrounded by disciples, without possession, without home, without a wife, in the yellow cloak of an ascetic, but with a cheerful brow, a man of bliss, and Brahmans and princes would bow down before him and would become his students.
This myth, this rumour, this legend resounded, its fragrance rose up, here and there; in the towns….”
“The myth of Buddha sounded sweet. The scent of magic flowed from these reports. After all, the world was sick, life was hard to bear—and behold, here a source seemed to spring forth, here a messenger seemed to call out, comforting, mild, full of noble promises. Everywhere where the rumour of Buddha was heard, everywhere in the lands of India, the young men listened up, felt a longing, felt hope….”
— quoted from “First Part: With The Samanas” in Siddhartha: An Indian Tale by Herman Hesse
There are many people, particularly historical and/or religious figures, who become so well known by their titles that some people do not realize the “name” they know is actually a title. This recently came up in discussions about Mohandas K. Gandhi, when someone didn’t know that mahatma means “great soul”. At least a decade ago, a group of scholars decided to create a new translation of the New Testament, in part, because they realized there were Christians who didn’t realize the word christ is an honorific or title meaning “messiah” or “[the] anointed”. Then there is the Dalai Lama, whose title combines the Mongolian word for “ocean” or “big” with the Tibetan word for “guru” (i.e., “teacher”). I’ll even admit that I sometimes forget that Rinpoche (or Rimpoche) is a Tibetan word meaning “precious one”, as opposed to being a family surname that people just assume when they join a religious family.
Another person who is famously remembered more by his title than his name is the Buddha (the “Awakened One”). The thing about these titles/honorifics is that they often reflect the story of how someone was able to do the things that made them memorable. In the Buddha’s case, his actual name has a meaning that is also part of the story. I have heard, Gautama Buddha started off as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama.1 Siddhartha being a combination of the Sanskrit words siddha (“achieved”) and artha (“means or meaning”). In other words, he was named the “one who achieved his goals” or the “one who achieved the meaning”.
“But in the evening, when the heat cooled down and everyone in the camp started to bustle about and gathered around, they heard the Buddha teaching. They heard his voice, and it was also perfected, was of perfect calmness, was full of peace. Gotama taught the teachings of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the way to relieve suffering. Calmly and clearly his quiet speech flowed on. Suffering was life, full of suffering was the world, but salvation from suffering had been found: salvation was obtained by him who would walk the path of the Buddha. With a soft, yet firm voice the exalted one spoke, taught the four main doctrines, taught the eightfold path, patiently he went the usual path of the teachings, of the examples, of the repetitions, brightly and quietly his voice hovered over the listeners, like a light, like a starry sky.”
— quoted from “First Part: Gotama” in Siddhartha: An Indian Tale by Herman Hesse
Buddhism and the Yoga Philosophy share a history, some philosophical principles, and certain aims/goals. They both have eight steps intended to attenuate (or end) suffering. According to the Yoga Sūtras, practicing the Yoga Philosophy can enable someone to “rest in their own true nature” (YS 1.3); overcome certain obstacles and the accompanying ailments (YS 1.30-1.32); and “attain steadiness (or clarity) of mind” (YS 1.32-1.39). The text (and commentary) also includes the expectation that this clarity of mind directly (and indirectly) leads to physical vitality, which will, in turn, enable practitioners to do the things they are meant to do in the world.
Some of the things we do are done by using the six siddhis, “powers or abilities” that are described in the Sāmkhya Karika as “powers unique to being human.” While we can debate whether or not other beings can do these things, it is undeniable that humans, when we are at our best, can do these things. But, then, in the third and fourth sections of the Yoga Sūtras, there are a plethora of “supernormal” siddhis that sound like Jedi Knight tricks or super hero powers. These come from applying samyama, a tool formed by combining the last three limbs of the Yoga Philosophy: dharana (“focus”), dhyana (“concentration”), and samadhi (“meditation”)2 (YS 3.1-3.6).
While applying samyama — let alone getting to a place in your life/practice where you can apply samyama — might seem like a lot of work, there are actually five different ways (outlined in Yoga Sūtra 4.1) to achieve the most fantastical siddhis: they can be attained at birth (because they carry over from a previous lifetime); through the use of herbs or mantras; through the practice of tapas (in this case, “practices that cultivate heat, discipline, and austerity”); or by through samadhi (“meditation”).
Of course, for some people, prayer is meditation (and can also be a form of mantra) and a puja (“offering”) can be a form of tapas. For some, the greatest abilities/powers are like the Virtues given by the Holy Spirit: they can be offered as a blessing from the Divine.
“This means that the Yogi has attained the eight powers. He can make himself as minute as a particle, or as huge as a mountain, as heavy as the earth, or as light as the air; he can reach anything he likes, he can rule everything he wants, he can conquer everything he wants, and so on. A lion will sit at his feet like a lamb, and all his desires will be fulfilled at will.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 3.46 (or 3.45, in some text) from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
The following description of the ninth day/night of Navaratri is a slightly revised/expanded excerpt.
Today (Monday) is the ninth day/night of Navaratri, the Hindu festival of “nine nights” celebrating divine feminine energy in various manifestations. Each of manifestation of Durga/Parvati is a symbolic milestone (and a reminder that women “contain multitudes”). The final day3 is devoted to Siddhidhatri, whose name literally means “land/earth of achievements”. Her name can also be translated as “Giver of Perfection”, as She is believed to be endowed with all the siddhis (“abilities” or “powers”) in the Universe and, also, to be able to bestow all of them. Typically, however, She only gives nine of the multitudes — some of which are referenced in the aforementioned Yoga Sūtras.
