A Quick Note & EXCERPT: “How Do You Respond…?” September 14, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Changing Perspectives, Food, Healing Stories, Japa-Ajapa, Life, One Hoop, Philosophy, Science, Vairagya, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Dr. Ivan Pavlov, healing, meditation, Pavlovian, samskāras, Swami Jnaneshvara, vasana, yoga, yoga philosophy, Yoga Sutra 1.12
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Happy Church New Year, to those who are celebrating. Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone responding with friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.
Stay safe! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.
“If a certain stimulus has lost its influence, it can recover the latter only after a long resting that has to last several hours.
The lost action, however, can also be restored with certainty at any time by special measures.”
— quoted from the Dec. 12, 1904 Nobel Lecture “Physiology of Digestion” by Dr. Ivan Pavlov, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
A “Habit Loop” — the connection between a trigger, behavior, and reward — can also be considered “the Pavlovian response”, which was named after Dr. Ivan Pavlov (b. 1849).
Click on the excerpt title below to discover why Dr. Pavlov might have been in the habit of celebrating his birthday today (rather than on September 26th).
The post excerpted above includes a link to my video series about cultivating habits!
“abhyāsa vairāgyābhyāṁ tat nirodhaḥ” (YS 1.12)
abhyāsa Practice over a long period/without interruption
vairāgyābhyāṁ Non-attachment, without attraction or aversion
tat Those (referring to the “fluctuations of the mind” as described in previous sutras)
nirodhaḥ Ceases, controls, quiets, stills, regulates, masters
Please join me today (Sunday, September 14th) at 2:30 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.
Sunday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09042021 Experiencing the Mind”]
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.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### How Do You Respond In 2025? ###
2 EXCERPTS: “Re-Introducing SOPHIE” & “How Do You Love Ye?” August 24, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, avidya, Books, Goth, Intolerance, music, Paulo Coelho, Sophie Lancaster, Sophie Lancaster Foundation, Sylvia Lancaster, Writing, yoga, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Dormition (Theotokos) Fast; and/or working to cultivate friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside) — on the International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination, & Violence Based on Musical Preference.
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
“. . . the great aim of every human being is to understand the meaning of total love. Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. But in order to do that, we need the other person.”
— quoted from Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho (b. 1947)
Click on the first excerpt title below to “meet” Sophie Lancaster and the second excerpt title for a mini-post about Paulo Coelho.
“During the long hours at hospital, Sylvia decided that when Sophie was better, they would go into schools and talk to young people about difference, and how it is ok to be who you are and express yourself in your own way. Sadly, Sylvia never got a chance to do this with Sophie.”
— quoted from the “Welcome” page for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation
Please join me today (Sunday, August 24th) at 2:30 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.
Sunday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08242021 A Day for SOPHIE”]
NOTE: The YouTube playlist contains this video with a graphic depiction of violence.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
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.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### “Love is looking at the same mountains from different angles.” ~ Paulo Coelho ###
FTWMI: Holchaj yIjatlh. (“Speak in their language.”) August 19, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Movies, Music, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Science, TV, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alexander Courage, American Sign Language, ASL, BSL British Sign Language, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Dorothy Miles, Dot Miles, French Sign Language, Gene Rodenberry, Google Doodle, Gwenda (wanda) Squire, Howie Seago, Jonathan Frakes, Klingon, Leo Damian, Liz Deverill, LSF, Marnie Mosiman, music, Passion/Warrior, peace, Philo T. Farnsworth, Placiau Porffor, Purple Plaque, Riva, Scholar/Dreamer/Artist, Science Fiction, sign language, sign languages, Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek, Television, Thomas Oglesby, universal translator, Vedas, William T. Riker, Woman/That Which Binds Them, Writing, yoga philosophy, Youmee Lee
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Dormition (Theotokos) Fast (and the Second “Feast of the Saviour” in August) and/or exploring friendship, peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2024. Class details, theme-related details, and some links have been updated/added. This post contains spoilers (in the last paragraph before the excerpts) related to a 1989 television show.
“Captain’s log, supplemental. We are holding position pending the arrival of Admiral Haftel from Starfleet Research. Commander Data is completing his final neural transfers to the android he has named Lal which I have learned, in the language Hindi, means beloved.”
— quoted from Star Trek Deep: Next Generation, “The Offspring” – (season 3, episode 16, aired March 12, 1990), voiced by Sir Patrick Stewart (OBE) as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
As noted in the posts excerpted at the end of this post, August 19th is the anniversary of the birth of birth Philo T. Farnsworth (b. 1906) and Gene Roddenberry (b. 1901). The former was an American inventor who revolutionized television; the latter revolutionized what we watch on television. In previous years, a couple of obvious thematic elements from the August 18th practice extended into the August 19th practice: the idea of exploring space(s) and the benefits of exploring and encountering different cultures. However, there was an underlying element that I never really emphasized (in either class): languages.
Sure, I often reference the fact that our minds and bodies communicate in the language of sensation and I have been known to joke that, in the absence of a universal translator, we have to study that language of sensation. But, I never really got into the fact that people can’t really “have their say” if they are speaking in a language that is not understood. Nor did I really get into the fact that television exposed more people to more languages and that certain television shows and movies (like those in the Star Trek franchise) exposed more people to the importance of speaking other languages — specifically, the respect that is communicated when we literally and figuratively/physically “Holchaj yIjatlh. (Speak in their language).”
