A Quick Note & EXCERPTS RE: Having A Say and Being Seen & Heard June 4, 2025

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating Pride and/or the Afterfeast of the Ascension.

Happy Pride!

“Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.”

— Arthur Brisbane (originally cited as Tess Flanders)

Take a moment to look around, as much as you are able, and then close your eyes.

What do you see (with your eyes closed)? By that I mean, what do you visualize? A big part of yesterday’s practice was how the mind/brain works with our eyes so that we can see. This same type of processing happens with all our sense organs. Information comes in, the mind/brain collects the information (in the form of sensation) and then communicates that information (via our mind/brain/intellect) in a way that we understand. This processing taps into certain siddhis or “abilities”, six of which are outlined in the Sāmkhya Karika as “powers unique to being human.” One of my favorite of the big six siddhis is the power of word (shabda); but, you know what they say….

So, let’s consider pictures… and all the other things that activate our senses; because, over time, we may associate certain sensations (images, sounds, scents, tastes, and/or textures) with certain words and concepts — so much so that those sensations could stand in place of the words themselves!

For example, what image comes to mind when you think of the word “freedom”?

How about, an image that comes to mind when you think of the word “democracy”?

How likely is it that someone else will imagine the same things as you? Pretty likely if you have similar experiences (i.e., if you grew up around the same time and in the same place).

Now, consider the idea of “fighting for freedom and democracy”. Do you still imagine the same thing(s)? It is possible that our visualizations for this phrase might vary and be a little different — even if we grew up in the same place, around the same time, and even if we have similar experiences. However, if we were playing a game like Big Picture Apples to Apples, where each player picks a picture card (from their hand) that they think another player will associate with a certain word, our shared experiences would probably make us pick the same cards (if we had the same hand) — or, at the very least, to recognize the pictures we each selected.

Here are two cards in my hand for today:

TANK MAN

Now, consider this second picture.

Tboyd5150 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

Having A Say & FTWMI: The Power of Being Seen & Heard (the “missing” Tuesday post)

“Your every choice, thought and feeling has biological, environmental, social, personal and global consequence. Actions motivated by personal will that trusts Divine authority, gives you the richest power.”

— quoted from “Morning Visual Meditation” (focus for Chakra 5) by Caroline Myss

Please join me today (Wednesday, June 4^th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. 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 myra  (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06042025 Having A Say, redux 2”]

NOTE: The YouTube playlist includes speeches that are not available on Spotify. I would add some more recent speeches…, but many of the 2024 speeches were “muted.”

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).

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.)

NOTE: In the 2024 post excerpted above, I reference a handful of armed conflicts. According to Humanitarian Law & Policy analysis by Samit D’Cunha, Tristan Ferraro, and Thomas de Saint Maurice — all legal advisers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “there are over 120 armed conflicts around the world, involving over 60 states and 120 non-state armed groups. The majority of these armed conflicts are of a non-international character, the number of which has tripled since the turn of the millennium.”

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