FTWMI: When Do You Feel Free? December 6, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Books, Changing Perspectives, Chanukah, First Nations, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Texas, Tragedy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: 13th Amendment, Abraham Lincoln, Ashtavakra Gita, Astavakra Gita, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, freedom, George Graham Vest, Jivamukti, jivan-mukti, Juneteenth, slavery, W. E. B. Du Bois, yoga
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For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted December 6, 2020 and 2021. I have revised it slightly and added a new playlist. I am re-posting it, because history is important and it is important to remember how we got here as we move forward.

“As to the charge of treason, what is treason? I would ask. Treason in a people is the taking up of arms against the government or the siding of its enemies. In all revolutions the vanquished are the ones who are guilty of treason, even by the historians, for history is written by the victors and framed according to the prejudices and bias existing on their side.”

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21^st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

History and precedent are funny things. Consider, for instance, that many Americans celebrate “the declaration of independence” on July 4^th, even though the vote to declare independence was cast on July 2, 1776 – which was when the then-future President John Adams thought people would celebrate – and it would take months for it to be signed by the members of the Second Continental Congress.

Then there was that whole sticky freedom and equality thing.

It’s actually still a sticky/problematic thing even though the Committee of Five (and eventually the Second Continental Congress) declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It’s a sticky/problematic thing even though Article IV, Section 2 of the newly formed nation’s Constitution promised “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.” It’s a sticky/problematic thing even though the 5^th Amendment, which was ratified along with the Bill of Rights in 1791, states, “No person shall… be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” It’s a sticky/problematic historical thing, because everyone within the country’s borders was not free, equal, equally represented, and/or entitled to the guaranteed the most basic rights, privileges, and immunities. More to the point, the decision to exclude certain individuals was deliberate and intentional (see Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3, quoted below) – although we can argue the level of willfulness that went into the decision.

“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.”

– quoted from Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of The Constitution of the United States (link directs to amendments which nullified this section)

Bottom line, neither of the founding documents was perfect; that’s why we have amendments.

Then again, even our amendments aren’t always perfect and, more to the point, the way we remember the history of our amendments isn’t even close to perfect. Consider, for instance, the issue of freedom and representation as it pertained to enslaved people and their descendants. People are quick to laud and celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln September 22, 1862, and went into effect on January 1, 1863, but the document only applied to the Confederate States of America – which were still in rebellion; meaning, the document (technically) didn’t free a single enslaved person.

In an attempt to persuade Southern states to peacefully rejoin the Union, President Lincoln issued the Proclamation for Amnesty and Reconstruction on December 8, 1863. This was an attempt to not only end the Civil War, but to also strengthen his proclamation. But, there were no takers. The Emancipation Proclamation remained purely symbolic – until the end of the war. Even then, however, it would be June 19, 1865, before news of freedom reached Galveston, Texas. And, yes, some of us celebrate that day, Juneteenth.

Much more expedient in its effectiveness, but arguably symbolic in the worst possible way, was the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. Signed by President Lincoln on April 16, 1862, the Act eventually freed about 3,185 people (and paid out over $100,100,000 as compensation to former owners of those freed). But, outside of Washington D. C. (where it’s a holiday) very few people take notice of the day unless it falls on a weekend and delays the official tax deadline.

Before we get too far down this rocky road, please keep in mind that President Lincoln (and everyone around him) knew the Emancipation Proclamation was more of a symbolic gesture. They knew that, even after the Union won the Civil War, there was a possibility it would be nullified. Not only could it have been nullified if President Lincoln had lost his re-election bid, some of his contemporaries worried that he might nullify it (on a certain level) in order to restore the Union. However, the president was quick to reassure the abolitionists. He campaigned on abolishing slavery and then he set out to fulfill that campaign promise.

“At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States passed the Senate, but failed for lack of the requisite two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives. Although the present is the same Congress and nearly the same members, and without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those who stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage of the measure at the present session. Of course the abstract question is not changed; but an intervening election shows almost certainly that the next Congress will pass the measure if this does not. Hence there is only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is to so go at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better? It is not claimed that the election has imposed a duty on members to change their views or their votes any further than, as an additional element to be considered, their judgment may be affected by it. It is the voice of the people now for the first time heard upon the question. In a great national crisis like ours unanimity of action among those seeking a common end is very desirable–almost indispensable. And yet no approach to such unanimity is attainable unless some deference shall be paid to the will of the majority simply because it is the will of the majority. In this case the common end is the maintenance of the Union, and among the means to secure that end such will, through the election, is most dearly declared in favor of such constitutional amendment.”

– quoted from State of the Union 1864, delivered to the United States Congress by President Abraham Lincoln (on 12/6/1864)

Today in 1864, during his State of the Union Address, President Abraham Lincoln urged Congress and the States to take action “the sooner the better” on an amendment to abolish slavery. He proceeded to very actively, more actively than had previously been witnessed in other presidencies, work towards securing the votes needed to pass and ratify what would become the 13^th Amendment – which was, in fact, ratified today in 1865.

Ratification of the 13^th Amendment “officially” made slavery illegal in the United States. It also rendered the Fugitive Slave Clause moot and created the opportunity for more representation, by eliminating certain aspects of the Three-Fifths Compromise. So, we celebrate today, right? Right??

Funny thing about that ratification: Even before we address things like the 18^th Century “Tignon Laws,” the 19^th Century “Black Codes” or “Black Laws,” and the “Jim Crow Laws” enacted in the late 19^th and early 20 Centuries – or the fact that a 14^th and 15^th Amendment were needed to secure the rights, privileges, and immunities of formerly enslaved people and their descendants (let alone all the Acts) – we need to look at the how the 13^th Amendment was ratified.

“Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

– “Amendment XIII” of The Constitution of the United States

By the time President Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, 21 states had ratified the 13^th Amendment (starting with Illinois on Feb. 1, 1865 and continuing to Arkansas on Feb. 14, 1865). President Andrew Johnson also made it a priority to get the 13^th Amendment ratified when he took office; however, his approach was very different from his predecessor. Instead of encouraging the spirit and intention of the amendment, President Andrew Johnson spent his time assuring states that they would have the power and jurisdiction to limit the scope of the amendment. This led to states like Louisiana (Feb. 17^th), South Carolina (Nov. 13^th), and Alabama (Dec. 2^nd) weakening the implementation and enforcement of the amendment by ratifying with caveats. Further weakening its perception, in certain areas, was the fact that ratification only required three-fourths of the states (which at that time equaled 27 out of 36).

Georgia came through today in 1865 as the 27^th (and final) state needed to solidify the ratification. Five states (Oregon, California, Florida, Iowa, and New Jersey (after a 2^nd vote) ratified the amendment within a few weeks. Texas would get on board over four years later (on February 18, 1870). Delaware, Kentucky, and Mississippi – all of whom, like New Jersey, initially rejected ratification – would make the amendment official in 1901, 1976, and 1995 (respectively). Curiously, Mississippi didn’t certify their 1995 vote until 2013.

Take a moment, if you are able, to imagine being a formerly enslaved person – or even one of their descendants – living in one of the states that only ratified the 13^th Amendment with a “provisional statement” and/or didn’t ratify it until the 20^th Century. You may know when you are technically free, but when does everyone around you recognize that you’re legally free? When do you feel free? Because remember, the Ashtavakra Gita says, “’If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, ‘Thinking makes it so.’” (1:11)

So, yes, we can talk all day about the fact that slavery “officially” end in 1865. However, we must also remember that for some folks, like Missouri Senator George Graham Vest, who was born today in 1830 – and was an ardent supporter of the “Lost Cause” ideology as well as the last of the Confederate States Senators to pass (on August 9, 1904) – the “War of Northern Aggression” was a war about states’ rights and there was (they believed) an economic, and therefore moral, justification for slavery.

Because he once defended an African American man in a court of law, my bias is such that I would like to say that “The Gentleman from Missouri” was more faceted that I’ve just painted him. However, he is best remembered for arguing a case about the killing of a dog. So, as eloquent as he was, I’m not sure I can make a case for him. There is, however, at least one thing upon which I will agree with him:

“Look at Adam. I have very little use for Adam. When he was asked who ate the apple he said Eve ate a bit of it first. Shame on him for trying to dodge the result. I know that if Adam had been a Missouri ex-confederate soldier he would have said: ‘I ate the apple and what are you going to do about it?’”

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21^st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

Please join me today (Tuesday, December 6^th) 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

NOTE: This is a remix based on the 4th of July and Juneteenth playlists. The playlists are slightly different, but mostly with regard to the before/after class music. The biggest difference is that the videos posted on the blog on July 4^th do not appear on Spotify.]

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)

“When the physical war ended, then the real practical problems presented themselves. How was slavery to be effectively abolished? And what was to be the status of the Negroes? What was the condition and power of the states which had rebelled? The legal solution of these questions was easy. The states that had attempted to rebel had failed. The must now resume their relations to the government. Slavery had been abolished as a war measure….

The difficulty with this legalistic formula was that it did not cling to facts. Slavery was not abolished even after the Thirteenth Amendment. There were four million freedmen and most of them on the same plantation, doing the same work they did before emancipation, except as their work had been interrupted and changed by the upheaval of war. Moreover, they were getting about the same wages and apparently were going to be subject to slave codes modified only in name. There were among them thousands of fugitives in the camps of the soldiers or on the streets of the cities, homeless, sick, and impoverished. They had been freed practically with no land nor money, and, save in exceptional cases, without legal status, and without protection.”

– quoted from Black Reconstruction in America (The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois): An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880 by W. E. B Du Bois

### WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FREE? ###

FTWMI: This Room, This Music, This Light, This Darkness: This Dance November 22, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Hope, Life, Loss, Peace, Philosophy, Texas, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: Bridget Carpenter, Dealey Plaza, Jacqueline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Stephen King
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For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted on November 22, 2020 (and reposted in 2021). Class details and links have been updated.

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. Not until the future eats the present, anyway. We know when it’s too late.”

– quoted from 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Life changes in a moment…in a heartbeat, in a breath. Sometimes we don’t even notice the change until it is coupled with a bunch of other changes. Every once in a while, however, something makes us pause, stop in our tracks, breathe, reflect. Sometimes we pause because of something breathtakingly beautiful. Other times, our breath is taken by something heartbreakingly tragic.

Today in 1963 was a Friday, and a little girl missed her first sleepover. Had she been any other 5-year old girl, nobody would have cared or even noticed, but the reason this little girl missed her first sleepover is the same reason high school, college, and professional football games were cancelled or postponed. It was the same reason people all over the world were glued to the radios and televisions. Today in 1963, a wife lost her husband; three children (that five-year old girl, her almost three-year old brother, and her yet to be born brother) lost their father; and the whole world paused, stopped, as a Nation lost – and then gained – a leader meant to usher in a new era of civil rights and environmental conservation.

Today in 1963, at 12:30 PM (Central Standard Time), President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated as his motorcade drove down Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Governor of Texas John Connally – who was riding in the motorcade with his wife Nellie, President Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and two members of the United States Secret Service – was seriously wounded. A bystander was also injured by a ricochet.

“We did not ask for this room or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room or this music. But because we are here, let us dance.”

