Getting Mystical, again (“missing” Sunday post) February 2, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Bhakti, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Meditation, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Anne Birrell, Interfaith, proverb, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Merton
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*** Are you an email subscriber who missed the Saturday post (because I forgot to change the heading)? My apologies; you can find it here. ***
[You can request an audio recording of Sunday’s 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.]
“Article 1. Whether the soul was made or was of God’s substance?
Objection 1. It would seem that the soul was not made, but was God’s substance. For it is written (Genesis 2:7): ‘God formed man of the slime of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man was made a living soul.’ But he who breathes sends forth something of himself. Therefore the soul, whereby man lives, is of the Divine substance.”
– from Summa Theologica (1a Qq 90, volume 13) by Saint Thomas Aquinas
“When the firstborn, P’an Ku [a primordial being in Chinese mythology], was approaching death, his body was transformed. His breath became the wind and clouds; his voice became peals of thunder…. All the mites on his body were touched by the wind [his breath] and evolved into the black-haired people. (Wu yun li-nien chi, cited in Yu shih, PCTP 1.2a)”
– quoted from Chinese Mythology: An Introduction by Anne Birrell
It seems that since the dawn of their existence, humans have told stories about how they came into existence. We may call some of these stories “myths” and some of these stories “science,” but all of the stories with which I am familiar revolve around air/breath and/or some kind of primordial fluid (usually water or milk). Many of these stories/explanations also involve what happens when that air or fluid comes in contact with soil or clay – and voila! Here we are.
There is something divine, universal, about breath and breathing. We all do it; we all must do it in order to be alive. In the ancient languages, like Sanskrit, Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, people used the same word for breath that they used for spirit: prāņā, qi (or ch’i), ruach (in the body), pneuma, spīritus; respectively. Given this, it makes sense that every culture in the world has a spiritual practice centered around the breath and breathing.
Breath-focused practices are not the only elements that different cultures share; but, they are a natural place to start when we’re talking about yoga. If we were looking at the world and various cultures from a purely theologically standpoint we might also start with the breath. Or, we might start with God (whatever that means to you at this moment) and humans’ relationship with God. Either way we look at it, things can get “mystical” pretty quickly.
“(From myein, to initiate).
Mysticism, according to its etymology, implies a relation to mystery. In philosophy, Mysticism is either a religious tendency and desire of the human soul towards an intimate union with the Divinity, or a system growing out of such a tendency and desire. As a philosophical system, Mysticism considers as the end of philosophy the direct union of the human soul with the Divinity through contemplation and love, and attempts to determine the processes and the means of realizing this end. This contemplation, according to Mysticism, is not based on a merely analogical knowledge of the Infinite, but as a direct and immediate intuition of the Infinite. According to its tendency, it may be either speculative or practical, as it limits itself to mere knowledge or traces duties for action and life; contemplative or affective, according as it emphasizes the part of intelligence or the part of the will; orthodox or heterodox, according as it agrees with or opposes the Catholic teaching.”
– quoted from The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church (newadvent.org)
“2: the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (such as intuition or insight)”
– quoted from the definition of “mysticism” in Merriam-Webster Dictionary
“2 a doctrine of an immediate spiritual intuition of truths believed to transcend ordinary understanding, or of a direct, intimate union of the soul with God through contemplation or ecstasy.”
– quoted from the definition of “mysticism” on dictionary.com
Born today in 1915 in the Eastern Pyrénées (also known as Northern Catalonia) in Southern France, Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Bardstown, Kentucky, a writer, an activist, a scholar and a teacher of comparative religion. He joined the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) in 1941 and became known as “Brother Louis,” and then “Father Louis” after he was ordained in 1949. During his 27 years at Gethsemani he wrote over hundreds of articles and poems and over 60 books – including his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which has sold over 1 million copies and been translated into at least 15 languages. He wrote about everything from spirituality to social justice and pacifism, and lamented in his letters about the very real battle between good and evil that was (and is) playing out in the world. Merton’s dedication to Catholicism did not prevent him from being interested in other spiritual and religious traditions. If anything, his conversion and commitment fueled his desire to know God through all and any means necessary – which is why I sometimes refer to him as a mystical child of God, whatever that means to you at this moment.
On a certain level, “Father Louis” would appreciate the honoring that comes from being open to other people’s understanding of the Divine. His interest in comparative religion was not purely academic. In fact, he advocated interfaith understanding and had a strong desire to personally experience the practices of others. While his spiritual mentor and father figure Frederic Dunne (who became the head of Gethsemani in 1935), supported his interests, Merton’s quest to study Eastern religions and philosophies got him in hot water with the Order’s next head, Abbot Dom James Fox (a former Marine), who always seemed right on the edge of accusing Merton of heresy and blasphemy. Yet, the Abbot Fox still allowed Merton to teach the novices and even supported the establishment of a full-time hermitage.
Shortly before Merton died in 1968, a new abbot (Flavian Burns) became the head of the Order. Abbot Burns had entered the Order as a student of “Father Louis” and supported his mentor’s pilgrimage to Asia, where he was finally able to spend time in the communities of Eastern religions and philosophies that he had so long admired. Thomas Merton died, unexpectedly, while in Thailand after speaking at an interfaith conference.
“If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”
– quoted from Thoughts In Solitude by Thomas Merton
“We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened. But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen.”
– quoted from Thoughts In Solitude by Thomas Merton
“When ambition ends, happiness begins.”
– A Hungarian proverb
What The Reverend Thomas Merton found when he studied other religions and philosophies – and when he was able to sit in community with others – was that the bone-deep desire to be connected transcended theological and philosophical beliefs. Perhaps because we are human, he found that even when certain ideas seemed diametrically opposed there was common ground: the breath, the community, the silence – and what swelled up in the heart when one sat in silence (alone and/or in community) and breathed.
There are a lot of Thomas Merton quotes in this practice. I encourage you to grab one (above or below) that resonates with you. Set a timer for 90 seconds; 5.6 minutes; 8 minutes and 30 seconds; 9 minutes and 36 seconds; or whatever time you have. Get comfortable, get stable; sit and breathe.
Don’t think about the words like an analyst.
Just let them sit lightly on your heart, like the words of a poet… or the spirit of a mystic.
“The first step toward finding God, Who is Truth, is to discover the truth about myself: and if I have been in error, this first step to truth is the discovery of my error.”
– quoted from Chapter 13, “My Soul Remembered God” No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have – for their usefulness.”
– quoted from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton
“The beginning of this love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, then we do not love them: we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”
– quoted from Chapter 9, “The Measure of Charity” in No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.”
– quoted from Chapter 1, “Love Can Be Kept Only by Being Given Away” in No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.”
– quoted from Love and Living by Thomas Merton
“The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”
– Thomas Merton, O. C. S. O.
“We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
– quoted from Chapter 7, “Being and Doing” in No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.”
– Thomas Merton, O. C. S. O.
“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”
– quoted from Chapter 3, “Seeds of Contemplation” in New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
“First of all, our choices must really be free – that is to say they must perfect us in our own being. They must perfect us in our relation to other free beings. We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.”
– quoted from Chapter 24, “Conscience, Freedom, and Prayer” in No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for ‘finding himself.’ If he persists in shifting his responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence.”
– quoted from No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton
“Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.”
– quoted from Passion for Peace: The Social Essays by Thomas Merton
“Merton’s two-step diagnosis of all problems in human relationships: ‘We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves. And we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.’”
– quoted from The Source: Good News Bible for Today’s Young Catholic
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
### BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT ###
Focus/Concentrate on Peace and Non-violence (the Saturday post) January 31, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Gandhi, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: A. R. Rahman, Ahimsa, Bogside Massacre, Khatija Rahman, Krishna Kripalani, Marcus Aurelius, Martyrs' Day, Non-violence, Reheema Rahman, Season for Nonviolence, Simon Reynolds, Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2, Yoga Sutra 2.35, Yoga Sutra 3.1, yoga sutras
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[This is the post for Saturday, January 30th. You can request an audio recording of Saturday’s 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.]
“This is an invitation to a high location
For someone who wants to belong
This is a meditation on your radio station
If you like it you can sing along”
– quoted from the English lyrics of the song “Ahimsa” by U2 and A. R. Rahman, featuring Khatija and Raheema Rahman
After reviewing the first two chapters of the Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras, over the last two weeks, I decided today was a good day to progress. Not coincidentally, the third section of Patanjali’s treatise is the Chapter or “Foundation (or Chapter) on Progression”** and it picks up where the second section (the Chapter or “Foundation on Practice”) leaves off: with the sixth limb of the 8-Limb philosophy, dhāraņā. As I have mentioned in class before, when I first started diving into the Yoga Philosophy, I was taught that dhāraņā is a Sanskrit word for “focusing” – which it is. However, the word can also be translated as “concentration” and “directing attention.”
Some might say that the more classical traditions use concentration; but, Swami Vivekananda (who first introduced the philosophy to the Western world) and T. K. V. Desikachar (whose father was responsible for the resurgence of the physical practice in India and, therefore, the introduction of haţha yoga to the West) both translate it as “holding [the mind to…].” I tend to stick with “focusing”, because it provides a way to track the intensity of awareness/attention as we progress from the fifth limb (pratyāhāra, “sense withdrawal,” which is pulling the senses and mind into a single point) and the eight limb (Samādhi, which is spiritual absorption that comes from meditation).
Yoga Sūtra 3.1 deśabandhah cittasya dhāranā
– “Dhāranā is the process of holding, focusing, or fixing the attention of mind onto one object or place.”
Throughout the first (“Foundation on Concentration”) and second (“Foundation on Practice”) chapters, Patanjali reinforced the power of fixing the mind on a single point. We often, as instructed, start with the breath as it is generally the most accessible and it can be infused (or paired) with the other suggestions. For instance, you can breathe in love and exhale kindness. Or, breathe peace in and peace out. Either way, whether it is an idea, a concept, a sensation, a physical/tangible object, or a person, Patanjali also reinforced the importance of choosing wisely – because eventually the goal is to become one with the object of your focus.
For this reason, we do not focus on busyness; we focus on a peace. We do not focus on violence, but instead on non-violence. We focus on the joy and the light, not the sorrow and the darkness. If we cannot be assured that a “model” person or historical figure is virtuous and free of desire, then we focus on ourselves in that virtuous and liberated state. This is the practice as recommended by Patanjali.
Now, I know, I know; someone is thinking, “But what about all that talk about cittavŗtti? Isn’t that literally busyness of the mind? Or how about, when you mention people who are suffering and all the times you tell us to ‘bring awareness to all the different sensation/information?’ Aren’t those contradictions?”
No, actually, they’re not.
Remember, at least two lojong or “mind training techniques” from Tibetan Buddhism support the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who said, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Furthermore, one of Patanjali’s goals was to bring awareness to how the mind worked in order to work the mind. By bringing conscious awareness to the busyness, the violence, the sadness, the darkness, the lack of virtue, and the suffering, we also bring awareness to our own choices and the ability to choose peace (within us), peace (all around us), peace (to and from everything and everyone we encounter). Notice that that is the end of the Shantipat; and it is also the benefit of focusing on peace. It is also the benefit of going back to the beginning of the philosophy and focusing on the first yama (“external restraint” or universal commandment): Ahimsā, “non-violence / non-harming.”
Yoga Sūtra 2.35: ahimsāpratişţhāyām tatsannidhau vairatyāgah
– “In the company of a yogi established in non-violence, animosity disappears.”
