More Reflections in the Garden (the “missing” Tuesday blessings, music, & excerpt) April 21, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Baha'i, Bhakti, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Riḍván, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: Abdul-Baha, Baha’u’llah, Baháʼí, Commemoration of the Dead, Counting the Omer, Kitab-i-Aqdas, Nabil and Karim, poetry month, Provody, Radonitsa, Riḍván, Ridvan, Second Week of Pascha, Taraz Nosrat, Universal House of Justice
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone Counting the Omer and/or celebrating and/or observing the Second Week of Pascha & Radonitsa or Provody (Day of Rejoicing / Commemoration of the Dead)!
Happy Poetry Month!!
This is the “missing” (and backdated) post with music links for Tuesday, April 21st. My apologies for not posting before the practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Many in the wider society who encounter the grassroots activity of Bahá’ís are struck by its distinctive characteristics: it springs from a sincere concern for the well-being of all, it is oriented towards unity and service, and it follows clear principles yet does not presume to have an immediate answer to every problem. In a spirit of common endeavour, Bahá’ís seek to collaborate with others and to learn together; and in the relationships they form with those who occupy positions of authority and responsibility in society, they are earnest and clear-sighted. They pursue social change without political ambition or self-interest, and they recognize that, as the prominence of the Faith rises, it becomes important to ensure that its true character and aims are well understood. In many places, the growing depth of the community’s interactions with society means, inevitably, that there are new situations to navigate and new questions to answer, and this is compelling the community to further develop its own capabilities.”
— quoted from the Riḍván 2026 message from the Universal House of Justice “To the Bahá’is of the World”
Click on the excerpt title below and scroll down to the “ENTERING THE GARDEN” section for information about the April 22nd practice.
“The song title is taken from: ‘We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings to self and passion.’ – Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas”
— quoted from liner notes for the song “Ladder for the Soul” by Taraz Nosrat
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ridvan 181 BE 2024”]
Music Notes: With a few obvious exceptions (at the beginning and end), this music is composed and performed by Bahá’i musicians and inspired by the Bahá’i Faith. One track in the before/after music is different on each platform. My intention was to include the track below during the practice music; however I could not find it on Spotify.
“‘So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth’ – Abdu’l-Bahá”
— quoted from the liner notes for the song “So Powerful” by Taraz Nosrat
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
“We rejoice to see, in every country and region, true practitioners of peace occupied with building this haven. We see it in every account of a heart being enkindled with the love of God, a family opening up its home to new friends, collaborators drawing on Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to address a social problem, a community strengthening a culture of mutual support, a neighbourhood or village learning to initiate and sustain the actions necessary for its own spiritual and material progress, a locality being blessed with the emergence of a new Spiritual Assembly.”
— quoted from the Riḍván 2022 message from the Universal House of Justice “To the Bahá’is of the World”
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### TEACH ONE LOVE ###
Noticing Things, Again (on April 19th) [the “missing” Sunday post] April 19, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alexandra Stéliski, Bicycle Day, Counting the Omer, Johnathan Ott, Jon Lord, KISS MY ASANA, LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, meditation, Mindfulness, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Poetry, poetry month, psychiatry, Second Sunday of Pascha, story, Thomas B. Roberts, Thomas Hardy, yoga, Yoga Sutra 1.17, Yoga Sutra 2.20, Yoga Sutra 4.1
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Happy Poetry Month! Happy Bicycle Day! Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone Counting the Omer and/or celebrating and observing Second Sunday of Pascha: Antipascha, St. Thomas Sunday!
This “missing” (backdated) post for Sunday, April 19th ,is an expanded version of a 2020 post. Click here for the original post, which includs links to Kiss My Asana offerings! WARNING: There is a passing reference to a past act of terrorism during the practice and in the notes section of this post. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“An analogy will be helpful in explaining these two aspects. Let’s sat we are setting out from New York City to drive to Los Angeles. Every evening we check into a motel for the night and perhaps do a little sightseeing before continuing our journey. Eventually we reach Los Angeles. Once there, we enjoy experiencing the city. Depending on our goal, we stay for a week or two, a month, or perhaps permanently.
Los Angeles represents samadhi as a final state. The journey from beginning to end represents samadhi as a process.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.17, in The Secret of the Yoga Sūtra: Samadhi Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
According to Yoga Sūtra 1.17, we have four levels of conscious awareness: gross, subtle, bliss or joy, and the feeling of i-ness. One of my favorite analogies explains these levels by using the example of walking into a room where music is playing. (I have also used the example of going to your first yoga class.) When you first enter the room, you notice something is happening. Maybe you hear the music. Maybe you just feel the vibration. Either way, that is the gross level of awareness. When you start to recognize the lyrics and/or the melody — or, you actually start practicing, you move into the subtle level of conscious awareness. From there you move into the bliss or joy state, which is when you start to sing or dance (or really get into the practice). This is the point when things start to feel good. The final stage of conscious awareness is a state of absorption, Samadhi (which is also the final limb of the Yoga Philosophy).
In the commentary for Yoga Sūtra 1.17, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, uses another great example: going on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles. I think this is a great example, because it highlights the fact that the process of reaching/experiencing Samadhi is a journey, as well as a state of being. He also points out that how we travel determines how experience the process/journey and how quickly we reach the destination.
