Una Otra Día Para Recordar (mostly the music) November 2, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Loss, Music, Yoga.Tags: All Souls' Day, Allhallowtide, Dia de los Muertos, Dia de Muertos, Kevin Brockmeier
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“That was what the living did: they died.”
.
– quoted from The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
Please join me today (Tuesday, November 2nd) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. Give yourself extra time to log in if you have not upgraded to Zoom 5.0. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is on YouTube and Spotify.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, playlists, 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). If you don’t mind me knowing your donation amount you can also donate to me directly. Donations to Common Ground are tax deductible; class purchases and donations directly to me are not necessarily deductible.)
### “BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.” ###
For Those Who Missed It: Houdini’s Last Month (and Allhallowtide) October 31, 2021
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Mysticism, Tragedy, Yoga.Tags: Allhallowtide, Halloween, Harry Houdini, seance, Yoga Sutra 1.23, Yoga Sutra 2.45
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The following was originally posted on October 31, 2020. Class details have been updated for today. NOTE: The séance link will give you some interesting information about last year’s efforts to make contact.
“My brain is the key that sets me free.”
– Harry Houdini’s motto, as quoted in the Houdini Museum (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
October 1926 was not a good month for Harry Houdini. On October 11th, during his Water Torture Cell escape, a piece of equipment struck him and fractured his left ankle. But, “the show must go on” and so Houdini continued his tour. He did, however, rest his ankle whenever he could and so he was lying down, having a casual conversation with students, after giving a lecture at McGill University in Montreal on October 22nd. One of the students cited the Bible and asked if it was true that he could sustain blows to the belly without being hurt. The magician/illusionist casually said yes, and I can only imagine him lying there and smiling or chuckling as he said it. He had no idea the student wanted a demonstration and, therefore didn’t stand up and brace himself (as he normally would for the “trick”).
Neither Houdini nor the students, including the student who hit him, knew that Houdini was suffering from acute appendicitis. Some have speculated that had he not been hit, the magician/illusionist would not have ignored the stomach pains he felt during that evening’s performance and over the following two days. Furthermore, some people think he would have gone to see a doctor sooner. I argue that it might not have mattered, because when Houdini (suffering from by then constant pain and a 102˚ fever) finally saw a doctor and received the diagnosis, he disregarded the advice to have immediate surgery. Instead, he continued to perform. On October 24th, at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan, he gave his last performance – with a 104˚ fever, cold sweats, and acute appendicitis. He was rushed to the hospital after the performance, but it was too late. His appendix had burst, the toxins had spread, and he would spend his final days in Grace Hospital’s Room 401. He died at 1:26 (EST) on Halloween 1926 (and this year’s annual séance to contact his spirit is on Zoom, but you’d have to skip today’s practice if you plan to log into it).
Given his background and his beliefs, I find it very interesting that Harry Houdini died on Halloween, which is the beginning of the Western Christian feast of Allhollowtide and connected to the pagan celebrations of Samhain.
Samhain, “summer’s end,” was a time when the Celts believed that the door between “this world and the next” was opened just enough for the dearly departed to step back for a visit. Some of those visitors were welcomed… some not so much. Either way, people developed rituals to pay respect to the dead and also to ward off evil. Those customs included guising or mumming (also souling), where people would dress in disguises and go door-to-door offering prayers and songs in exchange for alms and treats (like soul cakes). Fire is a big element in the celebrations as it is an element of purification. Additionally, it was believed that passing cattle around a bonfire would reveal any spiritual possession. Pope Gregory IV moved the Christian feast All Hallows’ Day, or All Souls’ Day, to November 1st in 835 – thereby making October 31st All Hallows’ Day Eve. In Scottish, the word “eve” is “even” and contracted to “e’en” or “een,” making today Halloween – the scariest day of the year!
“My chief task has been to conquer fear. The public sees only the thrill of the accomplished trick; they have no conception of the tortuous preliminary self-training that was necessary to conquer fear.”
