Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Bright Saturday, Counting the Omer, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023. Some formatting has changed. Class details, links, and an extra video have been added for 2024.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, in the practice of compassion and charity a disciple should be detached. That is to say, he should practice compassion and charity without regard to appearances, without regard to form, without regard to sound, smell, taste, touch, or any quality of any kind. Subhuti, this is how the disciple should practice compassion and charity. Why? Because practicing compassion and charity without attachment is the way to reaching the Highest Perfect Wisdom, it is the way to becoming a living Buddha.”
— The Diamond Sutra (4)
“By this name it shall be revered and studied and observed. What does this name mean? It means that when the Buddha named it, he did not have in mind any definite or arbitrary conception, and so named it. This Sutra is hard and sharp, like a diamond that will cut away all arbitrary conceptions and bring one to the other shore of Enlightenment.”
— The Diamond Sutra (13)
I have heard that the oldest (surviving) book with a printed date is a Chinese copy of The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, a sacred Buddhist text commonly known as The Diamond Sutra. It was translated from Sanskrit and printed today (May 11th) in 868 A. D. on a 17-and-a-half-foot-long grey scroll using a block printer commissioned by one Wang Jie. A handwritten note along the lower right hand side of the scroll indicates that it was “Reverently made for universal free distribution by Wand Jie on behalf of his two parents.” The text itself indicates that there is great merit in being a “person who simply observed and studied this Sutra and, out of kindness, explained it to others.” (DS 24)
While the merit is great even if a person only understands and explains “four lines of this Sutra” (DS 8 & 12), it is a relatively accessible and short text, at about 6,000 words. The Diamond Sutra consists of a conversation between the Buddha and his pupil Subhūti, during which there is a continuous emphasis on the temporal and illusory nature of all things — including the teachings within the text! Despite the temporal and illusory nature of all things (including the teachings within the text) — or maybe because of it — there is great wisdom here. Wisdom that is summed up in the Tom Waits song “Diamond in Your Mind”: always keep a diamond in your mind (no matter the situation or circumstance).
This text can be studied and explained, out of kindness, with dialogue similar to the Buddha and Subhūti’s conversation. It can be explored through a deep seated mediation. Or, it can be studied, explained, and explored through a little movement — maybe even a little heart-centered dance.
“They say that dance and architecture are the two primary arts. That means that you have to have the gesture, the effort – the real effort – to communicate with another being and you must also have a tree to shelter under in case of storm or sun.”
— Martha Graham on Technique
“To walk out of one’s door each morning requires that you believe you are needed beyond your four walls and can offer something. To be grateful for the opportunity to simply walk out and live a life offers blessings and insight.”
— Martha Graham in 1990 telephone and in-person interviews with James Grissom
Martha Graham, born today (May 11th) in 1894 was a revolutionary dancer and choreographer, whose passion was partially inspired by her father’s work as a doctor, who used movement as a treatment for nervous disorders, and the art of Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. Her greatest influence, however, was the work of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Graham once said, “Everything I did was influenced by Denishawn.” And, like St. Denis, Graham would go on to leave an indelible mark not only on dance, but also on music, theatre, and performance art.
Graham developed a technique based on the importance of breathing and movement that was, she said, “fraught with inner meaning, with excitement and surge.” The Graham Technique is based on the idea of “contraction and release” (which is one way to describe the body’s natural response to breathing); combined with “spiraling” (diagonally positioning parts of the body, via a 45⁰ rotation of the spine, that is reminiscent of Kandinsky’s paintings) and Doris Humphrey’s “fall and recovery” (Humphrey’s principle regarding an individual’s constant engagement with gravity, as well as the life-death experience of living). Even though a Graham dancer’s hands and feet can have specific placement, the movement of the arms and legs (as well as the hands and feet) begins in the core, with awareness of the heart.
“The palm of the hand should be forward, and straight out (in) the audience. I give you myself, I give you what I have to give; that’s what it really means.”
— Martha Graham instructing dancers during rehearsal
“When I was young I studied with Martha Graham; not to learn to dance, but to learn to move on the stage. If Martha Graham could have had her way, she would have taught us all how to move – through life. That has been and will be her goal: proper movement through life, the relationship of the body to the mind and the body to the spirit. Martha Graham is a compulsive student of the human heart.”
— actor Gregory Peck on Martha Graham (in a documentary)
The mind needs what it needs to understand something, even ourselves, until it no longer needs a reference point. (People who attended a practice on May 9, 2020, or May 3, 2024, will notice a theme here.) The Diamond Sutra tells us that the concepts of a self or no-self, as well as the ideas that all beings are separated or connected, are such reference points. They are used in the text “the way that a raft is used to cross the river. Once the river has been crossed over, the raft is of no more use, and should be discarded.” (DS 6) Martha Graham used dance as a bridge — a way to express life experiences and emotions, as they were simultaneously shared and unique. Here, with the bridge as well as with the raft, there is the opportunity to go back and forth until you have what you need to live nobly through this thing we call life.