– a poem by Stephen King and Bridget Carpenter, featured in the miniseries 11.22.63

President Kennedy was not a perfect man, but he remains a key figure in American history and, for many, a symbol of democracy and “American” ideals. He was the first Catholic president; the youngest person to be elected president; and the sixteenth U. S. Senator to serve as president – one of three people who moved directly from the Senate floor to the Oval Office. He was also the fourth sitting United States President to be assassinated (by gunshot, although one could argue that Presidents James Garfield and William McKinley could have survived with better medical attention) – and the second assassinated President to be replaced by a man named Johnson. Many people saw President Kennedy’s assassination as a moment when Americans lost their (collective) innocence and many felt his death as a personal loss, as if they had lost a member of their family or a dear friend.

Whichever way you see it (or him), President Kennedy’s death was the middle and the beginning of a cascade of events that, arguably, changed history. It also started the domino effect on conspiracy theories that persist to this day. Many people have wondered what would have happened if he had not been assassinated. As he was beginning to campaign for a second term, people have theorized what the country would have been like if he had run and won – or even had an opportunity to deliver either of the speeches he had written for events scheduled on November 22, 1963.

“For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed. And our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the Nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.

So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause–united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future – and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.”

– quoted from a speech President John F. Kennedy had planned to deliver to the Texas Democratic State Committee in Austin, Texas, in the evening, on November 22, 1963

Historians and political scientists have likewise contemplated what would have happened to the country if his brother Bobby, who served as Attorney General and as a U. S. Senator, and/or Martin Luther King, Jr. had not been assassinated. After considerably research, Stephen King wrote a novel about a man who goes back in time with the intention of preventing JFK’s assassination. Of course, as is always the case when dealing with chaos theory, things are not as simple as changing one thing and moving forward.

There is always an inner ripple and an outer ripple; there is always a sticky domino; there is always a butterfly – and, in the case of 11/22/63 (which was turned into the television miniseries 11.22.63), history pushes back. We may not like how life unfolds, collapses, and converges, but we must sometimes consider the words of Namagiriamma Krishnamacharya, who said, “Maybe this situation has happened for a reason. A reason that will unfold later.”

“My friends and fellow citizens: I cite these facts and figures to make it clear that America today is stronger than ever before. Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed. But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom.

That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions – it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations – it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes.

We in this country, in this generation, are – by destiny rather than choice – the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of ‘peace on earth, good will toward men.’ That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: ‘except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.’”

– quoted from a speech President John F. Kennedy had planned to deliver at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, in the afternoon, on November 22, 1963

Please join me today (Tuesday, November 22^nd) 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “11/22/63”]

“Dear Mr. President

Thank you for walking yesterday – behind Jack. You did not have to do that – I am sure many people forbid you take such a risk – but you did it anyway.

Thank you for your letters to my children. What those letters will mean to them later – you can imagine. The touching thing is, they have always loved you so much, they were most moved to have a letter from you now….

But you were Jack’s right arm – I always thought the greatest act of a gentlemen that I had seen on this earth – was how you – the Majority Leader when he came to the Senate as just another little freshman who looked up to you and took orders from you, could then serve as Vice President to a man who had served under you and been taught by you….

But of course [Jack’s ship pictures] are there only waiting for you to ask for them if the walls look too bare. I thought you would want to put things from Texas in it – I pictured some gleaming longhorns – I hope you put them somewhere –

It mustn’t be very much help to you your first day in office – to hear children on the lawn at recess. It is just one more example of your kindness that you let them stay – I promise – they will soon be gone –

Thank you Mr. President

Respectfully

Jackie”

– excerpts from a short letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson, written by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, dated “November 26 Tuesday” (the day after JFK’s funeral)

“All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today.

The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time. Today, John Fitzgerald Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. He lives on in the mind and memories of mankind. He lives on in the hearts of his countrymen. No words are sad enough to express our sense of loss. No words are strong enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of America that he began….

We will carry on the fight against poverty, and misery, and disease, and ignorance, in other lands and in our own. We will serve all the nation, not one section or one sector, or one group, but all Americans.

These are the United States: A united people with a united purpose.”

– quoted from the “Let Us Continue” speech delivered to Congress and the public by President Lyndon B. Johnson, November 27, 1963

NOTE: In anticipation of the holiday(s), I have cancelled classes on November 23^rd – 27^th. Don’t forget to be grateful.

One revision added. (11/22/25)

### “Life turns on a dime” again and again (11/22/63, SK) ###

FTWMI: More Hope, More History… November 9, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Loss, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: anonymous, BioNtech, Bruce Springsteen, COVID-19, David Bowie, David Hasselhoff, destiny, fate, Holocaust, John F. Kennedy, John Tagliabue, Kristallnacht, Livnam Kaur, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Seamus Heaney, Shicksalstag, Sophocles
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For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted on November 9, 2020 and reposted in 2021. Class details and links have been updated, as have some date notations. *Granted, things don’t always turn out the way we expect.

“Fate is what you are given. Destiny is what you make of it.”

– original source unknown

Let’s talk about the difference between fate and destiny. Often, especially in (American) English, we use the words interchangeably, and without distinction. We sometimes do this even if we know “destiny” shares etymological roots with “destination” and “fate” is rooted in the mythology of the three goddess, sisters, or witches (depending on the depiction) who weave (or stir) together the circumstances of one’s life. Either way you look at it, both are related to cause and effect – something we pay attention to in the Eastern philosophies like Yoga and Buddhism.

The concept of will, or determination, is one of the challenges that comes up when discussing fate and destiny; because, our understanding of the concepts may involve a level of predestination. One way to distinguish the two concepts, and the role predestination plays, is to think of fate as the present moment – which has been determined by all the previous moments – and destiny as a possible future moment – which will be determined by fate (i.e., this present moment and all the previous moments). If we look at it this way, we can’t change our fate, but we can change our destiny.

Yes, yes, it might be possible to present and argue the reverse, but I think that way gets really muddled. I’d rather go back to the “seat” of the words. Fate comes to the English from Latin, by way of Italian and Middle English, from a phrase that means “that which has been spoken.” Destiny comes through Old French and Middle English, from the Latin meaning “make firm, establish.” So, again, fate is what has happened and destiny is what we make happen. As an example, step back [a couple of days] with me and let’s revisit Philoctetes from The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes.

“Human beings suffer.
They torture one another
They get hurt and they get hard.
No poem or play or song
Can fully right a wrong
Inflicted and endured.

History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”

– The Greek Chorus in The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney

Remember that Philoctetes was a great archer who had a magical bow. According to Sophocles accounting of events, the bow was a thank you gift from Heracles, the divine protector of mankind and patron of gymnasiums, whose funeral pyre could only be lit by the great archer. So, by using his skills to light the pyre, Philoctetes has the means to (eventually) assist Odysseus in winning the Trojan War by mortally wounding Paris with a poisoned arrow. Those circumstances, along with the fact that he is bitten by a poisonous snake, make up Philoctetes’ fate. His destiny could be to die of his wounds on the island where his colleagues abandoned him – because they couldn’t stand the sound of his belly aching – or he could go to Troy, win the war, and have his snake wound healed.

Now, keep in mind that like all the other characters, the fate and destiny of Philoctetes are tied up with the fate and destiny of Paris who, once wounded, could have been healed if he hadn’t pissed off and abandoned his first wife. (Alas, poor, pitiful Paris, thought his destiny was power, rather than the love of a “good woman,” and let that thirst for power be his dharma or guiding principle.)

“Fate is your karma. Destiny is your dharma.”

– Livnam Kaur

Some people think the power of fate and destiny can reside not only in our actions, but also in a date. Take today, for instance: November 9^th. In Germany it is known as Schicksalstag – “Destiny Day” or “Fateful Day” – because of all the historical events that happened today and shaped the history of Germany. It’s kind of wild, when you think about it. But, also, when you start to go deeper into the events, you start to realize that some (but not all) of the events were planned because people believed in the power of the day.

In talking about the events of today throughout German history, most people start with 1848 and the execution of the democratic politician, poet, and publisher Robert Blum. One of the leaders of the National Assembly of 1848 and a prominent figure during the Vienna revolts, Blum was arrested after the Vienna revolts and argued in vain that his role as a deputy from the German Diet should protect him from execution. Instead, his death was used as an example and a method for crushing the subsequent revolution in Germany in the spring of 1849.

Fast forward 70 years, to 1918, and Emperor Wilhelm II was dethroned by his chancellor, Max von Baden, and socialist and social democratic politicians proclaimed the beginning of the “Free” German Republic. As a side note, Albert Einstein was named winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics today in 1922.

In 1923, the failed “Beer Hall Putsch” marked the initial emergence and downfall of the Nazi Party. Even though the march officially failed it was the beginning of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, and during the Nazi regime it was considered a national holiday honoring the Nazis who died today in 1923. As a side note, German Crown Prince Wilhelm (son of the ousted Emperor) chose this day to return out of exile.

Another example of people using previous events to infuse their actions with the power of the day’s history tragically, and horrifically, happened today in 1938: Kristallnacht (“Night of Glass”). The Nazis symbolically chose this night to begin destroying synagogues and Jewish properties. More than 400 Jewish people died and, after this demonstration of far-reaching anti-Semitism, the Nazi’s arrested approximately 30,000 people on November 10^th, many of whom would ultimately die in concentration camps.

“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was ‘civis romanus sum’ [‘I am a Roman citizen’]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’ … All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’”

– U. S. President John Kennedy, speaking to the public in West Berlin, June 26, 1963

“Every stone bears witness to the moral bankruptcy of the society it encloses.”

– English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as quoted in the New York Times article “Mrs. Thatcher Visits the Berlin Wall” by John Tagliabue (published Oct. 30, 1982)

One of the outcomes of the World War II was the division of Germany and, ultimately, the construction of the Berlin Wall. However, today in 1989 marked the beginning of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of German separation. In many ways, this event can be seen as an accident. I mean, it wasn’t like anyone planned it to happen today.

Yes, people, including Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, had called for the end of the Wall. Furthermore, musicians like David Bowie (1987), Bruce Springsteen (1988), and David Hasselhoff (1989) boldly played songs about freedom in concerts near the Wall – and, in Hasselhoff’s case, over the Wall! There was also the announced intention (by the East German government) to change policy. But the changes were intended for a different day.

“We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it’s our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we’re drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer Paul Lincke understood something about American presidents. You see, like so many presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. [I still have a suitcase in Berlin…..]”

There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!”

– U. S. President Ronald Reagan, speaking to the public at Brandenburg Gate, June 12, 1987

When the policy changes were announced by Günter Schabowski, an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), during a press conference on November 9^th, he hadn’t actually been briefed about the details. Based on the wording of the announcement he had been given, when asked when the policy changes would go into effect, he said, “As far as I know… effective immediately, without delay.” That wasn’t actually true, but, the metaphorical wrecking ball was swinging. In answering follow up questions, and in subsequent interviews that day, Schabowski “confirmed” that the decrease in travel restrictions applied to every part of the Wall and to travel in every direction – including into West Berlin. Naturally, people started showing up at the Wall demanding to be let through and, by 11:30 PM, at least two gates were open.

On the flip side, I would not be surprised if the German drug company BioNtech intentionally chose this date to announce that their COVID-19 vaccine, developed with Pfizer, is 90% effective. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone thought drawing on the power of the day would give people more hope than a basic announcement on any other day. After all, the announcement [a year ago] today, *means the end of the world’s suffering isn’t just fate, it’s destiny.

