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FTWMI: The Philosophy of Picking Locks (& Other Things Related to Internal Movement) [the “missing” Wednesday post] April 26, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 7-Day Challenge, Baha'i, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Confessions, Depression, Donate, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Loss, Love, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Riḍván, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!

For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2021. In addition to a few revisions, I have updated the class details and music links, as well as information related to this year’s Kiss My Asana yogathon. Some embedded links will direct you outside of this blog. Astronomical details related to April 26, 2021 have not been changed.  WARNING: There is passing reference to people with mental health issues. 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.

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).
This week you can also click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also  click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

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

“‘My main point today is that usually one gets what one expects, but very rarely in the way one expected it.’”

– quoted from a draft of Charles Richter’s 1970 retirement speech, as printed in the Appendix of Richter’s Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man by Susan Elizabeth Hough

Over the last month (or so) I have developed a new guilty pleasure: watching the Lock Picking Lawyer’s YouTube videos. To be completely transparent, I will admit that I have known people who spent their down time at work picking locks from the “lost and found” (or locks that someone on staff had to break, because the owner locked themselves out). I will also admit that I found it an odd and eyebrow raising hobby – especially when they did it in full view of the very people who relied on locks for security. However, my previous opinions haven’t stopped me from getting hooked by these videos, starting with the first one I watched (which I will link at the end of this post).

The first video was the Lock Picking Lawyer’s annual April 1st video, which is slightly different from his regular offering (in that it is a joke); but still contains some of the same elements that are, frankly speaking, compelling and addictive. First, the videos are witty, logical, informative, and low-key ASMR. (ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is used to describe content that provides a calming experience for the brain and spine; what some people call a “brain massage.”) Second, the videos are philosophical on several different levels and reinforce some critical elements of our physical practice of yoga.

“Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open.”

– Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher

Born in Vienna, Austria today in 1889, Dr. Ludwig Wittgenstein was part of one of the richest families in Europe and (although he was the youngest of nine) he inherited his father’s fortune at the age of 24. Many people associate great wealth with great ease and comfort, but none of that wealth prevented Dr. Wittgenstein from suffering severe depression, contemplating suicide, or losing three of his brothers to mental health issues. He made anonymous donations to artists and writers (including Rainer Maria Rilke). Then he gave his entire fortune to his brothers and sisters. Throughout his lifetime, he worked in several different areas in an attempt to find some ease to his suffering, but he ultimately said that philosophy saved him and was “the only work that gave me real satisfaction.” His work in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of the mind, and the philosophy of language is recognized as some of the most important works of philosophy of the twentieth century.

As I have previously mentioned (specifically in the 2020 blog post on this date), “The word philosophy comes to us from Greek, by way of Latin, Old French, and Middle English, from a word that means “love of wisdom.” It is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, thought, reality, and existence. It provides a way to think about and understand the world, the universe, and everything. As stated in Wikipedia, it “is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.” The most basic question being, “Why?” which spirals out as:

  • Who/What are you?
  • Why do you exist?
  • Where does the world come from? / Why does the world exist?

The philosophy of yoga addresses all of these questions, and the follow-up questions (like, “Why do we/I/other people do the things we/I/they do?” and “How do I find balance in my life/relationships/pose?”). Yoga addresses philosophical questions even when someone only practices the physical practice, because, ultimately, the physical practice is a container in which we can consider these questions.

One of the questions that we address – especially through the physical practice – is the question of security/stability and comfort/ease. Many commentaries on Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras (in particular, commentary related to YS 2.46 – 49) point out that “stability and comfort go hand in hand.” We see this on and off the mat. There is a bit of a dichotomy, however, between what we think will bring us security/stability and comfort/ease versus what actually gives us those feelings. We could, for instance, have all the wealth of Ludwig Wittgenstein and, just as he did, suffer greatly.

One way people with stuff suffer is when they don’t feel their stuff is secure. For instance, consider the uncomfortable feeling some people have when they think they have forgotten to lock their front door after leaving home. Since the emotional (fear) response is connected to the perception of a threat, the feeling that they may have left the door unlocked is similar to returning home and finding the door wide open. Although the latter may, understandably, be more intense and acute – and combined with the fear that someone with nefarious intentions is inside – both sensations can be eliminated if we are secure in the knowledge that the door is locked (maybe because we checked before we left) and that the door is closed and locked upon our return.

What becomes very clear after a watching a few of the videos from the Locking Picking Lawyer is that in most cases locks are “easily” picked. On one level, they provide a deterrent, but – more importantly – they are manifested maya (“illusion”). And, philosophically speaking, because they can be opened by someone you may not want to open them, the lock and the closed door only give us the illusion of security – and that illusion (or perception) is what gives us the feeling of ease/comfort.

One of the things I appreciate about the Locking Picking Lawyer’s content is that while he readily “picks” apart the illusion, he also provides information that can make us better consumers. In being better informed – about the reality of locks – we make better decisions and, also, may experience more stable comfort and ease. Remember, in the Eastern philosophies, like Yoga and Buddhism, suffering comes from attachment and the end of suffering comes from the practice of non-attachment. No one wants someone to steal or mess with their stuff – that’s why people lock their stuff up! However, letting go of the illusion of the lock (and key or combination) can alleviate some suffering. Not only can letting alleviate mental and emotional suffering, it can be one of the keys to unlocking physical suffering.

“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”

– Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher

I don’t know much about the Locking Picking Lawyer (other than the obvious and the fact that he’s married to Mrs. Lock Picking Lawyer, who apparently has no interest in picking locks). However, I definitely appreciate that his videos (unintentionally) reinforce the following critical elements which are directly applicable to our physical practice of yoga:

  • You need the right tools.
  • You can access almost anything with the right skills/knowledge.
  • You have to start with stability (i.e., secure what you’re accessing the way you would access it “in the wild”).
  • It’s important to access the core.
  • Take your time and go by the numbers / step by step.
  • It’s important to listen (and pay attention to what’s “clicking” and “binding”).
  • More knowledge comes from the inside than the outside.
  • Sometimes you have to turn things around.
  • Never underestimate the power of a good wiggle/jiggle.
  • It’s important to have a sense of humor.