“Each one of us has all of life in us. And it is our choice to decide what we will reveal…. How many drops of blood have gone into the making of you? How much memory is in that drop of blood?”
— Martha Graham on life, living, and dancing
“Art is memory. It is the excavation of so many memories we have had–of our mothers, our best and worst moments, of glorious experiences we have had with friends or films or music or dance or a lovely afternoon on a sloping, green hill. All of this enters us and, if we are artists, must be shared, handed over to others. This is why it is so important to know what came before you. It is also important to understand that things will follow you, and they may come along and make your work look pedestrian and silly. This is fine; this is progress. We have to work with what life presents to us, and we have to work as well as we can while we can”
— Martha Graham in a 1990 telephone interview with James Grissom
Please join me today (Saturday, May the 11th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom featuring a sequence inspired by Graham Technique. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05112021 Martha and the Diamond”]
NOTE: The original 2020 post included additional inspiration, which I will add to the YouTube playlist.
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”
— Martha Graham to biographer Agnes de Mille (printed in Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham, 1992)
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).
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Bright Friday (as I post this), Counting the Omer, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).
This is the “missing” post for Tuesday, May 8th, which was World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day and White Lotus Day. There are several passing references to war and situations related to wars. 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).
“‘Arjuna, I will now enumerate the marks of the devotee I most dearly love. I love the one who harbors no ill will toward any living being, who returns love for hatred, who is friendly and compassionate toward all. I love the devotee who is beyond “I” and “mine,” unperturbed by pain and not elated by pleasure, who possesses firm faith, is forgiving, ever contented and ever meditating on Me.
“‘I love the peaceful devotee who is neither a source of agitation in the world nor agitated by the world. I love those who are free of fear, envy, and other annoyances that the world brings, who accept the knocks that come their way as blessings in disguise.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (12.13 – 14 and 12.15) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Just like other emotions, energies, and manifestations of the Divine, Love is something that can be felt, but not touched. It can manifest in a lot of different ways and we can express it in a lot of different ways, but we can’t actually hold it in our hands or in our arms. What we can do is hold each other and, in doing so, express a symbol of our love.
Symbols come up a lot in the physical practices of yoga for several reasons. First, many poses are named after things which hold meaning either through their stories and/or through our association with the idea behind the object. For example, when we think of a pose inspired by Virabhadra as a “Hero-Friend Pose” and/or a “Warrior Pose,” we can consider the qualities that make someone a hero-friend and/or a warrior. We could also think of the story of Daksha, Sati, Shiva, and Virabhadra as a cautionary tale about how our actions affect others and how we channel strong emotions (like anger and grief).
The practice can also be symbolic when we view the mind-body through an energetic lens, like the ones offered by the chakra system (as it comes to us from Āyurveda), the meridian system (as it comes to us from Traditional Chinese Medicine), Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah), and other indigenous systems. In all three of the cited examples, each part of the mind-body can be energetically and symbolically related to a plethora of things, including: different colors, different elements, different minerals, (the energy of) different organs, and different emotions.
Love is often associated with one or both arms. In fact, in Kabbalah, chesed (“loving-kindness”) is associated with the right arm and is the primary focus of the first week when people start Counting the Omer on the second night of Passover. I mentioned last week that chesed is also the focus of the first day of each week and that the second week and second day of each week highlights gevurah (“strength” and “discipline”), which is associated with the left arm. Tuesday at sunset marked the beginning of the third week which brings awareness to tiferet (“balance,”“compassion,” “beauty,” “harmony,” and “justice”) and is associated with the torso. Coincidentally, this week’s Wednesday classes overlapped the end of Day 15 and the beginning of Day 16, as well as two celebrations that highlight the beauty that happens when we balance loving-kindness and strength, with compassion, discipline, and (to a certain extent) justice.
“‘I love devotees whose attitudes are the same toward friend or foe, who are indifferent to honor or ignominy, heat or cold, praise or criticism — who not only control their talking but are silent within.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (12.18) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Wednesday (May 8th) was World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, which falls on the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Henri Dunant, who was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1828. Also known as Henri (or Henry), Mr. Dunant grew up in a prestigious, religious family that emphasized the importance of balancing faith and good works. His father, Jean-Jacques Dunant, worked with orphans and parolees while his mother, Antoinette Dunant-Colladon, was devoted to people who were poor and people who were ill. By the age of 18, young Henri was involved in the Muscular Christianity movement. He founded a Bible-study and service group called the Thursday Association and the Swiss branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association [YMCA]. He also served as the Secretary of the YMCA Geneva; spearheaded the idea for a YMCA World Conference; and attended the first conference, in August 1855, when 99 delegates from nine countries adopted the Paris Basis, which included an international mission and motto. That motto came from John 17:21, “That they all may be one.”
