Wednesday’s Quick Note & Excerpts About Symbols and Faith (the “missing” post) July 24, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, First Nations, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wisdom, Yin Yoga, Yoga.Tags: "Major Heat", 988, Alex Johnson, Bannock, Brian Maffly, Brigham Young, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Dà shǔ, Diamond Sutra, Dr. Gill, Efrem Korngold L.A.c. O.M.D., faith, Goshute, Harriet Beinfield L.Ac., Intertribal Powwow, John Newton, Navajo, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Paiute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Pie and Beer Day, Pioneer Day, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Shoshone, Skull Valley Band of Goshute, tapas, Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, White Mesa Community of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, 大暑
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
This is the “missing” note and excerpts related to Wednesday, July 24th. 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.
“The lord Buddha continued:
‘If any person were to say that the Buddha, in his teachings, has constantly referred to himself, to other selves, to living beings, or to a universal self, what do you think, would that person have understood my meaning?’
Subhuti replied, ‘No, blessed lord. That person would not have understood the meaning of your teachings. For when you refer to those things, you are not referring to their actual existence, you only use the words as figures of speech, as symbols. Only in that sense can words be used, for conceptions, ideas, limited truths, and spiritual truths have no more reality than have matter or phenomena.’”
— quoted from “Chapter 31” of the Diamond Sutra – A New Translation, translated by Alex Johnson
Using food as a symbol comes up a lot during this week’s practices. Monday it was tacos, Wednesday it was pie. It could have been pie and beer; but, since I don’t drink, I didn’t think to ask people what kind of beer represented their faith. In the past, no one really pointed out my oversight. However, it came up this year and it turns out that (when they think about it for a moment) people had really good answers.
Of course, by “good,” I mean meaningful.
Click on the excerpt titles below to find out why pie and beer come up today, what other foods people consume this time of year, and what it all has to do with faith and our origin stories.
Symbols for Reflection & Self-Study (the “missing” Monday post)
“Since everything is connected by the circle, health is understood broadly, defining the whole being within the social and natural order. What is good for nature is good for humanity, what is good for one is good for all, what is good for the mind is good for the body, and so on. To harm a part is to harm the whole. What is bad for the heart is bad for the body, what damages one person damages all people, what injures the earth injures me. Conversely, to restore and preserve the good health of one body and mind is to foster the well-being of the whole, the earth and all life upon it.”
— quoted from “Chapter Three – Philosophy in the East: The Doctor As Gardener” in Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine by Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac. and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O. M. D.
Dà shǔ “Major Heat” 2023 (an updated and revised post) *UPDATED*
“For generations, various Shoshone bands gathered on the lake’s shores for an annual fish festival to celebrate the lake’s bounty, according to Mary Murdock Meyer, chief executive of the Timpanogos Nation.
‘Our people raised families around these waters. We laughed and played. We worked and toiled. We swam. We fished. We utilized the surrounding foliage to make the necessary tools and medicines,’ Meyer said at last year’s Utah Lake Symposium. ‘Above all, we prayed. We held ceremonies. We danced, and we sang around the lake.’
Within a century of the pioneers’ arrival, much of this biological diversity would, like the Timpanogos, be gone….”
— quoted from The Salt Lake Tribune (March 31, 2022) article entitled, “How Utah Lake once sustained tribes and Mormon pioneers and why it needs help: After neglecting it for decades, Utahns want to make Utah Lake great again, but are sharply divided over how or even what that means.” by Brian Maffly
Wednesday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
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).
“Family worship succeeding, the portion of the Scripture read had in it the following words, ‘By the Grace of God I am what I am,’ –– It was [John Newton’s] custom to make a short familiar exposition on the passage read. After the reading, he paused for some moments and then uttered the following affected words –– –I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient – I am not what I wish to be, I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good –– I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection –– yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge; by the grace of God I am what I am, Let us pray.”
— quoted from passage entitled “Anecdote of Mr. John Newton” by Dr. Gill, in the “Gleanings” section of The Religious Monitor, or, Evangelical Repository (March 1825)
NOTE: John Newton was born July 24, 1725, according to the Julian calendar.
