“Chag sameach!” to those observing the Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret. Many blessings to everyone!!
This is the “missing” post for the First Friday Night Special on October 6th. It features some previously posted information (and some information that will be posted again). You can request an audio recording of either practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“Breath of breath, said the Teacher; [like the shadow of mist that passes], all is breath.*
What profit has man in all his toil that he toils under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth endures forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets, and to its place it yearns and rises there.
It goes to the south and goes to the north; the will goes around and around, and the will returns to its circuits.”
(*NOTE: The Hebrew word “hevel” (variations of which occur in K-E 1.2, 3 times in the singular and twice in the plural, for a total of 7 times) is often translated into English as “vanity,” “futility” or “meaningless,” but is literally translated as “breath.)
— Kohelet — Ecclesiastes (1:2 – 6)
If you are counting time according to the Gregorian calendar, then nothing happened today in 1582 — at least not in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and places like the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. These Papal-governed nations were the first to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory XIII) and, therefore, skipped 10 days (October 5 — 14). The switch was primarily motivated by the Church’s desire to consistently observe Easter during the same season in which it had originally been celebrated — which would be the same season as Passover. Additionally, by the early third century, the Church had spread out to the degree that people were no longer able to rely on an annual announcement from the Pope to tell them when to celebrate.
Easter and Passover are moveable feasts on a secular calendar; so, it took some work to figure out how a new calendar would work. We will go a little deeper into the whys and the wherefores of the calendar change at a later date (or you can click here for an explanation), but take a moment to notice that in order for everything to sync up (and for things to happen in their appointed time), there had to be a handful of days when nothing happened (metaphorically speaking).
“Everything has an appointed season, and there is a time for every matter under the heaven.”
— Kohelet — Ecclesiastes (3:1)
Shabbat (the Sabbath) in the Jewish community starts at sunset every Friday night. It is a weekly time to “cease” and “desist.” For some people observing the “Festival (or Feast) of the Tabernacles (or Booths),” this particular Shabbat also marks the end of Sukkot — or the end of the 7th day and the beginning of the 8th day. Some people will celebrate this new day as Shmini Atzeret, “the Eighth [day] of Assembly,” and all of this will lead into yet another day of celebration, Simchat Torah.
For people who observed the High Holidays — and especially for those who started preparing 40 days before Rosh Hashanah — this has been (and continues to be) a busy season of remembering, reflecting, planning, doing, and change. Even though aspects of Sukkot highlight the importance of appreciating the simpler aspects of life, there is still a lot of doing (and giving thanks for future doing). One of the things people do is read Kohelet/Ecclesiastes, which highlights doing and also includes reminders to relax, to release attachments, and to rest.
These reminders to relax, release, and rest come at the same time that the seasons are changing and nature is reminding us (at least those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) to slow down and get settled. This is a time to get grounded and to restore — which is one of the things we need in order to keep going.
Remember, just like a motor vehicle, our mind-bodies have an accelerator and a brake. We have the sympathetic nervous system, that kicks in when we need to get going, and the parasympathetic nervous system, that engages when we need to pause, rest, and digest. We need to digest everything we consume — not just food and drink; we have to digest everything we experience (physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually). This resting and digesting process allows us to soak up and process what is useful and to eliminate what is waste, or not useful. It is essential to healing and to overall wellbeing. It is also associated with creation and is part of the process which allows us to be fueled by what we consume.
If we go and go and go, we “run out of gas.” We also run the risk of crashing. So, every now and again, we need “pitstops” in order to continue to be safe and productive. In fact, sometimes “a handful of [ease, tranquility, quietness, or rest*]” is more important than all the doing and all the planning to do more.
“And I saw all the toil and all the excellence of work, which is a man’s envy of his friend; this too is vanity and frustration.
The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
Better is a handful of ease than two handfuls of toil and frustration.”
— Kohelet — Ecclesiastes (4:4 – 6)
*NOTE: There are various English translations for “ נָ֑חַת ” (which I think literally translates as “landed”).
