Community and Family

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

Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Gardening

Living Mindfully in a Heat Wave, Ahimsa, and “Opening to Grace”
ByElizabeth August 1, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Poetry

Great Gary Snyder Quote (and Sadhana)
ByElizabeth July 31, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Photos

More Things to Like About Extreme Heat
ByElizabeth July 30, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Community and Family | Photos

Found Exhortation (Biblical, Up the Street from the White House)
ByElizabeth July 28, 2011

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

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Community and Family | Meditation

Cat’s Paw
ByElizabeth July 27, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Gardening

Waste Not, Want Not
ByElizabeth July 27, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family

Under My Desk at the Office
ByElizabeth July 25, 2011

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…

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Art and Culture | Community and Family | Photos

Found Exhortation (Seasonal)
ByElizabeth July 24, 2011

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

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Art and Culture | Community and Family | Meditation | Photos

Signs Around Town (This One Temporary)
ByElizabeth July 21, 2011

This is a quote on the wall at the Lewis Baltz exhibit at the National Gallery (closing July 31st). Where I travel, the landscape is often bustling or crowded or fine or grand–though much is spare like Judd’s. Some to love and some not so much. The relationships are perhaps both deep and complex at…

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Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Gardening | Photos

White Heat
ByElizabeth July 21, 2011

By 8:30 this morning, the sky was already an engorged white, thick with heat and humidity. There is no prospect of a thunderstorm for relief. If any come, they will be to the south and east or north and west of the space inside the Beltway. (I am convinced that the pattern of storms parting…

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