“Call miracle self-healing,
The utter self-revealing
Double-take of feeling.
If there’s fire on the mountain
And lightening and storm
And a god speaks from the sky

That means someone is hearing
The outcry and the birth-cry
Of new life at its term.
It means once in a lifetime
That justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”

– The Greek Chorus in The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney

Please join me today (Wednesday, November 9^th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You will need to register for the 7:15 PM class if you have not already done so. 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.

Tuesday’s playlist is on YouTube and Spotify.

(And, if you want some Bruce….)

“I’m not here for or against any government. I’ve come to play rock ‘n’ roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down”

– Bruce Springsteen, speaking German in East Berlin, before playing “Chimes of Freedom” with the E Street Band, during the “Rocking the Wall” concert, July 19, 1988

### dóchas / dúchas // història / esperança // histoire / espoir // historio / espero ###

Out of Our Worlds, redux (the “missing” Sunday post) November 1, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Aaron Sorkin, Abraham Lincoln, Anne Froelick, avidya, avidyā, Ayurveda, Bernard Hermann, Bram Stoker, Byron Katie, Caroline Myss, Charles Dickens, Dan Seymour, Frank Readick, Grovers Mill, H. G. Wells, Howard Koch, Jack Nicholson, Jack Paar, John Drinkwater, John Houseman, Mischief Night, Orson Welles, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Paul Stewart, Rob Reiner, svadyaya, svādhyāya, Tom Cruise, Yoga Sutra 2.20
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Many blessings to those observing Allhallowtide y Día de (los) Muertos!

This is a “missing” post for Sunday, October 30th. 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.]

“Lt. Daniel Kaffee (portrayed by Tom Cruise): I want the truth!
Col. Nathan R. Jessup (portrayed by Jack Nicholson): YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

– quoted from the movie A Few Good Men, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner

How dedicated are you to seeking the truth? Actually, before you answer that, let’s establish how equipped you are at knowing the truth when you encounter it. How capable are you at recognizing the truth when you see it, hear it, and/or experience it? Most people might automatically say – or at least think – that they can easily tell the difference between something that is the truth and something that is not. But, is that even true?

Consider, for a moment, that our ability to identify the truth – and, therefore, our ability to identify what is not the truth – is predicated by how we feel and how we think (which is also partially based on how we feel). Additionally, how we feel and think is partially based on where we come from (i.e., where we started in life and how we were raised); the people that surround us (and who form our echo chamber); and how each of us feels about our self; as well as how we interact with the world and we find balance in the world. I often reference this paradigm when I talk about how the chakra system found in Yoga and Āyurveda can symbolically and energetically be a system through which we gain understanding about our lives and our lived experiences. It’s a system that allows us to see how things are connected and gain some insight about why, as Patanjali stated, we can only see/understand what our mind shows us:

Yoga Sūtra 2.20: draşțā dŗśimātrah śuddho’pi pratyayānupaśyah

– “The Seer is the pure power of seeing, yet its understanding is through the mind/intellect.” [Translation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait (for comparative analysis), “The sheer power of seeing is the seer. It is pure, and yet it sees only what the mind shows it.”]

One way to look at Yoga Sūtra 2.20 is that the our subconscious and unconscious mind only shows us what it thinks we are ready to consciously comprehend – or at least consider. And, while all of the aforementioned elements play a part in what we are ready to comprehend or consider, there are times when how we feel, on a very visceral level, holds the heaviest weight.
For instance, let’s say you are deathly afraid of something and you think you are coming into contact with that something. Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat and the emotion activates the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn prepares your whole being to do the thing(s) you need to do in order to survive. In that moment, when the the fight/flight/freeze (or collapse) response kicks in, it doesn’t matter if the threat is real: it only matters that the fear is real. And remember, there is some part of us that viscerally responds to fear of loss (especially as the result of a change in circumstances) in the same way we would respond to fear of physical death. So, the fear kicks in, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, and (for many people) that means our ability to know/comprehend the truth diminishes – especially if we are not actively dedicated to the pursuit of truth.

Classic texts from India philosophies often use the example of someone walking through the woods and seeing (what appears to be) a snake. The snake is humongous and appears to lying in the sun, directly in your path. If you have ophidiophobia and are deathly afraid of snakes, it may not matter that you also know giant snakes, like anacondas and pythons, are not indigenous to your region. You have no intention of getting a little closer – even in a mindfully safe way – to see if it really is a constricting snake. Similarly, it may not even occur to you to look through the binoculars hanging around your neck. After all, if there is one, there might be more, and you’re better off just fleeing the area.

According to sacred texts, however, the truth is that the “snake” is actually a giant hunk of rope. Of course, in this example, the way one feels and thinks, combined with one’s previous experiences and other factors (like if you are alone or with someone who also is afraid of snakes) means that you may never know the truth. Another example of this kind of phenomenon occurred on Mischief Night 1938.

“At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regard this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth twentieth century came the great disillusionment.”

– quoted from “Book I: The Coming of the Martians – Chapter 1. The Eve of the War” in War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

“‘With infinite complacence, people went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their dominion over this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood which by chance or design man has inherited out of the dark mystery of Time and Space. Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. In the 39th year of the 20th century came the great disillusionment. It was near the end of October. Business was better. The war scare was over. More men were back at work. Sales were picking up. On this particular evening, October 30th, the Crossley service estimated that 32 million people were listening in on radios…'”

– quoted from Orson Welles introduction at the beginning of the radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds

On October 30, 1938, at 8 PM ET, The Mercury Theater on the Air started broadcasting its Halloween episode on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Radio and its affiliates. The show was a live radio series created and hosted by Orson Welles, who had recently turned 23 years old. Starting on July 11, 1938 with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a company of actors had presented dramatizations of great novels, plays, and short stories accompanied by Bernard Hermann’s dramatic musical scores. The works selected were, by and large, already familiar to the people who tuned in. Maybe everyone hadn’t read all of Charles Dickens’s serialized novels or seen a production of John Drinkwater’s play about Abraham Lincoln, but the 1938 audience for sure knew about about A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist, just as they knew about President Lincoln and his life. Similarly, people would have been familiar with the novel selected for the 17th episode of the radio show: H. G. Wells’s 1898 novel War of the Worlds, a story about Martians invading Earth.

Sunday newspapers ran charts of what was scheduled to air on any given day and, in this case, very clearly listed the title and author. The broadcast began, as those broadcasts typically did, with an announcement that the radio play was a fictional, dramatization of the novel – again, indicating title and author. Similar announcements were made, as the typically would be, before and after the intermission and at the end of the broadcast. In fact, at the end of the broadcast, Orson Welles even reinforced the idea that the broadcast had simply and innocently been a little bit of Halloween fun.

Alas, the announcements turned out to be like binoculars around a scared person’s neck. Some people apparently missed the first announcement. Maybe they were preoccupied, rushing to finish something before they sat down to listen. Maybe they were in the habit of listening first to The Chase and Sanborn Hour with Edgar Bergen, over on NBC Radio Network, and then flipping over to CBS during a musical interlude. Maybe they just weren’t paying attention because they were in the habit of tuning out the radio stations “commercials.” Either way, some people thought Martians really were invading. Others thought, given the timing, that the Germans were invading.

“Ham Radio Operator (portrayed by Frank Readick): 2X2L calling CQ, New York. Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?

[SILENCE]

Radio Announcer, Dan Seymour: You are listening to a CBS presentation of Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre on the Air, in an original dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The performance will continue after a brief intermission. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.”

– quoted from The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

It wouldn’t normally matter if someone missed the first announcement, ran to the bathroom during the intermission and missed the next two announcements, and also turned off the radio as soon as the final announcement was being made. Normally, there would be all kinds of clues to let the audience know they were listening to actors – who could be described as professional liars – creating a scenario that someone made up for their entertainment. Normally, they might hear the very words they had previously read about their favorite characters and scenarios and think, “Oh, this is my favorite part!” But, the broadcast on Mischief Night 1938 was not exactly normal.

One of the things that made the Mischief Night radio production different was that the adaptation by Howard Koch moved the alien invasion from the beginning of 20th century England to mid-20th century United States. Specifically, the radio play set the action in Grovers Mill, New Jersey, an unincorporated rural area in West Windsor Township. (NOTE: The townships total population on the 1940 census was 2,160 and Grovers Mill is a tiny portion of that.) Another change was that at the beginning of the novel, H. G. Wells kind of breaks the “fourth wall” and reminds readers that they are, in fact, reading… a book. The creators of the radio play actually went out of their way to reinforce the “fourth wall.”

A day and a half before the rehearsals began, Mr. Koch and his secretary Anne Froelick called the shows producer, John Houseman, to say that the adaptation wasn’t going to work. The three got together and reworked the script. Unfortunately, when Orson Welles heard a mock recording, he thought it was boring. He wanted the dramatization to sound like the evening news being interrupted by a “breaking news” report, complete with eyewitness accounts and remote correspondents.

Associate Producer Paul Stewart joined the original trio in another late night effort to re-work the script. The group added details to make the radio play more dramatic, more intense and more realistic. When the legal department reviewed the script, 2 days before the broadcast, they said it was too realistic and wanted some details tweaked and some deleted. Music and sound effects were added – and Orson Welles requested interlude music to be played in longer stretches, as if the station was stretching out the time as they awaited more updates. All the changes in format ended up meaning that the typical midway intermission break got pushed back a little; further convincing the audience that the broadcast was real news. Additionally, only the final act of the radio play sounded and felt like a radio play.

“Question: Were you aware of the terror such a broadcast would stir up?
Welles: Definitely not. The technique I used was not original with me. It was not even new. I anticipated nothing unusual.
Question: Should you have toned down the language of the drama?
Welles: No, you don’t play murder in soft words.
Question: Why was the story changed to put in names of American cities and government officers?
Welles: H. G. Wells used real cities in Europe, and to make the play more acceptable to American listeners we used real cities in America. Of course, I’m terribly sorry now.”

– quoted from the 1938 Halloween press conference regarding The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

According to John Houseman’s autobiography, Run-Through: A Memoir, Executive Producer Davidson Taylor left the studio to take a phone call at 8:32 and returned at 8:36 – this was the first indication that something had gone wrong. They station was being ordered to halt the broadcast and announce, again, that it was all fake. They were so close to a break they decided to continue. Shortly thereafter, one of the actors noticed police officers arriving. More police officers followed, as well as radio attendants and executives. More phone calls came in. Journalists from actual news stations showed up and/or called the station and their affiliates.
When the actors left the The Mercury Theater on the Air theatre, they stood at the intersection known for the performing arts, 42nd and Broadway, and saw the headline ticker on the New York Times building proclaiming, “ORSON WELLES CAUSES PANIC.” They wouldn’t know, at the time, that an unrelated blackout in Washington state contributed to some people’s confusion. Neither could the know that Jack Paar, who would go on to host The Tonight Show and was the announcer for Cleveland’s CBS affiliate WGAR, was having a hard time convincing people that the show was just a Halloween “trick.” People were already convinced that they knew the actual truth – the aliens, or the Germans, were coming. Jack Paar, and anyone else who said otherwise, were all part of an elaborate cover-up.

“‘The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?'”

– Jack Paar, announcing for WGAR, October 30, 1938

Some people who have studied the events of October 30, 1938, have said that the journalists of the time exaggerated how many people were actually fooled and actually went into a panic. Some people have said that the degree to which “panic ensued” has become an urban myth. That, rather than millions, the number of people who actually thought the Martians, or Germans, were invading New Jersey (off all places) was a few hundred thousand… or maybe just a few thousand. Some people might even say that a post like this is part of the problem.