“Lower samadhis is the journey leading to the higher samadhi. It consists of a series of interim destinations, which are largely determined by the quality of the objects employed in meditation and the quality of the mind using those objects. If we walk from New York City to Los Angeles, our final destination is the same as if we drive, but there will be many more interim destinations—and the distance between them will be much shorter. But the number of interim destinations and the distance between them change drastically when we travel by bicycle or by airplane. In the same way, in Yoga sadhana each of us has our own starting point, a uniquely trained mind, and a particular object we use to remain one-pointed. ”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.17, in The Secret of the Yoga Sūtra: Samadhi Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
“For me ‘plus tôt’ is a piece that talks about the sort of space and time that you’re in before things happen to you. The sort of calm you can feel when you don’t know that some events are about to change you. It’s the beginning of the trip. It’s the beginning of the inscape.”
— Alexandra Stéliski explaining the inspiration for the first piece on her album Inscape (the song title translates to “earlier”)
When do you notice things? And what do you notice?
Our sense organs are always picking up information and, unless something goes wrong, they are always sending that information to the brain in the form of sensation. The brain sifts through the information, works on the puzzle, and then sends back more sensation, more information. Sometimes we add a layer of judgment and a layer of story — especially when we don’t feel we have enough information or when the pieces are starting to fill in the gaps.
Our minds like a good story.
However, a lot of the mind’s processing is purely unconscious and subconscious. Someone will bring our awareness to something and we will say, “Oh, I didn’t notice that.” The reality is that some part of us did notice — otherwise we wouldn’t be able to recognize whatever it was that someone brought to our attention. (See Yoga Sūtra 2.20.) What we notice ourselves noticing, when we bring our awareness to our awareness, is something in the subconscious and/or unconscious parts our consciousness being brought forward into the conscious part of our mind.
Take a deep breath in; open your mouth, sigh it out.
Deep breath in through your nose; deep open mouth sigh.
Take the deepest breath you’ve taken all day; open your mouth and sigh it out.
As you inhale through your nose, and exhale through your nose, notice what you notice. Bring your awareness to your awareness.
There are certain times in our lives where we seem to notice — be conscious of — everything. At other times, it seems our conscious mind shrinks down and we are only aware of one thing. This can, and does, happen all the time without us ever thinking about it. But, what happens when we think about it?
A meditation practice, whether you are moving, sitting, or lying down is sometimes referred to as a mindfulness practice. Mindfulness being the state of conscious awareness. In that state of conscious awareness there can be peace and calm; but not always. There are times when conscious awareness is neither peaceful nor calm (even though the peace and the calm are why so many people meditate). The fact that mindfulness practices can be uncomfortable — on multiple levels — is why some people also associate compassion with mindfulness. More than anything, mindfulness, how ever you get to it, involves clarity and an understanding of cause-and-effect.
It also involves noticing things.
“When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay,
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say,
‘He was a man who used to notice such things’?”
— quoted from the poem “Afterwards” by Thomas Hardy, set to music by Lon Lord
Sometimes we notice things because of tragedy1, which can heighten our awareness (even when we are just watching events unfold on our screens). Sometimes we notice things because they are too beautiful to miss. Sometimes we notice things because we are, like the person in the Thomas Hardy poem, someone who just notices things. Sometimes we notice things because we choose to notice things.
Other times we notice things because we are “trippin’”.
While it can be used as a slang term to refer to someone saying or doing something ridiculous or unbelievable, trippin’, technically speaking, refers to someone who is using a controlled substance — specifically, a psychedelic. Some sources attribute the latter usage to US Army scientists who were experimenting with LSD in the 1950s. However, the first recorded “acid trip” was an actual trip that Dr. Albert Hofmann took (on a bicycle) in Basel, Switzerland, on April 19, 1943. Decades later, he would write about a childhood experience (near Baden, Switzerland) that forever altered his awareness of awareness.
“Suddenly, the familiar view of our surroundings is transformed in a strange, delightful, or alarming way: it appears to us in a new light, takes on a special meaning. Such an experience can be as light and fleeting as a breath of air, or it can imprint itself deeply upon our minds.
One enchantment of that kind, which I experienced in childhood, has remained remarkably vivid in my memory ever since. It happened on a May morning—I have forgotten the year—but I can still point to the exact spot where it occurred, on a forest path on Martinsberg above Baden, Switzerland. As I strolled through the freshly greened woods, filled with bird song and lit by the morning sun, all at once everything appeared in an uncommonly clear light. Was this something I had simply failed to notice before? Was I suddenly perceiving the spring forest as it actually looked? It shone with the most beautiful radiance, speaking to the heart, as though it wished to encompass me in its majesty. I was filled with an indescribable sensation of joy, oneness, and of blissful security.”
— quoted from the “Foreword” in LSD: My Problem Child — Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism, and Science by Albert Hoffman Ph.D., Dr. Pharm. (Hon.), Dr. Sc. Nat. (Hon.), Head of the Pharmaceutical-Chemical Research Laboratories, Division of Natural Products (Retired), Sandoz, Ltd., Basel, Switzerland (Translated by Jonathan Ott)
Dr. Albert Hofmann was a Swiss chemist who first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in November of 1938. He set his experiment aside for five years, to work on other things, and then, on April 16, 1943, he accidentally dropped some LSD on his exposed skin. He wasn’t overly concerned about the little drop. Later, however, after he was home, he felt intoxicated, a little dizzy, restless, and overly sensitive to light. He laid down for a bit, closed his eyes, and experienced about 2 hours of colorful images playing out behind his closed eyelids.
Three days later, on April 19th, Dr. Hofmann intentionally ingested what he thought was a small dose of LSD: 250 micrograms. That dose was way too large — actually ten times a threshold dose — and, within the hour, the drugs kicked in. Instead of having the dreamy, highly imaginative, and slightly pleasant experience he was expecting, the chemist found himself in a living nightmare. People around him turned into wild creatures and witches; furniture moved around of their own volition; and he felt possessed. He also felt anxious and paranoid, and feared that he had poisoned himself. He asked his laboratory assistant to help him get home and, because of World War II restrictions, they had to bicycle.
