Coming Together in Divisive Times (the “missing” Tuesday compilation with excerpts) June 16, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Abraham Lincoln, Antoinette Sithole, Chester Powers, friendship, Gospel According to Matthew, Hector Pieterson, Leo Tolstoy, Ma'makhubu, Matthew 12:25, Mbuyisa Makhubo, revolution, Soweto uprising, The Youngbloods, Tracy Chapman, union, yoga, Youth Day
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Happy Pride! Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE, the 3rd Week after Pentecost & the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast, and/or Youth Day (in South Africa).
This is the “missing” compilation post for Tuesday, June 16th, features some remixed content and excerpts. My apologies for not posting before the practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“World is broken into fragments and pieces
Once were joined together in a unified whole
But now too many stand alone, there’s too much separation
We can resolve to come together in the new beginning”
— quoted from the song “New Beginning” by Tracy Chapman
We can spend a lot of time talking about the ways we are different and even about the things that divide us. However, over the last few days, I have talked about the things we have in common. Including our shared fears. The funny/ironic thing is that some of the things that we have in common are also the very things that divide us. I think this is highlighted by the fact that we (as a world and, also, as individual countries) are still dealing with issues that divided us decades — even centuries — ago.
For example, today is the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 “House Divided” Speech (in Springfield, Illinois), which launched his unsuccessful bid to unseat the Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas. In the speech, the future president talked about the issues that were on everyone’s minds (then and now): states’ rights, slavery, race and ethnicity, and citizenship. He made a statement that reminds me of Leo Tolstoy’s “Four Questions”; quoted Jesus (from The Gospel According to Matthew (12:25, NKJV); and issued a warning about what happens when a group — be it a country or a family — are not acting as “a unified whole.”
“‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.”
“Have we no tendency to the latter condition?”
— quoted from the “A House Divided” speech by Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois (June 16, 1858)
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
Language, education, and the rights of citizens are not only (additional) issues currently dividing us here in the United States, they were issues at the heart and core of the anti-apartheid student uprising that occurred June 16-18, 1976. Today’s observation of “Youth Day” in Soweto, South Africa, is a commemoration of a horrible event that is proof positive of what happens when a house is divided. It is also a reminder of how people came together when horrible events bring them together.
“All people who died on that day, to me, it is like they did not die in vain. As people we managed to take out good things from bad things, to live by today, to shape ourselves and our country.”
— Antoinette Sithole talking about the Soweto student Uprising (06/17/1976) and the unknown “gentleman” (Mbuyisa Makhubo) and woman who helped her after her 12-year old brother Hector Pieterson was killed
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
“Mbuyisa is or was my son. But he is not a hero. In my culture, picking up Hector is not an act of heroism. It was his job as a brother. If he left him on the ground and somebody saw him jumping over Hector, he would never be able to live there.”
— quoted from Mbuyisa Makhubo’s mother Ma’makhubu explaining why her son picked up a stranger (Hector Pieterson) during the Soweto student Uprising (06/17/1976)
We can look at the words of Abraham Lincoln and the actions of Mbuyisa Makhubo against their landscapes of horror and only see someone’s role in a moment of crisis. Or, we can recognize that on any given day there are people who pick us up when we are knocked down, bring people together (maybe over a “grittle”), and/or teach us “the dream the prayer/The notion that we can do better.”
“We can break the cycle, we can break the chain
We can start all over, in the new beginning
We can learn, we can teach
We can share the myths, the dreams, the prayer
The notion, we can do better
Change our lives and paths
Create a new world”
— quoted from the song “New Beginning” by Tracy Chapman
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06162020 Abe’s House & Soweto]
MUSIC NOTE: Tracy Chapman’s “New Beginning” is a song about coming together when there is suffering and also about breaking the cycle/chain that leads to more suffering. Even though it is not currently on today’s playlist, it reinforces today’s message and appears on some of my other playlists.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### “Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now”
— quoted from “Get Together” by The Youngbloods (written by Chester Powers) ###
A Giving Sunday… & A “Stranger” Monday (the “missing” 2-for-1 compilation post, with excerpts) June 15, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Donate, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Love, Minneapolis, Minnesota, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Twin Cities, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Dana, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, Dr. Karl Landsteiner, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Paul Emmerez, Generosity, Gilbert (Hortman), Hope Hoffman, John Hoffman, José Ortega y Gasset, Jose Ortega y Gasset, Mark Hortman, Melissa Hortman, Mildred Adams, No Kings Day, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, siddhis, Sāmkhya Karika, World Blood Donor Day, World Health Organization, Yoga Sutra 2.24, Yvette Hoffman
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Happy Pride! Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE and/or the 3rd Week after Pentecost, All Russian Saints, & the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast on World Blood Donor Day.