– Harry Houdini
One of the greatest escape artists of all times failed to escape the thing many people fear most: death. That fear of loss, fear of death, is the very last of the afflicted or dysfunctional thought patterns which cause suffering (according to the Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras) and it can be the most paralyzing because it is, in some ways, the culmination of all the other afflicted/dysfunctional thought patterns. People hate change because it is – in some way, shape, or form – the end of what is known/perceived; who we think we are; and what we like and don’t like. Even when we acknowledge that an ending is also a beginning, even when we can see how the end of something can also be the end of suffering, we cling to what is familiar, known, and tangible. We don’t want to let go…. Even though, Patanjali (and all the other mystics and seers) tells us, again and again, that the secret to ending suffering is letting go.
Yoga Sūtra 1.23: īśvarapraņidhānādvā
– “[A perfectly still, pristine state of mind] also comes from trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine].”
Yoga Sūtra 2.45: samādhisiddhirīśvarapraņidhānāt
– “From trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine], [a perfectly still, pristine state of mind] is achieved.”
Even though repetition (japa-ajapa) is an integral part of the practice of mantra, and the practice of the mantra OM (or AUM) is highlighted in the sūtras, Patanjali doesn’t normally repeat (almost verbatim) what he has previously instructed. With this week’s sūtra, however, we find ourselves tossed right back to the “secret of concentration” found in the first section of the book. So there must be something to this “trustful surrender” – something that lifts the veil between the known and the unknown, the natural and the supernatural. Or, you can think of it as something that opens the door between the sense world and the “Other” world.
Please join me for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, October 31st) at 2:30 PM. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. Give yourself extra time to log in if you have not upgraded to Zoom 5.0.
You can request an audio recording of Saturday’s 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.
Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10312020 All Hallows’ Eve”]
### TRICK OR TREAT? ###
Recuerda a las inocentes November 1, 2020
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Faith, Health, Life, Loss, Mysticism, Yoga.Tags: All Hallows' Day, All Saints Day, Allhallowtide, Day of the Holy Innocents, Dia de los Muertos, Dia de Muertos, Hanal Pixan, Kevin Brockmeier, Mexico, Reverend Richard A. Donohoe, Stephanie Carmon, Yucatan
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“All Saints is a celebration of the communion of saints, those people we believe are in heaven, through good works and God’s grace…. On All Saints’ Day there’s a call to live as saints, to remind us how we’re supposed to live.”
– Very Reverend Richard A. Donohoe, vicar of Catholic Charities for Diocese of Birmingham
Today, November 1st, is the end of Samhain and the second day of Allhallowtide. It is known as All Hallows Day, meaning it is holy, or All Saints Day in Western Christianity and it is the beginning of Día de (los) Muertos for Mexicans and the Mexican diaspora. Traditionally today is a memorial day for saints and innocents, i.e. young children, and is a national holiday in some Christian countries. In the Methodist tradition, it is a solemn occasion of remembrance and thanksgiving observed by Christians who have a “fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (Christian triumphant) and the living (the Christian militant). People will pray for blessings and protection; tend graves; leave flowers – like chrysanthemums in Belgium and France – and; in some country there is an exchange of traditional (and symbolic) treats. In Mexico and for the Mexican diaspora, however, Día de (los) Muertos is traditionally all of the above and a giant celebration full of brightly colored parades, music and dancing, candy skulls, marigolds, and ofrendas (“offerings”) or home or graveside alters curated around the life of a loved one.
This year, however, it is hard to remember to celebrate when so many have died. In the United States, people of color – including thousands of Mexican-Americans – have been hit hard by the pandemic. According to the nCov2019 Coronavirus Dashboard, almost 92k people have died (as of this morning) – and that number does not include people who have died over the quarantine months because of the additional physical, mental, and emotional strain of the pandemic. In response to the toll, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced three days of national mourning, beginning with Halloween. The government canceled parades, asked for cemeteries to close, and announced that the flag at the National Palace in Mexico will be flown at half mast in honor of those lost during the pandemic.
