So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day & Also… (the “missing” Sunday post w/excerpts) February 2, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Kumbh Mela, Life, Movies, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.Tags: 988, Ananta Ripa Ajmera, Appreciation, Bill Murray, Candelmas, Carnival, God of Wealth, Gupta Navaratri, Harold Ramis, Kushmanda, Lunar New Year, Magha Navaratri, Maha Kumbh Mela, Margaret Fuhrer, Navaratri, Raven Wilkinson, Richard Henzel, Virgin Mary, Year of the Snake
add a comment
“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Magha Gupta Navaratri!” “Happy (Lunar) New Year!” and/or “Happy Carnival!” to those who are celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, and especially those observing Maha Kumbh Mela and/or Candlemas.
Peace, ease, contemplation, and appreciation throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!!!
This “missing” post for Sunday, February 2nd is a compilation post. It includes some revised (previously posted) material and excerpts. My apologies for not posting before the Sunday practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous 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.
“Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
February 2nd is always Groundhog Day. For people using the Gregorian Calendar, it is also, always, Candlemas, the second day of Black History Month (for some people in the United States), and part of the “Season for Nonviolence”. However, since people use different calendars for religious and cultural holidays and observations, this day sometimes overlaps a whole lot of other ancient rituals and traditions — and even a couple of modern ones. For instance, in 2025, today is also part of Carnival, the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival, Maha Kumbh Mela, and Magha (Gupta) Navaratri.
Today, the “Season for Nonviolence” principle is “Appreciation”. While the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace’s site focuses on giving thanks, with regard to this principle, we can also take this opportunity to appreciate the richness of each other’s cultures and how some of our beliefs overlap — especially as it relates to change (and even to our resistance to change).
FTWMI: AN INVITATION TO SHINE
“It’s always Feb 2nd — there’s nothing I can do about it.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
Have you ever had one of those moments, like Phil Connors had in the movie Groundhog Day, where you woke up and every day seemed (or actually was) the same? Or, maybe, like Raven Wilkinson (who was born today in 1935), you see things in the world that you want to be different… even though it seems like those things have been the same for so long that they are unchangeable.
I think it is very easy to look at the world and see things we would like changed. I also think we have all had days where nothing we do seems to make a difference. Yet, the reality is that everything we do changes something.
Being alive is like a dance between our body, our mind, our spirit, and the world. Everything is shifting, changing. Everything is balance and counterbalance, inhale and exhale, enter and leaving, rising and falling. Sometimes we lead. Sometimes we follow. Sometimes we are watching from the side, resting, or waiting for our turn to lead or follow. Start to notice that dance and your start to notice change and how you engage it. You also start to notice when you are stuck… and the choices you make when you are stuck.
Do you get frustrated and stay stuck?
Do you “accept the things [you] cannot change”… and stay stuck?
Or, do you “change the things [you] can”… with appreciation/gratitude?
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE SOME HISTORY ABOUT GROUNDHOG DAY.
FTWMI: “Okay, campers, rise and shine!” (the “missing” post for February 2nd)
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT BELOW FOR A PROFILE ABOUT RAVEN WILKINSON.
Whether we realize it or not, everything we do changes something about us. It changes our perspective. Maybe the change is a reinforcement of what we already believe. Sometimes, however, we see ourselves and the world in a new way, a special way. That new insight can lead us to interact with people in a different way — and that can change their perspectives. The first part happened to Phil Connors in the movie. Both parts happened to Raven Wilkinson and, therefore, to ballet dancers and ballet fans.
That’s the way life goes. We just have to rise and shine.
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cooooold out there today.”
— Richard Henzel as “DJ #1” in the movie Groundhog Day
NEW YEAR #5 / NEW DAY #4 (EXCERPTS)
For many people celebrating the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival, the fifth day is the day to go back to work after a four-day holiday. Businesses opening back up are met with great fanfare: parades, music, and fireworks. There’s also the promise of “lucky money,” in red envelopes; which business owners will give to their customers — who will then promptly spend some of the money in the business. Some people will also celebrate the birthday of all cows. This fifth day is particularly auspicious in parts of China where it is recognized as the birthday of the God of Wealth.
This year, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year coincides with the fourth day of Magha (Gupta) Navaratri. While Navaratri, the “nine nights” and days of celebration in the Hindu tradition, is different from some of the other celebrations mentioned — because it is a celebration that focuses on Durga, the divine mother, in various manifestations, Hinduism is not the only religion where the feminine aspects of the Divine are celebrated. It’s not even the only religion where an observation related to a woman, as the Divine, is associated with a period of nine days/nights. To my knowledge, however, Navaratri (“nine nights”) is unique in that it celebrates many different aspects of a single woman. Each night/day is associated with a different manifestation of Durga/Parvati, the mother goddess, and is part of nine-part story cycle/journey that ends with a demon-king being destroyed.