I always imagined Dr. Hofmann riding on the back of the bicycle or on the handlebars as they rode home from Sandoz Labs; however, it turns out that Susi Ramstein (his lab assistant) simply rode beside him. He later wrote that “everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from the spot. Nevertheless, my assistant later told me we had traveled very rapidly.” Eventually, a doctor made a house call; but, the only physical symptom the doctor identified was dilated pupils. So, Dr. Hofmann decided to enjoy what turned out to be a six-hour ride.
The next morning he felt refreshed and had a new perspective about the world. He also had a greater sense of well-being, perceived his food as tasting better, and basically enjoyed his life more. While Dr. Hofmann recognized the possibility/danger of having a bad experience. He believed that similar “trips” (like the ones he had) could heighten consciousness — and modern psychiatry is backing him up! Today, psychiatrists around the world are administering LSD and other psychedelics, in controlled settings, in order to help people unpack trauma, overcome anxiety, and cultivate awareness. Some people, in clinical settings, describe feeling more compassion, more empathy, a deeper connection to others, and a dissolution of their ego. Others describe experiencing more confidence and what has been described as “ego construction” (i.e., a deeper sense of Self/self).
“There is today a widespread striving for a mystical experience, for visionary breakthroughs to a deeper, more comprehensive reality than that perceived by our rational, everyday consciousness. Efforts to transcend our materialistic world view are made in various ways, not only by the adherents to Eastern religious movements, but also by professional psychiatrists, who are adopting such profound spiritual experiences as a basic therapeutic principle.”
— quoted from the “Foreword” in LSD: My Problem Child — Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism, and Science by Albert Hoffman Ph.D., Dr. Pharm. (Hon.), Dr. Sc. Nat. (Hon.), Head of the Pharmaceutical-Chemical Research Laboratories, Division of Natural Products (Retired), Sandoz, Ltd., Basel, Switzerland (Translated by Jonathan Ott)
The first commemoration of Dr. Albert Hoffman’s first trip, was hosted by Dr. Thomas B. Roberts in 1985. The Northern Illinois University professor wanted to host a small gathering at his home in DeKalb, Illinois on the anniversary of Dr. Hoffman’s accidental exposure. The year he decided to expand the celebration, April 16th fell midweek and, so, the professor decided to host a gathering on April 19th: the anniversary of the first intentional “trip”. He called it “Bicycle Day”.
Today, Bicycle Day is an annual celebration of the psychedelic revolution and of Dr. Albert Hoffman’s first (bicycle) trip. Some people ingest psychedelics and ride bicycles on April 19th, while others simply enjoy the parades, wear tie-dye, and/or attend educational events, art gatherings, or wellness-focused activities. Some folks also learn about the history of “trippin’”, discuss the work of Dr. Albert Hoffman, and/or do what we do in every practice — explore consciousness and mental health.
“I share the belief of many of my contemporaries that the spiritual crisis pervading all spheres of Western industrial society can be remedied only by a change in our world view. We shall have to shift from the materialistic, dualistic belief that people and their environment are separate, toward a new consciousness of an all-encompassing reality, which embraces the experiencing ego, a reality in which people feel their oneness with the animate nature and all of creation.
Everything that can contribute to such a fundamental alteration in our perception of reality must therefore command earnest attention. Foremost among such approaches are the various methods of meditation, either in a religious or a secular context, which aim to deepen the conscious reality by way of a total mystical experience.”
— quoted from the “Foreword” in LSD: My Problem Child — Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism, and Science by Albert Hoffman Ph.D., Dr. Pharm. (Hon.), Dr. Sc. Nat. (Hon.), Head of the Pharmaceutical-Chemical Research Laboratories, Division of Natural Products (Retired), Sandoz, Ltd., Basel, Switzerland (Translated by Jonathan Ott)
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04192020 Noticing Things”]
NOTE: These are double playlists. You can start with Track #1, Track #11, or Track #12.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
NOTES: 1The Oklahoma City bombing took place today in 1995.
### Tune In! ###
What We Can Do When Waiting for Transcendence/Change (the music & blessings, with extra inspiration) April 4, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Passover, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Counting the Omer, Guy Johnston, Hilary Tann, Lazarus Saturday, Lent / Great Lent, Maya Angelou, Passover, Pesach, Pope Francis, R. S. Thomas
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“Chag Sameach!” to everyone celebrating Passover and/or Counting the Omer! Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating and/or observing Lent & Great Lent during Great / Passion / Holy Week!
Peace, ease, and ahimsa/nonviolence to all, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
“Still; all that close throng
Of spirits waiting, as I,
For the message.
Prompt me, God;
But not yet. When I speak,
Though it be you who speak
Through me, something is lost.
The meaning is in the waiting.”
— quoted from the poem “Kneeling” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston
Please join me today (Saturday, April 4th) 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 “04082023 Transcendence on a Holy Sat, redux”]
An alternate (instrumental only) playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04192020 Noticing Things”] NOTE: These are double playlists. You can start with Track #1, Track #11, or Track #12.
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.
Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.
Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.
I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you.”
— quoted from the preface to Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou (b. 04/04/1928)
For anyone interested, playlist inspired by Dr. Maya Angelou’s life and work is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04042020 Maya Angelou”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
“This year however, we are experiencing, more than ever, the great silence of Holy Saturday. We can imagine ourselves in the position of the women on that day. They, like us, had before their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened all too suddenly. They had seen death and it weighed on their hearts. Pain was mixed with fear: would they suffer the same fate as the Master? Then too there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour.
