Peace and safe passage to all on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This is the “missing” post for Saturday, January 27th. It includes an introduction related to the 2024 Saturday practices and the 2022 version of a 2021 post (with the 2022 “preface note” moved to the end. This post and practice references political conflict, war, and genocide.You can request an audio recording of a related 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 promised myself when I was in very deep in this terrible situation that when I came out, I will tell the world what can happen.”
“I know what it meant because I came normal, in a normal family [from a] normal country and suddenly— And it doesn’t begin with killing, never. It begins only with words. and then it gets worse and worse.”
— Lily Ebert, a Holocaust survivor and co-author of Lily’s Promise: Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations explaining why she tells her story in the 2022 Home Office video “Holocaust Survivor Lily Ebert’s Story” (featuring Lily Ebert, her great-grandson and co-author Dov Forman, and then-Home Secretary Priti Patel)
During the 2024 Saturday practices, we are exploring how this present moment (every present moment) is the culmination of past moments and how this present moment (every present moment) becomes the beginning of the next/future moments. There are several ways we could go about this exploration. For obvious reasons, I am (primarily) using paradigms based on the chakra system in Yoga and Āyurveda as they come to us from India. During January, we have been focusing on the lower body and lessons we learned from our first family, tribe, and/or community of birth.
Some of these lessons were directly and intentionally taught to us. However, others were inferred and/or completely unintentional. No matter what age we are, there are some lessons we absorb and soak in and others that we reject. Either way, those lessons make up our foundation in life. With regard to the first chakra, which is energetically and symbolically connected to survival, these lessons are also related to trauma — and, in particular, generational trauma.
On a certain level, it doesn’t matter if (or to what degree) you believe in the energetic, symbolic, spiritual and/or religious aspects of this practice. Neither does it matter, on a certain level, what you believe about some of the egregiously atrocious things that have happened — and are happening — in the world. Our belief or doubt does not change the big “T” Truth and Reality (of our past). Our belief or doubt only changes how we understand the world and our place in the world. Our belief or doubt only changes how we engage the world — which means our belief or doubt can change the world (of our future).
My hope is that you come along for this ride — on the mat and/or on the blog — and that, somewhere along the way, your heart gets bigger and your mind becomes more open.
“What we create, experience, and suffer, in this time, we create, experience, and suffer for all eternity. As far as we bear responsibility for an event, as far as it is ‘history,’ our responsibility, it is incredibly burdened by the fact that something has happened that cannot be ‘taken out of the world.’ However, at the same time an appeal is made to our responsibility—precisely to bring what has not yet happened into the world! And each of us must do this as part of our daily work, as part of our everyday lives. So everyday life becomes the reality per se, and this reality becomes a potential for action. And so, the ‘metaphysics of everyday life’ only at first leads us out of everyday life, but then—consciously and responsibly—leads us back to everyday life.”
— quoted from “Experimentum Crucis” in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl (with an introduction by Daniel Goleman and an afterword by Franz Vesely)
For Those Who Missed it: The following was originally posted in relation to the January 27, 2021 practice and re-posted today in 2022.
“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)
Saturday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “012701 Holocaust Liberation & Remembrance”]
A 2024 MUSIC NOTE: The playlists are slightly different, as some music is not available on Spotify. The YouTube playlist also includes videos of Holocaust survivors telling their stories (one of which is embedded below).
A 2022 NOTE: As I mentioned yesterday (and in the previous post), I find it twisted, upside down, and backwards that we need to remind each other that we were all born to be loved (and to love).
Similarly, it boggles my mind that on this day of remembrance there are still people in the world who want to brush the unsightly bits of our collective history under a rug or deny that certain atrocities even existed. Just as bad, in my mind, are people who just refuse to get that staying home and/or socially distancing so that a disease doesn’t kill them or someone they love, is not the same as hiding in an annex so that you or someone you love isn’t murdered. Wearing a mask (of your choosing) is not even close to wearing a yellow star — and it hurts my heart to realize some folks may actually believe otherwise.
I’ve added an embedded video from last year 2021. And, even if I’m “preaching to the choir,” I’m going to keep preaching.
“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
Everyday, hug yourself! Today, hug someone (physically, with their permission) and everyone (metaphorically)!! Happy National Hugging Day!!!
“The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings.”
— Martin Buber
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, January 21st) 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 “02082022 Celebrating Being Humans”]
“We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
— Virginia Satir
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.)
Peace, warm wishes, clarity, and righteousness to everyone, and especially those who are observing Kumbh Mela.
“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
The following excerpt is from a 2021 post that includes a summary of the beginning of Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras and events related to this date:
“[When] I decided to start the New Year (of 2019) by introducing my Saturday class to the beginning of Patanjali’sYoga 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.”
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 16th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01162021 Quixote’s Zamboni”]
“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
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.)
This is the “long lost” post for Saturday, January 7, 2023. It is the first in a series of “missing” Saturday posts (that I will be posting on Sundays in 2024) and contains some previously posted material. Think of it as a year in review. Links and SUNDAY class details have been updated. You can request an audio recording of the 2023 or 2024 practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
“Now. as a professor of applied maths, I have fun with thinking about different ways of looking at things. There are known-knowns; there are things we know that we know. They are known-knowns. For example if you leave a cake on the stove too long, my wife tells me, it gets burned and so on. You know what I mean. There are known-knowns, ok? There are things we know that we know.
But then there are known-unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. Alright? Then, there are unknown-unknowns. There are things that we don’t know that we don’t know.