Today is one of six days designated as “Martyrs’ Day” in India. This Martyrs’ Day is the one observed on a national level as it is the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948. Today is also the day, in 1956, when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s house was bombed and the day, in 1972, that became known as “Bloody Sunday” in Northern Ireland. Since 1964, when it was first established in Spain, some school children around the world observe today as a “School Day of Non-violence and Peace” and, in 1998, Gandhi’s grandson (Arun Gandhi) established today as the beginning of the “Season for Nonviolence” (which ends on April 4th, the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. All of these remembrances and observations, just like the observation of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, are dedicated to the goal of honoring the lives of the victims (or martyrs) of past injustices and eradicating the violent tendencies that create more tragedies, crimes against humanity, and overall suffering. Today’s observations are also based on the foundation of ahimsā, one of the guiding principles of Gandhi, King, and those unarmed protesters in Northern Ireland.
Mohandes K. Gandhi was a lawyer by training and trade, who had studied all of India’s religions and philosophies, including Christianity and Islam. He was influenced by the writings of the poet and Jain philosopher Shrimad Rajchandra, William Salter (who was instrumental in the foundation of the NAACP), Henry David Thoreau, the English philosopher John Ruskin, and Leo Tolstoy – on whose farm Gandhi and some of his followers trained in the philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience. Eventually, Gandhi would equate truth, satya (which is the second yama) with God and center all of his public actions around God/Truth and āhimsa.
Gandhi was shot by a Hindu nationalist today in 1948. Although there is some debate around this, his final words were reportedly, “Hé! Rāma.” (“Oh! Lord.”) – which is the epigraph embossed on his memorial in Delhi and part of a legacy that he prophesized a few months before he died.
“I believe in the message of truth delivered by all the religious teachers of the world. And it is my constant prayer that I may never have a feeling of anger against my traducers, that even if I fall a victim to an assassin’s bullet, I may deliver up my soul with the remembrance of God upon my lips. I shall be content to be written down an impostor if my lips utter a word of anger or abuse against my assailant at the last moment.”
– quoted from a prayer discourse, Summer 1947, as printed in All Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, as Told in His Own Words, by Mohandas K. Gandhi (Compiled and Edited by Krishna Kripalani)
“Have I that non-violence of the brave in me? My death alone will show that. If someone killed me and I died with prayer for the assassin on my lips, and God’s remembrance and consciousness of His living presence in the sanctuary of my heart, then alone would I be said to have had the non-violence of the brave.”
– quoted from a prayer speech, June 16, 1947, as printed All Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, as Told in His Own Words, by Mohandas K. Gandhi (Compiled and Edited by Krishna Kripalani)
To my knowledge, no one was ever arrested or charged for throwing a bomb on the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s porch today in 1956; but, witnesses saw the man get out of his car and toss the bomb before it exploded. Dr. King was speaking during a mass meeting at First Baptist Church, but his wife Coretta Scott King, their 2-month old daughter Yolanda, and a neighbor were inside. No one was injured, but the damage was done and a crowd of supporters quickly grew outside of the home. When King returned home, he said to the crowd, I want you to love our enemies,” he told his supporters. “Be good to them, love them, and let them know you love them.”
People were angry, of course, but no one who knew the Kings would have been surprised by the minister’s words, after all, he was influenced by Howard Thurman, Tolstoy, and Gandhi and had been teaching this message since (at least 1952). In 1957 (when he gave the sermon twice in a matter of days), he said, “I try to make it something of a custom or tradition to preach from this passage of Scripture at least once a year, adding new insights that I develop along the way, out of new experiences as I give these messages.” He would continue to teach on love and non-violence until his assassination on April 4, 1968. (In an odd case of tragic synchronicity, Mrs. King, who was not hurt when the house was bombed today in 1956, would pass away in Mexico today in 2006. She was 78 years old.)
“The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape, and agape is more than eros. Agape is more than philia. Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you’ve ever seen.”
– quoted from “Loving Your Enemies” sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (11/17/1957)
There was a “Bloody Sunday” in the United States in 1965, but it was not the first and neither was it the last. To my knowledge, the first “Bloody Sunday” was a London conflict in November 1887, that was followed, the following Sunday, by more protests and more violent conflict. The protests and subsequent violence were related to unemployment and the “Coercion Acts” in Ireland, as well as the continued imprisonment of William O’Brien, an Irish Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Over decades and decades of generations, there would be more “Bloody Sundays” – including some in late January and some related to the conflict between the British and Irish. There would even be the 1965 one in the United States, but the “Bloody Sunday” that happened today in 1972, started as a peaceful protest in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland.
Also known as the Bogside Massacre, this conflict started with peaceful, unarmed Catholic protesters marching in opposition of the internment camps that were part of Great Britain’s “Operation Demetrius” (which would ultimately result in the arrest and imprisonment, without trial, of 342 people suspected of being involved with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the displacement of 7,000 civilians). In full view of the public and press, members of the British Army (1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment – also known as “1 Para”) shot 28 unarmed civilians, 13 of whom died on the spot. A fourteenth victim died from his injuries four months later and the remaining 14 were injured either from gunshots, rubber bullets, flying debris, and (in the case of two) impact from vehicles. Many were shot while fleeing or helping the other victims. Most of the casualties were 17, but they ranged in age from 17 to 59.
Within a couple of days, the British government began court proceedings overseen by The Right Honorable The Lord Widgery (John Widgery, Baron Widgery) who was serving as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. The Widgery Tribunal cleared the British soldiers and authorities of any blame, but described some of the shooting as “bordering on reckless.”
In 1998, a second investigation, chaired by The Right Honorable The Lord Saville of Newdigate (Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate) began proceedings. This 12-year inquiry would declare the killings “unjustified” and “unjustifiable” and concluded that soldiers “knowingly put forward false accounts” about the protesters being armed, throwing bombs, or presenting any threat. As a result of the Seville Inquiry, British Prime Minister David Cameron issued a formal apology and police began an investigation.
It is worth noting, I think, that the Parachute Regiment had been involved in questionable shootings on civilians before the tragic events today in 1972 and that they would be involved in more afterwards. Despite the fact that the Saville Inquiry was criticized for taking 12 years to reach a conclusion, it would take another 5 years before a former member of the Parachute Regiment was arrested and questioned. As of March 2019 (4 years after the arrest and nearly 47 years after the massacre), no one had been prosecuted and the court had decided there was only enough evidence to prosecute one person “soldier F” (also known as “Lance Corporal F”) – and then only for two of the murders, with the possibility of a single charge of attempted murder being added during the trial.
“How long?”
– quoted from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March 25, 1965 speech after the march from Selma to Montgomery and from U2’s 1983 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
The Irish rock band U2 has more than one protest song in their repertoire, including the 2000 song “Peace on Earth,” about a 1998 bombing in Northern Ireland, and the 1983 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” which appears on the album War. Many have said that War, their third album is not only stylistically edger than their first two albums, but that it also marks a transition in mission and message. Even though they have undergone more stylist changes over the years, one would be hard-pressed to listen to a whole U2 album after War and not understand that their music was art with a purpose. In fact, in Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984, Simon Reynolds wrote, “U2 turned pacifism itself into a crusade…” and mentioned the white flag – a symbol of peace and (trustful) surrender – that was a fixture throughout the War tour. Reynolds also talked about the religious and spiritual beliefs that infused the band’s music.
But, for the sake argument, let’s say you missed all that. You can take a look at their lives off the stage and see evidence of the same message and mission that’s in the music. From Bono to the Edge, from Adam Clayton to Larry Mullen Jr., the band mates have lent their time, their talent, their energy, and their financial resources to charitable efforts that have made an on-the-ground difference in people’s lives as well as well as in the global community.
Inspired by the lives of non-violent protesters like Gandhi, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the non-violent protesters in Northern Ireland, the members of U2 (even in their 20’s) had an appreciation for the lessons and teachings that cross geographical, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and political boundaries. This appreciation is evident in their most recent single, “Āhimsa,” which is a collaboration with the composer and award-winning producer A. R. Rahman. Born in Madras (which is now Chennai, Tamil Nadu), Mr. Rahman said the song celebrates ethnic and spiritual diversity in India, as well as the spirit of non-violence and peace.
The 2019 song features Mr. Rahman’s two daughters (Khatija and Raheema) singing in Tamil, a South Asian language that is one of the official languages in parts of India, as well as in Singapore and Sri Lanka. The Tamil chorus comes from the Thirukkural (Sacred Couplets), a classical South Indian text (circa 500 CE) written in 1,300 (7-word) couplets. The kurals (“couplets” or verses) are divided into three sections that focus on virtue, wealth, and love – and they emphasize non-violence on a variety of different levels. The recently released song uses couplets 313 and 319, from the first section, under the “Aesthetic Virtue” heading “1.3.8. Not Doing Evil.”
“Even when a man takes revenge on others who hate him, in spite of him not hating them initially, the pain caused by his vengeance will bring him inevitable sorrow.” (313)
“When a man inflicts pain upon others in the forenoon, it will come upon him unsought in the afternoon.” (319)
– quoted from the English translation of the Tamil lyrics of the song “Ahimsa” by U2 and A. R. Rahman, featuring Khatija and Raheema Rahman (translation from IntegralYoga.org)
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
**NOTE: Patanjali called the third section of the Yoga Sūtras “Vibhūti Pada,” which is often translated into English as “Foundation (or Chapter) on Progressing.” There are at least twenty different meanings of vibhūti, none of which appear to literally mean “progressing” in English. Instead, the Sanskrit word is most commonly associated with a name of a sage, sacred ashes, and/or great power that comes from great God-given (or God-related) powers.
The word can also be translated into English as glory, majesty, and splendor – in the same way that Hod (Hebrew for “humility”) can also be observed as majesty, splendor, and glory in Kabbalism (Jewish mysticism). Also, just as hod is associated with prayer in Jewish traditions, vibhūti is associated with a form of committed devotion to the Divine, like praying or chanting. Finally, hod is the eighth sefirot (or “attribute” of the Divine, out of ten) on the Tree of Life, and vibhūti can be the manifestation of great power “consisting of eight faculties, especially attributed to Śiva, but supposed also to be attainable by human beings through worship of [God].” The “progressing” to which English translators refer, is the process by which one accepts the invitation to a “high[er] location” or plane of existence.
DON’T FORGET! It’s time for a “First Friday Night Special!” Please join me this Friday, February the 5th (7:15 – 8:20 PM, CST) when we will be “observing the conditions” of the heart. This practice is open and accessible to all. Additional details are posted on the “Class Schedules” calendar!
### GIVE PEACE A CHANCE ###
Divine Remembrance (the “missing” Wednesday post) January 30, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Love, One Hoop, Pain, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Allen Mandelbaum, Cliff Eisen, Dante Alighieri, Eli Wiesel, Herman Abert, Holocaust, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel "Izzy" Arbeiter, Jessica A. Botelho, President Joseph R. Biden, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Stewart Spencer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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[My apologies for the very late Wednesday post. You can request an audio recording of Wednesday’s practices 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
“Io non mori’ e non rimasi vivo;
pensa oggimai per te, s’hai fior d’ingegno,
qual io divenni, d’uno e d’altro privo.”
“I did not die, and I was not alive;
think for yourself, if you have any wit,
what I became, deprived of life and death.”
– quoted from Dante’s The Divine Comedy – Inferno, Canto 34 (lines 25 – 27), translated by Allen Mandelbaum
“I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath: imagine for yourself what I became, deprived at once of both my life and death.”
– A popular, oft quoted, translation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy – Inferno, Canto 34 (lines 25 – 27)
In November 1301, Florence, Italy was the site of a great political upheaval that destroyed much of the city, established a new government, and resulted in the death or banishment of many of the previous leaders. One of those people exiled from their hometown was Dante Alighieri, who was banished on January 27, 1302. Dante had very briefly served as the city’s prior, one of its highest positions, and when the new government – ruled by his political enemies – took over, he was accused of corruption, ordered to pay a fine, and to spend two years in exile. But, the poet didn’t believe he had done anything wrong and, more to the point, his assets had been seized by the new government. So, his sentence was changed to perpetual exile (with the threat of death if he returned without paying the fine.)
