thoughts on how we fit into the web of community, family and society
Dear Friends,
You’ve just received an unexpected gift that does good! rose garden yoga sent you a gift card from Oxfam America Unwrapped. Follow this link to see your card. And learn about how you’ve made a difference.
Much love and gratitude. News for the holiday and new year to follow in a separate e-mailing.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
A fundamental precept of classical yoga is that of vairagya or renunciation. The yogin is meant to gradually renounce all of the life of mind and body until he or she transcends them and sees only spirit. I have been thinking about how renunciation fits in with the holidays and how we, as a society, have come to celebrate them. As some indulge to excess and all sorts of tinsel trappings, others denounce the excess as taking away from spirit and renounce the whole thing. A reactive renunciation of the holidays wholesale because they are so commercialized can feel just as harsh as full consumption of the holidays, as marketed on TV, can feel bloated and unhealthy.
When we approach yoga from a tantric perspective, the practice is not geared towards vairagya. We seek instead to be fully engaged in life, trying to live each moment, taste each bite, breathe each breath, take each step as a way of connecting more deeply to the spirit. This does not mean reckless indulgence. It does not mean heedlessly consuming and taking into ourselves that which does not nourish ourselves or which harms other beings or the earth. Through practice and study, we develop viveka or discrimination, which informs us of what will enhance our lives and lead us towards a place of light and health.
In the context of the holidays, to make them truly holy days, the tantric observer will not reject holiday celebrations out of hand simply because they have generally become commercialized and often unhealthy. Rather, he or she will discern ways to celebrate and honor earth, family, friends, and self that are in alignment with nature and optimize the connections among them. This may mean picking and choosing how and with whom to celebrate, but always with honor and respect. This is an art that I am working on personally; sometimes it is hard to know where to draw the line, especially if co-workers or family are living in ways that do not feel nourishing for us. Then the game is to not seem Scrooge-like to those who think that the holidays are about lots of heavy food and shopping, while we are choosing to honor the season in another way.
1. Melt 1/2 cup organic vegetable shortening.
2. Stir in 1 cup sucanat (evaporated cane syrup).
3. Then stir in equivalent of one egg of prepared egg replacer (potato starch-based) and one tsp vanilla.
4. Combine 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, dash salt, one tsp baking powder, and 1/4 cup flax seed meal; stir into shortening/sugar mixture.
5. Mix in 1/2 cup dried, shredded coconut.
6. Stir in 1/2 cup vegan, fair trade chocolate chips or chopped dried fruit. (I have not tried it with fruit, but I am sure it would work. Chopped nuts also would be good, but with all the allergies around, I’ve pretty much stopped bringing nutty things to parties unless I have made non-nut things also.)
7. Chill dough for about 1/2 hour.
8. Put slightly rounded teaspoonfuls of dough with lots of space in between (these spread out a lot) onto very well greased baking sheet. Bake at 350-375 (depending on how hot is your oven and whether it is convection) for 12-15 minutes until bubbling and almost caramelized.
9. After removing from oven, allow to set briefly (3-4 minutes, but not longer or they will stick to pan; if they do stick, put back in heated oven for a couple of minutes). Use a metal, rather than plastic spatula to remove cookies from sheet to help prevent breakage. Finish cooling on wire racks.
These are super crunchy and delicious (due to their high fat and sugar content–just because something is vegan doesn’t mean it is “healthy”), but a little bit more fragile than completely desirable. If anyone has suggestions on how to make less fragile, but still keep the lace quality and be vegan, your sharing would be welcome by all, I am sure. Switching from egg replacer to egg if you are not vegan would likely be the easiest fix. One of these days, when I have the time and inclination, I will try another version and change the quantities to see what happens.
Live Green has put together a short and simple list of suggestions for a greener holiday party. Not throwing the party yourself and know your hosts will be using disposable cutlery, napkins, and cups? I’ve been bringing my own napkin and carry cup to parties for years, just as I bring them on trips and around town. Some people think it’s weird, but a surprising number comment that they think it is a great idea. And people are always grateful when I bring a healthy, vegan or vegetarian food item as my offering for a potluck.
I am not sure how much longer it would have taken me to notice this little bit of street art if we had not been sent out of the building for a fire alarm. We knew it was not a drill because the Secretary was to be offering cookies and photo opps next to the “holiday” tree — the one that looks just like the trees the Christians coopted from the pagans — and having everyone exit the building would interfere with those plans. Me, I am not particularly interested in desserts before lunch, and I already have a photo of me with the Secretary. I had time to grab my hat and coat, so I am enjoying the enforced break. The theory–since the fire department sent only one truck, and they let us start returning almost as soon as we evacuated, is that they burned a batch of the cookies for the party. Maybe this is an appropriate moment for the phrase “it’s all good.”
“It will make you both laugh and cry,” said Josh, who is a long-time neighbor and the proprietor of the newly re-opened West End Cinema, which is currently showing The Kings of Pastry. “I don’t think I will be crying just because a sugar sculpture breaks,” I responded with some skepticism. “Let me know afterward,” he said, and there the conversation ended. I needed to get seated, and he needed to help the next movie-goer.
What I found loveliest about the film — besides getting to surrender to the delicious sensation of being completely awed by the extraordinary technique exhibited — was that there was no competition in the sense of there being “winners” or “losers.” All of the finalists — I don’t think that this is a spoiler — could achieve the designation of “master” if they demonstrate their virtuosity as pastry chefs within a short period of time under intense scrutiny.
The movie, in revealing a little of what it can mean to have the talent, passion, and single-mindedness to seek to be a master of a craft, a livelihood, an art, invited me to reflect on when I have been tested and when I have wanted a certain achievement marked by an outer designation. Undergraduate and law school were highly competitive; by being ranked, excellence seemed to be prized not as much for how it would enable the students ultimately to be better able to serve society and themselves upon having developed a certain required level of mastery, but more for creating a ranking within that segment of society. The dance world, for me, also felt strongly competitive. With injuries early on and having developed the “wrong” body, I could not rise to the competition.
The support, encouragement, and mentoring of the pastry chefs in The Kings of Pastry — although clearly only a select few were finalists — highlighted for me what it can mean to strive for excellence without having it be structured by win-lose/pass-fail competition; it only makes the world of pastry better if more of the pastry chefs are true masters. In this regard, watching the movie led me to think about what it was like to work for Anusara yoga teacher certification in contrast to my earlier education. When I was working for my Anusara certification, the standards for achievement of the “goal” were still very high, but it was not about winning/losing or achieving/failing. It was a period of intense study, practice, learning, and humbling experiences. On being certified, I knew that the efforts to be certified were just the beginning. Part of the reason for being so deeply challenged to be certified, to meet the level of initiation (in Sanskrit diksha), was to see if we would continue studying and practicing at that rate out of love and deep commitment. It took going through the process and addressing all the old emotions and patterns of reaction and response that came up in the context of being tested to help me to start fully appreciating the difference between being in a competition and seeking the best we can be for ourselves and for others in our work and study. When I started to have a lived appreciation for the distinction it carried through to all aspects of my relationships in life.
Without answering them, The Kings of Pastry opened for our own contemplation the questions of what does striving for excellence or mastery mean for the one on the path and for those on the path with him or her? How does coming face to face with an obstacle when being tested or finding out that one has or has not received the public recognition impact the rest of one’s life, one’s sense of self-worth, and one’s relationships with family and friends? It was an sweet act of film-making to bring these questions to the viewer’s awareness in a way that is completely engaging and endearing.
Yes, Josh, I got a little teary-eyed towards the end.
I paid to take a yoga workshop with Paul and Sommer Sobin back in town for their annual day after Thanksgiving workshop at Willow Street Yoga, which was just delightful. I spent the money for round trip transportation between Union Station and Silver Spring. I had lunch with friends and paid for my share of lunch: green tea salad, ginger salad, and tofu with sour mustard at Mandalay in Silver Spring. I am grateful for what Willow Street Yoga offers me and the community, for easy access to public transportation (I wish we would spend some of our defense budget on public transportation), and for a wide variety of restaurants with delicious vegetarian and vegan alternatives near to my home.
I chose to spend money today to have a refreshing and rejuvenating vacation day before teaching tomorrow and to support people whose livelihood is providing services and goods that make the community a better place to be and that enrich my own life. I express my gratitude by, in the method created by the consumer society, contributing to the livelihoods of those who will, in exchange for livelihood, provide life-enhancing services and creative gifts to the rest of us.
Curator’s notes at the exhibit John Gossage’s “The Pond” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
As I have discussed with a few of you, I have been contemplating deeply and for a long time the questions of what is a guru and who is a guru. In the context of this contemplation, I read to enhance my background and understanding, deepen my contemplation, and give myself food for thought or additional exploration. Here are some books that I have in my library about gurus or those who have been labeled gurus (in no particular order). Some are written with loving devotion by disciples. Some question or comment on the interrelationship between the status of guru and the sometimes all too human foibles of the guru and his disciples. Some are of the guru’s own experience of practice and his relationship with his own guru.
Be Love Now, Ram Dass, HarperOne (New York, NY 2010)
Miracle of Love — Stories About Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass, E.P. Dutton (New York, NY 1979)
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship (13th Ed., reprinted 2001)
The Golden Guru — The Strange Journey of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, James S. Gordon, The Stephen Green Press (Lexington, Mass. 1987)
My Guru and His Disciple, Christoper Isherwood, Penguin Books (New York, NY 1981)
Ramakrishna and His Disciples, Christopher Isherwood, Simon and Schuster (New York, NY 1970)
Great Swan — Meetings with Ramakrishna, Lex Hixon, Shambhala Dragon Editions (Boston, Mass. 1992)
Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa, SYDA Foundation (South Fallsburg, NY 1996)
The Buddha from Brooklyn — A Tale of Spiritual Seduction, Martha Sherrill, Vintage Books (New York, NY 2001)
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, Stephen Cope, Bantam (New York, NY 1999)
At the Eleventh Hour — The Biography of Swami Rama, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Himalayan Institute Press (Honesdale, Pa. 2001)
Play of Consciousness, Swami Muktananda Paramahansa, SYDA Foundation (Oakland Ca. 1974)
The Great Oom — the Improbable Birth of Yoga in America, Robert Love, Viking Press (New York, NY 2010)
ps Jess–Yes, the widget for Library Thing is coming for the website. I just need to add more books, so that it is a decent start at a representation of at least the yoga-related portion of my library.
I got a ride home from the John Friend workshop in Bryn Athyn with my friend, colleague, and student Jen. Jen’s husband, who is a dance professor at a local college, and her three-year old daughter came up to Philadelphia and visited friends during the day while we were at the workshop. For the initial part of the road trip home, we sang several rounds of “if you are happy and you know it clap your feet,” a days of the week song, a counting song that involved a wiggle (or was it a wriggle) and a jump, the alphabet, and I think maybe “loop-de-loop,” and had some snacks, after which Jen’s daughter moved into silence and then sleep. Before moving into silence ourselves, we spent some time talking about what we had learned and experienced at the workshop.
“Do you have any good sound bites from the weekend?” Jen’s husband asked. I said I did not have any particular sound bites per se, although there were a few things that would definitely provide inspiration for teaching and blogging. “I have a good one that I think will make sense to you,” said Jen. “John said that we can use technique to express the virtue we wish to embody.” What I liked about the statement is that it put in universal terms that would appeal to a dancer and dance professor, or anyone who understands how technique assists the clarity of artistic expression, an essential element of the yoga philosophy and Anusara principles without requiring prior knowledge of the philosophy or principles.
The statement is an encapsulation of the “three A’s of Anusara” — “attitude, alignment, and action,” which are the essence of practice (also see my previous post on how these principles correspond to the tattvas). We always seek in every part of our practice and in every pose to open to grace, to soften and receive, to be open to the fullness of life and love, to see and reveal the good. This is our “attitude.” The universal principles of alignment are technique. They are not just technique for the sake of perfecting technique, to discipline ourselves, or to make ourselves or our practice “correct.” Rather, learning and practicing the alignment principles in an ever deeper and more refined way enable us to express more clearly and elegantly our attitude — in a word, embody the virtue of being open to grace.
The songs we were singing in the beginning of the car ride, with an attitude of delight, also can serve the purpose of helping a child naturally to embody virtue. Jen’s daughter was having fun with the sing-along toy. She wasn’t singing because she needed to learn numbers, days of the week, and the alphabet to pass a test or to make sure she was right or to please her parents. They were cheerful and fun for her. When she sang along, it was out of delight. She was, though, learning beginning language and arithmetic skills that will help her communicate and get on better in society. As she grows older, in the absence of these skills, it would be hard for her to express her joyous spirit in a way that deepens conversation, relationship, and ability to participate fully in the obligations of society. When we learn technique — in whatever area — we will be furthering our ability to embody virtue if we use the technique to enhance our skills to work for, offer, and express peace, love, nurture, and growth, rather than learning technique for the sake of accomplishment, worthiness of praise or remuneration, or needing to be correct.