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTubeand Spotify. [Look for “12042020 Bedtime Yoga”]
NOTE: The playlists contain a different variety of musical selections and you will only need one track/album for the practice. With one exception, the tracks play without interruption. There are more options on the YouTube playlist (and that includes my preference), but there is a different Sigur Rós option on the Spotify playlist.
This Restorative Yoga practice is accessible and open to all.
Prop wise, a small ball (e.g., tennis ball, massage ball, etc.) will be useful. Additionally, this is a kitchen sink practice.You can practice without props or you can use “studio” and/or “householder” props. Example of “Studio” props: 1 – 2 blankets, 2 – 3 blocks, a bolster, a strap, and an eye pillow. Example of “Householder” props: 1 – 2 blankets or bath towels, 2 – 3 books (similar in size), 2 standard pillows (or 1 body pillow), a belt/tie/sash, and a face towel.
You may want extra layers (as your body may cool down during this practice). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table may be handy.
Many blessings to all,and especially to those observing Lent, Great Lent, Ayyám-i-Há,and/or Rare Disease Dayduring this “Season for Non-violence” and all other seasons!
This is the“missing” post forTuesday, February28th. Some religious information was posted in 2021 and will be included in the Wednesday post. You can request an audio recordingof this practice via a commentbelow 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.)
“Through the years I’ve written and taught extensively about ‘liminal time,’ that pregnant pause between what is no longer and what is not yet. Although liminal time is a known stage in all rites of passage, most people have never heard of it. Whether we’re talking about a pandemic, a war, a refugee crisis, or even a man or womanhood ritual, a graduation, or a new job far away from family and friends, the stages (though not the intensity) of a rite of passage are the same.”
– quoted from “Running the Gauntlet of the Unknown” by Joan Borysenko, PhD (posted at joanborysenko.com, April 1, 2020)
Technically speaking, every day is a “liminal day” – a transitional or threshold day, a doorway in between moments; like the pauses in between the inhale and the exhale. However, Dr. Joan Borysenko talks about “liminal time” in a very specific context, one that fits into the paradigm of The Hero’s Journey. It is a time of ritual; the threshold between the known and the unknown; and – maybe most importantly – it is a moment time-stamped by grief, sandwiched between separation and return. All of this is why I consider the days of this week, and many of the days in the coming weeks, to be “liminal days.”
But this is not just a Myra-thing. These days are specifically designated by various traditions as in-between times. Not “regular” or “ordinary” days, but days when there is a heightened awareness of what’s to come and the need to be ready for what’s to come. On the Baháʼí Faith calendar, February 26th – March 1st are literally in-between days: they are intercalary days between the penultimate month of the year and the final month (which is the month of the 19-Day Fast).
For Those Who Are Not Familiar: The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic faith that believes in the oneness of God and religion, as well as the oneness and nobility of humanity. The community believes that, historically, there has been a “progressive revelation of religious truth” which has been shared with the world through the voices of the prophets or Divine Messengers, known as “Manifestations of God” (which include “Braham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh”). People within the faith are taught to honor the value of different religious and philosophical traditions as well as the value of education, especially in science (which is viewed by some faiths as being contrary to religion). The Baháʼí calendar consists of 19 months, each with 19 days, and each month (and day) is named after an attribute of God. To maintain the integrity of the calendar, there are 4 – 5 intercalary days just before the final month.
While the customs and beliefs are different within these different traditions, people all over the world are actually preparing for some of the holiest times of their year: Christians observe Lent and Great Lent to get ready for Easter; the Baháʼí community observes the 19-Day Fast as they prepare for a new year – and these Springtime rituals contain very similar elements to each other and to Passover and Yom Kippur (in the Jewish tradition) and to the holy month of Ramaḍān (in the Muslim tradition). All of these rituals contain elements of the Yoga Philosophy’s niyamās (internal “observations”). They also fall under the rubric that Patanjali called kriyā yoga (“union in action”), which is a combination of the final three: tapas (“heat, discipline, austerity” and the practices that cultivate them), svādhyāya (“self-study”), and īśvarapraņidhāna (“trustful surrender to higher reality”). They involve fasting, prayers, reflection, self-study undertaken within a sacred context, and letting something go.