This is the “missing” (2-for-1) compilation post, with excerpts, for Sunday, June 14th — Monday, June 15th. The 2026 prompt question (for Monday) was, “What is something you have in common with someone perceived as being different from you?”
You can request an audio recording of these practices or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“I found that [Karl] Landsteiner and I had a much different approach to science: Landsteiner would ask, ‘What do these experimental observations force us to believe about the nature of the world?’ and I would ask, ‘What is the most simple, general and intellectually satisfying picture of the world that encompasses these observations and is not incompatible with them?’”
— quoted from “Fifty Years of Progress in Structural Chemistry and Molecular Biology.” By Dr. Linus Pauling (published in Daedalus, 99, 1005. 1970)
The way we phrase a question can sometimes lead to a very different answer than when the same question is asked in a slightly different way. As referenced above, the way a scientist asks a question can determine the way in which they experiment. Similarly, the way a question is asked during an interrogation can lead to a different series of events than if a less accusatory version of the question is asked at the beginning of a yoga class.
For example, “What or who do you value?” was the question at the beginning of Sunday’s practice. I also phrased it as “What or who do you care about?” I am sure you can think of a less polite, more profane way of asking the same question — and it is possible you would get similar answers. However, the first question — with the focus on values — is a direct route to the core (and heart) of our identity and behaviors.
“There is no doubt that the most important mechanism in every animate being is attention. We are where we lend our attention. For that reason I have so often repeated ‘Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.’”
— quoted from “6 Change and Crisis” in Man and Crisis (originally titled En Torno A Galileo) by José Ortega y Gasset (Translated from the Spanish by Mildred Adams)
Sunday, June 14th, was the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark Hortman, and their dog Gilbert; as well as the attempted assassination of Minnesota state senator John Hoffman, his wife Yvette Hoffman, and their daughter Hope Hoffman (who was injured, but — thanks to her parents — not shot).* It was also the anniversary of the first No Kings Day.
In thinking about the tragedy, as well as the hopes, of that day, and all the days since, I can’t help but think about how we express our values through our thoughts, words, and deeds. A year ago, to the day, there were people who chose to express their values in a peaceful way; while others simultaneously chose to express their values through violence. And, don’t get it twisted, the violence wasn’t just exhibited by the murderer (who has now been convicted), but/and also by counter-protestors to the No Kings Rally. The ironic thing, and one of the saddest things, is that if you stripped away some of the details, people had the same complaints. Up to a point, you could even say they shared similar sentiments. The difference between those who chose peace versus those who chose violence really comes down how much we engaged the practice of our hearts…how much we engaged the things that make us human.
We can debate whether or not the six siddhis (“powers” or “abilities”) described in the Sāmkhya Karika are, in fact, “powers unique to being human”. However, there is no denying that things like our ability to think, use words, problem solve, and cultivate relationships are aspects of our shared experience as humans. These are things we all have in common. Dana (“generosity”) is, in some ways, the most unique of the powers simply because it is the one that can intrinsically overlaps our legal systems.
“The last category of our innate siddhis is dana, ‘the ability to give.’ We have both the wisdom and the courage to share what lawfully belongs to us with others. We are designed to experience the joy of giving. This joy is the architect of human civilization, characterized by self-sacrifice and selflessness.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.24 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
A few months back, I read 2 books that — at their core — were about connection, belonging, really seeing someone, and generosity. In one book, the generous protagonist was motivated by not being seen, not being understood, and not being accepted as a child. He wanted other children — even ones who were different from him — to experience the love and sense of belonging he missed out on as a child. Even though he was very generous with his money, what stands out in his actions was how generous he was with his other resources: time, energy, love, acceptance. His generosity went beyond his bank account and (slight spoiler alert) when it was pointed out to him that he is being a little stingy (with himself and his truth), he course corrected. His generosity went deeper.
