The Grace of “Being Sensational and Seeing Clearly” & FTWMI: When Intuition Expands *UPDATED* June 3, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Baseball, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Life, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Science, Wisdom, Writing, Yin Yoga, Yoga.Tags: anonymous, Dr. David Hubel, Dr. Gerald Edelman, Dr. Oliver Sacks, Dr. Torsten Wiesel, Ernest Thayer, Martin Gardner, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Phin, Vihari-Lal Mitra, Yoga Sutra 2.20, Yoga Vasishtha
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Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone, especially those celebrating Jyeshta Purnima.
“2. It is gross ignorance which is known as nescience, and it becomes compact by the accumulated erroneous knowledge of previous births and past life (namely; the errors of the dualities of matter and spirit and of the living and Supreme soul, and the plurality of material and sensible objects).
3. The perceptions of the external and internal senses of body, both in the states of sensibility and insensibility, are also the causes of great errors or ignorance crasse of embodied beings. (i.e. The sensible perceptions are preventives of spiritual knowledge which transcends the senses and is called [Sanskrit: atíndriya]).
4. Spiritual knowledge is far beyond the cognizance of the senses, and is only to be arrived at after subjection of the five external organs of sense, as also of the mind which is the sixth organ of sensation.
5. How then is it possible to have a sensible knowledge of the spirit, whose essence is beyond the reach of our faculties of sense, and whose powers transcend those of all our sensible organs? (i.e. Neither is the spirit perceptible by our senses, nor does it perceive all things by senses like ours). So the Srutis He is not to be perceived by the faculties of our sense, who does and perceives all with our organs. ([Sanskrit: na tatra vaggacchati namani ápanipádau yavanagtahítá]).
6. You must cut off this creeper of ignorance, which has grown up in the hollow of the tree of your heart, with the sharp sword of your knowledge, if you should have your consummation as an adept in divine wisdom.”
– quoted from (Book 6) “CHAPTER XI. Ascertainment of Living Liberation.” of The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki (translated from the original Sanskrit by VIHARI-LALA MITRA)
When Dr. Torsten Wiesel, born today in 1924, started working with Dr. David Hubel in the 1950’s, they were under the impression that animals (people included) saw whole images. We might call their lack of knowledge “ignorance;” however, there can be a slight disconnect between the Sanskrit word “avidyā” and “ignorance,” the English word most often used in translations. Ignorance can mean that something is being ignored and we could go down a whole rabbit hole regarding what we are unconsciously and subconsciously ignoring, however, Drs. Wiesel and Hubel were scientist who did not ignore new information – even when it contradicted their original beliefs.
Click here to read my 2020 post about the Nobel Prize-winning research on ocular dominance columns and how their original thesis around neural pathways and the mechanisms of the visual cortex was way off center.
In translating The Yoga-Vasishtha, Vihari-Lala Mitra used the “nescience” and this, perhaps, is the better word. It indicates that the lack of knowledge is “without science” or pre-science. In other words, it is what we know before the work is done to know. Of course, doing the work requires going down the rabbit hole.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2022.
“A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, ‘If only….'”
– quoted from the poem “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
In October 1967, American Heritage (volume 18, issue 6) featured an excerpt from Martin Gardner’s The Annotated Casey at the Bat: A Collection of Ballads about the Mighty Casey. Mr. Gardner was a popular mathematics and popular science writer – whose life and work is fascinating enough to have it’s own theme – and he was known for his work in recreational mathematics, magic, and criticism of fringe or pseudoscience. He was also known for annotating works that were popular with the masses, but not always understood by the masses. His book about a very popular baseball poem includes a history of how the poem became so popular, as well as a biography of the poem’s author. At times, it is also just as scathing and hilarious as the actual poem.
The poem, “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888,” was originally published in The Daily Examiner (now The San Francisco Examiner) today in 1888. It was published under the pen name “Phin,” a diminutive of the nickname “Phinney,” which is what Ernest Lawrence Thayer was called when he attended Harvard University. Like Mr. Thayer, Martin Gardner studied philosophy (albeit at the University of Chicago rather than Harvard) and both landed in the publishing world. But they lived in different times, pursued different interests, and – I’m willing to bet – had really different egos. What is interesting to note, however, is how egos come up in their work – especially with regard to “Casey,” which is (ultimately) a poem about egos, emotions, and how our judgement and behavior can be swayed by our egos and emotions.
Yoga Sutra 2.20: draşțā dŗśimātrah śuddho’pi pratyayānupaśyah
– “The Seer is the pure power of seeing, yet its understanding is through the mind/intellect.” [Translation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait (for comparative analysis), “The sheer power of seeing is the seer. It is pure, and yet it sees only what the mind shows it.”]
“I stopped explaining myself when I realized other people only understand from their level of perception.”
– Anonymous
Human beings are sensational beings. This means a few different things. First, it means that we are infused with sensation – we feel things. We have sense organs that soak up information and communicate via sensation or “feelings,” which the mind-intellect processes. Second, we place value on things (and people) that make us feel things; we call them sensational. Finally, we find sensational things appealing – meaning, we are drawn towards people and things that provoke a visceral reaction, (i.e., that make us feel things). Being sensational beings can be amazing; however, it can also be problematic. The problematic part is that our intellect can sometimes be so overwhelmed by sensation that we find ourselves doing irrational things, while simultaneously believing they are rational things. Sometimes, being sensational beings means we don’t “see” clearly.
To be transparent, part of the problem may be that we don’t always understand how we “see” things. We assume that we have the full picture and that what we see – and understand – is exactly what someone else sees, but for some reason doesn’t understand. (“I mean, for goodness sake, it’s right in front of them! How can they not see that?”) This disconnect can manifest as people arguing even though they are on the same side of a debate and/or “agreeing to disagree” and coming to a stalemate in a situation where movement towards resolution and reconciliation is vital to survival.
In these situations, everyone ultimately loses.
It would be great if we could take a deep breath, step back, and get more perspective. It would be great if we could really talk with each other and ask the right questions. But, there are certain things about which we are quite impassioned – which means we are quite literally infused with suffering. We don’t want to (or can’t) ignore what we’re feeling – especially in times when we are feeling quite a bit (or when we are feeling quite numb). Instead, we need to balance the mind-body experience – and, gain some insight into our sight (i.e., how we “see” things and why we “see” things the way we do when others “see” things in a different way).
“Intuition is important, knowing what questions to ask. The other thing is a passion for getting to the core of the problem.”
– Dr. Torsten Wiesel, co-winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Please join me for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Saturday, June 3rd) 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 “06032020 How Can We See, Dr Wiesel”]
NOTE: The 2022 First Friday Night Special (Baseball-inspired) playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04012022 An “Important” Story””]
“‘Every act of perception,’ Edelman writes, ‘is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination.’”