And then, fourthly, there are unknown-knowns — these are things that we don’t know that we know.”
— quoted from the lecture “From Tyndale to Galileo: Grace and Space” by David Block, professor emeritus in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Yoga practice (on or off the mat) is an opportunity to grow and to learn about one’s self and the world around us. It’s a safe time and place to turn inward and observe how our mind-bodies respond and react to ourselves and the world around us. It’s a great time and place to explore, experiment, learn, and play. For this reason, I sometimes liken the practice (on the mat) to time in a laboratory or classroom, or even on a playground. And I think it’s appropriate to show up with a sense of curiosity, wonder, possibilities, and faith — prepared to see what happens.
Curiosity, wonder, possibilities, faith, and preparation are concepts that I repeatedly highlighted throughout the year. However, there’s often a little extra emphasis at the beginning of the year, because these are concepts shared byexplorers, (physical) scientists, philosophers, and the (religious and/or spiritually) faithful. When we show up on the mat, we have the opportunity to be all of the above and also to embody all of those attributes. We have the opportunity, as Dr. Beau Lotto has said (in defining science), to “play with purpose.”
We can look at that “purpose” as finding out more about ourselves. For several years, now, I have had the great privilege of leading a 90-minute practice on Saturdays with that very explicit intention: exploring, experimenting, learning, and playing with the purpose of svādhyāya (“self-study”). We spent the last four years moving through Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras. Prior to that we stepped through the different kinds of yoga as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita; explored the different kinds of yoga as they are associated with the primary chakras (energy “wheels”); and did some “deep listening.” This year In 2023, in thinking about our Saturday focus, I considered some of my favorite texts — like the Ashtavakra Gita or the Bhagavad Gita — and I considered telling the backstories of some of our favorite poses (because y’all know I love a good story). Without realizing it, I started stepping through the four categories of knowns and unknowns that Professor David Block mentions in a lecture about space and grace.
Full disclosure, I didn’t know about Professor Block or his lecture when I started this process. I didn’t know that anyone — let alone anyone as esteemed as Professor Block and Kenneth Freeman, an Australian astronomer and astrophysicist – had given lectures and written books about Galileo Galilei and grace. Instead, I was thinking about what I know about the 8-Limbed Yoga Philosophy (and other Indian philosophies); what I thought I knew about what “the Saturday irregulars” know about these philosophies; what I know I don’t know; and what I’m not sure “the Saturday irregulars” know — and that’s when I stumbled upon grace. Specifically, I realized that had never really delved into the four kinds of grace that show up in Yoga and Samkhya (according to the Himalayan traditions).
Ishvara kripa (grace of God / Divine grace)
Shastra kripa (grace of scriptures / sacred texts)*
Guru kripa (grace of the Guru)
Atma kripa (grace of oneself)
— the four kinds of Kripa in the Himalayan philosophical traditions
*NOTE:While some teachers/scholars (especially outside of the Himalayan traditions) translate Shastra as “sacred text” or “scripture,” a classical definition describes shastra as the laws of Nature passed down through an oral tradition. Ergo, some of these instructions became sacred texts; however, they would not be “scripture” as that is written down. Note, also, how those two go hand in hand (as indicated below).
During the 2023 New Year’s Day practices and the Saturday practices, I explained the different types of grace as follows: Imagine that you are on a journey. At some point along the way, you must cross a vast body of water. The only way to safely cross the water is in a boat. The fact that the boat you need is exactly where you need it and when you need it is an example of “Divine grace” (as is the fact that you are there when the boat is there). However, if you just sit in the boat, you are never going to get to the other shore. You could read a book and/or someone could tell you that you have to lift the anchor and untie the boat from the dock; but, even then, you might not go where you want/need to go. Sometimes you also need instruction in how to maneuver the boat and/or you might need some assistance, someone who can ferry you across. These types of guidance are examples of “grace of [sacred text]” and “grace of Guru.” Finally, some effort is required from you. Whether it is simply getting in the boat, reading the sacred texts, eliciting the assistance of the Guru-energy, and/or steering the boar, you must do something to get to the other shore — and all of that can be considered “grace of Self.”
In the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali made it very clear that by going deeper into ourselves, we go deeper in to the world. We are, after all, microcosms of the world… which is a microcosm of the solar system… which is a microcosm of the galaxy… which is a microcosm of the universe. Which is kind of a long way to say that by observing our self, we can learn about the cosmos.
“You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him to find it within himself.”
— Galileo Galilei, as quoted in How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Just because we can, theoretically, learn about the cosmos by going deeper into ourselves, does not mean that we are the center of the universe. Some ancient philosophers perpetuated a geocentric model of the Universe, whereby everything revolved around Earth. In 1543, one of the last things Nicolaus Copernicus did was present a mathematical “theory” — based on observation — indicating that the Sun was actually the center of everything. This heliocentric model created a paradigm shift for almost everyone in the Western world, with the exception of the Catholic Church… and it’s scientists. In fact, as the Scientific Revolution ushered in more advanced technology and better observations, scientists like Tycho Brahe used their more accurate data to develop a geoheliocentric model, whereby the Sun still revolved around the Earth, but everything else revolved around the Sun.