On the flip side, the other book rubbed me the wrong way, because I couldn’t get past the idea that, if the protagonist had less money, he might have given something more valuable than the gifts he gave: He might have gone deeper and given more of himself.
“[The 2026 World Blood Donor Day] campaign, ‘One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.’, places humanity at the heart of every blood donation. It reminds us that each donation is more than a medical act: it is a powerful expression of solidarity, compassion and collective responsibility.”
— quoted from the World Health Organization’s 2026 World Blood Donor Day site
Sunday was also World Blood Donor Day, which is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Karl Landsteiner (b. 1868). Coincidentally, the day that honors the “Father of Transfusion Medicine” falls the day before the anniversary of the first documented successful “xenotransfusion”. On June 15, 1667, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys (with assistance from Dr. Paul Emmerez) successfully transfused about 12 ounces of sheep blood into the elbow of a 15-year old boy who had been experiencing chronic fever — and who was not finding relief from leeches repeatedly administered by a barber-surgeon. Thanks to the research of Dr. Landsteiner, we now know that 1667 transfusion and similar 17th-19th century transfusions avoided killing the recipients by pure luck!
World Blood Donor Day is an opportunity to educate people about blood (and plasma) donations and, also, an opportunity to celebrate and honor the people who literally give their life’s blood. Consider, for a moment, that if everyone donated money, but no one donated blood or plasma, the money would just sit in the banks. Maybe, occasionally, moving from one bank to another. On the flip side, if everyone (who could) donated blood and/or plasma, but no one donated money, people would use their siddhis and figure out a way to get the blood and plasma to the people who needed them.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.
Thicker Than…? (a”missing” 2-for-1 post, for Monday-Tuesday)
“Inspired by the idea that the whole of humanity can be reflected in a single drop, the [2026] campaign highlights how every donor helps form a lifeline that connects and protects us all.”
— quoted from the World Health Organization’s 2026 World Blood Donor Day site
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06142020 World Blood Donor Day”]
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
*NOTE: One June 14, 2025, the murderer made additional attempts on the lives of Minnesota legislators and their families. In one case, the legislator was on vacation. In a separate case, the attempt was thwarted by police presence and interaction.
### Generosity ⇐⇒ Humanity ###
A Giving Sunday (mostly the music & blessings) **UPDATED w/excerpt** June 14, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Donate, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Love, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Dana, Dr. Karl Landsteiner, Generosity, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, siddhis, World Blood Donor Day, World Health Organization, Yoga Sutra 2.24
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Happy Pride! Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE and/or the 2nd Week after Pentecost, All Russian Saints, & the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast on World Blood Donor Day.
“The last category of our innate siddhis is dana, ‘the ability to give.’ We have both the wisdom and the courage to share what lawfully belongs to us with others. We are designed to experience the joy of giving. This joy is the architect of human civilization, characterized by self-sacrifice and selflessness.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.24 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
A Giving Sunday… & A “Stranger” Monday (the “missing” 2-for-1 compilation post, with excerpts)
“[The 2026 World Blood Donor Day] campaign, ‘One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.’, places humanity at the heart of every blood donation. It reminds us that each donation is more than a medical act: it is a powerful expression of solidarity, compassion and collective responsibility. Inspired by the idea that the whole of humanity can be reflected in a single drop, the campaign highlights how every donor helps form a lifeline that connects and protects us all.”
— quoted from the World Health Organization’s 2026 World Blood Donor Day site
Please join me today (Sunday, June 14th) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06142020 World Blood Donor Day”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### Generosity ⇐⇒ Humanity ###
A Quick Note & FTWMI: In The Middle of “The Wild Things” (revised) & EXCERPT: “Here Be The Wild Things” June 10, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Loss, Love, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, addiction, Alcoholics Anonymous, Anne Smith, Bill Wilson, Bonnie Taylor-Blake, Christopher Walken, Dr. Bob Smith, Joseph Campbell, Maurice Sendak, mental health, PRIDE, Quote Investigator, Sandra Razieli, Sir Austen Chamberlain, Terry Gross
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Happy Pride! Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE and/or the 2nd Week after Pentecost & the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast.
