Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide and Apodosis of Prepolovenie (mid-Pentecost); Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
“I’ve always been interested in the relations of mind and body, growing up as I did in a culture that separated them distinctly. In science class we studied the material world, which we expected would someday be understood and predicted down to the last molecule. In philosophy we studied models of reality, based on the rational mind, that took no notice of conditions male and female, sick and well, rich and poor. And then in church we learned that we would someday take off this body as we might a suit of clothes and live as disembodied souls. Yet every day in this divided world of mind and body, our language betrayed our limitations of our categories.”
— quoted from the “Introduction” of Healing and the Mind by Bill Moyers (Editor, Betty Sue Flowers; Executive Editor, David Grubin; Art Research, Elizabeth Meryman-Brunner)
For Those Who Missed It: The following is a slightly revised 2023 post related to Sunday, June 5, 2022. It is the third post related to Bill Moyers (and the second one originally posted for the first time in 2023). Links or excerpts for the earlier posts are embedded below. Class details and extra quotes, plus some links and formatting, have been updated or added. References to religious observations have also been revised for 2024.
“Joseph Campbell said that all the great myths, the primitive myths, the great stories, have to be regenerated if they’re going to have any impact…. Are you conscious of doing that?”
— Bill Moyers, quoted from the transcript of “The Mythology of Star Wars, with George Lucas”
Let’s talk about heroes, heroines, and great adventures. I love them! I can’t say I was a huge fan of The NeverEnding Story, but I did appreciate the idea and, when I was a kid, I always got a kick out of “choose your own adventure” books. I also loved Star Wars, Star Trek, Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, and almost any series of books with reoccurring characters who went places I had never gone, had experiences I never had, and met people I had never met. Part of what I loved was that I recognized the places, the experiences, and the people. How could I not? After all, they were all the same — just using different names, and dressed up in different clothes and faces.
I don’t remember exactly when I first heard about Joseph Campbell or Harold Bloom; but, their works around literature, mythology, and anthropology (as it intersects literature and mythology) seem to be like long shadows towards the end of the day. They’re always there, you just can’t always see them. Towards the end of college, I took a publishing course and one of the people in my small group ended up working at a major publishing house. A few months later, he sent me a big box full of books. Joseph Campbell’s A Hero with a Thousand Faces was one of those books. I knew about it, but had never read it.
If you watch movies, read comics and/or books, or just like listening to someone weave a good adventure, odds are you fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) you love heroes because you’re always looking for someone to save you; (2) you love adventure and fancy yourself as someone who — given the right means and opportunity — could save yourself or someone else; and/or (3) you love the life lessons found within a good story.
After all, every good story comes with at least one life lesson. That’s one of the boons of living vicariously through a fictional or historical character.
“LUCAS: I guess it’s more specific in Buddhism, but it is a notion that’s been around before that. When I wrote the first Star Wars, I had to come up with a whole cosmology: What do people believe in? I had to do something that was relevant, something that imitated a belief system that has been around for thousands of years, and that most people on the planet, one way or another, have some kind of connection to. I didn’t want to invent a religion. I wanted to try to explain in a different way [than] the religions that have already existed. I wanted to express it all.
MOYERS: You’re creating a new myth?
LUCAS: I’m telling an old myth in a new way. Each society takes that myth and retells it in a different way, which relates to the particular environment they live in. The motif is the same. It’s just that it gets localized. As it turns out, I’m localizing it for the planet. I guess I’m localizing it for the end of the millennium more than I am for any particular place.”
— quoted from the Time Magazine article “Of Myth and Men” by Bill Moyers; George Lucas (published April 18, 1999; based on “The Mythology of Star Wars, with George Lucas”)
Born on June 5, 1934, in Hugo, Oklahoma (and primarily raised in Marshall, Texas), Bill Moyers is more than a journalist who has spent a lot of time talking to and about heroes. He is even more than a journalist who has also spent a lot of time talking to and about people who create heroes. But, he has done all of that… and more.
In addition to being an ordained minister, he served as the 13th White House Press Secretary (working with both Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson). Along with his wife, Judith Suzanne Davidson Moyers, he has produced a variety of programming, including Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (filmed on George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch, in 1988); The Mythology of Star Wars, with George Lucas (also filmed at Skywalker Ranch, in 1999); Faith and Reason; and Healing and the Mind. He has also produced and facilitated conversations about a wide range of topics, including evil, racism, prayer, democracy, poetry, art, and the experiences of U. S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. His many books include Listening to America: A Traveler Rediscovers His Country, A World of Ideas : Conversations With Thoughtful Men and Women About American Life Today and the Ideas Shaping Our Future, A World of Ideas II: Public Opinions from Private Citizens, The Language of Life (which is a conversation with poets), Genesis: A Living Conversation, and the book based on the series Healing and the Mind.
More often than not, when I lead a practice on Bill Moyers’s birthday, it centers around Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and references superheroes from comic books and movies. My intention is to highlight how we are all the hero(ine) of our own story — and, additionally, how we can also be someone else’s hero. Sometimes, I even reference a specific historical and/or religious figure.
I could, just as easily, reference someone close to me — as Bill Moyers did when he wrote Healing and the Mind.
“When my brother died in 1966, my father began a grieving process that lasted almost twenty-five years. For all that time he suffered from chronic, debilitating headaches. I took him to some of the country’s major medical facilities, but no one could cure him of his pain. At one point during that ongoing search for a help, a doctor tried to teach him that his headaches were somehow related to his grief. But my father persisted in treating his pain exclusively as a medical problem, and the headaches continued to torment him.”