Yet in this situation the women did not allow themselves to be paralyzed. They did not give in to the gloom of sorrow and regret, they did not morosely close in on themselves, or flee from reality. They were doing something simple yet extraordinary: preparing at home the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They did not stop loving; in the darkness of their hearts, they lit a flame of mercy. Our Lady spent that Saturday, the day that would be dedicated to her, in prayer and hope. She responded to sorrow with trust in the Lord. Unbeknownst to these women, they were making preparations, in the darkness of that Sabbath, for ‘the dawn of the first day of the week’, the day that would change history. Jesus, like a seed buried in the ground, was about to make new life blossom in the world; and these women, by prayer and love, were helping to make that hope flower. How many people, in these sad days, have done and are still doing what those women did, sowing seeds of hope! With small gestures of care, affection and prayer.”
— quoted from the Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis, Easter Vigil, Holy Saturday, 11 April 2020
### “You have to imagine
a waiting that is not impatient
because it is timeless.” ~ R. S. Thomas ###
Reflections & Moving in (7) Mysterious Ways (just the reflections, blessings, & music) March 28, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Faith, Health, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, citizenship, Corneille Heymans, Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace, Mirabai Starr, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Season for Nonviolence
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Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Lent or Great Lent (and Laudation of the Mother of God) and/or participating in No Kings Day (in a way that makes sense for you)!
Peace, ease, and citizenship to all, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
“To be a citizen means to help your community be the best it can be. You are a member of many communities: your family, your place of work or school, your place of worship, your city, your country, and the planet. Participation in your community presents an opportunity to model nonviolent action, peaceful resolution, and how each of us can and do make a difference.”
— quoted from the “Reflection” section of the “Day 58 ~ March 28 ~ Citizenship” page for the “Season for Nonviolence,” provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Saturday, March 28th) at 12:00 PM. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “03282023 Moving in 7 Mysterious Ways” ]
“Remember: If you want to make progress on the path and ascend to the places you have longed for, the important thing is not to think much but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens you to love.”
— quoted from “The Fourth Dwelling .1.” of The Interior Castle by Saint Teresa of Ávila (New Translation and Introduction by Mirabai Starr)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### 
BE MOVED & (ALSO) MOVE YOURSELF ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts RE: Change, Power, & “Keeping the Overcome Promise” (the revised version) March 15, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 19-Day Fast, Baha'i, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Ramadan, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Civil Rights Movement, Imam Khalid Latif, kriya yoga, Laylat al-Qadr, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mastery, nasheeds, Ramaḍān, Ramadan, Reba McEntire, Religion, Richard Goodwin, Season for Nonviolence, Selma to Montgomery
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“Ramaḍān Mubarak, Blessed Ramaḍān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramaḍān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings also to all, and especially to those celebrating and/or observing the Baháʼí 19-Day Fast, Great Lent, and/or Lent!
Peace, ease, and (self) mastery to all, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
NOTE: I have maintained the language of the quotes.
“Our mission is at once the oldest and the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man.
In our time we have come to live with moments of great crisis. Our lives have been marked with debate about great issues; issues of war and peace, issues of prosperity and depression. But rarely in any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself. Rarely are we met with a challenge, not to our growth or abundance, our welfare or our security, but rather to the values and the purposes and the meaning of our beloved nation.
The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue. And should we defeat every enemy, should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and as a nation.
For with a country as with a person, ‘What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’”
— quoted from “Special Message to the Congress on Voting Rights and the American Promise,” original draft by Richard Goodwin; delivered by President Lyndon B. Johnson, March 15, 1965
Bring your awareness to where change begins, inside you and all around you, every time you inhale and every time you exhale. Change is literally beginning (inside you and all around you) every time you inhale, every time you exhale. Even when you are not harnessing the power of your breath and your ability to activate change, you can still observe it. Notice the belly rising as you inhale, falling as you exhale. Observe the low ribs and intercostal muscles expanding and releasing. Bring awareness to the giving and receiving — and notice how the very act of noticing what you notice, bringing awareness to your awareness, actually sparks more change.
Change begins with each of us taking a step towards change, harnessing the power of who we are individually and collectively, and giving what we can (every time we inhale, every time we exhale). Lasting change begins when we make the commitment to change… to promise (ourselves and others) to overcome what stands in the way of change. That commitment, that promise, takes us deeper.
“Many Muslims will give emphasis to the 27th night of Ramadan being Laylatul Qadr, but the opinions on what day it is varies. The Qur’an doesn’t mention a specific date for Laylatul Qadr and the Prophet Muhammad’s recommendation: to ‘Seek it in the last 10 days, on the odd nights,’ indicates the importance of searching for it. I would recommend for those observing to take advantage of every night remaining and if we are amongst those who find ourselves in Ramadan next year, to stand in every night that we possibly can.”
— quoted from the (Aug 14, 2012) Huffington Post essay “Ramadan Reflection Day 26: In Search Of Laylat al-Qadr: Be with those who give you hope and courage, who help you to be bold in your prayer. Forget the judgments and harshness of any who have lead you to believe that you cannot ask of your Creator for whatever your heart wishes. ” by Imam Khalid Latif
All over the world, during these final nights of Ramaḍān — especially during the odd nights — there are people making a commitment to their future.
Today in 1965, then President Lyndon B. Johnson made a similar commitment for the future, a promise (if you will) to overcome… to change.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE!
FTWMI: A Night of Great Power & Great Peace (a “renewed” post)
“In Selma as elsewhere we seek and pray for peace. We seek order. We seek unity. But we will not accept the peace of suppressed rights, or the order imposed by fear, or the unity that stifles protest. For peace cannot be purchased at the cost of liberty.