Also, as an aside, you can do something again to show it wasn’t a fluke.

“The most remarkable feature about the magnitude scale was that it worked at all and that it could be extended on a worldwide basis. It was originally envisaged as a rather rough-and-ready procedure by which we could grade earthquakes. We would have been happy if we could have assigned just three categories, large, medium, and small; the point is, we wanted to avoid personal judgments. It actually turned out to be quite a finely tuned scale.”

– quoted from the Earthquake Information Bulletin (January- February 1980, Volume 12, Number 1) article, “Charles F. Richter – An Interview” by Henry Spall, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. (regarding the scale Mr. Richter developed with Beno Gutenberg)

With regard to those last two bullet points, today is also the anniversary of the births of the seismologist and physicist Charles Richter (b. 1900, Overpeck, Ohio) and the award-winning Carol Burnett (b. 1933, San Antonio, Texas). Mr. Richter, along with Beno Gutenberg, developed the Richter Magnitude Scale in 1935. Prior to their creation, shock measurement was based on The Mercalli intensity scale, which was developed by the Italian priest Giuseppe Mercalli and used Roman numerals (I to XII) to rate shocks based on how buildings and people were affected. The Richter-Gutenberg collaboration was designed to measure displacement in a non-subjective manner. The idea of using “magnitude” came from Mr. Richter’s interest in astronomy. (There’s a good possibility that if he were alive today he would spend some part of this evening and the next checking out the “Super” Pink Moon.) In addition to being remembered for his knowledge and ingenuity, Charles Richter is remembered as being a little prickly on the outside, but warm on the inside and for having a sense of humor – although he didn’t often laugh at himself.

Maybe Carol Burnett, one of the funniest people on the face of the Earth, could have helped Charles Richter laugh at the fact that a man who wasn’t planning to become a seismologist became synonymous with seismology. She has won 6 Primetime Emmy Awards (out of 23 nominations); 7 Golden Globe Awards (out of 18 nominations); 3 Tony Awards; and 3 Grammy Awards. An actress, comedian, singer, and writer, she has also received everything from 2 Peabody Awards to a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Life Achievement Award; a Presidential Medal of Freedom; and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She was even awarded the very first Golden Globes Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award (for Television) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But, before all of that, she endured a lot of suffering as a child because of the instability of her first family – specifically her parents, who were alcoholics. Then she suffered as an adult when her oldest child suffered from drug addiction (and then died of pneumonia at the age of 39).

A natural born performer, even before she “went into show business,” Carol Burnett sang, created characters, and developed the imagination that would lead her to a career that has spanned 7 decades. One of the things that “saved” her from a life of complete misery and insecurity was her grandmother Mabel – who not only raised her when her parents moved to Hollywood, but also regularly took her to the movies. As a secret “I love you” to her grandmother, Ms. Burnett would tug on her left ear at the end of every episode of The Carol Burnett Show.

“The first time someone said, ‘What are your measurements?’ I answered, ’37, 24, 38 – but not necessarily in that order.’”

– Carol Burnett, comedian

Wednesday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. (Look for “04262020 Philosophy of Locks”)

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). You can also call the 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. 

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).

Here’s A Big Philosophical Questions: Is This Resting or Stretching?

PXL_20230425_200744529~2

 Check the Community page on my YouTube channel later tonight for the answer(s)!

Unlock Your Generosity & Kiss My Asana!!

The picture above is part of my 2023 offering for the 10th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS). This week (April 22nd – 28th), I’m dedicated to raising awareness and resources for MBS’ life-affirming work to help people living with disabilities – and you can help too! You can help by joining me as we practice with purpose, by sharing this page, and/or by making a donation that creates opportunities for more people to practice yoga.

Mind Body Solutions provides live, online resources to people living with disabilities, worldwide. In addition to 11 live online yoga classes a week, MBS has also created a comprehensive library of recorded adaptive yoga classes for students, instructional videos for adaptive yoga teachers, and insightful interviews between our founder, Matthew Sanford, and adaptive students. It all helps people with disabilities live more fully, where they are and how they are.

Each year, in addition to hosting a fundraising page and making my personal donation, I offer a blog post and/or a YouTube post – sometimes even a whole practice. This year, part of my offering is a series of poses I’m posting on the Community page of my YouTube channel. Of course, there’s more to the poses (and pictures) than meets the eye. So, keep in mind that they – like the classes I lead – are just the tip of the iceberg.

What happens at Mind Body Solutions is the whole enchilada!

Ultimately, MBS is all about people having better relationships with their mind-body and spreading the message that a greater connection between mind and body can help us all live with improved comfort and ease.

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!) 

If you’re interested in my previous KMA offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series ad/or to YouTube):

Thanks to MW!

You Don’t forget to add an extra wiggle to your day.

Lock Picking Lawyer Challenges Mrs. Lock Picking Lawyer

Revised 04/26/2023

### “That’s All I Have for You Today.” ~LPL ###

FTWMI: Shy & Fearless, Take 2 April 25, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, 7-Day Challenge, Abhyasa, Baha'i, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Donate, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Loss, Music, Philosophy, Riḍván, Vairagya, Volunteer, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!

For Those Who Missed It: The following post (from 2021) is about one of my favorite storytellers and her “healing story.” Class details, yogathon details, and some links have been updated. Some embedded links connect outside of this blog.

“To me, fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. Fearless is falling madly in love again, even though you’ve been hurt before. Fearless is walking into your freshman year of high school at fifteen. Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again … even though every time you’ve tried before, you’ve lost. It’s fearless to have faith that someday things will change.”