— quoted from the “Introduction” of Healing and the Mind by Bill Moyers (Editor, Betty Sue Flowers; Executive Editor, David Grubin; Art Research, Elizabeth Meryman-Brunner)
Technically speaking, the Hero’s Journey is always about moving into a new time, a new era, or a new season of life. It’s about coming out of an old season, shedding the old skin, and moving forward with that “Ultimate Boon” — that life lesson that serves the heroine and their community. While I often compare the hero journey of people like the Buddha, Hanuman, Moses, Jesus, or even Penelope, the parallels do not stop with the beginning of their lives and their “calling” to alleviate the suffering of the people in their community. In fact, an additional parallel is found in what some might consider the end of the journey: a path (i.e., a set of instructions or commandments), which can be seen as their own calling/journey.
Click on the title above for more about Bill Moyers, healing, and “the last appointment.”
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”
— quoted from A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell
Every adventure begins in the “Ordinary World.” It’s not a perfect world; it’s just the everyday, mundane world. If everything and everyone were perfect, there would not be a “Call to Adventure.” But there is a call. In real life, individual people have things they are called to do and then there is a philosophical call issued to everyone who is exposed to systems like the the Noble Eightfold Path (in Buddhism); the 8-Limbs of the Yoga Philosophy (as codified in Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras); the various paths of yoga (as described in the Bhagavad Gita); and/or the teachings in the Torah, the Christian New Testament, and/or the Qur’ān.
Of course, in the monomyth, the hero or heroine initially refuses the call. The “Refusal of Call” happens everyday in modern times and in biblical history — and for the same reasons. It is a refusal to give up the status quo. It is the rejection of a new way of living. Think of Moses (and Joshua) returning from the Mount to find that the newly freed Hebrew people are actively breaking their newly established covenant. According to Shemot – Exodus (32:1), the people were motivated by fear — specifically, fear of the unknown and fear of loss. If we go deep inside ourselves, we may find that similar fears cause each of us to stray from our chosen path. In Buddhism, all clinging leads to suffering. In the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali described five types of attachment that lead to suffering. The final type, described in Yoga Sūtra 2.9, is fear of loss/death — and getting beyond that is part of the practice and, also, another practice from another year.
“GEORGE LUCAS: What happens is that no matter how you do it, when you sit down to write something all other influences you’ve had in your life come into play. The things that you like, the things that you’ve seen, the things — the observations you’ve made. That’s ultimately what you work with when you’re writing. And you — you are influenced by the things that you like. Designs that you like, characters you like, moments that you remember, that you were moved by. It’s — it’s like trying to compose a — a symphony in a way.”
— George Lucas responding to a question Bill Moyers asked about the creative process, quoted from the transcript of “The Mythology of Star Wars, with George Lucas”
In some ways, every mindfulness-based practice is like sitting down to write: things come up and all of those things, in the moment, become part of the practice. In fact, one of the lojong (“mind-training”) aphorisms in Tibetan Buddhism is “Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation.” (16) Additionally, the theme is that “localizing” that George Lucas referenced when talking about how Star Wars fit into the rubric. The theme details, the poses and sequences, even the duration of the practice are simply the unique details of the moment. But, every practice is the same journey.
For every mindfulness-based practice, breath is the “Supernatural Aid” that facilitates our transition from the external to the internal and then back again (“Crossing the [First or Second] Threshold”). Every practice takes us deeper into our own belly — which can also be that metaphorical “Belly of the Whale.” While they may not all be physically challenging, the practice is a “Road of Trials” with the opportunity to experience the deep love and acceptance of the “Goddess” and the “Atonement of the Father.” There is always the “Temptation” to stay in Śavāsana (“Seat of the Corpse” or Dead Man’s Pose); to give up mid-way through the practice; or to just not show up. These can be seen as the “Refusal to Return.” There is also the temptation to do more simply because it is suggested.
Finally, every practice has that final Śavāsana-moment — and, even if we are not actually in Śavāsana, that moment symbolizes the death of the practice: an “Apostasis.” All the preparation, all the getting ready leads to a moment of meditation that, ultimately, brings an understanding of every plane of existence and freedom from suffering: that’s the “Ultimate Boon” — that is what allows someone to be “Master of Two Worlds.”
In 2024, Bill Moyer’s birthday coincides with Day 43 for people in the Jewish community who are Counting the Omer. This is the first day of the final week, a week devoted to the seventh sefirah or divine (“eminations,” attributes, or manifestations) in the practice: Malchut.
Malchut can be translated as “mastery” or “stewardship” as well as “kingship/queenship.” In Jewish mysticism it is energetically and symbolically connected with the mouth, hands, and feet. The (external) parts of us that we use to physically do things in the world.
Mastery or stewardship in the hero journey leads to the ultimate freedom: “Freedom to Live.” The final stage of the journey is partially defined as the freedom to live “in the moment, neither anticipating the future, nor regretting the past” — which is also one of the goals of Eastern philosophies like Yoga and Buddhism, to be fully present in the moment.
“…really pay attention to what’s happening internally…. Meditation is learning how to get so still, and so calm, tranquil, through the directing of the attention, to this present moment, that we begin to see really deeply…. And so we go more and more and more deeply into the nature of things, and when that happens, and reactivity ceases, then responsiveness arises.”
— Gina Sharpe, Suffering and the End of Suffering
Please join me today (Wednesday, June 5th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom.You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06052022 Hero(ine)’s Journey”]
“[At the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences] Experts in the field of endocrinology, immunology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and epidemiology gathered to compare notes, findings, and doubts. Why is it, they wondered, that about 60 percent of the outpatient visits to primary care physicians are related to stress or mind/body interactions? That perhaps one in five primary care visits are attributable ‘to major depressive anxiety disorders’? I read of one such meeting where a notable declared that ‘if this were a medical disorder that wasn’t being diagnosed or treated, the situation would be regarded as scandalous.”