The fourth day is dedicated to the Goddess Kushmanda who, it is said, “created the world with her divine smile” — a smile that also powers the sun. She is recognized as Shakti (the creative force) and associated with good health (specifically with improving health), wealth, and strength. She is like the aspects of the Virgin Mary that are remembered on Candlemas.
“[Kushmanda] also lives in our hearts. The fact that she is smiling reminds us that we too are our most creative when we are smiling and feeling positive, courageous (a quality of heart), and strong. The fact that this goddess, like Chandraghanta, rides a lion shows that the power of love is just as potent as the fire of transformation. It reminds us that the ability to love comes from inner strength. When we feel clouded by fear, anger, and grief, it can be difficult to imagine one day having the strength to love again. But Kushmanda is here to remind us that, no matter how brokenhearted we may feel at time, the power of love lives within us, and we can tap into it and become our creative best at any time.”
— quoted from the “Knowing Kushmanda” section of “Chapter 4 — The Art of Loving Your True Self” in The Way of the Goddess: Daily Rituals to Awaken Your Inner Warrior and Discover Your True Self by Ananta Ripa Ajmera
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “02022025 So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day”]
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).
“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”
— Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
### THANK YOU! I APPRECIATE YOU!! ###
First Friday Night Special #40: An Invitation to Shine (a brief post practice post with links) February 3, 2024
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Movies, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: ballet, Bill Murray, Candlemas, gratitude, Groundhog Day, Margaret Fuhrer, Phil Connors, Raven Wilkinson, Restorative Yoga, Richard Henzel, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Sergei Denham, Somatic Yoga
add a comment
Many blessings,” to those who are observing Candlemas! Peace, ease, and gratitude to all during this “Season of Non-violence” and all other seasons!
My apologies for not posting this before tonight’s “First Friday Night Special.” You can request an audio recording of tonight’s Somatic & Restorative Yoga 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.
“It’s always Feb 2nd — there’s nothing I can do about it.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
Have you ever had one of those moments, like Phil Connors had in the movie Groundhog Day, where you woke up and every day seemed (or actually was) the same? Or, maybe, like Raven Wilkinson (who was born today in 1935), you see things in the world that you want to be different… even though it seems like those things have been the same for so long that they are unchangeable.
I think it is very easy to look at the world and see things we would like changed. I also think we have all had days where nothing we do seems to make a difference. Yet, the reality is that everything we do changes something.
Being alive is like a dance between our body, our mind, our spirit, and the world. Everything is shifting, changing. Everything is balance and counterbalance, inhale and exhale, enter and leaving, rising and falling. Sometimes we lead. Sometimes we follow. Sometimes we are watching from the side, resting, or waiting for our turn to lead or follow. Start to notice that dance and your start to notice change and how you engage it. You also start to notice when you are stuck… and the choices you make when you are stuck.
Do you get frustrated and stay stuck?
Do you “accept the things [you] cannot change”… and stay stuck?
Or, do you “change the things [you] can”… with gratitude?
Click here for more about changing perspectives and Groundhog Day.
Click here to learn how Raven Wilkinson was one of the people who changed the world of dance.
Whether we realize it or not, everything we do changes something about us. It changes our perspective. Maybe the change is a reinforcement of what we already believe. Sometimes, however, we see ourselves and the world in a new way, a special way. That new insight can lead us to interact with people in a different way — and that can change their perspectives. The first part happened to Phil Connors in the movie. Both parts happened to Raven Wilkinson and, therefore, to ballet dancers and ballet fans.
That’s the way life goes. We just have to rise and shine.
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cooooold out there today.”
— Richard Henzel as “DJ #1” in the movie Groundhog Day
The February First Friday Night Special features a Somatic Yoga Experience (SYE) with some movement and some stillness (Restorative Yoga) plus pranayama. It is accessible and open to all. (The chair options are highly recommended if you are having a lot of hip issues.)
Friday’s (2024) playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
Prop wise, 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).
“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”
— Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
### THANK YOU! ###
Bird on Fire (a special Black History note) February 3, 2023
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Music, New Year, Philosophy, Women, Yoga.Tags: Alicia Keys, ballet, Black History Month, Carlos Acosta, Dr. Josselli Audain Deans, Igor Stravinsky, Jarrett Hill, Lauren Anderson, Margaret Fuhrer, Misty Copeland, MOBBallet, Raven Wilkinson, Sandra Organ Solis, Sergei Denham, Sylvester Campbell, Tre'vell Anderson, Yakov Polonsky
add a comment
Happy Spring Festival! Happy Carnival! Peace and ease to all during this “Season of Non-violence” and all other seasons!
This is a special post for Thursday, February 2nd. Yes, it was Groundhog Day. Yes, it was Groundhog Day (and you can click here to read last year’s related post). It was also the 12th day of the Spring Festival, which is another day when people eat “clean” (more on that in the Friday post).