Thus began the poet’s bitter wandering. He was in his mid-30’s; and while he would participate in several failed attempts to retake Florence, much of the remaining 20-odd years of his life would be devoted to writing The Divine Comedy, a long narrative poem divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In the poem, the poet (and his soul) literally travel through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven (or Paradise) – and metaphorically travel towards God. He is initially guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil, who represents “human reason;” but it is Beatrice, who symbolizes divine knowledge/love and who first appeared as the object of the poet’s great love in his “little book” La Vita Nuova (The New Life), who guides him from the end of Purgatorio into Paradiso. The poem reflects Dante’s medieval Roman Catholic beliefs and draws strongly from the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the great saints he meets in Paradise.
“Article 1. Whether the soul was made or was of God’s substance?
Objection 1. It would seem that the soul was not made, but was God’s substance. For it is written (Genesis 2:7): ‘God formed man of the slime of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man was made a living soul.’ But he who breathes sends forth something of himself. Therefore the soul, whereby man lives, is of the Divine substance.”
– from Summa Theologica (1a Qq. 90, volume 13) by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Even when we have different theological and/or philosophical beliefs, we can agree that breathing is a sign of life, of being alive. However, there are medical situations where someone is breathing and there are no other signs of life. Then there are medical and existential situations where someone is alive, but not living. This latter can be very subjective. Yet, I would argue that there are situations under which almost everyone can categorically agree that it would be really hard to truly live (and feel alive). Those same situations are the ones where it would be hard to take a deep breath in and a deeper breath out.
I think, perhaps, Dante felt that feeling (of being alive, but not living) to a certain degree when he was exiled from his home and had almost everything familiar to him stripped away. However, Dante could still roam, and to a certain degree freely. He lived out his life in relative comfort and he was still free to worship according to his beliefs. He was not persecuted for his beliefs (only, for his politics) nor was he tortured because of his gender, ethnicity, height and appearance, or simply because he had a sibling born on the same day. He could write what he wanted to write and received recognition for his efforts. Furthermore, with the exception of what would happen if he returned to Florence, he did not have to fear being killed for his beliefs – or any of his personal attributes. He may have felt, metaphorically, as if he was “deprived of life and death,” but he still had some control over his life and his ability to live it. On the flip side, the millions of people rounded up, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and killed during the Holocaust, spent many of their days in a reality much like the first part of Dante’s poem: they were actually deprived of life and living.
“‘I [will never forget ‘the very bad things’….] I was there and had to see this with my own eyes,’ he said. ‘My mother and my father, and my 7-year-old brother, were murdered in another camp in Treblinka, which is not far from Warsaw.’”
– Israel “Izzy” Arbeiter, a 95-year old Holocaust survivor and lifelong rights activist, telling his story in “Auschwitz survivor reflects on Holocaust Remembrance Day” by Jessica A. Botelho (for NBC 10 News, WJAR, 1/27/2021)
The persecution during the Holocaust started with social and physical segregation; it escalated into government-sanctioned destruction of property; and eventually progressed to the establishment of concentration camps across German-occupied Europe. Millions fled their homes. Millions more would be held captive and tortured. An estimated two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population was murdered while the world stood by, in some cases in disbelief. In addition to the approximately 6 million Jewish people who died, the Holocaust claimed the lives of an estimated 5 million Slavs, 3 million ethnic Poles, 200,000 Romani people, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled people, and 9,000 members of the LGBTQIA+ community (mostly identified as gay men). This horrifically tragic destruction of society and community during the Holocaust was not, cannot be, over-dramatized. It also should not be forgotten.
In November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 designated January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In addition to establishing a day of remembrance and calling for an outreach program, the UN’s resolution also “urges Member States to develop educational programmes… in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide…; rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or part; and condemns without reservation all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, wherever they occur.” The original resolution is reinforced by UN resolution 61/255 (issued in January 2007), which reaffirmed the General Assembly and Member States’ strong condemnation of Holocaust denial and noted “that all people and States have a vital stake in a world free of genocide.”
January 27th was chosen as a day of remembrance as it was the Saturday, in 1945, when Auschwitz-Birkenau (the largest Nazi concentration and death camp complex) was liberated by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The liberators found approximately 7,500 survivors – not realizing at the time that these “survivors” had been designated as too sick or weak to be transported (i.e., marched) to another site as the Allies were closing in on the Nazis. The Red Army also did not initially realize that the camp complex had held at least 1.3 million prisoners, most of whom had been or would be killed before the other camps were liberated in April and May of 1945.
“For in my tradition, as a Jew, I believe that whatever we receive we must share. When we endure an experience, the experience cannot stay with me alone. It must be opened, it must become an offering, it must be deepened and given and shared. And of course I am afraid that memories suppressed could come back with a fury, which is dangerous to all human beings, not only to those who directly were participants but to people everywhere, to the world, for everyone. So, therefore, those memories that are discarded, shamed, somehow they may come back in different ways, disguised, perhaps seeking another outlet.”
“What is a witness if not someone who has a tale to tell and lives only with one haunting desire: to tell it. Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.
After all, God is God, because He remembers.”
– quoted from an April 7, 2008 All Things Considered: “This I Believe” essay by Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel was one of the most famous survivors of the Holocaust. He was a teenager when he and his family were sent to the concentration camps. His parents (Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel) and his sister Tzipora would not survive the camps. He was reunited with his older two sisters (Beatrice and Hilda) at a French orphanage. For 10 years, Professor Wiesel went about the business of living his life – but he did not speak or write about his experience during the Holocaust.
He did not speak or write about his younger sister or about how his father guided him with reason and his mother guided him with faith. He did not speak or write about the guilt and shame of being helpless or about how (and why) he maintained the will to survive. Then he began to write and speak and advocate for change. He advocated not only for Jewish rights and causes, but also for non-Jewish people oppressed in places like South Africa, Nicaragua, Kosovo, Sudan, and Armenia. In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and he received a plethora of awards from around the world, including the United States’ 1986 Medal of Liberty and the 1992 Presidential of Freedom.
Anne Frank was born less than a year after Elie Wiesel and would spend much of Germany’s occupation of the Netherlands in hiding. A mere five months before the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp was liberated Anne’s family and friends were discovered and sent to the concentration camps. She was 15 years old, basically the same age Elie Wisel had been when his family was rounded up. Anne; her mother Edith; her sister Margot; their friends Hermann and Auguste van Pels; and Fritz Pfeffer, the final person to hid in the Annex, all died in the camps or while being transported between the camps towards the end of the war. Anne’s friend, Peter van Pels, died 5 days after the camp he was in was liberated by the Americans. Peter’s parents (Hermann and Auguste), and Fritz Pfeffer all died in the camps.
Otto Frank was the only person hiding in the Annex who survived the camps. He was one of those designated as “too sick” or “too weak” to be transported and therefore was at Auschwitz-Birkenau when the camp complex was liberated on Saturday, January 27, 1945. He would soon discover that his family and friends had not survived. However, a piece of Anne and the family’s history had survived.
Miep Gies, his former secretary and one of the six Annex “helpers,” had held onto Anne’s journals. Those journals, which Anne called “Kitty,” were full of the day-to-day minutia of their lives in hiding; Anne’s thoughts about the state of the world, her feelings about her family and the others in hiding; details about her first kiss and budding romance with Peter; her personal ambitions and desires; and her passions. She wrote about the things that gave her hope: a tree, a patch of blue sky, fresh air, and music.
In fact, on more than one occasion, Anne Frank wrote about being inspired by music. She wrote about receiving a biography of the composer Franz Listz and about listening to “a beautiful Mozart concert on the radio” with Peter. It is presented as a date, a little living in the middle of hiding. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born January 27, 1756, might have especially appreciated that she wrote, “I especially enjoyed the ‘Kleine Nachtmusik.’ I can hardly bear to listen in the kitchen, since beautiful music stirs me to the very depths of my soul.”
“…music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure.”
– quoted from a letter (dated September 26, 1781) from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his father, as printed in W. A. Mozart by Hermann Abert (Editor: Professor Cliff Eisen and Translator: Stewart Spencer)
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“I first learned about the horrors of the Holocaust listening to my father at the dinner table. The passion he felt that we should have done more to prevent the Nazi campaign of systematic mass murder has stayed with me my entire life. It’s why I took my children to visit Dachau in Germany, and why I hope to do the same for each of my grandchildren — so they too would see for themselves the millions of futures stolen away by unchecked hatred and understand in their bones what can happen when people turn their heads and fail to act.
We must pass the history of the Holocaust on to our grandchildren and their grandchildren in order to keep real the promise of “never again.” That is how we prevent future genocides. Remembering the victims, heroes, and lessons of the Holocaust is particularly important today as Holocaust deniers and minimizers are growing louder in our public discourse. But the facts are not up for question, and each of us must remain vigilant and speak out against the resurgent tide of anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry and intolerance, here at home and around the world.”
– “Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” released January 27, 2021
### PEACE IN, PEACE OUT ###
Who’s Afraid of Breathing? Part II (the Tuesday post) January 27, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Movies, Music, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, TV, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Disney, Edward Albee, Pancham Sinh, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, pranayama, Three Little Pigs, Virginia Woolf
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[This is the post for Tuesday, January 26th (12621). You can request an audio recording of Tuesday’s practices 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
“Who’s afraid of a deep breath in, a deep breath in, a deep breath out? Who’s afraid of a deep breath in, a deep breath in, a deep breath out? Not I!”
– A parody of a parody of a Disney™ song
Even before you get to the fact that I’m making a pun (on top of a pun), one might wonder why anyone would fear breathing deeply in and breathing deeply out. It’s kind of like asking who is afraid of living. Of course, living is different from just being alive; living comes with risks. And so it is very common for people to fear life beyond the simplest forms of experience. Additionally, when speaking about prāņāyāma and breathing exercises, even people like the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung have warned that the very thing that can bring peace and ease can also bring discomfort and dis-ease. It all comes down to how you do it and, to a certain extent, why you do it.
“People put their faith implicitly in the stories told them about the dangers attending the practice, without ever taking the trouble of ascertaining the fact themselves. We have been inspiring and expiring air from our birth, and will continue to do so till death; and this is done without the help of any teacher. Prāņāyāma is nothing but a properly regulated form of the otherwise irregular and hurried flow of air, without using much force or undue restraint; and if this is accomplished by patiently keeping the flow slow and steady, there can be no danger. It is the impatience for the Siddhis which cause undue pressure on the organs and thereby causes pains in the ears, the eyes, the chest, etc. If the three bandhas be carefully performed while practising [sic] the Prāņāyāma, there is no possibility of any danger.”
– quoted from the 1914 introduction to the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh
The “on top of a pun” to which I earlier referred, is related to Edward Albee’s award-winning play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (which premiered in October 1862). When I first learned about the play, I expected it to be about people who feared and felt threatened by feminist ideas. So, I was really confused by the play which, while dealing with characters who (like Virginia’s Woolf’s characters) sometimes have a severe disconnect between what they are thinking and what they are saying, really has nothing to do with Virginia Woolf, or her ideas. While there is a little bit more to the story behind the name, ultimately the title refers to a pun based on the Disney™ song, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” (1933) from the cartoon “The Three Little Pigs” – and the fact that the rights to the song and title were so expensive that people would sing, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.”
In the Disney cartoon and the nursery rhyme, three little pigs made houses out straw, sticks, and bricks/stones (respectively). Of course, the hay/straw and the twigs/sticks didn’t stand a chance against the big, bad wolf and the first two pigs had to escape to the home of the relative they teased earlier in the cartoon. Re-watching the carton as an adult, several things stick out to me. First, there are three obvious breath patterns exhibited by the pigs and the wolf – and a fourth, less obvious pattern of breathing. Second, the characters in the cartoon are anthropomorphic and so the four breath patterns in the story match common breath patterns related to real-life human experiences. Finally, when the characters are not exhibiting the fourth breath pattern (the one of peace and ease) the cartoon characters exhibit the same debilitating conditions Patanjali described in the yoga sūtras (1.30-31).
