— quoted from The First Book of Samuel (or Shmuel I – I Samuel) 17:32 (NIV)
The following excerpt is from a 2022 post:
“Today, I offer you a story about David. It’s actually two stories… about the same David – even though it is simultaneously the same story about two different Davids… with a little side note about two additional Davids….
To clarify today’s offering(s), the first story and the first David is the one from the Bible, specifically the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. You remember that David?
People love the story of that David, because it is the story of the underdog. When faced with the towering figure of Goliath, David used his inner resources. He drew from the experience he had as a shepherd (rather than being preoccupied by the experience he didn’t have as a soldier). He focused on what he could do (not on what he was ‘trying’ to do). His inner strength, courage, and wisdom were what he took into his reign as king. Yes, King David made mistakes – he was human; but his legacy is firmly established by the story of his victory against Goliath, his son Solomon (who is considered the ruler with the wisest heart in the history of the world), and the statue by Michelangelo.
This brings me to the ‘second’ David and the second story: the story of Michelangelo’s David.”
Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Wednesday, September 13th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09132020 What Is Inside, II”]
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.)
May you be safe and protected. May you be healthy and strong. May you be peaceful and happy.
“Start with a dream. Chase after it. Run with it. Hold FAST to Your Dreams. (Your dream is worth chasing.)”
– A little inspiration from Run Like Rel
The following excerpt is from a 2022 post:
“The Battle of Marathon makes for a good story. It’s one of those inspiring stories of the underdogs prevailing and it’s one of the stories that bolstered the ancient Greeks morale. In fact, the story of how the Athenians, with the assistance of a relatively small group of Plataeans, conquered the enormous Persian army is also notable because it is one of the earliest recorded battles. There are, however, some discrepancies in what’s recorded. For instance, depending on who you ask (and how they track time), the Battle of Marathon either happened on August 12th or it happened today, on September 12th, 490 BEC. Then there’s….”
Please join me today (Tuesday, September 12th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email 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.)
May you be safe and protected. May you be healthy and strong. May you be peaceful and happy.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”
— from “Ode of Remembrance” taken from “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon
Please join me for a 75-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Monday, September 11th) at 5:30 PM. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
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.)
May you be safe and protected. May you be healthy and strong. May you know you are loved.
“You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.”
— quoted from the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver
The following excerpt is from a 2022 post:
“Consider how much lovelier and simpler the world would be if we all accepted each other as we are; supported the ones we love as they are; allowed others in the world to get what they wanted/needed from us without compromising our own wants/needs, and let go of all the rest.
Simply stated: Consider how much lovelier and simpler the world would be if we love/respected each other, helped each other out, and let go of all the rest.”
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, September 10th) at 2:30 PM.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05252022 Pratyahara II”]
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.)
May you be safe and protected. May you know you are loved.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2020. Class details and links (some of which direct you outside of this blog) have been updated.
“Love is the only way to rescue humanity from all ills, and in it you too have the only method of saving your people from enslavement. In very ancient times love was proclaimed with special strength and clearness among your people to be the religious basis of human life.”
– quoted from section V of “A Letter to a Hindu” by Leo Tolstoy (dated 12/14/1908)
Consider that if you practice ahimsā (“non-harming” or “non-violence”) and satya (a dedication to “truth”), there are times when telling the brutal honest truth, creates harm. So, the questions become (1) how to mitigate the harm – while also being dedicated to the truth – and (2) how to be honest without telling the truth. Someone who would have strived to find the balance was Leo Tolstoy who, in my humble opinion, sometimes failed miserably to find the balance.
Going by the Gregorian calendar, Leo Tolstoy was born today in 1828. He was born into nobility near Tula, Russia and, in many ways, his story could mirror that of Prince Siddhartha’s story of enlightenment… if it weren’t for those pesky trips to the brothel. Yes, born into wealth and privilege, Tolstoy indulged himself. Then he fell in love and very quickly married the 18-year old Sophia Behrs, the daughter of a court physician. There was a difference in their social status and a 16-year age difference; however, those were not the problems. Their marital strife started before they even got married when, under the guise of full disclosure, Tolstoy forced Sophia to read his diaries – filled with his sexual exploits – the night before their wedding. In a similar vein, he would later tell his favorite daughter Maria, known as “Masha,” that although it was sad that she had experienced another failed birth, “it is clearly a benefit to your spiritual life.”
