A Joyful Practice

FTWMI: Birds, Monkeys, Trees, & Behavior PLUS EXCERPTS: “The Sum of the Whole Is Our Behavior” November 15, 2025

 Reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle, and plant a tree on America Recycles Day and Plant a Tree Day (in Sri Lanka)!

For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023 (i.e., it’s recycled). Class details, an extra excerpt, and some links have been updated/added.

“There seems to be a single starting point for psychology, exactly as for all the other sciences: the world as we find it, naïvely and uncritically. The naïveté may be lost as we proceed.”

— quoted from “Chapter I: A Discussion of Behaviorism” in Gestalt Psychology: An Introduction to New Concepts in Modern Psychology by Dr. Wolfgang Köhler

We may not have control over how a studio space is set up; however, when we make our way into the space — and/or if we have the luxury of creating our own home space — most of us put some effort into the space we are going to occupy. It may not be a lot of space, but it is ours while we are there and most people have some sense of what they need to be stable and steady, comfortable and at ease. (YS 2.46) Similarly, we don’t have any control over our genetics and the body into which we are born, but we can make an effort to be healthy and strong — or, at the very least, comfortable in our own skin (which is yet another environment). Then we get on the mat and the whole practice is about very intentionally and mindfully creating our internal (physical-mental and emotional-energetic) space… as opposed to just passively receiving the space we’ve been given.

Of course, as one of my first teachers used to say, how we do yoga is how we do life. As children, we all start off like someone entering the studio. We learn what works for us and what doesn’t (i.e., what serves us in alleviating our suffering versus what causes more suffering). However, we don’t always do the things that create steadiness, stability, ease, comfort, and maybe even joy. Sometimes, we remain a “passive recipient” instead of becoming a “co-creator” of your culture and environment?

Thanks to Merrick Rosenberg, I went down the rabbit hole almost ten years ago and came across the research of Dr. Wolfgang Köhler (a German researcher in the 1920’s and 30’s) and Dr. Gordon R. Stephenson (at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the 1960’s). Here’s an excerpt from a 2021 post about what I found:

“Dr. Wolfgang Köhler believed (a) that subjective experience matters; (b) that the human mind and behavior have to be considered as a whole (and that whole includes subjective experience); (c) that, like chimpanzees, humans are capable of problem solving through insight learning; and (d) that people could – and one can argue should – stand up for what they believe to be right and, in doing so, actively co-create the world in which the live.”

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

The Sum of the Whole Is Our Behavior (a Monday post)

Throughout the year, there are different days when people from different countries (and/or of different cultures) focus on be active co-creators of this world in which we all live. Today, November 15^th, is one of those days. In Sri Lanka, it is Plant a Tree Day. In the United States, it is America Recycles Day (and the 2023 theme was all about innovation).

“Problems may be found which were at first completely hidden from our eyes. For their solution it may be necessary to devise concepts which seem to have little contact with direct primary experience.”

— quoted from “Chapter I: A Discussion of Behaviorism” in Gestalt Psychology: An Introduction to New Concepts in Modern Psychology by Dr. Wolfgang Köhler

Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Saturday, November 15^th) at 12:00 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.

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “11152023 Like Birds & Monkeys & More Trees”]

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 an 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.)
UPDATED: Theme noted above was for 2023.

### Be Like the Birds (who reuse everything they can get their beaks on). ###