That last part is where the grief kicks in – because, whether you give something up for the Lenten season or you change your daily routine to accommodate a holy observation, the mind-body will experience some level of loss with some manifestation of grief. It will not be the same intensity of loss we experience when we lose a job or when we lose a loved one. Neither will it be the same level of grief.
However, no matter the intensity of the loss and/or grief, we have to figure out a way to move forward, into a new season of life – and while each person has an individual experience, they have it in community.
“That’s the thing about a rare disease. You fight for a diagnosis for years ― on average, according to Global Genes, it takes seeing 7.3 physicians and trying for 4.8 years before getting an accurate rare disease diagnosis ― and then, even once you know, you must continue being a detective as you try to piece together the clues as to how the illness might progress. You become an expert in a disease you wish you’d never heard of.
As a parent, you also quickly morph into a nurse, therapist, chief operating officer, educational advocate, cheerleader and warrior. You feel alone, because by definition, your child’s diagnosis is exceptional. And yet, 1 in 10 Americans and 300 million people globally are living with a rare disease.
You find community not just in other people who share the specific diagnosis your family is facing, but in those struggling with any rare diagnosis. It doesn’t matter what the exact symptoms or disease trajectory are. What matters is the shared understanding that your dreams as a parent have forever shifted.”
– quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein
In addition to being (what I would consider) a “liminal day,” February 28th can also be a “rare” day. Typically, when we think of a “rare” day on the Gregorian and Julian calendars, we think of February 29th, Leap Day, which is rare because it only happens every four years.** Leap day is the perfect day for Rare Disease Day, which is observed on February 28th during non-leap years like 2023. Observations on this alternate date, coincide with the anniversary of the United States House of Representatives passing the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 on February 28, 1982. The act went into effect on January 4, 1983, and it facilitated the development of “orphan drugs” (i.e., drugs for rare diseases and disorders). Japan and the European Union enacted similar acts in 1993 and 2000, respectively. Prior to the act being passed in the U. S., less than 40 drugs had been approved as treatments for rare diseases and disorders (in the whole history of the United States). In the three decades after the act went into affect, almost ten times as many drugs had been approved.
Why the difference? Why did it take an act of Congress?
Unfortunately for those who face life-threatening and life-changing diseases, research is primarily driven by pharmaceutical companies, which are mostly driven by profits – and there’s just not a lot of profit in rare diseases.
“That referral led us to the geneticist, who ended up delivering the information that changed our lives.
‘Dalia tested positive for a genetic mutation that’s associated with myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers, or MERRF syndrome ― an extremely rare form of mitochondrial disease,’ the doctor said.”
– quoted from the (February 28, 2022*) Huffington Post article entitled “My Daughter’s Rare Disease Was A Mystery For Years. Here’s How We Finally Got A Diagnosis.” by Jessica Fein
Approximately 300 million people are living with a rare disease. That doesn’t sound very rare when you add in their family, friends, and caregivers. But, here’s the thing: those 300 million people are not living with the same disease. They are not even living with the same two or three diseases. In the medical community, a “rare disease” is typically defined as a disease that affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. That means it can affect one or two people, or several hundred around the world. In the United States, Huntington’s disease; myoclonus; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – also known as motor neuron disease (MND); Tourette syndrome; muscular dystrophy; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS); Prader-Willi syndrome; and Usher syndrome are all considered rare diseases or rare disorders. Sickle cell anemia is also considered a rare disease; even though it affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States. Autosomal systemic lupus erythematosus, which is characterized by the presence of (the more common) systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms in two or more members of a single family, is also considered a rare disease.