What no one disputes, however, is that some people did panic.

And, the truth is, I don’t know how much the number of people who were a little confused and/or who completely panicked matters. I’m not even sure I care if a (presumably) drunken resident of Grovers Mill shot at the water tower – that had been there all of his life – because he thought it was an Martian spaceship or if someone had to talk him out of shooting at the water tower. (That, again, had been there all of his life.) What’s important to me, in this moment, is how the human mind works and the fact that how it worked in 1938 is the way it works today, in 2022.

According to the Yoga Philosophy, suffering is caused by avidyā (“ignorance”), which is an afflicted/dysfunctional thought pattern. Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras outlines different examples of avidyā and also explains that ignorance is the bedrock of the other four types of afflicted/dysfunctional thinking – including fear of loss/death. So, what’s important to me is that how we feel and think affects what we say and do and if what we feel and think leads us to untruths, we will say and do things that create suffering.

It’s easy to look at someone else, someone who believes something we “absolutely know is not true,” and pass judgement. It is easy to disparage their character and describe them in negative ways. It’s takes a little more effort to question why they believe what they believe what they believe; to go a little deeper. It takes even more effort to do a little svādhyāya (self-study) and question why we believe what we believe. Do the work.

Question 1: Is it true?
Question 2: Can you absolutely know its true?”
Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought?
Question 4: Who would you be without the thought?
Bonus: Turn the thought around.

– Byron Katie’s “4 Questions” from “The Work”

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10302021 Out of Our Worlds”]

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.)

### “Seek Only The Truth” ~ Caroline Myss ###

The Angels (& Devils) Within Us (the “missing” post) October 29, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Confessions, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Loss, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Angels' Night, Bill McGraw, Cabbage Night, Charles Eads, Christopher Isherwood, Detroit, Devil's Night, Emma Davidson-Dillon, Hell Night, James Eliot, Matthew Phelan, Metacognition, Michigan, Mischief Night, Moving Night, Nobi Shigemoto, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Rosa Parks, St. John's College Oxford, svadyaya, svādhyāya, Swami Prabhavananda, Thomas Alexander Walker, Tom Walker, Will Rogers, Yoga Sutra 1.37, Yoga Sutra 2.33, Yoga Sutra 2.44, Yoga Sutras 1.33-1.34, Yoga Sutras 2.33-2.35
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This is a “missing” post for Saturday, October 29th. 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.]

“Violence is clearly destructive. It springs from fear, one of the fundamental afflictions. According to this sutra, the practice of non-violence requires us to arrest our violent tendencies by cultivating thoughts opposite to violence.”

*

– quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD

By all accounts, it started off simply and innocently enough. Just a few childish pranks at the end of Thanksgiving: knocking at the door that opened to reveal no one; random, unexplained noises, cabbage being uprooted and then tossed around; patio furniture inexplicably shifting and moving to a neighbor’s porch. You know, things that ghost, goblins, and devils might do when the veil between worlds was lifted. It was so simple and innocent, in fact, that in 1790, a headmaster at Saint John’s College in Oxford even ended a school play with a little encouragement: “an Ode to Fun which praises children’s tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms.”

Mischief Night, the night before Halloween, is also known as Hell Night, Cabbage Night, Gate Night, Moving Night, Devil’s Night, and a variety of other names throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It was just supposed to be a little “trick” before the treats. References to Devil’s Night and Mischief Night in Michigan can be found as early as the 1910’s – when college students reportedly started bonfires and then handed cigars to the firefighters who came to put out the flames. However, the vandalism and arson increased in the 1930’s and 1940’s. By the 1970’s, the simple and innocent pranks in Detroit turned into criminal mischief and started extending into October 29th. From the 1970’s through the 1990’s, there was serious vandalism and arson that resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage. In 1983, over 550 fires were reported. In 1984, the number of reported fires was more than 800. Some officials started theorizing that some people were using the reputation of Devil’s Night to commit insurance fraud. And, speaking of that reputation, by the mid-1980’s, people were not only driving into town from other states to watch the fires, they were flying in from other countries.

“Fire buffs, newspeople and just plain gawkers came to watch Detroit burn Wednesday night.

They even came all the way from Tokyo.

Director Nobi Shigemoto was here with an eight-person crew from Asahi national TV network. The crew planned to follow fire trucks Wednesday night and do a live shot from in front of Highland park fire headquarters before returning to Japan.”

*

“Shigemoto said Detroiters ask him why he is ‘looking at bad things.’

His reply:

This is the truth. US (is a) most rich country. When you look at Detroit, it looks nothing like rich.’”

*

– quoted from the Detroit Free Press article “Keeping the watch – Reporters, fire buffs, gawkers come to track night’s events” by Bill McGraw (printed in the “Devil’s Night” section, dated 31 Oct 1985, Thu)

In the mid-1980’s, then-Detroit mayor Coleman Young and city officials created the “No More Devil’s Night” campaign, which included a dusk-to-dawn curfew for teenagers, neighborhood watches, the opportunity to “adopt” empty properties, and a coordinated “patrol” effort by police officers, firefighters, and miscellaneous city workers. Over 11,000 volunteers participated that first year – and the number of reported fires was cut in half. Local cable television offered free access to premium channels so that more people would stay home. News outlets agreed not to air footage that might glamorize arson and/or encourage copycats – and the number of fires dropped. The number of volunteers rose (to ~17,000) in 1987, and again the number of reported fires dropped.

Detroit’s “No More Devil’s Night” campaign was so successful that when Dennis Archer was elected mayor, in January of 1994, he decided his predecessor’s official campaign was no longer needed. People warned him he was wrong. Unfortunately, those people were right. According to a New York Times article (dated November 1, 1994), there were 40,000 volunteers working to combat the arson and other criminal mischief in 1993 versus 8,000 in 1994. That difference in volunteers reflected a trend well established in previous years: more volunteers resulted in less arson and criminal mischief; less volunteers meant more arson. While there were significantly less fires in 1994 than there had been in 1984, one of those fires – set on October 30, 1994, in the same suburb Nobi Shigemoto filmed nine years earlier – resulted in the death of 1-year old Destiny Wilson and the serious injury of several others, including Destiny’s mother, 3-year old sister Ivory, and two older siblings. Then-mayor Archer and other city officials rebranded the original campaign and got more serious about cultivating the opposite energy; being angels instead of devils.

“However, if the process of non-violence is to be effective in counteracting violence, we must first describe and outline it clearly and methodically. Because violent thoughts always precede a violent act, an act of non-violence will be effective only if it is preceded by non-violent thoughts. Violence is an active phenomenon, whereas non-violence is mistakenly thought to be passive – simply the absence of violence. Non-violence must be as active as violence itself.”

*

– commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD

The rebranded Angels’ Night(s) encouraged volunteers to do what they could to actively combat the violence with non-violence, from October 29th – 31st. It was based on the idea that if everyone cared, everyone could do something to make a difference. Some people volunteered to patrol their neighborhood with flashing amber lights on their vehicles. Others agreed to wear orange ribbons and participated in neighborhood watches – even adopting an “empty” property. Still others agreed to leave their lights on and to enforce – or honor – the curfew. Official activities were organized at recreation and community centers. Bottom line, there was a way for everyone, regardless of age or ability, to stay alert and stay connected. In 1995, 40,000 – 50,000 volunteers agreed to be “angels.” As before, arson and vandalism steadily declined.

While there was a spike in arsons around Halloween 2010, the overall decline in “devilish” activity continued through the 2000’s and 2010’s. In 2005, official “Angels’ Night” activities were cancelled as the entire city mourned the death of Rosa Parks. In 2015, there were “only” 52 fires (with 24 appearing to be arson). Interestingly, this steady decline around Halloween was paralleled by a slight increase in fires around the 4th of July. In 2018, there were only three reported fires and the city officially ended the campaign. Citizens, however, continue to be angels.

“The earliest recorded instance of someone saying ‘Hurt people hurt people’ appears in the Feb. 26, 1959, edition of a local Texas newspaper, the Amarillo Globe-Times, in its review of a lecture program put on by the Parent Teacher Association of Fannin Junior High School. The Globe-Times attributes the line to a speaker named Charles Eads, who, judging from the article’s description, spoke in the manner of vaudeville satirist and cowboy Will Rogers:…’”Hurt people hurt people.’ So, maybe before I wound someone next time, I’ll stop and think if it’s because I’ve been hurt, myself.’”

*

– quoted from the article “The History of ‘Hurt People Hurt People’ – The adage has been credited to everyone from pastors to self-help gurus to Andrew Garfield. It’s much older.” By Matthew Phelan (posted on slate.com, Sept 17, 2019)

We’ve all been hurt. We all suffer. According to the Yoga Philosophy, dysfunctional/afflicted thought patterns create suffering. The question – which is also addressed in philosophies like Buddhism, and even in the major religions – is, “What do we do with our own suffering?” Do we alleviate it? That’s the next question, because the philosophies say that we have the ability to alleviate our own suffering? Of course, there’s always the flipside, where our hurt/suffering becomes the foundation for more suffering and “devilish” behavior?

To answer the questions, take a moment to do a little svādhyāya (“self-study”) or discernment – what some might call “metacognition.” Consider your own reaction to the aforementioned Devil’s Night, especially with regard to the arson and vandalism. Consider, who you think was responsible – not only for the problem, but also for the solution. Are you keeping in mind that the initial fires, even in Detroit, were set by college students? Have you thought about what was happening in the world when the arson first increased? Did you remember that the Wilson family lived in the suburbs?

Consider how you feel when you take it all in and then consider how those feelings translate into thoughts that precede your words and then your deeds. Given the opportunity to counteract violence and destruction, would your active response to the “devilish” behavior be functional and skillful – or would it be just another form of damage?

In the first section of the Yoga Sūtras, there are several different ways in which we can achieve transparency of mind. One way is to focus on the breath. (YS 1.34) Another way is to “focus on someone who is free from all desire.” (YS 1.37) This is what people are ostensibly doing when they ask themselves, “What would … do?” Of course, the commentary indicates that in the absence of resonating with some great figure – from religion, philosophy, or mythology – we could focus on the best version of ourselves: What would we do/say if we were free from desire? What would we do/say if we were not attached to a particular outcome?

“Then concentrate upon [the] heart. Try to imagine how it must feel to be a great saint; pure and untroubled by sense-objects….”

*

– quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.37 from How To Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

Another method for achieving clarity of mind, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras, is to offer friendliness to those who are happy, compassion to those who are suffering, happiness to those who are virtuous, and indifference/non-judgement to those who (we consider) are non-virtuous. (YS 1.33) I personally love this idea, but I also know it can be challenging. Different parts may be challenging for different people – and under different circumstances – but the part that is usually challenging for me is the last part: offering indifference/non-judgement to someone (I consider) non-virtuous – or whose actions are not virtuous. Sure, ideally, we could ignore those non-virtuous people/actions and they would go away or stop their “devilish” behavior; but, life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes we have to directly engage and actively combat the violence in a non-violent way.

My non-violent way is logic. While I often believe that (my) logic will resolve conflict and/or get people to do what I think is right, that is not actually how the world works – because that’s not how the human mind works. Remember, according to Yoga Sūtra 2.20, we can only see/comprehend what our mind-intellect is ready to show us. This is not an idea restricted to the people we think are wrong in their thinking; this also applies to each and every one of us.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that logic doesn’t work. I’m saying that if someone we consider to be non-virtuous, or acting in a way that is non-virtuous, were to think (and feel) the way we think (and feel) they would speak and act the way we do. So, applying our own logic on someone else does not work. They have to apply their own logic. While we may be able to help someone apply their own logic, we can only do so with a clear mind.

