Science | A Joyful Practice

A Well, Well, Well(ness) Monday (a post-practice post w/excerpt for Monday) May 13, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Donate, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Jane Hirshfield, Julian of Norwich, Karma Yoga, Life, Love, Mantra, Mathematics, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Volunteer, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: 988, Alessandro Rotondo, American Psychological Association, Beau Lotto, Ciro Conversano, Counting the Omer, Eastertide, Elena Lensi, Francesca Arpone, Julian of Norwich, KISS MY ASANA, Mario Antonio Reda, mental health, Olivia Della Vista, Optimism, Our Lady of Fatima, Pessimism, Psychology Today Staff, samskaras, samskāras, vasana
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Second Eastertide, Counting the Omer, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, the Feast Day of Julian of Norwich, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).

This post-practice post for Monday, May 13^th. It includes an excerpt from a 2020 post. The prompt question was, “Would you describe yourself as an optimist or a pessimist?” You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

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

“optimism
n. hopefulness: the attitude that good things will happen and that people’s wishes or aims will ultimately be fulfilled. Optimists are people who anticipate positive outcomes, whether serendipitously or through perseverance and effort, and who are confident of attaining desired goals. Most individuals lie somewhere on the spectrum between the two polar opposites of pure optimism and pure pessimism but tend to demonstrate sometimes strong, relatively stable or situational tendencies in one direction or the other. See also expectancy-value model. —optimistic adj.”

— quoted from the American Psychological Association’s APA Dictionary of Psychology

Take a moment to consider how your outlook on life (and future events) factors into the way you move through your life and engage future events. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? I tend to describe myself as an optimist — who can be pessimistic about certain things; but there are people who would (credibly) argue that I am a pessimist. Maybe that makes me a realist.

Or maybe, as indicated by the American Psychological Association (APA), I’m just like most people: somewhere in the middle.

It all comes down to perspective and that perspective can change the way we interact with ourselves, with other people, with challenges, with new experiences, and even with our physical and mental health. In 2009, a group of researchers presented a paper (published in May 2010), about the effect of optimism. The abstract of the paper indicated that being (even a little bit) optimistic can be healthy and promote wellness.

“Through employment of specific coping strategies, optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. There is evidence that optimistic people present a higher quality of life compared to those with low levels of optimism or even pessimists. Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being by the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviours and cognitive responses, associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity and a more efficient elaboration of negative information.”

— quoted from “Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being” by Ciro Conversano,^1,† Alessandro Rotondo,^2,† Elena Lensi,¹ Olivia Della Vista,¹ Francesca Arpone,¹ and Mario Antonio Reda¹

“¹Istituto di Scienze del Comportamento Università degli Studi di Siena
²Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana
^†These authors contributed equally to the work.”

Obviously, there is a difference between being optimistic (or pessimistic) and being delusional — or, in the case of pessimism, being fatalistic and/or riddled with anxiety. In some cases, however, the difference is a matter of perspective and that perspective brings our awareness to why some people are optimistic and some people are pessimistic. Notice that the source of optimism is not addressed in the APA’s definition of optimism. Many people may point to faith as the source of their optimism — especially this time of year, when there are so many holy obligations and sacred observations (including today’s celebration of Julian of Norwich and the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima). But notice that the APA’s definition doesn’t even include the word “believe” — and, yet, these mental attitudes are all about what our beliefs.

Neuroscientists like Dr. Beau Lotto highlight the fact that our beliefs are at the heart of this discussion. He often directs our attention to our previous experiences and the idea that we not only interpret current events through the filter of past events, we anticipate future events based on our past experiences. To me, his explanation sounds a lot like the concept of samskara (a “mental impression”) and vasana (a literal “dwelling” place of our habits). It also highlights why someone like Julian of Norwich thought she was dying back in 1373 and why, once she recovered, she was able to “shew” her experiences in a positive and loving light.

“Your brain is, at its core, a statistical distribution. Thus, your history of experiences creates a database of useful past perceptions. New information is constantly flowing in, and your brain is constantly integrating it into this statistical distribution that creates your next perception (so in this sense ‘reality’ is just the product of your brain’s ever-evolving database of consequence). As such, your perception is subject to a statistical phenomenon known in probability theory as kurtosis. Kurtosis in essence means that things tend to become increasingly steep in their distribution… that is, skewed in one direction. This applies to ways of seeing everything from currents events to ourselves as we lean ‘skewedly’ toward one interpretation positive or negative.”

— quoted from “Chapter 5. The Frog Who Dreamed of Being a Prince” in Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Beau Lotto

Dr. Lotto went on to write, “We’re really talking about math when we say, ‘The optimist sees the glass as half full and the pessimist as half empty,’ though in my view maybe true optimists are just glad to have a drink in the first place!” Julian of Norwich, a 14^th century anchoress, fit that definition of a “true optimist.” Her Revelations of Divine Love (Revelations of Love in 16 Shewings) — which is the oldest surviving book written in English by a woman — refers to giving thanks (through prayer) as a way to truly understand oneself and ones situation. She even gave thanks for her illness! Additionally, one of the most well known quotes from her book can be considered a mantra for optimists (and for those wanting to be more optimistic):

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and (in) all manner of thing(s) shall be well.”

— quoted from Chapters 1 of Revelations of Divine Love (Revelations of Love in 16 Shewings) by Julian of Norwich

A Graceful Saturday & FTWMI: An “All Will Be Well” Wednesday

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

“Optimists are likely to see the causes of failure or negative experiences as temporary rather than permanent, specific rather than global, and external rather than internal. Such a perspective enables optimists to more easily see the possibility of change.”

— quoted from the Psychology Today webpage entitled, “Optimism” (Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff)

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

Thank you to everyone who Kiss[ed] My Asana!
We surpassed the overall fundraiser goals & one of my personal goals!!! Whether you showed up in a (Zoom) class, used a recording, shared a post or video, liked and/or commented on a post or video, and/or made a donation — you and your efforts are appreciated! Thank you!!!

### BE WELL & BE GREAT ###

First Friday Night Special #43: “The Beautiful Balancing Act of Holding On & Letting Go” (the “missing” post ) May 4, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Mysticism, Science, Tantra, Uncategorized.
Tags: Ann Landers, Baha'i, Beau Lotto, Bhagavad Gita, Counting the Omer, Diamond Sutra, Donna Garrett, gevurah, Great Lent, kabbalah, Lao Tzu, lojong, Marcus J Freed, Netzach, neuroscience, Restorative Yoga, samskāras, sefirah, sefirot, Tao Te Ching, Tiferes, vasanas, William Martin, Yoga Sutra 1.23, Yoga Sutra 2.45, Yoga Sutras 1.12-16
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone observing Great Lent on Great Friday and/or Counting the Omer.

This is the “missing” post for the “First Friday Night Special” on May 3^rd. You can request an audio recording of this Restorative Yoga practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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

You can still 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.

“The brain—like life—does not search to live, but to not die.”

— quoted from the “Acknowledgements” in Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Beau Lotto

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain and the nervous system to change and grow. We can see this at work when we look at how neural pathways, samskara (a “mental impression”), and vasana (a literal “dwelling” place) create habits and a “space of possibility.” However, those same elements that create change can cause us to resist change and to hold on to things.

The paradoxical way the mind-body works makes sense when you consider that (a) known and controlled quantities have been the key to our survival since the beginning of recorded history; (b) the unknown (and uncontrolled) can be uncomfortable and scary, and (c) since everything around us is changing — i.e., potentially becoming unknown and uncontrolled — we have to change in order to survive.

But we don’t have to like it. And free will means that we can resist it.

“‘Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.’ — Ann Landers”

— quoted from “Day 11 / MARATHON MAN: ENDURANCE IN DISCIPLINE נצח שבע גבורה” in The Kabbalah Sutras: 49 Steps to Enlightenment by Marcus J. Freed

Since change happens / shift happens, our inability to shift and change can be a detriment. Consider that all the major philosophies point to some form of attachment as the cause of suffering. Additionally, all the major philosophies — and religions, for that matter — offer a solution to that suffering: Letting Go.

It’s always about letting go. Even when it is phrased as “letting go and letting God,” we are advised to do our best, recognize what is out of our control, and then engage some form of “trustful surrender.” Trustful surrender is a critical part of why people are observing Great Friday today (which would be the equivalent of Good Friday in Western Christianity) and it is so crucial to the Yoga Philosophy that Patanjali stated it in two different sūtras and it is reiterated in the Bhagavad Gita. (YS 1.23 & YS 2.45, BG 2.48 & BG 6.30)

In the aforementioned cases, there is some awareness of the Divine — something more than one’s self — and that requires a certain amount of faith. However, Eastern philosophies diverge from the religions when they also recommend letting go of the path that leads to freedom.