– quoted from the liner notes for the album Fearless by Taylor Swift

Everyone from Taylor Swift (who I quote one more time, below) to South African President Nelson Mandela have stated that “being fearless is not the absence of fear.” So, what is it if it’s not being with “less” fear?

Turns out everyone from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to Ashley Graham and Thich Nhat Hanh agree that the most important part of “being fearless” is being – and, in some cases, doing, moving, playing.

“This is based on a true story. While hiking in the hills of Rishikesh in India, we encountered a holy man who approached with light in his eyes and love in his heart… just beaming with inspiration. He spoke as if he were channeling the divinity ever present in that wonderful country and spoke these words… ‘Light of sun in the sky sends the message: Be Fearless and Play!’ We were fascinated and inspired by his simple but insightful words.”

– quoted from the liner notes for the song “Be Fearless and Play” by Wookiefoot

Despite some really divine encounters with a couple of people affiliated with the band/circus/non-profit/adventure that is Wookiefoot, I had never heard the song (or the album) “Be Fearless and Play” before today in 2021. However, the inspiration and the lyrics definitely fit in with my overall philosophy on being fearless – that is to say, it always involves a certain amount of “play.”

Don’t get me wrong, I am not encouraging recklessness. Instead, I am encouraging a little improvisation. See, when I think of being fearless, I think of improve – comedy; yes, yes! And also, mostly, jazz. I think about the kind of play that involves knowing the rules in order to break (or at least bend) the rules. I think about scat. I think about “mak[ing] the moves up as [you] go.” I think about facing the obstacle that is your own self and knowing that today is not a good day for self defeat. I think about people like Ella Fitzgerald.

 

A portion of this post was part of my 2020 Kiss My Asana offering, which was directly tied to the Saturday sūtra exploration.

Born today (April 25th) in 1917, Fitzgerald would eventually become a bandleader known as the First Lady of Jazz, Mama of Jazz, Lady Ella, and the Queen of Jazz. She would be championed by musicians like Benny Carter and Chick Webb (who gave her one of her big shots); composers like Ira Gershwin (who once said, “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them”); and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra (both of whom challenged segregation laws and racial bias, in their own ways, on Ella’s behalf). She would be heralded by universities and heads of state, awarded the National Medal of Arts (by President Ronald Reagan in 1987), and presented France’s Commander of Arts and Letters award in 1990.

On November 21, 1934, however, when she stood on the stage at the Apollo, Ella Fitzgerald was just a shy, reserved, self-conscious 17-year old orphan with a reportedly disheveled appearance.  She hadn’t become a legendary scat artist, hadn’t recorded a single song (let alone over 200 albums) and hadn’t performed at Carnegie Hall once (let along 26 times). In fact, the woman who would eventually be known for her ability to mimic any horn in the orchestra wasn’t even planning to sing!

“They were the dancingest sisters around.”

– Ella Fitzgerald describing Ruth and Louise Edwards (known as the Edwards Sisters)

Yes, you read that right: Ella Fitzgerald didn’t enter the Apollo’s Amateur Night as a singer. She intended to dance. The problem was the main event concluded with the Edwards Sisters, a crowd favorite. Seeing the Edwards Sisters’ tap dancing bring the house down – and knowing the critical (and vocal) reputation of the Apollo audience – young Ella froze, and asked herself some variation of those aforementioned questions.

“Once up there, I felt the acceptance and love from my audience. I knew I wanted to sing before people the rest of my life.”

– Ella Fitzgerald on how it felt after she sang one of her mother’s favorite songs at the Apollo

It’s a weird dichotomy to think of Ella Fitzgerald as both shy and fearless; yet, that is exactly who and what she was. Out of context it sounds odd. When you know more of her story, however, it is inspiring and encouraging. After all, every one of us can make the decision to climb on, to celebrate, and to persevere. All we need is to recognize what is already inside of us, what has gotten us this far. At the same time, what has gotten us this far is also what might have us giving up and turning back….

In that moment of questioning, young Ella’s consciousness, her awareness of herself and her awareness of what she could do, merged with all the possible outcomes and in that moment there was fear of failing on the stage and also, as a teenager already taking care of herself in the world, there was the fear of failing in life. So, there was suffering – and, in this case, (mental) suffering that could also lead to (physical) pain. In that same moment, she also recognized a way to succeed and to alleviate (or avoid) some of her suffering.

“We are very afraid of being powerless. But we have the power to look deeply at our fears, and then fear cannot control us. We can transform our fear. Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.”

– quoted from Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh

Please join me today (Tuesday, April 25th) 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 “04252020 Ella’s Shy & Fearless Day”]

“Be Fearless and Play
You could live for tomorrow and still live here in today

When i would play when i was a child
I swore that i would never forget no
I will never forget no!

Be Fearless and Play
This is one thing that no one can ever take away”

– quoted from the song “Be Fearless and Play” by Wookiefoot

…& don’t forget to fearlessly Kiss My Asana!!

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!) 

Yes, yes, it’s that time again! The 10th Annual Kiss My Asana yogathon benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS), which was founded by Matthew Sanford to help those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. Known for their adaptive yoga classes, MBS provides live, online resources to people living with disabilities, worldwide. In addition to 11 live online yoga classes a week, MBS has also created a comprehensive library of recorded adaptive yoga classes for students, instructional videos for adaptive yoga teachers, and insightful interviews between Matthew Sanford, and adaptive students. It all helps people with disabilities live more fully, where they are and how they are.

This year’s yogathon is only a week long! Seven days (which started on Saturday to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days. And you can start today!!

The yogathon raises resources and awareness. So, I’m posting on my YouTube Community page and dedicated to raising $300 for Mind Body Solutions. You can do yoga starting today. You can share yoga be inviting a friend to one of my classes or by forwarding one of the blog posts. You can help others by donating.

You can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day; you can learn something new about your practice; you can even teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels. Consider, as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said, doing “the thing you think you cannot do.”