In other words, to truly alleviate suffering, we have to turn inward. We have to understand our own feelings and thoughts and how those become our words and deeds. In turn, we have to understand the impact/effect of our words and deeds. It is only then that we can effectively, as Patanjali said in Yoga Sūtra 2.44, be in the company of angels.

“No, don’t give up

I won’t give up

‘Cause there must be angels”

*

– quoted from the song “Angels” by Tom Walker (written by Emma Davidson-Dillon / James Eliot / Thomas Alexander Walker)

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

(NOTE: The Spotify playlist contains one track that may not play without a subscription. My apologies for the inconvenience.)

*

### Be safe, y’all! ###

The Angels (& Devils) Within Us (mostly the music) October 29, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Angels' Night, Cabbage Night, Detroit, Devil's Night, Hell Night, Michigan, Mischief Night, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, St. John's College Oxford, Yoga Sutra 1.37, Yoga Sutra 2.33, Yoga Sutra 2.44, Yoga Sutras 1.33-1.34, Yoga Sutras 2.33-2.35
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“Violence is clearly destructive. It springs from fear, one of the fundamental afflictions. According to this sutra, the practice of non-violence requires us to arrest our violent tendencies by cultivating thoughts opposite to violence.

However, if the process of non-violence is to be effective in counteracting violence, we must first describe and outline it clearly and methodically. Because violent thoughts always precede a violent act, an act of non-violence will be effective only if it is preceded by non-violent thoughts. Violence is an active phenomenon, whereas non-violence is mistakenly thought to be passive – simply the absence of violence. But passive non-violence has no power to extinguish the fire of violence. Non-violence must be as active as violence itself.”

– commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD

Please join me for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Saturday, October 29^th) at 12:00 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.

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

(NOTE: The Spotify playlist contains one track that may not play without a subscription. My apologies for the inconvenience.)

### ###

FTWMI: The S-word September 28, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Maya Angelou, Music, New Year, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Rosh Hashanah, Suffering, Yoga, Yom Kippur.
Tags: 9 Days, Alexander Pope, Bernie Taupin, Elton John, High Holidays, Jack Kornfield, Maya Angelou, siddhis, Ten Days of Atonement, Ten Days of Awe
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“Shana Tovah U’Metukah!” to anyone who is observing the High Holidays.

For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 5781/2020. Class and date-related details have been updated. An extra quote and a recent video have also been embedded within the main text.

“Why can’t we talk it over?
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word”

– quoted from “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin

For years, I avoided saying the words, “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t that I never made a mistake or didn’t feel remorse about something I had said or done or even thought. Instead, I very deliberately, very intentionally, practiced expressing my remorse with other words. Because, despite the song and the old saying, “sorry” is a word I think it is far too easy for people to say.

We say we’re sorry when we accidentally bump into someone while walking or when we both reach for the same prop in a yoga class. We say “sorry” when we hit the wrong button on the elevator and the door closes on someone who was trying to catch it or when we don’t hold the door open for someone who has their hands full. We say “sorry” when we didn’t hear or understand something someone says and we say we’re sorry when we don’t want to do something that’s clearly not right for us to do. We use the same word for the little inconsequential stuff as for the really big stuff and we do this despite the fact that we have so many other words; words that in some cases are much more appropriate for a situation. (Say hello, “excuse me” and “pardon me.”)

I apologize.	I didn’t mean to hurt you.	I’ll do better next time.
Please forgive me.	I was wrong.	Please give me a second chance.
Pardon me.	I regret what I did/said.	My bad.
Excuse me.	Please accept my regrets.	Mea culpa.

Earlier in the New Year (that started this past Sunday at sunset), I mentioned that words are one of our super powers – and by that I mean they are one of the siddhis (or “powers”) unique to being human according to Indian philosophy. In fact, the process of asking and/or offering forgiveness is something that utilizes all six (6) of the powers unique to being human.

First, there is uha (“knowledge without doubt, clear understanding, intuitive knowledge”). In a dhamma talk entitled “The Ancient Heart of Forgiveness,” Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield refers to the act of forgiveness as a “a deep process of the heart, which requires a person to process and honor ”the betrayal of yourself or others, the grief, the anger, the hurt, the fear.” I’ll add to that the need to process and honor the love, expectation, and disappointment that are usually involved in the situation. In order to reach the point where we can truly ask and/or offer forgiveness we have to understand the situation and the underlying emotions. The absolute worst “apologies” ever – and I put that in quotes, because they really aren’t apologies – are conditional and redirect action towards those who have been harmed. For instance, when people say something like, “I’m sorry if you were offended, but…” and/or “I apologize to anyone I may have offended,” they aren’t actually apologizing. The act of asking for and/or offering forgiveness is similar to the act of expressing gratitude: the more specific one can be, the more genuine the act – and this requires truly understanding the situation.

The second “power unique to being human” is shabda (“word”) and it is our ability to not only form a sound, but also to assign meaning that sound; depict that sound and meaning visually; to remember the sound, meaning, and visual depiction and to convey that meaning to others. I think it is obvious how this power comes into play when we are talking about forgiveness and repentance. However, for the record, let me reiterate that the words we use matter because of how we use them! (Also, this is one of those powers where one could say that this is a power other beings in the animal kingdom share with being human. And while this is true, humans have the ability to deliberately and intentionally hone this ability. Consider, also, the power of the written word. A handwritten apology is akin to a love letter.)

Adhyayana is the ability to “study, analyze, and comprehend” and it is directly tied to the first “power unique to being human.” This analytical ability not only allows us to turn inward and gain an understanding of our own intentions (as well as the intentions of others), it also means we can dig deep inside of ourselves and gain a clear understanding of what we are feeling. We can’t always understand how other people are feeling, but we can take a moment to cultivate empathy by considering how we would feel if the shoe were on the other foot. This third power also gives us the ability to understand why one person’s actions, words, and thoughts can hurt us in a way it is hard to get past, while another person’s actions, words, and thoughts feel inconsequential. Finally, it gives us the ability to predict the cause and effect of our thoughts, words, and deeds – which means we have the capacity to not hurt someone and/or to stop making the same mistake over and over again.

“It’s a deep work of the heart that purifies and releases – and somehow permits us to love and be free.”

– quoted from a dhamma talk entitled “The Ancient Heart of Forgiveness” by Jack Kornfield

The fourth “power unique to being human” is dukha-vighata-traya, which means we are born with the ability to eliminate three-fold sorrow (“physical-mental-spiritual suffering”) because we have the ability to understand the cause and the cure of what ails us. Forgiveness and repentance are powerful healing agents. They are a balm to the soul. Letting go of what no longer serves us (or only serves in dividing us) can feel like a cool breeze on a summer day. It’s a clean slate and is like hitting the reset button on a relationship. Remember, as teachers like Jack Kornfield point out, forgiveness is for you: “It’s not for anyone else.”

The final two powers are suhrit-prapti (which is “cultivating a good heart; finding friends”) and dana (“generosity, the ability to give”). I put these two together not because they are less than the others, but because they – along with the fourth – can defy logic. They are, in every tradition, heart practices. The ability to cultivate friendship and emotionally invest in others carries with it the risk of being hurt. There is a reason why the word “passion,” which comes to us from Latin, by way of Old French and Middle English is more closely associated with love (and strong emotions) than with its original meaning “to suffer.” The ability to cultivate a good heart means that we open up to the wisdom that is part of the heart (according to Eastern philosophies) and also that we are capable of thinking beyond our own needs and desires. This last part – the ability to consider the needs and desires of others – is directly tied to our ability to give others what they need, including what is legally ours. We can spend all day considering what material possessions we have that could benefit others, but let us not forget the priceless value of what is in our own hearts. We are the only one who can offer our forgiveness.

“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”

– Dr. Maya Angelou

Teshuvah (or Tchuvah), the Hebrew word for “repentance, return, turn,” is a big part of the High Holidays. On Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, there is even an absolution of vows (every vow). But remember, this is not about self flagellation (or even, really, about condemnation). In offering forgiveness to ourselves and others we are not required to forget or condone bad behavior. Neither are we required to stay in a bad situation. The practice does not require us to be perfect. The practice does, however, require us to open our hearts to the possibility of a new beginning.

“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”

– quoted from “An Essay on Criticism” (line 525) by Alexander Pope

Please join me today (Wednesday, September 28^th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You will need to register for the 7:15 PM class if you have not already done so. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below.

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “High Holidays: Sorry”]

The last song / A final word…

### BE DIVINE (WHEN YOU CAN) ###

Interior Movements (the “missing” Sunday post, with Monday notes) August 2, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, 31-Day Challenge, Abhyasa, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Karma, Life, Love, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Vairagya, Whirling Dervish, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.
Tags: Aimee Lehto, Boyd Croyner, Contemplation, discernment, Father Luis Gonzalez, Herman Melville, J.F.X. O'Conor S.J., Jack Kornfield, kriya yoga, Maria Mitchell, Muhammad Ali, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, spirits, Spiritual Exercises, svādhyāya, tapas, Thomas Merton, Yoga Sutra 2.1, Yoga Sutra 2.44, īśvarapraṇidhāna
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This is the “missing” post for today, Sunday, July 31^st (with notes related to Monday, August 1^st). You can request an audio recording of these practices via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.)

“When we ask, ‘Am I following a path with heart?’ we discover that no one can define for us exactly what our path should be. Instead, we must allow the mystery and beauty of this question to resonate within our being. Then somewhere within us an answer will come and understanding will arise. If we are still and listen deeply, even for a moment, we will know if we are following a path with heart.”

– quoted from “Chapter I – Did I Love Well” in A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield

There are a lot of things that make practicing Yoga special. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary and unique things about the practice is that every time you step into your physical practice space, there is a deliberate and mindful intention to engage/move the mind-body in a way that also very deliberately and very intentionally engages/moves the spirit. Obviously, there are other times and other forms of exercises, even other activities, where we can go deeper inside of ourselves and really pay attention to how what’s moving inside of us (on many different levels) informs how we move through the world. You may even have a go-to activity that engages your mind-body-spirit even if is not recognized as exercise and/or as something spiritual. You may personally have a go-to something that puts you “in the flow” or “in the zone.” Maybe it’s something you deliberately, mindfully, and intentionally do when you need to clear your mind-body and really pay attention to your spirit. There are, after all, many ways that we can do that. However, in many cases that mind-body-spirit benefit is not the originally intention of the exercise; meaning your go-to thing is not a (recognized) spiritual exercise.

I recognize that not everyone recognizes Yoga as a spiritual exercise and, also, that it is not the only practice that could be considered a spiritual exercise. Semazen (Sufi whirling or turning), tanoura (the Egyptian version of Sufi whirling), and all other forms of traditional moving meditations could be considered spiritual exercises. The same could be said of modern practices like journey dancing and Gabrielle Roth’s “5Rhythms.” However, if you mention “the Spiritual Exercises” to a certain group of people in the world, none of the aforementioned come to mind. In fact, what comes to mind are not even physical exercises. Instead, what comes to mind for people within the Catholic community are the collection of prayers, meditations, and contemplations codified by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast day falls on July 31^st.

