Author: Elizabeth

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    Waiting for the Bus (In the Shadow of the Dome)

    ByElizabeth

    In some ways, those who live near it just plunk their stuff on the grass and sit and wait, more detached from the long reach that touches just about every one. We can be oblivious to the dome, we can be oblivious of the light of spirit, but both exist and touch us regardless of whether we pay attention. The more we seek to become conscious and to participate, though, the more profound and deep will be our connection to ourselves and others.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    This Week’s Garden Highlights

    ByElizabeth

    Basil, persimmon tomatoes, plum tomato, saqweet banana pepper, turenip and greens, tricolor carrots (the white are maturing much faster than the orange and the red), anaheim peppwer, okra, jalapeno pepper. (Not shown: grapes, kale, and the three cucumbers I had midweek, one of which still needs to be eaten).

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    In the Garden

    ByElizabeth

    I spent a delightful couple of hours in the garden with the birds this morning before heading up to teach at Willow Street. I weeded and dead-headed and watered. The birds and I both ate grapes right off the vine. Every year since this vine started to fruit, birds that are not here the rest of the year have appeared for the few weeks the grapes are ripening. I imagine that there is a bird listserve where some bird posts that Goodman’s grapes are ready. Come and get them. Neither my presence nor the cats on the screened porch deters them. The grapes are too delicious for them to allow their natural caution to interfere with immediate access.

    Me, I know that I am a spoiled, middle-class urban gardener. If my survival depended on getting the whole harvest (as opposed to a large handful of grapes daily for three or four weeks), I would be fending off the birds instead of enjoying their presence. The squirrels and the tomatoes–that’s another matter altogether.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    U.S. Peace Index (Minus DC)

    ByElizabeth

    Perhaps I would find more credibility in the map if the well-meaning creators of the “U.S. Peace Index” recognized that real human beings who wish to live in peace and who are U.S. citizens reside in the District of Columbia (though perhaps they are not included because local governance of the citizens of the District are subject to the whims and opinions of elected officials from both the most and least peaceful of states and thus are governed by the whole map).  It is of interest nonetheless.

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    Outside the Verizon Center

    ByElizabeth

    I walked over to the Verizon Center to see how the kalachakra was spreading into the space around it. Towards the end of my foray, the traffic light at a corner outside the Verizon Center changed in my direction, and I headed into the crosswalk. A cyclist going north in the southbound lane started cursing and screaming at me for blocking his way. The loudspeakers were blaring their usual commercial fare, the neon were glaringly lit even by day, the big video screens showing ads and offerings of upcoming sports events, and the tourists were jostling down the sidewalk, carrying their plastic containers full of stuff from McDonalds and Starbucks. On the other side of the Portrait Gallery was a special “market place” with silk shawls, t-shirts, silver and turquoise jewelry, thangkas, prayer wheels, and Himalayan food served in styrofoam containers with plastic forks.

    I am as certain as it is possible to be that the space inside the Verizon Center is being transformed by the practice of the kalachakra for world peace empowerment inside. We cannot make others receive such an offering if they are closed and uninterested. We can, though, seek to open our own receptivity and our own hearts. As I observed my reaction to the plastics and the noise and having been cursed out when I had the “right of way,” I thought that the axiom “peace starts from within” is counsel that though we may not be able to change others, we can and are responsible for ourselves.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    Whether It Is Good Weather

    ByElizabeth

    When I was out doing an errand at lunchtime, I bumped into a neighbor I haven’t seen in a long time. We did not spend much time talking; I needed to get back home to my work within the short allotted time, and she was meeting someone. “Did I just hear thunder,” she asked. The sky was thick and white with heat and “Code Orange” air. “You might have heard thunder, but there isn’t any rain with it” I replied. We talked about how much we need some good rain. The trees are really struggling. (Note: forget about cleaning any outside things with water. Forget non-edible annuals. Water established trees and perennials very deeply once a week instead of less watering more frequently. Shallow watering in drought conditions promotes growth of fungus and other pesky things.)

    As gardeners, my neighbor and I notice how much rain we are getting in any given season and week. We think about whether the rainfall is what the farmers and the trees and birds and wild animals need, in addition to whether it will interfere with a child’s soccer game or a planned outing. We were at the point that we would far rather get caught out in a deluge than miss out on any chance of rain. On the other hand, those in flooded parts of the north are praying for a few warm (but not blazing hot) dry days in a row. Today’s storm is welcome and needed, though one storm does not end a drought. We need some more good ones for days on end.

    I think the approach of various classes and intensity levels of asana practice can feel like a whether a thunderstorm is welcome weather. Sometimes an outrageously intense and fierce practice is what will bring me to my fullest possibility of growth and expansion. At other times, I need to step back and rest my body. Restorative and other gently therapeutic practices are what nurtures best. Sometimes, I have long, steady periods of moderate practice.

    The more sensitive, aware, and knowledgeable I get about the weather outside and how it impacts life around me, the better able I am to take care of my garden. The more I am sensitive and open to the weather inside and the more knowledgeable both from study and experience of how my practice best aligns with inner and outer weather, the better able I am to live out the yoga principles I seek ever better to follow–the most important being to see the highest first and to be of service.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    Good News for Solar In DC

    ByElizabeth

    I received this email last night that I wanted to share.  If you own a house in the District and haven’t gone solar, think about it.  If you rent, write your landlord.  If you live in another jurisdiction, work with like-minded citizens and work for alternative sources of energy.  FYI, since my solar panels were active, my highest electricity bill was $20 (and for the past two months, the meter has run backwards).

    Here’s the full text of the email (with a link on how to get involved at the bottom):

    Today, thanks to your hard work the Distributed Generation Act of 2011 (19-10) passed the DC Council.   The vote was unanimous!!!  We only await the Mayor’s signature for the bill to become law.  Although, there may be a lag of up to a year for SREC prices on the spot market to recover–we expect the bill to create a strong vibrant solar market in DC for the next DECADE!! In response to the expected improvement in market conditions SOLSYSTEMS announced today the availability of an upfront SREC payment through its installer partners of $1,200/kw installed.  This means for example, that you could get $4,800 up front for a 4kw system!

    Many many people worked on the bill! Many of you showed up to testify! More than a thousand of you signed the petition in support of the legislation. http://signon.org/sign/build-dc-solar-dont-let?source=s.em.cr&r_by=118605    Many of you sent emails or made phone calls. Many of you showed up to deliver our petition to each of the Council Member’s offices. Many of you turned out to create a field of sunflowers–in the Council Chamber during the first reading of the bill! A special shout out to MDVSEIA that worked hand and hand with us throughout the process!

    It is important that the DC Council understand that this bill has very strong, and broad support from across the city. We want them to feel good about passing this bill and feel good about passing similar legislation in the future.  This bill will create the market mechanism to allow homeowners, churches, community organizations, businesses and government buildings to go solar! While there is much left to do to make solar affordable and accessible to every DC resident—this bill is a very important step.

    PLEASE write to the DC council today and THANK them for their support!    dccouncil@dccouncil.us    A quick email, a quick thanks! Thank them for leading DC toward a solar future.

    Anya Schoolman
    President
    DC Solar United Neighborhoods

    Thinking of Going Solar? Want to Get More Involved ? Become a DC Sun Member– Join the Discussion at

    http://sites.google.com/site/dcsolarunitedneighborhoods/