– Dr. Oliver Sacks, quoting Dr. Gerald Edelman (co-winner of the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine)
(NOTE: Some blog quotes by Drs. Wiesel and Hubel are from a short biography produced by National Science & Technology Medals Foundation when Dr. Wiesel was awarded the 2005 National Medal of Science.)
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 CAN SEE YOU. CAN YOU SEE ME? ###
Noticing Things [on Friday, June 2nd] (the “missing” and revised invitation) June 2, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Japa-Ajapa, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 90 seconds, Enigma, Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Jon Lord, Mindfulness, Restorative Yoga, Sir Edward Elgar, Thomas Hardy
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Happy Pride! Many blessings to everyone!!
My apologies for not posting this before tonight’s “First Friday Night Special.” You can request an audio recording of tonight’s Restorative Yoga practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible.
“IX
Calm fell. From Heaven distilled a clemency;
There was peace on earth, and silence in the sky;
Some could, some could not, shake off misery:
The Sinister Spirit sneered: ‘It had to be!’
And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, ‘Why?’”
– quoted from the poem “And There Was a Great Calm (On the Signing of the Armistice, 11 Nov 1918)” by Thomas Hardy
This has been a week of remembering; deliberately remembering and reflecting; noticing (or not); noticing, remembering, and reflecting. If we pay attention, we notice the pattern repeating – on and off the mat. We also notice, if we are paying attention, that throughout history people (like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman) have consistently warned us… that we are not paying enough attention – especially to what’s simmering, churning, and bubbling beneath the surface.
And so, the pattern continues.
This is a significantly revised and expanded version of a 2020 post. The original only referenced the poet.
“And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom,
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings,
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell’s boom,
‘He hears it not now, but used to notice such things?’”
– quoted from the poem “Afterwards” by Thomas Hardy, set to music by Lon Lord
Born June 2, 1840, Thomas Hardy (OM) was an architect who is remembered as a novelist and a poet who noticed things. I know, I know; writers notice things – that’s part of their job description: notice and write, in order to tell the world what you noticed… what they could also notice. And, to that end, Thomas Hardy wrote short stories, published almost a thousand poems, and three different kinds of novels. In character and environment driven novels like Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895), he wrote about sex, religion, marriage, class, education, morality, and where all six themes intersected with each other, as well as with a person’s individual will as it intersected with universal will (or a single other person’s will), which he called “Immanent Will.”
He wrote about being alive, being dead, and about ghosts and spirits. He also wrote, in letters, about race and the impact different cultures could have on society. He noticed things… and made some of those things important.
When he was asked to write something topical (i.e., related to the current events circa 1905 – 1917), he initially resisted. Ultimately, however, he was inspired by events in the Middle East and a passage from The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians (1:18 – 19)*, which speaks of hope and, also, of something powerful – mighty – working beneath the surface. As he did in so many of his other poems about conflict, Thomas Hardy continued the message of hope… and also included a warning message.
“I
When moiling seems at cease
In the vague void of night-time,
And heaven’s wide roomage stormless
Between the dusk and light-time,
And fear at last is formless,
We call the allurement Peace.
II
Peace, this hid riot, Change,
This revel of quick-cued mumming,
This never truly being,
This evermore becoming,
This spinner’s wheel onfleeing
Outside perception’s range.”
– the poem “According to the Mighty Working” by Thomas Hardy
Although he was not particularly devout, being inspired by sacred text was not unusual for Thomas Hardy. He noticed things about Nature and things about human nature and things about the Divine – and he noticed where all of those things overlapped, collapsed, converged, and coalesced. He was also fascinated by the idea that patterns of history are repeated and that those patterns can be found in Nature, in the Bible, and in ourselves – if we just take the time to pay attention; to, as he wrote, “notice such things.”
However, Thomas Hardy didn’t stop there. He also noticed what he (and others) noticed. He noticed the art or practice of noticing.
Take a moment to notice what you notice. Bring awareness to your awareness.
You can jump over to the April 19th “Noticing Things” post or do that “90-second thing.” Either way, pause. Just for a moment. Notice without the story or the extra dialogue that springs to mind. Or, you could take a moment to intentionally notice the extra dialogue that inevitably springs to mind. You can even emulate Thomas Hardy – the architect – and build your awareness from the ground up.
Start with what is tangible, what is solid and true beneath you and work out from there – physically, mentally, emotionally, maybe even energetically, spiritually, and religiously.
I have previously mentioned that this week is about perception and ideals. We start to notice what we notice. Then, we also start noticing what we (individually and collectively) make important. When you notice what sticks in your heart and in your mind, you will start to notice the origins of your words and deeds. You will start to notice the kind of person you are telling the world you are and aim to be.
“‘It is a difficult question, my friends, for any young man– that question I had to grapple with, and which thousands are weighing at the present moment in these uprising times– whether to follow uncritically the track he finds himself in, without considering his aptness for it, or to consider what his aptness or bent may be, and re-shape his course accordingly. I tried to do the latter, and I failed. But I don’t admit that my failure proved my view to be a wrong one, or that my success would have made it a right one; though that’s how we appraise such attempts nowadays–I mean, not by their essential soundness, but by their accidental outcomes.’”
– quoted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
“‘Remember that the best and greatest among mankind are those who do themselves no worldly good. Every successful man is more or less a selfish man. The devoted fail…’”
– quoted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Now, just for a moment, turn all the things you are noticing into music. Imagine you are a musical composition by Sir Edward William Elgar (1st Baronet, OM, GCVO), who was born June 2, 1857. Like Thomas Hardy, Sir Elgar noticed things and told people about what he noticed… what they could also notice. The only difference was that he communicated his observations with music.
From October 1898 and February 1899, Sir Edward Elgar composed Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36. Also known as the “Enigma Variations” – because the word “Enigma” was written over the first six bars – the fourteen variations are character sketches meant to invoke the personalities and temperaments (or moods) of fourteen of Sir Elgar’s friends. Each variation’s title is the nickname of the friend “pictured within.” Similar to the way Thomas Hardy noticed what others noticed (or not), Sir Elgar composed the pieces as if each person were composing their own variation/personality.
“‘I had a neat stock of fixed opinions, but they dropped away one by one; and the further I get the less sure I am. I doubt if I have anything more for my present rule of life than following inclinations which do me and nobody else any harm, and actually give pleasure to those I love best. There, gentlemen, since you wanted to know how I was getting on, I have told you. Much good may it do you! I cannot explain further here. I perceive there is something wrong somewhere in our social formulas: what it is can only be discovered by men or women with greater insight than mine–if, indeed, they ever discover it– at least in our time. ‘For who knoweth what is good for man in this life?–and who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?’”
– quoted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
There are so many mysteries in life. But, where (or what), you might ask, is the mystery in the Sir Edward Elgar’s music? An enigma, after all, is defined as “a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.” The word comes to English from Greek, by way of Latin, from words meaning “fable” and “speak allusively.” Yet, the compositions and their monikers are very straightforward. Where, then, is the mystery?