If you’re interested in my previous Kiss My Asana (KMA) offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series ad/or to YouTube):

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).
This week you can also click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Updated 2023.

### YOU’VE GOT THIS ###

My 4th Kiss My Asana Offering is Live! April 25, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 7-Day Challenge, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Music, One Hoop, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!

“Be Fearless & Play!” Got it! But, what if…?

 Check the Community page on my YouTube channel to discover the answers to your questions!

The pictures above are part of my 2023 offering for the 10th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS). This week (April 22nd – 28th), I’m dedicated to raising awareness and resources for MBS’ life-affirming work to help people living with disabilities – and you can help too! You can help by joining me as we practice with purpose, by sharing this page, and/or by making a donation that creates opportunities for more people to practice yoga.

Mind Body Solutions provides live, online resources to people living with disabilities, worldwide. In addition to 11 live online yoga classes a week, MBS has also created a comprehensive library of recorded adaptive yoga classes for students, instructional videos for adaptive yoga teachers, and insightful interviews between our founder, Matthew Sanford, and adaptive students. It all helps people with disabilities live more fully, where they are and how they are.

Each year, in addition to hosting a fundraising page and making my personal donation, I offer a blog post and/or a YouTube post – sometimes even a whole practice. This year, part of my offering is a series of poses I’m posting on the Community page of my YouTube channel. Of course, there’s more to the poses (and pictures) than meets the eye. So, keep in mind that they – like the classes I lead – are just the tip of the iceberg.

What happens at Mind Body Solutions is the whole enchilada!

Ultimately, MBS is all about people having better relationships with their mind-body and spreading the message that a greater connection between mind and body can help us all live with improved comfort and ease.

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!) 

If you’re interested in my previous KMA offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series ad/or to YouTube):

Check out today’s class post to find out some of the things (and people) that inspire me to be fearless and play!

Thanks to MW!

### ENJOY THE (BOAT) RIDE! ###

What’s [Today’s] Story? (a Monday post-practice note) April 24, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Baha'i, Books, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Healing Stories, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, One Hoop, Riḍván, Volunteer, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!

This is a post-practice note related to Monday, April 24th. Some embedded links will take you outside of the blog. 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.

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).
This week you can also click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

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

“Everybody knows a thousand stories. But only one cocklebur catches in your fur and that subject is your question. You live with that question. You may not even know what that question is. It hangs around a long time. I’ve carried a novel as long as twenty years, and some poems longer than that.”

– Robert Penn Warren quoted from a 1981 interview

Looking back at some old blog posts related to April 24th, it took me a second to realize why the 2021 post wasn’t just a copy or and expanded version of the 2020 post. Then I remembered. In 2020, I focused on telling the story of the Library of Congress, which was established today 1800, and preserves by (and about) people like including Anthony Trollope (b. 1815), Carl Spitteler (b. 1845), Robert Penn Warren (b. 1905), Sue Grafton (b. 1940), Eric Bogosian (b. 1953), and Kelly Clarkson (b. 1982). In 2021, I focused on telling the story of Robert Penn Warren.

In both cases, however, the practice was all about how our minds and bodies tell stories.

Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly telling stories. We tell stories verbally, visually, and viscerally. We tell stories in the ways we move and, also, in the ways we don’t move. We tell stories about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going – and we do this on and off the mat. Whether we realize it or not. On the mat, the storytelling is done through the poses and sequences. Since our bodies are different, we can each tell (and understand) the same “story” in different ways. Since our bodies change over time, we can learn different things about ourselves each time we tell the “story.”

“Social tensions have a parallel in the personal world. The individual is an embodiment of external circumstances, so that a personal story is a social story.”

– Robert Penn Warren quoted from “A Conversation with Robert Penn Warren [with] Frank Gado / 1966 (From First Person: Conversations on Writers and Writing, by Frank Gado” as printed in Conversations with Robert Penn Warren, edited by Gloria L. Cronin and Ben Siegel   

Just as literal and physical storytelling is a big part of my practice, it is a big part of what happens at Mind Body Solutions (MBS). Matthew Sanford, the founding teacher of MBS, calls the stories we tell “healing stories.” If you click on the link above for the 2021, you will find the healing stories of people who have directly benefited from practicing adaptive yoga and who directly benefit from the Kiss My Asana yogathon. If you click on the link above for 2020, you will find a “piece” of a healing story that is still being told.

Then there’s this….

PXL_20230425_002629640~2

What’s the story here? Check out the Community Page on my YouTube channel to find out.

There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.

A 2021 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04242021 All Sides of the Story”]

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!) 

If you’re interested in my previous Kiss My Asana (KMA) offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series ad/or to YouTube):

### YOU COULD KISS MY ASANA… RIGHT NOW! ###

My 2nd Kiss My Asana Day Offering is Live! April 23, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 7-Day Challenge, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!

Having one of those days, weeks, months, years?

Check out the Community Page on my YouTube channel to find out why we’re “doing” the upside down thing.

Viparita Karina “Inverted Action” (1)

The picture above is part of my 2023 offering for the 10th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS). This week (April 22nd – 28th), I’m dedicated to raising awareness and resources for MBS’ life-affirming work to help people living with disabilities – and you can help too! You can help by joining me as we practice with purpose, by sharing this page, and/or by making a donation that creates opportunities for more people to practice yoga.

Mind Body Solutions provides live, online resources to people living with disabilities, worldwide. In addition to 11 live online yoga classes a week, MBS has also created a comprehensive library of recorded adaptive yoga classes for students, instructional videos for adaptive yoga teachers, and insightful interviews between our founder, Matthew Sanford, and adaptive students. It all helps people with disabilities live more fully, where they are and how they are.

Each year, in addition to hosting a fundraising page and making my personal donation, I offer a blog post and/or a YouTube post – sometimes even a whole practice. This year, part of my offering is a series of poses I’m posting on the Community page of my YouTube channel. Of course, there’s more to the poses (and pictures) than meets the eye. So, keep in mind that they – like the classes I lead – are just the tip of the iceberg.