Other scientists, in other countries, had developed similar models based on their own observations, but the Tychonic model was more than a collection of data points. In some ways, it was a desperate attempt to stay in the Church’s favor and to hold on to the old status quo. However, when Tycho unexpectedly died in October of 1601 (from an issue related to his urinary bladder and kidneys, see the 2022 practice), his assistant Johannes Kepler took over his work. Kepler and Tycho had a decent working relationship, but Kepler was convinced Tycho was coming to the wrong conclusions and proceeded accordingly as the imperial mathematician. Galileo Galilei, also a believer in Copernicus’s ideas, would further expand the ideas of Kepler. He did so, through more observations and the realization of what he was seeing.
“But now, Most Serene Prince, we are able to augur truer and more felicitous things for Your Highness, for scarcely have the immortal graces of your soul begun to shine forth on earth than bright stars offer themselves in the heavens which, like tongues, will speak of and celebrate your most excellent virtues for all time. Behold therefore, four stars reserved for your illustrious name, and not of the common sort and multitude of the less notable fixed stars, but of the illustrious order of wandering stars, which, indeed, make their journeys and orbits with a marvelous speed around the star of Jupiter, the most noble of them all, with mutually different motions, like children of the same family, while meanwhile all together, in mutual harmony, complete their great revolutions every twelve years about the center of the world, that is, about the Sun itself. Indeed, it appears that the Maker of the Stars himself, by clear arguments, admonished me to call these new planets by the illustrious name of Your Highness before all others. For as these stars, like the offspring worthy of Jupiter, never depart from his side except for the smallest distance, so who does not know the clemency, the gentleness of spirit, the agreeableness of manners, the splendor of the royal blood, the majesty in actions, and the breadth of authority and rule over others, all of which qualities find a domicile and exaltation for themselves in Your Highness? Who, I say, does not know that all these emanate from the most benign star of Jupiter, after God the source of all good?”
— quoted from Sidereus Nuncius by Galileo Galilei
Despite (or because of) the fact that he was in the middle of a long lineage of notable astronomers, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers, Galileo Galilei is the one remembered as the Father of observational astronomy, modern physics, the scientific method, and modern science. The Indigo Girls even called him “the King of Insight,” which makes sense when you consider that “insight” is “seeing things in a special way.” Thanks to advancements in telescope technology, Galileo was able to see things others had not seen. Similar to the Magi, he looked up instead of down (as others did) and sometime between December of 1609 and the beginning of January of 1610, he noticed three bright, shiny objects near Jupiter. At first he thought he was seeing stars (or new planets), invisible to the naked eye, but clear when using a telescope that magnified up to 20x. Over time, however, he chronicled the movement of these “stars” and realized there were four, not three, and that they weren’t giving off their own light, they were reflecting light. They weren’t stars/suns; they were moons orbiting Jupiter.
Galileo first mentioned the celestial orbs in a letter dated January 7, 1610. He tracked and documented the movement of the spheres from January 8th until March 2nd. After seeking the counsel of an advisor to Cosimo II de’ Medici (the Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609-1621), Galileo named the objects the “Medicean Stars” and published his findings on March 13, 1610.
A German astronomer, Simon Marius, made similar observations in December of 1609 and started documenting his observations on December 29th (according to the Julian calendar). Even though he was exonerated, because his documentation started on January 8th (according to the Gregorian calendar), Simon Marius’s reputation was tainted by accusations of plagiarism and an ongoing dispute with Galileo. If you have ever been confused by the names of Jupiter’s moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto (names suggested to Marius by Johannes Kepler) vs I, II, III, IV (as Galileo noted them in his notebooks and discussion) — you can blame it on the calendars… or the scientists’ egos.
Also, as it turns out, there were more than four — but all of that is another story, for a different day. For now, let us get back to Galileo and grace.
“What people don’t realize is it wasn’t really astronomy that was on the table at the trial in 1633 — Well, it happened to be astronomy, but the point was that the Inquisition wanted total control and total power. Total control and total power — and it didn’t matter what was on the table. I mean, he was declared to be a heretic and so he’s just very fortunate he had the correct networks to save his head because many, of course, died…at the hands of the Inquisition.”
— quoted from the lecture “From Tyndale to Galileo: Grace and Space” by David Block, professor emeritus in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
There are lots of different ways to explore the concept of grace in Galileo Galilei’s story. We could look at all the things that had to happen for him (and Simon Marius) to be at the right time and place — with the right equipment and knowledge — to see, observe, and identify the moons. However, we can’t overlook the fact that, at the time, all of Galileo’s work was dangerous. Knowing the dangers, of going up against the Church, Galileo actively sought out the power of grace; and, by “grace,” I mean the power of those royal family members who would have been addressed as “Your Grace.”
In order to secure the Medici’s as patrons, Galileo had a copy of his work, and the telescope he used to see the heavens, delivered to the Grand Duke a few days later. In 1632, he would dedicate his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems to Cosimo’s oldest son, Ferdinando II de’ Medici (the Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1621-1670). This “dialogue” exploring the scientific merits of the Copernican view of things (heliocentric) versus the Ptolemaic view of things (geocentric) eventually landed Galileo Galilei in hot water with the Catholic Church.