According to Sir Elgar, there was an overreaching theme that tied everything together. Maybe it was musical. Maybe it was a quality, like friendship. Maybe it was an activity, like perception and awareness.
Perhaps it was simply a message between friends.
“‘I shan’t forget you, Jude,’ he said, smiling, as the cart moved off. ‘Be a good boy, remember; and be kind to animals and birds, and read all you can. And if ever you come to Christminster remember you hunt me out for old acquaintance’ sake.’
The cart creaked across the green, and disappeared round the corner by the rectory-house. The boy returned to the draw-well at the edge of the greensward, where he had left his buckets when he went to help his patron and teacher in the loading. There was a quiver in his lip now, and after opening the well-cover to begin lowering the bucket he paused and leant with his forehead and arms against the frame-work, his face wearing the fixity of a thoughtful child’s who has felt the pricks of life somewhat before his time. The well into which he was looking was as ancient as the village itself, and from his present position appeared as a long circular perspective ending in a shining disk of quivering water at a distance of a hundred feet down. There was a lining of green moss near the top, and nearer still the hart’s-tongue fern.
He said to himself, in the melodramatic tones of a whimsical boy, that the schoolmaster had drawn at that well scores of times on a morning like this, and would never draw there any more. ‘I’ve seen him look down into it, when he was tired with his drawing, just as I do now, and when he rested a bit before carrying the buckets home!’”
– quoted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
NOTE: The playlist is a remix of the one I typically use in April and for the birthday’s of Thomas Hardy (today) and Jon Lord (b. June 9, 1961). I may or may not update it to include more of the “Enigma Variations.”
This Restorative Yoga practice is accessible and open to all.
Prop wise, this can be a kitchen sink practice. You can practice without props or use “studio” props and/or “householder” props. Example of Commercial props: 1 – 2 blankets, 2 – 3 blocks, a bolster, a strap, and an eye pillow. Example of Householder props: 1 – 2 blankets or bath towels, 2 – 3 books (similar in size), 2 standard pillows (or 1 body pillow), a belt/tie/sash, and a face towel.
You may want extra layers (as your body may cool down during this practice). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table may be handy for this practice.
*NOTE: Although it is a modern translation (and, therefore, not the translation Thomas Hardy used), The Christian Standard Bible translation of Ephesians (1:18 – 19) is the only one I found that directly syncs up with Thomas Hardy’s poem title. “(18) I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, (19) and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”
### NOTICE WHAT YOU NOTICE ###
Today in Rock and Roll (the Wednesday post) May 24, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Poetry, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Bob Dylan, Counting the Omer, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Nat Hentoff, Powerball®, Regula Curti, Tina Turner, Uvalde Texas
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!
“‘Anything I can sing,’ he observes, ‘I call a song. Anything I can’t sing, I call a poem. Anything I can’t sing or anything that’s too long to be a poem, I call a novel. But my novels don’t have the usual story lines. They’re about my feelings at a certain place at a certain time.’”
– quoted from the liner notes by Nat Hentoff (from Bob Dylan’s album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
This is a footnote with links. If it were longer (and written by him), Robert Allen Zimmerman (born today in 1941) might call this a novel; because, it’s about how today feels weird to me.
First, it’s kind of a weird day in rock and roll. Tina Turner, the legendary Queen of Rock and Roll, just passed away today at the age of 83. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan, the rock and roll poet, turned 82 today. Yes, there are other things that make today weird – even sad and tragic, when you consider that it is the first anniversary of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. However, in the middle of all the sadness, tragedy, and even confusion (over why certain things aren’t changing in a way that makes us all safer), there are some joyful memories and some persistent reminders.
The memories include ones of my mom taking me to see Tina Turner’s Private Dancer tour (in 1985). It was my very first rock and roll concert. Another such memory is finding the mantras and chants that Tina Turner recorded after she started practicing Buddhism. Listening to those mantras and chants, I remember that the human spirit is divine, beautiful, and able to persevere. I find different, but equally persistent, reminders in the poetry – and music – of Bob Dylan, who is quoted in the liner notes for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan as saying, “The most important thing I know I learned from Woody Guthrie…. I’m my own person. I’ve got basic common rights-whether I’m here in this country or any other place. I’ll never finish saying everything I feel, but I’ll be doing my part to make some sense out of the way we’re living, and not living, now. All I’m doing is saying what’s on my mind the best way I know how. And whatever else you say about me, everything I do and sing and write comes out of me.”
I think the same philosophy applies to Tina Turner.
Sometimes, I compare Bob Dylan and his career to winning the lottery with that elusive Powerball® of talent, drive, and other people’s perceptions. My comparison is not meant to take anything away from his talent and hard work. Quite the opposite. It’s just meant to highlight that sometimes people have things working in their favor. On the flip side, Tina Turner had the talent and the drive, but that last piece – other people’s perceptions (not to mention her own at certain times in her life) – worked against her. If you look at her life, where she started and the abuse that she endured early on, you’ll find there were a lot of things working against her. Yet, she survived. She thrived. She succeeded.
Tina Turner became one the best-selling recording artists of all time; won 12 Grammy Awards (including three Grammy Hall of Fame awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two times (in 1991 and 2021) and became the first woman and the first Black artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. She appeared in movies and had a movie and a musical based on her life. Her accolades also include being a recipient of the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors.
She survived. She thrived. She succeeded. More importantly, she continued making beauty in the world.
“Nothing last forever.
No one lives forever.
The flower that fades and dies.
Winter passes and spring comes.
Embrace the cycle of life that is the greatest love.
Go beyond fear.
Go beyond fear.
Beyond fear takes you into the place where love grows.
When you refuse to follow the impulses of fear, anger, and revenge.
Beyond means to feel yourself.
Start every day singing like the birds.
Singing takes you beyond.
Beyond.
Beyond.
Beyond.”
– excerpted from “Beyond: Spiritual Message By Tina Turner” on the album Beyond: Buddhist and Christian Prayers by Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay & Regula Curti
Please join me today (Wednesday, May 24th) 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’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05242022 Bob’s Poems”]
NOTE: I did not have a chance to create a new playlist inspired by both Bob and Tina; however, here is the message quoted above.
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.)
### REST IN POWER, QUEEN! ###
Never the Time and the Place (the “missing” Sunday post) May 7, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Donate, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Love, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Suffering, Texas, Tragedy, Volunteer, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Johannes Brahms, John Suchet, KISS MY ASANA, Modest Tchaikovsky, Modeste Tchaikovsky, Nadezhda Filaretovna “N. F.” von Meck, Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, Robert Browning, Robert Greenberg, Swan Lake, Vladimir “Bob” Davydov
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!
This is a “missing” post for Sunday, May 7th. Warning: It alludes to certain current events. 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.)