Around the same time that he was working with the newly-formed YMCA, the philanthropist turned his energy towards international business. He worked for a company doing trade in French-occupied Algeria, Tunisia, and Sicily and wrote a book about his travels, Notice sur la Régence de Tunis (An Account of the Regency in Tunis), which was published in 1858. The fact that one of it’s chapters was also published as as it’s own work — L’Esclavage chez les musulmans et aux États-Unis d’Amérique (Slavery among the Mohammedans and in the United States of America) — indicates that even as he traveled and focused on business, he kept his eye on the needs of the world. This ability to be compassionate and devoted to the needs of others became even more evident in late June of 1859, when he traveled to northern Italy to petition Napoleon III for land and water rights needed by a company he had started.
At the time, the French emperor was engaged in the the Second Italian War of Independence, which was part of the Italian Risorgimento (the unification of Italy), and had achieved a victory in the Battle of Solferino and San Martino. The battle, which took place on June 24, 1859, pitted the Franco-Sardinian alliance (i.e., the allied French army and the Piedmont-Sardinian army) against the Austrian army, with all the combatants being led by their respective monarchs. Over 12,000 soldiers (including officers) were killed; almost 30,000 were injured’ and a little over 12,000 would eventually be designated as missing. Henry Dunant arrived in the northern town right after the battle and was horrified at what he witnessed: Almost no one was caring for the wounded, burying the dead, or searching for the missing.
“The moral sense of the importance of human life; the humane desire to lighten a little of the torments of all these poor wretches, or restore their shattered courage; the furious and relentless activity which a man summons up at such moments: all these combine to create a kind of energy which gives one a positive craving to relieve as many as one can. There is no more grieving at the multiple scenes of this fearful and solemn tragedy. There is indifference even…. There is something akin to cold calculation, in the face of horrors yet more ghastly than those here described, and which the pen absolutely declines to set down.
But then you feel sometimes that your heart is suddenly breaking—it is as if you were stricken all at once with a sense of bitter and irresistible sadness, because of some simple incident, some isolated happening, some small unexpected detail which strikes closer to the soul, seizing on our sympathies and shaking all the most sensitive fibres of our being.”
— quoted from A Memory of Solferino by Henry Dunant (English version, American Red Cross)
Even without the very detailed and descriptive passages in the book, we can do a little svādyāya (“self-study”) and put ourselves in the shoes of anyone who has witnessed the horrors of war. We can imagine the fear, the grief, and a host of other emotions. Maybe we can even the imagine the feeling of being overwhelmed that many in Solferino experienced that day. But, how many of us would have been able to channel all of that emotion — all of that energy — and do what Jean-Henri Dunant did? How many of us would have mobilized the civilians to do what needed to be done — and to do it regardless of nationality? How many of us would have purchased the supplies needed to not only care for the wounded, but to also shelter them in temporary hospitals? How many of us would have successfully negotiated the release of Austrian doctors being held as prisoners of war?
To be fair, a better way of phrasing those questions would be: “How many of us could…?”
In some ways, Jean-Henri Dunant was uniquely qualified to do what he did and to inspire one of the women (in Castiglione delle Stiviere) to use the phrase “Tutti fratelli” (“All are brothers”) in relation to their humanitarian efforts. All of his previous experiences prepared Mr. Dunant for what he did in Solferino. It also enabled him to write about his experiences in his book, A Memory of Solferino. Published in 1862, A Memory of Solferino recounted the battle (which he did not witness), the aftermath, the recovery process, and a plan. That plan kicked off the the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and led to the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), as well as to the Geneva Conventions.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest humanitarian network and is made up of the following three parts:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which “provides assistance and protection to victims of war and armed violence, and promotes respect of and adherence to international humanitarian law.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which “carries out relief operations to assist victims of disasters, in combination with work to strengthen the capacities of its member National Societies,”
The 191 member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which include over 16 million volunteers providing “first-line disaster response services, as auxiliaries to the national authorities in their countries.”
“Would it not be possible, in time of peace and quiet, to form relief societies for the purpose of having care given to the wounded in wartime by zealous, devoted and thoroughly qualified volunteers?”
— quoted from A Memory of Solferino by Henry Dunant (English version, American Red Cross)
Henry Dunant grew up under different variations of the Flag of Switzerland (a white cross on a red background). According to historians like Joseph McMillan, the Red Cross flag was meant to be a colour-reverse version of that flag (a red cross on a white background) and “was selected in recognition of the pioneering work of Swiss citizens in establishing internationally recognized standards for the protection of wounded combatants and military medical facilities.” It was approved in Geneva in 1863, and extended to naval ensigns during the 1899 Geneva Convention at the Hague.