In the Tao Te Ching, in some of the Buddha’s sutras, and in the Yoga Sūtras, there are warnings about holding on too tightly to anything — even the practice. In the Tao, it says, “This is a path of letting go so there will be room to live.” (TTC 9) In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha explained that the words were simply words or “‘a figure of speech’” meant to be used as a tool to “‘bring one to the other shore of Enlightenment.’” (DS 13) Even one of the lojong (“mind training”) statements in Tibetan Buddhism, advises us to “Self-liberate even the antidote.” (9)

Finally, in Yoga Sūtras 1.14 – 1.15, Patanjali specifically indicated that the longer one practices the Yoga Philosophy, the more one is inclined to practice and the less one is inclined to crave, desire, and form attachments that lead to suffering. That last part is hopeful, but does not change the fact that it is challenging to balance the practice of non-attachment with the discipline needed to practice over a long period of time, without interruption, and with passion, devotion, and reverence — which is the definition of abhyāsa. In the commentary for Yoga Sūtras 1.12 – 1.16, Swami J highlights this balancing act with an illustration of a scale, above which abhyāsa (a dedicated and devoted “practice”) and vairāgya (“non-attachment”) are described as “two of the most important foundation principles of Yoga.”

Again, it is helpful (and hopeful) to know that abhyāsa and vairāgya can balance each other out; however, some times we need to look at things in a different way. Sometimes, we need to do it differently.

“Do it differently
So it won’t come out the same
Step up, be strong,
Get yourself out of pain.”

— quoted from the poem “DIFFERENTLY” by Donna Garrett

Doing things differently — when the thing you are doing seems to be working — can seem just as counterintuitive as letting go of the path that leads to freedom. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense: When you reach your destination, you get off the road on which you traveled. This does not mean that your journey in life is over; nor does it mean that you won’t use other tools. It is simply acknowledging that what you needed at one point in your journey may not serve you — or may not serve you in the same way — during the next part of your journey.

You can think of using a different paradigm as being similar to someone getting a new set of prescription eye glasses, using a different set of sunglasses to watch the eclipse, or using a phone or a microscope to enhance something you can no longer (or never could) see with the naked eye. The way we practice is simply a tool to bring things into focus. For this month’s First Friday Night Special, we used our bodies and “attributes of the Divine” to consider where we are holding on to discomfort, dis ease, and things that no longer serve us — or maybe never served us.

“This path accepts that developing an ego is an essential element in human growth. But it also suggests that this development might be a stage of human development rather than its end product.”

— quoted from the commentary for “Chapter 9” in A Path and a Practice: Using Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life by William Martin

The Bahá’í Faith and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) highlight different aspects of the Divine on a daily basis.

The following practice-related breakdown is based on content posted on a different date and time. Details and links have been updated accordingly.

As I previously mentioned, the Bahá’í calendar has 19 months with 19 days — each named for one of the 19 names/manifestations/attributes of God. There are 4 or 5 intercalary days that occur just before the final month and these days are considered “transcendent” in nature. (The days of the week also follow this nomenclature.) This calendar starts around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere with the month of Bahá, which can be translated into English as “Splendor,” and we are currently in the third month, Jamál (“Beauty”). Since each day begins and ends at sunset, this First Friday Night Special overlapped the end of Istiqlál (“Independence”) and the beginning of Jalál (“Glory”), in Central Standard Time.

Splendor, beauty, independence, and glory also show up as manifestations of the Divine in Jewish mysticism. According to Kabbalah, the Tree of Life has ten sefirot (“eminations,” attributes, or manifestations) of the Divine. On the second night of Passover, some people within the Jewish community begin the ritual of Counting the Omer — which involves prayer and reflection around 7 of the 10 sefirot. People count every day for 7 weeks (for a total of 49 days, plus a 50^th day as commanded). Each day and week is associated with a different aspect of the Divine — which means that, on any given day, people are focusing+concentrating+meditating on how two aspects of the Divine interact and manifest in their lives.

Since days on the Hebrew calendar also begin and end at sunset, this First Friday Night Special overlapped the end Day 10 and the beginning of the Day 11 — both of which occur in the week devoted to the second sefirah: Gevurah. This second attribute can be defined as “strength” and “discipline.” Before sunset on Friday (Day 10), the focus was Tiferet She’b’Gevurah — with Tiferet meaning “balance,” “compassion,” “beauty,” “harmony,” and “justice” (which is also an attribute on the Bahá’í calendar). After sunset (Day 11), the focus became Netzach She’b’Gevurah — with Netzach meaning “endurance,” “sustainability,” “victory,” and “persistence.”

Additionally, the seven highlighted sefirot can also be associated with with different parts of the body. Gevurah is associated with the left arm; Tiferet is associated with the upper abdominal cavity (solar plexus) and torso; and Netzach is associated with the right hip in thigh. As teachers like Marcus J. Freed and Sandra Razieli* point out, we can explore different aspects of Divine interaction (and interrelationship) by exploring the different ways parts of our bodies interact. For this practice we referenced all seven attributes and parts of the body; considered how they are connected, and addressed how those connections can serve us.

“Developing a cocoon is a natural and essential part of being a caterpillar. But the time comes when the cocoon softens, wears out, and opens up. What if this is the case for all our opinions, possessions, and even for our ego? What if, when the cocoon of ego opens, instead of the feared abyss we find a butterfly?”

— quoted from the commentary for “Chapter 9” in A Path and a Practice: Using Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life by William Martin

The May First Friday Night Special features a Restorative Yoga practice. It is accessible and open to all.

Prop wise, this is a kitchen sink practice. You can practice without props or you can use “studio” and/or “householder” props. Example of “Studio” 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).

Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05032024 Balancing Holding On & Letting Go”]

The playlist tracks are slightly different in length and duration; however, the overall content is the same.

The Beauty of Balancing Strength and Humility (the “missing” Wednesday post)

Do It, But Differently (the Sunday post)

*NOTE: The following links will direct you to other sites.

CLICK HERE to learn more about The Kabbalah Sutras by Marcus J. Freed.

CLICK HERE to discover how Sandra Razieli combines neuroscience, movement, and sometimes the Omer.

### Δ ###

EXCERPT: “But What About Earth…and Space (and Grace)?” (a post-practice post for Monday) April 22, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Lent / Great Lent, Life, One Hoop, Passover, Philosophy, Religion, Riḍván, Science, Suffering, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Denis Hayes, Earth Day, Gaylord Nelson, John McConnell, Pat Nixon, Rachel Carson, Riḍván, Richard Nixon, Ridvan
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Happy Earth Day! “Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone observing Great Lent or Passover! Happy National Poetry Month!

This post-practice post for Monday, April 22^nd. The prompt question was, “What is your favorite tree or the tree you would expect to find in paradise?” In addition to referencing Earth Day, this practice also highlighted current religious observations. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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

The following excerpt is from content posted in 2020 & 2023 post:

“[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)

What You Notice About the Earth (on April 22nd)

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

“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

CLICK HERE and scroll down to the “ENTERING THE GARDEN” section for information about Riḍván.

### See the forest and the trees. ###

DID YOU KNOW #4: Vestibular Bling — Parts I & II (A Kiss My Asana offering) April 18, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 7-Day Challenge, Donate, Healing Stories, Health, Karma Yoga, Science, Volunteer, Yoga.
Tags: adaptive yoga, balance, calcium carbonate, KISS MY ASANA, Merriam-Webster, Mind Body Solutions, Vestibular system, yoga, yogathon
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Many blessings to all and especially to those observing Chaitra Navaratri, Rama Navami, and/or Great Lent! Happy National Poetry Month!

“BLING, noun [or, bling-bling]

flashy jewelry worn especially as an indication of wealth or status
[broadly] expensive and ostentatious possessions”

— quoted from Merriam-Webster.com

Riddle me this very true oxymoron: How is it not unheard of that we have unseen bling? It turns out that calcium carbonate, the same precious mineral that makes a pearl, is also found in the human body. Check out the two video shorts below to discover how these priceless crystals (metaphorically) shine — on and off the mat.

NOTE: To get the full effect, watch the whole series on YouTube.