As noted by David Bloke and Kenneth Freeman, however, Galileo Galilei’s penalty for heresy could have been much worse than it was. Furthermore, being convicted of heresy, placed under house arrest, and banned from working and/or publishing didn’t stop Galileo, his work, or his ideas. The astrophysicists also point out that Galileo was, himself, a man of faith. He believed, as Professor Bloke said, “…[that] God reveals himself to humanity in two books: the book of nature (I have elucidated already) and the book of Scripture. Now, here comes the punchline, Galileo suggested that both books express eternal truths. That’s very interesting, because the face of science is forever changing. Galileo suggested that both books express eternal truths and are compatible, not incompatible, but compatible of course [because] they have the same author….He’s saying, I’ve got two books in front of me, the book in front of my telescope, the scriptures, but there’s no disagreement because they have the same author.“
“There was no doubt in Galileo’s mind of the authenticity and importance of the discoveries he announced, and since he wished to have them reach astronomers and philosophers all over Europe as quickly as possible he addressed his book to them and wrote it in Latin. He called it the Sidereus Nuncius, which was generally taken to mean ‘the messenger of the stars,’ not only by Galileo’s contemporaries but by the translators in succeeding generations. Several booklets appeared in reply with titles referring to this ‘messenger,’ and there were allusions to this idea in many poems and literary works. Galileo did not correct these authors, but he may not have meant the title to be so interpreted. Several years later a Jesuit critic assailed him for having presented himself as the ambassador of heaven; in the margin of his copy of this attach Galileo noted that the word nuncius means ‘message’ as well as ‘messenger,’ and asserted that he had intended only the humbler meaning. On the basis of this and other evidence, modern scholars have suggested that the word in question has always been mistranslated in this title.”
— quoted from “Introduction: First Part” in Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Stillman Drake
It may seem like a “stretch” to connect Galileo Galilei (and the moons of Jupiter) with one of the most influential voices of the Harlem Renaissance; however, in many ways, Zora Neale Hurston was first and foremost an observational researcher. Born January 7, 1891, her science was people and her “message” was for the people. She was an anthropologist, as well as an author of fiction, plays, short stories, and essays. Like Galileo, she changed the way people saw the world. In her case, she changed the way African-Americans and Caribbeans were portrayed in literature. Also like Galileo, she based her work on real time observations.
As for grace, well… all four are everywhere in Zora Neale Hurston’s story and in her stories. There was Divine grace in the fact that she was able to live the life she lived and do the things she did. There was grace of [texts] and grace of Guru-energy in her education. Finally, there was grace in her own agency — especially, when she took advantage of all the other graces she was given.
“Nothing that God ever made is the same thing to more than one person. That is natural.”
— quoted from Dust Tracks On A Road: An Autobiography by Zora Neale Hurston
Prior to the Harlem Renaissance, Black people in America were mostly portrayed as stereotypes and caricatures, often without any redeeming independent qualities or motivations. Ms. Hurston’s own lived experiences didn’t fit into those commonly circulated boxes. She was born in Notasulga, Alabama and moved to Eatonville, Florida — one of the first all-Black incorporated towns in the United States — when she was three. Her father was a man of certain means, who became the town’s mayor and the Baptist minister of the town’s largest church. When her mother died (when Zora Neale Hurston was thirteen), and her father married soon after, the future writer was shipped off to boarding schools and relatives in in Jacksonville, Florida.
The stark difference between her two environments and the class differences between her primary family and her extended family was notable. Furthermore, those differences left an impact on a young woman who’s curiosity was being fueled by her education. After graduating from the high school division of a prominent HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), she started her undergraduate degree at Howard University, another prominent HBCU, and started establishing herself as an influential part of the literati. She was one of the early members of Zeta Phi Beta, the third African-American sorority; co-founded the university’s student newspaper, The Hilltop (which was the first, and is still the only, HBCU daily paper); and was invited to join Dr. Alan Locke’s literary club, The Stylus.
“’Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.’”
— Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching Gog by Zora Neale Hurston
She left Howard without her bachelor’s degree, but was eventually offered a scholarship to Columbia University’s Bernard College. She was the only black student at the all women’s college. Once again, she was in a unique position to observe the differences between people and cultures. What really interested her, however, were the similarities. She studied ethnography and conducted research with Dr. Franz Boas, known as the “Father of American Anthropology,” and with Dr. Ruth Benedict. Also, she was a student during the time that Dr. Margaret Mead was finishing up her graduate studies. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology in 1928, and spent an additional two years pursuing a graduate degree at Columbia.
It was while she was conducting research with “Papa Franz” that Zora Neale Hurston discovered her scholastic approach to research wouldn’t get her very far in the field(s). It was also during this time that she received the patronage of Charlotte Osgood Mason, a white socialite and philanthropist who also supported other Harlem Renaissance artists, like Langston Hughes. Like Galileo, Ms. Hurston found that the support of the wealthy was a double-edged sword; because the “Godmother” of the Harlem Renaissance wanted control over the artists and their work — even scholastic research around music, folklore, hoodoo (also known as “Lowcountry Voodoo”), and other aspects of Southern culture. Trying to balance the academic requirements of her advisor, along with the demands of her patron — not to mention her newly formed friendships within the Black arts community and her own burgeoning career as an author — proved to be too much, especially since she was also a newlywed.
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein.
I was extremely proud that Papa Franz felt like sending me on that folklore search. As is well known, Dr. Franz Boas of the Department of Anthropology of Columbia University, is the greatest anthropologist alive, for two reasons. The first is his insatiable hunger for knowledge and then more knowledge; and the second is his genius for pure objectivity. He has no pet wishes to prove. His instructions are to go out and find what is there. He outlines his theory, but if the facts do not agree with it, he would not wrap a jot or dot of the findings to save his theory. So knowing all this, I was proud that he trusted me….
My first six months were disappointing. I found out later that it was not because I had no talents for research, but because I did not have the right approach.”