However, there was some controversy about the Red Cross flag; because, the symbol which brought comfort to Christians did not feel neutral to others. The objection to the Red Cross as a universal and neutral symbol led to the establishment of the Red Crescent, which was first use during the Russo-Turkish War — also known as 93 Harbi, or “War of ’93,” (1876 – 1877 / 1293) — and officially approved in 1929. It is officially described as a colour-reverse version of the Ottoman Empire flag.
It is possible that a Red Lion and Sun flag was also used during the War of ’93 since the red lion and sun have historical significance in Iran (and ancient Persia) and was used as some part of Iran’s national flag up until the 1979 revolution. The Red Lion and Sun Society of Iran was established in 1922 and admitted to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1923. Although it is not as prevalent as the other three ICRC-sanctioned symbols, the Red Lion and Sun flag was introduced at Geneva (as early as 1864) and is an approved symbol of the ICRC.
Although they are not officially described as being religious in nature, there is no getting around the fact that the aforementioned symbols have religious significance to people around the world. As a result of those connotations, various countries and organizations around the world have advocated for a more neutral symbol or for a symbol with significance to their culture. For example, the State of Israel has advocated for a Red Star of David and China has advocated for a Red Swastika. The Nazis used a “hooked cross” and, in doing so, appropriated the shape of the swastika, which is an ancient symbol in India, and East and Southeast Asia, as well as in Africa and parts of the Americas, and is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While a Red Star of David is used in Israel and a Red Swastika Society1 was formed in China (in 1922), neither symbol is recognized by the ICRC. Instead, a Red Crystal was proposed in 1992, and officially adopted by the Geneva Conventions as Protocol III in 2005. In Israel the Red Crystal is often used in tandem with the Red Star of David.
“On certain special occasions, as, for example, when princes of the military art belonging to different nationalities meet at Cologne or Châlons, would it not be desirable that they should take advantage of this sort of congress to formulate some international principle, sanctioned by a Convention inviolate in character, which, once agreed upon and ratified, might constitute the basis for societies for the relief of the wounded in the different European countries? It is the more important to reach an agreement and concert measures in advance….”
— quoted from A Memory of Solferino by Henry Dunant (English version, American Red Cross)
In addition to the aforementioned observations (and to being Bright Wednesday in the Orthodox Christian tradition and the Feast Day of Julian of Norwich in Anglican and Lutheran traditions2), Wednesday, May 8th, was also White Lotus Day which is an annual celebration held on the anniversary of the death of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (née Hahn von Rottenstern). The Russian–born American mystic known as Madame Blavatsky or HPB was an author and co-founder of the Theosophical Society. While much of her background is sketchy (as in dubious) and while she and the Theosophical Society (before and after her death) engaged in some highly questionable behavior, she was an influential part of the Spirituality movement and in the popularity of eastern philosophies in the East and the West. Her books inspired people like Thomas Edison, Major General Abner Doubleday (of the Union Army), the poet William Butler Yeats, Leo Tolstoy, the social reformer and activist Annie Besant, a young Indian lawyer named Mohandas Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first prime minister). A list of her critics — which can be just as long and impressive as one consisting of admirers — includes Arthur Lillie, John Nevil Maskelyne, Robert Todd Carroll, James Randi, and Dr. Carl Jung.
During the pandemic of 1889 – 1890, HPB contracted the flu and died on May 8, 1891. In her will, she asked that her friends and family spend the anniversary of her death reading The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold and The Bhagavad Gita. People also meditated on the symbol of the lotus, which some people said grew in abundance in 1892. The lotus is a beautiful and fragrant flower that is rooted in the mud, but blossoms above the water. Used by a variety of cultures and organizations around the world as a symbol for spiritual growth, it’s seeds can lay dormant for at least a millennium and are said to contain a miniature image of the ultimate flower.
In many ways, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is very much like a lotus flower: something beautiful that grew out of the muck, the mud, and the mire of war. Also, remember that it all started because Jean-Henri Dunant need water rights for his company.
“‘Also very dear to Me are those generally content with life and unattached to things of the world, even to home. I love those whose sole concern in life is to love Me. Indeed, these and all the others I mentioned are very, very dear to Me.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (12.19) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Henry Dunant never received the water rights he was originally seeking (and he and his company eventually went bankrupt); but, he created a legacy that continues to this day. He extended the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to include aide during natural disasters, advocated for worldwide access to literature (via an international library) and peaceful resolutions to international conflicts (including proposing a two-state plan for Israel and Palestine and plans for hostage negotiations and conflict arbitration). In 1901, he received the very first Nobel Peace Prize.