Approximately 72 – 80% of rare diseases are known to be genetic. About 70% begin in childhood. Tragically, thirty percent of children diagnosis with a rare disease will not reach age 5. While some people have diseases that are degenerative, some people “outgrow” their disease. Another challenge, for people suffering from rare diseases and disorders, is that sometimes people can be suffering with “invisible” ailments – meaning that others perceive them as healthy. All of these differences in symptoms and situations makes it really hard to receive diagnosis and treatment – especially since healthcare practitioners (particularly here in the West) are taught to “lookfor horses, notzebras.” Unfortunately, rare diseases are really colorful zebras. They require patients and their family and friends to take on all the roles normally distributed between professionals.
Recently, another couple of layers have been added to the already complicated story of rare diseases. For a variety of really disturbing reasons – that I want to believe come from a lack of awareness and knowledge – people have started co-opting orphan drugs and using them for non-life threatening issues. In some cases, they are being used for purely cosmetic purposes without any regard for the people whose lives actually depend on the medication. (NOTE: This is also happening with treatments for “common diseases,” with equally devastating effects; however, those common diseases get more publicity, because they make up a larger share of the market.) On the flip side, COVID seems to have created a situation where some rare diseases are becoming more common – which means, as twisted as sounds, that some people feeling more hopefully, because more research and development is being done with regard to their ailment.
Again, it all comes down to awareness, education, perspective, compassion, and empathy. Which is the whole point of Rare Disease Day.
Established in 2008, by the European Organization for Rare Diseases, Rare Disease Day is a day dedicated to “raising awareness and generating change for the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease, their families and [caregivers].” The 2023 theme is “ShareYourColours” – which is an invitation to share your story. Whether you have a rare disease or whether you love and/or care for someone with a rare disease, sharing your story can be a way to raise awareness, stop the ignorance, and end stigma.
If you are not dealing with a rare disease, be open to hearing other people’s stories. As rare as they are, I have known someone dealing with almost all of the rare diseases and disorders that I used as examples (above). Or, I should say, I’ve known that I knew them, because they shared their stories. Listening, as Bruce Kramer pointed out, opens us “… a little bit more.”
“To be open is to embrace your own great big messy humanity, to cry in sadness but not despair, to recognize presence in the emptiness of the bitter moment of truth, to be afraid but not fearful. Dis ease presents the choice of being open or closed, and opening to her lessons, her gifts, her challenges, is not easy. But dis ease clarifies vision, bringing sight to the blindness of what you thought you knew about living, light to the darkness of cynicism that life’s grief piled upon itself can foster. I know ALS is a horror, yet when fully embraced, it has taught me, it has revealed to me pure unsullied, uncontaminated, unbelievable love.
In my heart of hearts, I know that love never dies.”
– quoted from “25. Faith, Part IV: What’s Love Got To Do with It?” in We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying by Bruce H. Kramer with Cathy Wurzer
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06142020 World Blood Donor Day”]
NOTE: Not all rare diseases are blood-based, but the playlist contains a blood-borne subliminal message.
*NOTE: A follow-up article by Jessica Fein was also published by Huffington Post today, February 28, 2023.
**NOTE:According to the Julian calendar, Leap Year is every four years.On the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most people who will come across this post, it’s not that simple.
“A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4 and is not a century year (multiple of 100) or if it is divisible by 400. For example, 1900 is not a leap year; 2000 is.”
– quoted from “2 – The Gregorian Calendar, 2.1: Structure” in Calendrical Calculations by Nachum Dershowitz, Edward Reingold
This is the post for Sunday, December 12th.You can request an audio recording of Sunday’s practice via a comment belowor (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.
“I try to find you, who I can’t see I try to hear you, who I can’t hear
Then I start to see things I couldn’t see Hear things I couldn’t hear Because after you left I received a power I didn’t have before”
– quoted from the song “Miracles in December” by EXO
‘Tis the season for miracles!