This oversight is super ironic when you consider how much I love languages and how often I talk about shabda (“word”), which is the power “to give a form to sound, assign meaning to each segment of sound, and to store both sound and meaning in memory….[and] the capacity to communicate both sound and its meaning to others. We also have the capacity to give a visual form to each segment of sound and the meaning associated with it.” Furthermore, I often point out that shabda is also the power related to visual words, i. e., written words, symbols, and sign language. However, it wasn’t until I saw the Google Doodle dedicated to Dorothy “Dot” Miles (née Squire) that I started to think about the limitations of universal translators in the Star Trek franchise… and, since we’re being real, in their current day iterations.1
“Her sister Gwenda (Wendy) wrote about her birth…, ‘I remember the day Dorothy was born and I knew exactly how she got there! The Irwin’s van brought her along with the groceries….’”
— quoted from “A Word from the Miles Estate” – provided to the Google site by the Dorothy Miles Estate, written by Liz Deverill (Dorothy’s niece)
Born in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales on August 19, 1931, Dorothy “Dot” Miles (née Squire) was a Welsh poet and activist in the Deaf community. She contracted meningococcal (also known as cerebrospinal) meningitis and lost her hearing when she was 8 years old. Even though she was the youngest of five (surviving children), born in a small market town in Wales, she was able to attend the Royal School for the Deaf (now known as Seashell Trust) in Stockport, Greater Manchester, North West England, and the Mary Hare School in Newbury, Berkshire, England. When she was 25, a British non-profit’s scholarship enabled her to attend Gallaudet College in Washington, D. C. — and it was there that her early love of music, theatre, and words really shined.
In addition to being a member of the Gallaudet’s honor society (as a junior) and being listed in the 1961 edition of “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities,” Dot Miles edited student magazines, wrote prize-winning poetry and prose, won prizes for her acting, and got married (and separated). She also wrote Gallaudet’s “Bison Song” and a poem called “Language for the Eye” — which inspired the 2024 Google Doodle illustrated by Korean American storyteller Youmee Lee (who is also deaf). After graduating with her bachelor’s degree and working as a teacher and counselor for deaf adults, Ms. Miles joined the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD), in 1967, where she worked in wardrobe and as a script translator. She also wrote poetry (for deaf and hearing audiences) and worked with NTD’s Little Theatre of the Deaf, which produced shows for children and teenagers. She eventually attended Connecticut College — where she wrote her Master’s thesis about deaf theatre in the United States — and then (briefly) moved to Los Angeles.
When she returned to the UK, in 1977, Dot Miles started working in television. She worked with Open Door, which was produced by the BBC’s Community Programme Unit, and performed her poem “Language for the Eye” on the May 10, 1979, episode presented by National Union of the Deaf. She also helped develop the BBC’s See Hear series and, along with Terry Ruane (who also lost his hearing due to a childhood bout of some form of meningitis) wrote specials for the series. In addition to her work in the arts, Dot Miles worked with the British Deaf Association (BDA), helped establish the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) and compiled teaching manuals and a BDA dictionary.
After her death, people near and dear to her formed the Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre, now known as Dot Sign Language, which “continues to bridge the gap between the Deaf and the hearing world…. [and] is dedicated to raising both Deaf awareness and the profile of BSL as a language in its own right.” In honor of Dot Miles and her work, the seaside resort town of Rhyl (in Flintshire) placed a Purple Plaque (Welsh: Placiau Porffor) on the poet’s childhood home (in April 2024), declaring her one of the “Menywod Nodedig Yng Nghymru / Remarkable Women of Wales.”
“…people meet and part.
The word becomes the action in this language of the heart.”
— quoted from the English translation of the poem “Language for the Eye” by Dorothy Miles
As far as I can tell, Dot Miles was a polyglot who knew four languages: Welsh, English, British Sign Language (BSL), and American Sign Language (ASL). Since she was interested in languages and theatre — and in sharing her poetry with people who used different languages — it would not surprise me to learn that she knew about the hundreds of other sign languages and dialects (even if she didn’t know them). There are, in fact, about 300 sign languages used around the world. This includes some (but not all) language families, like the French Sign Language Family, and the languages therein — like French Sign Language, Italian Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, American Sign Language, Irish Sign Language, Russian Sign Language, Dutch Sign Language (NGT), Spanish Sign Language, Mexican Sign Language, Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS), Catalan Sign Language, Ukrainian Sign Language, Austrian Sign Language (along with its twin Hungarian Sign Language and its offspring Czech Sign Language) and others. That estimate also includes some (but not all) dialects and some village languages, as well as some Deaf-community and school languages. I am not sure if that estimate includes any speech-taboo languages2; but, suffice to say, there are a lot of sign languages. And, knowing one does not mean that you can use the other; any more than knowing one romance language means you can completely understand another.
And, getting back to my earlier point, the universal translators in Star Trek do not translate sign language.
“WOMAN: Precisely. Our way of communicating has developed over the centuries and its one that I find quite harmonious.
PICARD: Then Riva the mediator —
WOMAN: Is deaf.
PICARD: Deaf?
WOMAN: Born, and hope to die.
PICARD: And the three of you speak for him?
CHORUS: Yes.
SCHOLAR: We serve as translators. We convey not only his thoughts, but his emotional intent as well. I am the Scholar. I represent the intellect, and speak in matters of judgement, philosophy, logic. Also, I am the dreamer, the part that longs to see the beauty beyond the truth which is always the first duty of art. I am the poet who —
ADONIS: Artists, they tend to ramble, neglect the moment. I am passion, the libido. I am the anarchy of lust, the romantic and the lover. I am also the warrior, the perfect line which never wavers.
WOMAN: I am that which binds all the others together. I am harmony, wisdom, balance.
PICARD: Remarkable. And so these —
(Riva steps forward, angry)
SCHOLAR: Speak to me!
PICARD: What?
SCHOLAR: Speak directly to me.
PICARD: The uniqueness of this presentation provoked this inadvertent breach in protocol. No insult was intended.
SCHOLAR: Then none is perceived.”