“Black History is Happening Every Day.”
– a segment on the podcast FANTI, hosted by Jarrett Hill and Tre’vell Anderson
If you spend some time in my classes and/or peruse my blog, it doesn’t take long to notice that I use dates, historical figures, and special events, as jumping off points. They are a way to get everyone on the same page, to give people a frame of reference – especially if I’m going to delve into some aspect of Eastern philosophy that may be unfamiliar to most people in my classes. Sharing people’s stories, cultures, and histories is also a way to cultivate empathy and curiosity. Plus, I’m a fan of knowledge and, well… the more you know….
As much as I endeavor to diversify my “curriculum” and playlists (and have been known to “randomly” throw in extra Irish musicians and historical figures at the beginning of March), I don’t typically spend a whole month talking about non-religious cultural observations. Oh, sure, I’ve devoted several Aprils-worth of classes to poetry and if you show up at a class during the eleventh month of the Gregorian calendar, there’s about a 20% chance I’ll be sporting a moustache (if you mou’, you mou’), but I don’t really focus on one group of people during a single month (or week). When I mention that it’s Black History Month – or Native American Heritage Month or Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – that reference is just a footnote at the beginning of the month (or week), because I agree with two of my favorite podcasters: Black History is Happening Every Day! Actually, I think that’s true of every demographic in America: everyone is making history every day.
Sometimes, unfortunately, human history is really tragic and horrific. In fact, someone once gave my a calendar full of really horrible things that had been done to African Americans on any given day throughout the year. I appreciated the gift – and have learned a lot from it – but it’s never my go-to reference source. It’s not that I steer away from hard and tragic stuff; but that’s not all of life. Life is full of ups and downs and lots of things in between. So, I highlight people, events, and things that I can see as a reflection of life. When I remember or discover something and/or someone that resonates with me, I consider how it can be a gateway into the philosophical practice. This is very much in keeping with the way ancient philosophy (and religious) teachers taught. It’s just that rather than making up stories (parables), I’m using true stories and tales. And, more often than not, someone shares with me that they had never heard the story I told or had forgotten it and appreciated the reminder.
Recently, however, I have noticed how much the subjects on which I choose to focus – the kinds of subjects I have chosen for over a decade – are being “outlawed” by certain policymakers around the country. Recently, I have started thinking about how much of the history that was not being told up until recently is getting banned. Recently, I have thought more and more about the ramifications of losing things we may never get back; of losing the truth we may never get back. So, for Black History Month 2023, I am going to highlight some people and events that don’t get a lot of “air time.” They may not all be the focus of the next few weeks of practice, but they will be here… for anyone who is curious.
“She’s living in a world and it’s on fire
Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
Oh, oh oh oh oh
She got both feet on the ground
And she’s burning it down
Oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
She got her head in the clouds
And she’s not backing down
This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She’s walking on fire
This girl is on fire
Looks like a girl, but she’s a flame
So bright, she can burn your eyes”
– quoted from the song “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys
Earlier in my life, I had the great pleasure of working with some of the most amazing classical ballet dancers on the planet – including several whose presence on the stage was groundbreaking and newsworthy. Sandra Organ, Lauren Anderson, and Carlos Acosta became, respectively, the first African American ballet dancer at Houston Ballet, one of the first African American principal dancers at a major classical ballet company, and the first (Black) Cuban male principal dancer at a major classical ballet company (outside of Cuba). Each of them made it possible for more dancers of color to make a name for themselves. Each of them continues to contribute to the world of dance. What doesn’t always make the news, however, is that each of them dance (and now direct) in the footsteps of Raven Wilkinson.
Born February 2, 1935, in New York City, Anne Raven Wilkinson loved dance at a very early age. Her mother, Anne James Wilkinson, studied ballet in Chicago before getting married and starting a family with Dr. Frost Birnie Wilkinson, a dentist who had attended Dartmouth University and graduated from Harvard Medical School. After watching Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performing Coppélia (when she was about five), her mother tried to register her for classes at the School of American Ballet. Historically, students could start training at New York City Ballet’s feeder school if they were 8 years old or would turn 8 during the year they started at the school. The Wilkinsons, however, were told that Raven had to be 9. Not to be thwarted, Raven was signed up for lessons in the Dalcroze method, a style of music education. When she turned 9, her uncle (a surgeon who graduated from Darmouth and Harvard) gifted her lessons at the Swoboda School, later known as the Ballet Russe School, where she trained with dancers from the Bolshoi Theatre.
