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Remember, What’s Important (& You Can Still Practice! Part II) June 19, 2022

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Maya Angelou, Men, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Poetry, Suffering, Texas, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.
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Happy Juneteenth! Happy Dads’ Day!!

“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.”

*

– quoted from the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou

It is kind of wild to think about what it means to be a dad, a pa, a da, a papa, a daddy, a pappi, a paw-paw, a gran-daddy, a pepaw… today, Juneteenth, – especially if you are in the United States… especially if you are in Texas. And, if you are new to me, then maybe you’re wondering why I didn’t mention being a father. It is, after all, Father’s Day for much of the world. However, as I have mentioned in the past, today is about more – so much more – than someone’s ability to beget a child. Today, like Mothers’ Day, is about people who raise children. Sometimes they are known by different names than the ones I listed above (and my apologies to the uncle-pappies out there), but they are all still doing they job.

They are still sticking, staying, and raising the children who will be the future.

The thing is, it hasn’t always been easy to stick, stay, and raise a child. I’m not saying it’s easy now. However, now more people have a choice. Go back to yesterday in 1865, in my home state (let alone the little island where I was born) and there were a lot of people who didn’t have a choice. They sometimes didn’t get a say in when, if, and/or how they beget a child. Neither did they often get a say in whether or not they stayed to raise the child. On some level, that changed today, June 19, 1865, with General Gordon Granger’s reading of “General Order No. 3.” However, as history has shown us, the order that announced the (legal) end of slavery – in the Confederate states – didn’t change much for the emancipated people. And, not to seemingly digress, but neither did it change much for “dirt poor” white people in said states. At least, however, people had a choice.

Or did they?

In yoga, I often mention samskāras (“mental impressions”) and vasanas (the “dwelling places” of habits), which – just like neural pathways and culture – are created through repeated behavior. They are the legacy of being alive. Slavery and having choice stolen are also part of the legacy of being alive, especially if you are in the United States, and so we can’t ignore what that legacy has given us: a culture where people who beget a child don’t always know how to stick AND a culture where stereotypes abound about the people who don’t stick.

“[We are our] ancestors’ wildest dreams!”

*

– variations attributed to Brandan Odums, Darius Simpson, and others

I’m fortunate in that I have a father, known as Daddy (or Hey), who had a hand in raising me to be the person I am. In fact, for all the ways I am like the women in my family, those are all the ways I grew up wanting to be just like my dad – who, as my Mommy (or Ahma) was fond of saying, I thought was the smartest person on the planet. (He taught doctors and married my mom, so… just saying.) He is a man who was raised by a man who was raised by a man and they all grew up in rural Texas (on hard clay).

The fact that I grew up knowing all these Black men, and got to touch the soil that they owned, is one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given.

My dad went to a “Negro” school (because that was his only option), earned an undergraduate degree and a PhD from HBCUs, served in Vietnam, and then went on to teach doctors who are practicing medicine all over the world. He also raised two sons… who, along with their many accomplishments, raised their own kids and now have grandkids.

All of these things are gifts I cherish to this day. All of these things I appreciate with the understanding that everyone can’t say the same. Everyone doesn’t get the same gifts, but we get something. We get someone, a teacher, an uncle, a neighbor, a Big Brother…

And today is about celebrating those gifts.

Since today is also about celebrating emancipation and freedom, I think back to my Texas elders and ancestors – my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and all the generations I never met. I think about their dreams. I think about their dreams of freedom. I think about the dreams they had for the generations that were coming after them. I think about the fact that if I had any ancestors listening to General Order No. 3, today in 1865, they could not – in their wildest dreams – have dreamed the details of my life.

Yet they dreamed of me and a world where I could dream of things they never conceived.

In their wildest dreams, they never would have dreamed of people still fighting and struggling to rise in 2022.

Yet, in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou, WE…

“…rise
…rise
…rise.”

*

– quoted from the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou

There is no class today, but I will be back on schedule (and on Zoom) tomorrow. If you are on my Sunday recording list, I have sent you a copy of the 2020 Dad’s Day practice and a copy of the 2021 Juneteenth practice. If you want to be added to my Sunday list (or any other list), please email me or comment below.

The “Dad’s Big Day” playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.

The “0619 Juneteenth” playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify.

