thoughts on how we fit into the web of community, family and society
Bhagavan — another name for Shiva — literally means “possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous.” What does it mean in this context to be possessed of fortune, to be blessed, to be prosperous? What does it mean in the context of balancing individual and societal needs, hungers, and wants? What could it mean the current conversation about…
I have lived in my house for almost 20 years. The house came with a bottom of the line, circa 1977 Hechinger’s bathroom. The bathtub has been rusting for a over a decade, part of the faucet would come off when turning it off, etc. Finding myself without any pets and between tenants, it seemed…
A friend of mine who is an avid and wonderful knitter decided to make a shawl for a friend who is about to have surgery. Instead of whipping out a shawl herself in a few days, she invited other friends to knit squares and bring them to her. She is going to piece together the…
I went to see Julie and Julia because I, like most other Americans of a certain age who like food, have a history with Julia Child. Seeing the movie brought back an episode from junior high school. By seventh grade, I was pretty competent cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and doing needlework. Being a feminist in training,…
The Anusara teachings and this community fill my heart and ever challenge mind and body. Much gratitude to John Friend, my teacher, and to all my friends on and off the mat. Now off to teach Level 2 @ 8:30, Gentle & Therapeutics @ noon, “Free Your Head, Open Your Heart” (celebration workshop) @ 2:30.
I have spent most of my life practicing one thing or the other. What attracts me about practicing in the sense of complete absorption that it brings. For a time, the absorption can be enough. Ultimately, though, the absorption should bring joy. I do not really think that it matters what it is that one…
Ruda, who is both the ancestor of Shiva and another name for Shiva, is known as the howler. Rudra is wild and fierce. Rudra rages. I heard Paul Muller-Ortega recently describe Rudra. He said Rudra rages, but offered that there are lots of things against which to rage, such as injustice and inflicted suffering. The…
One of the conjectured reasons for the amazingly quick spread of tomato blight in the northeast this year (besides the crazy weather) is the upsurge in home gardeners. It is wonderful that so many people are growing their own tomatoes. If they buy the plants from a “big box” retailer — a retailer that gives…
I am continuing to get bounce-backs from email addresses on the mailing list that I know are valid. If you want to receive my occasional emails, please subscribe to the mailing list and make sure to check your spam filters. In the meantime, I will try to remember also to post the content of the…
The Isha Upanishad starts, “That is fullness (purna). This is fullness. Fullness comes from fullness. Take fullness from fullness, and the remainder is fullness.” My maternal grandfather died when I was just a toddler, so I never got to know him. My mother used to tell us that when he had eaten enough at a…