During the big celebrations of Navaratri (in the Spring and Fall) the final day is a double celebration — which may mean more feasting in some regions and more fasting in others. For example, some celebrations on the ninth day of Navaratri will also be Ayudha Puja (“worship of tools”), when people celebrate peace and knowledge and give thanks for the tools of their occupation. This means that some will give thanks for musical instruments and others will give thanks for their farming machinery. At the same time, some will make their puja (“offering”) to Saraswati — who is associated with knowledge, the arts, and culture, etc. — and others will direct their attention to Lakshmi — who is associated with prosperity, wealth, and fertility, etc.
“We’re beyond even Shiva and Shakti here.
This Beyond that’s beyond all we can name, that’s your lesson!”
— quoted from poem 115 in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
In art and literature, Siddhidhatri is sometimes depicted as being half of Shiva (with Him being half of Her), meaning that they are the embodiment the yin/yang symbol. When they are shown together in this way, they are each known as Ardhanarishvara, Ardhanaranari, or similar names that all highlight the fact that They are partially a woman.
When we look at the hero(ine)’s journey — as told through each day’s story, we are reminded that Durga/Parvati is a warrior or, if you will, a hero friend.
We are also reminded that each and every one of us has the ability to do something that makes a difference in the world. In our Navaratri-inspired journey, Siddhidhatri is a reminder to focus on what we are able to do and, also, to celebrate our achievements.
“To the yogi the whole wide world ripples into Nothingness:
it splashes like water on the water of Infinity.
When that Void melts, Perfection remains.
Hey priest-man, that’s the only lesson you need!”
— Poem 114 in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
If you are struggling, thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
NOTES:
1In Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, the Buddha is referred to as “Gotama”, (the Pali version of Guatama) and the titular character is a young man who becomes a follower of the Buddha.
2I use a translation of the final three limbs of the Yoga Philosophy that illustrates a progression of awareness. When dharana and dhyana are translated as “concentration” and “meditation”, samadhi is understood as complete absorption and/or “[perfect] meditation” (but is not necessarily translated).
3As I mentioned last week, the fall (Sharada) celebration of Navaratri includes a tenth day, Dussehra or Vijayadashami, which commemorates Lord Rama’s victory over a 10-headed demon.
### “Whatever I’ve started, I’ll finish.” ~ #88, Lal Dĕd (translated by Ranjit Hoskote) ###
A Sunday Journey (the “missing” Sunday compilation) October 11, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, 9-Day Challenge, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Mantra, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.Tags: 988, Black Girl Day Off, Durga, International Day of the Girl Child, Jean O’Leary, Joseph Campbell, Lal Dĕd, Lalla, Lalleshwari, National Coming Out Day, Navaratri, Parvati, Pastor Appreciation Day, Ranjit Hoskote, Robert Eichberg, Shailaputri, Sharada Navaratri, The Associated Press, The New York Times, United Nations
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“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Sharada Navaratri!” Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone nourishing their heart, body, and mind on Black Girl Day Off, Pastor Appreciation Day, National Coming Out Day, & International Day of the Girl Child.
Stay safe! Live well! Hydrate!
This “missing” compilation post for Sunday, October 11th, includes new content and an (expanded) excerpt. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Forget the outside, get to the inside of things.”
— quoted from poem 95 in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
This may seem like a regular, ordinary beginning. And it is. However, if you stick with me, we’re going to go on a journey.
You might be think that every time we get on the mat (or the cushion), we’re going on a journey, and that is true. Every time we get on the cushion (or the mat), we’re going on a journey; that is true. It is also true that every journey starts just like this: in this ordinary, regular world.
Maybe it’s a time for you that is really wonderful or maybe it’s not so great. Maybe this is an extraordinarily challenging time for you or maybe things are going relatively well. Either way, this is what passes for normal. (Every time we inhale, every time we exhale.) And this is where we start, where every journey starts.
This particular journey starts with an ordinary person. In this case, the ordinary person is an ordinary girl. Maybe you recognize her as a girl child, as October 11th is International Day of the Girl Child. Maybe, since it is also National Coming Out Day, you initially see her as something other than a girl… or, you don’t recognize how being extra ordinary is actually special. How ever you see her, she is just a regular, ordinary person — even if she is the daughter of a king (and even if she has already lived an extraordinary life).
This regular, ordinary girl is our hero (our heroine, if you will). She is where we start, because every single one of us has a little bit her inside of us. Every single one of us is on a journey of transformation.
Or we can be… if you stick with me… and go a little deeper.
“I, Lalla, took that teaching to heart.”
— quoted from poem 95 in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
In addition to being International Day of the Girl Child and National Coming Out Day, today was also the beginning of Navaratri.
This initial description of Navaratri is a slightly revised/expanded excerpt.
Navaratri (which means “nine nights”, in Sanskrit) occurs four times on the Hindu calendar and is a celebration of divine feminine energy — specifically of Durga, the divine mother, in various manifestations. Some people (read, mostly men) think of these manifestations as different women. Others (read, mostly women) recognize these manifestations as the same woman at different points in her life. The latter understanding is underscored by the fact that each day is dedicated to a different manifestation of Durga/Parvati and each manifestation marks a different point in Her journey.
Navaratri always begins by celebrating Durga as Shailaputri (“Daughter of Mountain”). Shailaputri is the daughter of Himavat, the Mountain King or Guardian God of Himalayan Mountains, and is recognized as a divine manifestation of Mahadevi and a reincarnation of Sati (the wife of Shiva), who then reincarnates as Parvati. In art, she holds a trishula or trident in her right hand and a lotus in her left hand, all while riding Shiva’s bull Nandi, whose name means “happy, joy, and satisfaction”. She is sometimes associated with the color orange and sometimes with the color yellow.