— quoted from the autobiographical essay “Research” in Dust Tracks On A Road: An Autobiography by Zora Neale Hurston
Ultimately, however, she didn’t need the degree so much as she needed the experience and the material. Her work includes the semi-autobiographical novel Jonah’s Gourd Vine, published in 1934, and Mules and Men, an autoethnographical collection of African-American folklore, published in 1935. She received support from the Guggenheim Foundation in order to conduct research about voodoo in Jamaica and Haiti, which resulted in Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (published in 1938). Her published views on race relations and, in particular, how race relations in the United States affected women of color led her to cover the trial of Ruby McCollum for the Pittsburgh Courier (Fall — Winter, 1953). In 1937, she published Their Eyes Were Watching God, her best known (and arguably) most influential novel. She followed that up, two years later, with Moses, Man of the Mountain, a re-telling and re-centering of The Second Book of Moses, Called Exodus (from the Bible) based on an African-American perspective — which, given the timing, has also been viewed as an overall criticism of fascism and the Nazi regime.
Throughout her career, Zora Neale Hurston received criticism for using dialects, for her conservative political views, and for [not doing enough for the Black race]. Even though the she was influential during the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston spent her final days in a welfare home and was buried in an unmarked grave. Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker, and Hurston-scholar Charlotte D. Hunt commissioned a grave marker for the woman who had inspired them and were responsible for helping new generations discover short stories like “Spunk” (1925) and the folklore in Every Tongue Got To Confess: Negro Folk-tales from the Gulf States (collected in the 1920’s and published posthumously in 2001).
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the same horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.
Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly. ”
— quoted from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice in-person or on Zoom today (Sunday, January 7th) at 2:30 PM.You must be registered and confirmed to attend in-person.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class via Zoom. 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 “01072023 Grace, Zora, & Galileo’s Moons”].
NOTE: The before/after music is slightly different, because I could only find one of the folk songs, related to Zora Neale Hurston, on Spotify.
“And when [Nanny] gained the privacy of her own little shack she stayed on her knees so long she forgot she was there herself. There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought.”
— quoted from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
“‘I love myself when I am laughing.
And then again when I am looking mean and impressive.’”
— “Zora Neale Hurston, in a letter to Carl Van Vechten, December 10, 1934, referring to a series of photographers he had taken of her” as quoted in I Love Myself when I Am Laughing.. and Then Again when I Am Mean and Impressive: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader Edited by Alice Walker (Introduction by Mary Helen Washington)
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.)
This can be considered “Grace, part I.” “Grace, part II” is coming soon.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and make sure you are well hydrated before the practice. It is best to practice on an empty stomach (especially for the 108 ajapa-japa mala), but if you must eat less than 1 hour before the practice, make sure to keep it light. Make sure to have a towel (at the very least) for the 108 practice. For Yin Yoga, a pillow/cushion or two, blocks or (hardcover) books, and a blanket or towel will be useful. I always recommend having something handy (pen and paper) that you can use to note any reflections.
IN-PERSON IS FULL! Use the link above for login information (or click here for more details about these practices and other practice opportunities related to the New Year).
The 108 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “New Year’s Day 108 Ajapa-Japa Mala.”] NOTE: This playlist has been revised for 2024, but should still sync up with the 2021 — 2023 recordings.
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01072022 A Reflective Moment”]
Both practices are available in-person (if you are registered) and online. They are also donation based. If you don’t mind me knowing your donation amount you can donate to me directly. You can also email me to request my Venmo or Ca$hApp ID. If you want your donation to be anonymous (to me) and/or tax deductible, please donate through Common Ground Meditation Center (type my name under “Teacher”).
Please note that there is still no late admittance and you must log in before the beginning of the practice (so, by 9:45 AM for the 108 or by 4:45 PM for the Yin+Meditation). You will be re-admittance if you get dumped from the call.)
Part of the 6-piece “Monumental Moments” series by Anthony Shumate, 2015 (located in Buffalo Bayou Park, along the Kinder Footpaths)
Part of the 6-piece “Monumental Moments” series by Anthony Shumate, 2015 (located in Buffalo Bayou Park, along the Kinder Footpaths)
*Anthony Shumate’s “Monumental Moments” sculptures are located in Buffalo Bayou Park, along the Kinder Footpaths in Houston, Texas. They are unexpected reminders to “Explore,” “Pause,” “Reflect,” “Listen,” “Emerge,” and “Observe” – all things we do in our practice!
“Kwanzaa, yenu iwe na heri!” — “May your Kwanzaa be happy!” to everyone who is celebrating! May you have a good observation if your focus is the Feast Day of Saint Stephen or Saint John.
“nguzo (Swahili)
Noun
nguzo
prop, pillar (an object placed against or under another, to support it)
column, supporting pole
pillar (an essential supporting part of something)
(figuratively) a support or comfort”
— definition from WordSense.eu (and English dictionary based on Wiktionary)
The following excerpt is the beginning of a post about the second day of Kwanzaa, the Feast Day of Saint John, and the Twelve Days of Christmas:
“During Kwanzaa, people contemplate the meaning and practical applications of seven guiding principles. The Swahili word nguzo carries with it an underlying meaning (pun intended) that emphasizes the importance of an object as structural support — in other words, something described as ‘nguzo’ is essential to the very existence of the structure… or, in this case the community.