“The earliest strong match known to QI appeared in a March 1936 newspaper report in ‘The Yorkshire Post’ of West Yorkshire, England. The expression was used in a speech by an influential British statesman.
Sir Austen Chamberlain, addressing the annual meeting of Birmingham Unionist Association last night, spoke of the ‘grave injury’ to collective security by Germany’s violation of the Treaty of Locarno.
Sir Austen, who referred to himself as ‘a very old Parliamentarian,’ said:—”
“‘…. We move from one crisis to another. We suffer one disturbance and shock after another.’”
— quoted from the December 18, 2015, Quote Investigator post, “Quote Origin: May You Live In Interesting Times” (with credit to “top researcher Bonnie Taylor-Blake”)
I think we can all agree that we are “living in interesting times” and surrounded by “wild things”. All of which activates our nervous systems. To paraphrase my yoga buddy and fellow teacher Sandra Razieli, we need/want to cultivate a resilient nervous system. A yoga practice is one of the many ways we can do that.
For Those Who Missed It: The following (slightly revised) excerpt is from a 2025 post. Some links, a quote, and class details have been updated/added. Links connected to outside sites are identified accordingly.
The other day In 2025, I asked a question — “What are we doing?” — and noted that intonation (and adding a few choice words) can change the context. So, today, I am very much asking with a certain tone (and some choice words): “What in the ever-loving world are we doing?”
People might use the old adage and say we are “living in interesting times”. I’m going to say that we are in the middle of wild times and in the middle of wild things. So, the next question I want to ask you is, “What do you do when you’re in the middle of wild things”?
That last question, like my other questions, can be taken in different ways and will have different answers depending on how you react when your sympathetic nervous system is activated. Some people immediately fight (and that means different things to different people). Some people freeze up or collapse. Some people flee. While all of these very natural reactions are activated by our sympathetic nervous system, they can manifest in different ways. For instance, some people fight with joy or other positive emotional expressions (like a little bit of random fun and silliness). Some people use prayers, mediation, plus rituals and traditions to battle whatever plagues them or those they love. Bottom line: People do what they need to do to survive.
“I only have one subject. The question I am obsessed with is: How do children survive?”
— Maurice Sendak (b. 1928)
It is important to keep in mind that our sympathetic nervous systems can be activated when we are physically in the wild space (where wild things are happening), and/or when we mentally and emotionally find ourselves in the wild space, from viewing wild things on television, hearing things on the radio, or reading and/or viewing something on social media. All of our nervous systems are being activate.
So again, the question is, what do we do when we’re in the middle of the wild things? What do you (specifically) do? What allows you to respond more like Wayman Tisdale than Cole Porter?
And, don’t take this as me being flippant; because, I am absolutely serious when I suggest that you go a little deeper into your knee jerk response(s) and notice what you do when you find yourself “where the wild things are” — and what it takes for you to be like Max (and become the “most wild thing of all”).
“‘And now,’ cried Max, ‘let the wild rumpus start!’”
— quoted from Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Today is the anniversary of the birth of children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak (b. 1928) and the anniversary of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous (in 1935).
The excerpted post includes passing references to mental health issues and addiction.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
FTWMI: Here Be The Wild Things (a post-practice Monday re-post)
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again. You really don’t have a sacred space, a rescue land, until you find somewhere to be that’s not a wasteland, some field of action where there is a spring of ambrosia—a joy that comes from inside, not something external that puts joy into you—a place that lets you experience your own will and your own intention and your own wish so that, in small, the Kingdom is there. I think everybody, whether they know it or not, is in need of such a place.”
— quoted from A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell
As noted in the excerpted post, it is important to have a sacred space when battling things and people that push you off center. For some people, a sacred space is on the outside; for some it is on the inside; and for some it is both. For some it is all of that mixed in with tradition, ritual, and intention. Ultimately, to go back to the words of Joseph Campbell and Maurice Sendak, it is a place where everything falls into place — where we have good “luck”. It is a place we have to find and/or cultivate, as we do in our practice.