The first breath pattern is the one that allows the first two pigs to sing and dance (and tease their relative). After years working with professional performing artists, I can’t help but think of the level of training and conditioning that is required to put on a performance. The breath has to be deep and also sustainable. It has to be controlled and measured, in some ways similar to the way we control and measure the breath when practicing certain forms of prāņāyāma.
The second breath pattern is one that can be associated with fear. Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It doesn’t matter if the threat turns out to be real or not, the perception is what kicks that body’s defense mechanisms into overdrive. This breath pattern can manifest as shallow breathing and/or an involuntary breath suspension or holding of the breath. If this fear-based pattern is sustained for too long, it can become a habit – just as it has for so many in the world who have had to deal with extended periods of trauma – and often results in the “unsteadiness or trembling of limbs” described by Patanjali.
The third breath pattern is the breath pattern of the wolf. It is a pattern of anger and or frustration; it is “huffing and puffing.” This could also be considered shallow breathing (and one could easily argue that sometimes fear-driven breathing and anger-driven breathing are very similar, if not the same).
The fourth breath pattern, as I mentioned before, is a breath of peace and ease. It is a resting breath, a breath we experience in deep, peaceful sleep and also in meditation. It is the breathing pattern of someone who feels safe and secure, stable and steady, content and at ease. This is the breathing pattern of the third pig (who builds with stone). It is similar to the first breath pattern in so far as the fact that, with training, hard work and exertion can be achieved while maintaining a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
“We are alive because we breathe. The more harmonious the breath, the more peaceful and organized the mind. Unsteadiness in the limbs and organs caused by a vast range of mental negativity – particularly anger and fear – has a direct effect on the breath…. According to the yogis, fear and anger are the major causes of chest breathing. Chest breathing limits the intake of oxygen and the output of used-up gases. Our lung capacity declines, the level if vital nutrients in or blood drops, and the level of toxins in the body rise. Our physical vitality and strength decline, as does our mental clarity and ability to think linearly.”
– commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.31 from The Practice of the Yoga Sūtra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
Throughout the year, I repeat the refrain: What happens in the body, happens in the mind; what happens in the mind happens in the body; and both affect the breath. And the breath affects the mind and the body. I keep coming back to this not only because Patanjali and the authors of other sacred text kept coming back to it, but also because it is a truth we can all experience for ourselves. We can all gauge the breath and, in turn, use the breath as a gauge to determine how experiences (thoughts, words, and deeds) are affecting us. At any given time, we can just take a moment to notice the breath – and consider which breathing pattern most consistently reflects those four from the story. Additionally, at any given time throughout the day, we can harness the breath – and the power of the breath – by breathing deeply in, and breathing deeply out. Changing the pattern of the breath can not only calm and balance the mind-body, it can also cultivate a little more peace and ease or a little bit more energy. These practices have short term as well as long term benefits, both of which can be cumulative.
Prāņāyāma, meditation, and other practices that might fall under the “mindfulness” umbrella cultivate clarity of mind and also get us in touch with the heart. In the Eastern philosophies, like Yoga and Buddhism, every emotion has a near-relation, a near-opposite, and an opposite emotion. In the case of fear, wisdom is the opposite emotion; and in the case of anger/frustration, loving-kindness is the opposite – these are the expressions of the heart when everything is in balance. Everything is in balance when the we feel safe, steady, comfortable, at ease, and maybe even joyful.
One additional note to consider: Yesterday, I chose not to mention some of the culturally problematic aspects of Virginia Woolf’s biography. However, I will take a quick moment here to address one of the many problematic elements within the Disney™ universe.
The pigs, the wolf, and the overall situation in the Disney™ cartoon are all symbolic. The pigs represent the different ways people deal with impending and inevitable disaster and the wolf symbolizes that something that will destroy the known world. People, especially when the cartoon first appeared in 1933, looked at it as Disney’s take on the Depression; and, would eventually also relate the story to World War II and the rise of fascism. However, like so many cultural elements from our past (and like way too many Disney pieces), “The Three Little Pigs” originally contained a culturally insensitive and highly problematic element: in this case, an anti-Semitic element whereby the wolf was depicted as Jewish. The audio was re-looped early on and, in 1948, Disney™ re-edited the original animation in order to completely eliminate the anti-Semitic trope and move onto the right side of history.
“chale vāte chalaṃ chittaṃ niśchale niśchalaṃ bhavet||
yoghī sthāṇutvamāpnoti tato vāyuṃ nirodhayet || 2 ||
Respiration being disturbed, the mind becomes disturbed. By restraining respiration, the Yogî gets steadiness of mind”
– quoted from “Chapter 2. On Prāņāyāma” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
Tuesday’s Noon playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07192020 Compassion & Peace (J’Accuse!)”]
The Tuesday evening playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10272020 Pranayama II”]
### KEEP ON BREATHIN’ & BREATHIn’ & BREATHIN’ ###
Who’s Afraid of Breathing? January 26, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Dharma, Food, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Movies, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Vipassana, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: bandhas, Haţha Yoga Pradipika, mental health, Michael Cunningham, Pancham Sinh, siddhis, The Air I Breathe, Virginia Woolf
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[This is the post for Monday, 12521 – another palindrome practice! 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.
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 the center and its 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.]
“surājye dhārmike deśe subhikṣhe nirupadrave |
dhanuḥ pramāṇa-paryantaṃ śilāghni-jala-varjite |
ekānte maṭhikā-madhye sthātavyaṃ haṭha-yoghinā || 12 ||
The Yogī should practise [sic] Haṭha Yoga in a small room, situated in a solitary place, being 4 cubits square, and free from stones, fire, water, disturbances of all kinds, and in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully.”
– quoted from “Chapter 1. On Āsanas” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
“… a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction…”
– quoted from the essay “A Room of One’s Own,” as it appears in A Room of One’s Own And, Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
In October 1928, Virginia Woolf gave two speeches to two different student societies at Newnham College and Girton College, which at the time were two of the all-women colleges at the University of Cambridge. (NOTE: Newnham is still an all-women’s college. Girton started accepting men in 1971 and started allowing men to be “Mistress,” or head of the college, in 1976.) The speeches were about women and fiction – and specifically detailed why there were so few women writers who had earned acclaimed (and, to certain degree, why those that did often did so anonymously or with “male” names). She also highlighted the absurd trichotomy between the two wildly archetypical way women are portrayed in literature and the reality of the very different types of women in the room, let alone in the world.
Born Virginia Stephen in Kensington, England, today in 1882, Ms. Woolf speculated about the works that might have come from a woman (say, in Shakespeare’s time) who had a helpmate to take care of the cooking, cleaning, children, and other household business. She also talked about the social constraints that not only prevented a woman from devoting copious time to the practical application of her craft, writing, but also the social constraints and inequalities that could result in what would amount to writer’s block. All this, she detailed, even before she addressed the issue of a market place predisposed to highlight male writers – and she introduced her ideas by establishing two (really three) of the things a woman would need to overcome the obstacles of society: (time), space, and money.
When I first started going deeper into my physical practice of yoga, I looked into some of the classic texts within the tradition. One of those texts was the Haţha Yoga Pradipika (Light on the Physical Practice of Yoga), a 15th Century text that focuses on āsanas (“seats” or poses), prāņāyāma (breath awareness and control), mudrās (“seals” or “gestures”), and Samādhi (that ultimate form of “meditation” that is absorption). Throughout the text, and in particular in the chapter on mudrās, there is a breakdown of how energy, power, or vitality moves through the body and the benefits of harnessing that power.
I would eventually appreciate how the text is almost a summary of the earlier Yoga Sūtras, but (as an English lit major), what struck me first was how similar these early instructions, on a practice that can be used to cultivate clarity and harness the power of the mind, were to Virginia Woolf’s advice to women writers – about cultivating clarity and harnessing the power of the mind.
“athāsane dṝdhe yoghī vaśī hita-mitāśanaḥ |
ghurūpadiṣhṭa-mārgheṇa prāṇāyāmānsamabhyaset || 1 ||
Posture becoming established, a Yogî, master of himself, eating salutary and moderate food, should practise [sic] Prâṇâyâma, as instructed by his guru.”
– quoted from “Chapter 2. On Prāņāyāma” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
“I feel a thousand capacities spring up in me. I am arch, gay, languid, melancholy by turns. I am rooted, but I flow.”
– quoted from “Susan” in The Waves by Virginia Woolf
Just as Virginia Woolf addressed misconceptions about women in her essays and fiction, Pancham Sinh addressed some misconceptions about people who practice yoga and the practice of prāņāyāma in an introduction to the Haţha Yoga Pradipika. Part of the introduction is an admonishment to people who would study the practice, but do not practice it, stating, “People put their faith implicitly in the stories told them about the dangers attending the practice, without ever taking the trouble of ascertaining the fact themselves. We have been inspiring and expiring air from our birth, and will continue to do so till death; and this is done without the help of any teacher. Prāņāyāma is nothing but a properly regulated form of the otherwise irregular and hurried flow of air, without using much force or undue restraint; and if this is accomplished by patiently keeping the flow slow and steady, there can be no danger. It is the impatience for the Siddhis which cause undue pressure on the organs and thereby causes pains in the ears, the eyes, the chest, etc. If the three bandhas be carefully performed while practicing [sic] the Prāņāyāma, there is no possibility of any danger.”
Siddhis are the powers or “accomplishments” achieved from continuous practice. They range from being able to extend peace out into the world and understanding all languages, to being able to levitate and understand all languages, to the six “powers unique to being human.” Bandhas are “locks” and refer to internal engagements used to seal sections of the body in order to control the flow of prāņā. The three major bandhas referred to in the text are the same engagements I encourage when I tell people to “zip up” and engage the pelvic floor and lower abdominal cavity (mūla bandha), the mid and upper abdominal cavity (uḍḍīyana bandha), and the throat (jālandhara bandha). I typically refer to a fourth – pada bandha – which is a seal for the feet; however, in classical texts the fourth bandha is the engagement of the three major bandhas (root, abdominal, and throat) at the same time.
Before anyone gets it twisted, let’s be clear that this introduction is not advice to grab a book and follow instructions without the guidance of a teacher. In fact, Pancham Sinh specifically advised people to find a teacher who practiced and indicated that while one could follow the directions from a (sacred) book, there are some things that cannot be expressed in words. There are some things that can only be felt. This is consistent with Patanjali’s explanation that the elements and senses that make up the “objective world” can be “divided into four categories: specific, unspecific, barely describable, and absolutely indescribable.” (YS 2.19) That is to say, there are some things that have specific sense-related reference points; some things that can be referred back to the senses, but on a personal level; some things that have no reference points, but can be understood through “a sign” or comprehension of sacred text; and some things which cannot be described, because there is no tangible reference point and/or “sign” – there is only essence.
One of the things we can feel, but not touch, is emotion. Emotions can come with visceral experiences and, in that way, can fall into the “unspecific” category, but more often than not what we feel is “barely describable” (or even indescribable) – and yet, writers are always trying to describe or capture the essence of what is felt. As the author of nine novels (including one published shortly after her death), five short story collections (most of which were published after her death), a hybrid novel (part fiction, part non-fiction), three book-length essays, a biography, and hundreds of articles, reviews, and essays, Virginia Woolf constantly endeavored to describe what she felt and what she felt she saw others feeling. Even more salient, she often focused on the disconnection between what her characters felt and what they could describe about what they felt.