Despite the fact that he received monetary prizes like the the Nobel Peace Prize and several other awards, Mr. Dunant spent the last thirty-five years of his life impoverished and in a slightly isolated hospice room. Per his request, there was no fanfare after his death — “no funeral ceremony, no mourners, no cortege” — and he bequeathed the majority of the prize monies to “those who had cared for him in the village hospital, [to] endow a «free bed» that was to be available to the sick among the poorest people in the village, and… to philanthropic enterprises in Norway and Switzerland.”
Even in death, Jean-Henri Dunant was focused on life and healing.
“Healing, a simple act of kindness brings such meaning A smile can change a life lets start believing And feeling, let’s start healing
Hearts in the hand of another heart and in God’s hand are all hearts An eye takes care of another eye and from God’s eye nothing hides [Something about Him is hidden]. Seek only to give and you’ll receive [Strive to give… and you will receive and be given]. So, heal and you will be healed
OUTRO (x2, from Arabic translation):
A heart is in the hands of another heart and in the hand of God’s. Every heart is an eye that takes care of an eye, and the eyes of God take care of a kind word of charity. Your smile for your brother is charity. Every favor is charity. Oh God, heal with a cure that leaves no disease.”
— quoted from song “Healing” by Sami Yusuf
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and (in) all manner of thing(s) shall be well.”
— quoted from Chapter 27 Revelations of Divine Love (Revelations of Love in 16 Shewings) by Julian of Norwich
NOTES:
1 While the Red Swastika Society is not affiliated with the ICRC and has been partially suppressed by the communist government, it is still active as a charitable organization in parts of China and the diaspora.
2 Julian of Norwich was an anchoress and Christian mystic who lived in the 14th and 15th century. Although she recovered, she was given last rites on May 8, 1373, and experienced visions which she eventually related in her book, Revelations of Divine Love (Revelations of Love in 16 Shewings). Her feast days are May 8th in Anglican and Lutheran traditions and May 13th in the Roman Catholic tradition.
In [“Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad] al-Bājūrī’s account the burda—the daytime garment of the Prophet Muḥammad turned, via the operation of dream, into the nighttime blanket that miraculously heals his stricken charge—comes to ‘be’ the poem that [Imam al-Busiri of Egypt] composes as a prayer for his cure by metonymic association with that cure. Yet it also gains that title—as al-Bājūrī goes on to note—by association with yet another burda: the mantle bestowed by the Prophet on the poet Ka’b ibn Zuhayr for eulogizing him at the end of his ode ‘Bānat Suʿād’ (Suʿād Appeared), which earned that work the epithet al-Burda. This last burda is less the sign of cure than the sign of recognition: recognition of a poet’s allegiance, through literature, to a new religiopolitical order.”
— quoted the “Reawakening to the Self in the Arms of the Other” section of “2. The Dismantling I: Al-ʿAṭṭār’s Antihistory of the French in Egypt, 1798–1799” in Disarming Words: Empire and Seductions of the Translation of Egypt by Shaden M. Tageldin
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Bright Wednesday, Counting the Omer, and/or working for peace (inside and outside) on World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day and White Lotus Day.
Please join me today (Wednesday, May 8th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom.You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
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).
“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Chaitra Navaratri!” Many blessings to all and especially to those observing Great Lent!
“All you have to do is open up a little bit and then you’ll be experiencing a part of that person’s soul. It’s just there – in the presence of a beautiful painting, a creation, something created by someone else. This is insight into not who they are physically, but who they are on this other plane. So, what makes it magical, always, is to hear music performed live.”
— Bill Conti
The following excerpt is from a 2021 post about Bill Conti (whose music is featured on today’s playlist):
“Consider, for a moment, the things that can bring people together… even tear down walls. Consider, for a moment, what ‘sooth a savage Breast,’ — music… sweet music.
Born today in 1942, Bill Conti is an Italian-American composer and conductor known for soaring scores that inspire (underscore) the indomitable human spirit. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (for The Right Stuff) and five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Musical Direction for three (of his nineteen) Academy Awards ceremonies. He has also been nominated for a plethora of Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe awards; has had his (television) music on the Billboard Hot 100; and was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He has written jingles and themes for every human emotion and a variety of situations in which we humans continuously find ourselves. He believes in the power of music to bring people together and, in composing music that brings people together, he composes music that opens us to possibilities… music that elevates us.
All we have to do is listen. All we have to do is listen — to the music and to each other — that’s how we open, that’s how we come together.”
“When the audience and the performers become one, it is almost nearly divine, where this oneness can actually meet in some, not physical place, but in some spiritual place, in the middle, not the performers performing, not the audience receiving, but all of a sudden that contact is made and it becomes wonderful.”
— Bill Conti
NOTE: This fifth day of Navaratri is devoted to Skandamata, who is a fierce mother as protector — who simultaneously holds her baby, rides a lion, and keeps her eyes (especially her third eye) open for any and all danger.
Please join me today (Saturday, April 13th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04132021 Reaching A Higher Place”]
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Kanbutsu-e and Hanamatsuri (the “Flower Festival”) or Great Lent!