— quoted from Star Trek Deep: Next Generation, “Loud as a Whisper” – (season 2, episode 5, aired January 9, 1989), conversation between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (played by Sir Patrick Stewart, OBE), Riva (played by Howie Seago), and the Chorus (played by Marnie Mosiman as Woman/That Which Binds Them, Thomas Oglesby as Scholar/Dreamer/Artist, and Leo Damian as Passion/Warrior)
While the universal translators in Star Trek only translate spoken languages — and, even then, only “known” languages — a sign language is a very important plot element in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode entitled, “Loud as a Whisper.” The episode features Riva, a peace negotiator/ambassador who is deaf and so good at his job that (prior to this episode) the Klingons added a new word to their vocabulary: peacemaker. Riva knows a sign language, however, he travels with his own personal Greek chorus who are connected to him telepathically. They are known as “the scholar, the warrior, and that which binds them [woman].” SPOILER ALERT: When something happens to the Riva’s chorus, someone has to step in to learn the sign language — because, again, the universal translators only work with spoken words.
More importantly, communication needs to be as seamless as possible in order to negotiate peace.
Click on the excerpt titles below for the 2020 post and the 2023 note related to Philo T. Farnsworth and Gene Roddenberry.
“RIKER: So none of the background which we have provided would be helpful in understanding why they continue to fight?
SCHOLAR: The portfolio will indicate that the conflict is over a piece of land, or wealth, or some other tangible asset. But we both know that is not the case.
RIKER: They’ve been at war for so long, it has become personal.
SCHOLAR: Exactly. The basis for peace must also be personal….”
— quoted from Star Trek Deep: Next Generation, “Loud as a Whisper” – (season 2, episode 5, aired January 9, 1989), conversation between First Officer William T. Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes), Riva (played by Howie Seago), and the Chorus (played by Thomas Oglesby as Scholar/Dreamer/Artist, Marnie Mosiman as Woman/That Which Binds Them, and Leo Damian as Passion/Warrior)
Please join me today (Tuesday, August 19th) at 12:00 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s “Courage filled” playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08192020 To Boldly Go with Courage”]
PLAYLIST NOTE: The YouTube playlist includes an interview with Gene Roddenberry and the Dorothy Miles poem “Language for the Eye” (which is also below).
NOTES:
1 Google Translate and related apps are the closest things we (currently) have to a universal translator. Obviously, they do not allow us to hear someone else’s words as if they are speaking in the language of our choice; however, they can be voice activated and can play a recording of words typed (or pasted) into the app. There are apps that translate (into and out of) a variety of sign languages — however, they are not standard to (i.e., built into) cell phones like Google Translate and the iPhone’s Translate.
2 According to Wikipedia, speech-taboo languages “are developed by the hearing community and only used secondarily by the deaf.”
Dorothy Miles struggled with her mental health. Sadly, she was not able to receive help when she needed it most. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
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).
2024 CORRECTION & 2025 UPDATE: There are currently twelve Star Trek television series, thirteen feature films (with additional ones already in development or production), a made-for-television film, an extensive collection of books, games, and toys — not to mention college curriculum and language courses.
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.
### roj vay’ ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts RE: Reflecting & Remembering + Cause & Effect (*revised) August 6, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Love, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Abraham Lincoln, Alan Watts, Bockscar, breath, breathing, Civil War, COVID-19, Death, emancipation, Enola Gray, George Floyd, Hiroshima, John Hersey, Kaushik Patowary, Lyndon B. Johnson, meditation, memory, Nagasaki, Nobus Tetsutani, OM, pandemic, pranayama, Reiki, Sadako Sasaki, Shinichi Tetsutani, slavery, svadyaya, Tatsuharu Kodama, Voting Rights Act, yoga philosophy, yoga practice
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating friendship, peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
“Your thoughts are happening, just like the sounds going on outside and everything is simply a happening and all you’re doing is watching it.”
— quoted from “2.5.4 Meditation” by Alan Watts
There is a story for everything that happens. Every story and every practice involves cause and effect. Every story and every practice can be an opportunity to reflect and remember and/or to practice a little svādhyāya (“self-study”) . On some days, all of that is just beneath the surface. Other days, like today, it is all front and center.
Today, I will tell you some stories. Some of the stories are directly connected; some of the stories are indirectly connected. Some are obviously horrific and tragic. In the end, it all comes to a “peak” with the story of an “impossible” girl and her wish.
Click on the excerpt title below for a little more about the practice and (some of) the stories.
FTWMI/EXCERPTS: Reflecting & Remembering + Cause & Effect (a compilation post)
“I have heard there are at least 8 Japanese words that translate into the English word ‘dedication’. Some of those words also translate into English as devotion, offering, gift, and consecration. At the beginning of the practice, there are two dedications. The second one is most definitely an offering, a gift, and a consecration — especially on the anniversary of a tragic event.”
— quoted from my blog post for August 9, 2020
Please join me today (Wednesday, August 6th) 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 “08062022 Cause + Effect”]
NOTE: A practice video is coming soon! Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to be the first to practice with me!
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
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.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### WILL YOU WISH & WORK FOR PEACE ###
First Friday Night Special #58 — Invitation for “‘..what was previously unattainable’ with an ‘Impossible’ Woman & a Sea-Loving Man” (the “missing” invitation, w/excerpts & video) August 1, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Life, Meditation, Men, One Hoop, Philosophy, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: "Impossible" People, 988, Aimee Lehto, astronomy, Books, Boyd Croyner, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Hannah Mather Crocker, Herman Melville, I-35 bridge, James Baldwin, literature, Maria Mitchell, Moby-Dick, Muhammad Ali, Religion, Science, yoga philosophy, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra 2.55, Yoga Sutra 4.1, Yoga Sutras 1.2 - 1.4, Yoga Sutras 1.30-1.32
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere.