Ok, let’s be real. If you look at a calendar – you will find that there a plethora of miracles in every season. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church has a whole calendar that, essentially, celebrates miracles attributed to various people. This time of year, however, there seems to be a concentration of miracles – or maybe it just feels that way because so many of the miracles are similar and/or connected.
On Wednesday, I mentioned that within the Roman Catholic tradition there are almost 20 Marian feast days (i.e., days honoring the Virgin Mary), excluding local and regional days devoted to this holy mother. I even mentioned that December 9th, like December 8th, is a day when some people in the world celebrate the miracle of this blessed woman’s birth, a birth… which was itself a miracle. Of course, when most people (even many Christians) think of the miracle of birth, they think of the newborn baby and, in this context, they think of Jesus. Interestingly, December 12th is also a Marian feast day in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is a day associated with several miracles that occurred over a series of days (beginning on the aforementioned December 9th) in 1531, culminating with the fourth (or fifth) miraculous apparition occurring on December 12th.
Or, at least that’s how the story has been told for almost 500 years.
But, it turns out there was more to the story.
And whether you believe the story or not*, it’s a tale full of compelling evidence. One could even say that the “balance of probabilities” or “preponderance of the evidence” was enough to convince a man who identified himself as being “poor” (possibly in spirit) and who was not inclined to believe his own senses.
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no proof is possible.”
That said, our story begins on Saturday, December 9, 1531, when an Indigenous man in what is now Mexico City was walking to mass. His journey took Juan Diego Cuāuhtlahtoātzin across Tepeyac Hill, which many modern people believe had been a sacred Aztec site associated with a mother goddess. Please keep in mind that this future saint, Juan Diego, was an adult and Spanish missionaries had only been in his country for about eight years. So, if historians are correct, he would have known the significance of the site. Either way, as he was walking along his way, he started hearing birds singing. It was an odd time of year to hear this type of birdsong and so it made him pause.
Perhaps he looked around for the source. Have you ever done that? Heard some beautiful sounds in nature (or maybe something that startled you) and you looked around to verify what you were hearing? Perhaps that’s what San Juan Diego did in 1531. Only, instead of birds, he saw the vision of a young woman. She was dressed in clothes that would have been familiar to him and she spoke his language (Nahuatl), but what she said was strange. She identified herself as the virgin mother – which was weird, because she didn’t look like the pictures and descriptions that came courtesy of the priests. She was not fair-haired or fair-skinned. She looked and spoke more like Juan Diego’s people. Stranger even than her appearance was that she wanted this poor man to go to the Franciscan bishop and ask that a chapel be built where she appeared.
Now, a little back story about this bishop might be handy (just so you can understand his possible state of mind). His Excellency Don Juan de Zumárraga y Arrazola O. F. M. was born into a noble Basque family in Spain. I’m unclear when he entered the priesthood; however, several significant things happened when he was approaching 60 years old. First, he was named as custodian of a convent. That same year, 1527, he was appointed as a judge in a court investigating witches and recommended by the Holy Roman Emperor (Charles V) to be the first bishop of Mexico (New Spain). A year later he was in the “New World,” but only had the title(s) of bishop-elect and “Protector of the Indians.” His role was not officially consecrated until April of 1533 – which means that in 1531, during the time of our story – he could not fully execute his duties. Oh, also there was dissension in the ranks and the ever-present possibility of a socio-political and religious mutiny.
So, here comes Juan Diego with his message from the Divine Mother. To be clear, he was a reluctant messenger from the very beginning, but he was even more so after visiting the bishop-elect, who (naturally) did not believe him. I say “naturally,” because even if Juan Diego was 100% convinced of his mission, the bishop-elect and “Protector of the Indians” would have been skeptical. He may have wondered why this “poor” indigenous man would be blessed with a visitation instead of someone like him, who had devoted his life to God and the Church. He might have questioned Juan Diego’s description of the woman. Finally, his previous experience serving with the court that examined witches, may have made him skeptical of anything that might be considered “hallucinatory,” especially if it was related to women.