The videos above are part of my 2024 offering for the 11^th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS). I am super excited to dedicate this week (April 13^th — 19^th) to raising awareness and resources for MBS’ life-affirming work “to help people live better in the body they have.” 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.

Each year, in addition to hosting my fundraising page and making my own personal donation, I offer a blog post and/or a YouTube post — sometimes even a whole practice. This year, I wanted to highlight elements of the practice that we may overlook or take for granted. I also wanted to underscore that participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon is just a tangible way to do what we do in every practice: set an intention and dedicate the merits of the practice to someone other than ourselves. Finally, I wanted to offer something that reflects my inspirations; something that “begins in delight and ends in wisdom;” and something that was short, fun, and full of insight (or, maybe it’s just randomly useful information) — something that I think of as the video equivalent of a villanelle (check out that last link for details).

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 and/or to YouTube):

Check out this 2023 class post to find out one of the reasons why Mind Body Solutions is so important to me!

If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, you can be notified as soon as the videos are posted.

### I STILL NEED A FEW FOLKS TO KISS MY ASANA! ###

DID YOU KNOW #2: Proprioception (A Kiss My Asana offering) April 15, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 7-Day Challenge, Donate, Fitness, Healing Stories, Health, Karma Yoga, Oliver Sacks, One Hoop, Poetry, Robert Frost, Science, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: adaptive yoga, Dr. Oliver Sacks, kinesthesia, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, proprioception, Robert Frost, yoga, yogathon
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Happy National Poetry Month! “Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Chaitra Navaratri!” Many blessings to all and especially to those observing Great Lent!

“There is a direct union of oneself with a motorcycle, for it is so geared to one’s proprioception, one’s movements and postures, that it responds almost like part of one’s own body. Bike and rider become a single, indivisible entity; it is very much like riding a horse. A car cannot become part of one in quite the same way.”

— quoted from the chapter “Muscle Beach” in On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks

I refer to proprioception in every vinyasa practice. However, I don’t always use the term. Check out the video below to see what I do say and way it’s important — on and off the mat.

NOTE: To get the full effect, watch the video on YouTube.

The video above is part of my 2024 offering for the 11^th annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefits Mind Body Solutions (MBS). I am super excited to dedicate this week (April 13^th — 19^th) to raising awareness and resources for MBS’ life-affirming work “to help people live better in the body they have.” 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.

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 and/or to YouTube):

Check out this 2023 class post to find out one of the reasons why Mind Body Solutions is so important to me!

If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, you can be notified as soon as the videos are posted.

### I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO KISS MY ASANA! ###

Essential Stuff (mostly blessings, music, and links) March 13, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 19-Day Fast, Books, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Ramadan, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Herman Pontzer PhD, John Towill Rutt, Joseph Priestley, Roccamonfina, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Yoga Sutras 1.34-1.35
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“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Lent and/or the 19-Day Fast. May we breathe deeply throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other unique seasons!

“It didn’t help that early metabolic research began with a view of the world that was completely backward. As the Enlightenment got rolling and modern Western science was born in the 1600s, the general consensus was that we didn’t get anything important out of the air. Instead, scientists thought that body heat (as well as the heat from fire) represented a substance they called ‘phlogiston’ leaving the body. Phlogiston was thought to be the essential stuff in combustible material that made it flammable and was released as it burned. Air absorbed phlogiston, but it could only hold so much….

Oxygen wasn’t discovered until 1774, by the chemist Joseph Priestley. He called it ‘dephlogisticated air,’ thinking oxygen was a purified form of air that was free of phlogiston.”

— quoted from the ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ section of ‘Chapter 3 – What Is This Going to Cost Me?’ in BURN: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy by Herman Pontzer, PhD

Joseph Priestley, the 18th-century English theologian, clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, liberal political theorist, was born today in 1733, according to the Julian calendar. Two hundred and seventy years later (today in 2003, according to the Gregorian calendar), the science journal Nature published an article that brings us full circle and highlights the really essential stuff.

CLICK HERE for a philosophy-focused post about the work of Joseph Priestley and the three archeologists who identified fossilized footprints (and handprints) in Italy.

Please join me today (Wednesday, March 13^th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “03132022 Breath & Steps”]

“(175.) […] Could we have entered into the mind of Sir Isaac Newton and have traced all the steps by which he produced his great works, we might see nothing very extraordinary in the process. And great powers with respect to some things are generally attended with defects in others; and these may not appear in a man’s writings.”

— quoted from “Chapter VII. (1780—1787.) Memoirs” in The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, LL.D. F.R.S. &c. in Twenty-Five Volumes, Volume I. Part I, Containing Life and Correspondence, (1733—1787.) by Joseph Priestley (edited, with notes, by John Towill Rutt.)

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

### This is a unique breath in and a unique breath out. ###

The Serendipity Practice (the “missing” and “long-lost” Sunday post for 1/28) March 11, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Movies, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Vipassana, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: Aimee Lehto, Beau Lotto, Boyd Croyner, Carl Jung, chaos theory, Christa McAuliffe, Ed Sheeran, Elvis Presley, Horace Walpole, Horatio Walpole, Jackie Gleason, John Cusack, Jostein Gaarder, Kate Beckinsale, LEGO, Muhammad Ali, Pavlov's dog, samskaras, samskāras, santosha, santoşā, serendipity, shoshin, Space Shuttle Challenger, synchronicity, T. H. Huxley, Thomas Henry Huxley, vasanas, Voltaire, vāsanā, vāsanās, yoga philosophy, Yoga Sutra 2.20
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May we all be safe and protected / May we all be peaceful and happy / May we all be healthy and strong / May we all appreciate the “accidental goodness” in our lives.

This is the “missing” post for Sunday, January 28^th. It includes some previously posted content. In the final notes section, there is a reference to a tragic event. You can request an audio recording of a related practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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

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

“The causality principle asserts that the connection between cause and effect is a necessary one. The synchronicity principle asserts that the terms of a meaningful coincidence are connected by simultaneity and meaning…. Although meaning is an anthropomorphic interpretation it nevertheless forms the indispensable criterion of synchronicity. What that factor which appears to us as ‘meaning’ may be in itself we have no possibility of knowing. As an hypothesis, however, it is not quite so impossible as may appear at first sight. We must remember that the rationalistic attitude of the West is not the only possible one and is not all-embracing, but is in many ways a prejudice and a bias that ought perhaps to be corrected.”

— quoted from “3. Forerunners of the Idea of Synchronicity” in Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle by C. G. Jung

Causality, the principles of cause and effect, is a big aspect of the Yoga Philosophy — and I am, without a doubt, a big fan. I am quick to go down the proverbial rabbit hole to see how things are connected. Of course, everything is connected: we just don’t always see/make/understand the connections. As indicated in Yoga Sūtra 2.20, “The Seer is the pure power of seeing, yet its understanding is through the mind/intellect.” This doesn’t mean that someone who sees/understands something that others don’t is smarter than those others; it simply means that they see things in a different way… a special way.

For much of my life, I have seen things in special ways. My tendency to seek out connections has resulted in me seeing and making connections that other people don’t initially see/make. At some points in my life, others have viewed the way I think as interesting, weird, cute, and/or a sign of being “smart” (or of “thinking too much”). More than one university professor commented that my logic was sound, but that “no one else” — meaning no one with credentials in the Western canon — had come to such a conclusion and therefore….

Perhaps, you have heard the same thing about something that has occurred to you. Suffice it to say, I heard that something I did was “a bit of a stretch” long before I started teaching yoga.

Thankfully, I received some halfway decent marks despite the fact that my content was unexpected. More importantly, I was never forced to conform and, therefore, never got completely stuck in the trap Carl Jung warned us about: the trap created by believing that there is one way (the Western way) to see things. I eventually understood that the workings of our mind/intellect are based on more than brain chemistry. The way we think is also based on all the different things we have experienced; all the different perspectives to which we have been exposed; how open we are to possibilities other than the ones we are seeking; and how aware we are that we are the ones creating the meaning.

“This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which, as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall endeavor to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called ‘The Three Princes of Serendip:’ as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of the them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right….”

— quoted from a letter addressed to Sir Horace Mann, dated January 28, 1754, by Horace Walpole (The Right Honorable The (4^th) Earl of Orford, Horatio Walpole)

When Horace Walpole, the Right Honorable Earl of Orford, shared the word and meaning of serendipity, in a letter dated January 28, 1754, he cited the English version of a Persian story (from at least 1302) that had come into the English canon by way of French and Italian translations. Each version of the story is slightly different, but the common elements are (1) a king who sends his sons out into the world to give them the best possible education and (2) the three princes who already have been educated by the best teachers* and tutors in their homeland. As the three princes travelled, they paid attention to all the details around them and — using their knowledge, skills of deduction, and insight (based on “[seeing] things in a special way”) — came to conclusions that were obvious to them but not so obvious to others.