### Don’t Forget Your H2O ###
Mostly Just the Wednesday music (and class details) July 24, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Music, One Hoop.Tags: 988
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
Please join me today (Wednesday, July 24th) 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 available on YouTube and Spotify.
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).
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.
### 
###
Quick Note & EXCERPT: “Dà shǔ ‘Major Heat’” July 23, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Healing Stories, Health, Life, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wisdom, Yin Yoga, Yoga.Tags: "Major Heat", 988, Batman, Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Chief Seattle, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, D. C. Comics, David S. Goyer, Dà shǔ, Efrem Korngold L.Ac. O.M.DS., Harriet Beinfield L.Ac., Intertribal Powwow, Raymond Chandler, tapas
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
“The center of most ancient cultures, from China in the second century B.C. to the twentieth-century native America, was the earth. Human welfare was attached to the rains upon the soil, the wind of the heaves and pliable trees embedded in an abundant forest. Chief Seattle, in 1854, summed up this ancient view of how humanity stands in relation to the world” ‘This we know – the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.’”
— quoted from “Chapter Three – Philosophy in the East: The Doctor As Gardener” in Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine by Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac. and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O. M. D.
Since Raymond Chandler was born today in 1888 (and the first Batman Day was today in 2014), it is time to put on your detective’s hat and investigate what happens when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Click on the excerpt title below for the entire 2023 post.
Dà shǔ “Major Heat” 2023 (an updated and revised post) *UPDATED*
Please join me today (Tuesday, July 23rd) 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 “08222021 Fire Thread”]
“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me.”
— Batman (Christian Bale), quoted from the movie Batman Begins (written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, based on characters created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger)
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
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).
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.
### H2O ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts About Using the Hook… (the “missing” Saturday post) July 20, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Donate, Faith, Fitness, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Love, Mantra, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Poetry, Suffering, Volunteer, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Carlos Santana, Emily Perl Kingsley, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Four R's, Neal Schon, Pema Chödrön, Rosemary Kennedy, Sahasrara, Santana, shenpa, Shenpa & The Practice of Getting Unhooked, Special Olympics
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone putting together the pieces for peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
This is the “missing” note and excerpts related to the practice on Saturday, July 20th. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a related 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.
“Today
Is all I really need to find the answers
I’ll find the constant flow
Of all the harmony”
— quoted from the song “All the Love of the Universe” by Carlos Santana (b. 07/20/1947), written by Carlos Santana / Neal Schon
This present moment is the culmination of all our previous moments and — whether we recognize it or not — it is informed by our previous moments So, right here, right now, we all come into this present moment with stuff. Without judging or categorizing the stuff, just recognize that it is a lot of stuff and because we bring this stuff into the moment — and into the practice — each moment and each practice is unique. Even when we repeat a sequence and/or a theme, there is something that is new and different.
Yes, the fact that different people show up at different times means that some things will be different. Plus, I often tweak the sequence, how I cue it, and/or which parts of the theme to share. I may even remix the music or use a different playlist. All of that is part of “the stuff.” So too is how our bodies change as we practice and as we age. So too is whatever is going on in our lives and in the world. All of that (plus how we feel about all of that and how we process all of that) is “the stuff” that makes this present moment different from all the other moments.
All of the aforementioned stuff is the energetic and symbolic purview of the Sahasrara (“thousand-petalled”) chakra. Also known as the crown chakra, the seventh chakra is associated with the top of the head; thought, consciousness, and self-knowledge. Some teachers also associate it with our connection to the Divine/Source (whatever that means to you at this moment). Finally, it is associated with this present moment and one’s ability to be present in (any given) moment.
Of course, our ability to truly be present and to truly comprehend the present moment — as well as understand how this present moment is informed by previous moments and will inform future moments — can be hampered when we get “hooked” because something or someone pushed our buttons. Throughout this last week, as we practiced with Pema Chödrön’s teachings related to the the R’s, I have mostly referenced “the hook” in a negative way. However….
Click on the excerpt titles below to learn about a different kind of hook and how past experiences that hook you can also motivate you to create change in the world.
