My one and only thought for today is this:
Blogging is a political act.
Have a great day! Roxanne
Category: About Justice
Yoga, Sexuality and Integrity
My Yoga study continues to reveal some underlying similarities between Christianity and Yoga. Which isn’t surprising since neither tradition emerged in a vacuum. They influenced and impacted each other over thousands of years.
Traditionally, in the Eight-limbed Path of Ashtanga or Raja (Royal) Yoga there are five yamas or abstentions and five niyamas or observances. These could be understood as life directives like the Ten Commandments. One of the yamas or abstentions is brahmacharya. The word brahmacharya is made up of two words: Brahma, the absolute, eternal, supreme God-head and charya, which means “to follow” meaning follow a “virtuous” way of life.
In the tradition of Yoga, brahmacharya refers to sexual abstinence or celibacy. Like the monastic traditions of Christianity, celibacy is practiced as a way of harnessing energy from the relationships of one’s sexual life and diverting it toward deepening one’s spiritual life. In the Yoga this was traditionally taught and practiced only with regard to men.
However, if we understand sexuality as a part of our wholeness as human persons we can begin to interpret this yama of brahmacharya more expansively. If God is present within each person, then gnostic dualism (anti-body or spirit is better) is death-dealing. God within each of us means that God hears what we hear, feels what we feel and suffers what we suffer. We meet God in and through our bodies, including our sexuality. God experiences the world through our bodies. To know this is to value ourselves and our relationships with others. It is to be honest and truthful about the role sexuality plays in our lives.
The same energy that brings sexuality enlivens our spiritual life as well. Learning to become open and intimate with another also prepares us for opening ourselves to life, reality or God. Using our sexual desires in a way that is life-giving for us and for others honors our value as persons. This means that we must be willing to take the time and care required to go more deeply into a relationship with someone else. This takes effort, time and commitment. It takes monogamy. It is impossible to have the time or energy to maintain deep, committed, thus honest sexual relationships with more than one person at a time.
It also requires developing good boundaries. We develop enough self-understanding to know our own values and choose actions that respect those values. We have the ability to consistently choose those actions and responses that will keep us in a calm and abiding place. We learn to do this within the context of our own sexual relationships and within other relationships too. Simultaneously we respect others’ boundaries.
Brahmacharya in my own life means honoring my own sexuality. For me, this means choosing to be in a marriage because the relationship is life-giving and brings out the best of who I am. Earlier in my life I understood the vow of marriage (“until death do us part”) to mean staying in a marriage no matter what – even if it was abusive or soul-killing. I thought that breaking the vow meant breaking with one’s personal integrity. But gradually, I came to see that this vow is made by two parties and therefore must be honored by both parties. One person can’t honor the vow alone. When the other party is no longer committed to the vow, or was never committed, then the contract is broken.
Regardless, to remain in sexual relationships that hurt, abuse or cause sadness is to dishonor not only ourselves but others as well. This is a profound distortion of what sexuality is meant to be in our lives. We are all interconnected. Brahmacharya dictates that we seek sexuality in relationships that leave us feeling loved, valued and cared for.
You may also like Spring Cleaning – Saucha, Yoga Wisdom, Do You Need a High Approval Rating? and Salut! To Your Health!.
Where Do Our Clothes Come From?
This article from Everything Yoga Blog asks where our yoga clothes come from. It was a good article as far as it went. Knowing the country of origin is important. But the author should have gone further. It’s not enough to know where our clothes come from. Singapore, China, India — it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is this – were the people who made these clothes paid a fair and living wage? Were they provided with good working conditions? Were they adults or children forced to work instead of going to school? Of course, we should also ask, what is the environmental impact of the clothes we buy? These are the questions we should be asking.
Truthfully, we should be asking these questions for everything we buy. We have a moral responsibility to ask these questions and require that answers be provided in order to make a decision to purchase. Once we know, we have a moral responsibility to purchase accordingly.
Watch this movie about the U.S. apparel industry, Made in L.A. to learn how three young women changed the industry. Be inspired!
We vote for a just world with every dollar we spend.
Follow-up article – this article details the toxic and banned chemicals showing up in clothes made by major clothing manufacturers. Because they are manufactured and shipped from overseas, the clothes arrive with the toxic chemicals already on them. They leach into our environment and onto our bodies when we wear and wash them.
“Samples of clothing from top brands including Adidas, Uniqlo, Calvin Klein, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lacoste, Converse and Ralph Lauren were found to be tainted with the chemicals, known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, the watchdog said at the launch of its report “Dirty Laundry 2”.
You may also like Kowalski’s Grocery Store and Fiji Water, Element a Green Hotel in Dallas Snow-Over and From Dublin to Juarez.
Keeping Earthquake Victims in Our Hearts
Today, as so many try to put their lives back together, may we keep them in prayer, offer any help, hope
and be willing to do the same for all those who struggle from tragedy, poverty and human-caused hunger around the world. There is enough for all.
In peace and love, Roxanne
Simplifying Our Kitchen
If you’ve been reading this blog then you know that six items or less is the goal – for most things in my life. I have already posted about progress simplifying my wardrobe.
Now what about our kitchen? Think about knives, utensils, glassware, pots and pans, baking dishes, etc. Do I really need more than six of anything????
When I was younger, I lived with a family in Paris. While their home was large, the kitchen was a typical, tiny French kitchen. Christine cooked delectable, many-course meals for family and guests from this tiny kitchen with one cabinet, 2 feet of counter space and a small European refrigerator. She had almost no gadgets, using two good knives and a whisk for just about everything. What did I learn? I learned French cooking and I learned that great meals are not about having a big kitchen or lots of gadgets.
Consider the components of the “kitchen-in-a-box” in the picture. Before first moving into this townhouse I had purchased a collection similar to this from Target. If I remember correctly it had about 50 pieces in total. It even had things like a paper towel holder, S&P shakers and plastic storage containers. Basically it had just what I needed – and nothing I didn’t. It worked really well.
So where did all this other stuff come from???
Looking around our kitchen we generally use the same three pans for most of our cooking: a small sauce pan, a 2 qt. soup pan, a 3 qt. pan for cooking pasta, a saute pan and a larger fry pan. I also use my blue & white soup pot. That’s it. Other pots and pans are rarely, if ever, used. So why not pass them along to someone who needs them? So we did.
Next we donated the toaster, food processor, mixer and other small electrics that we didn’t use or used rarely. We do have a hand blender, coffee grinder, coffee maker and hand mixer (which may be the next to go).
Knives & utensils are the same story. Too many that are never used. They are simply taking up space — which we don’t have. Others can use them. Three stainless cylinders on the counter by the stove hold utensils we use now. Still too many though. . .
Lastly, it would be nice to display beautiful items that we use everyday. Currently I do keep my white low bowls on my counter in an unused corner. Silverware too.
But what about awkward pots and pans? They suck cabinet space. My wish: store them in a way that is both space saving and attractive. Is it possible to achieve both??? Find out in my next post.
You may also like The Richness of Simplicity and Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.