The embedded links in the first paragraph of this post will take you to the appropriate date-related posts from 2020. In a 2022 update (of my Juneteenth 2020 post), The Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America (a. k. a. The Naming Commission) has recommended that Fort Rucker be renamed Fort Novosel – after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel Sr. (the son of Croatian immigrants), who flew more than 2,500 extraction missions in Vietnam, rescuing more than 5,500 soldiers – and that Fort Hood be renamed Fort Cavazos – after General Richard Cavazos, a Mexican-American Texan who served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars and was the Army’s first Mexican-American four-star general. These recommendations, along with seven others (including 1.5 which would be named after women who served in the military) will be in the hands of Congress in October of this year.

Let’s keep dreaming, y’all, and let’s keep dreaming (and working) on those dreams coming true.

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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.)

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### DREAMS OF FREEDOM (should be part of all our bios) ###

No Practice. But You Can Still Practice. (Part II) June 20, 2021

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Life, Men, Philosophy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Yoga.
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Happy Summer (or Winter) Solstice – depending on your hemisphere!

 

 

“I remember everything about him. He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”

 

– Sonora Smart Dodd, speaking to the Spokane Daily Chronicle about her father

 

“The foremost reason my father became a scholar of Sanskrit was because of his family tradition. In the old days, people like my father’s forbears were well known as advisors, even to the kings. Nowadays we would call my father’s grandfather something like prime minister, for example, but at that time the position of prime minister was not a political one in the way that we know it now. He was rather an advisor who told the rulers what was right and what was wrong.”

 

– T. K. V. Desikachar answering a question about his father, Sri T. Krishnamacharya (known as the “Father of Yoga”), The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice

 

 

Happy Dad’s Day to all of the dads. Check out last year’s blog post about Dad’s Day (a.k.a Father’s Day), which coincided with a bunch of different observations, including International Yoga Day – which falls on the anniversary of the birth of the “Father of Yoga,” Sri T. Krishnamacharya.

 

Today is also Summer (or Winter) Solstice – depending on your hemisphere – and World Refuge Day. This year’s World Refuge Day theme is “Together we heal, learn and shine.” If you are interested in a more philosophical, date-specific post, check out last year’s post about  Summer Solstice and World Refuge Day.

 

“This startling discrimination against central, eastern and southern Europe points out the gap between what we say and what we do. On the one hand we publicly pronounce the equality of all peoples, discarding all racialistic theories; on the other hand, in our immigration laws, we embrace in practice these very theories we abhor and verbally condemn.”

 

– United States Representative Emanuel Celler (D-NY) speaking to the Senate about immigration quotes in 1948

 

There is no class today, but I will be back on schedule (and on Zoom) tomorrow. If you are on my Sunday recording list, I have sent you a copy of last year’s Dad’s Day practice and a copy of last year’s June 20th practice. If you want to be added to my Sunday list (or any other list), please email me or comment below.

 

Playlists are available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Dad’s Big Day 2020” or “06202020 #WorldRefugeeDay”]

 

 

The UN Chamber Music Society of the UN Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), is holding a pre-recorded virtual concert, which will also be broadcasted 9:00 AM EST (New York, New York Time) and 4:00 PM EST (Mafraq, Jordan Time). You can find a link and more information about the performance here.

 

### PEACE ###

It’s About More Than Begetting A Child June 21, 2020

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
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“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.”

– bus billboard for the American Humanist Association

Today, June 21st, is vying with May 1st to be the hardest working day of the year. It’s International Yoga Day, World Music Day, World Handshake Day, Atheist Solidarity Day, World Humanist Day, and sometimes (although not this year) it’s Summer Solstice. I feel like I’m forgetting something….

Oh yes, and this year, today is Father’s Day. Although, y’all know I prefer Daddy’s Day and have been trying to get people to switch for years; because, the day is a celebration of nourishing, not procreating. There is some traction (on Twitter) for “Dad’s Big Day” and even though I’m not on social media I am going to support that. So, Dad’s Big Day it is!