— quoted from the “Introduction” of Healing and the Mind by Bill Moyers (Editor, Betty Sue Flowers; Executive Editor, David Grubin; Art Research, Elizabeth Meryman-Brunner)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
GEORGE LUCAS: […] The average human being has much more awareness of the other cultures that exist — co-exist with them on this planet, and that certain things go across cultures, and entertainment is one of them. And film and the stories that I tell cut across all cultures, are seen all around the world.”
— quoted from the transcript of “The Mythology of Star Wars, with George Lucas”
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.
Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
This is the “missing” post for Tuesday, June 4th.This post contains passing references to sociopolitical conflicts, oppression, and war.You can request an audio recording of this practice or a related practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“The ancient philosophers divided the world into four realms of life. Look closely and you will see they are realms of transcendence—because to live means to transcend:….
And we human beings, how do we transcend our bounds? We reach outside of ourselves with words. With dialogue.
Of all creatures, we alone are capable of hearing ourselves through the ears of another.”
— quoted from the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
According to Indian philosophies like Yoga and Sāmkhya, when a person is in their natural state of existence, they are endowed with certain siddhis or “abilities,” six of which are outlined in the Sāmkhya Karika as “powers unique to being human.” The power of word (shabda) is one of these six and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, described it as the power “to give a form to sound, assign meaning to each segment of sound, and to store both sound and meaning in memory….[and] the capacity to communicate both sound and its meaning to others. We also have the capacity to give a visual form to each segment of sound and the meaning associated with it.” So, this power includes spoken expression, sign language, and written language. It is a power associated with the fifth chakra, which is energetically and symbolically associated with the throat.
The Viśuddha chakra is also associated with will and determination — which is an interesting dynamic when we talk about situations where people fight for the right to be heard while others actively (and systematically) deny those rights. Those types of situations happen all the time and are currently happening all over the world. Since our current events might be a little too fresh to really gain perspective, let’s step back and consider a couple of encounters that took place on two different June 4ths: one happened here in the United States in 1919; the other happened on the other side of the world in 1989. Both involved people who wanted to be heard and governments who opposed that desire. In some ways (most ways), however, the outcomes were very different. In one case, people were disempowered. In the other, some people were empowered with the richest power.
“Your every choice, thought and feeling has biological, environmental, social, personal and global consequence. Actions motivated by personal will that trusts Divine authority, gives you the richest power.”
— quoted from “Morning Visual Meditation” (focus for Chakra 5) by Caroline Myss
For Those Who Missed It: The following is an updated and slightly revised post from 2020. A coda, a 2021 excerpt, and a playlist have been added for additional context.
If you are a certain age or older (as I am) and from certain countries (ditto), and you don’t even have to click on the link above to see the photo. Just the words immediately conjure up the general timing (1989), if not the exact date it appeared around the world (which is June 5th), and circumstances. Even though the picture is still, you can probably “see” the little bits of motion that surround this “incident” in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989. That’s how the people in China refer to it (if they refer to it): the “June 4 incident” or the “six-four incident.” Not the protest and (definitely not) the massacre, unless they are outside of China.
The Chinese government initially referred to the events in 1989 as a “counterrevolutionary riot,” but then started diminishing the impact. The “counterrevolutionary riot” became just a “riot” and then a “political storm.” Now, the government calls it “political turmoil between the Spring and Summer of 1989.” They did not initially acknowledge that anyone died in and around Tiananmen Square — after what started out as peaceful, student-led protests against the government. Later, they would acknowledge that “some” people were injured and “a few” died…but they still distance the injuries and deaths from the “incident.”
Keep in mind, “some” and “a few” are calculated in the thousands.
More telling than how they speak (or don’t speak) about what happened over those couple of days in 1989, is the fact that if you grew up in China and are 35 years old or younger, you can probably identify the location (after all, it is a landmark in Beijing), but you may not be able to identify the time, date, and circumstances associated with this picture. At least, this was the finding of a PBS interview dated April 11, 2006. When I watched the interview, I was a little surprised. What surprised me even more was that if you grew up in the United States and are 35 years old or younger, you might not even be able to identify the location. (I asked around.)
Do you know this woman? Do you have any idea why (or what) this woman would have been celebrating today in 1919? It’s not surprising if you don’t, regardless of your nationality or age (since if you are reading this blog, you probably weren’t alive at the time). But there are some clues; in particular, that date: June 4, 1919. Ring a bell? Does it help if I say she’s connected to the United States?
Feel free to Google it. I’ll wait.
Even if you somehow know this woman is a suffragist, her name (Phoebe E. Burn, “Miss Febb” or “Febb” to her friends) may not mean a whole lot to you. Even if you’ve attended one of my August 18th classes and heard me mention her name (and that of her son, then 24-year old Harry T. Burn, Sr. of Tennessee), it still might not immediately register that the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote, was approved by Congress today in 1919. It was passed with 56 “ayes” and 25 “nays,” and ratified by the required three-quarters of the Union on August 18, 1920.
Harry Burn, the Republican Representative from Tennessee, was the youngest congressman and was expected to vote against the amendment; which would have killed the legislation. When he voted, he was wearing a red carnation, indicating he was against the amendment. However, unbeknownst to those around him at the time, he carried a note from his mother telling him, “Don’t forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the ‘rat’ in ratification.” And, so he did.
Some states got on board relatively quickly, but it would take a while for other states to make the law officially valid. In fact, women would not “officially” and legally have the right to vote (without impediment from the state) in Alabama (until 1953), Florida (until 1969), Louisiana and Georgia (until 1970), North Carolina (until 1971), South Carolina (until 1973), and Mississippi (until 1984).