“To understand fully the Spiritual Exercises, we should know something of the man who wrote them. In this life of St. Ignatius, told in his own words, we acquire an intimate knowledge of the author of the Exercises. We discern the Saint’s natural disposition, which was the foundation of his spiritual character. We learn of his conversion, his trials, the obstacles in his way, the heroism with which he accomplished his great mission.

This autobiography of St. Ignatius is the groundwork of all the great lives of him that have been written.”

– quoted from the “Editor’s Preface” (dated Easter, 1900) of The Autobiography of St. Ignatius: The Account of his Life dictated to Father Gonzalez by St. Ignatius (edited by J. F. X. O’Conor, S.J.)

Born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola on October 23, 1491, the future saint was the youngest of thirteen children born to Spanish nobles in the Basque region of Spain. Not long after he was born, his mother died and he became, on a certain level, an after thought. While his oldest brother died in the Italian Wars (also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars) and his second oldest brother inherited the family estate, the youngest of the brood was expected to go into the priesthood. Yet, he was raised with most of the same privileges and luxuries as his siblings and grew accustomed to the lifestyle. By the time he was a teenager, he was completely infatuated with all the trappings of romance, fame, fortune, and power that could come from military service.

By all accounts, young Íñigo was a bit of a dandy by the time he joined the military at seventeen. He cut a fine and stylish figure in (and out of) uniform; he loved to gamble, fence, duel, and dance; and he had a reputation as a womanizer with a very fragile ego. He also loved stories that reflected his life; stories of romance, chivalry, and military victories. In fact, some have said that he deliberately emulated the stories he read about people like Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (“El Cid”), the Frankish military governor Roland, and the knights of the Round Table. Perhaps he even believed that people would one day tell stories about him the way they told stories about his heroes.

And… they kind of do. Except for two pertinent facts. First, the young noble seemed to embody the very worst aspects of masculinity and “nobility.” Second, the trajectory of his life changed almost exactly two months before he turned 30.

After over a decade of military service in which he was never seriously injured, Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola’s was struck by a ricocheting cannonball during the Battle of Pamplona (May 20, 1521). His right leg was crushed and it was feared that, at worse, he would lose the leg and, at best, he would lose his military career and never walk the same again. After several surgeries, during some of which his leg was re-broken and reset, his leg was saved. He returned to the family castle to recover and thought that he would spend his convalescence reading the romance adventures that he so dearly loved. Unfortunately, he was told that such novels were no longer available in the castle. He was given the Bible and the biographies of saints and, having nothing better to do, he devoured them. Just as was his habit while reading adventures of romance and chivalry, he started imagining himself in the positions of the disciples and the saints. This type of imagination is what he would later identify as “contemplation.”

“While perusing the life of Our Lord and the saints, he began to reflect, saying to himself: ‘What if I should do what St. Francis did?’ ‘What if I should act like St. Dominic?’ He pondered over these things in his mind, and kept continually proposing to himself serious and difficult things. He seemed to feel a certain readiness for doing them, with no other reason except this thought: ‘St. Dominic did this; I, too, will do it.’ ‘St. Francis did this; therefore I will do it.’ These heroic resolutions remained for a time, and then other vain and worldly thoughts followed. This succession of thoughts occupied him for a long while, those about God alternating with those about the world. But in these thoughts there was this difference. When he thought of worldly things it gave him great pleasure, but afterward he found himself dry and sad. But when he thought of journeying to Jerusalem, and of living only on herbs, and practising [sic] austerities, he found pleasure not only while thinking of them, but also when he had ceased.”

– quoted from “Chapter I: his military life—he is wounded at the siege of Pampeluna—his cure—spiritual reading—the apparition—the gift of chastity—his longing for the journey to Jerusalem and for a holier life” of The Autobiography of St. Ignatius: The Account of his Life dictated to Father Gonzalez by St. Ignatius (edited by J. F. X. O’Conor, S.J.)

When Patanjali codified the Yoga Philosophy, he outlined eight parts of the practice. The first two parts were ethical in nature and consisted of five external “restraints” or universal commandments (known as yamas) and five internal “observations” (known as niyamas). According to Yoga Sūtra 2.44, “the opportunity to be in the company of bright beings [of our choice]” is the the benefit of practicing svādhyāya (“self-study”). Some translations refer to “angels” and still others reference “contact, communion, or concert with that underlying natural reality or force.” Either way, the practice is basically what Ignatius was intuitively doing: paying attention to his thoughts and reactions – in relation to sacred text, chants, and/or even historical scenarios.

The more he did this kind of self-study, the more he started noticing something curious. He started noticing that the feelings he felt while reading and imagining the profane romantic adventures didn’t last as long as the feelings he experienced while reading and imagining the lives of the sacred. When he could walk again, the former soldier set off on a religious pilgrimage that eventually led him to a cave in Manresa (Catalonia). It was in that cave, which is now a chapel, that Saint Ignatius started spelling out his Spiritual Exercises, a four “week” practice of ritual examination and introspection.

After years of religious study, a series of visions, and another extended pilgrimage, Ignatius and six of his seminary friends took vows and committed themselves to religious service. In 1539, Saint Ignatius de Loyola and two of those friends – Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Peter Faber – formed the Society of Jesus. Also known as the Jesuits, the order was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540, whereupon its leadership set off on missions to create educational institutions built on the foundation of discipline (specifically a “corpse-like” discipline), devotion (to the Pope and the Church), and trustful surrender. Interesting (to me), those same foundations can be found in the Yoga practices of tapas (“heat,” discipline, and austerity) and īśvarapraṇidhāna (“trustful surrender to the divine source”), which are the third and fifth niyamas.

In the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali referred to the last three niyamas (internal “observations”) as kriya yoga, which is literally “union in action.” Some people think of kriya yoga as a prescription or cleansing ritual. As I mention throughout the year, there are a lot of religious and spiritual rituals (from different traditions) which fit within the rubric described by Patanjali. The Spiritual Exercises, published in 1548, contain one such example. It is a short booklet intended to be used by the teacher or guide who leads the spiritual retreat. Although the “Long Retreat” is broken down into four themes, which are traditionally experienced over 28-30 days, Saint Ignatius also included statements that allow people to experience a “retreat in daily life” if they are unable to leave their everyday life behind for a month. Additionally, the experience can be broken up over a couple of years. Whether one is Catholic or some other form of Christian, Saint Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises offers the opportunity for reflection and introspection by way of prayer and meditation in the form of contemplation and discernment.

“This difference he did not notice or value, until one day the eyes of his soul were opened and he began to inquire the reason of the difference. He learned by experience that one train of thought left him sad, the other joyful. This was his first reasoning on spiritual matters. Afterward, when he began the Spiritual Exercises, he was enlightened, and understood what he afterward taught his children about the discernment of spirits.”

– quoted from “Chapter I: his military life—he is wounded at the siege of Pampeluna—his cure—spiritual reading—the apparition—the gift of chastity—his longing for the journey to Jerusalem and for a holier life” of The Autobiography of St. Ignatius: The Account of his Life dictated to Father Gonzalez by St. Ignatius (edited by J. F. X. O’Conor, S.J.)

A portion of the following description was previously posted on February 6, 2021.

In general, “discernment” is one’s “ability to judge well” and to see (or perceive) clearly and accurately. In a secular sense, that good judgement is directly tied to perception of the known world (psychologically, morally, and/or aesthetically). However, “discernment” has certain other qualities in a religious context and, in particular, in a Christian context. In Christianity, the perception related to discernment is based on spiritual guidance and an understanding of God’s will. In his Spiritual Exercises, Saint Ignatius of Loyola gets even more specific: Ignatian spirituality requires noticing the “interior movements of the heart” and, specifically, the “spirits” that motivate one’s actions.

Saint Ignatius believed in a “good spirit” and an “evil spirit” that would use similar methods to guide one either towards peace, love, and eternal bliss or towards sin and more sin. For example, if one is already in the habit of committing mortal sins, then the “evil spirit” will emphasize the mortal pleasures that might be found in a variety of vices – while simultaneously clouding awareness of the damage that is being done. On the other hand, the “good spirit” in this scenario “uses the opposite method, pricking them and biting their consciences through the process of reason.”

If however, a person is striving to live in a virtuous and sacred manner then the “evil spirit” will create obstacles, offer temptation, and in all manners of ways attempt to distract one from the sacred path; while the “good spirit” provides “courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing.” It can get really confusing, on the outside, which is why discernment requires turning inward and taking a look at one’s self. In other words, it requires svādhyāya (“self-study”). In the context of The Spiritual Exercises, the discernment is related to the experiences of Jesus and the disciples.

During the first “week” of The Spiritual Exercises, the retreatant is instructed to reflect on “our lives in light of God’s boundless love for us.” This reflection focuses on concepts of personal sin, Divine love (which is unconditional) and Divine mercy with the intention of considering free will and how personal behavior can limit one’s ability to experience Divine love and mercy. To be clear, the idea here is not that such things will be taken away if you are bad or engage in bad behavior. Instead, the idea is that our thoughts, words, and deeds (i.e., our karma) may inhibit our ability to perceive the love and mercy being freely given. This period ends with a meditation on following in the (historical) foot steps of the Divine – which is quite literally the meaning of brahmacharya, Patanjali’s fourth yama (external “restraint”).

During the second “week,” retreatants begin to place themselves in the scenarios of the Christian scriptures as they relate to the beginning of Jesus’ life, beginning with his birth and moving through his baptism, his sermon on the mount, his ministry of healing and teaching, and his raising Lazarus from the dead. The prayers and meditations center around the idea of how one’s life and life’s work can be a reflection of God and God’s love.

The third and fourth “weeks” continue the contemplation by first contemplating the the Last Supper, the passion (or “suffering”) of the Christ, Jesus’ death, and the significance of Jesus’ last week (during the third “week”) and then contemplating Jesus’ resurrection and his appearances/apparitions to the disciples (during the fourth “week”). The final section of the retreat is also an opportunity to contemplate how one moves forward with renewed faith, commitment, and fire.

Yes, again with the tapas, because Saint Ignatius continuously told the early Jesuits, “go, set the world on fire” – words that echoed Abbot Joseph’s instructions to Abbot Lot:

“Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire?”

– from The Wisdom of the Desert (LXII), translated by Thomas Merton

“Lord, teach me to be generous,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to look for any reward,
save that of knowing that I do your holy will.“

– “The Prayer of Generosity,” often attributed to Saint Ignatius of Loyola (d. 07/31/1556)

I habitually think about discernment in terms of the “interior movements of the heart” and, while it is something I regularly do on my mat, the Feast Day of Saint Ignatius is a day when I am reminded of the power of the practice. My awareness of this powerful practice is also enhanced by the fact that I start August by focusing on the lives of “impossible” people – that is to say, people who did things others said was impossible. This year, in particular, I find my heart (and mind) moved to contemplate the will and determination that gets things done, as well as the power of the resistance that keeps certain things from happening. Mixed in with this is the idea that our will and determination is strengthened when we are surrounded (and supported) by people who are focused on the same goals and desires; focused on achieving the same “impossible” goals and desires.

August 1st is the anniversary of the birth of an “impossible” woman and a man who wrote about achieving “impossible” things. It is curious to note that Miss Maria Mitchell (b. 1818) was raised in a household where her interests and endeavors were supported – despite the fact that she was born in a time and place where some believed her sex and gender should dictate/limit her vocation and occupation – and that the greatest works of Mr. Herman Melville (b. 1819) were created and published when he was in close proximity of (and in close communion with) his dear friend, and fellow writer, Mr. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Regardless of your religious beliefs, you could put yourselves in their shoes; notice the interior movements of your own heart; and consider how your thoughts, words, and deeds can best reflect your possibilities.