What happens at Mind Body Solutions is the whole enchilada!

Ultimately, MBS is all about people having better relationships with their mind-body and spreading the message that a greater connection between mind and body can help us all live with improved comfort and ease.

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!) 

If you’re interested in my previous KMA offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series ad/or to YouTube):

Check out today’s class post to find out one of the reasons why Mind Body Solutions is so important to me!

### PUCKER UP ###

FTWMI: Speaking the Language of Hope April 23, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Baha'i, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Fitness, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Religion, Riḍván, Suffering, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!

For Those Who Missed It: The Following was originally posted as part of my Kiss My Asana offering in 2020. I have adjusted some language, added a couple of critical details, and also added class details and links. Some links connect to sites outside of this blog.

( )

– Title of the third sigur rós album, on which all songs are “sung” by jónsi (born 4/23/1975) in Hopelandic (“Vonlenska” in Icelandic)

A lot of people, myself included, find sigur rós music relaxing. I also find it visceral, something felt deep in the body. So, sometimes, when I want people to really tune in and pay attention to how they are feeling – deep in their bodies – I play sigur rós. There are albums where jónsi, who was born today in 1975, sings in Icelandic. On the third album, however, he sings in an imaginary language known as Vonlenska. Vonlenska, as identified by a journalist, first appeared in the ninth track of the band’s debut album. The song is called “Von,” the Icelandic word for “hope.” Hence the name: Volenska.  Hopelandic.

Hopelandic. How can you not love that name, or the idea of a place where the native language is hope?

“it’s of course not an actual language by definition (no vocabulary, grammar, etc.), it’s rather a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music and acts as another instrument. jónsi likens it with what singers sometimes do when they’ve decided on the melody but haven’t written the lyrics yet.”

– from the faq section of the sigur rós website

When I play sigur rós in class, I remind people that they are hearing an imaginary language, but also point out that if you listen long enough you can not only sing along you can also feel as if you understand what is being sung – if not the words (since they aren’t, technically, words), at least the sentiment. I also explain that it is a little like listening to the mind-body.

Our minds and bodies speak in sensation, that’s how they communicate information. The only problem is, we’re not always fluent in sensation. So, just like we do when we are learning a new language, we need to experience the “vocabulary” in context and then repeat and repeat them until they are ingrained. Living our lives in our bodies is a little like being immersed in a foreign language – except for the part where we can ignore all of the sensation/information and only converse in our native tongue because, in some ways, it is easier than trying to understand this language no one spends a lot of time teaching us how to understand. The physical practice of yoga (hatha yoga, regardless of the style or tradition) is a way to start learning the language.

It’s not that hard to find a yoga class, if you consider yourself able-bodied and/or of sound mind (and/or if you are not marginalized in any way). Even now, under the when there was a worldwide lockdown, there were lots of options. It may take a little effort to find a yoga practice that works for you, but it’s out there. What if, however, you (or someone around you) didn’t consider you able-bodied and/or of sound mind? What if you had been told that because you couldn’t move parts of your body on your own, couldn’t breathe without a machine, and/or didn’t feel sensation the way others felt it, you couldn’t practice yoga? What if your body didn’t look like the teacher’s body? What if you had experienced a loss or a traumatic event so devastating that it was hard to get out of bed? What if you were burnt out from taking care of people? What if a doctor told you that you were all but dead?

“Or do you need to get quiet enough to understand that some person – maybe close to you, maybe you – needs a beautiful place to come to, just to be, to come back to the purity of your existence.

And whatever’s dragged you through your life up to this point, beaten you forward to solve whatever problems, you drop all of that. And find yourself.”

– Robert Boustany describing that ‘Every answer is inside you.’

I started practicing yoga between professional dancers and musicians, people who used their bodies to make a living. They were also people (pardon the pun) very in-tune with their bodies. Then there was me, and on the first day, Robert Boustany explained that I already practiced yoga (philosophically speaking).

Because I knew Robert’s  background and knew some of the people who practiced with him under various conditions, it would be decades before it occurred to me that some people thought they couldn’t practice yoga. It was heartbreaking to realize that some people were being denied a really profound internal experience, a profoundly healing experience, because of a misconception about what yoga is and what it is not. It was heartbreaking to realize that there were yoga teachers all of the world who only knew how to teach a single, sometimes stereotypical, person – especially since there are so many people in the world who are not stereotypical.

“As I write this book, I am a yoga teacher, and I still get around in a wheelchair. I teach bodies that can stand when I cannot, that can feel things where I do not. This is possible because I have explored a different kind of connection between mind and body. Although I still cannot move my legs – and have no goal to do so – I do feel a heightened level of presence throughout my entire consciousness, including my paralyzed body.

It is a connection that we all share. Most of us, however, have not needed to bring it fully to consciousness. I believe this shared connection has profound implications not just for the shape and quality of our consciousness, but for the aging process, for the experience of trauma, for our approach to disability and rehabilitation, and even for our survival on this planet.”

– quoted from the Introduction to Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford

Matthew Sanford is one of those people who is not stereotypical. He founded Mind Body Solutions to help those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. Known for their adaptive yoga classes, MBS provides “traditional yoga” classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon, the 10th annual yogathon, kicked off yesterday. Seven days to practice with purpose: to do yoga, share yoga, and help others.  By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days. And you can start right now!

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)

Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, April 23rd) at 2:30 PM. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

Pucker Up & Kiss My Asana!!!

The practices I lead are full of little bits of teaching/practice I’ve picked up from Matthew Sanford and other teachers and students at Mind Body Solutions. Plus, I’ll be posting KMA offerings on the community page on my YouTube channel.

If you’re interested in my previous KMA offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series):

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

### ( ) ###

But What About Earth…and Space (and Grace)? (the “missing” Saturday post) April 22, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, 7-Day Challenge, Baha'i, Books, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Fitness, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Minnesota, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Riḍván, Science, Twin Cities, Uncategorized, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!