In 1951, Sergei Denham, director of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, bought the Swoboda School, making it a feeder school for the very company that had inspired Raven Wilkinson to dance. She studied under the new leadership for three years before she auditioned. Even though at least one of her peers told her she would not get hired because she was Black, she learned the aesthetics and dance vocabulary she would need to technically blend in. Then, in 1954, she auditioned for Sergei Denham for the first time. In all, she would audition three times (and get rejected twice) before she was hired on a temporary basis. It was temporary, she was told, because the director was considering hiring another dancer (in Chicago) partway through the tour.
“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”
– Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
Raven Wilkinson started dancing for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1955 – 14 years before a company devoted to African American ballet dancers, Dance Theatre of Harlem, opened across the street from where her father’s office. By her second season she was dancing as a soloist.* She toured the United States while dancing roles in Les Sylphide, Le Beau Danube, Giselle, Graduation Ball, Harlequinade, and Swan Lake. Of course, touring the United States in the 1950s meant dealing with segregation and racism in the South. On the one hand, Ms. Wilkinson was light-skinned and could “pass” – and classical ballet was/is so closely associated with whiteness that almost no one considered the possibility that there was a Black dancer in the company, even though there were dancers from South America. On the other hand, she had no intention of lying. The company had encounters with the Ku Klux Klan – in and out of their robes – and in 1957, a “whites only” hotel owner in Atlanta, Georgia questioned her race and she answered as she had always intended to answer: truthfully.
After the incident in Atlanta, Sergei Denham and the company took extra-ordinary measures to ensure the safety of Raven Wilkinson and the other dancers. Sometimes, segregation forced her to travel ahead of the company. Sometimes, segregation and racism forced her out of roles. A member of the artistic staff told her that she had hit the proverbial “glass ceiling” and that she would be better off retiring and starting an “African dance” company. When she pointed out that she wasn’t trained in African dance, Sergei Denham backed her up, even offered her a featured role in Raymonda. She would appreciate his support later in life, but at the time, she was increasingly frustrated. She retired from the the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1961; but she did so with the intention of finding another, more progressive, company. After being rejected by the other major companies in New York City, she gave up, started working a “regular gig,” and even considered becoming a nun. Two years after leaving the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Raven Wilkinson put her pointe shoes back on and went back to dance. Then she got a call from a Black dancer in the Netherlands.
“‘I regret that he was not seen in the United States as a dancer because there was living proof of a danseur noble no matter what color, and he was amazing.’”
– quoted from MOBBallet.org (cited, Dr. Josselli Audain Deans PhD, Dance Magazine, November 1997, pages 87-88)
Sylvester Campbell, was an African American ballet danseur from Oklahoma, who trained at the (historically black) Jones-Haywood School of Ballet (founded Washington D. C., in 1941) and at the School of American Ballet (the school that, years earlier, rejected Raven Wilkinson for being too young). In 1960, Mr. Campbell started dancing principal roles at Het Nationale Ballet (the Dutch National Ballet), After dancing there for several years, he convinced Raven Wilkinson to relocate to Holland where she become a second soloist and expanded her repertoire, adding roles in Serenade, Giselle, Symphony in C, La Valse, The Snow Maiden, and The Firebird (which was originally created for the original Ballet Russes).
Both Americans would eventually leave the Netherlands because they were homesick. Sylvester Campbell went on to be a principal dancer at Royal Winnipeg Ballet and then director of the dance Department of the Baltimore School for the Arts. Raven Wilkinson danced with the New York City Opera (until 1985) and then appeared as a character dancer and actor until 2011, when the company was no longer in residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She also taught ballet at the Harlem School of the Arts.
All the way up until her death in 2018, Raven Wilkinson was heralded as a role model and mentor for dancers like Misty Copeland, the first African American principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.
“I loved Holland, but I missed my own country. I missed the very thing we complain about when we’re here—America’s diversity of philosophy, of feeling, of custom. It makes for a difficult society sometimes, and yet you feel its absence in a place like Holland, where everyone has the same history. So I came home.”
– Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
PRACTICE NOTES: If I were to lead a practice dedicated to Raven Wilkinson, I’d focus on how the situations that make it hard to practice satya (“truth”), are also the situations when it is most important to practice that second yama (external “restraint” or universal “commandment”). There would probably be an emphasis on poses with external hip rotation, counterbalanced with poses that internally rotate the hips and thighs – plus something to open up the heart and the throat chakras (as they are related to “the gifts we extend out to the world,” determination, and expression). There would also be some awareness of “long lines,” articulating the feet, and dancing the arms. Of course, we would work our way into Naṭarājāsana (“Dancer’s Pose”) – all while listening to the highs and lows of Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Oiseau de feu” (“The Firebird”).
*NOTE: By some accounts, Raven Wilkinson was promoted to soloist, but other accounts indicate that she was given soloist roles without the title (or the paycheck that might have come with it).
Errata: Raven Wilkinson taught at the Harlem School of the Arts not at Dance Theatre of Harlem as implied by my earlier type-o.
A Joyful Practice 