If you’re wondering why it took so long, consider the fact that many people in power (i.e., men) saw women as little more than children or property. Additionally, they feared what would happen if the power dynamic shifted and women were not only seen as their equals, but also given equal time to be heard as they voiced their concerns about the country. (Speaking of power dynamics, don’t even get me started on how long it took some states to ratify the 13th Amendment, which didn’t even include the right to vote. Yes, I’m looking at you, Delaware, Kentucky, and Mississippi.)
Protests, revolution, and change: it always comes down to this. It also comes down, once again, to perspective. When leadership does not get on board with the changes their constituents are demanding, progress is slow and painful. When individuals do not do the little bit that they can do, for as long as they can do it, very little to nothing happens. When people do not speak up to those they love who may be on the wrong side of history, we find ourselves at a stalemate.
Just consider the historical examples of today.
Despite the quarantine (in 2020), the political landscape in China looks similar to 1989 — people are once again protesting. And, while women have the right to vote in the United States, own property, drive, and operate a business (that’s not a brothel, boarding house, and/or saloon), there are still major discrepancies in the lived experiences of American men and women.
But, wait a minute. I’m kind of leaving something (or should I say, someone) out of the discussion. Do you see it? Can you see it? If you can’t, you’re in “good” company, because some people couldn’t see it in 1919 either.
𝄌
Throughout the practice, you may or may not have noticed what was missing, a voice that wasn’t being heard. Sadly, it is a voice that is too often still not heard: the voice of certain marginalized people. While the 15th Amendment to the U. S. constitution theoretically guaranteed Black men the right to vote in 1870, many states and territories implemented laws that prevented African-American men from exercising that right. Similarly, Black women — who were an active and critical part of the suffrage movement — were “legally” prevented from voting until the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Additionally, Native and Indigenous Americans who were granted U. S. citizenship by way of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (enacted on June 2, 1924), were not always able to enjoy their rights — including the right to vote — until 1948. Again, because states could still legislate barriers to entry.
As I said before, some of these voices are still not being heard. We see this, again and again, as people who cry out against the atrocities happening around the world (including in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Israel and Palestine, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and Russia)* are silenced or in some way restricted — not only in those areas, but also in these here United States.
Maybe none of this seems like a big deal if you are someone who, historically, is enfranchised, seen, and heard. Consider, however, that we are all part of the same world; we are like different parts of the same body. You can ignore your little or your big toe all you want, but see what happens the next time you stub that toe. See how you move through the world when some part of you is in pain.
Now, consider what happens when you listen to the sensation, the information, communicated by your mind-body and move in a way that cultivates harmony and peace, instead of more pain.
“It is easy to keep oneself in a holding pattern, claiming that one does not know what to do next. But that is rarely true…. Admittedly it is frightening to leave the familiar contents of one’s life, even [when] one’s life is often desperately sad. But change is frightening, and waiting for that feeling of safety to come along before one makes a move only results in more internal torment because the only way to acquire that feeling of security is to enter the whirlwind of change and come out the other end, feeling alive again.”
— quoted from the section entitled “Between the Head and the Heart” in “Chapter 5 – The Fifth Chakra: The Power of Will” of Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06042022 Having A Say”]
NOTE: The YouTube playlist includes speeches that are not available on Spotify. I would add some more recent speeches…, but many of this year’s speeches were “muted.”
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
*NOTE: According to Humanitarian Law & Policy analysis by Samit D’Cunha, Tristan Ferraro, and Thomas de Saint Maurice — all legal advisers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “there are over 120 armed conflicts around the world, involving over 60 states and 120 non-state armed groups. The majority of these armed conflicts are of a non-international character, the number of which has tripled since the turn of the millennium.”
Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
This post-practice note for Monday, June 3rd. It includes excerpts from several date-related posts. You can click on the titles (or the embedded link) for the entire posts. The prompt question was, “Do you use glasses, contacts, and/or other visual assistance (& for how long have you used them)?”You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“After the banquet, at a Harvard decennial class reunion in 1895, [Ernest] Thayer recited Casey and delivered an eloquent speech, tinged with ironic humor and sadness. (It is printed, along with Casey, in Harvard University, Class of 1885: Secretary’s Report No. V, 1900, pp. 88-96.)…. Surely the following passage is but a roundabout way of saying that it is easy to strike out:
We give today a wider and larger application to that happy phrase of the jury box, ‘extenuating circumstances.’ We have found that playing the game is very different from watching it played, and that splendid theories, even when accepted by the combatants, are apt to be lost sight of in the confusion of active battle. We have reached the age, those of us to whom fortune has assigned a post in life’s struggle, when, beaten and smashed and biffed by the lashings of the dragon’s tail, we begin to appreciate that the old man was not such a damned fool after all. We saw our parents wrestling with that same dragon, and we thought, though we never spoke the thought aloud, ‘Why don’t he hit him on the head?’ Alas, comrades, we know now. We have hit the dragon on the head and we have seen the dragon smile.”
— quoted from “There was Ease in Casey’s Manner…” in The Annotated Casey at the Bat: A Collection of Ballads about the Mighty Casey / Third, Revised Edition, Edited by Martin Gardner
In The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again, J. R. R. Tolkien reminded us “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” Well, folks, we have been living with several dragons in our midst and, having not included that fact in our previous calculations, we find ourselves recalculating — and “[hitting] the dragon on the head…” only to see it smile.
I realize that everyone may not identify my metaphorical dragon in the same way that I intend it. So, let me be clear: the dragon equals our problem(s) and how we deal with our problem(s).
“Science is not an intelligence test. Intuition is important, knowing what questions to ask. The other thing is a passion for getting to the core of the problem.”
