Viveka and the Carbon Fund

ByElizabeth

Viveka means discrimination.  Being able to recognize the meaning of what we do and what are the potential consequences of our actions is an important aspect of our yoga practice and our lives.  Living discriminately does not mean that we reject what is pleasurable.  Rather, it means that we recognize the consequences to ourselves and other beings when we partake of the fruits of the earth and the labors of others or choose one activity over another.  We think about whether it makes sense and then, once having decided, we fully engage and enjoy and don’t beat ourselves up after the fact.  If we think we made the wrong decision, we choose differently the next time.

How does viveka relate to the Carbon Fund?  The Carbon Fund’s motto is “reduce what you can, offset what you can’t.”  I replace “can’t” in this phrase with “choose not to,” as what we think we must have (in this society generally) does not necessarily correlate with what we actually need to survive.  Otherwise, all we’re doing is throwing a little money as a superficial balm without thinking through with discrimination.

When I think about what I can reduce, and what I choose not to in terms of my carbon footprint and my overall lifestyle, I am struck by the irony that my biggest carbon footprint after heating and cooling my house is plane trips to John Friend yoga trainings.  It would be disingenuous to think that I can’t not go to Santa Fe next week.  I do not think, however, it makes sense to shrink our lives to the point that we are not engaged in society and that we do not relish the opportunities we have, just to feel good about diminishing our impact on the environment.

Studying and practicing Anusara yoga all around the country, getting to know the wider kula and establishing a greater sense of connection while deepening my knowledge and experience of the practice continues to be wonderful and joyous for me.  So I choose to go, and I anticipate having a great time next weekand bringing back great things to share with all of you.  And I’ve gone to Carbon Fund’s website and offset my trip and then some.  And I think about other ways to reduce what I can.

E

Similar Posts

  • | |

    I Was Browsing Looking for a Poem

    ByElizabeth

    I was browsing; I was looking for a poem to read to a friend because I was not ready to write one myself.  I found several that were right for me to read, but not to share, and this one I wanted to share more widely because of the delight it is bringing me to read it:

    Karma Repair Kit:  Items 1-4

    1.  Get enough food to eat,

    and eat it.

    2.  Find a place to sleep where it is quiet and sleep there.

    3.  Reduce intellectual and emotional noise

    until you arrive at the silence of yourself,

    and listen to it.

    4.

    Richard Brautigan, The Pill v. the Springhill Mine Disaster

    I had a real fondness for Brautigan when I was a teenager.  Every once and a while, I will pick up one of his books and remember why.  If you enjoyed reading this poem, please go buy a book by Brautigan to thank him.

  • | |

    Samskara (and the awesome and the awful)

    ByElizabeth

    Those of you who have been attending my classes for the past couple of weeks already know that my overall theme for the fall session is cultivating a sense of wonder (abhuta). Feeling wonder is one aspect of the Anusara principle of “opening to grace.” It is seeing who we are and what we are within space and time with a sense of amazement at the limitations and the foibles, as well as the strengths and delights.

    This week I was thinking about abhuta in the context of samskara — the markings or grooves or scars in our being from how we have lived our lives (and perhaps past lives, if those were also lived by us — personally not sure about that). I had a dialogue earlier this week that resulted from over 110 years of combined history that was not optimal. Reflecting on the precipitating factors, though, and marveling at the web of history, environment, education, and action that combined to give rise to the conversation led me to a sense of wonder indeed. It is by cultivating the ability to step back and appreciate the wondrousness of the dance that we learn from a steady practice that, I think, can help make it possible to shift in how we behave and react to things.

    From a physical perspective, most of our challenges and difficulties are based on what we have done with and in our bodies over the course of our lives. We use the yoga alignment principles to create new grooves and to shift from the old repetitive patterns, so that we can not only alleviate pain and misalignment, but to expand the possibility of discovering ever more joy and wonder in and through our bodies and senses. Both the physical and meditation practices help us shift similar patterns (dissolve and transform samscaras and their impact), so that instead of deepening old grooves, we erase or dissolve them and create new life-enhancing ones.

    It may seem odd to marvel at our stuff, especially when it does not appear to be serving us, but keep in mind that both the awesome and the awful, being both all about awe, can give rise to a recognition of the great and exquisite mysteries of being.

  • |

    Guru Purnima (without a “guru”)

    ByElizabeth

    A yoga teacher acquaintance once said rather dogmatically to me that it was not possible to be a true yoga teacher unless one had a guru.  He meant having a guru in the traditional sense — being devoted to a particular person as the embodiment of the divine and of the true teachings.  I did not engage on the issue, thinking (perhaps unfairly) that he would not listen to another point of view.

    I do not have a guru in the technical sense.  It would be unlikely.  I was raised attending unprogrammed meetings of the Society of Friends (Quakers), where services are premised on the idea that there should be no preacher or minister because the light of the spirit shines equally in all and that each person is equally able to connect through his or her own faith and practice to the spirit.  My first major exposure to the teachings of yoga was through the writings of J. Krishnamurti, which a teacher in an alternative program in high school I attended gave us to read, along with the classic yoga texts.  Krishnamurti believed that all change comes from within and eschewed devotion to a guru.

    Although I do not have a particular guru to whom I give my devotion (bhakti), I strive to honor and recognize that our true teacher is the light and spirit that is within all beings.  The first line of the Anusara invocation — om namah shivaya gurave — resounds with truth for me.

    On this guru purnima, the full moon of July, I honor the teachings that have so shifted my life, my teachers, especially John Friend and Suzie Hurley, and all of my students and friends, who shine with light always, and who inspire me to try each day to live more aligned with the ideals of yoga.

  • | |

    Accessible Yoga Conference

    ByElizabeth

    Last weekend I devoted most of my time to live-streaming the “Accessible Yoga Conference.” This conference, consistent with other workshops on this and related topics involved listening to many personal stories and careful examination of language—what language perpetuates harm and which fosters inclusion, recognition, nonjudgment, etc.

    The fact that “accessible yoga” is a thing was observed to be evidence that for all that the yoga philosophy invites recognition and honor of the spirit in all, what is considered “yoga” in the “West”is another microcosm of cis, het, racist, patriarchal, colonialist capitalism.

2 Comments

  1. I practice mindfulness meditation in which the important thing is to be mindful/aware of your choices and why you make the choice you do, which you obviously are. We are in a constant dance between healing our planet by reducing our carbon footprint and healing our planet through healing our selves, children, community. So I sometimes put the clothes in the dryer instead of out on the line because I really need to sit down and read books to the kids but it is a conscious choice and the next day I chose to put the clothes out on the line. Have a fantastic week!

  2. Coming from a Transcendentalist perspective, for me this relates to Thoreau’s advice to “Simplify, simplify.” This isn’t advice to go out and become an ascetic — there’s a middle ground here, and this advice suggests that we pay attention to what’s really important in life (those transcendent values), and enjoy life, without being enslaved by things that keep us from that which is most important.

    I know, I know, it’s not an exact analogy — we Transcendentalists are coming at this from a different perspective — but I think we’re headed in the same direction on this one….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.