Perhaps the most famous of their adventures is the one cited by the earl, in which the princes described and located a missing camel (or mule). To be clear, the princes were not looking for the animal in question; but, others were looking and those others believed the princes had the animal (or knew where to find it) because the princes knew so much about the animal. They knew it was slightly lame, blind in one eye, missing a tooth and carrying a pregnant woman while bearing honey on one side and butter on the other. They knew all this despite the fact that, at the point in the story when they are accused of stealing the animal, the princes had never seen it! They had only seen evidence of it and made connections that led to certain logical conclusions. While Horace Walpole called the story “a silly fairytale,” others — including Voltaire (in 1747) — recognized the story as containing the cornerstones of deductive reasoning (both psychologically and logically) and of the scientific method.

“Those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of Zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them.”

“[Zadig’s] defence was worse than his offence. It showed that his mode of divination was fraught with danger to magianism in general. Swollen with the pride of human reason, he had ignored the established canons of magian lore; and, trusting to what after all was mere carnal common sense, he professed to lead men to a deeper insight into nature than magian wisdom, with all its lofty antagonism to everything common, had ever reached. What, in fact, lay at the foundation of all Zadig’s argument but the coarse commonplace assumption, upon which every act of our daily lives is based, that we may conclude from an effect to the pre-existence of a cause competent to produce that effect?”

— quoted from the essay “On the Method of Zadig: Retrospective Prophecy as a Function of Science” (1880) in Collected Essays, Volume 4. Science and Hebrew Tradition by T. H. Huxley

Serendipity, like chaos theory, often gets twisted in books, movies, and music. For instance, in the 2001 romantic comedy with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, the couple are actually looking for each other and looking for clues that will lead each to the other. Sure, there are all kinds of coincidences (or cowinkydinks) and near-misses that are described (in the movie) as fate. And, I could see how the situation could be serendipitous.** However, the couple in the movie are more like the villagers looking for the camel (or mule) and less like the the princes. What they experience is more synchronicity (i.e., things happening at the same time) than serendipity.

Just as I am a big fan of causality, I am also a big fan of synchronicity and serendipity. As much as I pay attention to cause-and-effect, I often delight in things that just seem to “randomly” fall into place and things (or people) that show up when I “need” them, but wasn’t looking for them. Granted, there are times when I consider chaos theory and see if I can trace everything back to some little thing that started the domino effect; however, I’m also just open to being pleasantly surprised by “accidental goodness.”

Do you know what I mean? Has that happened to you?

Have you ever read a horoscope or had someone tell you your future and it seemed right on? Have you gone into a practice (or any situation) and been surprised that you got exactly what “wanted” and/or “needed,” sometimes in an unexpected way?

We could say, as Thomas Henry Huxley pointed out in 1880, “In all these cases, it is only the relation to time which alters — the process of divination beyond the limits of possible direct knowledge remains the same.“ However, sometimes there is direct knowledge. Sometimes someone is taking known information and putting it together so that you see/make a connection. Then this becomes similar to the way you can understand what a child makes with their LEGO bricks (the patent for which was filed January 28, 1958, presumably at 1:58 PM). You know what the child makes because they tell you what they are making and your brain fills in the gaps based on the shape. Sometimes, the shape is really obvious — and maybe you have the picture from the LEGO packaging. Other times, your brain really has to work hard to see what the child is seeing.

“If you already understand what I am getting at, you may skip this next paragraph. But just in case, I will clarify: You have a box of Legos [sic] and you build a Lego horse. You then take it apart and put the blocks back in the box. You cannot expect to make a new horse just by shaking the box. How could Lego blocks of their own accord find each other and become a new horse again? No, you have to rebuild the hose, Sophie, And the reason you can do it is that you have a picture in your mind of what the horse looked like. The Lego horse is made from a model which remains unchanged from horse to horse.”

— quoted from the lesson “PLATO’S ACADEMY: The World of Ideas” in the chapter “Plato… a longing to return to the realm of the soul…” of Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder

Whether we realize it or not, our lives are put together the way our practice is put together — which is the same way we are instructed to build something with LEGO bricks: from the ground up. Aha! moments, lightbulb moments, epiphanies, and even “happy accidents” are all built on a foundation. We have to be prepared to see the things we see, even when we are not expecting to see them. We have to have the picture — i.e., the possibility — in our minds. We also have to be open to the way the bricks are connected. Ultimately, that’s what I’m really asking:

How open are you to these kinds of things?

My guess — and it’s not much of a stretch — is that your open-ness, or lack thereof, is based on past experiences. I mean, on a certain level, everything is based on past experiences. We do something new and a new neural pathway is created, a new thin veil of saṃskāra (“mental impression”) is lowered over us. We do that same thing again and we start to hardwire that new neural pathway, the veil becomes more opaque. Over time, our behaviors and reactions become so hardwired, that our saṃskāra become vāsanā (“dwelling” place for our habits) and we believe that our habits are innate or instinctive — when, in fact, they are conditioned.

This is true when things seem to randomly and luckily fall into place, as well as when a fortune cookie seems to be spot on. This is also true when we are not so fortunate or blessed; when things don’t seem to easily fall into place or when we don’t “randomly” get what we didn’t know we needed. Furthermore, our physical-mental-emotional response to the so-called “happy accidents” is just as conditioned as our physical-mental-emotional response to things not going our way. We are as much like Pavlov’s dogs as we are like the one-eyed mule (or camel) observed by the Princes of Serendip. To do something other than salivate at the appearance of certain objects and/or to eat on the side of the road we can’t easily “see” is “impossible.”

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

Impossible is nothing.”

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

Per chaos theory, little changes in conditioning can change the outcome. Those little changes in conditioning can also change our understanding of a situation and its outcome. They change our “space of possibility.” We start to notice causality and, in the process, start to add to the story — which essentially changes the story. At other times, little changes in conditioning can change our understanding of what is possible and, therefore, what is probable.

All that can change our actions. For instance, consider the comedian Jackie Gleason and how he reacted to Elvis Presley’s first national television*** appearance, on January 28, 1956. No one had seen anything like Elvis before and no one knew how far he would go. So, not surprisingly, Mr. Gleason initially missed certain signs (like how the audience reacted to Elvis) and said, “He can’t last, I tell you flatly, he can’t last.”

To be fair (to Jackie Gleason), there were several reasons why the comedian and producer initially missed the signs. First, “Heartbreak Hotel” had just been released as a single (the day before). Second, Elvis was still relatively unknown on a national level and not many people showed up to see Elvis when he first performed on the weekly program Stage Show. Despite his initially reaction, Jackie Gleason and the other producers of Stage Show scheduled Elvis to perform two shows in January and two shows in February. The future “King of Rock and Roll” performed “Shake Rattle And Roll,” “Flip Flop and Fly,” and “I Got A Woman.” By the time Elvis finished the first show, his schedule was extended to include two more appearances on the Stage Show — thanks, in part, to Jackie Gleason observing the situation, making connections, and coming to certain conclusions.

Ultimately, those are the secrets to serendipity and to practicing serendipity:

Observing causes and conditions, in order to have as much information as possible;
Being open to possibilities (and possible connections);
Letting go of what was; and
Being right here, right now, with present-moment awareness.

“In no very distant future, the method of Zadig, applied to a greater body of facts than the present generation is fortunate enough to handle, will enable the biologist to reconstruct the scheme of life from its beginning, and to speak as confidently of the character of long extinct beings, no trace of which has been preserved, as Zadig did of the queen’s spaniel and the king’s horse.”

— quoted from the essay “On the Method of Zadig: Retrospective Prophecy as a Function of Science” (1880) in Collected Essays, Volume 4. Science and Hebrew Tradition by T. H. Huxley

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

*NOTE: While most of this practice focused on “happy accidents,” I do reference one tragic accident: the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. On January 28, 1986, all seven crew members were killed, including Christa McAuliffe, who was selected to be the first schoolteacher in space. In the past, when I offered more direct suggestions for personal dedications, I would include a passing reference to family, friends, co-workers, students, and others who remember and were inspired by F. Richard Scobee (Commander), Michael J. Smith (Pilot), Ronald McNair (Mission Specialist), Ellison Onizuka (Mission Specialist), Judith Resnik (Mission Specialist), Gregory Jarvis (Payload Specialist), and Christa McAuliffe (Payload Specialist / teacher). This year, I ended the practice with the words of S. Christa McAullife who said, “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. JUST GET ON!” and “Reach for the stars. Reach for it! Push yourself as far as you can.”