— Dr. Torsten Wiesel (b. 06/03/1924), co-winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Every person, every organization, every family, village, city, state, and country has a problem (or two… or more). Some problems seem uniquely ours and others transcend all the different labels we may apply to ourselves.
Back in a June 2022 side note, I posted that “… we may have different opinions about why we, here in the USA, have a problem — but we really can’t deny that there is a problem. We also can’t afford to deny or ignore the fact that it’s a problem no one else in the world is having. Neither can we deny or ignore the fact that if we keep speaking with ourselves, instead of with each other, than we will keep having this problem.”
The subtext to my observation is also the subtext to the speech Ernest Thayer gave in 1895 and to his poem, “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888,” which was originally published in The Daily Examiner (now The San Francisco Examiner) today in 1888. To extend the dragon metaphor just a little more, we can look at that subtext as the dragon’s tail. What beats us, bashes us, and biffs us — what lashes us and, ultimately, may defeat us — is our own ego and our reluctance (or inability) to see things from a different perspective.
Again, I realize this metaphor isn’t perfect. I realize some people may interpret in a different way than I intend it and that some people just won’t get it. I also understand that some people may understand it in a different way today than the would have last week or last year (when it wasn’t the Year of the Dragon)… or last century. That’s kind of the point.
Each of us perceives things the way we perceive them based on our previous experiences and then we move through the world accordingly. Patanjali pointed this out in the Yoga Sūtras (particularly in YS 2.20) and outlined ways to bring our awareness to our awareness, to notice what we notice — in order to expand our awareness and, in the process, expand our understanding.
Another way to look at this same concept is through the eyes of scientists like Dr. Torsten Wiesel (who was born today in 1924) and Dr. David Hubel, who collaborated on research that centered on the way we physically see — and sometimes don’t see.
“We’re interested in how the brain works, and we work on the part of the brain that has to do with vision. And we…we record from single cells in the brain, and ask how it is you can influence those cells by shining lights and patterns.”
— Dr. David Hubel, summarizing research with Dr. Torsten Wiesel that won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman and/or Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
“And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom, And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings, Till they rise again, as they were a new bell’s boom, ‘He hears it not now, but used to notice such things?’”
— quoted from the poem “Afterwards” by Thomas Hardy, set to music by Lon Lord
Today is the anniversary of the births of two men who noticed things. Thomas Hardy (OM), who was born today in 1840, and Sir Edward William Elgar (1st Baronet, OM, GCVO), who was born today in 1857, both used their art to bring awareness to the things they noticed. Even if you do not consider yourself an artist, you are one of the people creating the environment in which we all live — so, your awareness is important. Click on the title of the excerpt below for the entire 2023 post about awareness:
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, June 2nd) at 2:30 PM.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06022023 Noticing Things II”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
“Be curious!”
“And while you’re waiting to come up with a question, I can say that I make me. I decided at 18 to never have another bad day and I am 79 on Tuesday and I haven’t had a bad day since I was 18. I love my life. I chose to make me and to be six qualities: happy, funny, loving, creative, cooperative, and thoughtful.”
— Dr. Hunter Doherty “Patch” (or “Stumpy”) Adams (b. 1945), quoted from the May 25, 2024 live-stream video entitled “Celebrating my 79th Birthday with My Loving Community”
Please join me today (Tuesday, May 28th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10102021 World Mental Health Day (redux)”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
“Then [Patch] sat back and said ‘…. The question is “are you living?” Are you living? Are you being the human being you want to be? Are your relationships healthy? Are you grateful? What is your sense of wonder? What’s your sense of curiosity? What thrills you?
You can decide to love life. You can decide to love your partner. You can decide to know what I mean when I say, a tree can stop your suffering.’
Somehow those words struck me as free. I don’t need to figure out everything about dying. I need to keep living. To be thrilled, to be grateful, to be wonder-filled. To be curious about life and living. These are ways of being that are accessible to me.”
— quoted from ”Diving into an Ocean of Gratitude — Living and Caring with Patch Adams” by Jarem Sawatsky
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.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide; Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
This post-practice post for Monday, May 27th. It includes excerpts from a 2020 post about Memorial Day and a 2023 post about beauty, empathy, and compassion. The prompt question was, “What does Memorial Day mean to you?”You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“But it seems reasonable to believe — and I do believe — that the more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”
— quoted from Rachel Carson’s acceptance speech for the John Burroughs Medal (April 1952), as printed in Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson by Rachel Carson, edited and with an introduction by Linda Lear
“‘Everything is connected. The wing of the corn beetle affects the direction of the wind, the way the sand drifts, the way the light reflects into the eye of man beholding his reality. All is part of totality, and in this totality man finds his hozro, his way of walking in harmony, with beauty all around him.’”
— quoted from The Ghostway (Navajo Mysteries #6) by Tony Hillerman
It has been a long time since I read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (who was born May 27, 1907) or just sat down with the sole purpose of reading a novel by Tony Hillerman (who was born May 27, 1925). There are, however, certain things from their works that stick with me after all these years. First, there is the way Nature shows up as “character.” Then, there is the reinforced awareness that we are all connected and that what affects one of us, affects all of us. We may not all be affected in the same way, but just as one person’s problem has a ripple effect on the people around them — and the people around them — a problem with (and on) Earth affects everyone and everything on the planet. Finally, the words of Rachel Carson and Tony Hillerman remind me that (a) when things are out of balance, we can all be part of the problem and/or part of the solution and (b) not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something.
To me, Memorial Day is one of the days when I think about the fact that there are people doing things I cannot do, things I am not forced to do (by circumstances and/or laws) — and that some of those people are lost to us because of their service. I wish we lived in a world where everyone engaged more “wonder and humility”; where there was no war; and where personal conflicts never beget violence of any kind. But, that is not the world in which we live.