The seven principles of Kwanzaa are not unique to any one culture and that is kind of the point. Because enslaved people brought from Africa to the Americas were from different cultures, the holiday was created to be a reflection of a variety of cultures. That reflection is present not only in the social construct of the principles, but also in the spiritual and religious overtones which were heavily influenced by rituals and traditions practiced during other winter holidays: like the emphasis on lighting candles.
Of course, just as Kwanzaa owes its development to other traditions, other traditions have historically borrowed from each other. People constantly talk about ‘family values’ and/or ‘Christian values’ and yet, those so-called Christian values come directly from Judaism. Additionally, when we look at the Five Pillars of Islam and the Six Articles of Faith (also in Islam) we find there’s a whole lot of overlap with Judaism and Christianity — which is not surprising given their historical and theological roots. You find similar overlap between Yoga and Buddhism, as well as between Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and all of the above. Sometimes (as with the three Abrahamic religions) the overlap is the direct result of history, geography, and migration. In some cases, like with Yoga and Buddhism, the overlap is intentional. Then there is spontaneous invention (also called multiple discovery).
When applied to social science, spontaneous invention is when two or more societies develop similar infrastructures and social mores without directly influencing one another. Can this happen (and how does this happen) without direct exchange and interaction? Cultural selection theory, an extension of memetics (the study of information and culture based on an analogy with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution) says yes; basically, because we are all human. As we all face the same challenges, we all develop similar tools in order to guarantee survival.”
“I gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me What else can I be but what I am
I want to live, not merely survive And I won’t give up this dream Of life that keeps me alive I gotta be me, I gotta be me The dream that I see makes me what I am”
— quoted from the song “I Gotta Be Me” by Sammy Davis, Jr.
Please join me today (Wednesday, December 27th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “12272020 Will, Determination, & John”]
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 Boxing Day!” Happy St. Stephen’s Day and “Kwanzaa, yenu iwe na heri!” — “May your Kwanzaa be happy!” to everyone who is celebrating!
“But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate, then you’re bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate And that’s exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y’all, y’all”
— quoted from the song “Where Is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas
Here’s an excerpt from my philosophically-focused post about different rituals and traditions people are celebrating today:
“In truth, however, all holidays are ‘made up’ and many have slightly sketchy backgrounds. But we don’t necessarily think about those sketchy back-stories or dubious beginnings when something is part of our tradition. Instead, we cling to what we know and if any part of our tradition or ritual becomes problematic, we move it to the background and cling to the spirit. (Hence the reason people no longer ‘bleed’ their cattle or neighbors for Saint Stephen’s Day.) Over time, though, our rituals and traditions can become a little like balancing with a stubbed toe — our focus is determined by what you were taught and what you value.”
Please join me today (Tuesday, December 26th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [“Look for “12262020 Boxing St Stephen’s Kwanzaa”]
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.)
Peace and blessings to all, and especially those celebrating Advent.
“Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel’s just got his wings.”
— Clarence Odbody (AS2), quoted from It’s A Wonderful Life
Here are a couple of excerpts about a holiday favorite:
Even people who don’t celebrate Christmas, as a religious holiday or otherwise, may have a favorite Christmas story or carol. These stories — which become such perennial favorites they are often turned into plays, ballets, musicals, and all manners of pageants — are full of not only the trappings and traditions of Christmas, but also the spirit. You may think the spirit of which I speak is the hope, the cheer, and the good tidings; but, one consistent element in these stories is grief, desolation, isolation, sadness — and yes, also SAD-ness.
The Greatest Gift was self-published by its author, Philip Van Doren Stern, in 1943 – exactly 100 years after Charles Dickens first published A Christmas Carol. In fact, Stern (who was half Jewish) was partially inspired by the Dickens-classic. Although the story takes place at Christmastime and was initially sent out as Stern’s 1943 Christmas cards, the author intend the story to be universal. The following year the story was picked up by a two different magazines (including Good Housekeeping, which called it ‘The Man Who Was Never Born’) and a movie production company. By 1945, the original movie rights for The Greatest Gift had been sold to director and producer Frank Capra, who would change the title and tweak some of the details.”
“[Remember,] real life is different from a novella by Dickens, a short story by Stern, or a movie by Capra; in part because there’s not a writer or director making sure the intervention happens. Also, not everything gets tied up at the end. However, if you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms associated with SAD, it is important to take two big lessons from these fictional works: 1. You are not alone. 2. You can get help.”
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
— Clarence Odbody (AS2), quoted from It’s A Wonderful Life
Please join me today (Wednesday, December 20th) 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 “12202020 A SAD Wonderful Life”]
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.)
May you be safe and protected, during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (November 25th – December 10th) and on all the other days of your life.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2020. Some sections have been edited to bring the context into the present.
“The timing of the electrical failure seemed dramatic and perfectly correct, as if the lights had said, ‘You have no need for sight. Listen.’”
— quoted from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
There was a time, not too long ago really, when I felt like I had a certain amount of control over how I began a practice and, therefore, how I told the story that was the class. Sometimes, in part because of my history in technical theatre, I relished days like today when I could combine my thirst for the practice with my love of literature and of the performing arts. I relished creating a dramatic moment when some of my favorite things converged and collapsed into one moment. But, alas, things change and in rolling with the punches I am reminded of the original intention of the story. No matter the drama, it was always about love and the practice (and love of the practice).