On his way back home, defeated, discouraged, and doubtful, San Juan Diego again saw and spoke with the lady on the hill. At some point, he even pulled a Moses and suggested that someone else would be better suited for the job of messenger. But no, the blessed mother was sending him; the man whose surname (Cuāuhtlahtoātzin) means “He who speaks like an eagle.”
“Do you hear what I hear? Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy Do you hear what I hear? (Hear what I hear) Ringing through the night, shepherd boy Do you hear what I hear (Hear what I hear) A song, a song, high above the trees With a voice as big as the sea With a voice as big as the sea”
– 1st verse of “Do You Hear What I Hear” by Whitney Houston
The next day, Sunday, December 10th, Juan Diego went back to speak to His Excellency Don Juan de Zumárraga y Arrazola. Again, he was not believed; but this time the man who would become the first bishop and the first archbishop of Mexico told Juan Diego to go back to Tepeyac Hill and ask for proof. He wanted some form of religious currency – and here, I don’t mean a bribe: he wanted a verifiable miracle.
As instructed, Juan Diego went to the hill to request proof, which he was told he would receive if he came to the hill the next day. Unbeknownst to him, the bishop elect sent servants or guards to follow him, but “some how” they lost him. Of course, the servants or guards weren’t going to admit that they lost an indigenous “peasant.” So, they went back and told the bishop-elect that Juan Diego was a liar who had made the whole thing up. They accused him of a number of things that would be considered heretical and blasphemous. If this story were happening today, he might have been accused of “pushing a woke (or liberal) agenda” – because who else but a social justice warrior would request a church devoted to a brown-skinned Madonna.
Now, here’s where the story takes a turn, because Juan Diego does not return to Tepeyac Hill on Monday, December 11th. It’s not that he didn’t believe or didn’t take his task seriously, it’s not that he didn’t care. But, he did have a more urgent need to address: his beloved uncle Juan Diego Bernardino was deathly ill. This uncle, who had taken him in after his parents died, needed someone to take care of him; and so Juan Diego did what was needed. At some point, however, it became clear that San Juan Diego’s physical ministrations were not enough. That Tuesday morning, December 12th, he left home to find a priest who could administer the last rites.
Imagine his grief. Imagine his pain. Also, imagine the urgency of his quest and the shame. Yes, he felt shame and embarrassment, because he hadn’t gone back to the hill to get the proof requested by the bishop-elect. He was also in a hurry and so he tried to figure out another route. Some other way that he could reach the church and find a priest without being stopped by the vision. But, to no avail. Our Lady of Guadalupe was still waiting for him.
“¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?”
[“Am I not here, I who am your mother?”]
– Spanish quoted from the front entrance of the modern (or new) Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, based on the 17th century Nahuatl text Nican Mopohua (Here Is Told)
The vision of the Divine Mother told him that his uncle had recovered. (Later he would learn that his uncle Juan Diego Bernardino had also received a visit from the Blessed Mother.) Our Lady of Guadalupe told the future saint that if he went up to the top of the hill, where it was the coldest, he would find proof that he could take back to the bishop-elect. Juan Diego did as he was told and found the peak covered in roses. These were roses that were not indigenous to the area. Fragrant roses that could not be bought at any supermarket or mercado in the area. Flower covered in morning dew – even though it was too cold and out of season for such flowers to grow. As astounded as he must have been (and relieved because his uncle was well), he managed to gather as many flowers as he could carry in his tilma (or cloak) and brought them to the vision. She touched each flower and placed them back in his blanket-like cape.
Now, to be clear, at this point in the story, Juan Diego had experienced these miracles with almost every one of his senses. He has heard them, seen them, smelled them, and felt them. He has thought about them and remembered them with clarity. One could argue that the only sense not engaged was his sense of taste; but since smell and taste are closely connected, we can’t exclude the possibility that the fragrant flowers left and impression on his tongue.
Yet, there was more.
