Found Exhortation
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Found Exhortation (and Rasa Theory)
In the yoga theory of the rasas, very roughly, the same categories of emotions can either weigh us down or move us toward spirit, depending on intensity and the way we experience them. For example, grief and compassion are on the same continuum.
With that in mind, I ask what is the exhortation to “beware,” if we are mindful and not trapped by unnecessary fears, but a reminder that we will navigate life with less trouble if we consistently are aware.
On A Bus
This morning I found myself on a bus instead of the train to New York because of the horrible accident on Tuesday.
While waiting for the bus, I was interviewed by local TV. They were interested in reactions of people whose travel plans were impacted by the accident.
This is roughly what I said:
This was a horrible tragedy that need not have happened. (I suppose it was for the best that I had not seen the news that a certain candidate for President was quoted as saying that we shouldn’t use a tragedy as an excuse to spend more money on things like safety lest I explain why we need better safety, more spending on mental health care, better treatment of employees, and more investment in infrastructure instead of lowering taxes for the wealthy, etc.) I said that the inconvenience meant nothing to me when I think of those who were on the train. I said that I wouldn’t stop taking the train. One accident would not change my commitment to using public transportation instead of the greater environmental impact of driving.
And I said I’d had a good experience with Amtrak customer service. I didn’t say it to the camera, but I expect part of my positive experience was my recognizing when I spoke with an agent that the customer service employees must be having an incredibly stressful time of it.
View from the bus, approaching Manhattan.
Orchids
I had open all day, while I worked from home, the windows that are protected from the rain. Having the scent of Spring rain and the brightness of my indoor garden helped provide balance to a 14-hour day of editing. Meditation and regular stretching help, too.
Tomorrow I plan to go outside for the clean up phase. With vigor and enthusiasm. I expect that though I’m stiff and sore from too much computer time, hard physical labor will feel good. I’ll get to remind myself of my yoga for gardening tips.
What My New Smart Phone Is Teaching Me About Yoga
I spent nearly three hours talking with tech support just to get the phone authorized. And once that was accomplished, the guy helping me also was unable to figure out how to transfer my contacts from the old phone to the new. Last night, on the second full day, I opened every item in settings just to learn about this piece of technology and found another way to transfer contacts than tech support had tried. Hooray! I didn’t have to enter them manually one by one.
So it’s like this: no matter how brilliant a system, if I didnt learn how to use it, I wasn’t going to get any benefits. The more I studied and practiced, the more I would be able to use it in a way that enhanced my daily life. Although a teacher is necessary, it takes our own thorough, steady, and attentive practice to empower ourselves and expand our limits.
I had thoroughly resigned myself to typing. Now I will have more time to figure out how to resize photos. That may feel less urgent. It’s busy at work, and the garden, yoga mat, meditation cushion, library, and beautiful weather call me to them.
- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
It’s Easy When the Weather is Beautiful (and Ananda)
The light woke me early on this summer solstice. The sky is bright blue, the air clear and pleasantly temperate, the mountains lushly green, and friends surround me. The practice yesterday was lustrous, and the next two days promise to be equally delightful.
The delight from being surrounded by beauty and good friends can give us a taste of the possibilities of experiencing true bliss. As the surface enjoyment of being on vacation (albeit an extraordinarily good one), though, it has a shadow side, just as the picture below of a smiling ganesha at the base of a tree in the middle of a heart is flanked by a fire hydrant and a pile of trash bags.
It is really easy to imagine ananda — divine bliss, under these circumstances. It is important for all of us to find moments within our means when it is easy to experience the spark of spontaneous happiness. When it is challenging to find it, when grief or hardship confront us, it is ever more important to be able to tap into a space of bliss so that we can bring the most light to our challenges. Having the sweet times helps us find it in the bitter.
Ananda, John reminded us at the afternoon philosophy lecture yesterday, is the joy that has no opposite. It is a deep contentment with what is–hearts and trees and fire hydrants and trash bags and all–that fully accepts the play of opposites.
Those of us who do not know and live ananda spontaneously and naturally all of the time have the yoga. We challenge ourselves on the mat, knowing the exhilaration of heart opening and the challenge of stiffness; we sit for meditation on good days and bad, finding sometimes the pulsing, vibration of the fullness of consciousness and other times our to do list; we practice pranayama to open our energy channels; we chant to remind ourselves of why we practice: to open our hearts and discover the best in ourselves and in all beings.
Happy solstice to all and hope see you soon for the yoga.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