In Selma tonight, as in every city, we are working for just and peaceful settlement.”
— quoted from “Special Message to the Congress on Voting Rights and the American Promise,” original draft by Richard Goodwin; delivered by President Lyndon B. Johnson, March 15, 1965
Please join me today (Sunday, March 15th) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into in 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.
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.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
Some quick notes about the music: First, my playlists for the final days of Ramadān are not halal (“permissible”) in all Islamic traditions, because of the orchestrations. They do, however, feature musicians who are Muslim (with a few exceptions).
This remix includes some (Gregorian) date-related exceptions. Reba McEntire is another notable exception — notable, because in previous years she was the only female soloist and the only non-Muslim singer on the playlists. While this year’s playlists include several Muslim women as musicians and composers, “Pray for Peace” is still highlighted because it was re-released during the month of Ramadān in 2014 — but not just randomly in the month, the song was released in the last ten days of the month (during the holiest part of the month)!
Some songs on the playlist are Nasheeds (meaning they are religiously moral songs) that, in some traditions, are meant to be sung without instrumentation or only with percussion. I have, however, included orchestrated versions of these songs, because this seems to have worked best in an in-studio setting. I mean no disrespect by this choice. As far as I know, percussion or voice only recordings of the Nasheeds are available (if you want to build your own playlist). Alternatively, you can practice without the music — which is always a suitable option.
Finally, the YouTube version currently includes some additional before/after music.
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.
### Change is Coming ###
FTWMI: So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day & Also… (an abridged post-practice Monday post w/excerpts) February 2, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Movies, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.Tags: 988, Bill Murray, Black History Month, Candelmas, Caring, Carnival, change, Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis, holidays, Margaret Fuhrer, Punxsutawney Phil, Raven Wilkinson, Richard Henzel, Season for Nonviolence, trees, Tu BiShvat
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“Happy Carnival!” and “Happy Birthday to the Trees!” to those who are celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone celebrating Candlemas.
Peace, ease, contemplation, appreciation, and caring throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!!!
For Those Who Missed It: This short post-practice post for Monday, February 2nd (with excerpts) is the abridged (and slightly revised) version of a 2025 post. It includes an extra excerpt related to the “Season for Nonviolence”. The 2026 prompt question was, “If you only had one day (not your last day, but just one day) what would you do?” You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
February 2nd is always Groundhog Day. For people using the Gregorian Calendar, it is also, always, Candlemas, the second day of Black History Month (for some people in the United States), and part of the “Season for Nonviolence”. However, since people use different calendars for religious and cultural holidays and observations, this day sometimes overlaps a whole lot of other ancient rituals and traditions — and even a couple of modern ones. For instance, in 2026, today is also part of Carnival and Tu BiShvat the New Year for Trees (on the Hebrew calendar).
In 2026, the “Season for Nonviolence” principle for today is “Caring”. While an underlying element of this practice is always about how we take care of ourselves, it is coupled with the understanding that we must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. Today, there is also an awareness that we must care (about ourselves and others) if we want to make any beneficial changes in the world.
FTWMI: AN INVITATION TO SHINE
“It’s always Feb 2nd — there’s nothing I can do about it.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
Have you ever had one of those moments, like Phil Connors had in the movie Groundhog Day, where you woke up and every day seemed (or actually was) the same? Or, maybe, like Raven Wilkinson (who was born today in 1935), you see things in the world that you want to be different… even though it seems like those things have been the same for so long that they are unchangeable.
I think it is very easy to look at the world and see things we would like changed. I also think we have all had days where nothing we do seems to make a difference. Yet, the reality is that everything we do changes something.
Being alive is like a dance between our body, our mind, our spirit, and the world. Everything is shifting, changing. Everything is balance and counterbalance, inhale and exhale, enter and leaving, rising and falling. Sometimes we lead. Sometimes we follow. Sometimes we are watching from the side, resting, or waiting for our turn to lead or follow. Start to notice that dance and your start to notice change and how you engage it. You also start to notice when you are stuck… and the choices you make when you are stuck.
Do you get frustrated and stay stuck?
Do you “accept the things [you] cannot change”… and stay stuck?
Or, do you “change the things [you] can”… with appreciation/gratitude?
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE SOME HISTORY ABOUT GROUNDHOG DAY.
FTWMI: “Okay, campers, rise and shine!” (the “missing” post for February 2nd)
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT BELOW FOR A PROFILE ABOUT RAVEN WILKINSON.
Whether we realize it or not, everything we do changes something about us. It changes our perspective. Maybe the change is a reinforcement of what we already believe. Sometimes, however, we see ourselves and the world in a new way, a special way. That new insight can lead us to interact with people in a different way — and that can change their perspectives. The first part happened to Phil Connors in the movie. Both parts happened to Raven Wilkinson and, therefore, to ballet dancers and ballet fans.
That’s the way life goes. We just have to rise and shine.
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cooooold out there today.”
— Richard Henzel as “DJ #1” in the movie Groundhog Day
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR ANOTHER POST ON CARING FOR OURSELVES (with a video)!
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 an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”
— Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
### I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF!! ###
FTWMI: Another Mystical Introduction (with Excerpt & links) January 31, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Gandhi, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Vipassana, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Christianity, Contemplation, courage, Exodus, faith, Fred Bahnson, Jeremy Seifert, Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace, meditation, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Season of Nonviolence, Shabbat Shiirah, Shemot, spirituality, Thomas Merton
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Peace and ease to all during this “Season for Non-violence” and all other seasons! May we all sing in honor of freedom & lovingkindness. May we all have the courage to go a little deeper.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2024. Class details, some formatting, excerpts, and an extra blessing have been updated/added.