Using the “hook” to get unhooked (the “missing” Tuesday post)
“Like diabetes, deafness, polio or any other misfortune, [intellectual disabilities] can happen in any family. It has happened in the families of the poor and the rich, of governors, senators, Nobel prizewinners, doctors, lawyers, writers, men of genius, presidents of corporations – the President of the United States.”
— quoted from a September 22, 1962 article by Eunice Kennedy Shriver printed in The Saturday Evening Post
“But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.”
— quoted from “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley ©1987
“Everybody needs a helpin’ hand
Everybody needs a helpin’ hand”
— quoted from the song “All the Love of the Universe” by Carlos Santana (b. 07/20/1947), written by Carlos Santana / Neal Schon
Saturday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07202021 Using the Hook”]
NOTE: The YouTube playlist has an extra track in the before/after section.
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).
### BIG HUGS ###
Mostly Just the Saturday music (and class details) July 20, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Music, One Hoop.Tags: 988
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone putting together the pieces for peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
Please join me today (Saturday, July 20th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07202021 Using the Hook”]
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).
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.
### ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts About Practicing the R’s July 14, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Anushka Fernandopulle, attachment, Buddhism, compassion, compassionate abiding, Elephant Journal, loving-kindness, lovingkindness, Matt Caron, Metta, non-attachment, Pema Chödrön, Pema Chodron, shenpa, Shenpa & The Practice of Getting Unhooked, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
“Somebody says a mean word to you and then something in you tightens — that’s the shenpa. Then it starts to spiral into low self-esteem, or blaming them, or anger at them, denigrating yourself. And maybe if you have strong addictions, you just go right for your addiction to cover over the bad feeling that arose when that person said that mean word to you. This is a mean word that gets you, hooks you. Another mean word may not affect you but we’re talking about where it touches that sore place — that’s a shenpa. Someone criticizes you — they criticize your work, they criticize your appearance, they criticize your child — and, shenpa: almost co-arising.”
— Pema Chödrön
For the record, I am not going to say, practice, teach (or preach) anything I haven’t been teaching, practicing, and saying (or preaching) for years. Maybe I will tweak the phrasing. Maybe you will hear/see/understand things in a special way — thereby gaining new insight. Either way, regardless of all that is happening in the world, it still comes back to this: Sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse.
Yes, sometimes we can do things that make our life and the lives around us better. Sometimes we can write legislation, vote for legislation, and/or vote for people who write and/or vote for legislation that creates more opportunity for peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. Sometimes we can create organizations or work, volunteer, and/or donate to organizations that cultivate peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. There are, however, times when we are too poor — in spirit, heart/courage, skills, and/or material resources — to do anything other than send “thoughts and prayers.”
All that being, I am of the mindset that we can not know what we are able to do and/or what is the best way to respond — rather than react — until we sit down, get still, get quiet, and get honest about our intentions. Once we are grounded and centered, then we can act accordingly. In other words, practice the four R’s:
-
RECOGNIZE (that your buttons have gotten pushed and you have the urge/impulse to react).
-
REFRAIN (from doing anything, especially that knee jerk reaction).
-
RELAX (maybe breathe peace in and breath peace out, or do use a centering prayer).
-
RESOLVE (to move forward with mindfulness and intention).
This is the practice taught by the American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön, who was born today in 1936. I often add another R (or two):
-
REMEMBER (your intention and why you are doing the thing you are doing).
-
RECOGNIZE (again, that sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse).
You may be thinking, I don’t have time for all that “navel gazing” and introspection. And, yes, there are definitely times that require a quick response. At the same time, if you make this practice a habit, it only takes a split second to engage when you really need it.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE!
“By trying this, we learn exactly where we are open and where we are closed. We learn quickly where we would do well to just practice abiding compassionately with our own confused feelings, before we try to work with other people, because right now our efforts would probably make a bigger mess. I know many people who want to be teachers, or feed the homeless, or start clinics, or try in some way to truly help others. Despite their generous intentions, they don’t always realize that if they plan to work closely with people they may be in for a lot of difficulty—a lot of feeling hooked. The people they hope to help will not always see them as saviors. In fact, they will probably criticize them and give them a hard time. Teachers and helpers of all kinds will be of limited use if they are doing their work to build up their own egos.”