This “missing” invitation for the “First Friday Night Special” on August 1st is a compilation post with excerpts, an embedded link to a related post, and a couple of videos.
You can request an audio recording of this Yin Yoga 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.
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.”
— quoted from a 2004 Adidas ad campaign written by Aimee Lehto (with final tag line credited to Boyd Croyner), often attributed to Muhammad Ali
In “Part I: The Practice of Yoga — 1. Yoga: Concept and Meaning” of The Heart of Yoga: Developing A Personal Practice, T. K. V. Desikachar offered several English definitions of the Sanskrit word “yoga”, including “‘to come together’” and “‘to attain what was previously unattainable.’”
There are many reasons why something may not have been done or may not have been done by us (specifically). In Yoga Sūtras 1.30 – 1.31, Patanjali highlighted nine obstacles/distractions and four accompanying conditions that we can expect when we practice. The nine obstacles/distractions are disease, mental inertia/dullness, doubt, carelessness/negligence, sloth/laziness, cravings (and the inability to withdraw from them), clinging to misperceptions, frustration (related to failure), and instability (or failure to maintain a certain level of practice). Co-arising and/or resulting directly from the obstacles/distractions are pain, mental agitation (which can come in the form of sadness and frustration), unsteadiness or trembling in the body, and irregular breath. You may notice that these are things people experience even if they have never practiced yoga (physically and/or philosophically). However, Patanjali offers a solution to these obstacles/distractions and their accompanying ailments: yoga and the practice of single-pointed focus. (YS 1.2 and YS 1.32)
In other words, “yoga” — and single-pointed focus — can be the path to doing what some might consider “impossible”.
A portion of the following is excerpted from a 2020 post.
“There can be no doubt, that, in most cases, their judgment may be equal with the other sex; perhaps even on the subject of law, politics or religion, they may form good judgment, but it would be improper, and physically very incorrect, for the female character to claim the statesman’s birth or ascend the rostrum to gain the loud applause of men, although their powers of mind may be equal to the task.”
— quoted from “II: Becoming an Advocate” in Observations on the Real Rights of Women , with Their Appropriate Duties, Reminiscences and Traditions of Boston, Agreeable to Scripture, Reason and Common Sense by Hannah Mather Crocker (published 1818)
Believe it or not, Hannah Crocker was advocating for women’s rights when the wrote the above, in 1818, and stated that “It is woman’s peculiar right to keep calm and serene under every circumstance in life, as it is undoubtedly her appropriate duty, to soothe and alleviate the anxious cares of men, and her friendly and sympathetic breast should be found the best solace for him, as she has an equal right to partake with him the cares, as well as the pleasures of life.” Taken out of context, and viewed with a modern mind, it is easy to think that Crocker would have disapproved of Maria Mitchell, who was born August 1, 1818 (on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts).
Miss Mitchell, as the king of Denmark would refer to her, was the first acknowledged female astronomer. Her Quaker parents believed in equal education for the 10 offspring, regardless of gender, and her father shared his love of astronomy with all of his children. Miss Mitchell, however, was the only one really interested in going deeper into the math and science of what they viewed as “a hymn of praise to God.” She was assisting her father by the age of 12; opened and taught at a school for girls by the age of 17; and starting working as the librarian at the Nantucket Atheneum in her twenties. On October 1, 1848, she observed what she initially thought was a distant star, but quickly suspected was actually a comet. Further observation proved her correct and, after her father wrote to the Harvard Observatory, her conclusion was reported to the King of Denmark who awarded her a gold medal and named the newly sighted object “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”.1
Maria Mitchell would go on to be the first woman appointed to the American Association of the Advancement of Science (also in 1848); the first woman to earn an advanced degree (1853); the first woman appointed to the faculty of Vassar Female College (as their astronomy professor and head of their observatory, in 1865); and, therefore, the first woman in American history to earn a position as an astronomy professor. She is what I refer to this week as an impossible woman and Hannah Crocker may or may not have approved.
Take a moment to notice that Miss Mitchell was raised in a household where her interests and endeavors were supported. Despite the fact that she was born in a time and place where some believed her sex and gender should dictate/limit her vocation and occupation, she was able to focus on her goal, in part, because of her family “‘coming together’” to support her.
“First, no woman should say, ‘I am but a woman!’ But a woman! What more can you ask to be? Born a woman — born with the average brain of humanity — born with more than the average heart — if you are mortal, what higher destiny could you have? No matter where you are nor what you are, you are power.”
— quoted from Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals by Maria Mitchell
We all have some power(s) and part of the yoga philosophy is about (re)gaining access to our power(s). (YS 1.3, 2.55, 4.1) We have all witnessed (and/or directly experienced) how that power is magnified when people “unite”. This is true even when people are together and yet doing their own thing. For instance, individuals are often able to do things in a group setting (i.e., practicing in a yoga class) that they may not be able to do — with the same ease or at all — when they are alone.
Part of the group experience is the energetic power of being together and part of it may be about having an “accountability buddy”, even if that buddy is a stranger with whom you never directly interact. You could also tap into that same energy dynamic when writing in a café or — or, as Herman Melville did, while living in close proximity with another writer.
“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off – then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”
— quoted from Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville
Born in New York City on August 1, 1819, exactly a year to the day after Maria Mitchell, Herman Melville shared a love of the sea (and certain other experiences) with Nathanial Hawthorne. During Melville and Hawthorne’s brief friendship, they were both their most prolific. They also published what would become their most popular works, including Melville’s Moby-Dick and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Both wrote about people who obsessively purposed their goals (something that is encouraged in yoga), but their characters did not always temper their determination with devoted surrender and non-attachment (which is something that is also encouraged in yoga). Lest you think it was only Hawthorne who focused on commandments, read on.
“Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth.”
— quoted from Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville
You can click on the first excerpt below for the original (2020) post about Maria Mitchell and Herman Melville (which has a different yoga philosophy focus) or the second excerpt title for more about Herman Melville.
“When Herman Melville was writing Moby Dick, he wasn’t writing about a man looking for a whale. He was writing about a man trying to find his higher self. He said these words, ‘… for as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all of the horrors of the half-lived life.’
In every moment of your life, as you leave here today, you have this choice, you can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer
This Yin Yoga practice is accessible and open to all. You can click here to learn more about why we did this practice.
(NOTE: There will be a little bit of quiet space in this practice.)
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06042021 Having Our Say / Let’s Get Loud” – I recommend Track 1 or Track 2.]
(NOTE: The YouTube playlist has videos not available on Spotify and the Spotify app may add extra tracks.)
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). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table will also be handy.
Check out this vinyasa practice dedicated to Maria Mitchell and Herman Melville!
Check out this Yin Yoga practice dedicated to my next “impossible” person!
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).
1NOTE: “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” is formally designated as C/1847 T1.
As this is the anniversary of the 1-35 bridge collapse, please hold a neighbor in your hearts and minds today. So many people are suffering with current events, but let us not forget that some people are still grieving and healing from past events. To quote my dad, “Sounds like we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
###” CALL ME ISHMAEL, GOD LISTENS” ###
A Coda & EXCERPT: “A Little Grace [plus] Compassion and Peace (with regards to Ralph Waldo Emerson)” July 15, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Vairagya, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, Black Codes, Black Hair, Books, hair, Harvard Divinity School, Jim Crow, literature, Poetry, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Religion, shenpa, transcendentalism, yoga philosophy, yoga practice
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
“But when the mind opens, and reveals the laws which traverse the universe, and make things what they are, then shrinks the great world at once into a mere illustration and fable of this mind. What am I? and What is? asks the human spirit with a curiosity new-kindled, but never to be quenched. Behold these outrunning laws, which our imperfect apprehension can see tend this way and that, but not come full circle. Behold these infinite relations, so like, so unlike; many, yet one. I would study, I would know, I would admire forever. These works of thought have been the entertainments of the human spirit in all ages.”
— quoted from the 1838 “Divinity School Address” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can read this coda before or after you check out the post excerpted below; because, it involves a “full circle” moment I had a few days ago when I was talking to a neighbor.
This neighbor, who has known me all my life, was talking about sharing a meal with old friends and about the conversations that did and did not come up during the meal. Then she said that the problem with the world was that we were taught, as children, that it wasn’t polite or appropriate to talk about certain subjects in public. I mentioned, as I do in the post excerpted below, that I learned this lesson in a different way. Now, here, I should note that my neighbor and I have different hair textures — and, ironically, her mother occasionally did my grandmother’s hair — but, she got my point.
What struck me about the moment is how some rules and mores get passed down (and around) without people knowing why they are the rules and laws that govern our behavior. For instance, here in the United States, certain laws related to slavery are no longer on the books and yet people — of all races and ethnicities — behave as if they are still the law of the land.
More to the point: We don’t talk about this! In some cases, we don’t discuss certain things because we don’t want to start an argument — which is why we need to practice getting “unhooked”.
In other cases, we don’t talk about certain subjects because we don’t want to be banned (for 27 years… and 6 days) as Ralph Waldo Emerson was after addressing the Harvard Divinity School graduating class today in 1838.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
A Little Grace & FTWMI: Compassion and Peace (with regards to Ralph Waldo Emerson)
“The intuition of the moral sentiment is an insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul. These laws execute themselves. They are out of time, out of space, and not subject to circumstance. Thus; in the soul of man there is a justice whose retributions are instant and entire. He who does a good deed, is instantly ennobled. He who does a mean deed, is by the action itself contracted. He who puts off impurity, thereby puts on purity. If a man is at heart just, then in so far is he God; the safety of God, the immortality of God, the majesty of God do enter into that man with justice. If a man dissemble, deceive, he deceives himself, and goes out of acquaintance with his own being. A man in the view of absolute goodness, adores, with total humility. Every step so downward, is a step upward. The man who renounces himself, comes to himself.”
— quoted from the 1838 “Divinity School Address” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Please join me today (Tuesday, July 15th) at 12:00 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 by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07152020 Peace & Compassion RWE”]
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.)
### Peace In, Peace Out ###
FTWMI: A Quick Note & Excerpts About Practicing the R’s July 14, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Abhyasa, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Pema Chodron, Philosophy, Suffering, Tragedy, Vairagya, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Anushka Fernandopulle, attachment, Buddhism, compassion, compassionate abiding, Elephant Journal, loving-kindness, lovingkindness, Matt Caron, meditation, Metta, Mindfulness, non-attachment, Pema Chodron, shenpa, Shenpa & The Practice of Getting Unhooked, spirituality, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone practicing peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted today in 2024. The 2025 prompt question was, “Who (or what) pushes your buttons, gets your goat, and gets you fired up like nobody’s business??”
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.
“Somebody says a mean word to you and then something in you tightens — that’s the shenpa. Then it starts to spiral into low self-esteem, or blaming them, or anger at them, denigrating yourself. And maybe if you have strong addictions, you just go right for your addiction to cover over the bad feeling that arose when that person said that mean word to you. This is a mean word that gets you, hooks you. Another mean word may not affect you but we’re talking about where it touches that sore place — that’s a shenpa. Someone criticizes you — they criticize your work, they criticize your appearance, they criticize your child — and, shenpa: almost co-arising.”