“It takes courage to stretch our worldview, to develop and deepen our commitment to peace. Courageous people are those who are empowered with the awareness that what they think, say and do makes a difference. Today start to see yourself as an agent of positive change. Have the courage to be the change you wish to see in the world.”
— quoted from the “Daily Action” section of the “Day 1 ~ January 31 ~ Courage” page for the “Season for Non-violence,” provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
As I mentioned yesterday, Arun Gandhi, (Mohandas Gandhi’s grandson) established the “Season for Nonviolence” (January 30th through April 4th) in 1998. The Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace offers daily practices based on principles of nonviolence advocated by Mahatma Gandhi (who was assassinated on January 30, 1948) and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (who was assassinated on April 4, 1968). These two great leaders/teachers did not invent these ideas. These principles are not unique to one culture, one philosophy, or one religion. Ideas like ahiṃsā (non-violence or “non-harming”) — which is the very first yama (external “restraint” or universal commandment) in the Yoga Philosophy; one of the Ten Commandments according the Abrahamic religions; and one of the Buddhist precepts — predate both men and their struggles. They are enduring principles that guided them in their efforts to overcome their struggles.
Today’s word is courage, which came into the English language from Latin, by way of Old French and Middle English, from a word that meant “to live with [your] whole heart.” This is not — or, not only — an anatomical idea. It is a physical-mental, emotional-energetic, psychic-symbolic thing. It can also be a spiritual-religious thing: a mystical thing. Accordingly, Thomas Merton, who was born today in 1915, was not only a deeply religious, spiritual, contemplative, and mystical man; he was a man of courage. He was a man who was willing to push the boundaries of what was known and acceptable, in order to explore the unknown… even when it wasn’t acceptable.
Click the excerpt title below to learn more about the mystical adventures of Thomas Merton.
“Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.”
— Thomas Merton, O. C. S. O.
Please join me today (Saturday, January 31st) 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 “01312021 Merton’s Mystical Day”]
“We’re all on a journey. We’re all going somewhere.”
“Our task now is to learn that if we can voyage to the ends of the earth, and there find ourselves in the stranger who most differs from ourselves, we will have made a fruitful pilgrimage. This is why pilgrimage is necessary, in some shape or other. Mere sitting at home and meditating on the Divine presence is not enough for our time. We have to come to the end of a long journey and see that the stranger we meet there is no other than ourselves.”
— quoted from the Emergence Magazine documentary On The Road With Thomas Merton, by Jeremy Seifert and Fred Bahnson, based on Woods, Shore, Desert: A Notebook, May 1968, by Thomas Merton
This YouTube link will take you to a clip of the short Emergence documentary referenced above. The full documentary is also available on YouTube.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### Sit, Breathe…. ###
EXCERPT: “Understanding [Your] Karma & Putting Cash in Your Karmic Bank Account” January 13, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, California, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Volunteer, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Carl Perkins, Folsom State Prison, inspiration, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Karma, Karma Yoga, kriya, kriyā, music, Statler Brothers, The Tennessee Three, Yoga Sutra 2.1, Yoga Sutra 2.12
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May your mind-body-spirit be well, be great, and be in harmony with your thoughts, words, and deeds.
“Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
Today in 1968, Johnny Cash, June Carter (who wouldn’t become a Cash until March 1, 1968), Carl Perkins, The Tennessee Three, and the Statler Brothers performed and recorded two (2) concerts at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.
CLICK ON THE EXCEPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
“I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime
But is there because he’s a victim of the times”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 13th) 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 in 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. [“01132021 Karma Cash I”]
“Each week we lose a hundred fine young men
And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believin’ that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred-thousand who have died
Believin’ that we all were on their side
… Well, there’s things that never will be right, I know
And things need changin’ everywhere you go
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white
Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything’s okay
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
’Til things are brighter, I’m the man in black”
— quoted from the song “The Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### GIVE ###
EXCERPT: “A Simple, Radical, ‘Bad to the Bone’ Man” January 11, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Religion, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, activism, Cardinal August Bea, Dr. Susannah Heschel, Feast of the Holy Innocents, habits, John F. Kennedy, kabbalah, Martin Luther King Jr, mitzvot, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, samskāras, Selma to Montgomery, vasanas, Vatican II
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Happy New Year! Many blessings to all and especially to anyone celebrating the Sunday after the Nativity and remembering the 14,000 Infants (Holy Innocents).
May your mind-body-spirit be well, be great, and be in harmony with your thoughts, words, and deeds.
“Our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs but how to remain human in the skyscrapers.”
— quoted from “Part V: The Meaning of this Hour – 40. Religion in Modern Society” in Between God and Man by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was born today in 1907. Click on the excerpt title below to learn why I think he was…
“The hour calls for moral grandeur and spiritual audacity.”
— quoted from a telegram to then U. S. President John F. Kennedy, (dated June 16, 1963) by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Please join me today (Sunday, January 11th) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01112023 To The Bone, 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 an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### WHERE ARE YOUR FEET? ###
Making Room for Wonder and Gratitude & FTWMI: Simple and True, with Music January 10, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, First Nations, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Poetry, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 9 Days, 988, Anodea Judith, Benjamin Boone, Bird Flight, Caroline Myss, chakras, Charlie Parker, Health, kabbalah, Keith Porter Jr., meditation, Mindfulness, Phil Schaap, Philip Levine, pranayama, prāṇāyāma, Saint Teresa of Ávila, sefirot, Sioux, spirituality, WKCR 89.9, yoga
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May you breathe deeply, and with awareness, because you are stable, steady, comfortable, at ease… and maybe even joyful.