This is a post-practice post for Monday, April 8th, which includes links to posts that reference the Four Noble Truths. You can request an audio recording of a related 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.
“Everything changes and nothing remains still…you cannot step twice into the same stream.”
— Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesos (c. 535 BCE – c. 475 BCE)
Even though I revisit similar themes throughout the year, the classes are never quite the same. They change because the calendars change — and holidays overlap in different ways. They change because the world changes. They change because the people in class change. More importantly, they change because we change. And, as our mind-body-spirits change, some aspects of our practices change. Of course, as our practices change, our mind-body-spirits change, we change, and we change the way we move through the world — which changes some aspects of the world.
The cycle continues. The shifting continues.
The excerpts and links below are some of the ways I have stepped into the stream on this date.* Even though the excerpts are from 2 different Kiss My Asana yogathon offerings, I chose selections that fit together and highlight the focus of the Monday night class and prompt question (which was, “When it comes to people and things that are no longer part of your day-to-day life, do you spend more time and energy missing them, being grateful for the time you had with them, or not thinking about them at all?”).
NOTE: The 2024 Kiss My Asana yogathon starts this Saturday! Are you ready to Kiss My Asana?
The following excerpt is from a 2018 Kiss My Asana offering entitled, “Remembering the Moon”:
“Remember the moon survives, draws herself out crescent-thin, a curved woman. Untouchable, she bends around the shadow that pushes himself against her, and she
waits.”
— from “Remember the Moon Survives,” by Barbara Kingsolver
“Barbara Kingsolver, born today [April 8th] in 1955, always seems to point her pen in the direction of struggle and suffering. Sometimes the struggle is within a single community, sometimes it involves multiple communities; sometimes it involves an individual struggling to find balance between a community; and other times the struggle is between man’s desires and the needs of the natural world. But, always, there is struggle, suffering…and hope.
The Buddha, whose birthday is also celebrated today by some Buddhists, pointed his heart towards struggle and suffering as well. Unlike Kingsolver, Prince Siddhartha Gautama didn’t grow up with awareness of the suffering of others. However, once he was aware of it, he started considering how to alleviate it. And so, like Kingsolver, the Buddha’s work includes the promise of hope.”
The following excerpt is from a 2019 Kiss My Asana offering entitled, “CH-CH-CHANGES, LIKE A RIVER”:
“The history of Japan and Japanese culture is full of change. Depending on where you look you may find an acute juxtaposition between accepting change, keeping a tradition (without change), and actually celebrating change. For example, most of the Buddhist world celebrates the Buddha’s birthday on May 8th or a day determined by a lunar calendar. Many temples in Japan, however, started celebrating on April 8th every year, when the country switched over to the Gregorian calendar in 1873. During the Flower Festival, which is the birthday celebration, people will pour a sweet tea made from fermented hydrangea leaves over where small statues of the Buddha.
For an example of people celebrating change, look no further than the sakura (cherry blossom) season that is beginning. The Cherry Blossom Festivals that are currently kicking off (or ending, depending on the region) is completely separate from the Flower Festival associated with the Buddha’s birthday.
Sakura usually begin blossoming in the southern part of Japan and, over a matter of weeks, eventually blossom across the whole island. However, by the time the blossoms peak in the North they are already out of season in the South. The delicate flowers literally blow away like dust in the wind. For the heart and mind to hold the beauty of the moment when the flowers peak, with the awareness (and sadness) that the moment is already passing, is known as mono no aware (literally, ‘the pathos of things’).”
— Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesos (c. 535 BCE – c. 475 BCE)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
*NOTE: In addition to citing some information from the posts referenced above, this practice also highlighted the holy month of Ramadān and included passing references to Great Lent.
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Great Lent or Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!
This is the post-practice post for tonight’s “First Friday Night Special.” You can request an audio recording of tonight’s Yin Yoga practice via a comment below or (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.
“The body is like a pot with the lid on lift the lid to see if it is filled with the Water of Life or the poison of death. Focus on the contents and you will become a master focus on the pot and you will be misguided. Your eyes only see the body while the spiritual eye perceives the soul.”
— quoted from the poem by Rumi as published in Rumi’s Little Book of Life: The Garden of the Soul, the Heart, and the Spirit, translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin (with an introduction by Narguess Farzad)
This First Friday Night Special fell on a night that could be, might be (and to many probably is), one of the holiest nights of Ramadān: Laylat al-Qadr. Since April is Poetry Month, there was poetry as well as an explanation about this sacred time. While I ultimately did not include references to scripture related to the the Octave of Easter, there was a bit of context about why we were focusing on these observations — and, really, a little context about why we focus on more than the body (as well as why that often includes things outside of the Yoga Philosophy lineage). This post is just a little expansion of the explanatory comma (with an excerpt related to Laylat al-Qadr).