Yeah, Tolstoy kinda sucked like that.
He was also, by all accounts, incredibly moody.
If you only know of Tolstoy as the Nobel Prize nominated author of giant Russian novels that many consider the greatest literature ever written, then my earlier statement about his story mirroring the Buddha’s story may come as a surprise – especially given his interpersonal skills as described above.
I completely understand if, given the above information, you don’t want to read anything more. (Especially considering the fact that I don’t think the rest of the story redeems him.) Here’s the thing though: Tolstoy spent much of his adult life in the middle of a spiritual crisis and his efforts to resolve this crisis led him to “start” a spiritual movement that inspired people from all over the world – including Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., & Rev. James Bevel. Gandhi even named a spiritual settlement in South Africa after Tolstoy.
“I believe that such a time has now arrived—not in the sense that it has come in the year 1908, but that the inherent contradiction of human life has now reached an extreme degree of tension: on the one side there is the consciousness of the beneficence of the law of love, and on the other the existing order of life which has for centuries occasioned an empty, anxious, restless, and troubled mode of life, conflicting as it does with the law of love and built on the use of violence. This contradiction must be faced, and the solution will evidently not be favourable to the outlived law of violence, but to the truth which has dwelt in the hearts of men from remote antiquity: the truth that the law of love is in accord with the nature of man.
But men can only recognize this truth to its full extent when they have completely freed themselves from all religious and scientific superstitions and from all the consequent misrepresentations and sophistical distortions by which its recognition has been hindered for centuries.”
– quoted from section VI of “A Letter to a Hindu” by Leo Tolstoy (dated 12/14/1908)
But, I’m jumping ahead. So, let’s back up a minute. Before we get to the part where Leo Tolstoy was rooted in pacifism and Christian anarchism, we have to go back…even before the brothels.
At an early age, Tolstoy’s teacher wrote him off as not being too smart. Yet, he taught himself twelve languages. His brother suggested that he enlist in the army and also encouraged him to write. The fighting that he saw at the front during the Crimean War, combined with an execution he witness in Paris (1857), and his brother’s death around 1859, caused Tolstoy to question his faith and his place in the world. In particular, he questioned “superstitious belief in progress,” which led to a moral crisis and spiritual awakening.
Part of his questioning led him to the desire to marry and have a family. His marriage with Sophia, while full of conflict, was instrumental in the completion and publication of the novel “1805,” which was renamed War and Peace. Sophia Tolstoya rewrote each revision of the novel by hand. She wrote out the entire novel eight times in seven years, although she had to rewrite some sections 30 times – all while giving birth to four of their 13 children and taking care of the day-to-day operations of their home and business affairs. Despite their personal conflicts (which included Tolstoy’s insistence that she continue having children even after a doctor said it was detrimental to her health), Tolstoya continued to support her husband’s literary efforts throughout their marriage.
The couple’s ultimate split occurred after their estate was essentially turned into a de-facto settlement for “Tolstoyans” (who wanted to be closer to their “spiritual leader”) and Sophia Tolstoya demanded Tolstoy sign over control of his publishing royalties (because she feared he would bankrupt the family). The ultimate split between the couple caused quite a public scandal, but that’s towards the end of the story. In between, there were the novels (including Anna Karenina, which Tolstoy considered his “first novel”). The Kingdom of God is Within You (the title of which references John 17:21), a series of short stories collected under the title What Men Live By (which includes more questions), and his 1908 “Letter to a Hindu” (addressed to Tarak Nath Das).
“All that exists is One. People only call this One by different names. ~The Vedas
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ~ 1 John 4:16
God is one whole; we are the parts. ~ Exposition of the teaching of the Vedas by Vivekananda”
– quoted from “A Letter to a Hindu” by Leo Tolstoy (dated 12/14/1908)
All of Leo Tolstoy’s work can come under that heading of “what men live by.” The Kingdom of God is Within You highlights Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek. It also questions what Tolstoy viewed as hypocrisy, corruption, and moral contradictions within organized religion. Although it was banned in Russia, it was published in Germany several years after Tolstoy was placed under police surveillance by the czarist government and excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church. “A Letter to a Hindu” draws quotes from a plethora of sacred text and shows the parallels between religious traditions many people may not realize have shared teachings.