After some resistance (mostly from the servants or guards at the Church), Juan Diego was admitted into the bishop’s chambers. When he opened his tilma the roses fell out onto the flower. More roses than he could have carried and, again, roses that were out of season and not available in the area. Some say they were Castilian roses, meaning they were indigenous to Spain and, theoretically, would have been recognizable to His Excellency Don Juan de Zumárraga y Arrazola O. F. M. as such.
But, there was more.
When the roses fell on the floor, they revealed an image in the tilma: a vibrant image of the Virgin Mary as she appeared to Juan Diego. She appeared to be mestiza, a mixture of two ethnicities: Aztec and Spanish. Her dark hair was parted to indicate that she was a virgin. Her blue-green mantilla or veil was covered in stars, indicating that she came from Heaven and also (by their pattern) establishing the date and time of her appearance. Her hands were in prayer with her fingers pointed to the cross that she wore at the top of her dress. A black ribbon tied beneath her hands and above her belly indicated that she was encinta, “enclosed in the ribbon” – which means she was pregnant. Four-petaled and eight-petaled flowers covered the cloth over her belly and the lower portion of her dress. She stood in the clouds, in front of the sun (which some say represents Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun and of war). She also stood on top of the moon (some say crushing the Aztec’s Quetzalcóatl, the feathered serpent moon god) with a shoe that looks like the tilma. Finally, the edge of her mantilla and the edge of her dress were held up by “an angel with eagle wings” who wore a shirt and cross that matched hers.
I say “finally,” but – to be clear – I’ve only highlighted some (but not all) of the most obvious elements of the image. An image that scientists have said was not painted and has no (significant) brushstrokes. An image that, though I refer to it in the past tense above, reportedly looks almost** exactly the same as it did when it was first revealed (almost 500 years ago) – despite the fact that it was not protected from the elements for over one hundred years.
Also, I’ve left out explanations for a lot of the symbols, a note about Her name, and a few things that would not have been obvious when the image was first revealed. For example, the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe are shaped like a real person’s eyes and modern science has revealed that they contain two images: reflections of two scenes which include the images of people like San Juan Diego and His Excellency Don Juan de Zumárraga y Arrazola.
Then there are the flowers…
“Each celestial body, in fact each and every atom, produces a particular sound on account of its movement, its rhythm or vibration. All these sounds and vibrations form a universal harmony in which each element, while having it’s own function and character, contributes to the whole.”
– quote attributed to Pythagoras (of Samos)
The arrangement of the stars and flowers held significance right off the bat. Some of the flowers even look different when viewed at different angles, but a Mexico accountant (recently) discovered that there’s more to the arrangement than date, time, topography, and religious symbolism. According to Fernando Ojeda, a member of the Instituto Superior de Estudios Guadalupanos (ISEG), the arrangement is, well, an actual arrangement. It’s music.
Analyzing the image from a mathematical perspective, Fernando Ojeda found that it was symmetrical and maintained the golden ratio. When he asked what would be considered the “most symmetrical” instrument, someone told him it was a piano. So, he framed a copy of the image with a golden triangle and had a musical colleague overlap the image with a drawing of a piano so that they could transcribe the stars and flowers into music notes. Then, Fernando Ojeda plugged the notes into a computer program and (with the help of some classical musicians) produced what could easily be described as something heavenly.
I know, I know. Even if you believe all the rest of the story, you might be skeptical of this last bit. Especially if you know about John Cage and the wind chimes. However, when the ISEG analysts reportedly applied these same methods to paintings from the 16th and 17th century, the painted stars and flowers did not produce anything that would have met with Bach’s approval.
“[Music] should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the re-creation of the soul, where this is not kept in mind, there is no true music, but only an infernal clamour and ranting.”
[NOTE: I could not find “the music of the mantle” on Spotify, but it’s embedded/linked below along with a third track that is not on the Mother’s Day playlist.]
*NOTE: Many scholars and theologians are skeptical about the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Some of the skepticism surrounds the timeline and the fact that the first written account didn’t appear until the 17th century. There is also some confusion about the name, confusion that is heightened by translating into (and out of) languages that don’t share an original culture. Some of that language confusion all revolves around a misunderstanding about what is a title and what is a name.