— Pema Chödrön
For the record, I am not going to say, practice, teach (or preach) anything I haven’t been teaching, practicing, and saying (or preaching) for years. Maybe I will tweak the phrasing. Maybe you will hear/see/understand things in a special way — thereby gaining new insight. Either way, regardless of all that is happening in the world, it still comes back to this: Sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse.
Yes, sometimes we can do things that make our life and the lives around us better. Sometimes we can write legislation, vote for legislation, and/or vote for people who write and/or vote for legislation that creates more opportunity for peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. Sometimes we can create organizations or work, volunteer, and/or donate to organizations that cultivate peace, freedom, prosperity, and wisdom. There are, however, times when we are too poor — in spirit, heart/courage, skills, and/or material resources — to do anything other than send “thoughts and prayers.”
All that being, I am of the mindset that we can not know what we are able to do and/or what is the best way to respond — rather than react — until we sit down, get still, get quiet, and get honest about our intentions. Once we are grounded and centered, then we can act accordingly. In other words, practice the four R’s:
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RECOGNIZE (that your buttons have gotten pushed and you have the urge/impulse to react).
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REFRAIN (from doing anything, especially that knee jerk reaction).
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RELAX (maybe breathe peace in and breath peace out, or do use a centering prayer).
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RESOLVE (to move forward with mindfulness and intention).
This is the practice taught by the American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön, who was born today in 1936. I often add another R (or two):
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REMEMBER (your intention and why you are doing the thing you are doing).
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RECOGNIZE (again, that sometimes the only thing you can do is not make it worse).
You may be thinking, I don’t have time for all that “navel gazing” and introspection. And, yes, there are definitely times that require a quick response. At the same time, if you make this practice a habit, it only takes a split second to engage when you really need it.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE!
“By trying this, we learn exactly where we are open and where we are closed. We learn quickly where we would do well to just practice abiding compassionately with our own confused feelings, before we try to work with other people, because right now our efforts would probably make a bigger mess. I know many people who want to be teachers, or feed the homeless, or start clinics, or try in some way to truly help others. Despite their generous intentions, they don’t always realize that if they plan to work closely with people they may be in for a lot of difficulty—a lot of feeling hooked. The people they hope to help will not always see them as saviors. In fact, they will probably criticize them and give them a hard time. Teachers and helpers of all kinds will be of limited use if they are doing their work to build up their own egos.”
— quoted from “Unlimited Friendliness: Three steps to genuine compassion” (Winter 2009 issue of Tricycle) by Pema Chödrön
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The playlist used in previous years is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07142020 Compassion & Peace for Pema”]
“Prince Guatama, who had become Buddha, saw one of his followers meditating under a tree at the edge of the Ganges River. Upon inquiring why he was meditating, his follower stated he was attempting to become so enlightened he could cross the river unaided. Buddha gave him a few pennies and said: “Why don’t you seek passage with that boatman. It is much easier.”
— quoted from Matt Caron and from Elephant Journal
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).
### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI OM ###
FTWMI: What (and How) Do You Recollect? / A Strenuous, Deliberate Life Photo (w/excerpt) July 12, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, First Nations, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Books, Eastman Kodak, Florence McAnaney, George Eastman, HBCUs, Henry David Thoreau, In Search of Lost Time, Life in the Woods, Marcel Proust, Nature, Philosophy, Remembrance of Things Past, Sinners, Swann's Way, The Captive, thoreau, Walden, yoga philosophy
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Peace and blessings to all, and especially to those completing the the Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast during this 5th Week after Pentecost and/or beginning the month of Kalimát (“Words”)!
For Those Who Missed It: The following compilation post containing was originally posted in 2023. Class details and some formatting have been revised. Links and a little extra note have been added for context, and one link was converted into an excerpt.
“When from a long distance past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny, and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”
— quoted from “Overture” in Swann’s Way, Volume 1 of Remembrance of Things Past (or In Search of Lost Time) by Marcel Proust
You’re probably familiar with that old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but what’s the value of a thousand words that paint a picture? For that matter, what of a million? As I mentioned a few days ago, Marcel Proust wrote over a million words about memories and reflections — and, also, about how we recollect. He wrote about the very human thing we all do: look back over our days.
Sometimes we do it intentionally, deliberately — like the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who would end each day by reviewing what he had done between rising and retiring. The stoic emperor’s practice is a good reflection meditation, which can help us be more productive and (sometimes) can help us to sleep better. It’s a way to literally put to bed unresolved issues that might otherwise keep us awake. Unfortunately, sometimes, we find ourselves in bed regurgitating memories that no longer serve us.
“We are able to find everything in our memory, which is like a dispensary or chemical laboratory in which chance steers our hand sometimes to a soothing drug and sometimes to a dangerous poison.”
— quoted from The Captive, Volume 5 of Remembrance of Things Past (or In Search of Lost Time) by Marcel Proust
Memories can also pop up, unexpectedly. We can be eating a madeleine or a biscuit, sitting by a moonlit lake, reading a book, listening to music, sitting down to take off or put on our shoes, or practicing on our mat and suddenly — out of nowhere it seems — we are bombarded with a very visceral memory. It seems as if it comes from nowhere, but it actually comes from inside of us. It is visceral because we not only feel it all the way to our bones, it comes out of our bones, out of our tissues, out of our minds and bodies.
So, how do you show up, in the present, when your mind-body can — at any given moment — transport you into the past? How do you make remembering useful? How do you very deliberately, very intentionally, harness the power of your memories and your ability to reflect?
What I’m really asking is: How do you remember with the intention of Thoreau and the eye of Eastman? (And, if you have that “eye of Eastman” how do you use it without (metaphorically) losing focus of the present moment?)