— quoted from “Unlimited Friendliness: Three steps to genuine compassion” (Winter 2009 issue of Tricycle) by Pema Chödrön
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, July 14th) 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 “07142020 Compassion & Peace for Pema”]
“Prince Guatama, who had become Buddha, saw one of his followers meditating under a tree at the edge of the Ganges River. Upon inquiring why he was meditating, his follower stated he was attempting to become so enlightened he could cross the river unaided. Buddha gave him a few pennies and said: “Why don’t you seek passage with that boatman. It is much easier.”
— quoted from Matt Caron and from Elephant Journal
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).
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.
### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI OM ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts About Life and Cultivating a Good Heart July 6, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Love, Meditation, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, bodhicitta, bodhisattva, Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Geshé Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Geshé Langri Tangpa, lojong, loving-kindness, lovingkindness, samkhya, siddhis, Sāmkhya, Tenzin Gyatso, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating a heart full of peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
“The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.”
— quoted from the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama (December 10, 1989)
Today is the Dalai Lama’s 89th birthday and, even as he recovers from knee surgery here in the United States, he is focused on suhrit-prapti (“the ability to cultivate a good heart; obtain friends”), which is one of the siddhis (“abilities”) described as “unique to being human” in Yoga and Sāmkhya. In the aforementioned philosophies, as well as in Buddhism, lessons of the heart are also lessons of the mind. In fact, the entirety of the Yoga Sūtras could be considered mind training techniques.
As I mentioned in 2020, the Dalai Lama celebrated his 85th birthday by giving “A Short Teaching on Mind Training” to a group in Taiwan. (He was in India.) He focused his dharma talk on the end of Geshé Langri Tangpa’s Eight Verses for Training the Mind. In Tibetan Buddhism, lojong are “mind training” techniques to prepare a practitioner for a variety of loving-kindness and compassion practices. They are aphorisms designed to cultivate bodhicitta (the awakened of enlightened mind/intellect). The most common lojong practices in the West are approximately 59 statements found in a 12th century text by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje. Geshé Chekawa based his instruction on the teachings of Geshé Langri Tangpa (which is whole story unto itself). While the Dalai Lama focused on the end of the text in 2020, he has previously taught and written about the entire text — and in particular, the eight verses.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE!
A Big G’s Gift On His Birthday (with video)
The Power and Responsibility of Cultivating a Good Heart (the Wednesday post)
“In all my deeds may I probe into my mind,
And as soon as mental and emotional afflictions arise-
As they endanger myself and others-
May I strongly confront them and avert them.”
— Verse 3 from Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Geshé Langri Tangpa
Please join me today (Saturday, July 6th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07062021 HHDL Big Day”]
NOTE: The YouTube playlist includes the Dalai Lama’s 2021 birthday message. Since it was not available on Spotify, I substituted a prayer.
“The whole world naturally seeks peace, and peace is rooted in having a good heart.”
“I believe we can combine our traditional [Tibetan] understanding of the mind and modern science to show how to cultivate love and compassion and achieve peace of mind. We all want to be happy and fundamental to that is having a good heart.”
— quoted from the speech to the 8th World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet (in Washington, D. C., June 22-23, 2022) by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
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).
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.
### LOVE ###
[BONUS — FTWMI] EXCERPTS (with links): “Wait…what exactly are we celebrating? (blink and you’ll miss it)” July 4, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Music, One Hoop, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Abigail Adams, Alex Haley, Caesar Rodney, Christopher Spencer, Daveed Diggs, Douglass descendants, Elijah Al-Amin, Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass, freedom, independence, James Madison, James Monroe, John Adams, John Cena, liberation, Malcolm X, Napoleon Bonaparte, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, truth, yoga philosophy, yoga practice
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Happy 4th (for those who are celebrating). Many blessings to all!!
For Those Who Missed It: The following summary was originally posted in 2023. Some formatting and extra excerpts have been updated/added.
“Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”
— quoted from the “Introduction” to Common Sense, signed by the “Author” (Thomas Paine, known as “The Father of the American Revolution”) and dated “Philadelphia, February 14, 1776
The following excerpt is from a 2020 post:
“On Wednesday, July 3, 1776, the future President of the United States, John Adams, wrote two letters to his wife Abigail. In one of the letters he theorized about the pros (like Canada being included in the declaration) and cons (like still having to deal with ‘The Hopes of Reconciliation, which were fondly entertained by Multitudes of honest well meaning tho weak and mistaken People…’ ) of making the declaration earlier. He then wrote, ‘The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.