The fall (Sharada) Navaratri celebration, which started today (Sunday), is the biggest and most celebrated of the four celebrations. Rituals and traditions vary from one region to the other and, during this festival, celebrations in some regions may include other manifestations of the Divine. For example, some celebrations on the ninth day of Navaratri will also be Ayudha Puja (“worship of tools”) — when people celebrate peace and knowledge and give thanks for the tools of their occupation. So, some will give thanks for musical instruments, while others will give thanks for their farming machinery. At the same time, some will make their puja (“offering”) to Saraswati — who is associated with knowledge, the arts, and culture, etc. — and others will direct their attention to Lakshmi — who is associated with prosperity, wealth, and fertility, etc. These fall celebrations also include a tenth day, Dussehra or Vijayadashami, which commemorates Lord Rama’s victory over a 10-headed demon.
Click here (and scroll down) to discover posts that reference the other Divine manifestations celebrated during Navaratri.
Spoiler alert, the stories related to Navaratri are the stories about a girl or young woman who grows up to be a wife and a fierce mother goddess. Her physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual growth and maturity are part of her journey. She gains knowledge and skills along the way. She is celebrated for who she is at every point in her journey. Even if you see the nine manifestations as different women, significant transformation occurs over the nine days/nights.
On the flip side, many girls around the world are not afforded the time and space to grow up and reach their full potential. They lose their agency and bodily autonomy before they even have a chance to recognize that there are such things. To raise awareness about issues facing girls internationally — especially with regard to education, nutrition, forced child marriage, legal rights, and medical rights — the United Nations designated October 11th as International Day of the Girl Child back in December 2011. Also known as the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl, it was first observed today in 2012.
The 2026 theme for International Day of the Girl Child is “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights!”. If you live in the United States, you may think of child marriage as a problem in other countries. However. marriage involving a child (defined as someone under the age of 18) is legal in 32 states (and at least one territory). Many of these marriages involve minors who are under the age of consent (16 to 18, depending on the state or territory) and most (~86%) involve a minor girl and an adult man. In some states, these children are not able to file for divorce — even when they experience spousal abuse — specifically because they are minors!
According to the United Nations:
- Each year, more than 12 million girls – roughly one every three seconds – are married before reaching adulthood….133 million girls are not attending school [this year].
- Adolescent girls aged 15-19 are more likely to not be in education, employment or training than their male peers.
- Nearly 1 in 4 ever-married or partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.
- More than one third of adolescent girls and boys aged 15-19 consider a husband to be justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances.
- The percentage of underweight adolescent girls aged 10-19 has only declined slightly in the last three decades, from 10 per cent to 8 per cent.
“It is true that Lal Dĕd was constructed differently by each community, but she was simultaneously Lalleśvarī or Lalla Yogini to the Hindus and Lal-‘ārifa to the Muslims; today, unfortunately, these descriptions are increasing being promoted at the expense of one another. In honour of the plural sensibilities that Kashmir has long nurtured, I will refer to this mystic-poet by her most celebrated and nonsectarian appellation, ‘“Lal Dĕd”’. In the colloquial, this means ‘“Grandmother Lal”’; more literally, it means ‘“Lal the Womb”’, a designation that connects her to the mother goddessess….”
— quoted from “1. Lal Dĕd: Life, Poetry and Historical Context” by Ranjit Hoskotein, as printed in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
I was not thinking of Lal Dĕd when I started today’s practice and post. But, she fits. She fits every aspect of these overlapping stories.
Also known Lalleshwari (“Mother Lal” or “Mother Lalla”) and several other related variations, Lalla was a Kashmiri poet, mystic, spiritual teacher (or pastor, if you will), and saint. She married at the age of 12 (as was the custom in her region during the 14th century) and escaped an abusive marriage in order to pursue her spiritual calling. Her name was changed to Padmāvati when she married, but she wrote that she always thought of herself as Lalla. While she is revered in Muslim and Hindu communities, some people (in each community) do not acknowledge that she was both. The do not recognize all that she was.
When Lalla wrote about following the instructions of her guru (in poem 95), she concluded with a metaphor that indicated she was free, joyful, and living/celebrating life without the expectations of the outside world (i.e., those who would see her in one dimension):
“From that day, I’ve danced naked.”
— quoted from poem 95 in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
As I mentioned before, some people who celebrate Navaratri view the different manifestations of Durga/Pavarti in isolation — just as some people view Lalla as a person with single, flattened identity. However, recognizing the Divine manifestations as the same woman at different points along her journey, highlights the symbolism of Her adventure and creates an opportunity for us to embody our own journey: meeting our own challenges head-on, vanquishing our own demons, letting go of what no longer serves us, and returning to (our) whatever passes for normal with a “boon” — something that benefits us and those around us. Of course, the ultimate boon is the ability to overcome our fears, live freely, and achieve our goals.
Overcoming fears and living freely requires ending ignorance. Sometimes that ignorance is inside us; it is also all around us. National Coming Out Day (NCOD) was established in 1988, as a day of awareness. It is also a day of support for people who are “coming out of the closet”. Co-founders Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary selected October 11th as this day of awareness and celebration, because it is the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.
Approximately 750,000 people took part in the 1987 march, which garnered the first national coverage of ACT UP and AIDS activists. The day after the march, thousands participated in civil disobedience actions at the United States Supreme Court Building. While drag queens, drag kings, and transgender people participated in the Gay Rights movement from the very beginning, Jean O’Leary eventually expressed remorse for the fact that the march and other events she organized were not as inclusive as they could have been and that she made disparaging remarks about people who became known for, quite literally, kicking the closet door open.