**Spoiler Alert (that’s not really spoiling the movie): Theoretically and hypothetically (because this doesn’t happen in the movie), if the couple in Serendipity were seeking something that ended up getting torn apart, and the pieces were used to make a painting/collage that was placed in a museum — without anyone knowing the source of the material for the collage, then them discovering the information they sought could be considered serendipitous because they weren’t looking for a painting/collage.

*** CORRECTION: I sometimes refer to Elvis’s appearance on Stage Show as his first television appearance; however, it was his first time on a nationally broadcasted show. He had previously appeared on a local broadcast, Louisiana Hayride, that aired on KSLA-TV (in Shreveport, La) on March 5, 1955.

### “I’m gonna pick up the pieces” ~ Ed Sheeran ###

Out of This World Firsts (a “missing” & “long-lost” Sunday post for 1/14) March 10, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, Andrew Roberts, Christiaan Huygens, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, European Space Agency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George C. Marshall, Giovanni Cassini, Harry S. Truman, Hawai’i, Italian Space Agency, Jim Green (NASA), Joseph Stalin, Kui Lee, Kuiokalani Lee, Makar Sankrantani, NASA, Norman Doidge MD, Robert A. Heinlein, saṃskāra, Sacred Cow, Saturn, the Flying White House, United States Air Force, vāsanā, Winston Churchill, World War II
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May you breathe deeply and savor the richness of doing something amazing for the first time!

Pardon me while I catch up. This is the “missing” post for Sunday, January 14^th (which fell during Makar Sankranti in 2024). This post and practice pick up where the Saturday the 13^thpost and practice left off. It contains some passing references to the American Civil War and World War II. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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

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

“I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –”

— quoted from the poem “I dwell in Possibility (466)” by Emily Dickinson

Take a moment to consider the very first time you thought, said, did, and/or experienced someone else thinking, saying, and/or doing something. That very first time was (and is) special for a number of reasons — not the least of which being that it created a neural pathway (if we’re using the terminology of Western science) and a saṃskāra (“mental impressions”), if we’re using the terminology of Yoga and Āyurveda (as they come to us from India). When that thought, word, deed, and/or experience is experienced, the neural pathway starts becoming hardwired and connected to other experiences. Repeating a thought, word, deed, and/or experience also creates another mental impression which, over time, could become vāsanā (“dwelling places” of our habits). Even though the terminology is different, the end result is the same: We view life through the lens/veils of previous experiences and, at some point, we establish a status quo that is directly (or indirectly) connected to the first time we did something. The more we do new things — i.e., experience more “firsts” we have — the more we cultivate a foundation for more possibilities.

This may seem really obvious — especially when you first think about it. However, take a moment to consider that “firsts” happen in every moment of every day (even when they are not all happening to us). If we dig deep enough, we could find a “first” that happened today… in any given year. We might even find multiple “firsts.”

Consider what happens, when a “first” is experienced by most of the world? Consider what happens when when we go a little deeper into something simply because it was a “first” — because that is what we typically do on January 14^th. We go a little deeper into three “firsts” that include several other “firsts” — some of which were out of this world or, at the very least, above the earth.

FLYING HIGH

“At the concluding press conference on 24 January 1943, Roosevelt stated that General Ulysses S. Grant had been known as ‘Unconditional Surrender’ Grant, and that the Allies were also demanding unconditional surrender from the Germans and Japanese (but not the Italians) in the present struggle. It is often argued that this insistence led the Germans and Japanese to fight more fanatically than would otherwise have been the case, although it cannot be proven. What is plainly untrue, however, is that the policy merely sprang fully formed from Roosevelt’s mind without any consultation with [George C.] Marshall or Churchill.”

— quoted from “12 The Casablanca Conference: ‘We go bald-headed for Husky’ January 1943” in Masters and Commanders: The Military Geniuses who Led the West to Victory in World War II by Andrew Roberts

On Thursday, January 14, 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first sitting United States president to travel by airplane and the first to visit Africa. This was during World War II when the president and his advisors flew from Miami to Casablanca, French Morocco (now known as Morocco) in order to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his advisors. They were meeting to discuss how the Allied forces would proceed in the War. Sultan Muhammad V, as well as French Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud, also attended parts of The Casablanca Conference (sometimes called the Anfa Conference, since it was hosted at the Anfa Hotel). Although Joseph Stalin did not attend the conference at all and the other leaders did not attend the parts related to military strategy, one of the most critical things to come out of the conference was the Casablanca Declaration, a unified Allied statement calling for the “unconditional surrender” of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The ways in which the call for unconditional surrender was announced — as well as the ways in which people understood the announcement — may have had some unintended consequences. Some historians have theorized that the announcements resulted in the war being extended (because some people in the Axis countries got their backs up and/or felt their backs were against the wall) and that this led to the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some have also speculated about how Europe might have been divided had the explanation been different and/or had Joseph Stalin been included in the conference. Another crucial and unfortunate element of the conference was anti-Semitic rhetoric expressed by many of the leaders, including President Roosevelt. Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, the then 14-year-old son of Sultan Muhammad V, grew up to become Hassan II, King of Morocco, whose reign was marked by authoritarianism, and human rights and civil rights abuses. One can only wonder what Hassan II’s reign would have been like had he not been exposed to such rhetoric by the most influential leaders of their time.

“Roosevelt loved the sea, but his ability to draw on the past to put the present into perspective allowed him to see the potentialities of naval and air power working in conjunction as Admiral [Harry E.] Yarnell had suggested. Soon, Roosevelt demonstrated his appreciation of air power as a military and naval defensive weapon.”

— quoted from “VI. The Wings of Democracy” in The Wings of Democracy: The Influence of Air Power on the Roosevelt Administration, 1933–1941 by Jeffrey S. Underwood

FDR’s historic 1943 flight was the beginning of several other presidential-aeronautic “firsts.” That first fight, as well as the return flight, were aboard the “Dixie Clipper,” a Boeing Model 314 long-range Clipper initially operated by Pan Am. The then-President Roosevelt was on board this luxurious flying boat, en route between Trinidad and Miami, when he turned 61 — making him the first sitting U. S. president to celebrate a birthday in an airplane, thousands of feet above the earth.

Some of this may be considered trivial. Consider the fact, however, that the president’s trip promoted the creation of the Douglas VC-54C Skymaster, the first U. S. presidential aircraft. Officially referred to as “the Flying White House,” the specially modified luxury aircraft was nicknamed “Sacred Cow,” because of the security features and designation. It featured modifications that produced increased fuel capacity; an unpressurized cabin with an executive conference room; rectangular bulletproof windows; a private bathroom; a fold down bed hidden behind the sofa; and an electric refrigerator. Although slower and less luxurious than its successor (Air Force One), the Sacred Cow did include a battery-powered elevator to accommodate the President Roosevelt’s wheelchair.

Alas, FDR would only fly on the new plane when he attended the Yalta Conference in February 1945. On the flip side, President Harry S. Truman used the plane quite a bit — including when he attended the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945. His frequent flying led then-President Truman to sign the National Security Act of 1947, which restructured the U. S. military in a variety of ways, including: creating a Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The 1947 act, which the president signed on board the Sacred Cow, clarified the responsibilities of the Department of the Army (formerly the Department of War), the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the newly formed Department of the Air Force — making the Sacred Cow the “birthplace” of the United States Air Force.

Retired in 1961, the first plane officially produced specifically for presidential travel was moved to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (in Dayton, Ohio) in 1983 and has been on display since 1993.

SINGING HIGH

“To your arms someday
I’ll return to stay till then
I will remember too
Every bright star we made wishes upon
Love me always, promise always
Oh, you’ll remember too

I’ll remember you”

— quoted from the song “I’ll remember you” by Elvis Presley, written by Lee Kuiokalani

At 12:30 AM (local time) on Sunday, January 14, 1973, Elvis Presley started performing his “Aloha from Hawai’i” concert. It was not the first time the “King of Rock and Roll” had performed in Hawai’i. In addition to filming three (3) movies on the islands (and selling tickets to the dress rehearsal for the January 14^th show), he performed concerts in 1957 (before he served in the U. S. Army) and in 1961 (after he was discharged from the army). Several of these were benefit concerts, as was this notable first in 1973. So, those things weren’t new elements. Neither was this the first time he and the TCB Band (“Taking Care of Business Band”) had recorded a concert live with an orchestra and/or used Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” as their into music. Although, this time, that particular song selection did underscore the fact that this 1973 concert was the “first” by a single performer* to be broadcast live, via satellite.