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
— quoted from a journal entry dated August 5, 1851, as printed in The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal, Walden Edition by Henry David Thoreau, compiled and edited by Franklin Benjamin Sanborn and Bradford Torrey
Born today in 1817, in Concord Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau was a teacher and a writer, who is remembered as a writer and naturalist. He is also remembered as being very close to his brother John. I have heard that the brothers were close despite having different temperaments. Henry David was introverted and all about the books; John was out-going, extroverted, and fun-loving. Additionally, John supported Henry David’s every endeavor — helping him pay for tuition at Harvard and even started a new school when Henry David was fired for objecting to corporal punishment. They shared a lot of memories.
When John died, unexpectedly, in his brother’s arms, Henry David floundered. He lived with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s family for a period of time and served as a teacher to the Emerson children. Along with Edward Hoar, he accidentally burned down several hundred acres of Walden Woods. Not long after the fire, Emerson allowed Thoreau to retreat to a cabin located on 14 acres of land, about 1.5 miles from Emerson House.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
— quoted from “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau lived in the cabin, on the banks of Walden Pond, for two years, two months, and two days. He spent that time writing his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, which he self-published on May 30, 1849. The book was a memorial for his brother and it related the story of a trip the brothers took in 1839. He also wrote the work most people associate with the name Thoreau: a collection of essays entitled Walden, or Life in the Woods.
Both of Thoreau’s books are full of words that painted pictures. He was, after all, a “mental picture” taker. After his brother died unexpectedly, Henry David Thoreau was undoubtedly comforted by the images formed by his words, but think of how he might have felt (or might have written) had he and John been born decades after George Eastman.
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”
— quoted from “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
George Eastman, born today in 1854, in Waterville, New York, was an entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist who founded the Eastman Kodak Company. He and two older sisters (Ellen Maria and Katie) were initially raised on a 10-acre farm his parents purchased shortly before George was born. Unfortunately, their father — a successful entrepreneur himself — died of a brain disorder when Eastman was almost 8 years old. By then, the Eastman family was living in Rochester, NY and life on the farm was but a memory.
George, who had been self-taught until his father’s death, was sent to private school and his mother took in boarders in order to survive. By the time he was 15, the youngest of his sisters (Katie) had died of polio. Soon after her death, George left school and started a photography business. By the time he was 30 years old, he had patented the first practical “roll of film”. Before the age of 35, he had developed the Kodak Black camera, designed to use roll film. Eventually, his company became the first, and the leading company, to supply film stock. Along the way, George Eastman changed the way people remembered — and he incorporated what would become a billion dollar company (all with a made up name).
“What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”
— George Eastman
While some of details of their lives are very different, Henry David Thoreau and George Eastman were both very private men, who lived very solitary lives, and who believed in community. They also believed in serving the community — albeit in slightly different ways.
Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist and an abolitionist who read the Bhagavad Gītā and believed in civil disobedience. He was criticized for a number of things throughout his lifetime, including the decision to live alone with those regulated to the fringes of society (which some viewed as “unmanly”). His maternal grandfather, Asa Dunbar, led a student revolt at Harvard in 1766 (the first recorded in the United States) and Henry David spent a (very) short period of time in jail for “tax evasion” — which was not the first time he had refused to pay something he thought he should not have to pay. It is possible (and probable) that he also helped others escape tax liens.
“Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained…. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.”
— quoted from “Economy” in Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
George Eastman also lived a solitary life (in that he never married or had children). He was considered a progressive in the social and political sense. He fought the labor union movement by offering worker benefit programs, which included employee profit-sharing for all employees. He also promoted Florence McAnaney to the top position in the personnel department — establishing her as one of the first women to hold an executive position in a major U. S. company. He also founded “an independent non-partisan agency for keeping citizens informed” in Rochester, which continues to this day.
“If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up. He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get it into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting it into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work.”
— George Eastman
Henry David Thoreau was not a financially wealthy man. However his contributions to the world are priceless. His philosophy and viewpoints regarding “unjust laws” (like the Fugitive Slave Law, which he frequently attacked in lectures), influenced Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. His legacy to the modern world includes over 20 volumes worth of articles, essays, journals, and poetry.
On the flip side, George Eastman was a philanthropist, who donated (often anonymously, as “Mr. Smith”) millions of dollars to a variety of organizations including the University of Rochester (which was also the beneficiary of his estate); the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He established the Eastman School of Music and schools of dentistry and medicine at the University of Rochester, as well as the Eastman Dental Hospital in London, England. Low-income residents of London and other European cities also benefited from Eastman’s generosity as he provided funds for multiple clinics across the pond. Additionally, donated millions to Tuskegee University and Hampton University — historically Black universities.
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth….”
— George Eastman
Please join me today (Saturday, July 12th) at 12:00 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.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07122020 Strenuous, Deliberate Life Photo”]
If you’re interested in another look at how things “develop,” click on the excerpt title below.
A Strenuous, Deliberate “Photo” of You (the “missing” Monday post)
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.)
### YS: 1.36 VIŚOKĀ VĀ JYOTIŞMATĪ ###
A Quick Note & Excerpts RE: A 90-Year Old Continuing His Commitments July 6, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Buddhism, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Love, Mantra, Meditation, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, bodhicitta, bodhisattva, Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Geshé Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Karuna, lojong, loving-kindness, lovingkindness, meditation, Metta, Mindfulness, Philosophy, samkhya, Shantideva, siddhis, spirituality, Sāmkhya, Tenzin Gyatso, yoga philosophy
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Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating a heart full of peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).
“On the occasion of my 90th birthday, I understand that well-wishers and friends in many places, including Tibetan communities, are gathering for celebrations. I particularly appreciate the fact that many of you are using the occasion to engage in initiatives that highlight the importance of compassion, warm-heartedness, and altruism.