“In an interview in 1993, Dr. Eichberg said: ‘Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.’”
— quoted from The New York Times obituary “Robert Eichberg, 50, Gay Rights Leader” by The Associated Press (dated August 15, 1995)
As I mentioned in passing (during the practice), today was also Black Girl Day Off (which is directly related to the fact that yesterday was World Mental Health Day) and, also, Pastor Appreciation Day.
If you are up for the journey/adventure, pick a goal, a desire, a destination (if you will). Of course, you have to acknowledge where you are in your journey.
So, that’s the first step: identify where you are and where you want to go. The second step (Monday’s step) will be doing what we need to do to get ready.
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”
— quoted from A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify [Look for “05252022 Pratyahara II”]
If you are struggling, thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
### He Ma Durga (honoring the Divine Mother) ###
FTWMI (repost): Saying Yes to Life and to the “Impossible” & EXCERPT: “The Powerful Possibilities That Come From ‘A Brother’s Love’” (w/practice video) August 2, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, James Baldwin, Life, Loss, Love, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wisdom, Writing, Yin Yoga, Yoga.Tags: 988, Aimee Lehto, Allan Warren, America, Beau Lotto, being present, Boyd Croyner, Civil Rights, courage, Emily Dickinson, Health, inspiration, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, meditation, Mindfulness, PRIDE, Richard Avedon, samskāras, truth, vasanas, wellness, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2024 (as the invitation to First Friday Night Special #46) and reposted in 2025 with the practice video below and a picture (visible to those on WordPress).
Class details, plus some links and formatting, have been added/updated.
“The light that’s in your eyes / reminds me of the skies / that shine above us every day—so wrote a contemporary lover, out of God knows what agony, what hope, and what despair. But he saw the light in the eyes, which is the only light there is in the world, and honored it and trusted it; and will always be able to find it; since it is always there, waiting to be found. One discovers the light in darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light. It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere, to know that in oneself, waiting to be found, there is a light. What the light reveals is danger, and what it demands is faith.”
“What a journey this life is! dependent, entirely, on things unseen.”
— quoted from the essay “Nothing Personal” by James Baldwin (b. 1924), original published as part of a collaboration with Richard Avedon
Born today in Harlem, New York, in 1924, the author James Baldwin was — by his own words (see excerpt below) — an impossible person. He was someone who said yes to life and yes to the light inside of himself. He was someone, as Maya Angelou pointed out, who lived with his whole heart and encouraged others to do the same.
To live with one’s whole heart is the original meaning of “courage,” a word James Baldwin put in the same category as words like “artist,” “integrity,” “nobility,” “peace,” and “integration.” Words that, he said (in the speech “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity”), “[depend] on choices one has got to make, for ever and ever and ever, every day.”
Of course, to make those choices wisely, we need to have some semblance of balance — especially as it relates to the heart.
Click on the excerpt title below for more.
FTWMI: The Powerful Possibilities That Come From “A Brother’s Love”
“I have slept on rooftops and in basements and subways, have been cold and hungry all my life; have felt that no fire would ever warm me, and no arms would ever hold me. I have been, as the song says, ‘buked and scorned and I know that I always will be. But, my God, in that darkness, which was the lot of my ancestors and my own state, what a mighty fire burned! In that darkness of rape and degradation, that fine flying froth and mist of blood, through all that terror and in all that helplessness, a living soul moved and refused to die. We really emptied oceans with a home-made spoon and tore down mountains with our hands. And if love was in Hong Kong, we learned how to swim.
It is a mighty heritage, it is the human heritage, and it is all there is to trust. And I learned this through descending, as it were, into the eyes of my father and my mother. I wondered, when I was little, how they bore it—for I knew that they had much to bear. It had not yet occurred to me that I also would have much to bear; but they knew it, and the unimaginable rigors of their journey helped them to prepare me for mine. This is why one must say Yes to life and embrace it wherever it is found—and it is found in terrible places; nevertheless, there it is; and if the father can say, Yes. Lord, the child can learn that most difficult of words, Amen.”
— quoted from the essay “Nothing Personal” by James Baldwin (b. 1924), original published as part of a collaboration with Richard Avedon
Please join me today (Sunday, August 2nd) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Langston’s Theme for Jimmy 2022”]
Can I interest you in James Baldwin & a little Yin Yoga!
The Yin Yoga playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08022024 A Brother’s Love”]
NOTE: The tracks on the Yin Yoga playlist are slightly different in length and duration, depending on the platform. Start with track 1, 8, or 10.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### MORE LOVE ###
FTWMI: [An] Invitation for “‘..what was previously unattainable’ with an ‘Impossible’ Woman & a Sea-Loving Man” (a compilation w/excerpts & videos) August 1, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Life, Meditation, Men, One Hoop, Philosophy, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: "Impossible" People, 988, Aimee Lehto, astronomy, Books, Boyd Croyner, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Hannah Mather Crocker, Herman Melville, I-35 bridge, James Baldwin, literature, Maria Mitchell, Moby-Dick, Muhammad Ali, Religion, Science, yoga philosophy, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra 2.55, Yoga Sutra 4.1, Yoga Sutras 1.2 - 1.4, Yoga Sutras 1.30-1.32
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. Stay hydrated!
For Those Who Missed It: The following compilation post (with excerpts, an embedded link to a related post, and a couple of videos) was originally posted in 2025 as a “First Friday Night Special” invitation.
Class details, some formatting, and some links have been updated/added.
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.”