People in 40 countries (mostly in Asia and Oceana) watched the broadcast in real time and people in Europe watched it with a slightly delay (and a little editing). Most people in the United States, however, were not able to watch the concert until April 4^th (due to the Super Bowl broadcast and the fact that the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer documentary Elvis On Tour was playing on the mainland). Wearing an iconic white jumpsuit with rhinestones in patriotic designs, Elvis sang his classics and Kui Lee’s “I’ll Remember You.” He also announced that the proceeds from the pay-what-you-will concert were being donated to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.

Kuiokalani Lee was a Chinese-born American singer-songwriter who served in the United States Coast Guard and penned popular hits by Don Ho during the Hawai’ian Renaissance. Diagnosed with cancer in 1965, he performed (as Kui Lee) until his death in 1966 (at the age of 34). He was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement award by the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts and inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Donations from Elvis’s “Aloha from Hawai’i, live via Satellite” concert totaled $75,000 (which would be almost $514,700 in 2024) for cancer research.

The songs performed for the audience at Honolulu International Center, plus some that Elvis recorded before the concert, were included on the live album and the U. S. broadcast. Four (out of five) additional songs recorded (directly) after the live concert were included in the U. S. special, but were not initially included on the live album. In fact, the five songs recorded after the concert were not issued on any album until the posthumous release of Mahalo From Elvis (in 1978) and were not available as part of the “live” album until it was reissued as a CD in 1998. Additionally, people listening to the album, and/or watching the April 1973 broadcast, did not hear the announcement about the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.

Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite, the live album, was originally released as a two-disc set in quadraphonic sound. Although most people did not listen to the album as it was initially released — because the technology was not in place for people to truly appreciate the “surround sound” — and RCA quickly re-issued the album in standard stereophonic version, it was the first album formatted in such a way to top the Billboard album chart.

LANDING HIGH

“If you want to lift a hundred pounds, you don’t expect to succeed the first time. You start with a lighter weight and work up little by little. You actually fail to lift a hundred pounds, every day, until the day you succeed. But it is in the days when you are exerting yourself that growth is occurring.”

— quoted from the “Notes and References [related to Chapter 6. Brain Lock Unlocked — Using Plasticity to Stop Worries, Obsessions, Compulsions, and Bad Habits]” in The Brain the Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge, M.D.

Every “first” has a back story. We may think, say, and even believe that something happened overnight, but the reality is that there’s always an idea and/or an innovation that precedes the next idea and innovation. For example, the president’s first flight and the king’s first concert broadcast via satellite required an idea and technology — a backstory, if you will — that started firmly on terra firma. The backstory for this final “first” also starts on the ground… with people looking up… in the mid to late 17th century.

Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini, was an Italian-French mathematician, astronomer, and engineer (born June 8, 1625) who experienced a lot of significant “firsts” in his lifetime. His contributions to science include determining the rotation periods of Jupiter and Mars; discovering four moons of Saturn, the reason one of those moons varies in brightness, and the Cassini Division (between the two outermost rings of Saturn); and beginning (towards the end of his life) what would become the first topographic map of France. He also published his observations regarding the topography of Mars. However, he was not the first to discover the surface markings on Mars — that distinction belongs to Christiaan Huygens (born April 14, 1629), a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who was also a Dutch nobleman.

In addition to being the first Western scientist to observe the markings on Mars, Christiaan Huygens is considered a significant part of the Scientific Revolution. He discovered the largest of Saturn’s moons; was the first to describe Saturn’s rings as “a thin, flat, ring, nowhere touching [Saturn;]” and developed a system for calculating relative sizes and stellar distances within (and of) the solar system. He also advanced the designs of telescopes; identified and codified laws and/or formulas of elastic collision, centrifugal force, and the wave theory of light; and invented the pendulum clock.

“Cassini is a mission of firsts. Time and time again it has continued to surprise us. Astounding observations. It has changed our thinking irrevocably.”

— Jim Green, NASA Planetary Science Division Director, quoted from the video “Cassini’s First Dive Between Saturn and Its Rings” posted on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology site

Since Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens contributed so much to Western scientists’ understanding of Saturn, it is not surprising that a major mission to Saturn bears their names. Known as Cassini–Huygens, the mission to study Saturn and its system was a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). It brought together teams from 27 different countries and featured NASA’s Cassini space probe and ESA’s Huygens lander. The probe, launched on October 15, 1997, was the fourth to visit Saturn. It collected data en route and (on July 1, 2004) became the first to enter Saturn’s orbit. The lander separated from the probe on December 4, 2004, and landed on Saturn’s largest moon (Titan) on January 14, 2005 — becoming the first successful landing in the outer solar system and the first lunar landing on a moon other than Earth’s moon.

The Huygens lander transmitted data, via the probe, for about 90 minutes after landing. The overall Cassini–Huygens mission (also known simply as Cassini) was extended twice; with the first extension known as the Cassini Equinox Mission and the second known as the Cassini Solstice Mission. The extensions allowed the probe to continue collecting data (from Saturn’s orbit) until September 15, 2017, when it entered Saturn’s (upper) atmosphere. The data collected during the nineteen years and eleven months of observation is still being analyzed and will foster better understanding of Saturn, our solar system, and life in (and beyond) our solar system. It will also provide the foundation for the next round of cosmic “firsts.”

“… Don protested. ‘But that’s theoretically impossible— isn’t it?’

Dr. Jefferson brushed it aside. ‘Everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done. One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen. Studied any mathematical philosophy, Don? Familiar with infinite universe sheafs and open-ended postulate systems?’

‘Uh, I’m afraid not, sir.’

‘Simple idea and very tempting. The notion that everything is possible—and I mean everything—and everything has happened. Everything.’”

— quoted from “II: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel,Upharsin’” in Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein

So many “firsts.”

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

*NOTE: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) coordinated national broadcasters, performing artists, and other participants from fourteen different countries for a live variety show that was broadcast via satellite to 24 countries on Sunday, June 25, 1967. The “other participants” included fishermen, construction workers, and other laborers selected by individual countries.

### FIRST! ###

FTWMI: Liminal & Rare Days (abridged) February 29, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 19-Day Fast, Ayyám-i-Há, Baha'i, Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Love, Mathematics, Men, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Religion, Science, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women, Yoga, Yom Kippur.
Tags: #shareyourcolours, Bruce H. Kramer, Calendars, Cathy Wurzer, Dalia Fein, Edward Reingold, Gregorian calendar, Jessica Fein, Joan Borysenko, Julian calendar, Nachum Dershowitz, rare disease, Rare Disease Day, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence
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Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Lent, Ayyám-i-Há, and/or Rare Disease Day during this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!

If the colors are too much, click here for a monochromatic copy of the entire 2023 post.

This is the abridged version of a 2023 post related to February 29^th (which was original posted with information from yesterday’s post). Some context and links (including a video) have been added/updated. There’s no practice today; however, you can request an audio recording of a previous 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.)

“That’s the thing about a rare disease. You fight for a diagnosis for years ― on average, according to Global Genes, it takes seeing 7.3 physicians and trying for 4.8 years before getting an accurate rare disease diagnosis ― and then, even once you know, you must continue being a detective as you try to piece together the clues as to how the illness might progress. You become an expert in a disease you wish you’d never heard of.

As a parent, you also quickly morph into a nurse, therapist, chief operating officer, educational advocate, cheerleader and warrior. You feel alone, because by definition, your child’s diagnosis is exceptional. And yet, 1 in 10 Americans and 300 million people globally are living with a rare disease.

You find community not just in other people who share the specific diagnosis your family is facing, but in those struggling with any rare diagnosis. It doesn’t matter what the exact symptoms or disease trajectory are. What matters is the shared understanding that your dreams as a parent have forever shifted.”

**— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein**

In addition to being (what I would consider) a “liminal day,” February 28^th can also be a “rare” day. Typically, when we think of a “rare” day on the Gregorian and Julian calendars, we think of February 29^th, Leap Day, which is rare because it only happens every four years.** Leap day is the perfect day for Rare Disease Day, which is observed on February 28^th during non-leap years like 2023. Observations on this alternate date, coincide with the anniversary of the United States House of Representatives passing the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 on February 28, 1982. The act went into effect on January 4, 1983, and it facilitated the development of “orphan drugs” (i.e., drugs for rare diseases and disorders). Japan and the European Union enacted similar acts in 1993 and 2000, respectively. Prior to the act being passed in the U. S., less than 40 drugs had been approved as treatments for rare diseases and disorders (in the whole history of the United States). In the three decades after the act went into affect, almost ten times as many drugs had been approved.

Why the difference? Why did it take an act of Congress?

Unfortunately for those who face life-threatening and life-changing diseases, research is primarily driven by pharmaceutical companies, which are mostly driven by profits — and there’s just not a lot of profit in rare diseases.

“That referral led us to the geneticist, who ended up delivering the information that changed our lives.

‘Dalia tested positive for a genetic mutation that’s associated with myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers, or MERRF syndrome ― an extremely rare form of mitochondrial disease,’ the doctor said.”

**— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein**

Approximately 300 million people are living with a rare disease. That doesn’t sound very rare when you add in their family, friends, and caregivers. But, here’s the thing: those 300 million people are not living with the same disease. They are not even living with the same two or three diseases. In the medical community, a “rare disease” is typically defined as a disease that affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. That means it can affect one or two people, or several hundred around the world. In the United States, Huntington’s disease; myoclonus; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – also known as motor neuron disease (MND); Tourette syndrome; muscular dystrophy; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS); Prader-Willi syndrome; and Usher syndrome are all considered rare diseases or rare disorders. Sickle cell anemia is also considered a rare disease; even though it affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States. Autosomal systemic lupus erythematosus, which is characterized by the presence of (the more common) systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms in two or more members of a single family, is also considered a rare disease.

Approximately 72 — 80% of rare diseases are known to be genetic. About 70% begin in childhood. Tragically, thirty percent of children diagnosis with a rare disease will not reach age 5. While some people have diseases that are degenerative, some people “outgrow” their disease. Another challenge, for people suffering from rare diseases and disorders, is that sometimes people can be suffering with “invisible” ailments — meaning that others perceive them as healthy. All of these differences in symptoms and situations makes it really hard to receive diagnosis and treatment — especially since healthcare practitioners (particularly here in the West) are taught to “look for horses, not zebras.” Unfortunately, rare diseases are really colorful zebras. They require patients and their family and friends to take on all the roles normally distributed between professionals.

Recently, another couple of layers have been added to the already complicated story of rare diseases. For a variety of really disturbing reasons — that I want to believe come from a lack of awareness and knowledge — people have started co-opting orphan drugs and using them for non-life threatening issues. In some cases, they are being used for purely cosmetic purposes without any regard for the people whose lives actually depend on the medication. (NOTE: This is also happening with treatments for “common diseases,” with equally devastating effects; however, those common diseases get more publicity, because they make up a larger share of the market.) On the flip side, COVID seems to have created a situation where some rare diseases are becoming more common — which means, as twisted as sounds, that some people are feeling more hopefully, because more research and development is being done with regard to their ailment.

Again, it all comes down to awareness, education, perspective, compassion, and empathy. Which is the whole point of Rare Disease Day.

Established in 2008, by the European Organization for Rare Diseases, Rare Disease Day is a day dedicated to “raising awareness and generating change for the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease, their families and [caregivers].” The ~~2023~~ theme “Share Your Colours” is an invitation to share your story. Whether you have a rare disease or whether you love and/or care for someone with a rare disease, sharing your story can be a way to raise awareness, stop the ignorance, and end stigma.

If you are not dealing with a rare disease, be open to hearing other people’s stories. As rare as they are, I have known someone dealing with almost all of the rare diseases and disorders that I used as examples (above). Or, I should say, I’ve known that I knew them, because they shared their stories. Listening, as Bruce Kramer pointed out, opens us “… a little bit more.”

“To be open is to embrace your own great big messy humanity, to cry in sadness but not despair, to recognize presence in the emptiness of the bitter moment of truth, to be afraid but not fearful. Dis ease presents the choice of being open or closed, and opening to her lessons, her gifts, her challenges, is not easy. But dis ease clarifies vision, bringing sight to the blindness of what you thought you knew about living, light to the darkness of cynicism that life’s grief piled upon itself can foster. I know ALS is a horror, yet when fully embraced, it has taught me, it has revealed to me pure unsullied, uncontaminated, unbelievable love.

In my heart of hearts, I know that love never dies.”

— quoted from “25. Faith, Part IV: What’s Love Got To Do with It?” in We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying by Bruce H. Kramer with Cathy Wurzer

The 2023 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06142020 World Blood Donor Day”]

It’s About…

NOTE: Not all rare diseases are blood-based, but the playlist contains a blood-borne subliminal message.

*NOTE: A follow-up article by Jessica Fein was also published by Huffington Post [on] February 28, 2023.

**NOTE: According to the Julian calendar, Leap Year is every four years. On the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most people who will come across this post, it’s not that simple.

“A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4 and is not a century year (multiple of 100) or if it is divisible by 400. For example, 1900 is not a leap year; 2000 is.”

— quoted from “2 — The Gregorian Calendar, 2.1: Structure” in Calendrical Calculations by Nachum Dershowitz, Edward Reingold

### SHARE YOUR COLOURS ###

EXCERPT: “Uncovering Layers to Reveal Truth” February 27, 2024

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Lent / Great Lent, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Anna O, Bertha Pappenheim, Cooper Union, Elizabeth KOULTON, Gene Knudsen Hoffman, Josef Breuer, psychoanalysis, psychology, samskāras, Samyama, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Sigmund Freud, slavery, Stephen Douglas
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Many blessing to anyone observing (or getting ready to observe) Lent. Peace and ease — and more listening — to all, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!

“An enemy is one whose story we have not heard.”

— the title of a 1997 essay by Gene Knudsen Hoffman

The following excerpt is from the 2023 revision of a previous post:

“Imagine that, at a very early age, you are exposed to an idea. It doesn’t have to be a big idea, stated and codified in a systematic way. It could just be a simple statement. It could be an idea (or a statement) about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religious and/or political beliefs — it could even be an idea about height or weight or hair texture (or length) or skin and/or eye hue. Or maybe it’s a statement about ability. Either way, the moment that you are exposed to the idea, some part of you questions whether it is true and even considers the validity of the idea/statement based on the source. You may not be conscious of this questioning, but it happens – sometimes quickly, in a blink — and then, as you move forward, other things (and people) either confirm the veracity of the idea or invalidate the idea.

Now, imagine that you grow up with this idea and this idea, whether you feel it is directed at you or at people around you, becomes — on a certain level — the lens through which you view yourself and the world. You may not be conscious of this lens. In fact, in most cases, this bias (whether we view it as positive or negative) is unconscious… subterranean. In the Yoga Philosophy, saṃskāra is a Sanskrit word for mental “impressions,” that can also be defined as “idea, notion, conception.” Saṃskāra are the foundation or roots of our thoughts, words, and deeds. Neurologically speaking, we can think of them as hard-wired pathways that are sometimes such an integral part of us they make habitual responses to certain situations appear instinctual. They are the beginning of the best of us… and also the worst of us.”

CLICK HERE for the entire post about Bertha Pappenheim (born today in 1859) and about a speech given by Abraham Lincoln today in 1860.

NOTE: The linked post contains information about mental health and United States history. It also includes links to a different playlist.

“This can already be seen in the different reception given a new citizen of the world. If the father or someone else asked what ‘it’ was after a successful birth, the answer might be either the satisfied report of a boy, or—with pronounced sympathy for the disappointment— ‘Nothing, a girl,’ or ‘Only a girl.’”

— Bertha Pappenheim (b. 1859) as quoted in The Jewish Woman: New Perspectives, edited by Elizabeth Koultun

Please join me today (Tuesday, February 27^th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08282021 The Heart’s Wildest Dream”]

“If any man at this day sincerely believes that a proper division of local from federal authority, or any part of the Constitution, forbids the Federal Government to control as to slavery in the federal territories, he is right to say so, and to enforce his position by all truthful evidence and fair argument which he can. But he has no right to mislead others, who have less access to history, and less leisure to study it, into the false belief that ‘our fathers who framed the Government under which we live’ were of the same opinion — thus substituting falsehood and deception for truthful evidence and fair argument. If any man at this day sincerely believes ‘our fathers who framed the Government under which we live,’ used and applied principles, in other cases, which ought to have led them to understand that a proper division of local from federal authority or some part of the Constitution, forbids the Federal Government to control as to slavery in the federal territories, he is right to say so. But he should, at the same time, brave the responsibility of declaring that, in his opinion, he understands their principles better than they did themselves; and especially should he not shirk that responsibility by asserting that they ‘understood the question just as well, and even better, than we do now.’”