The author’s efforts were hindered, or aided (depending on one’s viewpoint), by the fact that she experienced so much trauma and heartbreak; much of which led to emotional despair. She was possibly (probably) abused by one of her half-brothers from an early age. Then she suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 13, after her mother died. Then she had to deal with the death of her half-sister and a maternal role model just two years later. When her father he died, in 1904, she had another breakdown, the severity of which landed her in the country for a period of convalescence. It was during this period that she began to write in earnest (even though the doctors had recommended that she only write letters) and that she would meet Leonard Woolf, the author whom she would marry in 1912. The writing helped, in that she seemed to find some mental and emotional stability for about 15 years. But, she would experience another breakdown after correcting the proofs of her first novel, The Voyage Out. The novel was published by her half-brother’s publishing company (yes, that aforementioned half-brother) and introduced the world to “Clarissa Dalloway,” the protagonist of her fourth novel.
“evaṃ vidhe maṭhe sthitvā sarva-chintā-vivarjitaḥ |
ghurūpadiṣhṭa-mārgheṇa yoghameva samabhyaset || 14 ||
Having seated in such a room and free from all anxieties, he should practise [sic] Yoga, as instructed by his guru.”
– quoted from “Chapter 1. On Āsanas” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.”
– quoted from The Hours: a novel by Michael Cunningham
It is interesting to me that while the instruction for the Haţha Yoga Pradipika instructed a person to practice when they were “free from…disturbances of all kinds” (HYP 1.12); “free from dirt, filth and insects” (HYP 1.13); and “free from all anxieties” (HYP 1.14), the vast majority of people practicing in the modern world do so in order to free themselves from the various maladies that plague them. Additionally, I find it interesting that historians, teachers of literature, and even psychiatrists spend a lot of time (theoretically) diagnosing a young woman (Virginia Woolf) who may have been experiencing (and working through) the most natural of emotions; natural, given her circumstances. Were her emotions extreme and potentially dangerous? Yes, by all accounts – including her own words and her death – her emotions were extreme and dangerous; as were her circumstances. Initially, she was able to work through her distress because she had the support of those to whom she was connected. In the end, however, she was left alone and feeling disconnected.
The Air I Breathe, one of my favorite movies, was released in the United States today in 2008. Inspired by the idea that emotions are like fingers on a hand, the main characters are known to the audience as Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, Love, and Fingers – and their stories are interconnected, even though they don’t necessarily realize it. In fact, some of the most desperate actions in the movie are motivated by fear and a sense of isolation. Promotional materials for the movie proclaimed, “We are all strangers / We are all living in fear / We are all ready to change” and in the movie Happiness asks, “So where does change come from? And how do we recognize it when it happens?” I think both the statement and the question could be applied to so many, if not all, of Virginia Woolf’s characters – and they could apply to all of us in the world right now.
“‘For,’ the outsider will say, ‘in fact as a woman, I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.’ And if, when reason has had its say, still some obstinate emotion remains, some love of England dropped into a child’s ears… this drop of pure, if irrational, emotion she will make serve her to give to England first what she desires of peace and freedom for the whole world.”
– quoted from the novel-essay “Three Guineas,” as it appears in The Selected Works of Virginia Woolf by Virginia Woolf
As I have mentioned before, I consider the 8-Limbed Yoga Philosophy to have very real-time, practical applications and I normally think of the physical practice as an opportunity to practice, explore, and play with the various elements of the philosophy. I will even sometimes use aspects of alignment as a metaphor for situations in our lives off the mat. Given this last year, however, I have really started to consider how āsana instructions from classic texts like The Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali and the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, can be more practically applied to the most basic aspects of everyday life.
For instance, if we spend our time on the mat cultivating a “steady/stable, comfortable/easy/joyful” foundation in order to breathe easier and more deeply, doesn’t it make sense to spend some time cultivating the same type of foundation in our lives? Going out a little more, if we do not have the luxury or privilege of practicing “in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully,” doesn’t it behoove us to create that land? Finally, what happens if we (to paraphrase yoga sūtras 2.46-47) establish a baseline for stability and then loosen up a little bit and focus on the infinite? Patanjali and the authors of the other sacred texts told us we would become more of who we are: leaner in body, healthier, brighter, more joyful, “clearer, stronger, and more intuitive.” In other words: peaceful and blissful.
“lōkāḥ samastāḥ sukhinōbhavantu”
– A mettā (loving-kindness) chant that translates to “May all-beings, everywhere, be happy and be free.”
There is no playlist for the Common Ground practice.
“vapuḥ kṝśatvaṃ vadane prasannatā
nāda-sphuṭatvaṃ nayane sunirmale |
aroghatā bindu-jayo|aghni-dīpanaṃ
nāḍī-viśuddhirhaṭha-siddhi-lakṣhaṇam || 78 ||
When the body becomes lean, the face glows with delight, Anâhatanâda manifests, and eyes are clear, body is healthy, bindu under control, and appetite increases, then one should know that the Nâdîs are purified and success in Haṭha Yoga is approaching.”
– quoted from “Chapter 1. On Āsanas” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
“The human frame being what it is, heart, body and brain all mixed together, and not contained in separate compartments as they will be no doubt in another million years, a good dinner is of great importance to good talk. One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
– quoted from the essay “A Room of One’s Own,” as it appears in A Room of One’s Own And, Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also call the 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.
### OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTHI OM ###
Let Me Reintroduce the Practice (the Saturday post) January 24, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Abhyasa, Books, Buddhism, California, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma, Karma Yoga, Life, Loss, Love, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 8-Limbs, Ed Roberts, Harry Reasoner, kriya yoga, Lee Roberts, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, political science, Rolling Quads, Shotokan Karate, yoga, yoga philosophy, Zona Roberts
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[This is the post for Saturday, January 23rd. It contains some examples not included in the class. You can request an audio recording of Saturday’s 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
“I fell in love, like many people do. We do that as well. And it became ridiculously inconvenient to have my attendant pushing me around in my wheelchair with my girlfriend. It was an extra person that I didn’t need to be more intimate. I learned how to drive a power wheelchair in one day. I was so motivated to learn something that it changed in many ways my perception of my disability and of myself. She jumped on my lap and we rode off into the sunset or to the closest motel.”
– Ed Roberts in a 60 Minutes interview with Harry Reasoner
Last week’s practice included a quick a quick summary review of the “Samadhi Pada” (Chapter or Foundation on Concentration), in which Patanjali explains (in 51 sūtras) how the mind works and how to work the mind. This week’s practice focuses on reintroducing the practice that Patanjali introduces in the “Sadhana Pada” (Chapter or Foundation on Practice), which is 55 sūtras outlining the 8-limbs of the Yoga Philosophy.
One of the things that I appreciate about the practice of the Yoga Philosophy is that it is practical. Granted, the Buddha (historically) did not agree. I have heard that, in his time, yoga as a philosophy was not widely practiced by householders and the Noble Eightfold Path was his codification of a practical practice for all. However, I feel that Patanjali also did this with the Yoga Sūtras. I feel that way because I have seen people, from all backgrounds, practice yoga just as I have seen people, from all backgrounds, practice Buddhism – just as I have seen people, from all backgrounds, struggle with integrating the 8 elements of either practice into their lives. More to this point, however, is the fact that Patanjali starts off the second section of his practicum talking about “Yoga in action” (kriyāyogah).
Even before breaking down the 8 Limbs, Patanjali offers what some have called a prescription for achieving the state of yoga that will cease the fluctuation of the mind. This prescription is a combination of what he will eventually explain are the last three “internal observations” (niyamāh): “austerity or heat” (tapah), “self-study” (svādhyāya), and a trustful surrender to the Divine (īśvarapraņidhāna).
These are things anyone can do – if they truly understand what it is they are doing. Part of the problem in the modern world (and Buddhism runs into a similar problem) is that people get things twisted. They focus on what’s happening on the outside, superficially; rather than what’s happening inside. Even if they know that tapas can be defined as “heat, discipline, and austerity” – as well as the practices that cultivate the same – they might look at a really sweaty physical practice and think, “Oh, no, I can’t do that. That’s not for me.” And, while those styles and traditions can be a form of tapah, they are not the only form – and it is possible to do those very hot or heated practices and not cultivate discipline or austerity, which begs two questions: What are you practicing? What are you accomplishing?
“From a practical standpoint then, svadyaya is the process of employing the power of discernment and maintaining a constant awareness of who we are, what we are trying to become, and how the objective world can help us accomplish our goal.”
– commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.1 from The Practice of the Yoga Sūtra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
Having previously established (in the first chapter) how the mind works and how to work the mind, Patanjali reiterates the purpose of yoga (“union” of mind-body-spirit and an end to the causes of suffering) – this time as it specifically relates to afflicted/dysfunctional thought patterns. He gives a more detailed explanation of those afflicted thought patterns by describing them as ignorance, the false sense of self, attachment (rooted in pleasure), aversion (which is attachment rooted in pain), and a fear of loss/death. He establishes ignorance (āvidya) as the root of the other four and states that this groundwork is established no matter if the ignorance is dormant, attenuated, disjointed, or active. He then breaks describes the different ways of āvidya manifests in the world – which basically takes us back to the ways in which we misunderstand the nature of things – and explains how the other four afflicted thought patterns rise up.
There are examples of how āvidya and the other four dysfunctional/afflicted thought patterns manifest all around us. There are, therefore, also examples of the sources of our ignorance can be the path towards freedom, fulfillment, and more clarity. One example of this is how some people view those that are not considered “able bodied.” Think about the activist Edward V. Roberts, for example. Known as the “Father of the Independent Living” movement, Mr. Roberts was born today (January 23rd) in 1939. By all accounts, he spent his formative years as a “regular” boy. Then, at the age of fourteen, contracted polio – this was in 1953, two years before the vaccine ended the polio epidemic. The virus left the active, “sports-loving” teenager paralyzed from the neck down, with mobility only in two fingers and a few toes. It also (temporarily) crushed his spirit. He initially spent most of his days and all of his nights in an 800-pound iron lung and, when he wasn’t in the iron lung, he used “frog breathing” – a technique that uses the facial and neck muscles to pump air into the lungs.
Now, if you are someone who has not interacted with someone with a disability, you might think – as Ed Roberts initially thought of himself – that he was a “helpless cripple.” You might, like him and one of his early doctors, back in 1953, think that there was no point to his life. You might think that he couldn’t do yoga; couldn’t get married (and divorced); couldn’t have a child; and definitely couldn’t do anything to change the world. But, if you think any of that, just as he initially thought that, you would be wrong.
“There are very few people even with the most severe disabilities who can’t take control of their own life. The problem is that the people around us don’t expect us to.”
– Ed Roberts in a 60 Minutes interview with Harry Reasoner
Just to be clear, to my knowledge Ed Roberts didn’t practice yoga. However, he did practice Shotokan karate. Also, it is interesting to note that (a) the glottis (which includes the true vocal chords and the rima glottidis or empty space at the back of the throat) that we engage to practice Ujjayi prāņāyāma, is the same area he would engage to breathe without the iron lung and (b) once he changed his understanding of himself – let go of his “false sense of self” – he was able to change the world.
Even though he could attend school by telephone, Zona Roberts, Ed Roberts’s mother, insisted that he attend school in-person one day a week for a few hours. She also encouraged him to think of himself as a “star” and to advocate for his own needs. So, when he was in danger of not graduating from high school, because he hadn’t completed driver’s education of physical education, he pushed back on those who would limit him.
He not only graduated from high school, he also attended the College of San Mateo and the University of California Berkeley – even though one of the UC Berkeley deans wanted to reject him because someone had had an unsuccessful bid at college and the dean viewed all people with disabilities as a monolith. At Berkeley, Mr. Roberts pushed to have on campus housing that would accommodate his needs and, once that was established, pushed the university to admit and provide the dormitory experience to other people with “severe disabilities.” The Cowell Residence Program became a model for universities around the world.
Mr. Roberts and some of those students in the Cowell Residence Program referred to themselves as the “Rolling Quads” – and they were very active in changing people’s perceptions and understandings, and therefore changing policy and infrastructure. “Curb cuts,” the ramped opening between a sidewalk and street, are one of the changes that resulted from their activism. After Ed Roberts graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Political Science, he went on to teach at an “alternative college;” to serve as Director of the state organization that had once labeled him too disabled to work; and eventually co-founded the World Institute on Disability (at Berkeley). His activism – including protesting at the San Francisco offices of the Carter Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and testifying before Congress – led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990).