This is a “missing” post for Saturday, April 22nd. It includes some recycled quotes and re-purposed information from earlier posts. Some embedded links will take you outside of the blog. 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.

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).
This week you can also click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

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

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

– quoted from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (published 1962)

So, this week we considered the power found in waiting, waiting in community and also the power of water and light – which is akin to fire – (plus there were some references to wind). But what about Earth… and Space? And what does any of this have to do with grace, particularly shastra kripa (or, at least, one of the definitions of shastra kripa)? To get to all that we have to get grounded, dig deep, and take a little detour  through another celebration related to waiting and through a yogathon.

Notice, however, that all of the references below are centered and grounded in community.

“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

In addition to being the beginning of the 10th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, today was Earth Day. While the roots of Earth Day can be found in the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, an actual day dedicated to Earth and peace was initially proposed by John McConnell during a 1969 conferenced hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The very first Earth Day, as he proposed it, was held in San Francisco on March 21, 1970, to coincide with the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, proposed a nationwide environmental teach-in and hired a young activist named Denis Hayes to organize the first national Earth Day, which was held on April 22, 1970. More than 20 million people, including then-President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon, participated in the events on April 22, 1970, making that day one of the largest protests in the United States. (The 1970 Earth Day teach-in was the largest recorded protest until the 2020 protest after the murder of George Floyd.)

“In these troubled times it is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility. There is modern truth to the ancient wisdom of the psalmist: `I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.’”

– quoted from Rachel Carson’s original submission to “Words to Live By” for This Week Magazine (1951)

Click here to read my 2020 Earth Day post about healing.

“A determination to be outward looking in the process of community building had already become an established aspect of culture in many, many places; it has now blossomed, in a rising number of communities, into a sense of real responsibility for the spiritual and material progress of larger and larger groups within society, well beyond the membership of the Bahá’í community itself. The efforts of the friends to build communities, to engage in social action, and to contribute to the prevalent discourses of society have cohered into one global enterprise, bound together by a common framework for action, focused on helping humanity to establish its affairs on a foundation of spiritual principles.”

– quoted from the Riḍván 2022 message from the Universal House of Justice “To the Bahá’is of the World”

Thursday night marked the beginning of the twelve-day festival of Ridván, “the Most Great Festival” in the Baháʼí Faith.  As I mentioned last month, the Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic faith that believes in the oneness of God and religion, as well as the oneness and nobility of humanity. The community believes that, historically, there has been a “progressive revelation of religious truth” which has been shared with the world through the voices of the prophets or Divine Messengers, known as “Manifestations of God” (which include “Braham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh”). People within the faith are taught to honor the value of different religious and philosophical traditions as well as the value of education, especially in science (which is viewed by some faiths as being contrary to religion).

The Bahá’í calendar begins around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and has 19 months with 19 days – each named for one of the 19 names/manifestations/attributes of God. For example, “Splendor” and “Glory” are the English translations for Bahá and Jalál, the first two months (and days) of this solar calendar. There are also 4 or 5 intercalary days that occur just before the final month and which are considered “transcendent” in nature. The calendar is partially tied to the Gregorian calendar, in that days on each calendar always correspond with each other; however, the Bahá’í calendar is very much focused around its own historical liturgy. Hence, why 2023 is the year 180 BE (Bahá’í  Era).

The twelve-day festival of Ridván, one of the holiest times within the Bahá’í community, is celebrated during the second month and begins exactly one Gregorian-month after the new year. This “Most Great Festival” in the Baháʼí Faith honors the time that the founder of the Bahá’i Faith, Bahá’u’lláh waited in the original garden of Ridván prior to being exiled to Constantinople. The Arabic word ridván means “paradise” and I indicated “the original garden,” because in addition to the garden outside of Baghdad, where the great spiritual leader (considered a manifestation of the Divine) prepared for his exile, there is a second garden with the same name in Israel, which Bahá’u’lláh visited after years of exile.

The festival is a time of a sacred time of prayer, reflection, and celebration. This year’s celebrations began two hours before sunset on Thursday – with the specific timing meant to commemorate the actual time, in 1863, when Bahá’u’lláh entered the Najíbíyyih Garden with his three sons and his secretary and began to receive the visitors who wanted to wish him well before his departure. It was during this time, in the space he called “paradise,” that Bahá’u’lláh declared himself as the most recent manifestation of God; that all religious wars were repealed; that there would not be another manifestation of the God for another 1,000 years; and that the names of God (or attributes of the divine) are manifested in all things. To honor the fact that he made these announcements, the Universal House of Justice issues an annual Ridván message. They also hold elections held during this time. The first day (yesterday), the ninth day (next Saturday), and the twelfth day are considered the most holy of days. The ninth day is auspicious because it is the day the rest of Bahá’u’lláh’s family joined him in the garden and it is also the beginning of the third month, Jamál (“Beauty”).

“Besides my involvement with the Investor’s Circle, I temporarily put aside my plan for an institute and returned to the basics – an almost exclusive focus on my yoga practice. After a couple of years, I decided that it was time to share my experience with yoga and paralysis. If nothing else, I could help others who lived with disability. I started teaching an adapted yoga class at the Courage Center, a leading rehabilitation facility in a suburb of Minneapolis.

My idea was that by teaching this class, I could give something back – an obvious means to make my experience useful. What I found was much more. I thought I was teaching these students, when, in fact, they were teaching me. Neurological deficit is a frontier of mind-body integration. Working with these students has taught me that the principles of yoga are nondiscriminating – they can travel though any body.”