There’s more to the story, of course there is more, but just this little bit brings up the original questions above plus some particular to the author: Was Tolstoy the ultimate hypocrite? Is he the perfect cautionary tale? Did he spend his life becoming/being what he most despised and criticized?
Then, there are the questions that, perhaps, you have found yourself asking over the last few years: Do we disregard the message/teaching because of the messenger’s bad behavior? Should we excuse bad behavior because nobody is perfect, but some people have good intentions? How much should someone be condemned if they are doing their best to work towards a better world, but their bad (suffering-causing) behavior is rooted in years of privilege?
At each point, I think we have to come back to the beginning: ahimsā and satya. At each point, we have to turn inward and ask ourselves: What creates the least amount of harm while simultaneously allowing us to maintain our dedication to the truth?
“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating feelings of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked [ or non-virtuous].”
– quoted from How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali (1.33), translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
“As soon as men live entirely in accord with the law of love natural to their hearts and now revealed to them, which excludes all resistance by violence, and therefore hold aloof from all participation in violence —as soon as this happens, not only will hundreds be unable to enslave millions, but not even millions will be able to enslave a single individual. Do not resist the evil-doer and take no part in doing so, either in the violent deeds of the administration, in the law courts, the collection of taxes, or above all in soldiering, and no one in the world will be able to enslave you.”
– quoted from section V of “A Letter to a Hindu” by Leo Tolstoy (dated 12/14/1908)
Please join me today (Saturday, September 9th) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom (featuring “Three Questions,” one of Tolstoy’s short stories). 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.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09092020 Tolstoy’s Theory”]
NOTE: The penultimate track is different in the before/after music on each platform.
“O ye who sit in bondage and continually seek and pant for freedom, seek only for love. Love is peace in itself and peace which gives complete satisfaction. I am the key that opens the portal to the rarely discovered land where contentment alone is found.” ~KRISHNA.
– quoted from section VI of “A Letter to a Hindu” by Leo Tolstoy (dated 12/14/1908)
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.)
May you be safe and protected — and may you enjoy your journey.
“In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.
On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”
– quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig
The following excerpt is from the 2022 version of a 2020 post:
“It’s like a road trip. The vehicle is moving but we are still inside the vehicle; the scenery is still, but appears to be moving. Everything merges and converges while we are still. Do you see where we’re going?
It’s OK if you don’t. This is kind of like that old joke where someone says, ‘I’m not lost. I know exactly where we are. We’re in the car.’ Now, consider what happens if we could get out of the box or cage we’re in and become part of the scenery. Not walking necessarily, but riding. So that the scenery is simultaneously still and moving… but so are we. And, just like with a moving meditation, there is some part of us that always stays still.”
Please join me for a “spirited” virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Wednesday, September 6th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09062020 The Art of Moving Meditation”]
“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”
– quoted from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Pirsig
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 (non-professional) support.
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.)
### Just a little more “purposeless play” as “a way of waking up to the very life we’re living.” ~ JC ###
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted as “The Cagey Truth About Nothing” on September 5, 2020, and reposted in 2021. Today’s class details (and some formatting) have been updated.
“Every moment is an echo of nothing.”
— John Cage
Listen. Do that 90-second thing. Just for a moment, be still and be quiet.
Notice what you hear.
Notice what you see.
Notice what you feel.
Because, as long as you are alive, these things are always happening.
“Everything we do is music.”
“The world is teeming; anything can happen.”
— John Cage
We refer to the absence of something as nothing; but, in actuality, there is always something. Our understanding of nothing or emptiness is based on our perception and awareness of the truth. Zen Buddhism, which John Cage practiced, focuses on self-restraint, meditation, insight into the nature of the mind and the nature of things, and the personal expression of this insight — especially as it benefits others. This, truly, parallels the focus of the yoga philosophy.
It’s tricky, cagey even. However, if we pay attention, we start to notice that the truth about nothing leads to the truth about everything — and Patanjali indicated that being dedicated to to the truth leads to everything.
— “When a yogi is established in truthfulness, actions begin to bear fruit. [Truth is the foundation for fruitful action.]”
Born today in 1912, John Cage was an artist and composer who’s most well-known work is often misinterpreted. Even as musicians — even heavy metal musicians — who understand the piece take it on, there is often a level of interpretation and improvisation that changes the tenure of the piece. Some say Mr. Cage would approve of such things. Others say otherwise, but the truth of the matter is that he was not only a student of art and music. He was also a student of Zen Buddhism, Indian philosophy, chance, and (yes) improvisation.