In Yoga and in Buddhism, there are techniques that became so popular they are now seen as styles or traditions. There are people, in both cases, who practice each technique as if it is the whole practice. The classic example in Yoga is vinyasā – which literally means “to place in a special way” and involves sequencing poses that exaggerate the body’s natural tendencies (to expand on the inhale and flex on the exhale). In Buddhism, the classic example is vipassanā – which literally means “to see in a special way” and involves paying attention to the way the body responds to the breath (see above). Notice the common root in the Sanskrit words? Notice also the connection to the breath and the body?
There are more these two things have in common, but the most common thing may be people’s habit of translating them into English words that (sometimes) barely hint at their original meaning. So, vinyasā becomes “flow” and vipassanā becomes “insight.” The English words are true; but, make it easy to miss the point and also to miss two key elements of both practices: breath and sense withdrawal.
“She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.”
— quoted from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Imagine singing as if you were saving lives; imagine the breath awareness and control that would take. When they hear the words bel canto, many people outside of classical music think of the novel written by Ann Patchett, who was born today in 1963. The novel is based on the 1996 — 1997 hostage crisis that took place at the Japanese Embassy in Lima Peru (Dec 17th — April 22nd). It details the interactions of the terrorists and their hostages — including a world renowned opera singer. Opera and music are central themes throughout the novel, which is named for the Italian term for “beautiful singing” or “beautiful song.” The thing is; bel canto, like vinyasā and vipassanā, is a technique that became known as a style — and it requires control (and awareness) of the breath.
At one time, “bel canto” was just a term applied to beautiful singing — much like some of the music on today’s playlist — but, specifically, to beautiful Italian singing. During the later 18th and early 19th century, however, people started using it in reference to a very specific type of Italian singing, which emphasized even tone; legato (“tied together” or long) phrasing deliberately juxtaposed to staccato (“detached” or short) phrasing — which sometimes also involved dramatic tempo changes; and vibrato (“vibrating” or pulsating). There was also an emphasis on emphasis (or accent) and how emotion was being conveyed. The technique was sometimes applied (and understood) outside of Italian music, but often with less drama attached to it.
“Love was action. It came to you. It was not a choice.”
— quoted from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
By the end of the 19th century, people were using the term “bel canto” to specifically distinguish a certain style of opera and classical music (mostly associated with Italian and French composers) from operatic and classical music that was described as “weightier, more powerful… speech-inflicted” (and mostly associated with German composers). Similarly, as we moved into the middle and late 20th century, people started using the term “vinyasā” — and even “vipassanā” — to distinguish one type of practice from other traditional styles of practice.
In the parallels I am drawing, one of the things to note is what gets lost in translation. Sometimes, without awareness of why we move the way we move in vinyasā, people just think it’s about putting poses together and moving as swiftly as one can. In fact, there are people who are drawn to that type of practice for the very same reason it turns some people off. Similarly, some people say that they “only practice vipassanā” as a way to distance themselves from Buddhism (or their understanding of cultural Buddhism). The thing is, as I see it, the point of these techniques was to go deeper into the overall practice — and the minute you distance yourself from the intention of the practice is the minute you start spiraling into the “hear be dragons” part of the experience. Sure, it is cool to explore what is considered unchartered territory, but it must always be done (to paraphrase J. R. R. Tolkien) with awareness of the dragons / dangers.
“‘Most of the time, we’re loved for what we can do rather than for who we are. It’s not such a bad thing, being loved for what you can do.’ ‘But the other is better,’ Gen said. Roxane pulled her feet into the chair and hugged her knees to her chest. ‘Better. I hate to say better, but it is. If someone loves you for what you can do then it’s flattering, but why do you love them? If someone loves you for who you are then they have to know you, which means you have to know them.’”
— Roxanne Cross (the soprano) and Gen Watanabe (the translator) in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
One of the “dangers” of being in close quarters for long periods of time, as people were during the hostage crisis and in the novel (and as we all were in 2020), is that people’s best and worst qualities get exaggerated. It becomes harder, sometimes impossible, to avoid conflict. Other times, it becomes harder (sometimes impossible) to ignore someone’s bad behavior. Similarly, however, we are confronted with people’s good behavior and the heart of people — if we’re paying attention and if we are open to that possibility. Certain situations are opportunities for more trauma and drama — as we have seen ever since the beginning of the pandemic. These same situations are opportunities for forgiveness and healing. But because the lines get blurred with such close proximity, it can all happen at the same time and with the same people. And, I find, that these are the times when we need to withdraw a bit.
I know, I know, you’re thinking, “But where would I go? Where can I go when everything is closed and winter is upon us?” Well, I’m glad you asked.
Some people escape inside of books, some inside of music or movies, and some inside of themselves (through practices like meditation, prayer, yoga, Tai Chi, or Qigong). The idea here is not to escape as if you are running away from home. The idea is to take a moment to turn inward, reflect, and remind yourself of what is in your heart. It’s also a way to remind yourself of what you value and of your guiding principles. Sure, it is harder to do these things during a pandemic. However, it’s harder to do these things if you are in prison or in the middle of a hostage situation… or a war — and yet, people do!
I mentioned earlier that sense withdrawal is one of the key elements shared by vinyasā and vipassanā. In the Yoga Philosophy, pratyāhāra (“withdrawing the senses”) is the fifth limb of the practice. Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati, of the Himalayan tradition, explains that placement in the philosophy by writing that “The willingness or unwillingness to withdraw attention from sensory experience is a significant dividing line between those who experience true meditation and those who experience only physical relaxation.” In other words, in order to focus, concentrate, and meditate on a single point — to the point that we are completely absorbed into (and merged with) the object our focus — we must let go of everything else.