As often happens at least once year, someone said they weren’t sure where I was going with my narrative. In this particular case (on Monday), the confusion was understandable and (to be honest) a little intentional. Later in the week, a very wise and dear friend asked me why I teach the things I teach. In some ways, these are the same question: What’s the proverbial (or metaphorical) destination? What’s the point?
I actually ask myself these questions all the and I normally have pretty standard answers. These standard answers can be delivered via any number of stories from any number of cultures, authors, songs, historical events, and/or my own history. For instance, since I grew up around so many cultures and religious traditions, I like “…looking at the same mountains from different angles.” (to quote Paulo Coelho) and value the richness and wisdom that can be found in so many manifestations of humanity. However, as we see in many of the Eastern philosophies and traditional sciences, everything has a flipside.
Just as some people have riches, some people have next to nothing. Just as some people are grateful for everything, some people are never satisfied. Just as some people take without thinking, some people give without thought. Just as some people have the time and the space to sit and meditate in quiet, some people are in the middle of (external and/or internal) battles. Just as some people express love and kindness, some people express anger and frustration. There is joy and peace, just as there is anxiety and worry. There is fear and there is wisdom.
Sometimes I find that dichotomy exhausting. In fact, I recently admitted to some friends that I’ve been feeling a little world-weary. That weariness has made it hard to put in the work to do certain things… to teach certain things — even to blog about certain things.
I know I am not alone in this…. I also know some ways to overcome this. That is one of the reasons I do what I do. Because, whatever we do (or don’t do) and how ever we do it (or don’t do it), makes an impact and leaves an impression.
“Use your time wisely. Spend it only in pursuit of things that are good. Hold the world in your hand if you so desire, but never let the world use your heart as its abode. Your understanding of the world around you will be based off of how you take care of the world within you. Treat your heart as something precious and let only what is good for [it] have the privilege of receiving its love.”
— quoted from a 2013 “Ramadān Reflection” for Huffington Post by Imam Khalid Latif
Our thoughts, words, and deeds make an impact on our own self, on the world, and on those around us. That’s what Dame Jane Goodall was saying on Wednesday… and that’s one of the lessons of the Yoga Philosophy: Everything we do is planting a seed — and also, nourishing, harvesting, and/or uprooting what has been planted.
We see it in all the major religions and philosophies and in various sacred texts and scriptures. Throughout the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali outlined how we can be more conscious about the seeds we are planting and the seeds we need to uproot. In the Book of Proverbs — Mishlei, before King Solomon emphasized the importance of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment, and patience as being connected to “righteousness, justice, and equity, every good path” (P — M 2:9), he talked about the different ways “[one] who sows injustice will reap violence” (P — M 22:8). Of course, the latter sentiment is echoed in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (6:7), where it is applied to whatever/everything. While it is spelled out in different ways by different authors, the message is the same.
We are creating the world in which we live and we are creating the path we will ultimately walk.
“Once a believer asked the angel of the Gate, ‘Is it true that hell is the road through which both believers and unbelievers pass? For on my way here I saw neither smoke nor fire.’ ‘The road you passed was hell indeed,’ the angel smiled. ‘but since you have overcome your lower nature to you it appears as a garden. Having planted the seeds of devotion, you transformed the fire of anger into compassion and ignorance into wisdom. The thorns of envy have turned into roses so now your fiery soul has become a rose garden where nightingales sing praises.’”
— quoted from the poem by Rumi as published in Rumi’s Little Book of Life: The Garden of the Soul, the Heart, and the Spirit, translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin (with an introduction by Narguess Farzad)
The following excerpt is from a 2022 “renewed” post:
“Laylat al-Qadr, translated as ‘Night of Power,’ ‘Night of Destiny,’ ‘Night of Value,’ ‘Night of Measure,’ ‘Night of Decree’ or ‘Night of Honour,’ commemorates the anniversary of the Qur’ān being reveled to the angel Gabriel in a verse-by-verse recitation, which Gabriel then recited to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) over the last 23 years of his (the Prophet’s) life. It is also considered the night when a certain evil spirit can do no harm/evil, when past transgressions are forgiven, and when Allah decides everyone’s destiny. (Notice the similarity to the High Holidays in Judaism?) It is a night so powerful that people will stay up all night praying because it is believed their prayers are more powerful on this most holy night.
The April First Friday Night Special features a Yin Yoga Yoga practice (partially inspired by Sarah Powers and Yin Yoga with Matt). It is accessible and open to all.
Prop wise, this is a kitchen sink practice. You can practice without props or you can use “studio” and/or “householder” props. Example of “Studio” props: 1 – 2 blankets, 2 – 3 blocks, a bolster, a strap, and an eye pillow. Example of “Householder” props: 1 – 2 blankets or bath towels, 2 – 3 books (similar in size), 2 standard pillows (or 1 body pillow), a belt/tie/sash, and a face towel.