“And I literally went from like 120 pounds to 50 pounds. I also discovered how powerful the mind is, when you make up your mind.”
– Ed Roberts in a 60 Minutes interview with Harry Reasoner
In the second chapter Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali continues to emphasize the importance of the practice by explaining how the afflictions can end – with meditation being one of the methods – and also outlining the connection between these afflictions and karma (“work, effort”), which can be a never ending cycle of action and reaction. In explaining this connection, Patanjali (like the Buddha) points to how the causes of suffering can also be the way to “fulfillment and freedom” from suffering. He also breaks down the composition of the “objective world;” the three properties of energy; the four ways in which we can understand or sense everything in the objective world; and reiterates the power of the mind – both in its ability to delude and its ability to achieve clarity.
In his discussion of personal power, Patanjali expounds on how powerful the mind-body can be and how that power is magnified when combined with the power of the Divine. He also explains that this power, fueled by two levels of “unshakable discerning knowledge,” which fall into seven categories. After laying out this foundation, Patanjali states (just like the Buddha does after him) that his path leads one to the “end of suffering.” The remainder of the second chapter is devoted to outlining the 8-Limbed philosophy, and explaining the benefits of the first 5, as follows:
1. Yamās (External Restraints or Universal Commandments): Non-violence, honesty, non-stealing, an awareness of one’s connection to the highest reality, and non-grasping/non-hording
2. Niyamās (Internal Observations): cleanliness, contentment, heat/discipline/austerity, self-study, and a trustful surrender to the Divine
3. Āsana (Seat or Pose)
4. Prāņāyāma (Awareness and mastery of energy)
5. Pratyāhāra (Withdrawing the Senses, inward)
6. Dhāraņā (Focus or Concentration*)
7. Dhyāna (Concentration or Meditation*)
8. Samādhi (Meditation, Perfect Meditation, or Spiritual Absorption*)
*NOTE: Different English translations are based on different traditions.
Patanjali very specifically states that the five yamās (“restraints”) are “universally applicable” and are not limited by an individual’s identity and/or circumstances. Anyone and everyone can practice them! He emphasizes the importance of cultivating an awareness of opposites, which can be useful in attenuating negative and afflicted/dysfunctional thought patterns, especially in the absence of or in conjunction with the 10 elements of the ethical component. He references seven steps (or stages) or prāņāyāma, as awareness of breath, and basic practice instructions related to the three parts of the breath. He then references a fourth state or experience, which transcends the other parts of the breath.
His explanation of the direct benefits of the first five limbs illustrates how each limb takes you inward in a way that can be partially measured by external factors. Additionally, he points to how the “mastery” of the third limb allows one to practice the fourth limb, the mastery of which allows one to practice the fifth limb, and so on. Even though he does not go into a great deal of detail (with regard to the final three limbs), Patanjali’s breakdown of progression in the practice is shown to also apply to those higher limbs: dhāraņā, dhyāna, and samādhi.
“My bottom walk-away experience that I believe I carry with me every day is that my father never settled for anything and always fought for everything. And he always, always followed his gut, followed his passion, went with it no matter who was against him, and oftentimes there was more people against him than it was for him.
So I’ve always followed my gut and followed my passion. And in so many different speeches, he would always encourage that person to look within themselves, find their passion, follow it. You can’t… You can’t go wrong with your gut. You can’t go wrong with your passion. Don’t ever settle. He never settled. I’ll never settle. I carry that with me every day, and if there’s anything he loved to pass on, it’s just go for it.”
– quoted from “A Day in the Life of Ed Roberts: Lee Roberts Talks About His Father, Ed Roberts” by Lee Roberts
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. (This is the playlist dated 07/11/2020.)
Errata: This post has been updated to more accurately describe the anatomy related to “frog breathing.”
### OM AUM ###
Celebrating a “Teacher” Who Lives Well (the Tuesday post) January 20, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Dharma, Donate, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma, Life, Love, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Poetry, Science, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Deborah Evans Price, Dolly Lama, Dolly Parton, Moderna vaccine, Robin Roberts, Stephen Smith
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[This is the post for Tuesday, January 19th. You can request an audio recording of Tuesday’s practices 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
– Dolly Parton
“When I’m inspired, I get excited because I can’t wait to see what I’ll come up with next.”
– Dolly Parton
There are certain puns, specifically homonym puns, that work really well in class but don’t work at all when read. For instance, when you read “the Dolly Lama,” you might think it’s a type-o and that I meant “Llama” – and that I somehow got confused when talking about the famous cloned sheep. However, when I explain that “Lama” is a term for “teacher” and an honorific specifically used in Tibetan Buddhism things become a little clearer. Hearing it, you might think I’m saying “Dalai Lama,” but, when you read it – and I refer to her as she – there’s no confusion about the identity of this famous teacher.
Born today in 1946, Dolly Parton is a seeker, a dreamer, a reader, a writer, a producer, an entrepreneur, a shopper, a philanthropist, a healer, and a teacher – although she has referred to herself as “A poor sinful creature.” Reading that list, you might think, “Oh, Myra, you left out that she’s a musician, a singer.” But, honestly, when I read about the life of Dolly Parton – the well lived life of the “Dolly Lama” – I feel like her being a singer and a musician is one of the list interesting things about her.
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
– Dolly Parton
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
– Dolly Parton
Saying that her music is the least interesting thing about her does not, in any way, take away or dimension her accomplishments as a musician. Dolly Parton and her fans have assured that nothing can do that!
She has written over 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. She has won ten Grammys (including a Lifetime Achievement Award) and received 50 Grammy nominations. She has also won ten Country Music Awards (CMA) and is one of only seven women to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Plus, she has five Academy of Country Music Awards, four People’s Choice Awards, three American Music Awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. While she is not an EGOT (a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), she has been nominated at least once for all four awards. She’s the focus of a podcast, Dolly Parton’s America, but for anyone thinking she’s just an American Country music star, keep in mind that her biggest audience (170,000 people) was in Scotland. Also, keep in mind that she’s not done yet! She’s still living and still writing.
She’s also still married, which might be a surprise for people who just know a song or two. Dolly Parton married Carl Thomas Dean on May 30, 1966. He’s not much for the spotlight and, last time I checked, had only seen her perform live once, but they’ve made it work for 55 years… and counting. She has said that he’s very romantic and that it’s their first marriage; then – with her customary twang – explained that it’s also their LAST marriage. And that right there, his romance combined with her humor (and twang), might be part of the reason their marriage works.
“I’m more successful now than I was then, but I still feel like the same girl. I’m just a working girl. I never think of myself as a star because, as somebody once said, ‘A star is nothing but a big ball of gas,’ – and I don’t want to be that.”
– Dolly Parton’s response when asked how different she was from 1964 when she first arrived in Nashville, in an October 24,2014, billboard article entitled, “Dolly Parton Q & A: The Country Legend on 50 Years in Nashville and Why She Supports Her Gay Fans” by Deborah Evans Price
Another reason behind her successful marriage might be that Dolly Parton has never forgotten where she came from and has a heart that is, metaphysically speaking, bigger than her whole body. Through her Dollywood Foundation, she has raised money and awareness for disaster relief (close to her home in Tennessee and overseas); HIV/AIDS related charities; cancer treatment; the ethical treatment of animals; and bald eagle conservation. She has also donated her time, energy, and considerable talent to these causes. Not to mention the fact that she has used her considerable wealth and clout to create jobs in economically-depressed areas. In 2020, she donated $1 million towards COVID-19 research and encouraged others (if they could afford it) to do the same. A few months later, Vanderbilt University announced that her donation helped fund the research that produced the Moderna vaccine.
Dolly Parton reads about 50 books a year and promotes literacy through her foundation. In fact, one of the biggest ongoing Dollywood Foundation programs is Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives each enrolled child a book a month, from birth until they reach kindergarten (age 5). As of today, 1,761,167 children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland have received 150,606,052 books! Can you imagine the imagination that is driven by some much reading??
“It was [ahead of its time]; and it did a lot of good. But, it evidently didn’t do enough good because we’re going to always have the same problems in the workplace with women and men….and there’s still work to be done. I still believe that women should get paid equal and should be treated with respect. I’m all about that, you know, and I don’t get out and have to preach it or march in the streets, I write about it.”
– Dolly Parton talking about the importance of the movie 9 to 5, in a 2019 ABC News Special entitled “Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!” with Robin Roberts
It is Dolly Parton’s imagination and hard work that have driven her to create so much wonder, beauty, and fun in the world. In addition to everything else – including helping to raise several of her 11 siblings (she is the fourth of 12) – Dolly Parton has written seven books (including a cookbook); appeared in eight films; and created a theme park, a water park, multiple entertainment centers, and a production company.
“You’d be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!”
– Dolly Parton
“People say, ‘How you stay looking so young?’ I say, ‘Well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup.’”
– Dolly Parton in a February 2019 BBC “Newsnight” interview with Stephen Smith
Given all of the above – not to mention the fact that I’ve left some things out – you may be thinking, “What hasn’t Dolly Parton done?” Well, glad you asked. She has never posed nude for Playboy (or anybody else) – despite being asked repeatedly. She did, however, appear on the October 1978 cover… completely covered by a Playboy bunny outfit. She has also, as I previously alluded, had a cloned sheep named in her honor (because it was created using the breast tissue of an adult sheep).
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
– Dolly Parton
“When the big things in your life get messy, you need to get up and get out. I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. I re-read passages from my favorite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.”
– quoted from Dream On: Celebrate the Dreamer in You by Dolly Parton
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“If you see someone without a smile today, give ’em yours.”
– Dolly Parton
### DREAM ON, DREAMER ###
More of What We Need (the Monday post) January 19, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: agape, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Jr
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[This is the post for Monday, January 18, 2021 – Martin Luther King Day for many in the USA.
The 75-minute Common Ground Meditation Center practice, in the spirit of generosity (“dana”), is freely given and freely received. 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 Monday’s practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
If you are able to support the center and its teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” my other practices, 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.]
“The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape, and agape is more than eros. Agape is more than philia. Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you’ve ever seen.”
– quoted from “Loving Your Enemies” sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (11/17/1957)
The Civil Rights Activist and (1964) Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been a federal holiday designated as his “birthday” – even though it was not officially observed on the state level until 1991 and it wasn’t until 2000 that every state actually acknowledged the date with his name. However, even to this day, there are states that combine the observation of Reverend King’s birthday with the acknowledgement of the rights for which he fought or with the celebration of people significant to the Confederacy.
Even in this, the United States is conflicted.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest orators of the 20th Century. One of my personal MLK Day traditions, as a yoga teacher, is to share his words. Specifically, I am in the habit of sharing his sermon on the “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” (which is a natural follow-up to the practice about Benjamin Franklin’s instruction to “live well”). However, this year, it seems like a lot to focus on the three elements within that sermon (the length of life being one’s inward concern; the breadth of life being the outward concern for others; and the height of life being “the upward reach for God”). Reverend King, himself, acknowledged that “A lot of people never get beyond the first dimension of life.” So, this year, I thought we could focus on one thing – just one, simple, little thing that can make a huge difference. This year, I turned to another of his favorite sermons: “Loving Your Enemies.”
I often lament that I cannot truly share the power of his speeches and sermons in class, because I cannot replicate and share his cadence and emphasis (let alone the power of hearing his words along with the congregation or audience). But, I can share that with you here. It doesn’t have to be today, or even tomorrow, but sometime soon, take a moment to listen (or read) one (or both) of these sermons.
As I have noted before, you can find similar teachings on love in other religions and many of the Eastern philosophies. I truly believe that if more of us live these ideas – fully integrate them into our being – we can all live well.
