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    Politics and “Inner Work”

    ByElizabeth

    The other day, an acquaintance whom I met through yoga asked in an email whether I was still into politics or whether I was now more focused on my “inner work.” He lives in suburbia and voted for both Bushes and, at least in the early years, thought this country belonged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He practices asana and meditation, and eats a vegetarian diet, but he does it entirely for his own health and looks and not out of any evident intention of aligning with the flows and forces of nature or concern for all beings and the environment. For him, politics and yoga and meditation practices have nothing to do with each other.

    I think it is wonderful that anyone takes care of their health and diet in a way that maximizes a health and a sense of well-being and minimizes the need to resort to medication and other Western medical care, which is a boon not only for the individual, but for the environment and for society in terms of cost.

    For me, though, there is no separation between inner and outer work if one is living in the world and not in the cloister or the monastery. It is true that if one is out of inner alignment or unhealthy, it is not possible to be best aligned with nature, and thus, there is a need to do work for our self personally. But the true point of the practices is to help provide inner quiet, steadiness, and wisdom in our daily lives, which for a householder includes being an educated and active citizen.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    330 Million Gods (Mas o Menos)

    ByElizabeth

    In which I encounter some more of the 330 million gods (mas o menos).

    (Notes:  (1) Hindu philosophy speaks of 330 million gods, i.e.  a bigger number than we can actually get our minds around, one for every person, giving room for a complete diversity of belief.  While I don’t believe in “God,” I have no problem with the idea of 330 million gods, none more exclusive or correct than any other, with no permission to use of the concept of “God” as justification for murder, physical harm, repression, or suppression of expression because of societal or family of origin privileging any particular belief.  (2) “Maya,” which in Sanskrit not Spanish, literally means to measure, is the tattva that is the bridge between the universal and the manifest.  The “universal” is immeasurable; what we think of as manifest is always measured in space and time.  The distinction between how the tantrikas and other yoga philosophies interpret the concept of maya is for your own research or another day.  (3) The number 108 refers to Shiva.)

    330 million 1a 330 million 1b 330 million 1c 330 million 1d 330 million 1e 330 million 1f 330 million 1g 330 million 1h 330 million 1i 330 million 1j 330 million 1k 330 million 1l

     

     

     

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    Furlough Week Two — Sutras

    ByElizabeth

    First too hot, now cool.

    It wasn’t until the weather cooled and the reality of a second week of work not being done that needs to be done to meet deadlines that the impulse arose to make the first batch of homemade granola of the season.  This batch could be called maple nut granola with raisins.

    Harvested last of the sweet banana peppers and a fire engine red cayenne pepper.  Also picked as a baby one last eggplant before pulling the plant to make way for tat soi.

    Most of the tomatoes I found on the ground still unripe.  With a generous portion of red wine and nice herbs, and the traditional way of cooking them for hours and then running through a food mill, and then reducing until reaching the desired thickness, it won’t matter that the tomatoes ripened on the counter.

    Assorted apples from the farmer’s market.  Dried fruit is different when it goes into the dehydrator within a couple of days of having been picked and early in the season when the apples are best.  An upside of being required to stay around home is that I have been able to experiment with the dehydrator that was a most generous birthday gift.

    There’s a bunch of difficult stuff going on, but there is no need to write about it anywhere except possibly in my journal, for much of it.  And as for the shutdown and its impact on real people around the globe (and all that interconnectedness stuff), I prefer today to write about granola and stuff from the garden.

    Anyway, I’m thinking I would just be preaching to the choir if I wrote another blog post about the importance of trying to keep up and understand as much as possible, speaking with others to shape your understanding and your voice, being in contact with your elected officials and signing petitions, and reaching out to friends and family open to such discussions to invite them to be engaged.

    It is times like these when I think of Patanjali’s sutra:  heyam duhkham anagatam (the pain that has yet to come can be avoided.)  I have contemplated this sutra much over a long period.  It is a good one for when I am reaching into the yoga teachings for insight into how I might respond more optimally under the circumstances at hand, especially that which is entirely out of my control.

    furlough 1a furlough 1b furlough 1c furlough 1d

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