So, today, I remember those who serve(d) so that others (like me) may live.
“…in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer.”
— Veteran and Hawaii Congressman Daniel Inouye, quoted from the “Senate” portion of the Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 106th Congress, First Session (Vol. 145, Washington, Tuesday, January 19, 1999, No. 8)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
“‘I didn’t want to believe it. Too many old friends are dying. I didn’t really think I could learn anything about that diamond out here. I just wanted to see if I could bring back some old memories…. Maybe it would help me get into harmony with living with so many of my friends gone.’”
— quoted from Skeleton Man (Navajo Mysteries #17) by Tony Hillerman
### “Compassion. Respect. Common Sense.” — Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers (a.k.a The Saluting Marine) when asked what he wanted to inspire in people who see him standing/saluting ###
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Sunday of the Paralyzed Man and/or Eastertide; Lag B’Omer and Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: This is a slightly revised version of a 2020 post. Some contextual information, class details, links, and formatting have been updated or added.
“‘I’ve discovered that half the people would love to go into space and there’s no need to explain it them. The other half can’t understand and I couldn’t explain it to them. If someone doesn’t know why, I can’t explain it.’”
— Sally Ride, quoted in the “Introduction” of Sally Ride: Americas First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr
“If you understood everything I say, you’d be me!”
— Miles Davis
I often say that when I think of being fearless, I think of jazz and the rules of improve. I think of saying “yes, and….” I think of people like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Joshua Redman, the Marsalis family, and Jason Moran.
I also think about Miles Davis, who would have turned 94 98 today. But we’ll come back to him, because when I think of being fearless I also think of women like Christa McAuliffe and Sally Ride.
Sally Ride, who was born today in 1951, was the first American woman in space and the third woman overall, (after Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Svetlana Savitskaya). She is still the youngest American NASA* astronaut to have traveled into space and, although it wasn’t known at the time, she is now acknowledged as the first LGBTQIA+ astronaut. She once said, “I love the John Glenn model… I may call NASA in 25 years or so, and see it they’d like to send me to Mars.” She probably would have done just that if she hadn’t been so busy teaching, running public-outreach programs for NASA, serving on two aerospace accident investigation boards, writing 7 books for children, and starting and running “Sally Ride Science” (which creates entertaining science programs and publications aimed at upper elementary and middle school children).
Part of what made Dr. Ride fearless was that not only did she (to paraphrase Christa McAuliffe) say yes to a seat on a rocket, she also said yes to being a role model. She kept the focus on the science even as she endured the most sexist questions from the public and the press. When she realized certain people were going to keep coming back to her gender, she used the platform she was being given to make room for more women and girls in the sciences.
“I never went into physics or the astronaut corps to become a role model. But after my first flight, it became clear to me that I was one. And I began to understand the importance of that to people. Young girls need to see role models in whatever careers they may choose, just so they can picture themselves doing those jobs someday. You can’t be what you can’t see.”
— Sally Ride, quoted from the Harvard Business interview (“Sally Ride on Breaking Ground in Aerospace and Education”) by Alison Beard
The fact that pretty much anyone (and everyone) in the public eye ends up as a possible role model can be dangerous — especially when people don’t accept the responsibility, or take it for granted. Miles Davis fits into this category. Born today in 1926, Miles Davis said, “The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does the man have ideas.”
Mr. Davis did and had both. He was a musical innovator who studied at the Institute of Musical Art, now known as Julliard, and also studied in jam sessions with jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He was a trailblazer, who kicked off the “cool jazz” movement, developed “hard bop,” and ultimately fused jazz with rock and funk. He would lose old fans, win new fans, and then gain the old fans back — because he did the thing he told other musicians to do: he didn’t play what was there, he played what wasn’t there.
“A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I’m still doing it.”
— Miles Davis, quoted from The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations by Robert Andrews, with the assistance of Kate Hughes (cited from International Herald Tribune 17 July 1991)
For all his musical success, however, Mr. Davis battled demons. He grew up in a fairly well off family, but people often assumed he grew up poor and was uneducated. He struggled with the fact that although albums like his Birth of the Cool were historically and musically important, they didn’t have the same success as albums by white musicians in the same genre. He also struggled with cocaine and heroin addiction; once broke both ankles in a car accident; and by all accounts (including his own) was physically and emotionally abusive to all three of his wives (and most likely any other women with whom he had a romantic relationship).
Miles Davis was a narcissistic abusive jerk. He was also a genius. Interestingly, even now, Pearl Cleage is one of the few people to speak of his abuse. Not because she personally experienced it, but because she wanted people (especially men) to stop and think about how they engage in relationships. She wanted shine a light on how not to act in relationships.
“No, you should not feel guilty. Miles is dead. We can just hope the next time he comes around his spirit and his personality will be as lovely as his music.”
— Pearl Cleage, author of Mad at Miles: A Blackwoman’s Guide to Truth, in a 2012 interview for Atlanta Magazine (when asked about listening to music by Miles Davis)
PRACTICE NOTE: This week, we reconnect and remember those that came before and consider what lessons their lives have to teach us. Today, in particular, there is a little extra focus on faith, humility, and what it takes to do… the thing you think cannot be done.
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, May 26th) at 2:30 PM.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05262020 Fearless Play with Miles & Sally”]
“Suppose you come across a woman lying on the street with an elephant sitting on her chest. You notice she is short of breath. Shortness of breath can be a symptom of heart problems. In her case, the much more likely cause is the elephant on her chest.
For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences. That is the elephant. Until the playing field has been levelled and lingering stereotypes are gone, you can’t even ask the question”
— Sally Ride in a 2006 USA Today interview with Robert Alan Benson
*NOTE:While private (non-government) companies have now made spaceflight available to individuals who can afford the ticket, Sally Ride is still the youngest American astronaut whose spaceflight is considered public (because it was funded by a government agency).
