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Found Exhortation
I walked round trip to Georgetown today. It was good to walk. It was good to be with the books. It was good to have a simple meal offered by a friend when I got home.

Finding Ayyappa
A couple of weeks ago, I found a carved wood murti of Ganesha in a box on the sidewalk with some other stuff and a “free” sign. This Ganesha had serpents (nagas) rising over his head like a canopy–not uncommon imagery. Ganesha was “free” most likely because one of the nagas had broken off. It made me think of Ayyappa, Ganesha’s brother by a different mother. Ayyappa is apart from the others. Of Shiva’s three sons, he is the one who is either or both missing or extra. The trunk was also badly glued, but that can be remedied.

- Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation
Working with Chaos
I’ve had more than one yoga/meditation teacher who has suggested that in order to make true spiritual shifts, it is necessary to pick one path (theirs) and stick to it. I agree with that up to a point. If we just stay on the surface of lots of different things, it will be hard to go deep.
Nonetheless, living in a multicultural nation of immigrants and working in a field where being open to diversity is in my mind a job requirement and having grown up with the multifarious influences of New York and both Jewish culture and Quaker practice, it would be hard to think that sticking to a single-sourced spiritual path could be possible for me. Better then, perhaps, to go deep by also looking broadly and openly.
In that regard, though I do not consider myself a Buddhist, I often find Buddhist teachings instructive. This article by Pema Chodron on working with chaos seems particularly useful for me today.
Limits and Creativity
For over a week, the WordPress app on my phone has not worked. First it would not let me upload photos. After trying uninstall/reinstall, it would no longer recognize my username/password combination. I know I have that right because I can sign in through the browser. It’s a bit awkward to use the browser on the phone as opposed to the phone format friendly app, but sometimes we need to explore alternative methods and be grateful for skills and creativity, and managing to function in a computer world reminds me of this regularly. For example, every time I sign in at work computer, I first have to engage in a counterintuitive activity before I can get to the password screen. But I think about it in terms of yoga: control, i.e., disciplined and educated practice; alternatives, i.e., if something doesn’t work, try something else; and delete, i.e., let go of what does not serve. Only then can I get started.