— quoted from a 2004 Adidas ad campaign written by Aimee Lehto (with final tag line credited to Boyd Croyner), often attributed to Muhammad Ali
In “Part I: The Practice of Yoga — 1. Yoga: Concept and Meaning” of The Heart of Yoga: Developing A Personal Practice, T. K. V. Desikachar offered several English definitions of the Sanskrit word “yoga”, including “‘to come together’” and “‘to attain what was previously unattainable.’”
There are many reasons why something may not have been done or may not have been done by us (specifically). In Yoga Sūtras 1.30 – 1.31, Patanjali highlighted nine obstacles/distractions and four accompanying conditions that we can expect when we practice. The nine obstacles/distractions are disease, mental inertia/dullness, doubt, carelessness/negligence, sloth/laziness, cravings (and the inability to withdraw from them), clinging to misperceptions, frustration (related to failure), and instability (or failure to maintain a certain level of practice). Co-arising and/or resulting directly from the obstacles/distractions are pain, mental agitation (which can come in the form of sadness and frustration), unsteadiness or trembling in the body, and irregular breath. You may notice that these are things people experience even if they have never practiced yoga (physically and/or philosophically). However, Patanjali offers a solution to these obstacles/distractions and their accompanying ailments: yoga and the practice of single-pointed focus. (YS 1.2 and YS 1.32)
In other words, “yoga” — and single-pointed focus — can be the path to doing what some might consider “impossible”.
A portion of the following is excerpted from a 2020 post.
“There can be no doubt, that, in most cases, their judgment may be equal with the other sex; perhaps even on the subject of law, politics or religion, they may form good judgment, but it would be improper, and physically very incorrect, for the female character to claim the statesman’s birth or ascend the rostrum to gain the loud applause of men, although their powers of mind may be equal to the task.”
— quoted from “II: Becoming an Advocate” in Observations on the Real Rights of Women , with Their Appropriate Duties, Reminiscences and Traditions of Boston, Agreeable to Scripture, Reason and Common Sense by Hannah Mather Crocker (published 1818)
Believe it or not, Hannah Crocker was advocating for women’s rights when the wrote the above, in 1818, and stated that “It is woman’s peculiar right to keep calm and serene under every circumstance in life, as it is undoubtedly her appropriate duty, to soothe and alleviate the anxious cares of men, and her friendly and sympathetic breast should be found the best solace for him, as she has an equal right to partake with him the cares, as well as the pleasures of life.” Taken out of context, and viewed with a modern mind, it is easy to think that Crocker would have disapproved of Maria Mitchell, who was born August 1, 1818 (on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts).
Miss Mitchell, as the king of Denmark would refer to her, was the first acknowledged female astronomer. Her Quaker parents believed in equal education for the 10 offspring, regardless of gender, and her father shared his love of astronomy with all of his children. Miss Mitchell, however, was the only one really interested in going deeper into the math and science of what they viewed as “a hymn of praise to God.” She was assisting her father by the age of 12; opened and taught at a school for girls by the age of 17; and starting working as the librarian at the Nantucket Atheneum in her twenties. On October 1, 1848, she observed what she initially thought was a distant star, but quickly suspected was actually a comet. Further observation proved her correct and, after her father wrote to the Harvard Observatory, her conclusion was reported to the King of Denmark who awarded her a gold medal and named the newly sighted object “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”.1
Maria Mitchell would go on to be the first woman appointed to the American Association of the Advancement of Science (also in 1848); the first woman to earn an advanced degree (1853); the first woman appointed to the faculty of Vassar Female College (as their astronomy professor and head of their observatory, in 1865); and, therefore, the first woman in American history to earn a position as an astronomy professor. She is what I refer to this week as an impossible woman and Hannah Crocker may or may not have approved.
Take a moment to notice that Miss Mitchell was raised in a household where her interests and endeavors were supported. Despite the fact that she was born in a time and place where some believed her sex and gender should dictate/limit her vocation and occupation, she was able to focus on her goal, in part, because of her family “‘coming together’” to support her.
“First, no woman should say, ‘I am but a woman!’ But a woman! What more can you ask to be? Born a woman — born with the average brain of humanity — born with more than the average heart — if you are mortal, what higher destiny could you have? No matter where you are nor what you are, you are power.”
— quoted from Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals by Maria Mitchell
We all have some power(s) and part of the yoga philosophy is about (re)gaining access to our power(s). (YS 1.3, 2.55, 4.1) We have all witnessed (and/or directly experienced) how that power is magnified when people “unite”. This is true even when people are together and yet doing their own thing. For instance, individuals are often able to do things in a group setting (i.e., practicing in a yoga class) that they may not be able to do — with the same ease or at all — when they are alone.
Part of the group experience is the energetic power of being together and part of it may be about having an “accountability buddy”, even if that buddy is a stranger with whom you never directly interact. You could also tap into that same energy dynamic when writing in a café or — or, as Herman Melville did, while living in close proximity with another writer.
“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off – then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”
— quoted from Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville
Born in New York City on August 1, 1819, exactly a year to the day after Maria Mitchell, Herman Melville shared a love of the sea (and certain other experiences) with Nathanial Hawthorne. During Melville and Hawthorne’s brief friendship, they were both their most prolific. They also published what would become their most popular works, including Melville’s Moby-Dick and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Both wrote about people who obsessively purposed their goals (something that is encouraged in yoga), but their characters did not always temper their determination with devoted surrender and non-attachment (which is something that is also encouraged in yoga). Lest you think it was only Hawthorne who focused on commandments, read on.
“Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth.”
— quoted from Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville
You can click on the first excerpt below for the original (2020) post about Maria Mitchell and Herman Melville (which has a different yoga philosophy focus) or the second excerpt title for more about Herman Melville.
“When Herman Melville was writing Moby Dick, he wasn’t writing about a man looking for a whale. He was writing about a man trying to find his higher self. He said these words, ‘… for as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all of the horrors of the half-lived life.’
