Saraswati Namaha


For those students who live within a few blocks, have power, and are not needed for such emergency assistance that can be provided before the trains are running and the roads reopened, what better than to come out and practice yoga as usual? (Or if the storm has made it impossible to get out, it’s a great time for your home practice).
The yoga practices are such a healthy way to channel the energy from having been cooped up by the storm and to revive and enhance one’s flexibility, adaptability, balance, and strength. It has been my experience that steady practice invites us to be ever more capable to address what confronts and engages us on our path (whether we like it or not). Sending loving energy to all who have been challenged hard by Sandy’s path or otherwise.
When was the last time you were moved to be in tree pose (vrksasana)?

At the Tillai Kali temple in Chidambaram, above the murti of Kali where ritual offerings are made, is a mirror that reflects the viewers, bringing their reflection into the puja. I noticed the mirror and asked Douglas Brooks, who was standing next to me on the trip he was leading, “prakasha and vimarsha”? He affirmed my guess—saying it had taken him many visits to appreciate the presence of the mirror and its purpose to remind of the S/self reflected in the light of consciousness.
Seeing the “free” sign on this mirror when I was out walking, that place and time came to mind.

It should come as no surprise to those who have taken my classes or have been reading this blog with some regularity, that an incredibly important source of inspiration is my library. At the suggestion of my fabulous web designer, who is currently in graduate school for library sciences, I have gone live with a library page. Given the nature of a blog; everything I have read is really part of its bibliography; this is the much edited version. I am using Library Thing, which is a fascinating space for book nerds in the electronic universe. I hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to expand the dialogue about books in our lives, our studies, and our practices.