“…You see, my dear friend, I am made up of contradictions, and I have reached a very mature age without resting upon anything positive, without having calmed my restless spirit either by religion or philosophy. Undoubtedly I should have gone mad but for music. Music is indeed the most beautiful of all Heaven’s gifts to humanity wandering in the darkness. Alone it calms, enlightens, and stills our souls. It is not the straw to which the drowning man clings; but a true friend, refuge, and comforter, for whose sake life is worth living.”
– quoted from 1877 letter from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to Nadezhda Filaretovna “N. F.” von Meck (who financially supported the composer for 13-years), as published in The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky by Modeste Tchaikovsky
How are you feeling today? And, what are you feeling today?
Perhaps you are feeling one thing very passionately. Perhaps, like me today, you are feeling several very strong emotions. Either way, I would encourage you to take a moment to breathe into what you’re feeling and to acknowledge what you’re feeling, every time you inhale, every time you exhale. That is the practice.
So, today, I am breathing into my gratitude for my practice and for the opportunity to breathe and move (even when I may not move as much as easily as I would like). I am breathing into my gratitude that some people were safe and well enough to join me on Zoom, or use the recording of a practice, and/or read (or listen) to this blog post. However, I am also feeling angry, frustrated, worried, fearful, heartbroken, and emotionally exhausted – because of things that are happening in the world, in my country, in my home state, and in my hometown – and I am breathing into all of that, too. Because that is the practice.
One of the beautiful things about the practice is that it allows for and provides a container in which we can process all of our emotions and sensations – even when they seem contradictory. It is a time and a place where we can pause and set our burdens aside for a moment – not with the intention to ignore what we must do in the world; but, instead, as a way to go deeper into ourselves and into what can be done.
“I am now wholly occupied with the new work … and it is hard for me to tear myself away from it. I believe it comes into being as the best of my works. I must finish it as soon as possible, for I have to wind up a lot of affairs and I must soon go to London. I told you that I had completed a Symphony which suddenly displeased me, and I tore it up. Now I have composed a new symphony which I certainly shall not tear up.”
– quoted from an 1893 letter from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to his brother Modest, as published in Tchaikovsky: The Man Revealed by John Suchet
According to the Gregorian calendar, today (May 7th) is the anniversary of the birth of both Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany – which would have marked time with the Gregorian calendar when the composer was born in 1833. However, Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russian Empire – which would have been using the Julian calendar in 1840, making April 25th the composer’s “official” birth date. Both composers created music that could be considered “the most beautiful of all Heaven’s gifts to humanity wandering in the darkness.” Yet, I have a long history with Tchaikovsky and tend to lean into his music.
So, today is a day when I would normally play some rather festive ballet music – and pair it with what might be considered hopeful and inspiring poetry by Robert Browning, who was born in Camberwell, London, England today in 1840. But, I did not start off today feeling hopeful or inspired. Neither did I initially feel like proclaiming, “Rejoice we are allied” – because we are not.
We are not yet allied.
I mean, maybe we are together in our hearts. Maybe our spirits are one. Maybe we are of the same mind, in the privacy of our own minds. Out in the world, however, we are not presenting a united front against evil, violence, oppression, and tyranny. We are not yet joining the energy of youth with the wisdom of old age and working together to bring about peace. We can not trust the opening lines from Robert Browning’s poem “RABBI BEN EZRA,” because we are constantly reminded that we may not have the time that the poet promised.
“Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith ‘A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!’”
– quoted from the poem “RABBI BEN EZRA” by Robert Browning
I’ll be honest, it kind of irks me that some really amazing lines of poetry sound like things shouted by my master teachers and precious jewels, people that push my buttons. I get especially annoyed by people who respond to calls for change by saying that it’s not the time or the place to discuss changes that need to be made. Unfortunately, in the United States, we can no longer ask, “When is the time and when is the place?” because horrific tragedies just keep happening. Even before we reached the point where we are today, the unstated answer to the question was, “It’s never the time and it’s never the place.” And now we have politicians that straight up say that they’ll discuss gun reform in our dreams.
So, let’s go there.
“Never the time and the place
And the loved one all together!
This path—how soft to pace!
This May—what magic weather!
Where is the loved one’s face?
In a dream that loved one’s face meets mine,
But the house is narrow, the place is bleak
Where, outside, rain and wind combine
With a furtive ear, if I strive to speak,
With a hostile eye at my flushing cheek,
With a malice that marks each word, each sign!
O enemy sly and serpentine,
Uncoil thee from the waking man!
Do I hold the Past
Thus firm and fast
Yet doubt if the Future hold I can?
This path so soft to pace shall lead
Thro’ the magic of May to herself indeed!
Or narrow if needs the house must be,
Outside are the storms and strangers: we
Oh, close, safe, warm sleep I and she,—
I and she!”
– quoted from the poem “Never the Time and the Place” by Robert Browning
Now I know, I know, that at the end of the poem, the poet decides to go back to sleep and back to the love that is in his dreams. In real life, however, Robert Browning’s poetry (and his dreams) led to him meeting, falling in love, and marrying the poet Elizabeth Barrett. Their lives were not perfect. They had to overcome challenges, illness, and hardships; but, they were together “safe, warm.” Furthermore, since I was talking about dreams and Sigmund Freud yesterday, I can’t help but think of the knowledge that is found in dreams and the work that is needed to make those dreams come true.
Which brings me back Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – whose music has been used (in Russia) as a signal that things need to change.
Even though I feel like we need change (and that a younger generation may bring it), I’m not broadcasting “Danse des petits cygnes” (“Dance of the little swans”) today as a shibboleth or coded message encouraging people to overthrow the government. I don’t think the answer to our violence problems is more violence. Instead, I feel more like playing Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74,” which comes with it’s own conspiracy backstory and a little bit of wisdom.
Click here if you want to know more about one of the conspiracies.
Tchaikovsky composed “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74” at the very end of his life. He called it the “Passionate Symphony” (in Russian). However, he died nine days after the piece premiered (in October 1893) and, therefore, could not correct the French translator who later called the piece “Pathétique” – which means to “invoking pity” or, in English, can also mean “miserably inadequate.”
Pity is a tricky emotion, because it implies that whatever or whomever inspires (or invokes) the pity is somehow beneath the person who is feeling the emotion. It is not the same as empathy or sympathy – which I think we need more of in the world – and it is not the same as compassion (again, which could be useful right now). Pity allows us to “feel sorry for [the ones suffering]” and then to go on about our business. Tchaikovsky, however, was not producing pity. He was feeling, passionately, and creating something amazing, beneficial, and hopeful out of those emotions.
He was drawing everyone in the world in and saying, “life is worth living.”
“If this symphony is misunderstood, and torn to shreds, I shall think it quite normal, and not at all surprising. It will not be the first time. But I myself absolutely believe it to be the best and especially the most sincere of all my works. I love it as I have never loved any single one of my other musical creations.”
– quoted from an 1893 letter from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to his nephew Vladimir “Bob” Davydov as posted in “Music History Monday: His Own Requiem?” by Robert Greenberg
Pick your music. The second option is “balletic” and “Christmas-y.”