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.

Impossible is nothing.”

– quoted from a 2004 Adidas ad campaign written by Aimee Lehto (with final tag line credited to Boyd Croyner), often attributed to Muhammad Ali

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07292020 Breathing, Noting, Here & at the UN”]

NOTE: In hindsight, I realized that the playlist we used last week works really well with today’s practice. It is still available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08222021 Fire Thread”]

“First, no woman should say, ‘I am but a woman!’ But a woman! What more can you ask to be? Born a woman — born with the average brain of humanity — born with more than the average heart — if you are mortal, what higher destiny could you have? No matter where you are nor what you are, you are power.”

– quoted from Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals by Maria Mitchell (b. 08/01/1818)

“When Herman Melville was writing Moby Dick, he wasn’t writing about a man looking for a whale. He was writing about a man trying to find his higher self. He said these words, ‘… for as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all of the horrors of the half-lived life.’

In every moment of your life, as you leave here today, you have this choice, you can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego.”

– Dr. Wayne Dyer

### “May our hearts be open” ~BC ###

FTWMI: Practice Responsibly July 26, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Confessions, Dharma, Faith, Fitness, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma, Life, Men, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Tantra, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: Amazing Fantasy, Anneke Lucas, asana, B.K.S. Iyengar, David Swenson, gurus, hatha yoga, Krishnamacharya, Spiderman, Sri Pattabhi Jois, Stan Lee, The Science of Yoga, vinyasa, William J. Broad, yoga philosophy, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra
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This post from 2020 – and the one you can find here, related to yesterday’s “anger/kindness” theme – have come back to haunt me. Yet, they have also come back to bring me some comfort. I hope you, too, find some comfort and good practice reminders in the following. In addition to some format edits, class details and links have been updated for today.

“…aware at last that in this world, with great power there must also come — great responsibility!”

– quoted from Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee, et al, August 1962

In 1962, at the end of the comic book that introduced Spiderman to the world, Peter Parker is faced with the tragic and life-altering loss of his Uncle Ben Parker. This loss leads to the life-altering realization that he can never again take his actions for granted. The words above, which appear in the final panel, are perhaps the most well-known and oft quoted words in comic book history. Really, in world history, when you consider that the words (and the idea behind them date back) to the French Revolution. We’re human; so, context matters. The way we receive the message, or even internalize the lesson, is different if we first read it in the final panel of a fantasy comic book versus if we’re studying historical documents from the French National Convention in 1793. We may discount the message, or take it more seriously, when it is attributed to a beloved elder (like Ben Parker) versus when it is attributed to a British Prime Minister (like William Lamb or Winston Churchill). Especially in a situation like those referenced above, there is a certain gravitas that comes not only from the words, but also from the speaker and whether their life is a reflection of the words.

“Are you practicing?”

– David Swenson, on the cover of his Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual

Do they practice what they preach? Seeing the contradiction and/or hypocrisy, do we do as they say or as they do? Or, do we completely disregard the benefit of the lesson, because it is associated with someone who behaved badly?

These are the questions a lot of people are asking right now, in regards to race, sex, sexuality, religion, and the forming of countries (in particular the United States) and companies. They are also questions some of us in spiritual and religious communities have been asking for years with regard to our practices. Part of the challenge in answering these questions, with regard to bad behavior associated with the founders of an institution, is ignorance about the true nature of thing (avidyā). We may not always know about the bad behavior when we first become associated with an institution and, sometimes, the way in which we learn about the bad behavior makes it seem not so bad. Doesn’t matter if we are born into a society or join a community as an adult, once we are involved, our experiences are very personal and, as a result, we associate these situations with our sense of self – or false sense of self (asmitā). We define ourselves based on our attachment to things we like (rāga) and our aversion to things we dislike (dveşa) – even though sometimes don’t understand the true nature of what we like and dislike (hence, more avidyā). Finally, we are challenged by these questions, because answering may mean we lose something very meaningful to us, we may lose our sense of who we are, and we fear those losses like Peter Parker fears the loss of his uncle.

Notice, all the challenges I mentioned above are identified in the Yoga Sūtra as kleśāh (“afflicted” or “dysfunctional”) and therefore they are the very things that lead to suffering. Patanjali recommends meditation (YS 2.11) and the 8-limbs of yoga (YS 2.28) as a way to end the afflicted or dysfunctional thought patterns (and therefore the words and deeds) which lead to suffering. (Note, this instruction dovetails with the Buddha’s recommendation of meditation and the noble 8-fold path of Buddhism, as well as certain theological practices found in the major religions.) There’s only one problem: For most of us in the West, the practices of yoga and meditation are mired in the muck of bad behavior and the suffering that has been caused by that bad behavior.

“I was far more hurt by the culture of silence and ignoring the victim and victim-blaming than the abuse itself. If there would’ve been support from the community, and it had been dealt with, it would have gone away.”

– Anneke Lucas, founder of Liberation Prison Yoga, quoted in The New Yorker (07/23/2019) about confronting Sri Pattabhi Jois

Almost exactly a year ago, I posted about the foundations and how on Saturdays I place a year-long emphasis on “building the practice from the ground up,” both physically and philosophically. In the post I mentioned B. K. S. Iyengar (b. 12/14/1918) and Sri Pattabhi Jois (who was born today in 1915). Both teachers are part of a small group (of mostly Indian men) who were charged by their teacher Sri Krishnamacharya with introducing the physical practice of yoga to the Western world. Both teachers introduced their personal practice as “the practice” and for many people those practices are how people define “yoga.” Thinking that yoga is a particular set of poses and/or a specific way of doing them is problematic in and of itself. However, there is a bigger problem: both of these teachers have been very credibly accused of bad behavior. And, they are not alone. There are a number of yoga (and Buddhist) teachers (male and female) who have been called out for bad behavior. (Note: I am not using the term “bad behavior” in an attempt to belay or undermine the heinous of what people have allegedly done. Instead, I am using the term as an umbrella to cover sexual misconduct, physical and psychological abuse, and financial misconduct.)

A few days after I posted, a friend and fellow yogi sent me an email, with a link to an article about Jois, and expressed concern about the allegations and “about the current Ashtanga community’s response (or lack thereof) to his abuses.” In conclusion, this friend acknowledged their own conflict about allegations related to their own practices and asked about my thoughts. I started to reply, but then didn’t finish or send the reply (because, well…life). So, with apologies to my friend and fellow yogi, here is part of my response:

Hi! How are you?

Thank you for your email (and the link). I had only heard a portion of this, and it was quite a while back – so, obviously, a lot more has come up. I appreciate the information. Interestingly enough, a friend who is also an Iyengar teacher is in town and when we were catching up she posed a similar question about the value of the teachings when the teacher (and their actions) are so clearly heinous. I ask myself this question a lot, because (unfortunately) there’s so much bad behavior.

Honestly, I’m not sure I have a good answer. In regards to individuals and their bad behaviors, this is something I have also seen in the performing arts (and obviously in Corporate America and religious organizations), and it is why I think it is so important to maintain awareness and connection to the ethical components of these practices – not as a way to condemn or ostracize others, but as a way to have checks and balances into our own practices and behaviors. Ultimately, there is a power element to the practice of yoga and a power imbalance in the (formal) teacher-student(s) relationship. It is up to the (formal) teacher to maintain awareness of this power and power imbalance in order to protect themselves AND the student(s).

I am not part of a formal tradition and have not had any direct contact with guru-predators. And I’ve never had a big-G Guru, which is itself a can of worms. That said; if I hear of someone doing something questionable I will steer people away. (Even though, in my case, I am only going by hearsay and have to step carefully.) Also, when people ask me about teacher trainings I always stress checking out the teacher/studio/situation to make sure that their comfortable with the instructors. I also stress that during teacher trainings (or intensives) people are sometimes asked to do things they may not feel comfortable doing and that it is important to feel secure in knowing when you are uncomfortable because you are outside your comfort zone (i.e., being asked to do something you haven’t ever done before) versus feeling uncomfortable because someone is doing something or asking you to do something that is just plain wrong.

Like Jubilee Cook, I often wonder why – even when people didn’t/don’t feel like they had/have the power to bring a predator down – they don’t understand that they have the power to stop others from being abused! I mean, I do get it on a certain level…and I say this not as a way to blame the victims, but to highlight an additional challenge.

Part of that additional challenge (or maybe it’s a separate challenge) is that people in formal traditions (led by big-G Gurus) experience a combination of hero worship and brain washing that can itself be a kind of trauma. In the recent past, it has taken people a bit of time to “deprogram.” My hope is that the delay in Ashtangis speaking up comes from needing to “deprogram.” Or maybe that’s my naiveté, because honestly, as more comes out, more shame and blame comes up – and people tend to want to curl up and ignore it. Especially, if/when you can pretend that sense certain people are dead the abuse has ended.

With regard to actual teachings…I found there is amazing value in the practice of yoga (on so many different levels)

That’s where I stopped. And, to a certain degree, that is where I am still stuck; because I can’t go back and learn all the valuable things about yoga through a less fractured lens. Maybe “stuck” isn’t the right word, but the bottom line is that this is an issue I confront on a fairly regular basis – not because I’ve personally encountered so much of this bad behavior, but because I can’t go back and pretend like bad behavior didn’t happen. I want people to be informed, but I don’t not always feel it is appropriate to bring certain things up in the middle of a yoga practice. Yes, yes, I do sometimes bring up a lot of controversial and horrific things that have happened in history. I also wrestle with the decision to do so.

Sometimes, I become aware of someone’s bad behavior and I change the way I teach certain things – or leave something/someone out completely, if I know of another way to make the point. Sometimes, I pivot because I’m aware of the history (or age) of someone in the room. I also, sometimes, make a misstep; I am human after all. However, I teach certain things (like religion, philosophy, science, and history) as if they were part of a history lesson or a survey course. I do this out of respect for the subject/theme and also because I think knowledge is power. And with that power…

I am not a big fan of William J. Broad’s very well researched and very well written book The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards. Broad is very upfront about the fact that his book is about the physical practice – but that’s one of my big complaints about the book! By separating the physical practice from the larger context, the book does the exact same thing so many people do: it removes the ethics. Yet what Broad’s research reinforces, to me, is that one of the “rewards” of the postural practice (the increase in physical health and power) becomes a risk if some kind of ethical component is not affixed to the practice.

Let us not forget, Patanjali gave us the ethical component when he codified the system – and he didn’t give it to us as an afterthought. He gave it us first (just as the Buddha did). Most yoga teachers, and all teachers of Buddhism or the major religions, are aware of the ethics of their particular system. If they are not teaching those elements, they may not be practicing them. If they are not practicing the ethics of their system, in all aspects of their life, we end up with more suffering.

My apologies, again, to my friend and fellow yogi, for the delay. I also apologize to all for any missteps I’ve made along the way.

Please join me today (Tuesday, July 26^th) 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. If you are using and Apple device and having problems viewing the “Class Schedules,” you may need to update your browser.

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.

Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04192020 Noticing Things”. It is actually two playlists and you can decide which one you use.)

If you would like to know more about the history of the practices mentioned above, here is a Kiss My Asana blog post from 2016. I started to excerpt it, but trust you won’t think unkindly about the amazing yogi in the profile just because he shares a gender with people who have harmed others.