Even though it is hard to remember to celebrate when there is so much tragedy, the human spirit perseveres and always finds a way. That people will find a way is not surprising when we remember that some of these traditions date back to the rituals of the Mayans, Aztecs, and over 40 other indigenous cultures that survived despite colonization. So, in addition to flying the flag at half mast, the government has created an official ofrenda for all victims of the pandemic and annual ofrenda contests are being held virtually or in appropriate socially distant ways. And, of course, people continue to make pan de muertos, the traditional bread of the dead, and decorate with sugar skulls and paper banners.
“Since living in Merida, I have been able to witness the deep connection Yucatecans have to this special time of year honoring the souls of their departed loved ones. One of the things that I have always admired about Yucatecans is that they keep many of their traditions alive by believing, practicing and teaching their children about them. They don’t just go through the motions; they truly pay attention to detail and live the experience.”
– quoted from Yucatan’s Hanal Pixan: How It Differs from the Day of the Dead in other parts of Mexico” in the Yucatan Times (10/31/2018) by Stephanie Carmon
There are several days dedicated to all saints and innocents in the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. In particular, there is a Day of the Holy Innocents (December 28th) which commemorates children under two who were killed by order of King Herod I the Great in his attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. And, Pope Boniface IV formally established an All Saints’ Day in May, when he dedicated the Parthenon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. When Pope Gregory III dedicated Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome to all saints, he moved the feast date to November 1st – but that only applied to people in Rome. It was Pope Gregory IV, in 837, who ordered the date to officially apply to all Western Christians. Within the Catholic Church it is considered a Holy Day of Obligation.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church all saints are commemorated in the spring on the Sunday after Pentecost. This Byzantine tradition became more popular during the reign of the Emperor Leo VI, also known as “Leo the Wise.” The Empress Theophano was so devoted to the church that she left her reign and retired to a monastery around 893. After she died on November 10th, a series of miracles occurred and the emperor decided to build a church to hold her relics. However, he was not allowed to name the church after her and decided instead to dedicate the church to “All Saints,” whether martyred or not, so that her life would be celebrated every year. She would be remembered.
“The woman who sold bracelets by the river thought that it was the heartbeat at the center of the world, that bright, boiling place she had fallen through on her way to the city. ‘As for this reporter,’ the article concluded, ‘I hold with the majority. I have always suspected that the thumping sound we hear is the pulse of those who are still alive. The living carry us inside them like pearls. We survive only so long as they remember us.’”
– quoted from The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, November 1st) at 2:30 PM. I am in the process of updating the links from the “Class Schedules” calendar; however, the Meeting IDs in the calendar are the same and are correct. PLEASE NOTE: Zoom 5.0 is in effect. If you have not upgraded, you will need to give yourself extra time to log into Zoom. You can always request an audio recording of this practice (or any practice) via email or a comment below.
Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
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.)
Don’t forget to add the first “Friday Night Special” on Friday, November 6th to your schedule!
### “BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.” ###
Houdini’s Last Month (and Allhallowtide) October 31, 2020
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Mysticism, Tragedy, Yoga.Tags: Allhallowtide, Halloween, Harry Houdini, seance, Yoga Sutra 1.23, Yoga Sutra 2.45
add a comment
“My brain is the key that sets me free.”
– Harry Houdini’s motto, as quoted in the Houdini Museum (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
October 1926 was not a good month for Harry Houdini. On October 11th, during his Water Torture Cell escape, a piece of equipment struck him and fractured his left ankle. But, “the show must go on” and so Houdini continued his tour. He did, however, rest his ankle whenever he could and so he was lying down, having a casual conversation with students, after giving a lecture at McGill University in Montreal on October 22nd. One of the students cited the Bible and asked if it was true that he could sustain blows to the belly without being hurt. The magician/illusionist casually said yes, and I can only imagine him lying there and smiling or chuckling as he said it. He had no idea the student wanted a demonstration and, therefore didn’t stand up and brace himself (as he normally would for the “trick”).