— quoted from Abraham Lincoln’s address at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, February 27, 1860, (during which he repeatedly quotes a statement made by Senator Stephen Douglas)

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.)

### [ARE YOU] LISTENING? ###

« older posts newer posts »

A Joyful Practice

A Well, Well, Well(ness) Monday (a post-practice post w/excerpt for Monday) May 13, 2024

— quoted from the American Psychological Association’s APA Dictionary of Psychology

— quoted from “Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being” by Ciro Conversano,1,† Alessandro Rotondo,2,† Elena Lensi,1 Olivia Della Vista,1 Francesca Arpone,1 and Mario Antonio Reda1

— quoted from “Chapter 5. The Frog Who Dreamed of Being a Prince” in Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Beau Lotto

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and (in) all manner of thing(s) shall be well.”

— quoted from Chapters 1 of Revelations of Divine Love (Revelations of Love in 16 Shewings) by Julian of Norwich

“Optimists are likely to see the causes of failure or negative experiences as temporary rather than permanent, specific rather than global, and external rather than internal. Such a perspective enables optimists to more easily see the possibility of change.”

— quoted from the Psychology Today webpage entitled, “Optimism” (Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff)

### BE WELL & BE GREAT ###

First Friday Night Special #43: “The Beautiful Balancing Act of Holding On & Letting Go” (the “missing” post ) May 4, 2024

“The brain—like life—does not search to live, but to not die.”

— quoted from the “Acknowledgements” in Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Beau Lotto

“‘Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.’ — Ann Landers”

— quoted from “Day 11 / MARATHON MAN: ENDURANCE IN DISCIPLINE נצח שבע גבורה” in The Kabbalah Sutras: 49 Steps to Enlightenment by Marcus J. Freed

“Do it differently So it won’t come out the same Step up, be strong, Get yourself out of pain.”

— quoted from the poem “DIFFERENTLY” by Donna Garrett

“This path accepts that developing an ego is an essential element in human growth. But it also suggests that this development might be a stage of human development rather than its end product.”

— quoted from the commentary for “Chapter 9” in A Path and a Practice: Using Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life by William Martin

— quoted from the commentary for “Chapter 9” in A Path and a Practice: Using Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life by William Martin

### Δ ###

EXCERPT: “But What About Earth…and Space (and Grace)?” (a post-practice post for Monday) April 22, 2024

“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)

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

— Rachel Carson accepting the John Burroughs Medal (April 1952) and printed in Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson

CLICK HERE and scroll down to the “ENTERING THE GARDEN” section for information about Riḍván.

### See the forest and the trees. ###

DID YOU KNOW #4: Vestibular Bling — Parts I & II (A Kiss My Asana offering) April 18, 2024

“BLING, noun [or, bling-bling]

flashy jewelry worn especially as an indication of wealth or status

[broadly] expensive and ostentatious possessions”

— quoted from Merriam-Webster.com

### I STILL NEED A FEW FOLKS TO KISS MY ASANA! ###

DID YOU KNOW #2: Proprioception (A Kiss My Asana offering) April 15, 2024

— quoted from the chapter “Muscle Beach” in On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks

### I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO KISS MY ASANA! ###

Essential Stuff (mostly blessings, music, and links) March 13, 2024

Oxygen wasn’t discovered until 1774, by the chemist Joseph Priestley. He called it ‘dephlogisticated air,’ thinking oxygen was a purified form of air that was free of phlogiston.”

— quoted from the ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ section of ‘Chapter 3 – What Is This Going to Cost Me?’ in BURN: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy by Herman Pontzer, PhD

CLICK HERE for a philosophy-focused post about the work of Joseph Priestley and the three archeologists who identified fossilized footprints (and handprints) in Italy.

— quoted from “Chapter VII. (1780—1787.) Memoirs” in The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, LL.D. F.R.S. &c. in Twenty-Five Volumes, Volume I. Part I, Containing Life and Correspondence, (1733—1787.) by Joseph Priestley (edited, with notes, by John Towill Rutt.)

### This is a unique breath in and a unique breath out. ###

The Serendipity Practice (the “missing” and “long-lost” Sunday post for 1/28) March 11, 2024

— quoted from “3. Forerunners of the Idea of Synchronicity” in Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle by C. G. Jung

— quoted from a letter addressed to Sir Horace Mann, dated January 28, 1754, by Horace Walpole (The Right Honorable The (4th) Earl of Orford, Horatio Walpole)

“Those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of Zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them.”

— quoted from the essay “On the Method of Zadig: Retrospective Prophecy as a Function of Science” (1880) in Collected Essays, Volume 4. Science and Hebrew Tradition by T. H. Huxley

— quoted from the lesson “PLATO’S ACADEMY: The World of Ideas” in the chapter “Plato… a longing to return to the realm of the soul…” of Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder

Impossible is nothing.”

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

— quoted from the essay “On the Method of Zadig: Retrospective Prophecy as a Function of Science” (1880) in Collected Essays, Volume 4. Science and Hebrew Tradition by T. H. Huxley

### “I’m gonna pick up the pieces” ~ Ed Sheeran ###

Out of This World Firsts (a “missing” & “long-lost” Sunday post for 1/14) March 10, 2024

“I dwell in Possibility – A fairer House than Prose – More numerous of Windows – Superior – for Doors –”

— quoted from the poem “I dwell in Possibility (466)” by Emily Dickinson

FLYING HIGH

— quoted from “12 The Casablanca Conference: ‘We go bald-headed for Husky’ January 1943” in Masters and Commanders: The Military Geniuses who Led the West to Victory in World War II by Andrew Roberts

— quoted from “VI. The Wings of Democracy” in The Wings of Democracy: The Influence of Air Power on the Roosevelt Administration, 1933–1941 by Jeffrey S. Underwood

SINGING HIGH

“To your arms someday I’ll return to stay till then I will remember too Every bright star we made wishes upon Love me always, promise always Oh, you’ll remember too

I’ll remember you”

— quoted from the song “I’ll remember you” by Elvis Presley, written by Lee Kuiokalani

LANDING HIGH

— quoted from the “Notes and References [related to Chapter 6. Brain Lock Unlocked — Using Plasticity to Stop Worries, Obsessions, Compulsions, and Bad Habits]” in The Brain the Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge, M.D.

“Cassini is a mission of firsts. Time and time again it has continued to surprise us. Astounding observations. It has changed our thinking irrevocably.”

— Jim Green, NASA Planetary Science Division Director, quoted from the video “Cassini’s First Dive Between Saturn and Its Rings” posted on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology site

“… Don protested. ‘But that’s theoretically impossible— isn’t it?’

‘Uh, I’m afraid not, sir.’

‘Simple idea and very tempting. The notion that everything is possible—and I mean everything—and everything has happened. Everything.’”

— quoted from “II: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel,Upharsin’” in Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein

### FIRST! ###

FTWMI: Liminal & Rare Days (abridged) February 29, 2024

If the colors are too much, click here for a monochromatic copy of the entire 2023 post.

— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein

“That referral led us to the geneticist, who ended up delivering the information that changed our lives.

‘Dalia tested positive for a genetic mutation that’s associated with myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers, or MERRF syndrome ― an extremely rare form of mitochondrial disease,’ the doctor said.”

— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein

In my heart of hearts, I know that love never dies.”

— quoted from “25. Faith, Part IV: What’s Love Got To Do with It?” in We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying by Bruce H. Kramer with Cathy Wurzer

— quoted from “Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being” by Ciro Conversano,^1,† Alessandro Rotondo,^2,† Elena Lensi,¹ Olivia Della Vista,¹ Francesca Arpone,¹ and Mario Antonio Reda¹

“Do it differently
So it won’t come out the same
Step up, be strong,
Get yourself out of pain.”

— quoted from a letter addressed to Sir Horace Mann, dated January 28, 1754, by Horace Walpole (The Right Honorable The (4^th) Earl of Orford, Horatio Walpole)

“I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –”

“To your arms someday
I’ll return to stay till then
I will remember too
Every bright star we made wishes upon
Love me always, promise always
Oh, you’ll remember too

**— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein**

**— quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein**