Community and Family

thoughts on how we fit into the web of community, family and society

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    It’s About the Money (and Solar or Wind Power for Home and/or Business)

    ByElizabeth

    This anecdote is a powerful incentive for those who could not care less about consequences of fossil fuel consumption.

    Total electric  bill this late spring/summer by month so far:

    May 2011:  $6.92 (PEPCO carrying charge); solar output exceeded usage

    June 2011:   $6.92 (PEPCO carrying charge); solar output exceeded usage

    July 2011:  $6.92 (PEPCO carrying charge); usage exceeded solar output, but by less than the extra output in May and June

    Wow!  How much was your monthly electric  bill in the Southern and drought states?  Do you know any one who would be persuaded only by the money?  Tell them what a great investment it is, and they will start thinking seriously about it.  Putting a dollar value on social good is the way to get through to those who only look at the numbers and do not see how budget numbers relate to real living beings and honoring the beauty of the web of creation (this would not be a veiled reference to something going on in that big domed building down the street; definitely, not).

    It may not always work, but putting what you want in the language of those whose actions and beliefs are not in synch with yours is the beginning of communication and change.   These cost savings say, in the language of those who care most about the money, that alternative energies are worth considering.

     

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    Living Mindfully in a Heat Wave, Ahimsa, and “Opening to Grace”

    ByElizabeth

    Ahimsa, which is the first of the yamas in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and thus is the first practice or principle of the eight-limbed path, is usually translated as non-violence or non-harming.  Over my years of practice and study, I have read and heard many versions–some general, some personal beliefs–as to what it means to practice nonviolence as part of a path of yoga.  As I watch the way people around me are behaving and reacting to the heat and drought, I thought about how, for me, the practice ahimsa is as much about seeking to be in alignment with the movements and shifts around us that we cannot change as about refraining from specific acts of violence (though that is obviously a basic element).

    In terms of aligning with the world arounds us and the cycles of our own body-mind, when we are sensitive to what will best serve our own self while having the least impact on the environment, we are practicing ahimsa, in other words, “opening to grace.”  How does practicing ahimsa by behaving mindfully incorporate many aspects of the Anusara first principle of opening to grace? Opening to grace, as a practice principle, invites us to be open, sensitive, spacious, and radically affirm what is so that we can expand, shift, and serve ourselves and others in the best way possible under the circumstance. To be open in this way, try not to rage at the heat–or whatever is your weather. Soften, listen, and mindfully discover how you can live at your fullest, kindest, and most generous with what you cannot change.

    When the temperature soars above 95F for days in a row, it is an act of violence to rage against it or to consume outrageous amounts of fossil fuels to cool our businesses and homes enough to wear warm clothes, sleep under blankets, cook and eat hot foods, or do an athletic asana practice or workout (lest we feel that we are not fulfilling some externally motivated personal notion of fitness–having external notions of how we should look, act govern us without accepting the actual situation is its own form of violence against ourselves) that we would not do if we could not artificially cool our environment.

    Perhaps I have no call to speak on this: my central air conditioning is on, though I’ve been keeping it between 78-82F and I have been moving, dressing, and eating in a way that honors the fact that those temperatures are as cool as it is going to be until the heat wave breaks. Some might argue that using any air conditioning or even an electric fan or a refrigerator is doing excessive harm to the environment. That may in fact be true, but asking for more than we can do just makes things seem impossible, and then we are less likely to make any shift at all.

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

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    Great Gary Snyder Quote (and Sadhana)

    ByElizabeth

    My friend Dan just posted on his blog a great Gary Snyder quote on the need to do maintenance (of the self) in order to be most creative.  The idea that we need to maintain our tools and toolbox, as it were, in order to be most creative, is exactly what we are taught about the tantric yoga sadhana  — practice.  With our yoga practice, diet, lifestyle, work, consumption, participation in community, we seek to live progressively more in alignment with the undulating fabric of space, time, and apparent world so that we have maximum well-being best to serve ourselves and others with delight. In our sadhana, we include both study and experience (experience includes meditation, asana, and pranayama).  As both John Friend and Paul Muller-Ortega teach, we engage in the practices and studies to learn with ever expanding insight how to see and experience the highest first and live from that place.  Living and practicing with such an intention is, I think, the maintenance done so we can live out all of our lives as a reverential and creative act.

    Dan–I look forward to reading the sermon.

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    More Things to Like About Extreme Heat

    ByElizabeth

    1. A fine appreciation for anything that provides shade–even a highway.
    2. The most outrageous of outfits is perfectly acceptable as long as it simultaneously is cool and provides protection from the sun.
    3. Homemade popsicles.
    Last batch–creamy cantelope-orange (pureed cantelope, orange juice concentrate, unsweetened soy milk, no fat greek yogurt); current batch–grape lemonade (whole red and green grapes, juice of fresh lemon, infusion of fresh stevia (could be replaced with water and a little sweetener of your choice); upcoming–minty watermelon lime (watermelon; fresh spearmint leaves; fresh lime juice; sweeten to taste).

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

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    Cat’s Paw

    ByElizabeth

    This morning I was deep into my regular meditation when I felt the cat (whom I had not known was next to me) swat my shoulder.  He has been wanting much attention for the past couple of days, but he has never actually pawed me  the way some dogs do to get a petting.  I went back into my meditative space and then a couple of minutes later noticed my shoulder was itching.  Sully had tried to get a mosquito that was biting me.  Good kitty.

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    Waste Not, Want Not

    ByElizabeth

    As the child of Depression era parents, I was taught to use every bit of the food that we bought.   I was an impoverished scholarship student for the first eight years I lived on my own.  I also started paying attention to environmental issues early on; in high school, I worked to bring awareness of energy and water consumption and recycling in connection with the earliest Earth Days.  Having gotten into the habit of being resourceful and creative with food early on, I never got out of the habit–though many of my law school and better off friends thought I was weird or cheap.

    With the recession continuing (and only likely to deepen dreadfully for my lifetime given the tenor of the debt negotiations) and thankfully growing interest in being kinder to our environment, it is becoming fashionable to be more mindful of waste of any kind.  Here is a great article on how to savor more of your food and diminish your trash output (which, by the way, also lowers your carbon footprint.)

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    Under My Desk at the Office

    ByElizabeth

    There are three important things going on under my desk:
    (1) my feet are planted firmly on the floor with the inner edges of my feet parallel. This is the foundation of a good, comfortably upright posture where my low back, shoulders, and neck are in alignment and not overworking; my inner organs are in the right place for optimal functioning; and my lungs and diaphragm are situated for full, easy breathing, which helps me be healthier and more alert.
    (2) the only shoes for the day have flexible, supportive soles and leave my toes free to work–whether I am walking or sitting. I do not change into narrow-toed and/or high-heeled shoes to look “professional” or fashionable. I think if we try hard enough, we could make shoes that are good for us be in style. Think about how much we would reduce health care spending and lost work time (for foot, knee, and back surgeries and treatments), if we all wore shoes that fit and did not alter our posture in an unhealthy way. Eventually, foot binding when out of fashion in China, but we still require women (mostly) to harm themselves with their footwear to fit in.
    (3) I have two different-sized rubber balls to do foot exercises. Feels great, helps me stay grounded, and is a nice way to take a break.

    Come to one of my yoga classes to get tips on great exercises for the feet you can do at your desk or just about any where.

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