“now i can’t believe—
that the bible and qur’an and bhagavad gita are sliding long hairs behind my ear like mom used to & exhaling from their mouths ‘make room for wonder’—”
— quoted from the 2020 Academy of American Poets Prize poem “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs” by Renée Nicole Macklin [Good]
Part of our practice is about “‘[making] room for wonder’” and gratitude. I would like to think that this is true even on days like today, when I am not holding a Zoom or in-person class (because it’s a travel day for me). I definitely believe this is true when I am currently holding what can feel like contradictory emotions.
I am simultaneously celebrating a new life in my family and appreciating the opportunity to connect with my yoga and dharma buddies, while also feeling a little heavy and muddled because of the tragic murders of Keith Porter Jr. (in Los Angeles) and Renée Nicole Macklin Good (here in Minneapolis) and the additional shooting of two people in Portland. This heaviness is layered on top of what was already there because of all the other things still going on in the world.
Yet, surrounding that heaviness in my heart is a lot of love, light, and goodwill courtesy of the new baby and of everyone who attended classes (in-person and/or via Zoom), stopped by the Open House, and/or just reached out in some way.
Thank you all. Your presence, on and off the mat, means more than you know.
As for the muddled brain…. I leave Minneapolis with a serendipitously rediscovered clarity about the importance of what my yoga buddy Vickie calls “the usual”: “stretching and breathing”.
The post below is mostly about the breathing. Some of it is, I hope, what I would have written if I were writing it today. Some of it is definitely what I needed to hear/read today.
FTWMI: The following 2024 post is the expanded and revised 2023 remix of a 2022 post. Some links and formatting have been added/updated.
“Some days I catch a rhythm, almost a song
in my own breath. I’m alone here
in Brooklyn Heights, late morning, the sky
above the St. George Hotel clear, clear
for New York, that is. The radio playing
‘Bird Flight,’ Parker in his California
tragic voice fifty years ago, his faltering
‘Lover Man’ just before he crashed into chaos.”
— quoted from the poem “Call It Music” by Philip Levine
Breathing is something we all do. It’s something we all must do in order to survive — and, yet, it is all to easy to forget about it. Even in this day and age, it is all too easy to take our breathing for granted. So, take a moment to breathe.
Just breathe and pay attention to your breath.
Catch the rhythm that is your breath, the rhythm of your life.
Breath — and the awareness of breath — is the guiding teacher that we carry with us where ever we go. Our breath can be a true reflection of how we are living and/or surviving in any given moment. It can tell us if we are about to soar like a bird and/or if we are about to crash into chaos.
“The perfect sunlight angles into my little room
above Willow Street. I listen to my breath
come and go and try to catch its curious taste,
part milk, part iron, part blood, as it passes
from me into the world. This is not me,
this is automatic, this entering and exiting,
my body’s essential occupation without which
I am a thing. The whole process has a name,
a word I don’t know, an elegant word not
in English or Yiddish or Spanish, a word
that means nothing to me.”
— quoted from the poem “Call It Music” by Philip Levine
There are any number of words in any number of languages that could come to mind when reading the words of the poet Philip Levine, who was born January 10, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan. Of course, the word that immediately springs to my mind is the Sanskrit word prāṇāyāma. Defined as the awareness of breath and the extension of breath, prāṇāyāma is the fifth limb of the 8-limb Yoga Philosophy. It is the second half of the physical practice of yoga and it bridges the gap between the mind-body and our awareness of our mind-body.
Although there are many techniques, basic prāṇāyāma is a very simple practice: focus on your breath for a set period of time. While the practice is just that simple, it is not always easy. There are lots of things that can get in the way. However, one of the great things about this practice is that paying attention to the breath is also the true way around those obstacles. I would even argue that nothing is more simple and true than breathing and bringing awareness to that automatic entering and leaving.
“Some things
you know all your life. They are so simple and true
they must be said without elegance, meter and rhyme,
they must be laid on the table beside the salt shaker,
the glass of water, the absence of light gathering
in the shadows of picture frames, they must be
naked and alone, they must stand for themselves.”
— quoted from the poem “A Simple Truth” by Philip Levine
Philip Levine was the second of three sons (and the first identical twin) born to Jewish immigrants just as the Nazi party was getting a foothold in Germany. He had the unfortunate experience of watching anti-Semitism rise in is own (proverbial) backyard and to also witness how racism (and other -isms) created a schism between the different people who made up the working class. Following in the tradition of Walt Whitman, he started giving voice to America’s voiceless and — even after he left the “mitten state” — he wrote poems about the plight of regular people in his hometown.
In some ways, Mr. Levine followed in his parent’s footsteps. His father, Harry Levine, owned a used (car) parts store; his mother, Esther Priscol (Pryszkulnik) Levine, sold books; and, starting at the age of fourteen, the poet worked in auto factories as he pursued his literary degrees. After graduating from Detroit Central High School, he earned his Bachelor of Arts, in literature, from Wayne (State) University and then “unofficially” attended classes at the University of Iowa. He earned a mail-order master’s degree and then returned to the University of Iowa to teach and pursue a Masters of Fine Arts, which he completed in 1957.
