What Did T. Read in 2022?

 




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Tamas - Spiritual Inertia

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When I first met my former therapist (Therapy Elsa), I eyeballed her with a great deal of distrust. I had finally been in therapy enough years to understand that the client, too, gets a say in whether or not the fit is right. "Are you one of those therapists who talk about sin a lot and how it's wrong to be gay?" I asked. Therapy Elsa smiled. "That's an interesting question. Why do you ask?" I assumed she was mentally writing down some kind of note like, "Prospective client probably gay." "Because you have diplomas hanging on your wall and one of them is from a seminary," I said. "Also, I know many Christians, and they care a LOT about whether people are gay." "Ah, I see," she said. "Well, to answer your concerns, the seminary I went to was quite open-minded." She went on to tell me how they used gender-neutral references for God, which basically made my head explode. Then I worried maybe she was too liberal ...
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Om - The End & the Beginning

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    In the Vedic texts, the Upanishads, and in religions from Buddhism to Hinduism to Jainism to Sikhism, there is the symbol known in the west as "Om." In the East, it is AUM. It is said to be the primordial sound of the world. If God spoke the world into existence, I think he hummed it this way. All three parts of "Om" represent something: AU (ah-uh or "oh") - Atman or the Self within M - Brahaman, or the divine reality ___ - the sound of silence, the space at the end. This is the ending and the beginning OM/AUM also represents the 3 aspects of God: Brahma (beginning), Vishnu (living), and Shiva (death) As I ended yoga teacher training and my years of middle school teaching, I also approached the end of my 41st year on earth. Since at least my 20's, I have believed the year 42 will be the most significant year of my life. I have absolutely no basis for this, it is just the year my brain seized upon 2 decades ago. In  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Gal...
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Hope

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I think if I still lived in South Carolina, I would be described as tender-hearted. And it would not be a compliment. It would be like when you say, "Bless her heart," while watching someone from New Hampshire try to figure out grits. Tender-hearted is too easily given to feelings. I think my feelings are bigger than the rest of me put together. If I could get rid of some of my feelings, I think the first one I would get rid of wouldn't be anger or sadness or jealousy. It would be hope. I hate hope. Hope is the thing that kills you. I know that's an expression commonly used in soccer-football but since it's the Superbowl here in America, it feels appropriate. I had a date tonight. My friend Abbie gave me this beautiful necklace a few days ago that she said helps manifest love. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt hopeful... I mean, not that I was going to fall in love on a first date, but like -- hopeful that I could even still feel positive about a ...
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Reflection at the End of the 15th Year

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   We bring you this brief break from yoga to interject the annual teaching reflection. Reflection at the End of the 15th Year What a year. I know that this is in the news  literally  every year, but this year,  teachers really are leaving the profession in droves. Seriously. I talked to teachers in 2 different districts who told me, "There are 7 teachers in my building who have quit so far this year. Like, just walked out on the profession." That's not normal, blog world. Suffice to say, there's a teacher shortage. I think it's everywhere, but  Missouri's last-place ranking for starting teacher salary ($25,000) does not help. And yet, this spring, I applied for 20 positions, executed 11 interviews, and ultimately secured 0 jobs. But instead of dwelling on that for this reflection, I would rather just mention the most salient parts of the academic year. Here are some of the things that happened: *********************************************** Something I'm...
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Poetry. Feminism. Dharma.

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This morning I woke up at 4 am, unable to return to sleep on the first day of school. Too many nerves. So instead, I thought about dharma,  or our calling and purpose in life. Most teachers are women, I suppose because we're seen as more nurturing. I think you can be nurturing and still be a feminist. So here are my thoughts, courtesy of insomnia... Ask me what I mean when I tell you I'm a feminist. "Bra-burning excuse-making man-hating harpy!" That's too easy. That's a trope. I mean I broke free from the ideas forced in youth: That a woman's purpose is to love and support a man. Cannot bear his own children (so you must) Cannot be his own "helpmate" (so you must) God created man to rule and to provide. A woman's place is by his side -- Complementing. Complimenting. Only -- Years passed. No one's life was less without me in it. I had failed my Woman's role. But was it me? Or could it be the job itself? I did not ask for consignment to...
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Tips

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After traveling around a bit in the last decade, I have managed to come up with a few travel tips. These are mostly for me to remember, but maybe they'll help you, too :-) * Pack earplugs. For me, it's the slim-fit kind, otherwise my ear canals get crushed. These will save you on the plane and in hostels or bnb's within the city center, where it's loud. * Bring a backup charger. We got one for Christmas at Persimmon one year and it saved my life on this last trip! * Everything you need should fit into a carry-on. There is no reason to bring things like a hair dryer, a steamer, a curling iron, a bunch of jewelry, etc. That's crazy-talk. You are traveling to experience a new culture, not to bring your old culture with you!! It will be so much easier to get where you need to go if you're not lugging a bunch of crap all over the place. * You need no more than 3 pairs of shoes, so choose wisely. For 2 1/2 weeks in Europe, I took sneakers, flat sandals, and water shoe...
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Tadsana - Mountain

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Here's a picture of me celebrating in front of a big-ass, famous mountain in Indonesia. Unfortunately, it is foggy and you cannot see the mountain. It's probably judgment for lying about menstruating when grilled by the holy man guarding the temple. I've been fortunate in the instructors I've had the opportunity to study under, particularly in Bali. One was Marylene Henry, who studied with the students of Orit Sanj Gupta , who is part of the lineage of Krishnamacharya himself. A bit of yoga history... Around 1,000 A.D. many yogis began moving toward the mountains and caves of the Himalayas, withdrawing from the world. They were devotees of Shiva and their leader was Matsyendra Nath, or the Fish Lord (from whom we get matsyendrasana , or Lord of the Fishes pose).  Under Nath's leadership, it is said that the yogis developed siddhis , or supernatural talents. Periodically, they would come down from the mountains to perform miracles for the common people, in order to d...
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