**NOTE: Acid was spilled on the tilma in 1791, but it appears that there was minimum damage and/or (as some people believe) the image healed itself. The visions crown has been altered. Scientists have disagreed about how much the image has faded or flaked over the years, but consistently agree that it seems to be very little.
“‘FRATELLI TUTTI’.[1] With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel. Of the counsels Francis offered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother ‘as much when he is far away from him as when he is with him’.[2] In his simple and direct way, Saint Francis expressed the essence of a fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.”
– quoted from Encyclical Letter “Fratelli Tutti” of the Holy Father Francis on Fraternity and Social Friendship (signed October 3, 2020)
Nothing happened today in 1582 – at least not in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and places like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These Papal-governed nations were the first to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory XIII) and, therefore, skipped 10 days (October 5 – 14). The switch was primarily motivated by the Church’s desire to consistently observe Easter during the same season in which it had originally been celebrated. Of course, that date was (and is) a movable feast, but by the early third century people were no longer able to rely on an annual announcement from the Pope to tell them when to celebrate.
The First Council of Nicaea (in 325 AD) proposed a standard date, such as March 21st, which would correspond with the ecclesiastical full moon. Ultimately, however, the Church developed the computes (“computation”) which allowed clergy to independently calculate what was essentially the Passover moon – but without depending on the Hebrew calendar. The only problem was that as early as the 8th century people noted that the Julian calendar contained a calculation error that was already throwing things off. Pope Sixtus IV tried to introduce a reform in 1475, but his efforts were thwarted by the untimely (and unfortunately timed) death of the mathematician Johannes Müller von Königsberg (a.k.a. Regiomontanus).
In 1545, the Council of Trent authorized another attempt at calendar reform – this time to return Easter celebrations to the same time they had been observed in 325 AD and also to ensure no future drift. Progress was slow. Several decades passed before proposals were solicited from outside of the Church. The adopted proposal was a modification of one submitted by Aloysius Lilius (a.k.a. Luigi Lilio and Luigi Giglio). It corrected the length of the year, changed the duration between and occurrences of leap years, and required the deletion of ten days in order to reset.
Granted, the days didn’t actually disappear. In reality, they were still there; just renamed / renumbered. This “deletion of days” would occur at different times throughout the year and over the years – even as recently as 2016 – and, as the drift continued for countries still using the Julian calendar, sometimes were as many as 14. When these dates pop up on our current calendar, I like to think of them as “extra days,” like a little bit of lagniappe that we’ve been given. And, of course, I ask the question, “How could I spend this extra bit of time?”
“i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes”
– quoted from “i thank You God for most this amazing” by e e cummings
So, nothing happened in certain countries in 1582. But, in 1894, the author of some of my favorite poems was born. Edward Estlin Cummings (a.k.a. “E. E. Cummings” or “e e cummings”) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts – which had been a British colony when Great Britain and its colonies switched calendars in 1752. In addition to at least 2900 poems, he wrote essays, four plays, and two autobiographical novels. He also painted. Cummings grew up in a Unitarian household (his father was a well known professor and minister) and he was exposed to a variety of philosophers.
Not surprisingly, his affinity to nature combined with his creativity and exposure to different philosophical and theological thinking led him to believe in the inherent goodness of people and nature: distinctly transcendental beliefs. He also developed an Ich und Du relationship with God that resulted in many poems and journal entries which are nothing less than prayers. He wrote about his service in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, about being arrested and detained by the French military (for suspicion of espionage), and his service in the United States Army. It was his father’s death, however, that marked a pivot in how his poetry addressed life and the time we spend living it.
“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)“
– quoted from “[i carry your heart with me(I carry it in)]” by e e cummings
Please join me today (Wednesday, October 14th) at 4:30 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. You will need to register for the 7:15 PM class if you have not already done so. 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.
Wednesday’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.)
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.”
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A Joyful Practice 