The playlist used today is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10282020 Feeling Pathétique?”]
The playlist I have typically used is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05072022 Rejoice We Are Allied”]
Yes! You can still click here to Kiss My Asana Now! (And, you can also still click here to join my team and get people to kiss [your] asana!)
“Rejoice we are allied
To That which doth provide
And not partake, effect and not receive!
A spark disturbs our clod;
Nearer we hold of God
Who gives, than of His tribes that take, I must believe.”
– quoted from the poem “RABBI BEN EZRA” by Robert Browning
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).
### This is the season…. ###
The Powerful Thing We Do When We Come Together… Waiting (the Tuesday post) April 18, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: Constitution, David DeSteno, DHIMMĪ, gevurah, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Imam Khalid Latif, inspiration, khorasan, kriya yoga, Laylat al-Qadr, Marcus Aurelius, nasheeds, Octave of Easter, Paul Revere, Qur'an, Ramadan, Reba McEntire, Religion, Rod Stryker, Ryan Holiday, Sami Yusuf, sha’b, Sunnah, truth, ummah, yesod
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“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who 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!
“I know I’m waiting
Waiting for something
Something to happen to me
But this waiting comes with
Trials and challenges
Nothing in life is free”
“My Lord, show me right from wrong
Give me light, make me strong
I know the road is long
Make me strong”
– quoted from the song “Make Me Strong” by Sami Yusuf
There’s a lot in my head and heart today, a lot I want to share. But, it’s a lot. So, I’m going to ask you to wait a moment and, while you’re waiting, I’m going to ask you to send me some strength… as I send you some strength.
All over the world, people come together. Sometimes physically; sometimes virtually; sometimes spiritual; and sometimes religiously. It happens a lot when Nature cooperates – and/or when people work together to overcome natural (and man-made) disasters. It also happens this time of year, because so many communities are engaged in holy obligations, observations, and celebrations. I’ve talked about such things quite a bit recently and, this week, I again focus on a holy time – this time on the holy month of Ramadān.*
However, in addition to using this time (wisely) to share information that can bring us all closer together; I also want to use today to bring awareness to how powerful we all are (and can be) when we come together. Because, there is so much power in what we do when we come together – even virtually. There is power in coming together and waiting together. What is especially powerful is what we do, in community, when we come together and wait together. People have known about this power for eons upon eons. We see it in rituals and traditions around the world: in people coming together, as a community, during different sacred times throughout the year.
What is funny (ironic) to me is how, despite years of proof, Western science is only recently figuring out and acknowledging this power.
“But if we remove the theology—views about the nature of God, the creation of the universe, and the like—from the day-to-day practice of religious faith, the animosity in the debate evaporates. What we’re left with is a series of rituals, customs, and sentiments that are themselves the results of experiments of sorts. Over thousands of years, these experiments, carried out in the messy thick of life as opposed to sterile labs, have led to the design of what we might call spiritual technologies—tools and processes meant to sooth, move, convince, or otherwise tweak the mind. And studying these technologies has revealed that certain parts of religious practices, even when removed from a spiritual context, are able to influence people’s minds in the measurable ways psychologists often seek.”
– quoted from the (09/14/2021) Wired article entitled, “Psychologists Are Learning What Religion Has Known for Years: Social scientists are researching what humans can do to improve their quality of life. Their findings echo what religious practices perfected centuries ago.” by David DeSteno
In Yoga Sūtra 2.1, Patanjali described a spiritual technology that he called it kriyā yoga: a cleansing ritual consisting of tapas (“heat”, “discipline”, and “austerity”, as well as the practices that build heat, discipline, and austerity); svādyāya (“self-study” – which is reflection); and īshvarapraņidhāna (“trustful surrender to the Divine”). I often note that rituals made up of these exact three elements exist outside of yoga – and include observing a silent retreat (Buddhism), giving up leavened bread during Passover (Judaism), fasting for Yom Kippur (Judaism), fasting during Lent (Christianity), observing the 19-Day Fast (Bahá’í), and fasting during the holy month of Ramadān, which is ending this week.
More often than not, I contemplate and talk about the power of these rituals, of community, and of waiting in a positive way. For example, this month I have talked about the kindness in the waiting; I have referenced strength cultivated while waiting; and I have focused on the positive “destinations” we are looking forward to arriving/experiencing. I have not focused (much) on the fact that there is so much trauma that many of us are waiting for the next negative.
Yes, we can be (and are) excited about visiting new places; reconnecting with friends and family; starting new jobs and new relationships; having babies and seeing those babies hit new milestones (like taking first steps and graduating, which can be their first steps into adulthood); and hitting our own milestones. However, if we’re being honest, we are simultaneously waiting for those positives and, also, waiting for the next mass shooting, the next random shooting, the next assault, the next insult, the next ban, and the next law that keeps people from accessing “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Let’s be honest: We’re all waiting for the next trauma.
But, what are doing while we’re waiting?
“Take a moment to break your mind free of any distraction that causes your heart to be shackled in anxiety or pain. Remove from yourself any feeling of emptiness or remorse that comes from having to put on a face that is not your own to gain acceptance from a society that won’t take you as you are. Let your thoughts move away from those who can’t look beyond the color of your skin, the texture of your hair, the accent that you speak with, or anything else that makes you beautiful. Don’t chase after words that are unfamiliar to you but seek and speak with words that are sincerely your own. Be with those who give you hope and courage, who help you to be bold in your prayer. Forget the judgments and harshness of any who have lead you to believe that you cannot ask of your Creator for whatever your heart wishes. Don’t inhibit yourself in anyway. God is Most Generous and Most Merciful, and we all are entitled to benefit from that generosity and mercy. You are going to stand in front of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, One who looks for a reason to accept from you, not push you away.”
– quoted from a 2012 “Ramadān Reflection” (Day 26) for Huffington Post by Imam Khalid Latif
Given that the Western science community has only recently started to catch up with the religious and spiritual communities, I should not be surprised that so many of us have taken spiritual, energetic, and psychological power for granted. Some of us scoff at people who talk about “thoughts and prayers” every time there is a shooting in the United States. But what are we doing? That is an important question: What are we doing?
I am asking that question in the context of each individual person’s civic duty, moral duty, and physical/material duty – and I am also asking in the context of energy, emotion, and spirit. Because, here’s the thing, the bottom line: Thoughts and prayers can create resistance; thoughts and prayers can create obstacles. Thoughts and prayers can create despair.
I know, I know, that’s not the way it’s “supposed” to work. Except it is.
It is supposed to work exactly like that. It is the way it has always worked. That’s one of the reasons the stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius** wrote, “Our actions may be impeded… but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting…. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
So, maybe those of us who want change need to take another look at thoughts and prayers. Maybe we all need to look at what it is for which we are praying/hoping/wishing/thinking and how that praying/hoping/wishing/thinking creates the energy, emotion, and spirit needed for people to engage their minds and bodies. Maybe we need to look at how all of that can create more energy towards the positive, instead of continually experiencing how it contributes to the negative.