“There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen.”
— quoted from Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Please join me today (Wednesday, June 10th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06102020 Here Be The Wild Things”]
MUSIC NOTE: YouTube is the original playlist and includes the video below.
My all time favorite rendition!
2025 Practice Note: I changed the narrative for the 2025 practice and did not include the story about Maurice Sendak’s correspondence with a young fan (courtesy of the child’s mother). You can find the story (and a little history about the story) on the Truth of Fiction? website.
“GROSS: Well, I’m so glad you have a new book. I’m really glad we had a chance to talk.
SENDAK: I am too.
GROSS: And I wish you all good things.
SENDAK: I wish you all good things. Live your life, live your life, live your life.”
— quoted from the NPR Fresh Air interview “Maurice Sendak: On Life, Death And Children’s Lit” with Terry Gross and Maurice Sendak (originally aired September 20, 2011)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### “I’LL EAT YOU UP!”• “I LOVE YOU!” ###
[Reimagining] What We Believe (just the music & blessings) June 6, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, D-Day, World War II, yoga, yoga philosophy
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Happy Pride! Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating PRIDE and/or observing the Apodosis of Pentecost on the anniversary of D-Day.
Peace and blessings to those who have served, will serve, and are serving.
Please join me today (Saturday, June 6th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04072021 Character of the Happy Warrior”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### 🎶 ###
FTWMI: A Quick Note & EXCERPT: “When Awareness Expands” (the post-practice Monday post, with an extra quote) June 1, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Black Wall Street, Cable News Network, CNN, Greenwood District, Indian Territory, Juana Summers, Lessie Benningfield Randle, Mother Randle, Randy Hopkins, Swami Vivekananda, Ted Turner, The CNN Effect, trauma, Tulsa, yoga sutra 3.5
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Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating/observing the Day of the Holy Spirit and/or Children’s Day (in China).
For Those Who Missed It: The following post-practice for Monday, June 1st was originally posted in 2025. I have added a quote and a couple of notes at the end of this post. The 2026 prompt question was, “What’s on your heart?”
You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
Yoga Sutra 3.5: tád jayat prajñā lōkāh
— “Through the mastery of that [three-part process of samyama] comes the light of knowledge, transcendental insight, or higher consciousness.”
“When one has succeeded in making this Samyama, all powers come under his control. This is the great instrument of the Yogi. The objects of knowledge are infinite, and they are divided into the gross, grosser, grossest and the fine, finer, finest and so on. This Samyama should be first applied to gross things, and when you begin to get knowledge of this gross, slowly, by stages, it should be brought to finer things.”
— commentary on Yoga Sūtra 3.5 from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
Ted Turner’s CNN (Cable News Network)1 premiered Sunday, June 1, 1980, at 5 PM EST; making it the first 24-hour news channel and the first all-news television in the United States. While other news channels made fun of the new outlet, CNN stayed focused (with the slogan “Go live, stay with it, and make it important.”) and changed the way government made and addressed policy and also the way people interacted with each other and the news.
There was no such thing as CNN back in 1921, when the Greenwood District (in Indian Territory) — also known as “Black Wall Street” — was destroyed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
NOTE: The post excerpted below does not reference the shooting which happened in Tulsa today in 2022.
“On Thursday morning, June 2, 1921, one of Tulsa’s many problems was that of optics. A large chunk of the city had been obliterated in a matter of hours and an embarrassingly large portion of the city’s population had a hand in the obliterating. How this was going to look to outsiders was far from an irrelevant concern for many Tulsans, especially the city’s elite for whom pride in the city’s accomplishments was keen…. Would businesses go elsewhere? Would other ‘better citizens’ from other places look down their noses?”
— quoted from The Center for Public Secrets Journal article entitled, “Mask of Atonement: The Plan to Rebuild the Homes of Greenwood” by Randy Hopkins
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
“Lessie Benningfield [Randle]2, who testified over video conference, said the effects of the massacre are still felt today in Tulsa.
‘My opportunities were taken from me and my community. Black Tulsa is still messed up today. They didn’t rebuild it. It’s empty, it’s a ghetto,’ [Randle], who is now 106, said.
