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Dim the Lights for Earth Hour on March 28th

ByElizabeth

Join in the call for a friendlier, healthier planet by participating in Earth Hour by dimming your lights on March 28th (and before and after when you can).

A few years ago — just before the Al Gore movie came out — I went to a talk and movie about what we can do about global warming.  A Nepalese attorney who had been working on a case before the World Court that related to saving the snows of the Himalayas (good luck), said something that fully resonated with me.  He said he did not understand why Americans turn on electric lights on a sunny day.  I think about that every time I see a light on at the same time as bright daylight is coming through the window.  If I have the power to turn off the light (or not turn it on in the first place), I choose to do so.

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    Your Grief and Anxiety Are Valid

    ByElizabeth

    Yesterday, in response to the question, how was I doing, I responded that though I was personally fine, I was mourning deeply those suffering from the wars and disasters around the world and anxious about the state of this country and what was to come. I feel most ok when I am making efforts to make things better and to contribute less to future harm.

    I was told I was being unreasonable; real grief was only if one has just lost a relative or a close friend. This might have had something to do with the fact that this person believes in Israel’s unconscionable aggression and needed to justify their position.

    I’m here to tell you that it is nonsense to say that grief is only real if so narrowly circumscribed. It was not as though I said my grief and anxiety were keeping me from helping; to the contrary, they inspire me to give more of myself.

    Everyone’s grief is valid, including grief for the climate and society and our ideals. And grief does not have an expiration date.

    Meditation and yoga may help you stay with the full range of human experience and better see and appreciate what joy is there is to be had. It has for me, but I already have my basic needs covered.

    May you be happy and safe and healthy.

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    Shiva Lingam?

    ByElizabeth

    This fountain is at the main entrance (not on the Mall, but around the corner) to the Department of Labor. It is only on every once and a while, and I do not usually use this entrance, so the fountain is not a main part of my relationship to the building.

    One day, a couple of years ago, when I was sitting quietly near the fountain to get some soothing energy from the sound of the water and being outside, I thought about how much it resembled a shiva lingam. Was I seeing symbols that were not intended? Was the artist pulling one over on the government by submitting a design that carried symbolism that, in 1974, would not have been acceptable to many in charge? Was the symbolism there and understood when the design was permitted to be implemented? Do the answers to any of those questions matter with the fountain and all its imagery present in all its effusion?

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    Jackfruit

    ByElizabeth

    This vendor was right outside a Siva temple we visited on the day after we went to Rameshwaram.  I don’t remember the name of the temple (I was not good about writing down the names of the temples that were added to the itinerary after the fact).

    I liked the temple more than many.  Partly because it was quiet and peaceful since it is off the pilgrimage path (going to some of the temples reminds me of seeing the Rolling Stones at Wembley Stadium, both for crowds and noise level) and partly because it had all eight versions of Dakshinamurti–Siva as teacher.

    I was most ready for dinner after a very long day on the bus to detour to this temple, but alas, the sight of street food brings more fear of disease than it does thoughts of slaking hunger and thirst.

    jackfruit

     

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    Podcast on Ayurveda for Yoga Students and Teachers

    ByElizabeth

    Thanks to the generous Cate Stillman for this podcast.  What I like most about Cate’s perspective is her teaching that  truly practicing Ayurveda is paying attention at the deepest level, including paying attention to what in the classic teaching of Ayurveda work for you and what do not–being that they are imbued with cultural elements of the Indian subcontinent that do not necessarily support or resonate with our culture or individual constitutions.

    As I study more, I find that it turns out that I had been practicing Ayurveda already by keeping to a regular daily and weekly routine, eating seasonally and locally, eating with sensitivity to impact on my digestion and energy level, and by having a steady practice.  Not being interested in detox (more some other time on the dangers of detox)  or constitution types, or arcane herbal remedies (many of these, by the way, are becoming endangered species), it turns out, does not mean having rejected Ayurveda.  I do know that whether I call it Ayurveda or just plain common sense, the more I live in a balanced, sensitive, and steady way in terms of diet, sleep, entertainment, work, and consumption in general, the more I optimize my health and sense of well-being.

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