By the time he graduated from the University of Iowa (1957), he was beginning to gain significant recognition as a poet. In addition to teaching at a plethora of major universities around the country, he was lauded and recognized with national literary awards, including the two National Book Awards (1980 and 1991), Guggenheim Foundation fellowships (1973 and 1980), the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1995, for the collection The Simple Truth), and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (1987). He served on the Board of Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets (1000-2006) and as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (also known as the U. S. Poet Laureate) from 2011-2012. In collaboration with saxophonist and composer Benjamin Boone, Philip Levine created a collection of jazz poetry, “a literary genre defined as poetry necessarily informed by jazz music” — which was released in 2018, almost exactly three years and a month after his death. As a writer, he not only protested the Vietnam War, he kept speaking for the disenfranchised using simple truths… truths that could not be denied.
“Can you taste
what I’m saying? It is onions or potatoes, a pinch
of simple salt, the wealth of melting butter, it is obvious,
it stays in the back of your throat like a truth
you never uttered because the time was always wrong,
it stays there for the rest of your life, unspoken,
made of that dirt we call earth, the metal we call salt,
in a form we have no words for, and you live on it.”
— quoted from the poem “A Simple Truth” by Philip Levine
The sixth chakra, which is located around the third eye (and about in inch into your forehead, half an inch above there), is symbolically associated with big “T” Truth — and with our ability to seek it, perceive it, and recognize it when we encounter it. The energy of this area is a curious energy, in that it continually pushes us to question everything. It supports healthy self-inquiry when the energy is balanced; however, when out of balance, it can manifest feelings of doubt or an inability to “see the truth” when it is right in front of you.
In Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System, Anodea Judith, Ph.D., connects the sixth chakra to “knowledge, understanding and transcendent consciousness,” as well as to intuition. In Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, Caroline Myss, Ph.D. further connects it to the Christian sacrament of Ordination and the sefirot (“emanations” or Divine attributes) of Binah (Divine “understanding”) and Hokhmah or Chokmah (Divine “wisdom”). Similar to the love described in the sixth mansion of Saint Teresa of Ávila‘s El Castillo Interior or Las Moradas, ordination distinguishes and elevates the faithful. Note, also, that in the Kabbalah-inspired system I have previously mentioned, the “higher” or mind-related sefirot are not included in a physical practice of the Divine attributes.
My standard summary of how the energetic and symbolic elements manifest in our lives goes something like this: Consider how where you come from determines the friends you make (or don’t make); how where you come from and the people around you play a role in how you see yourself; and how where you come from, the friends you make along the way, and how you see yourself, play a part in how (or if) you embrace yourself (or others), embrace a moment, and extend your gifts out into the world — or not. Consider also how where you come from, the friends you make along the way, how you see yourself, and whether you extend what’s in your heart connect to how you express yourself, how you know (or don’t know) the truth when you perceive it, and how all of that contributes to your experience of this present moment.
That summary can be extrapolated and applied to a variety of scenarios, including how we cultivate new habits and achieve our goals, dreams, and desires. Consider, for instance, that the first chakra is related to physical survival and physical form — which means it is our matter. It is also our plans. Friends are our support system, cheering us on and/or providing guidance, while also providing accountability. When I think of the third chakra, the solar plexus — as it relates to our self esteem, our personality, and our sense of self — I think of the idea that we have “fire in the belly”. We can think of this idiom literally, in terms of digestive juices — which is a whole other conversation — and we can think of it as the internal element that keeps us physically motivated. To continue the metaphor, it’s what makes us hungry for more.
Then there is the heart, which connects the physical with the mental and emotional. It’s the energetic-emotional connection between the mind and the body. Here, it is the connection between the idea (the pattern) and the manifestation (the matter). This is also the idea of purusha (pure consciousness) and prakriti (elemental, unformed matter or substance). When we get into the throat chakra — related to mental determination and willpower — we are starting to move into the intangible. Those parts of our lived experiences that are “barely describable” and can only be indicated (lingamatra) and those things that are “absolutely indescribable [because they are] beyond any point of reference” (alinga).
Consider that last bit a moment. As you think about that last part, also think about the idea that your goals and desires, your wishes, hopes, dreams (and yes, even your fears), are fully formed somewhere in your heart… and maybe the back of your mind. Somewhere out in the ether, that possibility is real. But there are a lot of steps between conception and manifestation. And until we take the first step, they all feel like giant leaps.
To make life even more challenging, anybody can give anyone a metaphorical road map about physical survival and what it takes to sustain the body. We know the body’s basic necessities and there are people who are dedicated to breaking that down into what different body types need to survive at a peak level. On a certain level, people can also create road maps for the mind — and we do, all the time, which is why the self-help industry is so massive. But, there’s still a part of the journey that can only be experienced by the person taking the trip. There’s a part of the journey that is barely or absolutely indescribable. It’s the part of the journey that can never be duplicated. It’s the journey between what’s in a person’s heart and what’s in their head.
Even if someone explained how they got from point A to point B — and even if that explanation came with a Jean-Paul Sartre nauseous-level breakdown of how they felt and what they thought along the way — the only thing the rest of us could completely replicate would be the physical aspects of the journey. But, that part in between, it’s like getting lost, stuck in a traffic jam, and not knowing where you’re going — all while on a schedule.
“The longest journey you will make in your life is from your head to your heart.”
— possibly a Sioux statement, although it is often attributed to “Anonymous”
There is no Zoom practice today. Check the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes. If you are on the Saturday list, you will receive a recording of the related practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
The playlist related to this post practice is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01102023 Simple and True with Music”]
NOTE: The end of the YouTube playlist includes a special recording of the Bird Flight radio show, hosted by Phil Schaap on WKCR 89.9. I couldn’t find it on Spotify (maybe because I’m like “Lazy Bird” — which is what rounds out the Spotify playlist).
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk,you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
Did you see that I re-posted a surprise from 2022? It’s the first step in a journey (that we’ve already begun and finished)!
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.)