[Randle] said she not only survived the massacre, but she has also now survived ‘100 years of painful memories.’
‘By the grace of God, I am still here. I have survived to tell this story,’ she said. ‘Hopefully, now you will all listen to us while we are still here.’”
— quoted from “Survivors Of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Share Eyewitness Accounts” by Juana Summers (as heard on NPR’s All Things Considered, May 19, 2021)
2026 NOTES:
1Rest in Power, Ted Turner (d. 05/06/2026).
2 As of today, Lessie Benningfield Randle (also known as “Mother Randle” is the last (known) living survivor of the Tulsa Massacre. In the 2021 NPR article, her married name was incorrectly printed as “Randall”.
### PEACE IN, PEACE OUT ###
A Quick Note RE: Deliberately Floating from Past to Future & EXCERPT: “A Strenuous, Deliberate Life Photo” May 30, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Love, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Commemoration of the Dead, Dolly Parton, Healing Stories, Henry David Thoreau, Journey
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Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Commemoration of the Dead and/or just remembering someone who deliberately and strenuously lived a good life.
“At length, on Saturday, the last day of August, 1839, we two, brothers, and natives of Concord, weighed anchor in this river port; for Concord, too, lies under the sun, a port of entry and departure for the bodies as well as the souls of men; one shore at least exempted from all duties but such as an honest man will gladly discharge.”
— quoted from “SATURDAY” in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was a teacher and a writer, who is remembered as a writer and naturalist. He self-published his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, today (May 30th) in 1849. It was the story of a trip he took with his brother John over 10 years before.
Click on the excerpt title below for more about Thoreau, his relationship with his brother, and where he went to write and “to live deliberately….”
“Our boat, which had cost us a week’s labor in the spring, was in form like a fisherman’s dory, fifteen feet long by three and a half in breadth at the widest part, painted green below, with a border of blue, with reference to the two elements in which it was to spend its existence. It had been loaded the evening before at our door, half a mile from the river, with potatoes and melons from a patch which we had cultivated, and a few utensils, and was provided with wheels in order to be rolled around falls, as well as with two sets of oars, and several slender poles for shoving in shallow places, and also two masts, one of which served for a tent-pole at night; for a buffalo-skin was to be our bed, and a tent of cotton cloth our roof. It was strongly built, but heavy, and hardly of better model than usual.”
— quoted from “SATURDAY” in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau
Please join me today (Saturday, May 30th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05302021 Speaking of a Strenuous, Deliberate Life”]
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
— quoted from “SATURDAY” in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
### “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” ~ Dolly Parton (a.k.a. Mrs. Dean, since 1966) ###
FTWMI — A Quick Note & EXCERPT: “The Grace of Knowing How to Feel & FTWMI: How We Learn To Feel (and what we learn from feeling)” May 27, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, beauty, compassion, empathy, Nature, Rachel Carson, Rosalind Dymond Cartwright, sympathy, Tony Hillerman
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Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Afterfeast of the Ascension and/or working as a force of peace, freedom, and fulfillment (inside and outside)
For Those Who Missed It: The following was previously posted. Class details and some links have been updated/added.
“‘Everything is connected. The wing of the corn beetle affects the direction of the wind, the way the sand drifts, the way the light reflects into the eye of man beholding his reality. All is part of totality, and in this totality man finds his hozro, his way of walking in harmony, with beauty all around him.’”
— quoted from The Ghostway (Navajo Mysteries #6) by Tony Hillerman
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson (b. 1907) and Tony Hillerman (b. 1925). Both writers had a way of making Nature a character with the intention of making readers feel for nature.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
The Grace of Knowing How to Feel & FTWMI: How We Learn To Feel (and what we learn from feeling)
“But it seems reasonable to believe — and I do believe — that the more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”
— Rachel Carson accepting the John Burroughs Medal (April 1952) and printed in Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson
Please join me today (Wednesday, May 27th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05272020 Carson & Hillerman”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
(Early Bird Pricing ends this week!)