He turned more towards music than art, because more people commented on his music and, in some ways, music was harder for him. He combined his two art forms by composing music for “prepared piano”, a piano that had been altered with blocks, pins, and other objects — and essentially turned into a percussion instrument. He also collaborated with his partner Merce Cunningham, the choreographer, and spent years composing via the I Ching, a resource for divination.
Divination comes from the Latin word for “to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy” and, as it is related to the Latin word for “divine”, it can be translated as “to be inspired by God.” It is, like randomly opening a page in the Bible or your favorite book, a way to gain insight into a particular situation. The I Ching or Book of Changes (sometimes translated as Classic of Changes) is an ancient resource for Chinese divination and one of the oldest Chinese classics. It became one of the “Five Classics” in the 2nd Century B.C. and has influenced art, literature, philosophy, and religion around the world since the Western Zhou period (1000 – 750 B. C.).
The text is the primary reference for interpreting a sequence of hexagrams which can be formed with numbers or by throwing coins containing the symbols for “yin” (a broken line) or “yang” (an unbroken line). Just like other users of Chinese divination, John Cage would form a question, throw the coins, and then create a musical interpretation of the resulting hexagon sequence and its corresponding message. While he had previously composed “by chance”, using the I Ching became his standard method of composing music after one of his students gave him a copy of the sacred text in 1951. In a 1957 lecture, he described music as “purposeless play” and “a way of waking up to the very life we’re living.”
“If something is boring after 2 minutes, try it for 4. If still boring, then 8. Then 16. Then 38. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”
— John Cage
It was also in 1951 that Mr. Cage had two other highly influential experiences. His friend and colleague Robert Rauschenberg produced a series of white paintings which appeared to be “blank” canvases, but which actually changed based on lighting and the shadows of the people viewing them. Around this same time, Mr. Cage spent some time in an anechoic chamber at Harvard University. The chamber was designed so that every part of the room absorbed sound, rather than reflecting it. Since it was meant to be completely silent and externally sound-proof, he expected to hear silence. However, instead of silence, he heard a high pitched sound and a low pitched sound. The engineer in charge of the room told him the high pitch was his nervous system and the low pitch was his blood circulation. Instead of silence, he was treated to the music of his own existence.
“There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot.”
— John Cage
Please join me today (Tuesday, September 5th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09052020 The Cagey Truth About Nothing”]
(FAIR WARNING: The volume on these tracks is quite dynamic, more so on the Spotify list. I love this music, however, I know some folks hate it; so, feel free to “randomly” pick another list or…practice in “silence.”)
“Get yourself out of whatever cage you find yourself.”
— John Cage
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 post–practice post for Monday, September 4th, Labor Day in the United States and parts of Canada. You can request an audio recording of either 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.
“Strike: ‘A temporary stoppage of work by a group of workers in order to express a grievance or to enforce a demand. Such a grievance or demand may or may not be workplace-related.’
– -The first sentence of this definition is heavily influenced by Peterson (1937: 3),1 also used by Hyman (1989: 17).2 The only difference we make to the first part of this definition is by changing ‘employees’ to ‘workers.’
Labor Protest: ‘Collective action by a group of people as workers but without withdrawing their labor in order to express a grievance or enforce a demand. Such a grievance or demand may or may not be workplace-related. A labor protest may also consist of a group of people not acting in the protest as workers as long as the central demand is workplace related.’
We distinguish between strikes and labor protests as a core component of our labor action tracker. The major distinction between strikes and labor protests relates to whether a group of workers stopped work during the course of the event. We believe this definition of strikes is relatively inclusive, but we need to convincingly demonstrate that a stoppage of work led by a group of workers occurs to label an event a strike.”
— quoted “Section I: Definitions” on the “Methodology” page of the Cornell University Labor Action Tracker
The last few years have been the most active years, in my lifetime, with regard to labor action. According to the Labor Action Tracker maintained by Cornell University, 394 strikes occurred in 615 locations between September 4, 2022 and September 4, 2023. That is in addition to 458 labor protests (in 568 locations) during the same period. That’s a total of 852 labor actions found in 1183 locations.