Pratyāhāra is not, as some people believe, forcefully ignoring something or someone. Instead, this is a gentle releasing of awareness. It is something we already do unconsciously or subconsciously when we are really invested in a project or a person. In those times, we may really enjoy the experience. On the flip side, sometimes, the letting go is neither gentle nor peaceful. Sometimes, it is unexpected and jarring and creates a great deal of stress and strain. On a certain level, over the last few months years, we’ve all experienced both kinds of letting go. The question becomes, how have you perceived it (the letting go) and what have you received in turn?
“It was too much work to remember things you might not have again, and so one by one they opened up their hands and let them go.”
— quoted from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Please join me today (Saturday, December 2nd) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “12022020 Ann P’s Beautiful Singing”]
“But together they moved through the world quite easily, two small halves of courage making a brave whole.”
— quoted from Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
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.)
### HOW AWARE ARE YOU THAT YOU’RE BREATHING? (How about now) ###
“Happy Diwali!” to anyone celebrating! May we all be healthy, wealthy, and wise on World Kindness Day!
For Those Who Missed It: This is a revised (and slightly expanded) “missing” post related to Monday, November 13th. Some links have been updated and a date-related note has been added for 2023. You can request an audio recording of a related 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 (and for holiday-related changes).
“Embrace me completely
just as a creeper completely embraces a tree
May you be the one loving me only, not another
may you not go away from me”
— Atharva Veda 6.8 (translated by Dr. R. L. Kashyap)
In India and Southeast Asia, Diwali (the 5-day festival of lights) is celebrated by a very diverse group of people. The diversity is not only religious and spiritual — as it is a tradition for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Newar Buddhists. There are many other sociocultural differences. So, as you can imagine, there are lots of different ways that people tell the story of light overcoming darkness, good overcoming evil; life overcoming death, wisdom overcoming fear; love overcoming hate; hope overcoming despair, and knowledge overcoming ignorance.
For instance, in some rural parts of north, west, and central India, the fourth day of Diwali is a day when people observe Govardhan puja, an offering to honor the legend of Krishna saving the cowherds and farmers from the rain and floods by lifting Mount Govardhan. People build miniature-sized mountains out of cow dung and also “build” mountains of food and mountains of sweets. There is also thanksgiving, especially around the purchase of staples, like salt, which are considered essentials to life.
“with my mind I attract you
just as a bird on the ground beats its wings to go up
May you be the one loving me only, not another
may you not go away from me”
— Atharva Veda 6.8 (translated by Dr. R. L. Kashyap)
The main day of Diwali, yesterday, is often associated with the part of the epic poem the Rāmāyaņa when Rāma, his bride Sītā, and his brother Lakshmana returned home after 14 years in exile. According to the legend, their homecoming was met with brightly lit candles, lamps, and fireworks. The homecoming and the light festivities marked the end of the darkness that represented the jealousy which led to the trio’s exile and Sītā’s kidnapping during the exile, as well as the doubt and fear felt by some of the characters that appear throughout the poem. The lights symbolize the couples love, devotion, and faith in each other; Lakshmana and Hanuman’s devotion to Rāma; and their victory over those who tried to defeat them.
Ergo, for a good majority, this fourth day shines a light on love, relationships, and devotion — especially between husbands and wives. In some areas, husbands give their wives gifts and other areas parents treat their newlywed children to a feast (which also involves gifts).
In addition to telling those aforementioned parts of the Rāmāyaņa, people will also celebrate the story of the defeat of the evil King Bali. Sometimes the story is related to a husband and wife (Shiva and Pārvatī) playing a game of dice on a board with twelve squares and thirty pieces. Every element of the story is symbolic — including the fact that it is a “strip” version of the game, during which the husband ceremoniously looses all his clothes.
One of my favorite husband-wife Diwali stories is actually associated with the first day; but I also tell it on this day. It is the story of a clever wife who used light (and all the properties of light) to “defeat” Death (Yama, in the form of a snake) when he arrived on the fourth night of her marriage in order to take away her new husband, the prince. The legend always reminds me of Scheherazade, in that the wife in the Diwali story also spends the night telling stories and singing songs in order to extend life.
“I go around your mind just as the sun[light] goes around heaven and earth
May you be the one loving me only, not another
may you not go away from me”
— Atharva Veda 6.8 (translated by Dr. R. L. Kashyap)
2023 NOTE: The fourth day of Diwali (2023) coincided with World Kindness Day, which was established in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs). In eastern philosophies, which encourage cultivating the opposites (YS 2.33 – 2.34), every emotion has an opposite (and a near peer). For example, the flip side of anger and frustration is loving-kindness. While there has been darkness in the world on this date in the past (e. g., the terrorist attacks in Paris November 13, 2015) and there is darkness in the world today, there was and is also light.
There was light in people standing together in solidarity and proclaiming “Je suis Charlie” and “Je suis Ahmed” at the beginning of 2015. And, there is light today when people who are perceived as being different from each other remember that we all human. That light is a little bit of metta in the world.
And, no, I’m not referring to a short version of a certain basketball player born today 1979. I’m referring to the reason he changed his name: the practice of lovingkindness.
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The 2022 Monday Night Special playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Diwali (Day 3-4) 2022”]
The World Kindness Day playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “11132021 The Power of Kindness to the nth Degree”]
The 2020 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Diwali (Day 4) 2020”]
A Joyful Practice 