– quoted from “16, Falling Gracefully” in “Part Three: Yoga, Bodies, and Baby Boys” of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford

As I have mentioned before, my first exposure to the physical practice of yoga was also my first exposure to Yoga Philosophy and to the fact that anyone and everyone can practice yoga. Sometimes we stumble upon the practice that works for us. However, sometimes it takes an extra effort to find the practice (and the teacher) that works for our particular mind-bod-spirit. In fact, it wasn’t until I took my first yoga teacher training that I really realized how many people weren’t practicing, because they didn’t know they could practice. Even worse, some people had been told that they couldn’t practice – which is heartbreaking.

Still, I believed (and continue to believe) in the transformative, healing, and joyful experience of yoga. I also still believe there is a practice for every mind/body/spirit – every veteran, every person with disability, every survivor of sexual assault and other trauma, every elderly person, every person living with chronic pain, every person with a terminal illness, and every caregiver. I am joyfully participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon for the 10th year in a row, because Mind Body Solutions is helping people find their practice!

The Kiss My Asana yogathon is an annual event that raises awareness and resources for Mind Body Solutions and their life-affirming work to help people living with disabilities. Best known for their Adaptive Yoga Program, which provides adapted yoga opportunities for people around the globe, MBS currently provides live, online resources to people living with disabilities, worldwide. In addition to 11 live online yoga classes a week, MBS has also created a comprehensive library of recorded adaptive yoga classes for students, instructional videos for adaptive yoga teachers, and insightful interviews between the founding teacher, Matthew Sanford, and adaptive students. In the past, MBS has also offered training and workshops for yoga teachers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers (so they can share this work in their communities, too).

All of this helps people with disabilities live more fully, where they are and how they are. Ultimately, however, Mind Body Solutions is all about everyone having better relationships with their mind-body and spreading the message that a greater connection between mind and body can help us all live with improved comfort and ease. So, we can all benefit from the practice, because we all experience trauma, loss, and disability in some way shape or form.

The yogathon started as a month-long endeavor, but switched to a 7-day yogathon in 2020. This week (April 22nd – 28th) I’m planning to practice with purpose. I’m going to “Do Yoga. Share Yoga. Help Others.” – and you can join me! The practices I lead will be full of little bits of teaching/practice I’ve picked up from Matthew Sanford and other teachers and students at Mind Body Solutions. Plus, I’ll be posting on the community page on my YouTube channel.

If you’re interested in my previous KMA offerings, check out the following (some links only take you to the beginning of a series):

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “0422020 Earth Day”]

What’s this?

Dandasana (“Staff Pose”)

Have you subscribed to my YouTube page? It’s mostly playlists, plus a few mini-practices and videos from previous yogathons. Starting later tonight, I’m also going to be posting on my community page as part of my 2023 Kiss My Asana offering. So, check it out if you want to know more about the pose pictured above (and why we’re doing it).

Thanks to MW!

### GET CENTERED & GROUNDED ###

But What About Earth…and Space… and Grace? (mostly the music w/Kiss My Asana links) April 22, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Baha'i, Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Riḍván, Science, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter! Also, “Happy Earth Day!” to everyone.

“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 for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Saturday, April 22nd) 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. [Look for “0422020 Earth Day”]

You can click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (Or, you can also click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)

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

### 🎶 ###

The Power of Water & Light, on this Night (the “missing” Wednesday post, w/Eid links) April 21, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Ramadan, Religion, Science, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Eid Mubarak, Blessed Festival!” to anyone who is (or was) celebrating. Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter! “Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.”

This is a “missing” post for Wednesday, April 19th. Scroll to the bottom to find links related to Eid-al Fitr. You can request an audio recording of this practice (or any of the related 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.)

“Kuraib reported that Ibn ‘Abbas spent a night in the house of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said: The Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) stood near the water-skin and poured water out of that and performed ablution in which he neither used excess of water nor too little of it, and the rest of the hadith is the same, and in this mention is also made (of the fact) that on that night the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made supplication before Allah in nineteen words. Kuraib reported: I remember twelve words out of these, but have forgotten the rest. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Place light in my heart, light in my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light above me, light below me, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, place light in my soul, and make light abundant for me.’”

– Sahih Muslim 7673 (Book 4, Hadith Muslim 1680)

In some ways, Wednesday’s practice picked up in the middle of the Tuesday practices – with a look at what we do (or what we can do) when we are waiting for something powerful. This time, the focus was on connecting with the power of the elements. Just like so many other teachers (and poets, not to mention health care practitioners), I often recommend connecting with the elements. In fact, I recommend connecting with the elements all around you – as well as the elements (and the way they show up) inside you and in the practice. Light and water (as well as wind), are elements that are often associated with certain physical practices of yoga. For example, in our vinyasa practice, we move (or “flow”) like water to the pace of our breath as we “salute” the sun (or the moon). Light and water (as well as wind) also show up in different religious practices. They show up, um, in their element and they also show up as symbols. They show up in various sacred texts and they also show up in various rituals.

One of the things I find interesting is that just as science uses similar language to explore and investigate all three (e. g. waves), different religions use similar language and context with regard to light and water (as well as wind). I have mentioned before how water is associated with wisdom in Hasidic Jewish traditions and, also, how “the spirit that lives on the water” is a concept that shows up in the Abrahamic religions as well as in indigenous religions, medicine, and philosophy from around the world. In other practices, I have focused on how water takes the shape of its container (or boundaries) and how, when it moves, it is also powerful enough to change the shape of that which contains it. Similarly, I have focused on how water is associated with so many different creation stories – including stories from India, China, Hawaii, and the First Nations – and how rituals and traditions that celebrate those stories rely heavily on water. Sometimes, however, we are missing the context.

Recently, a friend told me about an incredible water-related ritual they experienced in Thailand. After sharing the story, they lamented that we didn’t have such practices here in the United States. To which I responded that of course we do! It’s all about context. Consider the ritual washing of hands and feet in Judaism, as well as practices around the Mikveh (or mikvah). Consider the practice of baptism, winter swimming, and the significance of holy water in Christianity. Consider ritual washing in Islām and how (like in Judaism) there are certain prayers that are said before washing hands and certain that are said after ablutions.