Neither Houdini nor the students, including the student who hit him, knew that Houdini was suffering from acute appendicitis. Some have speculated that had he not been hit, the magician/illusionist would not have ignored the stomach pains he felt during that evening’s performance and over the following two days. Furthermore, some people think he would have gone to see a doctor sooner. I argue that it might not have mattered, because when Houdini (suffering from by then constant pain and a 102˚ fever) finally saw a doctor and received the diagnosis, he disregarded the advice to have immediate surgery. Instead, he continued to perform. On October 24th, at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan, he gave his last performance – with a 104˚ fever, cold sweats, and acute appendicitis. He was rushed to the hospital after the performance, but it was too late. His appendix had burst, the toxins had spread, and he would spend his final days in Grace Hospital’s Room 401. He died at 1:26 (EST) on Halloween 1926 (and this year’s annual séance to contact his spirit is on Zoom, but you’d have to skip today’s practice if you plan to log into it).
Given his background and his beliefs, I find it very interesting that Harry Houdini died on Halloween, which is the beginning of the Western Christian feast of Allhollowtide and connected to the pagan celebrations of Samhain.
Samhain, “summer’s end,” was a time when the Celts believed that the door between “this world and the next” was opened just enough for the dearly departed to step back for a visit. Some of those visitors were welcomed… some not so much. Either way, people developed rituals to pay respect to the dead and also to ward off evil. Those customs included guising or mumming (also souling), where people would dress in disguises and go door-to-door offering prayers and songs in exchange for alms and treats (like soul cakes). Fire is a big element in the celebrations as it is an element of purification. Additionally, it was believed that passing cattle around a bonfire would reveal any spiritual possession. Pope Gregory IV moved the Christian feast All Hallows’ Day, or All Souls’ Day, to November 1st in 835 – thereby making October 31st All Hallows’ Day Eve. In Scottish, the word “eve” is “even” and contracted to “e’en” or “een,” making today Halloween – the scariest day of the year!
“My chief task has been to conquer fear. The public sees only the thrill of the accomplished trick; they have no conception of the tortuous preliminary self-training that was necessary to conquer fear.”
– Harry Houdini
One of the greatest escape artists of all times failed to escape the thing many people fear most: death. That fear of loss, fear of death, is the very last of the afflicted or dysfunctional thought patterns which cause suffering (according to the Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras) and it can be the most paralyzing because it is, in some ways, the culmination of all the other afflicted/dysfunctional thought patterns. People hate change because it is – in some way, shape, or form – the end of what is known/perceived; who we think we are; and what we like and don’t like. Even when we acknowledge that an ending is also a beginning, even when we can see how the end of something can also be the end of suffering, we cling to what is familiar, known, and tangible. We don’t want to let go…. Even though, Patanjali (and all the other mystics and seers) tells us, again and again, that the secret to ending suffering is letting go.
Yoga Sūtra 1.23: īśvarapraņidhānādvā
– “[A perfectly still, pristine state of mind] also comes from trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine].”
Yoga Sūtra 2.45: samādhisiddhirīśvarapraņidhānāt
– “From trustful surrender to Ishvara [the Divine], [a perfectly still, pristine state of mind] is achieved.”
Even though repetition (japa-ajapa) is an integral part of the practice of mantra, and the practice of the mantra OM (or AUM) is highlighted in the sūtras, Patanjali doesn’t normally repeat (almost verbatim) what he has previously instructed. With this week’s sūtra, however, we find ourselves tossed right back to the “secret of concentration” found in the first section of the book. So there must be something to this “trustful surrender” – something that lifts the veil between the known and the unknown, the natural and the supernatural. Or, you can think of it as something that opens the door between the sense world and the “Other” world.
Please join me for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Saturday, October 31st) at 12:00 PM. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. Give yourself extra time to log in if you have not upgraded to Zoom 5.0.
You can request an audio recording of Saturday’s 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 – including the first “Friday Night Special” on Friday, November 6th!
Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
A Joyful Practice 