### MANY BLESSINGS (to the nth degree) ###
FTWMI: It’s Not About What We’re Saying… (an updated short post with links & 2 excerpts) [the post-practice Monday post] May 25, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Japa-Ajapa, Karma, Life, Mantra, Meditation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Twin Cities, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Aaron Lindsey, Black Wall Street, chakras, Daniel Inouye, George Floyd, Greenwood District, India.Arie, mantra, Memorial Day, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Tim Chambers, United States, Veterans, Yoga Sutras 3.15-3.16
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Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Afterfeast of the Ascension and/or Memorial Day.
For Those Who Missed It: The following post-practice for Monday, May 25th was originally posted in 2024 (and revised in 2025). In addition to adding the Memorial Day note and excerpt, I have updated some details and links. The 2026 prompt question was, “Who are you remembering?”
You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said, ‘I don’t care so much for what they say as I do for what makes them say it.’”
— quoted from the essay “Social Aims” in Letters and Social Aims by Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. 1803)
[On Friday, May 24, 2024], a group of United States veterans reportedly spent part of their Memorial Day weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina with the intention of asking people at the Republican National Convention to honor the basic principles of the “republic, for which it stands” and they were (reportedly) escorted out of the area. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and about the idea of still serving even after one’s official service is over — and about how people react to that.
Four Six years ago today, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and about the importance of treating someone you perceive as being different from you with respect — and about how we seem to keep forgetting that.
Almost exactly one hundred, five days — in a year when Memorial Day fell on May 30th — the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, was destroyed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even if I don’t talk about it (until this weekend), this practice is about that and about the importance of respecting what others build and acknowledging the loss when it is destroyed — and about how hard that seems to be for some people.
Click on the excerpt title below for the 2020 Memorial Day post.
“There is some awe mixed with the joy of our surprise, when this poet, who lived in some past world, two or three hundred years ago, says that which lies close to my own soul, that which I also had wellnigh thought and said.”
— quoted from the 1837 “The American Scholar” speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two hundred, twenty-three twenty-one years ago today, Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. I often say that I am blown away by the fact that his words are still relevant to our present circumstances. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that.
And, even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is also about what you are feeling in this present moment.
Click on the excerpt title below for the 2021 post about Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. 05/25/1803)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
“…in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer.”
— Veteran and Hawaii Congressman Daniel Inouye, quoted from the “Senate” portion of the Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 106th Congress, First Session (Vol. 145, Washington, Tuesday, January 19, 1999, No. 8)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
“Compassion. Respect. Common Sense.”
— Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers (a.k.a The Saluting Marine) when asked what he wanted to inspire in people who see him standing/saluting
### “Continue to breathe / In honor of your brother / That’s what your heart is for” ~ India.Arie (Aaron Lindsey / India.arie Simpson) ###
REVISITING: “A Graceful Saturday & FTWMI: An ‘All Will Be Well’ Wednesday” (mostly the music & blessings) May 13, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, One Hoop, Peace, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Apodosis of Prepolovenie, Beau Lotto, Counting the Omer, Fifth Week of Pascha, Julian of Norwich, Our Lady of Fátima
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Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing/celebrating the Feast Day of Julian of Norwich, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fátima, the Apodosis of Prepolovenie, and/or Counting the Omer.
“Your brain is, at its core, a statistical distribution. Thus, your history of experiences creates a database of useful past perceptions. New information is constantly flowing in, and your brain is constantly integrating it into this statistical distribution that creates your next perception (so in this sense ‘reality’ is just the product of your brain’s ever-evolving database of consequence). As such, your perception is subject to a statistical phenomenon known in probability theory as kurtosis. Kurtosis in essence means that things tend to become increasingly steep in their distribution… that is, skewed in one direction. This applies to ways of seeing everything from currents events to ourselves as we lean ‘skewedly’ toward one interpretation positive or negative.”
“We’re really talking about math when we say, ‘The optimist sees the glass as half full and the pessimist as half empty,’ though in my view maybe true optimists are just glad to have a drink in the first place!”
— quoted from “Chapter 5. The Frog Who Dreamed of Being a Prince” in Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Beau Lotto
Please join me today (Wednesday, May 13th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05132020 All Will Be Well Wednesday”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!
September 25 — 27, 2026