You may want extra layers (as your body may cool down during this practice).
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ramadan 2024: Planting & Transforming”]
Some quick notes about the music: First, my playlists for the final days of Ramadān are not halal (“permissible”) in all Islamic traditions, because of the orchestrations. The do, however, feature musicians who are Muslim (with a few exceptions). This First Friday Night Special playlist is all instrumental (during the practice); includes women as musicians and composers; and the YouTube version currently includes some additional before/after music. Please note that all practices can be done without music and, in fact, some people prefer practicing yoga without music.
One of the notable exceptions — notable, because on the other Ramadān playlists she is the only female soloist and the only non-Muslim singer — is Reba McEntire. While this playlist is a little different, her song “Pray for Peace” is on the playlists because she re-released it during the month of Ramadān in 2014 — but not just randomly in the month, the song was released in the last ten days of the month!
Additionally, there are some songs on the playlist that are Nasheeds (meaning they are religiously moral songs) that, in some traditions, are meant to be sung without instrumentation or only with percussion. I have, however, included orchestrated versions of these songs, because this seems to have worked best in an in-studio setting. I mean no disrespect by this choice. As far as I know, percussion or voice only recordings of the Nasheeds are available (if you want to build your own playlist). Alternatively, you can practice without the music.
Finally, one of the songs is on the playlist three (3) times and was inspired by “the stories in In Baghdad Dreaming Of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming Of Baghdad by Rumi and by The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.” The song is moving in English (and as an instrumental, which is how it shows up during the practice), but it is next level in Arabic. Let’s go. Better yet, let’s make the whole world feel like home.
### ARE YOU READY TO KISS MY ASANA?
(April 13th – 19th) ###
Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Passion Saturday / Holy Saturday or Great Lent on National Doctors’ Day and throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and during all other seasons!
“This year however, we are experiencing, more than ever, the great silence of Holy Saturday. We can imagine ourselves in the position of the women on that day. They, like us, had before their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened all too suddenly. They had seen death and it weighed on their hearts. Pain was mixed with fear: would they suffer the same fate as the Master? Then too there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour.
Yet in this situation the women did not allow themselves to be paralyzed. They did not give in to the gloom of sorrow and regret, they did not morosely close in on themselves, or flee from reality. They were doing something simple yet extraordinary: preparing at home the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They did not stop loving; in the darkness of their hearts, they lit a flame of mercy. Our Lady spent that Saturday, the day that would be dedicated to her, in prayer and hope. She responded to sorrow with trust in the Lord. Unbeknownst to these women, they were making preparations, in the darkness of that Sabbath, for ‘the dawn of the first day of the week’, the day that would change history. Jesus, like a seed buried in the ground, was about to make new life blossom in the world; and these women, by prayer and love, were helping to make that hope flower. How many people, in these sad days, have done and are still doing what those women did, sowing seeds of hope! With small gestures of care, affection and prayer.”
— Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis, Easter Vigil, Holy Saturday, 11 April 2020
Please join me today (Saturday, March 30th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06052021 The Last Appointment”]
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Passion Week / Holy Week on Spy Wednesday or Great Lent, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and during all other seasons!
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”
— Jaques quoted from Act II, Scene vii, of As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Please join me today (Wednesday, March 27th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Spy Wednesday 2022”]
“Every person is unique and yet also like every other person. Our visible, external appearance is different from everyone else’s, of course, that is all well and good, but there is also something inside each and every one of us which belongs to that person alone—which is that person alone. We might call this their spirit, or their soul. Or else we can decide not to label it at all in words, just leave it alone.
But while we are all unlike one another, we’re alike too. People from every part of the world are fundamentally similar, no matter what language we speak, what skin color we have, what hair color we have.”
— quoted from “Art is Peace” the 2024 World Theatre Day message by Jon Fosse (translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls)
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Passion Tuesday / Holy Tuesday or Great Lent throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and during all other seasons!
“Something we were withholding made us weak Until we found out that it was ourselves We were withholding from our land of living, And forthwith found salvation in surrender.”
— quoted from the poem “The Gift Outright” by Robert Frost (b. 1874)
“We have not long to love.
Light does not stay.
The tender things are those
we fold away.”
— quoted from the poem “We Have Not Long to Love” by Tennessee Williams (b. 1911)
Please join me today (Tuesday, March 26th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTubeand Spotify. [Look for “Passion Tuesday April 7, 2020” or “04072020 Passion Tuesday.”]
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings and compassion to all, and especially to those observing Lent and/or the 19-Day Fast throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
“Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world.”
— an anonymous person Mississippi, quoted in The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren
Please join me today (Saturday, March 16th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08312021 Emerson Thinking”]
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.)
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A Joyful Practice 