“Loving Your Enemies” – audio and transcript (from November 1957, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama)
“The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” – audio and transcript (from April 9, 1967, Chicago, Illinois)
“There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate.”
– quoted from “Loving Your Enemies” sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (11/17/1957)
If you are interested in some of my previous posts on Reverend King, you can find my January 2016 post here and a thread of related posts here.
### DREAM ON, DREAM ON! ###
What We Need to Live Well (the Sunday post) January 18, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Dharma, Faith, First Nations, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Love, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Benjamin Franklin, Bridget Saunders, Matthew Hoh, mental health, Richard Saunders, Sebastian Junger, Suicide Prevention, Thomas E. Ricks, United States Marine Corps Captain Matthew Hoh
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[You can request an audio recording of Sunday’s 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
*** TRIGGER WARNING: This post references mental health issues and connected traumas. There are no graphic descriptions. ***
“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”
– quoted from a “Maxim” for August 1738 in Poor Richard’s Almanack by “Richard Saunders” and “Bridget Saunders” (a. k. a. Benjamin Franklin)
Being among the living is primarily a matter of science, but what does it mean to “live well?” What did Benjamin Franklin, who was born today in 1706 (when going by the Gregorian calendar), mean by that very basic principle? To answer those questions we most go a little deeper into the meaning of wellness and a little deeper into the life and times of “the First American.”
Nowadays, when people think of wellness or well-being, they think of physical and mental health – and Franklin would have included that in his statement. However, the general meaning of “well” and, therefore the quality of wellness, is something that is good (meaning it has purpose and is fulfilling its purpose); complete; and effective. As a polymath – not to mention a writer, printer, philosopher, and politician – Benjamin Franklin would have been very familiar with all of these meanings and connotations. More importantly, his life is a testament to the value of living well.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay, English America, Benjamin Franklin was also a statesman, diplomat, a postmaster, scientist, inventor, and humorist. He was one of the Founding Fathers; served as the first US Ambassador to France; and created Poor Richard’s Almanack. He also founded Philadelphia’s first fire department, the Library Company, the University of Pennsylvania, and many other institutions that focused on how people could serve one another, be of use to one another.
“When you’re good to others, you are best to yourself.”
– #630 quoted from Poor Richard’s Almanack (1748) by “Richard Saunders” and “Bridget Saunders” (a. k. a. Benjamin Franklin)
Somehow despite everything else he was doing, Benjamin Franklin was still able to find time to experiment and observe life around him. His infamous kite-flying-in-a-storm experiment (which possible occurred in the summer of 1752) was a little more complicated than it is often depicted in paintings and other dramatic medium, because he was aware that there was a potential risk. Thomas-François Dalibard had conducted a similar experiment in France (on May 10, 1752) and Franklin himself reported experiencing some “numbness” when dealing with electricity. Later scientists would electrocute themselves while trying to recreate the efforts of Dalibard and Franklin; however, Franklin’s work specifically emphasized the importance of being grounded. His work also changed the way people understood and categorized different charges (i.e., positive and negative).
He was once critical of himself because, as he wrote, his experiments were “able to produce nothing in this way of use to Mankind.” Yet, he stayed curious, kept trying new things and eventually invented many things that made life easier for people; including the lightening rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove. While these things all served a purpose and made life easier, maybe even more efficient, they didn’t (in and of themselves) help others live well – when living well is related to purpose and, therefore, related to others.
“Though they have few but natural wants and those easily supplied. But with us are infinite Artificial wants, no less craving than those of Nature, and much more difficult to satisfy….”
– quoted from the “Hardwicke Papers” copy of a letter addressed to Peter Collinson dated “Philadelphia May 9th, 1753” and signed “B: Franklin”
“The findings are in keeping with something called self-determination theory, which holds that human beings need three basic things in order to be content: they need to feel competent at what they do; they need to feel authentic in their lives; and they need to feel connected to others. These values are considered “intrinsic” to human happiness and far outweigh “extrinsic” values such as beauty, money and status.”
– quoted from Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
Ultimately, once we establish the meaning of the living well, the real question we must ask ourselves is. “What do we need to live well?” Whenever we’re addressing life “needs,” I find that we sneak a whole lot of “wants” and desire into the mix. These are what Benjamin Franklin would classify as “Artificial” and that would fall into the category of “extrinsic” values, according to the definition Sebastian Junger uses in his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, which is a discussion on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Born today in 1962, in Belmont, Massachusetts (give or take 10 miles from Benjamin Franklin was born), Sebastian Junger is a journalist and student of anthropology, whose parents immigrated to the United States, in part, to escape persecution during World War II. From The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea to Fire and from documentaries like Restrepo and The Last Patrol, Junger’s work has focused on the life of individuals experiencing war, trauma, and death. But, one of the common elements in his work – an element that is sometimes overlooked in the face of so much adventure, adrenaline, and danger – is camaraderie, friendship, and tribalism; elements that became the primary focus when he started researching PTSD.
“As wealth goes up in a society, the suicide rate goes up not down. If you live in modern society you are up to 8 times more likely to suffer from depression, in your lifetime, than if you live in a poor, agrarian society. Modern society has probably produced the highest rates of suicide and depression and anxiety and loneliness and child abuse ever, in human history.”
– quoted from a June 10, 2016 TEDTalk entitled “Our lonely society makes it hard to come home from war” by Sebastian Junger
“…they visit us frequently, and see the advantages that Arts, Sciences, and compact Society procure us, they are not deficient in natural understanding and yet they have never shewn any Inclination to change their manner of life for ours, or to learn any of our Arts; When an Indian Child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our Customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and make one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading him ever to return, and that this is not natural [to them] merely as Indians, but as men, is plain from this, that when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived a while among them, tho’ ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet in a Short time they become disgusted with our manner of life, and the care and pains that are necessary to support it, and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them.”
– quoted from the “Hardwicke Papers” copy of a letter addressed to Peter Collinson dated “Philadelphia May 9th, 1753” and signed “B: Franklin”
In Tribe, Sebastian Junger actually quotes part of Benjamin Franklin’s letter to Peter Collinson and comes to similar conclusions: that there is something missing from Western society – or, what Junger sometimes refers to as “modern society” – and that something is sense of belonging; a place for all and a purpose for all. Additionally, he proposes that not only is “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” a failure in nomenclature, but that the name itself places the emphasis on the wrong part of people’s experience. His work suggests that it is not the traumatic experience that is a problem – nor is it the person experiencing the mental health issue: the problem is the “post” part; the problem is modern society and what we’re lacking.
Junger doesn’t rely on Franklin’s nearly 300-old observations. Instead, he builds his case using evidence throughout history – and some of the most compelling evidence is about what doesn’t happen, despite trauma. For instance, he describes how different reintegration into society is for Israeli veterans who return to a community where people understand what they have experienced, because military service is part of life. The result of people knowing where you’re coming from and what you’ve experienced? A substantially lower suicide rate. More to the point, a 1% suicide rate among Israeli veterans (which is basically the whole country) versus the United States where the overall rate is higher and 13.5% of all adult suicides are committed by veterans (even though veterans only making about 7.9% of the adult population).
Junger also makes note of the decrease in reported violence, suicide, depression, and other mental health issues when the United Kingdom was experiencing the Blitz during World War II and a similar decrease in New York City after 9/11 – the latter example even applying to combat-experienced veterans who had previously been diagnosed with PTSD. Junger states in a 2016 TedTalk, “The reason is that if you traumatize an entire society, we don’t fall apart and turn on one another; we come together, we unify. Basically, we tribalize.”
“War is life multiplied by some number that no one has ever heard of.”
– quoted from War by Sebastian Junger
“What would you risk dying for—and for whom—is perhaps the most profound question a person can ask themselves. The vast majority of people in modern society are able to pass their whole lives without ever having to answer that question, which is both an enormous blessing and a significant loss.”
– quoted from Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
I’m not a veteran, nor am I an expert on PTSD. So, I can only say that from a layperson’s perspective Sebastian Junger’s work (overall) frames the trauma and challenges of war as well as the trauma and challenges of reintegrating into society. I also think he does a good job of highlighting the physical-mental-emotional ways in which humans cope with danger (and perceived danger) as well as pointing to elements that predispose or making someone more vulnerable to long-term, chronic traumatic stress (such as childhood abuse and trauma, low education, and psychiatric disorders in their family). As a layperson, I feel like he includes the trauma of combat in the discussion. However, his critics disagree.
Junger’s critics (with regard to Tribe) include veterans as well as people who specifically and professionally deal with PTSD and veterans. Those critics include United States Marine Corps Captain Matthew Hoh, whose service to the country includes active duty in Iraq (2006 – 2007) and with the State Department in Iraq (2004 – 2005) and Afghanistan (2009). He has been diagnosed with PTSD, a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and depression – and has overcome suicidal thoughts and issues with alcohol. Additionally, even after he resigned from the State Department, in protest of the escalation in Afghanistan, he continues to combine his experience with his skills as a writer in order to better inform the general public and to better inform policy. He seems to strive, as Benjamin Franklin encouraged, “to live well.”
In a 2016 book review of Tribe, Captain Hoh not only criticized Junger’s premise; he also claimed that Junger did a disservice to veterans by downplaying the role of combat-related trauma. He specifically cited research from the National Center for Veterans’ Studies at the University of Utah indicating a direct correlation between suicide and combat related to veterans who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The evidence – including the examples of a Iraq and Afghan veterans without combat experience having a suicide rate “three to four times that of their civilian peers” and a single battalion (with combat experience) having a suicide rate that was “14 times higher than their civilian peers” – is as staggering as it shocking. It is interesting to note that one of Captain Matthew Hoh’s chief concerns is also one of Sebastian Junger’s chief concerns: that part of the big picture needs to be better understanding of what veterans endure.
“[Tribe] is a very popular book, that has received an enormous amount of media attention, and unfortunately, it is doing a great degree of harm by misinforming people about the nature, magnitude, and reality of PTSD for America’s veterans. It’s hard enough to get people to understand what the guys went through over there and what they are going through at home, let alone if people are misinformed.”
– quoted from a “Best Defense” book review entitled, “Junger’s new book ‘Tribe’ is giving the public exactly the wrong idea about PTSD” by Matthew Hoh (under the byline of Thomas E. Ricks, on foreignpolicy.com, June 15, 2016)
Over this last year, I have repeatedly compared our shared experiences (dealing with the pandemic and civil unrest) to being on a sinking ship. In The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, Sebastian Junger, writing about the men who lived, worked, and died aboard the Andrea Gail asked, “How do men act on a sinking ship? Do they hold each other? Do they pass around the whisky? Do they cry?” I think, moving forward, that we have to ask ourselves – really look at ourselves – as we experience this shared trauma. I think this is especially true if we want to survive not only the collective trauma, but also what happens afterwards… the “post.”
For myself, I can definitely attest to a reluctance to go outside where I might be exposed to racism, sexism, ageism, xenophobia, and all the other –isms and –phobias (let alone corona virus) during a time when so many people seem predisposed to express their discontent viscerally and violently. I have considered, on more than one occasion, what happens when society really starts to open back up and we all start working towards reintegration. I have also contemplated the fact that, just like in other traumatic situations, people have not been impacted equally – so, some will have a harder time coming back together. And, I wonder, how we can help each other come back together given all the fear and differences that separate us.
“We evolved as animals, as primates, to survive periods of danger and if your life has been in danger you want to react to unfamiliar noises. You want to sleep lightly, wake up easily. You want to have nightmares and flashbacks of the thing that could kill you. You want to be angry because it makes you predisposed to fight; or depressed, because it keeps you out of circulation a little bit: keeps you safe…. About 20% of people, however, wind up with chronic, long term PTSD. They are not adapted to temporary danger; they are maladapted for everyday life – unless they get help.”
