Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating Michaelmas / the Feast and the Archangels and/or coming together in friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom during International Week of the Deaf.
Stay safe! Live well! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.
This is the “missing” post for Sunday, September 29th.Some embedded links direct to sites outside of this blog. You can request an audio recording of this 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.
“Even very subtle actions—like moving together in time—can exert a significant effect on the mind. We see synchrony in almost every religion the world over: Buddhists and Hindus often chant together in prayer; Christians and Muslims regularly kneel and stand in unison during worship; Jews often sway, or shuckle, when reciting prayers together. These actions belie a deep purpose: creating connection.”
— quoted from the (09/14/2021) Wired article entitled, “Psychologists Are Learning What Religion Has Known for Years: Social scientists are researching what humans can do to improve their quality of life. Their findings echo what religious practices perfected centuries ago.” by David DeSteno
Have you ever noticed that, in certain yoga and meditation traditions, a common technique to start getting grounded and centered in the moment is to notice sound? It is a way to take in the landscape and begin “single-pointed focus.” It is also a way to get everyone on the proverbial same page, similar to the way I use a theme. Or, I should say, it can get almost everyone on the same page.
I have, previously, wondered, ‘Why sound? Why not taste or smell or what we feel on (or under) our skin? Why not what we see (even with our eyes closed)?’ While I do incorporate the other senses into my cues, I’ll admit to not putting too much thought into the initial question — probably because I am a hearing teacher who has never needed to incorporate a sign language into the practice. However, our mind-body is bombarded with information in the form of sensation. All of this sensation produces the cittavṛtti (“fluctuations of the mind”), the “windmills of your mind,” that Patanjali referenced in Yoga Sūtra 1.2 — and we can tilt at any of those metaphorical windmills in order to start cultivating yoga, “union,” which is also coming together.
This time of year, lots of people around the world are starting to come together for a variety of religious traditions. Today, September 29th is Michaelmas (in the Western Christian traditions) and the feast day of people named for the archangel — people like Miguel de Cervantes (b.1547). Also known as the Feast of the Archangels (and sometimes by their names), celebrations of Michaelmas are steeped in rituals and traditions that are very child-friendly and, therefore, can be a way to invest in the future of the community.
This year, Michaelmas coincides with the final day of International Week of the Deaf (IWD), which is a day when the World Federation of the Deaf encourages people to invest in the future of deaf communities and “support deaf children and their families connections with deaf communities to ensure early exposure to national sign languages and access to language rich environments. Sign up for Sign Language Rights by sharing a video on social media of your vision for the future of our deaf communities.”
In honor of IWD, I have been sharing videos created by people within the Deaf community. But, I may have underestimated how much of their content I regularly consume: because I haven’t even shared a couple of my favorites. Linked below are more from my favorites (as well as videos from a couple I only discovered this week). I hope you will check out more of their content!
“Quiet I bear within me, I bear within myself Forces to make me strong. Now will I be imbued with their glowing warmth. Now will I fill myself With my own will’s resolve. And I will feel the quiet Pouring through all my being When by my steadfast striving I become strong To find within myself the source of strength The strength of inner quiet.”
—“Inner Quiet” by Rudolf Steiner
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09292021 Michaelmas y Miguel”]
NOTE: One before/after the practice track on YouTube is currently unavailable due to union contract disputes. This will not affect the timing during the practice. Check out the excerpt above (or a request a recording of today’s practice) to find out why the timing might not be an accident.
If you are struggling, 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.
“For neither good nor evil can last for ever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.”
— quoted from “Chapter Nineteen – An account of the second discourse that passed between Sancho and his master: the succeeding adventure of the corpse, and other remarkable events” in Part 1 of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating Michaelmas / the Feast and the Archangels and/or coming together in friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom during International Week of the Deaf.
Stay safe! Live well! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, September 29th) at 2:30 PM.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 by emailing myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09292021 Michaelmas y Miguel”]
NOTE: One before/after the practice track on YouTube is currently unavailable due to union contract disputes. This will not affect the timing during the practice.
If you are struggling, 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.
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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A Joyful Practice 