We need to start believing in change for the better. And, while we’re waiting, we need to start doing the things that enable us to create that better – and we need to come do it in community.
“The Creation Equation states that when the intensity of desire, or shakti (Is), plus the intensity of the energy you direct toward achieving it, or vayu (Iv), is greater than the intensity of resistance, or karma (Ik), it equals attainment of your desire, or prapti (P). Thus, the formula looks something like this:
Is + Iv > Ik = P.”
– quoted from “Chapter 11. The Formula For Fulfilling Your Desires” in The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom by Rod Stryker
UMMAH [Arabic] – Community, refers to a group of people who share common religious beliefs, often used as a synonym for “ummat al-Islām” (“the Islāmic Community”). Also appears in the Qur’ān as “Ummah Wāhida” (“One Nation”).
SHA’B [Arabic] – A Nation or Community which share common ancestry and geography (but not necessarily culture, language, or beliefs).
DHIMMĪ [Arabic] – Protected Person, historically used in reference to non-Muslims living within an Islamic state and conveys certain legal rights related to life, property, and religious freedom.
Please join me today (Tuesday, April 18th) 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 “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.
I remixed the playlist because I wanted to include some new songs. One of these songs is on the playlist three (3) times and was inspired by “the stories in In Baghdad Dreaming Of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming Of Baghdad by Rumi and by The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.” The song is moving in English (and as an instrumental, which is how it shows up during the practice), but it is next level in Arabic. Let’s go. Better yet, let’s make the whole world feel like home.
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.)
*NOTE: Click here if you are interested in the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
**NOTE: The Marcus Aurelius statement is from Book 5 of Meditations. The translation above appears in the preface of The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumphs by Ryan Holiday.
### WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER ###
The Powerful Thing We Do When We Come Together… Waiting (mostly the music) April 18, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: gevurah, inspiration, khorasan, kriya yoga, Laylat al-Qadr, nasheeds, Octave of Easter, Qur'an, Reba McEntire, Religion, Sami Yusuf, Sunnah, truth, ummah, yesod
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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!
“I know I’m waiting
Waiting for something
Something to happen to me
But this waiting comes with
Trials and challenges
Nothing in life is free”
“My Lord, show me right from wrong
Give me light, make me strong
I know the road is long
Make me strong”
– quoted from the song “Make Me Strong” by Sami Yusuf
Please join me today (Tuesday, April 18th) 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 “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.
I remixed the playlist because I wanted to include some new songs. One of them is moving in English (and as an instrumental), but it is next level in Arabic. Let’s go. Better yet, let’s make the whole world feel like home.
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.)
### WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER ###
Where We Begin… & How It All Works April 12, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Passover, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: Gary Soto, Great Lent, Octave of Easter, Passover, Spy Wednesday, Stuart Chase, The Gospel According to Luke, Yoga Sutra 2.20
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“Chag Sameach!” to everyone celebrating Passover and/or Counting the Omer! Blessings to anyone celebrating Great Week or Eastertide / the Octave of Easter! “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who is observing the holy month of Ramadān.
“How strange that we can begin at any time.
With two feet we get down the street.
With a hand we undo the rose.
With an eye we lift up the peach tree
And hold it up to the wind – white blossoms
At our feet. Like today. I started”
– quoted from the poem “Looking Around, Believing” by Gary Soto (born 04/12/1952)
Like life, the various religious rituals and traditions currently being observed around the world are stories of cause and effect. In fact, the order and arrangement of things like the Passover Seder, Lent, Great Lent, Eastertide, and the holy month of Ramadān intentionally heighten our awareness of cause and effect. Our physical practice of yoga, regardless of the style or tradition, can do the same thing. In fact, just like with the religious stories, where we start matters, because where start determines how things unfold and how the story is told. How the story is told reinforces the message and plays a part in what we remember – and in what we believe.
The economist and social theorist Stuart Chase is often quoted as saying, “For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no proof is possible.” I generally associate this with the idea expressed in Yoga Sūtra 2.20, which indicates that we “[understand] only what the mind-intellect shows us.” All of which makes me wonder: What happens when we start in a different place?
That question is at the heart of the story associated with Easter Wednesday, which is the fourth day of the Octave of Easter in the Western Christian traditions.* Not surprisingly, the answer is simple: Work your way back to the beginning. As Jewish communities are entering the last days of Passover; Orthodox Christians are observing Great Wednesday (also known as Spy Wednesday); and Muslim communities are keeping their eyes open for the holiest night of the holy month of Ramadān; let’s practice a little svādhyāya (“self-study”) partially inspired by the Gospel According to Luke (24:13 – 35).
“He asked them, ‘What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?’ They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, ‘You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.’”
– The Gospel According to Luke (24:17 – 18, NLT)
Please join me today (Wednesday, April 12th) 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 “04122020 All That Is Holy”]
If you are interested in my previous Gary Soto-inspired musings (that are more directly tied to his life and poetry), check out the following: a 2018 blog post about vinyasa and vinyasa krama , a 2019 blog post about why we begin where we begin, and a 2021 blog post about, well, life.
*NOTE: Easter Week is known as Bright Week in Orthodox Christian traditions and begins this Sunday.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
### “As far as I can tell, daughter, it works like this” ~ Gary Soto ###
Keep Envisioning Freedom (mostly the music & post links) April 11, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Passover, Peace, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: Charlie Harary, Exodus, Passover, seder, Shemot
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“Chag Sameach!” “Happy Festival!” to anyone celebrating Passover. “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who was observing the holy month of Ramadān. Many blessings to all, and especially to those celebrating or observing Great Tuesday, Easter Tuesday, or Counting the Omer!
“‘Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb for each parental home, a lamb for each household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor who is nearest to his house shall take [one] according to the number of people, each one according to one’s ability to eat, shall you be counted for the lamb.”’”
– Shemot / Exodus 12:3-4
“‘And this is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord.’”
– Shemot / Exodus 12:11
Here’s an excerpt from last year’s post:
Every year, as we approach the end of Passover, I think about the first Passover Seder. What would that have been like? How would have felt to celebrate freedom? How would it have felt to give thanks to G-d for that freedom? Charlie Harary points out that while it is natural to think the first Passover Seder occurred a year after exodus, it actually happened the night before exodus. That’s right: G-d commanded the Jewish people to celebrate their freedom and give thanks for being delivered out of Egypt before they were even free – even before they knew their freedom was guaranteed.
Can you imagine doing that? Can you imagine how it would feel? Can you imagine the faith it would take to sit in the middle of your suffering, in the middle of your family and friends as they suffer, and give thanks for what’s to come?
Click here to read more.