– quoted from a June 10, 2016 TEDTalk entitled “Our lonely society makes it hard to come home from war” by Sebastian Junger
“If you want to make a society work, then you don’t keep underscoring the places where you’re different—you underscore your shared humanity….”
– quoted from Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. It is obvious to me this group is prepared to govern.”
– quoted from What Really Happened? – A Series of humor essays describing “historical” events by K. Lenart (describing a fictionalized 1789 speech to the First United States Congress (at Federal Hall in New York City) by Benjamin Franklin)
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.”
– #408 quoted from Poor Richard’s Almanack (1748) by “Richard Saunders” and “Bridget Saunders” (a. k. a. Benjamin Franklin)
“Haste makes Waste.”
– #184 quoted from Poor Richard’s Almanack (1753) by “Richard Saunders” and “Bridget Saunders” (a. k. a. Benjamin Franklin)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also call the 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.
### LIVE WELL & LOVE WELL ###
Resurfacing the Quixotic Mind (the Saturday post) January 16, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Meditation, Music, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Alan Bergman, Dale Wasserman, Frank Zamboni, Joe Darion, klishtaklishta, klişţāklişţāh, Lawrence Zamboni, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Miguel de Cervantes, Mitch Leigh, Patanjali, Pete Zamboni, Richard Zamboni, yoga sutras
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[This is the post for Saturday, January 16th. You can request an audio recording of Saturday’s 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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.]
“‘Now look, your grace,’ said Sancho, ‘what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone.’
‘Obviously,’ replied Don Quijote, ‘you don’t know much about adventures. Those are giants – and if you’re frightened, take yourself away from here and say your prayers, while I go charging into savage and unequal combat with them.’”
– quoted from “Chapter Eight – the great success won by our brave Don Quijote in his dreadful, unimaginable encounter with two windmills, plus other honorable events well worth remembering” in Part 1 of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
Two years ago when I decided to start the New Year (of 2019) by introducing my Saturday class to the beginning Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras, it seemed like a grand adventure. Yes, there would be dreams and windmills and friendship, not to mention wild horses and beautiful landscapes. But, on a certain level, a philosophical level, I thought it would be the beginning of four years of relatively pedestrian exploration. Yes, I thought it would be intensive study that could be applied to our lives on and off the mat. Yes, I knew it would be a little too esoteric for some – especially those who just dropped in now and again and/or started new in the beginning of the year. But, no, I didn’t really consider that, off the mat, we would find ourselves in the middle of the same kind of social and political backdrop that inspired Miguel de Cervantes to create the ingenious gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha.
First published today in 1605, Book 1 of Cervantes’ El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha is the beginning of what many consider the first “modern novel.” It is the second most translated book in the world (after the complete Bible) and it is also viewed as social commentary disguised as a fantastical farce. The primary character is, at best, idealistic – a dreamer beyond all dreamers; but, at worst, he is completely and utterly delusional. Is he speaking and moving through world as if everything and everyone in the world is a metaphor? Or, does he truly believe the windmills are giants that threaten the fair Dulcinea and all of their neighbors? Furthermore, does Cervantes – in writing what can (and was) easily be seen as social and political allegory – believe that those idealistic individuals who take on the political establishment are incredibly foolhardy or incredibly brave? Sometimes it is hard to tell. What is unquestionable, however, is that Don Quixote has a whole lot of things going on his mind and all of that citta vŗitti (“fluctuations of the mind”) determines how he interacts with the world around him.
“Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head”
– quoted from “Windmills of the Mind,” music by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Don Quixote, the story and the man, might have been very different if the title character did some yoga. Some might think there would be no story without the titular character’s mental confusion and delusion. However, Don Quixote, himself, was often very clear about his understanding of reality and very clear about the fact that the people around him disagreed with his understanding of reality. So… in some ways, maybe it would be the same story. After all, Cervantes frames much of the story around the way Don Quixote’s mind works and that is the same paradigm Patanjali uses in the Yoga Sūtras.
We contemplated the last sūtra of the second chapter last Saturday. Before we “progress” or move forward, I thought it would be a good idea to spend a little time reviewing the first two chapters and possibly delving a little deeper into certain aspects of the practices Patanjali recommends in the those chapters. So, this week’s practice includes a quick summary review of the “Samadhi Pada” (Chapter or Foundation on Concentration), in which Patanjali explains (in 51 sūtras) how the mind works and how to work the mind.
“Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!”
– quoted from “Windmills of the Mind,” music by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
At the beginning, Patanjali explains that the practice of yoga (as well as the state of yoga that is “union”) cultivate stillness or quietude in the mind, thereby restoring or connecting the practitioner to their “own true nature.” He describes five types of mental activity: correct understanding (which is achieved through sense perception, inference, and/or revelation described in sacred text); incorrect understanding; imagination (which is activity not connected or rooted in reality as it currently exists); dreamless sleep; and memory (which can also engage the other types of activity) – and further breaks they types of mental activity into two categories two categories (klişţāklişţāh, “afflicted” and “not afflicted”); meaning they mental activity either creates suffering or does not create suffering.
To work the mind, in order to cultivate quietude, Patanjali recommends abyhāsa (practicing with devotion to the practice for a long period of time, without interruption) and vairāgya (practicing without attachment). He describes four levels of conscious awareness – which are also the four levels of concentration – as gross (meaning the awareness that something is happening); subtle (awareness of the different aspects of what is happening); bliss (enjoying what is happening); and i-ness (a level of absorption whereby there is a seamless connection between the person concentrating and the object on which they are concentrating).
Patanjali also explains in the first chapter that the benefits of the practice – which include faith, vigor, retentive power, stillness of mind, and intuitive wisdom – can be achieved in a time based on the level of engagement (mild, intermediate, or supreme). After detailing the importance of OM and the power of a devoted surrender to the Divine, he adds to the list of benefits by explaining that meditation helps one overcome nine obstacles (disease, mental inertia, doubt, carelessness, sloth, an inability to withdraw from sense cravings, an attachment to misunderstanding, frustration, and failure to retain the highest level of conscious awareness) and their five accompanying ailments (pain, mental agitation, unsteadiness or trembling of limbs, abnormal or disturbed inhalation, and abnormal or disturbed exhalation).
Finally, he offers the following ways to practice concentration (that leads to meditation):
- heart focus: offering friendliness to those who are happy; compassion to those who are suffering; happiness to those who are virtuous; and non-judgment or disinterest in those who are not virtuous;
- breath focus: pranayama;
- single-pointed focus: on a specific part of the body, a sense organ (and corresponding sensation); or an external object;
- inner light & inner joy focus
- focusing on a virtuous one who is without desire: choosing either a sacred person whose virtuous history is known or the best/ideal version of one’s own self;
- wisdom focus: bringing awareness to knowledge gained from dreams and sleep; and
- focus on a well-considered object (with some understanding of the benefit of the object)
“Translating from one language to another, unless it is from Greek and Latin, the queens of all languages, is like looking at Flemish tapestries from the wrong side, for although the figures are visible, they are covered by threads that obscure them, and cannot be seen with the smoothness and color of the right side….”
– quoted from “Chapter Sixty-one – of what befell Don Quijote on his entry into Barcelona, with other Accidents that have more truth than wisdom in them.” in Part 2 of El ingenioso cabellero Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
Again, one of the goals and benefits of the practice described by Patanjali is the clarity of the mind – being able to not only see the beauty of something, but also how everything is put together. Here, in the first chapter, however, he really focuses on smoothing out the mind. One way I think about the meditation practice is that we spend some time touching on and scooping up all the bumpy distractions; then we wash over those same areas with the breath and the mind in order to smooth it all out; and then we use the breath and the awareness to seal in that smoothness. In this way, the practice is like a Zamboni®.
Invented by Frank Zamboni, who was born today 1901, in Eureka, Utah, a Zamboni® is an ice resurfacing machine that shaves the ice, collects the shavings, washes the ice with a cleaner, and then spreads a thin coat of fresh water to seal in the smooth(er) surface. Perhaps being born in Eureka destined Mr. Zamboni to become an inventor, but the resurfacer wasn’t his first (or last) bit of ingenuity. The son of Italian immigrants, he initially moved to California to help his older brother Lawrence run an existing business. But then the Zamboni brothers decided to try something different; they opened an ice-making plant. Not convinced the plant would sustain them once advancements were made in air conditioning and refrigeration; they decided to open Iceland, an ice skating rink in Paramount, California, with their cousin Pete.
Iceland (which still exists) was special and attracted a lot of attention, because Frank Zamboni figured out a way to eliminate the rippling effect that was caused by the pipes underneath the ice. He invented a circulation system and “flat tanks” that enabled them to build a rink that would hold up to 800 skaters at a time – making it one of the largest (and the smoothest) rink in the country.
Well… it was the smoothest, except after a day full of skaters.
“For neither good nor evil can last for ever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.”
– quoted from “Chapter Nineteen – An account of the second discourse that passed between Sancho and his master: the succeeding adventure of the corpse, and other remarkable events” in Part 1 of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
In 1949, a few years after opening the rink, Mr. Zamboni had invented (and eventually patented) the machine that would bear his name. Before his invention, resurfacing the ice required 5 men and 90 minutes. After his invention, resurfacing the ice required 1 person and 15 minutes. Figure skaters and hockey teams were quick to jump on board and, in a relatively short amount of time, Frank Zamboni had a new business venture. But, he wasn’t done. He would go on to invent mechanisms to remove water and paint from outdoor turf as well as to install and remove the turf (the “Grasshopper”). He also invented machines to fill dirt on top of a cemetery vault (the “Black Widow”) and lift and carry burial vaults (the “Vault Carrier”); and had a hand in building and selling machines to deal with snow, trenches, and air craft.
Frank Zamboni was a dreamer and, in some ways, he dreamed of things so fantastical most people couldn’t even begin to imagine them. He was awarded almost twenty patents during his lifetime. In 1988, his son Richard (who is Chairman and President of Frank J. Zamboni & Company, Inc.) told a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, “One of the reasons he stuck with it was that everyone told him he was crazy. When he finally finished, he was so sick of it that he didn’t even bother painting it.” So, in many ways, Frank Zamboni was a little like Don Quixote, trying to find a better way.
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
– “Cervantes”, quoted from Act II of Man of La Mancha: A Musical Play by Mitch Leigh, Dale Wasserman, Joe Darion
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“As the author of this great history reaches the events that he narrates in this chapter, he says the he’d have preferred to pass over them in silence , fearing he wouldn’t be believed, because here Don Quixote’s mad deeds approached the limits of the imaginable, and indeed went a couple of bowshots beyond them. But in the end, in spite of these fears and misgivings, he described these deeds exactly as they happened, without adding or subtracting one atom of truth or concerning himself with any accusations that might be made that he was lying; and he was right to do so, because the truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.”
– quoted from “Chapter Ten – Gives describes Sancho’s cunning enchantment of the Lady Dulcinea; with other events as ridiculous as they are true” in Part 2 of El ingenioso caballero Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
A little note about quotes, translations, and “paramount”: My apologies for not citing the translators in the aforementioned quotes. I actually used more than one translation and, by the time I was putting this together, I realized that I hadn’t ever noted which quote came from where or when I had spliced translations. Part of my error comes from the fact that I don’t always reference translators during the practice.
Additionally, because of the different translations, I was not able to find the original source for the following great quotes, which are attributed to Cervantes and “Don Quixote” – but which may actually be from another (related) source:
“It’s up to brave hearts, sir, to be patient when things are going badly, as well as being happy when they’re going well…”
“…for hope is always born at the same time as love…”
Finally, I mentioned “paramount” during the practice (as a synonym for “supreme”) but neglected to tie that back into the theme. Serendipitously, “Paramount” kept coming up today as it is the name of the city where the Zamboni family opened their ice rink and also the name of the studio where the English version of “Windmills of the Mind” was originally recorded. Just a fun trivia fact for those of you who were wondering.
A Joyful Practice 