In every moment of your life, as you leave here today, you have this choice, you can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer
Please join me today (Saturday, August 1st) 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08012021 Mitchell & Melville”]
The 2025 practice was a Yin Yoga practice. You can click here to learn more about why we did that practice (and why there is a Yin Yoga element in this Saturday practice).
The 2025 Friday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06042021 Having Our Say / Let’s Get Loud” – I recommend Track 1 or Track 2.]
(NOTE: The YouTube playlist has videos not available on Spotify and the Spotify app may add extra tracks.)
Check out this vinyasa practice dedicated to Maria Mitchell and Herman Melville!
Check out this Yin Yoga practice dedicated to my next “impossible” person!
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
1NOTE: “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” is formally designated as C/1847 T1.
As this is the anniversary of the 1-35 bridge collapse, please hold a neighbor in your hearts and minds today. So many people are suffering with current events, but let us not forget that some people are still grieving and healing from past events. To quote my dad, “Sounds like we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
###” CALL ME ISHMAEL, GOD LISTENS” ###
Honoring the Teacher Within Us & the Teachers All Around Us (mostly the music & blessings) July 29, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Buddhism, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Meditation, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Dag Hammerskjöld, Guru Purnima, Mahāsī Sayādaw, meditation, Tu B’Av, U Min Swe, Vipassanā
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“Chag Sameach!” to everyone anyone sharing love on Tu B’Av! Happy Guru Purnima!
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
“It is essential to perform wholesome kamma or merits, such as learning the texts, teaching others, studying, observing, imagining, reciting, religious services, listening to teaching, taking instructions, and observing the ascetic practices (dhutaṅga), and also reflecting on what has just been stated, with the exact knowledge (pariññā) of the correct view. One who strives relentlessly will give no opportunity for the occurrence of unwholesome thoughts, and will generally have a wholesome state of mind relating to sense-objects arising at the six sense-doors. This, in brief, is habit (samudācāra) of abstaining from lusts that might arise.”
— quoted from the “Strive Relentlessly” section of “Chapter I: Purification of Morality” in A Manual of Insight: Which Can Speedily Lead to Nibbāna by The Venerable Mahāsi Sayādaw (Chaṭṭhasaṅgītipucchaka, Aggamahāpaṇḍita), translated by U Min Swe (Min Kyaw Thu)
Please join me today (Wednesday, July 29th) 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07292023 Still Breathing, Noting, Here & at the UN”]
“The more faithfully you listen to the voices within you, the better you will hear what is sounding inside.”
— quoted from Markings by Dag Hammerskjöld
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### 🎶 ###
Taking Another Look @ Madiba’s Lessons on Compassion, Peace, and Music (the “missing” Saturday compilation post) July 18, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: #46664, "Impossible" People, 988, Charl Blignaut, David G. Myers, freedom, Jesse Jackson, Madiba, Malcolm A. Jeeves, maya, Nelson Mandela, Quote Investigator, Robert Owen, samskāras, Shabbat Chazon, svadyaya, svādhyāya, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Yvonne Chaka Chaka
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“Shabbat Shalom” to anyone observing Shabbat Chazon! Peace and many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside)!
This is the “missing” compilation post for Saturday, July 18th. It includes some new and “remixed/re-purposed” content, as well as excerpts. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it….”
— quoted from a March 4, 1979, speech at Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana by Jesse Jackson1
According to the old adage, “What man can conceive, man can achieve”. And, while there are a plethora of different ways to express this sentiment, the Reverend Jesse Jackson proclaimed a crucial piece of the formula: Belief. We have to believe in the thing that we conceive. We have to believe in ourselves. On a certain level, we have to believe in the world. Belief is the tricky part. Because our beliefs are based on previous experiences, doing the “impossible”, requires belief in something with which we have little-to-no experience.
Svādhyāya (“self-study”) is the fourth niyama (internal “observation”) in the Yoga Philosophy and one of the ways that we can examine our beliefs in order to be understand what paves the way to our success and what gets in the way of our success. We can do a little contemplation every time we practice with the 2026 group sankalpa, which includes the word “beliefs”. We can also do a little introspection by putting ourselves in the shoes of another person — not only imagining what it would be like to be in a certain situation, but, also, considering what we would believe if we were in that situation.
Remember, our thoughts (i.e., our beliefs) precede our words and actions. So, what would it take for you to believe you were more than a number? What would it take for you to believe in your own freedom? What would it take for you to believe in your ability to (help) alleviate the suffering of a whole nation?
“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on me.
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.”
— quoted from Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela, who was born today in 1918, was more than a number. He was Madiba and “Father of the Nation” and so much more. Imagine, for a moment, what you would believe if you lived his circumstances?
What would you believe if you were simultaneously a member of a royal family, a lawyer, and a second-class citizen of your country. Would you believe you could use your personal privilege to fight the injustices that made it impossible for you to live in a free, just, and equitable society?
How would your beliefs change if you spent over 27 years in prison (some of it in solitary confinement and some of it with the least amount of privileges) – while simultaneously being heralded around the world as a hero? Which part of those contradictory experiences would shape your beliefs the most?
Finally, what would you believe if you were a Nobel Peace Prize winner and President of your country?
Now, go back and consider how your beliefs shift/change if consider each belief from the perspective of someone who was also a husband and father, a son and a friend.
Click on the excerpt title below for my 2020 post related to Nelson Mandela, with reference to the Yoga Sūtras.
“During apartheid, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela once summoned Yvonne Chaka Chaka to her Soweto home to deliver a note and a message from her husband in prison on Robben Island.