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
Thank you to everyone who Kiss[ed] My Asana!
We surpassed the overall fundraiser goals & one of my personal goals!!! Whether you showed up in a (Zoom) class, used a recording, shared a post or video, liked and/or commented on a post or video, and/or made a donation — you and your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!!!
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.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide, Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said, ‘I don’t care so much for what they say as I do for what makes them say it.’”
— quoted from the essay “Social Aims” in Letters and Social Aims by Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. 1803)
Yesterday, a group of United States veterans reportedly spent part of their Memorial Day weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina with the intention of asking people at the Republican National Convention to honor the basic principles of the “republic, for which it stands” and they were (reportedly) escorted out of the area. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and the about the idea of still serving even after one’s official service is over — and about how people react to that.
Four years ago today, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and the about the importance of treating someone you perceive as being different from you with respect — and about how we seem to keep forgetting that.
Two hundred, twenty-one years ago today, Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. I often say that I am blown away by the fact that his words are still relevant to our present circumstances. And, even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that.
The excerpt below is from a 2021 post. Click on the title for the entire post.
Please join me today (Saturday, May 25th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05252022 Pratyahara II”]
Thank you to everyone who Kiss[ed] My Asana!
We surpassed the overall fundraiser goals & one of my personal goals!!! Whether you showed up in a (Zoom) class, used a recording, shared a post or video, liked and/or commented on a post or video, and/or made a donation — you and your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!!!
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.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing Eastertide, Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023 and is an introduction to an earlier post (which is linked and excerpted below). Class details and links have been updated.
“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.* It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
— quoted from “I: DISCIPLINE, Problems and Pain” in The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck, M. D.
*Dr. Peck noted that he was essentially paraphrasing the first of the Four Noble Truths from Buddhism.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (b. 1859) and Dr. M. Scott Peck (b. 1936) had several things in common. In addition to sharing a birthday (today, May 22nd), enduring suffering during their early schooling, and earning medical degrees, they also both had a penchant for paying attention — bringing awareness to awareness. Additionally, they both used their attention to detail in ways that benefited the world.
Yes, they did it in different ways — one used fictional characters who became larger than life and one used case studies of his own life and the real life characters in his practice — and, yet, they both encouraged a habit that we also cultivate in yoga, a habit that might be the hardest part of the practice.
What is “elementary” and “difficult” at the same time? Taking a look at yourself, on and off the mat.
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
— Sherlock Holmes
Please join me today (Wednesday, May 22nd) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom.You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for ”05222021 Take A Look At Yourself”]
Thank you to everyone who Kiss[ed] My Asana!
We surpassed the overall fundraiser goals & one of my personal goals!!! Whether you showed up in a (Zoom) class, used a recording, shared a post or video, liked and/or commented on a post or video, and/or made a donation — you and your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!!!
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.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing World Meditation Day, Eastertide, Counting the Omer, and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside).
This is the “missing” post for Tuesday, May 21st. Even though there are some philosophical references, this is not the deep-dive we did in 2022. This post contains passing references to war and natural disaster.You can request an audio recording of this practice or a related practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
— quoted from “Part 3” of An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope
Before we get into why someone might fear to go somewhere, we have to figure out the difference between a fool and an angel. For that matter, what is the difference between a doctor and a saint or a poet or an essayist? We have archetypes, stereotypes, and tropes in our mind that lead us to visualize someone — like a citizen — in a certain way. But, the truth is that a single person can be many things: saint and sinner, doctor and mathematician, devoted poet and nihilist.
Furthermore, there is no rule of nature that keeps a very educated person from being foolish. Nor is there anything that proves a person perceived as being foolish can never be wise. People, like most things in the world, are multi-dimensional. This could go without saying, except for the fact that our perceptions tend to flatten out our understanding and, in doing so, cause us to interact with a person or a situation as if they are one dimensional. So, then, it needs to be said:
— “Although the same objects may be perceived by different minds, they are perceived in different ways, because those minds manifested differently.”
As I mentioned on Saturday, Omar Khayyám, who was both a mathematician and a poet (among other things), noted that doctors and saint “Came out by the same door where in I went.” This line in The Rubáiyát can be applied to every aspect of life (and death); meaning that while the details may be different, the journey is the same. The circumstances of our birth, life, and death may be different, but our ultimate journey — for fulfillment and freedom — is the same.
Patanjali — known as the author of books on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics, the Yoga Philosophy, and Ayurveda — indicated that everything in the known/perceived world (including ourselves) is a manifestation of the gunas, energy moving in three (3) different ways, and our sensory perception of that energy. In Yoga Sūtra 2.18, he stated that the purpose of everything (including ourselves) is to bring about fulfillment and freedom (or liberation) and described the gunas as active/changing; resting/stabilizing; and illuminating. The only problem, as Patanjali pointed out in the sūtras is that we are attached to our understanding, which is based on our perception — which is limited by our experiences and what our mind-intellect shows us (YS 2.20).
And before you think that this idea is only limited to Eastern philosophers, allow me to point point out that the English poet and translator Alexander Pope also encouraged people to be aware of their perceptions and noted that wisdom can be found within that practice.
“’Tis with our judgments as our watches, none
Go just alike, yet each believes his own.”