A day to honor fathers and paternal figures actually predates a day to honor mothers and maternal figures. In Europe, there were religious observations as far back as the Middle Ages. The Christian Orthodox Church commemorates the second Sunday before Nativity (usually December 11th or 17th) as the Sunday of the Forefathers and honors biblical ancestors and a variety of prophets going back as far as Adam. This observation includes Mary as Theotokos and places a special emphasis on Abraham, the “father” of three major religions and their progeny. Catholics in Europe have celebrated the May 19th feast day of Saint Joseph as a day to honor fathers and father figures. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria also observes in this way, but on July 20th. (Note that Saint Joseph has three other feast days in the Eastern and Western Christian traditions – including May 1st when he is remembered as “the Worker.”) Just like the idea for Mother’s Day, the idea for a secular Father’s Day was promoted by a daughter – who was inspired by a church sermon.

“I remember everything about him. He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”

 

– Sonora Smart Dodd, speaking to the Spokane Daily Chronicle about her father

Born February 18, 1882, Sonora Smart Dodd was one of six children born to Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart (who served as a sergeant in the Union army, but had previously fought for the Confederacy) and his wife Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart, but she was one of 14 children between the couple. Both William and Ellen had been widowed with children. When Ellen died in childbirth, William became a single dad and Sonora (age 16), as their only (shared) daughter, assisted him in the raising of the younger sons. When she heard a Mother’s Day sermon at Central Methodist Episcopal Church in the early 1900’s, she suggested that her own father’s birthday become a day to honor all fathers. The Spokane Ministerial Alliance appreciated the idea – but not so much the date of June 5th (as they couldn’t pull something together that fast) – and the first secular Father’s Day was observed in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. Eventually, the day was noted by Presidents Woodrow Wilson (who praised it in a telegraph), Lyndon B. Johnson (who signed a proclamation affirming the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day), and Richard Nixon (who established it as a permanent national observation).

“The foremost reason my father became a scholar of Sanskrit was because of his family tradition. In the old days, people like my father’s forbears were well known as advisors, even to the kings. Nowadays we would call my father’s grandfather something like prime minister, for example, but at that time the position of prime minister was not a political one in the way that we know it now. He was rather an advisor who told the rulers what was right and what was wrong.”

 

– T. K. V. Desikachar answering a question about his father, Sri T. Krishnamacharya (known as the “Father of Yoga”)

Born today in 1938, in Mysore, India, T. K. V. Desikachar is one of the students of Sri T. Krishnamacharya who was charged with spreading the practice of yoga into the Western world. Just as his father and grandfather before him, Desikachar’s students included his children and world leaders. His teaching was so influential that a celebration of yoga was proposed to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. The first International Yoga Day observation occurred today in 2015, with over 200 million people in almost 180 nations practicing yoga – some even extending the celebration into the entire week.

“We must understand that yoga is not an Indian (thing). If you want to call yoga Indian, then you must call gravity European.”

 

– Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation, speaking in a 2016 United Nations panel discussion about International Yoga Day

World Music Day, not to be confused with International Music Day, was started in France in 1982 and has been adopted by over 120 nations, including India. The idea for free concerts in open areas by a variety of musicians was first proposed by American Joel Cohen as far back as 1976. In 1981, however, French Minister of Culture Jack Lang appointed musician Maurice Fleuret as the Director of Music and Dance. The duo collaborated to create an event in 1985 whereby even amateurs would be encouraged to musically express themselves in public. Fleuret said there would be “music everywhere and the concert nowhere.”

There are atheists everywhere, even though many people believe they are few and far between. Mike Smith started a Facebook group in 2010 to make Atheist Solidarity Day an official holiday. Even though he deleted the group soon after, people were engaged and today atheist celebrate June 21st as a global protest, celebration, and awareness raising event for people who don’t always have the freedom to openly express their lack of belief in “god,” whatever that means to you at this moment. While I am not an atheist, the black and red theme today is in solidarity of people having the freedom to believe what serves them.

“My son, place your hand here in the sea and you are united with the whole world.”

 

– Ivan Zupa, founder of World Handshake Day, remembering the advice of an old man

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means “union.” As today is often Summer Solstice, it is viewed as the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and therefore a great day for people to come together. Even with the challenges of the pandemic, we are still coming together.

 Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, June 21st) at 2:30 PM to learn more about the aforementioned holidays, and how you can safely celebrate World Handshake Day during the pandemic. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. 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.

A Father’s Ode to His Mother

 

### BREATHE INTO YOUR SPINE ###