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    Petting the Temple Cows

    ByElizabeth

    After a day of teaching and more discussion and emails regarding the upheaval, I had a memory of petting one of the temple cows at Chidambaram.  I was jetlagged and in sensory overload, and then I petted a most wonderful cow.  I dropped into a space where I was perfectly at peace and unaware of the time and all the things going on around me.  This space is always there for us, even in the absence of a sacred cow, and we practice so that we can find it more and more consistently, especially when we are being challenged.

    I did not photograph the Chidambaram temple cow, although a nice Indian lady asked me if her husband could photograph the two of us with the cow, so she has a photograph of herself with the strange American lady in a sari who was petting the cow.  I stopped to pet many cows after that.  In one town, a man told me, as I was scritching a cow between ears and horns, that the cow would enjoy a banana.

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    Love and Suffering

    ByElizabeth

    I took a Zoom asana class this morning, because I like to see how others are leading practices these days. It was a sweet and gentle class. At the beginning, the person leading acknowledged that it was Valentines Day, and then said instead of talking about love, let’s talk about suffering. It was suggested that the attention we bring through the yoga practices to our suffering, can help us ease it. That would be an act of love, wouldn’t you agree?

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    Taxing Yoga?

    ByElizabeth

    I just received the following email that makes it easy for you to comment on the DC Council’s proposed tax on yoga classes.  If you believe yoga should not be taxed, please take action as moved:

    Dear Elizabeth,

    We just learned that the DC Council may impose a 6-8% sales tax on yoga classes and gym memberships. This Friday, May 7th (tomorrow!), they’ll consider the new tax. And, they’ll vote to approve or reject it soon thereafter.

    Before this vote happens, please tell the DC Council: “Don’t tax yoga!”

    Washington, DC is no stranger to the challenges of modern life that yoga is so well-designed to address: stress, stress-related illness, depression, anxiety, and the secondary impacts of these ills that make it harder for people to simply “get along”. Why put yoga — a potent antidote to these problems — further out of reach for District residents?

    Some advocates of the new tax argue — mistakenly — that people who practice yoga and attend gyms are wealthy enough to afford the additional tax burden. The truth is that most yogis and gym members are middle income-ers who’ve simply made it a priority to invest in their health and well-being.

    The DC Council should reward their behavior, and encourage more people to take responsibility similarly for their own well-being. Doing so will have direct upsides on the DC coffers. Why? Because when people are healthier, more balanced, grounded, and happy they’re also more productive, more self-reliant, and better able to function in our interdependent society.

    If you agree, please tell the DC Council now: “Don’t tax yoga!”

    We respect the DC government’s need to increase revenues in a time of economic recession. We just feel that taxing yoga and other health and wellness services is one of the worst ways to do it. Services that support people’s health and well-being are not luxuries. They are essential – just as much in the District of Columbia as anywhere, if not moreso.

    Please make sure the DC Council gets that message. Tell them: “Don’t tax yoga!”

    Many thanks,

    Ian
    —

    Ian Mishalove
    Co-Owner & Director of Flow
    Flow Yoga Center

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    A Correspondence on Charitable Contribution to Aids Walk DC

    ByElizabeth
    I print the correspondence below not so much to ask you to give, nor to let you know that I made a donation, but to initiate a discussion on what motivates you to make a donation of money?  What about of time?  They have different practical calculations, depending on whether time or money is of more relative importance or shortage  (real or apparent) at the time of the giving?  Does it make you more likely to give if you have a personal connection to the cause?  Does getting personal satisfaction from giving make it somehow not a fully spiritual act? [I’ll try and blog on the last in future posts].
    Dear Friends,
    On Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 I thought I sent 30 targeted e-mails from my AIDSWALK webpage to former and potential donors to this annual fundraising event. Unfortunately, I did something wrong and the messages were never sent. With time very short, I’m sending this “broadcast” message to the listserve in the hope that some of you who have not already sent a donation from my initial appeal will do so now. For those of you who have already donated now is the time to delete this message.
    IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DONATION DIRECTLY TO MY AIDSWALK WEBPAGE, PLEASE OPEN THE ATTACHED APPEAL LETTER AND FIND “FOLLOW THIS LINK” WHICH WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE SITE SO YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION.
    This year’s walk is benefiting about 15 different organizations that assist people with HIV/AIDS, in addition to Whitman-Walker Clinic.
    Thanks for all the support you’ve given in the past,
    Joe Izzo
    Help us fight the epidemic! REGISTER for AIDS Walk TODAY! We look forward to seeing you on October 2nd! www.aidswalkwashington.org

    Joseph

    In response to this plea, I clicked on the link to make a donation to the AIDs Walk.  Joe graciously sent me a thank you note, and I responded as follows:
    E to Joe

    Thank you Joe.  I have been giving to WWC since the late 1980s.  When I was in my 20s and 30s I had close friends die of AIDs or go through the tribulations of the early drug trials for HIV.  I like that I can now give in a more personal way.

    Peace and light,
    Elizabeth

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