“Yet if we look more closely we shall find
Most have the seeds of judgment in their mind;
Nature affords at least a glimm’ring light;”
— quoted from “Part 1” of An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope
Born May 21, 1688 (according to the Old Style / Julian calendar), Alexander Pope experienced the dangers of narrow-mindedness almost as soon as he was born. Anti-Catholic sentiment in London caused his family to relocated to the countryside when he was a baby and also led to him being homeschooled by his aunt and a priest. When he was 12 years old, a bout of tuberculosis stunted his growth and caused severe kyphosis in his back. Even though bullies mocked him for his height (4’6”) and hunched back, Mr. Pope had a brilliant mind and wrote some of the most quoted works in the English language. In fact, his words are so well-known that people who have never read poems like The Rape of the Lock and An Essay on Criticism may find that the quote from the poems on a regular basis.
People may also notice that his words are as true to his time and circumstances as they are to ours. For example, in An Essay on Criticism, Mr. Pope wrote cautioned poets and literary critics to be aware of their own subjectivity when it comes to art — words that can also be applied to everything from our own inner critic, our criticism of others, and/or our criticism of ideas.
“Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Not yet the last to lay the old aside.”
— quoted from “Part 2” of An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope’s advice about letting go of what no longer serves us and being open to new ideas, brings us back to the concept of fools and angels — and to Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross today (May 21st) in 1881, and who was simultaneously perceived by her contemporaries as a fool and an angel.
Clara Barton’s journey as a healer began in 1832, when her brother David fell off of a barn roof. He initially seemed fine, but then he (as is often the case with insults to the brain) he developed a headache and fever. A doctor prescribed the administration of leeches — which was quote common at the time — and 10-year-old Clara started nursing her brother back to health. It took 2 years for David to recover. In addition to applying leeches, young Clara also assisted with a “steam treatment,” which some would argue was more beneficial than the bloodletting.
“A little learning is a dang’rous thing;”
“Good nature and good sense must ever join;
To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
— quoted from “Part 2” of An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope
It’s hard to know if sitting by her brother’s bedside and taking care of him suited Clara Barton because she was shy or if being David’s nursemaid led to her being uncomfortable in big groups. Either way, because she was noticeably shy and developed a stutter, her mother took her to a phrenologist (also quite common at the time) who suggested that Ms. Barton study to become a teacher. She started teaching when she was 18 years old and was very successful.
When she retired from teaching, at the age of 33, she started working at the United States Patent Office where she was again, very successful. In fact, she was so successful that she lived up to her ideal that, “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay.” However, some people (in particular, some men) were upset with her success. That friction led her to leave her patent job for a few years; but, she returned to Washington, D. C. just before the Civil War broke out. In 1861, she started nursing wounded Union soldiers in her area. Soon, news of the devastation during the First Battle of Battle of Bull Run (also known as the Battle of First Manassas) reached Washington and Clara Barton realized the neither army was prepared to take care of the wounded. So she stepped in and did what she could — just as she did when she was a 10-year-old kid.
“‘I will remain here while anyone remains and do whatever comes to my hand,’ she declared stoutly. ‘I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.’”
— quoted from Clara Barton, Professional Angel by Elizabeth Brown Pryor
After the war, Clara Barton traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to learn about the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Her idea to establish a Red Cross society in the United States was initially met with doubt and criticism. Government officials didn’t believe there would be another war like the Civil War and, therefore, did not see the need for a neutral organization like the Red Cross. But, Ms. Barton was persistent and pointed out that the American Red Cross could be used for things like natural disasters.
Her point was proven when over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured because of the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania on May 31, 1889. At the time, it was one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. Ms. Barton and five Red Cross volunteers arrived in Pennsylvania five days after the flood. Just like Jean-Henri Dunant did in Solferino, Italy in 1859, Ms. Barton assembled doctors, nurses, and relief workers while also requesting and distributing supplies (including food and water). She and her team also established “Red Cross Hotels” to shelter those whose homes were destroyed. Then, Clara Barton become instrumental in rebuilding Johnstown and the surrounding area. In total, she spent 5 months in Johnstown. Her efforts not only restored the area, it cemented her efforts to establish the American Rec Cross.
Today, the American Red Cross is the designated U. S. affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and is one of the 191 member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which provides emergency assistance and “first-line disaster response services, as auxiliaries to the national authorities in their countries.” It is also a critical part of disaster preparedness and education in the United States.
“Clara promptly wrote to her Boston friend of the Franco-Prussian War days, Edmund Dwight:
There seems to be such a muddle of ideas growing out of the mishaps in Congress that it was very apparent that somebody must say something and that, you know, is the place where I always come in; the door that nobody else will go in at, seems always to swing open widely for me.”
— quoted from “PART TWO – XIV. Johnstown Flood” in Angel of the Battlefield: The Life of Clara Barton by Ishbel Ross
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05212022 The Fools and the Angels”]
POST SCRIPT— PRACTICE/MUSIC NOTES :
Even though I consider my practice a moving meditation and pulled from different medical/movement-based sciences to make this particular practice a mediation on healing, I did not realize that May 21st in World Meditation Day. Also, even though the playlist includes a track by John Butler Trio, I didn’t know (until after the practice) that John Butler was livestreaming a musical meditation today, which could absolutely be used for a practice.
“Ask the mirror on the wall
Who’s the biggest fool of all
Bet you’ll feel small, it happens to us all
See the world, ask what’s it for
Understanding, nothing more
Don’t you feel small? It happens to us all”
— quoted from the song “Don’t You Feel Small” by The Moody Blues (written by Graeme Edge)
Thank you to everyone who Kiss[ed] My Asana!
We surpassed the overall fundraiser goals & one of my personal goals!!! Whether you showed up in a (Zoom) class, used a recording, shared a post or video, liked and/or commented on a post or video, and/or made a donation — you and your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!!!
### Understand Yourself / Learn Compassion / Learn Love: “Just open your heart and that’s a start” ~ The Moody Blues (KB / BTT) ###
###
A Joyful Practice 