Please join me today (Tuesday, April 11th) 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 “04142020 Envisioning Freedom”]
Passover, the holy month of Ramadān, Lent and Great Lent (as well as Easter, Eastertide, and Bright Week) occur on different dates on the Gregorian calendar. I’m not planning to incorporate the birthdays (or poetry) of Misuzo Kaneko (b. 04/11/1903) and Mark Strand (b. 04/11/1934) into this year’s practice, however… You can click here for the 2018 post and here for the 2019 post, if you are interested in their lives and poetry.
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.)
### BE EMPTY & BE FULL ###
The Charge to Use Your “Talents” & Let Your Light Shine (the “missing” Tuesday post) April 4, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Loss, Maya Angelou, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 10 Virgins, Bill Clinton, Claudia Tate, Good and Faithful Servant, Gospel According to Matthew, Holy Tuesday, Holy Week, Joanne M. Braxton, Maya Angelou, MLK, parables, Passion Tuesday, Passion Week, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Spiderman, Talents, The Gospel According to Luke, Wise and Foolish Virgins
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Blessings to anyone observing Holy Tuesday / Passion Tuesday or Great Lent! “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who is observing the holy month of Ramadān. Many blessings to those preparing for Passover and to all during this “Season for Non-violence” and all other seasons!
This is the “missing” post for Tuesday, April 4th. WARNING: There is a passing reference to sexual violence. 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). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.)
“History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.”
– from the poem “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou, recited at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton (1993)
PROLOGUE & EPILOGUE
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who didn’t have the best start in life. In fact, you could say that parts of her life were twisted and “rooted in pain.” Born in St. Louis, Missouri, about a year after her brother, Marguerite Annie Johnson was the daughter of Bailey Johnson, a doorman and navy dietitian, and Vivian Johnson (née Baxter), a nurse and card dealer. The Johnsons did not have the best marriage and, for a variety of reasons, they sent their young children (ages 3 and 4) to live with the elder Bailey’s mother, Annie Henderson.
The four years in Stamps, Arkansas weren’t too bad, because the siblings were together and Ms. Henderson owned a general store which, along with her investments, allowed the Black proprietress to flourish when so many others were struggling during the Great Depression and World War II. But then, when Bailey Jr. was 8 and Marguerite was 7, their father collected them and took them back to St. Louis to be with their mother. About a year later, when she was 8, this little girl was sexually assaulted and raped (by her mother’s boyfriend). She told her brother, who told the family, who reported it to the police – but the man who violated her was only in jail for a single day. A few days after he was released, he was murdered. And the little girl blamed herself, blamed her voice and the power of her voice – and she refused to speak for almost five years.
Just as she struggled to survive, she grew up during a time when the whole country was struggling to survive – and when some were struggling more than others. She grew up to be a lot of things, including a streetcar conductor, a fry cook, a sex worker, a singer, and a dancer. All noble endeavors; however, the twist in the story came when she “found” her voice and she started to “sing,” despite being locked in a cage of oppression. The twist in the story is that when she started to use her talents, and really started to shine, she became the a woman whose words and name are known all over the world.
But, you probably don’t know her by her birth name. You probably know her by a variation of the nickname her older brother used when he called her “My” or “Mya Sister.” You probably know her as Dr. Maya Angelou, born on April 4, 1928. You may have even read a biographer (or an interview) indicating that the period of silence in the early part of her life, and everything she did to survive before she became a household name, was preparation for her destiny.
“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’”
– quoted from The Gospel According to Matthew (24:3, NIV)
As I mention several times throughout the year – and especially around this time of year – most religious holidays are connected to a period of getting ready for something momentous, amazing, and transformational. They are getting ready for something that is related to the end of suffering. In the case of Lent and Great Lent, Christian communities get ready for Easter in a way that mirrors Jesus’ preparation for what would become Easter. While they didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, the disciples were also getting ready. Historically speaking, all of this New Testament getting ready took place as Jesus and the disciples were getting ready for Passover – which itself is a commemoration of a time when Jewish people had to get ready (and be ready) for freedom (from the suffering of slavery).
During Passover, some people begin Counting the Omer, which is a 49-day period that leads to the anniversary of the revelation of the Torah. Similarly, the holy month of Ramadān includes the commemoration of the revelation of the Qur’an. In both case, people are (again) getting ready for something momentous, amazing, and transformational. Again, they are getting ready for something that is related to the end of suffering.
With the exception of references to Dr. Maya Angelou,” the following is an abridged (and slightly revised) version of last year’s Passion / Holy Tuesday post (which was itself a variation of a 2019 post). Click here for the 2022 post that talks about cults and/or click here for the 2019 Kiss My Asana post related to freedom and taxes.
“‘Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,’”
– quoted from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” as it appears in The Gospel According to Luke (12:35, NIV)
“‘It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.’”
– quoted from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” as it appears in The Gospel According to Luke (12:38 – 40, NIV)
In Christian traditions, Palm Sunday is the commemoration of Jesus’ return to Jerusalem for Passover. He arrived to find the temple was no longer serving it’s purpose – and he addressed that issue. After throwing the “thieves” out of the temple and in between the authorities, elders, and “spies” questioning him, Jesus taught. Remember, in the historically context – and as far as many would have been concerned at the time – Jesus was simply a renegade Rabbi, a teacher, who was focused on showing his people how to have a closer relationship with G-d. More often than not, he taught in stories or parables. Several of the stories associated with Passion Tuesday or Holy Tuesday involve people waiting for something amazing and transformative to happen. What is important to note is that each story requires action from the characters.
Each story requires action in the here and now.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention “The Parable of the Faithful Servant,” which is the story of a doorkeeper who is instructed to be at the ready for the arrival of the owner of the home (returning from the “marriage feast”) and/or for the arrival of a thief who might take advantage of the night. Maybe because they had previously, and privately, questioned Jesus about events that he said were forthcoming, Luke specifically mentioned Peter asking if the message was for the disciples or for everyone. The answer may seem vague to some, but it reinforced what an honor it would be to be given the purpose of guarding the door and that a good and faithful servant would be rewarded, while someone who falls down on their job would be punished. Then there’s that part that modern readers might think of as a Spiderman moment:
“‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.’”
– quoted from The Gospel According to Luke (12:48, NIV)
The Gospel According to Matthew provides a continuous narrative by placing the faithful servant’s story directly before “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” (sometimes referred to as “The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins” or “The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids”). Just like the story of the faithful servant, this second story involves a wedding, light, and being ready. According to the parable, ten women are waiting for the possibility of being attendants (another word for servant) at a wedding, but it gets dark and they fall asleep. When they are awakened by the pronouncement that the bridegroom is coming, they trim and light their lamps. The only problem is that five (5) of the bridesmaids have run out of oil and failed to bring more. When the bridegroom comes, he can’t see the ones whose lamps are not lit and, according to Matthew, Jesus repeats, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13, NIV)
The details that reoccur in each story reinforce the message. First, there is a wedding – a momentous celebration that marks a union, a joining together. Second, the people who are waiting to join the wedding party are somehow in service to the bridegroom. Third, everyone has a purpose – although that purpose is not always explicitly explained. Fourth, everyone has a light and that light must shine in order for someone to be recognized. Fifth, there is no telling when one’s services or presence will be required; and so (sixth) everyone must be ready at all times.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.”