Some of these labor disputes — like the strikes involving teachers and school staffs, nurses, and members of SAG-AFTRA* and the Writers Guild, as well as the Starbucks union initiatives and various Teamster union actions — have been front and center in the media and in the minds of the general populace. Some — like the nearly 2-year long Warrior Met Coal strike in Alabama — never got the kind of coverage that sways public opinion one way (or the other). The thing is, all of these labor actions occur because people want the same things workers have always wanted: better working conditions and better pay.
On one hand, better working conditions and better pay do not seem too much to ask when companies are pulling in billions (and sometimes) trillions of dollars — and/or when corporate leaders and superintendents are being paid even as stocks fall and children struggle. On the other hand….
Yep, nope; not going to both sides this. Because, at the end of the day, the companies — not to mention the country — run because of the workers who are asking for the same things people have always wanted: to be safe and to make enough money to take care of themselves and their families. Additionally, it inevitably costs more (on a lot of different levels) to not come to the bargaining table and work out an agreement than it does for everyone to come together and work together.
In many ways, the way labor works in the world is similar to the way the different parts of our mind-body-spirits work. We may think one part has nothing to do with another part because the two parts are not touching on the outside (and, therefore, we are not conscious of the connections); but, let the imbalance go unaddressed and suddenly the whole system falls apart. Similarly, we can argue that focusing on one part takes away from another part. However, if we don’t work to create balance, the imbalance will (again) cause our system to fail.
Bottom line: If the workers don’t work, the company (and the country) don’t work. Everything shuts down. Additionally, when people are forced to work in unsafe and unfair conditions, they break down — which ultimately results in the company (and the country) breaking down. Finally, when we come together and figure out equitable ways to work together, everyone benefits — even those people who are not in a specific union and/or industry.
“I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.”
— Eugene V. Debs, quoted from his statement to the Federal Court (Cleveland, Ohio), after being convicted of violating the Sedition Act, September 18, 1918
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
*NOTE: SAG-AFTRA is the Screen Actors and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
“1Peterson, F. (1937). Strikes in the United States: 1880-1936. Washington: United States Department of Labor.
2 Hyman, R. (1989). Strikes: Fourth Edition. London: Macmillan.”
— quoted “Section I: Definitions” on the “Methodology” page of the Cornell University Labor Action Tracker
“That is the final, and I think most beautiful lesson, of Howard Moskowitz: that in embracing the diversity of human beings, we will find a surer way to true happiness.”
— quoted from the 2004 Ted conference TedTalk entitled, “Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce” by Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963)
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, September 3rd) at 2:30 PM.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09032022 What Comes With”]
“Economists often talk about the 80/20 Principle, which is the idea that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the “work” will be done by 20 percent of the participants. In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80 percent of crimes. Twenty percent of motorists cause 80 percent of all accidents. Twenty percent of beer drinkers drink 80 percent of all beer. When it comes to epidemics, though, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme: a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.”
— quoted from the introduction of the Law of the Few in “One: The Three Laws of Epidemics” in The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
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.)
– Salma Hayek, Actor, Director, Producer, and Activist
Brahmacharya is the fourth and penultimate yamā (external “restraint” or universal commandment) in the Yoga Philosophy. It literally means “Divine conduct or behavior,” but is also understood as “following in the footsteps of the Divine” or “chasing God.” In a religious context, it is a path outlined by the life (and the commandments) of a “Big G” guru. In a philosophical context – specifically, in the context of the 8-limbs of Yoga, it is living a life in accordance with the yamās and niyamās.
Brahmacharya is very much an internal practice. However, it has outward implications – and what other people inevitable see is what they understand. So, someone may conduct themselves in a way that acknowledges the divinity and connection of all living beings; but, what people see (and focus upon) is celibacy. You may focus on keeping your mind and body clean; but, what people see (and understand) is that you don’t drink, smoke, or gossip.
Just as there is grace in going deeper into the lives and teachings of “Big G” gurus, there is something to be learned by going deeper into the lives of “little g” gurus (like the ones born today).
Please join me today (Saturday, September 2nd) at 12:00 PM, for a 90-minute yoga practice on Zoom. 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) a joyfulpractice.com
Saturday’s (heart-filled) playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09022020 Magical/Birthday Inspiration”]
NOTE: The practice music is the same, but one playlist includes David Blaine’s Ascension and the other includes Romare Bearden’s “Sea Breeze.”
A Joyful Practice 