I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.’
Meanwhile, Caesar Rodney rested and, on Thursday, July 4, 1776, he wrote a letter to his younger brother Thomas indicating, ‘I arrived in Congress (tho detained by thunder and rain) time enough to give my voice in the matter of independence… We have now got through the whole of the declaration and ordered it to be printed so that you will soon have the pleasure of seeing it.’ He, like a good majority of the signers, would sign the finalized “Declaration of Independence” on August 4th – although others would sign all the way up until November.”
Click here or on the first title below to read more about what actually happened on the Fourth of July.
Click here or on the second title below to read about some people you may have forgotten.
Wait…what exactly are we celebrating? (blink and you’ll miss it)
No Zoom practice today, but you can checkout the playlist that is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “4th of July 2020”]
NOTE: The playlists are slightly different, but mostly with regard to the before/after class music. The biggest difference is that the videos below do not appear on Spotify.
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (descendants in 2020)
What to My People is the Fourth of July
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).
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.
2025 UPDATE: One video has been changed here (and on the playlist), since the original content is not currently available.
### WHAT DOES FREEDOM MEAN TO YOU? ###
[FTWMI] “Freedom: Still Making It Make Sense” July 3, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, California, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Suffering, Swami Vivekananda, Tragedy, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Abigail Adams, Battle of Gettysburg, CROWN Act, Franz Kafka, Frederick R. Karl, George Meade, John Adams, Kelly Rowland, Max Brod, National CROWN Day, Oskar Pollak, Robert E. Lee
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It’s National CROWN Day (unofficially, of course)! Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2022. Class details, the playlist (plus some formatting), and a video have been updated/changed or added.
“… so he said to put an end to all misunderstanding: ‘We parted on bad terms.’
The Manageress seemed to construe this as excellent news.
‘So then you’re free?’ she said.
‘Yes, I’m free,’ said Karl, and nothing seemed more worthless than his freedom.”
— quoted from “FIVE / The Hotel Occidental” in the unfinished novel Amerika by Franz Kafka
In some ways, we are living in a realistic, surreal world, not unlike the worlds created by Franz Kafka, who was born today in 1883. Like Kafka’s characters, we find ourselves transformed and/or in oddly transformational situations where we are forced to confront things that just don’t make sense. Of course, in order for things to make sense, we need context… reference points… history. In fact, in a letter to Oskar Pollak (dated 27 January 1904), Kafka advocated reading books that shake us awake. This was a follow-up to an earlier letter (dated 8 November 1903, translated by Frederick R. Karl), in which Kafka wrote, “We are as forlorn as children lost in the woods. When you stand in front of me and look at me, what do you know of the griefs that are in me and what do I know of yours? And if I were to cast myself down before you and weep and tell you, what more would you know about me than you know about Hell when someone tells you it is hot and dreadful? For that reason alone we human beings ought to stand before one another as reverently, as reflectively, as lovingly, as we would before the entrance to Hell.”
Today in 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail about how (and why) the “Second Day of July 1776” would be remembered and celebrated for all times.
Today in 1863, the Army of the Potomac forces, led by Major General George Meade, defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during the third Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and its conclusion not only halted the confederacy’s invasion of northern territories, it also marked the beginning of the end of the Civil War (but not the end of the battle for long-promised freedom).
Today in 2019, in America’s ongoing effort to make our ideals make sense (as a reality rather than a theory), the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB188) was signed into law under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (of 1959) and the California Education Code. As I noted last year: “New Jersey and New York adopted similar versions of the bill and other states, including South Carolina, are following suit. But, those laws don’t protect people in all over the country and they don’t apply outside of the country.” You can click the previous link for the history and/or click here for more (con)text(ure).
Please join me today (Wednesday, July 3rd) 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 “07032024 More Freedom(s)”]
NOTE: This playlist is a remixed (and is different from what we used in previous years). It is still slightly different on each platform, but mostly with regard to the before/after class music. The biggest difference is that certain contextual videos (including the one below) do not appear on Spotify.
“Who is free? The free must certainly be beyond cause and effect. If you say that the idea of freedom is a delusion, I shall say that the idea of bondage is also a delusion. Two facts come into our consciousness, and stand or fall with each other. These are our notions of bondage and freedom. If we want to go through a wall, and our head bumps against that wall, we see we are limited by that wall. At the same time we find a willpower, and think we can direct our will everywhere. At every step these contradictory ideas come to us. We have to believe that we are free, yet at every moment we find we are not free. If one idea is a delusion, the other is also a delusion, and if one is true, the other also is true, because both stand upon the same basis — consciousness. The Yogi says, both are true; that we are bound so far as intelligence goes, that we are free so far as the soul is concerned. It is the real nature of man, the soul, the Purusha, which is beyond all law of causation. Its freedom is percolating through layers of matter in various forms, intelligence, mind, etc. It is its light which is shining through all.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.20 from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
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).
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.
### Feel Free ###
Another Quick Note & More Excerpts About Freedom & Liberation July 2, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Suffering, Swami Vivekananda, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Caesar Rodney, Christopher Isherwood, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Act of 1964, freedom, independence, John Adams, liberty, maya, Mâyâ, prakiti, purusha, Swami Prabhavananda, Swami Vivekananda, Thurgood Marshall, Yoga Sutras 2.18-2.20
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
“There is a story that the king of the gods, Indra, once became a pig, wallowing in mire; he had a she-pig and a lot of baby pigs, and was very happy. Then some gods saw his plight, and came to him, and told him, ‘You are the king of the gods, you have all the gods under your command. Why are you here?’ But Indra said, ‘Never mind; I am all right here; I do not care for heaven, while I have this sow and these little pigs.’ The poor gods were at their wits’ end….”
“Thus is it with us all in this Mâyâ, this dream world, where it is all misery, weeping and crying, where a few golden balls are rolled, and the world scrambles after them. You were never bound by laws, nature never had a bond for you. That is what the Yogi tells you. Have patience to learn it. And the Yogi shows how, by junction with nature, and identifying itself with the mind and the world, the Purusha thinks itself miserable. Then the Yogi goes on to show you that the way out is through experience. You have to get all this experience, but finish it quickly. We have placed ourselves in this net, and will have to get out. We have got ourselves caught in the trap, and we will have to work out our freedom. So get this experience of husbands, and wives, and friends, and little loves; you will get through them safely if you never forget what you really are. Never forget this is only a momentary state, and that we have to pass through it. Experience is the one great teacher — experience of pleasure and pain — but know it is only experience. It leads, step by step, to that state where all things become small, and the Purusha so great that the whole universe seems as a drop in the ocean and falls off by its own nothingness. We have to go through different experiences, but let us never forget the ideal.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.18 from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
In their commentary to Yoga Sūtras 2.17 – 2.18, Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood referenced the story above and indicated that it was “Patañjali’s answer to the pig-people; to those who want to stay wallowing in their mire.” For the record, we are all in the mud and the mire and we all have the opportunity to “work out our freedom…. We [just] have to go through different experiences, but let us never forget the ideal.”
In addition to being the Tuesday in 1776 when Caesar Rodney cast his vote for independence, today is also the anniversary of the birth Thurgood Marshall (b. 1908) — a man who spent his entire life fighting for freedom — and the day then-President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It is also the day John Adams expected us to celebrate!
The excerpts below are related to July 2nd and are continuations of the ongoing saga about freedom, liberty, and independence in the United States of America.
CLICK THE EXCERPT TITLES FOR MORE.
Because Every Vote Counted (Part 3): more aptly titled “To Ensure Every Vote Counted”
“As I believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for independence.”
— Caesar Rodney, Delaware delegate to the Second Continental Congress, July 2, 1776
Please join me today (Tuesday, July 2nd) 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 “07012020 Caesar Rodney’s Ride”]
“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”
— Supreme Court Justice (and former NAACP chief counsel) Thurgood Marshall referencing his SCOTUS successor in a Newsweek interview (dated October 28, 1991)
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).
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.
A Joyful Practice 