– quoted from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” as it appears in The Gospel According to Matthew (25:14, NIV)
The Gospels According to Matthew and Luke also detail a parable about a landowner (or master) who leaves his servants in charge of some goods. Luke associated the story with a different narrative, but Matthew placed “The Parable of The Talents” directly after the one about the virgins and uses the segue (above) to indicate that while the details of the story are different, the message is the same. This time there are three (3) servants and, instead of light, they are given talents, a form of currency: one servant receives five (5) talents, another two (2) talents, and another one (1) talent – “‘each according to his ability.’” (Matthew 25:15)
Now, who knows where the landowner is going – perhaps to the aforementioned wedding. What is known is that the first and second servant put their talents to work and increases the wealth, while the third servant buries his talent. (There is also a non-canonical gospel that says one of the servants squanders his talents.) When the landowner/master returns he praises and rewards the servant(s) who increased the wealth, but chastises the one who literally buried his talent for safe-keeping. In Matthew 25:27 the landowner/master points out that if the talent had been put in the bank for safe-keeping, it would have earned interest – thereby increasing the wealth.
Again, the message is clear: it is not enough to sit on one’s laurels and wait for salvation – one must exert effort in some way in order to be prepared. It’s not enough to repeat a mantra, a chant, or a prayer like it’s a magical spell. One has to engage what they have been give – all that they have been given: experiences, perspectives, skills, and all the other resources that could count as blessings and/or talents. We have to let our light shine… which can be really challenging when things seem so dark and also when we may not feel that our skills are as valued as, say, oil.
The importance of oil and currency are another motif in the parables that also showed up in the last days of Jesus’ life. Some commentary indicates that while Jesus was considered an agitator and a renegade, what pushed the elite to get rid of him (rather than to just tolerate him) was the moment when he threw the money lenders out of the temple (see Passion Monday). Then there is the moment when Judas decided to betray Jesus, not only because he was promised “a few pieces of silver” as payment, but also because of he was angered when expensive oil was used to wash Jesus’ feet (see Passion Wednesday). And here, in between the historical events, are the parables about oil and money – which might seem coincidental until you remember that Jesus knew how things worked; he knew what was coming. And, he was teaching people how to get ready for what was coming.
“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”
– Dr. Maya Angelou
When she died on May 28, 2014, at least one obituary referred to Dr. Maya Angelou as “poet of many talents.” Like her friend, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated on April 4, 1968*, she shared her talents with the world and she advocated for others to share their talents. Of course, to share our talents, we need to understand the value of our talents.
According to Arland J. Hultgren – a New Testament professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN – a talent was a unit of weight and, when used as a unit of money, it would be valued as that specific weight in silver. A talent would be worth about 6,000 denarii, or six thousand times a day’s wages. I’ve seen estimates that translate this into U. S. dollars and indicate that one servant received $300,000 USD, one servant received $600,000 USD, and one servant received $1.5 million USD.
Can you imagine, literally, burying $300,000 USD. If you didn’t bury it, how would you put it to work? How would you put $1.5 million USD to work? Keep in mind: it’s not your money. Would you change what you do with the money if you knew you could “earn” $300,000?
Now, flip it around, and consider that you’ve been given a talent…or five: How are you using your talents? How are you using your resources? How are you letting your little light shine? How does your wealth increase because you invest in your talents? What happens when you don’t use your talents?
It is interesting to notice what one values, how one attributes value, and how one uses what they value. Not just on a personal level, it’s also interesting to notice it on a national and/or global level. As a modern society, we have a history of undervaluing the most essential and fundamental services – and the people that provide those services. When it comes to this, the pandemic has shown us at our best and at our worst. The thing is, we can fix that last part. We can be better. But it’s tricky, because to be better we have to value and appreciate each other – and our natural resources – more than we value a piece of paper or, in the cases of people like me, an actual piece of sheepskin. We have to understand that whenever and however our individual and collective ends come, it’s highly unlikely that we will be remembered (or rewarded) for the talents we buried – on behalf of ourselves or others.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna makes it very clear that we will be remembered by how (and/or if) we fulfill our purpose. (BG 2:34-36), Of course, before we can fulfill our purpose, we have to see our purpose and truly see ourselves. In order to see ourselves and our purpose, we need a little light. Patanjali says that light is inside of us. (YS 1.36)
So, the next obvious question is, what fuels the light? It turns out that that power is also inside of us, just waiting for us get charged up.
“TATE: You are a writer, poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher and lecturer. Can you say what the source of such creative diversity is?
ANGELOU: I don’t do the dancing anymore. The rest I try. I believe talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it. Electricity makes no judgment. You can plug into it and light up a lamp, keep a heart pump going, light a cathedral, or you can electrocute a person with it. Electricity will do all that. It makes no judgment. I think talent is like that. I believe every person is born with talent.”
– quoted from “Maya Angelou: An Interview” by Claudia Tate, as published in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook, edited by Joanne M. Braxton
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Passion Tuesday April 7, 2020” or “04072020 Passion Tuesday.”]
NOTE: A playlist inspired by Dr. Maya Angelou’s life and work is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04042020 Maya Angelou”]
“Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, and into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.”
– from the poem “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou, recited at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton (1993)
*NOTE: This marks the end of the “Season for Nonviolence,” but it is not the end of the practice.
### “SING” & LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE ###
The Charge to Use Your “Talents” & Let Your Light Shine (mostly the music) April 4, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Abhyasa, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Loss, Maya Angelou, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Poetry, Ramadan, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: Claudia Tate, Holy Tuesday, Joanne M. Braxton, Maya Angelou, MLK, Passion Tuesday, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Talents
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Blessings to anyone observing Holy Tuesday / Passion Tuesday or Great Lent! “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who is observing the holy month of Ramadān. Many blessings to those preparing for Passover and to all during this “Season for Non-violence” and all other seasons!
“TATE: You are a writer, poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher and lecturer. Can you say what the source of such creative diversity is?
ANGELOU: I don’t do the dancing anymore. The rest I try. I believe talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it. Electricity makes no judgment. You can plug into it and light up a lamp, keep a heart pump going, light a cathedral, or you can electrocute a person with it. Electricity will do all that. It makes no judgment. I think talent is like that. I believe every person is born with talent.”
– quoted from “Maya Angelou: An Interview” by Claudia Tate, as published in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook, edited by Joanne M. Braxton
Please join me today (Tuesday, April 4th) 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 “Passion Tuesday April 7, 2020” or “04072020 Passion Tuesday.”]
NOTE: Dr. Maya Angelou was born today in 1928. A playlist inspired by her life and work is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04042020 Maya Angelou”]
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.)
Errata: The alternate playlist has the same title on both platforms.
A Joyful Practice 