This Sunday, William Penn House is hosting a potluck and discussion on life changing illnesses and spirituality. Whatever your relationship with “spirit” or religion (such loaded terms in our history) and whatever your individual practice, I think (especially knowing the dedicated, loving persons who are speaking) this talk will be illuminating.
Last week my computer crashed. I have purchased a new one, but it needs to be configured and brought to the house. With luck, it will be possible to recover all the the data since my last system back-up. I have everything since May (that’s five years worth) and all my photos since the end of August (that’s most everything), and some more that is stored on email or this server or facebook.
It is a good opportunity to reflect on attachment. It is an even better opportunity to think about the difference between necessities and wants and how our current way of living and communicating blurs the two.
Of course, being human and a product of this society, I am not happy about it. I’m just trying really hard to approach this in a positive way. I know I will fully enjoy having an up-to-date system.
I will be mostly not blogging until I have my own computer, but hope to be back fully soon.
In the session yesterday, in discussing the Siva Sutras, Paul Muller-Ortega said that the whole of the teachings are in the very first sutra, even in the first word (caitanyam — consciousness). For students who, on hearing the first word from their teacher, say “got it, I understand fully,” no further teaching is necessary. For the students who say, “please explain further, what does it mean?” more elaboration is needed.
What does it mean, though, to “get it?” What do we do with the teachings of yoga? How do we integrate them into our lives? I practice and study yoga because it is teaching me how to be stronger, more flexible, more grounded, and better able to serve. Some people I know already have that. They are already living the yoga, so they do not need the details and the practices.
As a reminder of one who has been living a rich, full life of service and love, enjoy this video of Pete Seeger in honor of his 90th birthday. (If you cannot see this link, please just do a search for videos, using your favorite search engine.)
To be empowered is not the same as being in power over others.
I’d been thinking about going based on the subject matter and the reviews. Studying and practicing yoga from such a Western perspective, I think it is important for me to understand more deeply how much and what of our culture India is embracing, while we embrace its philosophy and aesthetics and use it to supply us with cheap labor. I am conscious that yoga has come to me through the filter of British colonialism (that is one of the many reasons for the name “Rose Garden Yoga”).
I was worried about whether I could sit through the violent images, but I was talking to my sister last weekend, and she had it on the top of her list, so I decided to go after all. The movie deserves its superlative reviews. Don’t be misled, though, by the reviews that say it is ultimately a fairytale. Although it is a story of compassion and loyalty, of the quirks of fate, memory, and the solace of philosophy, it contains candid depictions of abject suffering, unbearable poverty, and unspeakable cruelty. It raises pointed questions about when violence is warranted in the face of injustice or for mere survival. It is certainly thought provoking and eye opening. Most of the thoughts I’ll wait to share with those who have seen the movie.
The background to the quote, by the way, is a white wall that the Blackberry and Photoshop either showed the very pulsation of being or fractured, by virtue of their limitations, the depiction what was really there (you choose).
Have you let your elected officials know how important it is to fund the United States Postal Service