### “HOW YOU DO YOGA, IS HOW YOU DO LIFE” ###

Still Getting (Un)Hooked, After All These Years July 19, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: Alfred Dreyfus, Dreyfus Affair, Emile Zola, J'Accuse!, PRIDE, shenpa
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“Shenpa thrives on the underlying insecurity of living in a world that is always changing.”

– quoted from “How We Get Hooked and How We Get Unhooked” by Pema Chödrön (published by Lion’s Roar, 12/26/2017)

A random short appeared in my YouTube queue. It was only about 60 seconds, from a channel I have never watched nor followed, and I’ll admit that I got “hooked” within a few seconds. Remember, “hook” is one way the American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön translates the Tibetan word shenpa. It can also be translated as “urge, impulse, charge, or attachment.” It is the first sign that someone has pushed your buttons and activated your sympathetic nervous system, which makes you want to fight, flee, or freeze/collapse. While her teachings related to shenpa and the four R’s (which are a way to get unhooked), are often connected to negative button-pushing, we would be mindful to note that the ability to be hooked is ego-related and, therefore, is also connected to positive things.

The lure is the pretty or shiny thing that draws us in so that we can get hooked. There’s nothing wrong in feeling a sense of pride in your work, your appearance, and/or your child. Part of the practice, however, is being mindful of the fact that that pride is a button that can be pushed. And this is where I first got hooked by the short video, because the content creator was highlighting their hard work. That hard work and (let’s call it) artistry was what caught my attention. But, that’s not the point of this post – neither, in some ways, was it the point of the video.

You see, the people in the video had been accused of something. They had been publicly accused, by someone who doesn’t know them, of something that, in some ways, is not inherently a bad thing. Although I personally think that not acknowledging the thing can be detrimental, I also understand that everyone is not in position to see the thing: privilege.

Yes, they had been accused of having privilege. It’s something we all have to a certain degree; however, it is also something that people are starting to understand in a different way than perhaps they understood it in the past. Hence it becoming a point of accusation. To be clear, being accused of having (and using your) privilege is not even close to the same thing as being accused of murder or treason or conspiracy to commit either, it is a hot button. It is something that results in shenpa and, therefore, creates some of the same feelings and reactions. So, it was interesting (but not surprising) that the content creators were quick to defend themselves. It was also interesting that the way they went about defending themselves, ultimately, proved the accusers’ point (to a lot of people). Equally interesting is that, for every person pointing out that their accusers were correct, there was someone vehemently defending the content creator. That’s the thing about public accusations; they lead to public shenpa. They can also lead to public awareness and public action.

Today’s practice highlights public accusations, as well as the resulting public shenpa and public awareness and action. While we can see the parallels to events happening today, these events took place in France in 1898.

As I noted in 2020: “We are living in a time when a lot of people are getting “hooked” by a large number of things. One thing in particular that stands out is people experiencing shenpa because of loud, public, and blunt accusations. The accusations are all related to what in the yoga philosophy would be called avidyā (ignorance) and all four of the other afflicted or dysfunctional thought patterns. The loudest of the accusations comes in the form of one of several words: racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, Islamaphobic, or xenophobic. And, let’s be honest, if someone uses the right “mean” word, they don’t have to do it loudly (or publicly) for the accused to feel the bite of the hook. Furthermore, this shenpa-related reaction is so prevalent right now that we don’t have to turn on the news, read about it, or look online to see someone experiencing this particular form of suffering: all we have to do is look in the mirror.” Click here to read more about shenpa and Émile Zola, who fled France today in 1898.

Please join me today (Tuesday, July 19^th) 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 me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07192020 Compassion & Peace, J’Accuse!”]

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.)

“As they have dared, so shall I dare. Dare to tell the truth, as I have pledged to tell it, in full, since the normal channels of justice have failed to do so. My duty is to speak out; I do not wish to be an accomplice in this travesty. My nights would otherwise be haunted by the spectre of the innocent man, far away, suffering the most horrible of tortures for a crime he did not commit.”

– from “J’Accuse” by Emile Zola, published in L’Aurore on January 13, 1898

### RRRR(R) ###

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A Joyful Practice

FTWMI: When Do You Feel Free? December 6, 2022

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

– quoted from Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of The Constitution of the United States (link directs to amendments which nullified this section)

– quoted from State of the Union 1864, delivered to the United States Congress by President Abraham Lincoln (on 12/6/1864)

“Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

– “Amendment XIII” of The Constitution of the United States

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

– quoted from Black Reconstruction in America (The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois): An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880 by W. E. B Du Bois

### WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FREE? ###

FTWMI: This Room, This Music, This Light, This Darkness: This Dance November 22, 2022

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. Not until the future eats the present, anyway. We know when it’s too late.”

– quoted from 11/22/63 by Stephen King

– a poem by Stephen King and Bridget Carpenter, featured in the miniseries 11.22.63

– quoted from a speech President John F. Kennedy had planned to deliver to the Texas Democratic State Committee in Austin, Texas, in the evening, on November 22, 1963

That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions – it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations – it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes.

– quoted from a speech President John F. Kennedy had planned to deliver at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, in the afternoon, on November 22, 1963

“Dear Mr. President

Thank you for walking yesterday – behind Jack. You did not have to do that – I am sure many people forbid you take such a risk – but you did it anyway.

Thank you for your letters to my children. What those letters will mean to them later – you can imagine. The touching thing is, they have always loved you so much, they were most moved to have a letter from you now….

But of course [Jack’s ship pictures] are there only waiting for you to ask for them if the walls look too bare. I thought you would want to put things from Texas in it – I pictured some gleaming longhorns – I hope you put them somewhere –

It mustn’t be very much help to you your first day in office – to hear children on the lawn at recess. It is just one more example of your kindness that you let them stay – I promise – they will soon be gone –

Thank you Mr. President

Respectfully

Jackie”

– excerpts from a short letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson, written by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, dated “November 26 Tuesday” (the day after JFK’s funeral)

“All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today.

We will carry on the fight against poverty, and misery, and disease, and ignorance, in other lands and in our own. We will serve all the nation, not one section or one sector, or one group, but all Americans.

These are the United States: A united people with a united purpose.”

– quoted from the “Let Us Continue” speech delivered to Congress and the public by President Lyndon B. Johnson, November 27, 1963

NOTE: In anticipation of the holiday(s), I have cancelled classes on November 23rd – 27th. Don’t forget to be grateful.

### “Life turns on a dime” again and again (11/22/63, SK) ###

FTWMI: More Hope, More History… November 9, 2022

“Fate is what you are given. Destiny is what you make of it.”

– original source unknown

“Human beings suffer. They torture one another They get hurt and they get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured.

History says, Don’t hope On this side of the grave, But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme.”

– The Greek Chorus in The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney

“Fate is your karma. Destiny is your dharma.”

– Livnam Kaur

– U. S. President John Kennedy, speaking to the public in West Berlin, June 26, 1963

“Every stone bears witness to the moral bankruptcy of the society it encloses.”

– English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as quoted in the New York Times article “Mrs. Thatcher Visits the Berlin Wall” by John Tagliabue (published Oct. 30, 1982)

– U. S. President Ronald Reagan, speaking to the public at Brandenburg Gate, June 12, 1987

“Call miracle self-healing, The utter self-revealing Double-take of feeling. If there’s fire on the mountain And lightening and storm And a god speaks from the sky

That means someone is hearing The outcry and the birth-cry Of new life at its term. It means once in a lifetime That justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme.”

– The Greek Chorus in The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney

“I’m not here for or against any government. I’ve come to play rock ‘n’ roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down”

– Bruce Springsteen, speaking German in East Berlin, before playing “Chimes of Freedom” with the E Street Band, during the “Rocking the Wall” concert, July 19, 1988

### dóchas / dúchas // història / esperança // histoire / espoir // historio / espero ###

Out of Our Worlds, redux (the “missing” Sunday post) November 1, 2022

“Lt. Daniel Kaffee (portrayed by Tom Cruise): I want the truth!Col. Nathan R. Jessup (portrayed by Jack Nicholson): YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

– quoted from the movie A Few Good Men, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner

Yoga Sūtra 2.20: draşțā dŗśimātrah śuddho’pi pratyayānupaśyah

– “The Seer is the pure power of seeing, yet its understanding is through the mind/intellect.” [Translation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait (for comparative analysis), “The sheer power of seeing is the seer. It is pure, and yet it sees only what the mind shows it.”]

– quoted from Orson Welles introduction at the beginning of the radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds

“Ham Radio Operator (portrayed by Frank Readick): 2X2L calling CQ, New York. Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?

[SILENCE]

Radio Announcer, Dan Seymour: You are listening to a CBS presentation of Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre on the Air, in an original dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The performance will continue after a brief intermission. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.”

– quoted from The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

– quoted from the 1938 Halloween press conference regarding The Mercury Theater on the Air live radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

“‘The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?'”

– Jack Paar, announcing for WGAR, October 30, 1938

Question 1: Is it true?Question 2: Can you absolutely know its true?”Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought?Question 4: Who would you be without the thought?Bonus: Turn the thought around.

– Byron Katie’s “4 Questions” from “The Work”

### “Seek Only The Truth” ~ Caroline Myss ###

The Angels (& Devils) Within Us (the “missing” post) October 29, 2022

“Violence is clearly destructive. It springs from fear, one of the fundamental afflictions. According to this sutra, the practice of non-violence requires us to arrest our violent tendencies by cultivating thoughts opposite to violence.”

*

– quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD

“Fire buffs, newspeople and just plain gawkers came to watch Detroit burn Wednesday night.

They even came all the way from Tokyo.

Director Nobi Shigemoto was here with an eight-person crew from Asahi national TV network. The crew planned to follow fire trucks Wednesday night and do a live shot from in front of Highland park fire headquarters before returning to Japan.”

*

“Shigemoto said Detroiters ask him why he is ‘looking at bad things.’

His reply:

This is the truth. US (is a) most rich country. When you look at Detroit, it looks nothing like rich.’”

*

– quoted from the Detroit Free Press article “Keeping the watch – Reporters, fire buffs, gawkers come to track night’s events” by Bill McGraw (printed in the “Devil’s Night” section, dated 31 Oct 1985, Thu)

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21^st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

– quoted from a speech given by Missouri Senator George Graham Vest on August 21^st and printed in “Vest on Succession. Speech of the Senator at the Confederate Reunion…” in the Abilene Weekly Reflector (Dickinson County, Kansas) on August 27, 1891

NOTE: In anticipation of the holiday(s), I have cancelled classes on November 23^rd – 27^th. Don’t forget to be grateful.

“Human beings suffer.
They torture one another
They get hurt and they get hard.
No poem or play or song
Can fully right a wrong
Inflicted and endured.

History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”

“Call miracle self-healing,
The utter self-revealing
Double-take of feeling.
If there’s fire on the mountain
And lightening and storm
And a god speaks from the sky

That means someone is hearing
The outcry and the birth-cry
Of new life at its term.
It means once in a lifetime
That justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”

“Lt. Daniel Kaffee (portrayed by Tom Cruise): I want the truth!
Col. Nathan R. Jessup (portrayed by Jack Nicholson): YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

Question 1: Is it true?
Question 2: Can you absolutely know its true?”
Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought?
Question 4: Who would you be without the thought?
Bonus: Turn the thought around.

“Why can’t we talk it over?
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word”