Part of what makes an experience powerful is the connection to the elements. Part of the power, however, comes from the knowledge (and one’s belief in the knowledge).

The highlighted quote above and the following post appeared on the blog as a “renewed” post in April 2022. Some syntax and links have been updated. (NOTE: Some embedded links will take you outside of the blog.)

“‘Remember, dear friend, that I am subtly inherent in everything, everything in the universe! I am the all-illuminating light of the sun, the light in the moon, the brilliance in the fire – all light is Mine. I am even the consciousness of light, and indeed, I am the consciousness of the entire cosmos.’”

– The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners (15:12) by Jack Hawley

Yoga Sutra 1.36: viśokā vā jyotişmatī

– “Or [fixing the mind] on the inner state free of sorrow and infused with light, anchors the mind in stability and tranquility.”

In Huffington Post “Ramadān Reflection” in 2012, Imam Khalid Latif mentioned the importance of searching for the Night of Power when it comes to the last days of Ramadān. My understanding is that, regardless of our faith or overall beliefs, we have to actively participate in our fate and in our practices. We have to actively seek in order to find. So, while, I could point out all the different ways in which “light” comes up in different religious and spiritual practices, while I could outline a little comparative analysis between the sacred texts of the Abrahamic religions and songs by Yusuf Islam, Santana and Everlast, Matisyahu, and the Maccabeats, I’m not going to do it. Instead, I’m going to encourage you to seek and see what you find.

True, you can follow the links (above) and maybe find something new (or remember something you had forgotten). However, more than anything, I encourage you to sit with your own history and tradition for a moment and consider what comes up. How does light come up? When and where does light come up? How do your internalized references to light compare to those I’ve mentioned (above and below)? How do you describe those moments when you put your light on and let it shine?

2023: Now ask yourself the same questions about water.

“I used to trust nobody, trusting even less their words,
Until I found somebody, there was no one I preferred,
My heart was made of stone, my eyes saw only misty grey,
Until you came into my life girl, I saw everyone that way.
Until I found the one I needed at my side,
I think I would have been a sad man all my life.

I think I see the light coming to me,
Coming through me giving me a second sight.
So shine, shine, shine,
Shine, shine, shine,
Shine, shine, shine.”

– from “I Think I See the Light” by Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam

As I recently (and virtually) discussed with two dear friends (as well as in classes), the similarities between the three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – is no coincidence. These traditions share historical, spiritual, and liturgical roots. How do we explain, however, these same similarities when they come up in non-Abrahamic religions? Yes, yes, the cynical parts of us can say that language and customs were co-opted in order for missionaries to more easily conquer and convert. But, how do we explain that the elemental foundations – the opportunity to co-opt – already existed? How do we explain, for instance, the focus on light other than it is a fundamental and universal experience? We can be cynical for days, but at some point we have to “step into the light, baby.”

 “‘O Allah ! place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, light above me, light below me, make light for me,’ or he said: ‘Make me light.’”

 –  Sahih Muslim  7673 (Book 4 Hadith Muslim 1677)

Wednesday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ramadan 2023”]

Two quick notes about the music: First, while the most of the musicians featured on the playlists during these final days of Ramadān are Muslim there are some exceptions. One of the notable exceptions – notable, because she is the only female soloist and the only non-Muslim singer on the list – is Reba McEntire. Her song “Pray for Peace” is on the playlist because she re-released it during the month of Ramadān in 2014 – but not just randomly in the month, the song was released in the last ten days of the month! Second, there are some songs on the playlist that are Nasheeds (meaning they are religiously moral songs) that, in some traditions, are meant to be sung without instrumentation or only with percussion. I have, however, included orchestrated versions of these songs, because this seems to have worked best in an in-studio setting. I mean no disrespect by this choice. As far as I know, percussion or voice only recordings of each song are available (if you want to build your own playlist). Alternatively, you can practice without the music.

One more musical note can be found at the bottom of the Tuesday post.

Looking for posts related to the end of the holy month of Ramadān?

Click on “That’s the Eid” for a 2020 reflection about what happens when you focus for a month and then, suddenly stop.

Click on “That’s Eid” for a brief 2021 post about Ramadān and what happens when the holy month ends.

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The Power of Water & Light, on this Night (mostly the music) April 19, 2023

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Ramadan, Religion, Wisdom, Yoga.
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“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings to anyone Counting the Omer or celebrating/observing Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!

“Kuraib reported that Ibn ‘Abbas spent a night in the house of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said: The Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) stood near the water-skin and poured water out of that and performed ablution in which he neither used excess of water nor too little of it, and the rest of the hadith is the same, and in this mention is also made (of the fact) that on that night the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made supplication before Allah in nineteen words. Kuraib reported: I remember twelve words out of these, but have forgotten the rest. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Place light in my heart, light in my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light above me, light below me, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, place light in my soul, and make light abundant for me.’”

– Sahih Muslim 7673 (Book 4, Hadith Muslim 1680)

Please join me today (Wednesday, April 19th) 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Wednesday playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ramadan 2023”]

Two quick notes about the music: First, while the most of the musicians featured on the playlists during these final days of Ramadān are Muslim there are some exceptions. One of the notable exceptions – notable, because she is the only female soloist and the only non-Muslim singer on the list – is Reba McEntire. Her song “Pray for Peace” is on the playlist because she re-released it during the month of Ramadān in 2014 – but not just randomly in the month, the song was released in the last ten days of the month! Second, there are some songs on the playlist that are Nasheeds (meaning they are religiously moral songs) that, in some traditions, are meant to be sung without instrumentation or only with percussion. I have, however, included orchestrated versions of these songs, because this seems to have worked best in an in-studio setting. I mean no disrespect by this choice. As far as I know, percussion or voice only recordings of each song are available (if you want to build your own playlist). Alternatively, you can practice without the music.

One more musical note can be found at the bottom of yesterday’s post.

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.)

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