‘It was just a note to say “your music keeps us, your fathers, alive in jail”,’ the Princess of Africa told me earlier this year. I asked her if Madiba ever told her what song of hers he enjoyed most.
‘Umqombothi,’ she replied. It remains her most popular track.”
— quoted from the 12 Dec 2013 City Press article, “Who was Mandela’s favourite singer?” by Charl Blignaut
What would it take for you to believe that you would one day dance to the music that brightened your darkest days? What would it take for you to believe you would one day raise the glass that marked your homecoming?
Click on the excerpt title below for my 2021 “More Than 46664” post related to Nelson Mandela, with reference to music and vedanā (“sensation” or “feeling”).
More Than 46664 (the “missing” Sunday post, with a reference to Monday’s practice)
“[The reign of truth, charity, and love] are now considerations for the men of progress; for those who are imbued with the sincere desire to improve the condition of the human race, and who are prepared to make personal sacrifices to attain so great, so good, so glorious an object; to attain the emancipation of the world from falsehood, and to establish the universal reign of truth; because truth alone can make all the nations of the earth free from mental bondage, and all the evils thence ensuing.
It is this spirit of language and truth which must pervade the whole mass and the entire of society, before man can conceive what man can achieve, or society united can accomplish.”
— quoted from “Chapter VII. Principles and Practice of Religion.” in “Part First.” of The Book of the New Moral World: Containing the Rational System of Society, Founded on Demonstrable Facts, Developing the Constitution and Laws of Human Nature and of Society by Robert Owen
According to the Quote Investigator, the earliest printed version of the aforementioned old adage can be found in the 1845 edition of The Book of the New Moral World: Containing the Rational System of Society, Founded on Demonstrable Facts, Developing the Constitution and Laws of Human Nature and of Society by Robert Owen. A philosopher, social reformer, and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the co-operative movement, Mr. Owen indicated that the achievements (and beliefs) of one person are predicated on the beliefs (and achievements) of an entire society. Nelson Mandela understood this, believed this, lived this, and endeavored to achieve it.
“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”
— Nelson Mandela
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07182021 More Than 46664”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
NOTES:1 Jesse Jackson used variations of this refrain in many speeches. This particular phrasing is cited in Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith (1987) by David G. Myers and Malcolm A. Jeeves.
### Believe in Freedom & Liberation ###
Taking Another Look @ Madiba’s Lessons on Compassion, Peace, and Music (just the music & blessings) *UPDATED w/excerpt* July 18, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: #46664, 988, Madiba, Nelson Mandela, samskāras, Shabbat Chazon
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“Shabbat Shalom” to anyone observing Shabbat Chazon! Peace and many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside)!
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
Please join me today (Saturday, July 18th) 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07182021 More Than 46664”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### 🎶 ###
FTWMI: A Coda & EXCERPT: “A Little Grace [plus] Compassion and Peace (with regards to Ralph Waldo Emerson)” July 15, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Vairagya, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, Black Codes, Black Hair, Books, hair, Harvard Divinity School, Jim Crow, literature, Poetry, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Religion, shenpa, transcendentalism, yoga philosophy, yoga practice
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following coda (& excerpt) were originally posted in 2025. Class details, some links, and some formatting have been updated/added.
“But when the mind opens, and reveals the laws which traverse the universe, and make things what they are, then shrinks the great world at once into a mere illustration and fable of this mind. What am I? and What is? asks the human spirit with a curiosity new-kindled, but never to be quenched. Behold these outrunning laws, which our imperfect apprehension can see tend this way and that, but not come full circle. Behold these infinite relations, so like, so unlike; many, yet one. I would study, I would know, I would admire forever. These works of thought have been the entertainments of the human spirit in all ages.”
— quoted from the 1838 “Divinity School Address” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can read this coda before or after you check out the post excerpted below; because, it involves a “full circle” moment I had a few days ago [in 2025] when I was talking to a neighbor.
This neighbor, who has known me all my life, was talking about sharing a meal with old friends and about the conversations that did and did not come up during the meal. Then she said that the problem with the world was that we were taught, as children, that it wasn’t polite or appropriate to talk about certain subjects in public. I mentioned, as I do in the post excerpted below, that I learned this lesson in a different way. Now, here, I should note that my neighbor and I have different hair textures — and, ironically, her mother occasionally did my grandmother’s hair — but, she got my point.
What struck me about the moment is how some rules and mores get passed down (and around) without people knowing why they are the rules and laws that govern our behavior. For instance, here in the United States, certain laws related to slavery are no longer on the books and yet people — of all races and ethnicities — behave as if they are still the law of the land.
More to the point: We don’t talk about this! In some cases, we don’t discuss certain things because we don’t want to start an argument — which is why we need to practice getting “unhooked”.
In other cases, we don’t talk about certain subjects because we don’t want to be banned (for 27 years… and 6 days) as Ralph Waldo Emerson was after addressing the Harvard Divinity School graduating class today in 1838.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
A Little Grace & FTWMI: Compassion and Peace (with regards to Ralph Waldo Emerson)
“The intuition of the moral sentiment is an insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul. These laws execute themselves. They are out of time, out of space, and not subject to circumstance. Thus; in the soul of man there is a justice whose retributions are instant and entire. He who does a good deed, is instantly ennobled. He who does a mean deed, is by the action itself contracted. He who puts off impurity, thereby puts on purity. If a man is at heart just, then in so far is he God; the safety of God, the immortality of God, the majesty of God do enter into that man with justice. If a man dissemble, deceive, he deceives himself, and goes out of acquaintance with his own being. A man in the view of absolute goodness, adores, with total humility. Every step so downward, is a step upward. The man who renounces himself, comes to himself.”