I am just a simple Buddhist monk; I don’t normally engage in birthday celebrations. However, since you are organizing events focused on my birthday I wish to share some thoughts.
While it is important to work for material development, it is vital to focus on achieving peace of mind through cultivating a good heart and by being compassionate, not just toward near and dear ones, but toward everyone. Through this, you will contribute to making the world a better place.”
— quoted from “90th Birthday Message” (dated July 5, 2025) by Dalai Lama
Born today in 1935, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is doing what he typically does: teaching and sending a message to the world.
This year, his birthday message focuses on continuing his “commitments of promoting human values, religious harmony, drawing attention to the ancient Indian wisdom which explains the workings of mind and emotions, and Tibetan culture and heritage, which has so much potential to contribute to the world through its emphasis on peace of mind and compassion.”
He is also spending this weekend sharing how his legacy will continue — and how that legacy includes a 15th Dalai Lama, as well as each and every person dedicated to cultivating a good heart.
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.
A Quick Note & Excerpts About Life and Cultivating a Good Heart
Lessons of the Teachers
A Big G’s Gift On His Birthday (with video)
The Power and Responsibility of Cultivating a Good Heart (the Wednesday post)
“I develop determination and courage in my daily life through the teachings of the Buddha and Indian masters such as Shantideva, whose following aspiration I strive to uphold.
As long as space endures,
As long as sentient being remain,
Until then, may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.
Thank you for using the opportunity of my birthday to cultivate peace of mind and compassion.”
— quoted from “90th Birthday Message” (dated July 5, 2025) by Dalai Lama
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, July 6th) 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 “07062021 HHDL Big Day”]
NOTE: The YouTube playlist includes the Dalai Lama’s 2021 birthday message. Since it was not available on Spotify, I substituted a prayer.
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.)
### A Little Metta & Karuna Go A Long Way! ###
First Friday Night Special #57 — Invitation for “A Little More Rest for Those Riding/Working for Freedom” (the “missing” invitation, w/excerpts) July 4, 2025
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Abigail Adams, America, Belle of the Ranch, Caesar Rodney, Declaration of Independence, Douglass descendants, Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass, freedom, history, Impartial Points, independence, independence-day, John Adams, John Dunlap, July 4th, liberation, politics, Restorative Yoga, The Roads with Belle, Thomas Paine, truth, yoga philosophy, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra 1.5, Yoga Sutra 2.3-2.9
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Happy 4th, for those who are celebrating! Many blessings to all!!
This is the “missing” invitation for the “First Friday Night Special” on July 4th. It includes excerpts, embedded links to related posts, and videos which are not on either playlist.
You can request an audio recording of this Restorative Yoga 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.
“I arrived in Congress (tho detained by thunder and rain) time enough to give my voice in the matter of independence… We have now got through the whole of the declaration and ordered it to be printed so that you will soon have the pleasure of seeing it.”
— quoted from Caesar Rodney’s letter to his younger brother Thomas, dated July 4, 1776
When we start talking about Independence, Liberty, Freedom, we have to talk about the effort it takes to declare it, secure it, and preserve it. It takes a lot of effort, A LOT of work! This week seems like a great time to remember not only the ideals, but also the effort/work that it took — and continues to take — to declare independence (even when we’re united), secure freedom (from tyranny), and preserve freedom (for all). When we look at all the effort/work, we will find people with one role as well as people like Caesar Rodney, a Delaware delegate of the American Continental Congress and Brigadier General of Delaware Militia (just to name a few of his many, many roles).
On July 1, 1776, in the middle of everything else he was doing — for freedom, liberty, and independence — Caesar Rodney started a two day journey, from Delaware to Pennsylvania, just to cast his vote on July 2, 1776.
And then, just for a moment, he rested.
As did many of the other Framer’s of the United States of America.
John Dunlap, an Irish printer, was not resting however. He was printing the first copies of the United States Declaration of Independence.
“WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.”
— quoted from the (first) John Dunlap version of the United States Declaration of Independence, printed on the evening of July 4, 1776
Click on the excerpt titles below to discover what else happened on the 4th of July — in 1776 and in other years.
NOTE: If you click on the embedded links above or the excerpt titles below, you will notice other ways the fight for freedom continued beyond 1776.
Wait…what exactly are we celebrating? (blink and you’ll miss it)
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.
I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
— quoted from a letter John Adams wrote to Abigail Adams, with the heading “Philadelphia July 3d, 1776”
This (encore) Restorative Yoga practice is accessible and open to all.
(NOTE: There will be a little bit of quiet space in this practice.)
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07012020 Caesar Rodney’s Ride”]
NOTE: At the beginning of the practice, you will be prompted to pause and select a track. [Start with Track #1 or, for a less dynamic option, start with Track #9, 10, or 11.] The playlist tracks are slightly different in length and duration; however, the overall content is the same. I have added two (2) tracks related to the Declaration of Independence (in the before/after class music).
A playlist inspired by the 4th of July is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “4th of July 2020”]
NOTE: The playlists are slightly different, but mostly with regard to the before/after class music. The biggest difference is that there are some contextual videos that do not appear on 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). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table will also be handy.
“Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”
— quoted from the “Introduction” to Common Sense, signed by the “Author” (Thomas Paine, known as “The Father of the American Revolution”) and dated “Philadelphia, February 14, 1776
When was the last time you read (or had someone read to you) the Declaration of Independence?
The version I recently added to the playlists is read by Orson Welles.
The first video (below) is just a reading. The second video includes a little historical context. The third video features some commentary you may find interesting (after watching one of the other videos).
“…. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn….”
— from the “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech by Frederick Douglass (July 5, 1852)
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).
A Joyful Practice 