— quoted from the 1838 “Divinity School Address” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Please join me today (Wednesday, July 15th) 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07152020 Peace & Compassion RWE”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### Peace In, Peace Out ###
FTWMI (repost): A Quick Note & Excerpts About Practicing the R’s July 14, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Anushka Fernandopulle, attachment, Buddhism, compassion, compassionate abiding, Elephant Journal, loving-kindness, lovingkindness, Matt Caron, meditation, Metta, Mindfulness, non-attachment, Pema Chodron, shenpa, Shenpa & The Practice of Getting Unhooked, spirituality, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted today in 2024 (and reposted in 2025 with the prompt question was, “Who (or what) pushes your buttons, gets your goat, and gets you fired up like nobody’s business?” Class details, some formatting, and some links have been added/updated.
“Somebody says a mean word to you and then something in you tightens — that’s the shenpa. Then it starts to spiral into low self-esteem, or blaming them, or anger at them, denigrating yourself. And maybe if you have strong addictions, you just go right for your addiction to cover over the bad feeling that arose when that person said that mean word to you. This is a mean word that gets you, hooks you. Another mean word may not affect you but we’re talking about where it touches that sore place — that’s a shenpa. Someone criticizes you — they criticize your work, they criticize your appearance, they criticize your child — and, shenpa: almost co-arising.”
— Pema Chödrön
For the record, I am not going to say, practice, teach (or preach) anything I haven’t been teaching, practicing, and saying (or preaching) for years. Maybe I will tweak the phrasing. Maybe you will hear/see/understand things in a special way — thereby gaining new insight. Either way, regardless of all that is happening in the world, it still comes back to this: Sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse.
Yes, sometimes we can do things that make our life and the lives around us better. Sometimes we can write legislation, vote for legislation, and/or vote for people who write and/or vote for legislation that creates more opportunity for peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. Sometimes we can create organizations or work, volunteer, and/or donate to organizations that cultivate peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. There are, however, times when we are too poor — in spirit, heart/courage, skills, and/or material resources — to do anything other than send “thoughts and prayers.”
All that being, I am of the mindset that we can not know what we are able to do and/or what is the best way to respond — rather than react — until we sit down, get still, get quiet, and get honest about our intentions. Once we are grounded and centered, then we can act accordingly. In other words, practice the four R’s:
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RECOGNIZE (that your buttons have gotten pushed and you have the urge/impulse to react).
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REFRAIN (from doing anything, especially that knee jerk reaction).
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RELAX (maybe breathe peace in and breath peace out, or do use a centering prayer).
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RESOLVE (to move forward with mindfulness and intention).
This is the practice taught by the American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön, who was born today in 1936. I often add another R (or two):
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REMEMBER (your intention and why you are doing the thing you are doing).
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RECOGNIZE (again, that sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse).
You may be thinking, I don’t have time for all that “navel gazing” and introspection. And, yes, there are definitely times that require a quick response. At the same time, if you make this practice a habit, it only takes a split second to engage when you really need it.
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“By trying this, we learn exactly where we are open and where we are closed. We learn quickly where we would do well to just practice abiding compassionately with our own confused feelings, before we try to work with other people, because right now our efforts would probably make a bigger mess. I know many people who want to be teachers, or feed the homeless, or start clinics, or try in some way to truly help others. Despite their generous intentions, they don’t always realize that if they plan to work closely with people they may be in for a lot of difficulty—a lot of feeling hooked. The people they hope to help will not always see them as saviors. In fact, they will probably criticize them and give them a hard time. Teachers and helpers of all kinds will be of limited use if they are doing their work to build up their own egos.”
— quoted from “Unlimited Friendliness: Three steps to genuine compassion” (Winter 2009 issue of Tricycle) by Pema Chödrön
Please join me today (Tuesday, July 14th) at 12:00 Noon 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07142020 Compassion & Peace for Pema”]
“Prince Guatama, who had become Buddha, saw one of his followers meditating under a tree at the edge of the Ganges River. Upon inquiring why he was meditating, his follower stated he was attempting to become so enlightened he could cross the river unaided. Buddha gave him a few pennies and said: “Why don’t you seek passage with that boatman. It is much easier.”
— quoted from Matt Caron and from Elephant Journal
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
[FTWMI] EXCERPT: “Impossible x3” (PLUS, a music note & video) the post-practice Monday post August 3, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Amisha Padnani, commentary, Gabriel Popkin, genocide, Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Regina Jonas, Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Religion, The New York Times Obituaries Desk
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Many blessings to everyone and especially for anyone praying, wishing, hoping, and working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
“If I am to confess what drove me, as a woman, to become a rabbi, two things come to mind. My belief in God’s calling and my love of my fellow man. God has bestowed on each one of us special skills and vocations without stopping to ask about our gender. This means each one of us, whether man or woman, has a duty to create and work in accordance with those God-given skills.”
— quoted from the doctoral thesis entitled “May a woman hold rabbinic office?” by Rabbi Regina Jonas
“She told Berna, a Swiss women’s newspaper: ‘For me it was never about being the first. I wish I had been the hundred thousandth!’”
— quoted “First Officially Ordained Woman Rabbi Regina Jonas 1902–1944” by Gabriel Popkin, 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
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The 2022 playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08032022 Always Answering the Impossible Call”]
The 2021 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. Look for “08032021 Answering the Impossible Call”]
Check out the practice video!
“Nothing can hold you back—not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it.
If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power.
The very first step of change is so powerful, the boundaries of time fall aside. In one bittersweet moment, the sting of the past is dissolved and its honey salvaged.”
— quoted from the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman.
### There Is No Call Waiting ###