Go West Part 'א

I would like to start with apologizing to the guy at seat A2 on flight CO648 on Thursday night. I know you were strong and healthy when you got on the flight and coughing and sneezing by the time we landed in SFO. Sorry.

It was getting to a point that I was fighting with anyone that was willing to talk to me. So I needed a break and, as I am on a low budget, I went on Craig’s List and found a couple that wanted to swap apartments, San Francisco for New York. Go West. Actually this is as west as I have ever gone without crossing the International Date Line.

This was the view I got up to on the first morning (not really)


This is what I got up to on the second morning (really)


It is very hilly! Reminds me of home!


Robb recommended I try out “The Rocket.” A Yoga Sequence based on the Ashtanga Yoga Series thought by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Most of my friends know me as a very liberal and progressive person, but there are some areas of my life where I am still a very “traditional” person. I was taught by my teachers that there are traditional schools of yoga which came from Sri Krishnamacharya who is considered the father of modern yoga as we know it. He thought Sri BKS Iyengar who is the founder of Iyengar Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois the founder of Ashtanga Yoga and his son T.K.V. Desikachar who teaches a form that sometimes is referred to as “Vini Yoga” but is really is a personalized therapeutic vinyasa yoga. What I am saying here is wrong, flawed and simplified but a good starting point. Vinyasa Yoga is an even more modern yoga practice that combines and draws from all the traditional ones. Anything that is not traditional yoga is Vinyasa. When you teach Vinyasa you can teach almost whatever you want, when you teach traditional yoga, you must stick to the original teachings. Now, don't get me wrong, I have been practicing Ashtanga for a while and I think that it is just not suited for a 200 pound Western man like me, but that is the teaching, and I believe that there is great value to sticking to the tradition. So when someone as smart and creative as can be “coins” a new style of yoga, I'd rather he just calls it what it is, Vinyasa. In any case, The Rocket was a REALLY fun Vinyasa class and It’s Yoga is a beautiful studio.

It was Friday, and my next stop was at the Shabbat services at Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, a very cool synagogue in the Mission district of San Francisco. Though there is a well-known church that became a dance club in New York, I think that a Christian funeral home that became a Jewish synagogue would win the extreme make-over competition.


I was not exactly sure why I decided to go to Shabbat service this week of all weeks; I thought maybe it was being away from home or not working on Friday which just gave me the chance to get to service on time, but then the Rabbi reminded me. He started his drash with something that sounded like this: “This is a weird time of the year for our people, a lot of Holidays around this time that are not ours.” I have become so submerged in the American Culture that I forgot that just seven years ago Christmas and the (Christian) New Year were things I only saw in movies and on television, and now I shop for gifts wrapped in green and red and make plans for the drop of the ball as if it was second nature to me. “TRADITION!” Chaim Topol was singing in my head for the second time that day.
But Congregation Sha'ar Zahav is not traditional for me. It is unfortunate that the synagogue that accepts me as I am is also the synagogue where I feel out of place. It is the unknown tunes to the prayers, and the additions to the Siddur, but above all it is this phenomenon:

וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--עַל-לְבָבֶךָ.
וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיך (ולבנותיך), וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ.

…and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy sons (and daughters) etc.

Every place that has the masculine noun, the “new prayer book” adds the feminine. It drives me berserk! I too understand the effect of the spoken word on our thoughts especially based on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, but the Torah was given in Hebrew, which has the masculine and feminine, and yes, not fair, but it was mostly written in the masculine, and for the sake of tradition I ask that you keep it that way. The Shema Yisrael is considered the most important prayer in the Jewish tradition (according to Wikipedia! which is always right) it is ancient, traditional and should be unchanged.

Some things that are traditional in one part of the world but very new to us is feeding babies with chop sticks, a task that I got to do this week and found (especially because זאב is just so cute) to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my short trip so far. So I guess that adopting a tradition is fine by my book.

This is an optical illusion! I don't really have an arrow stuck in my head!

Society, you're a crazy breed

I have conflicted feeling and thoughts about this movie, which I love. On one hand, I relate the feelings of a greedy society, and the need to find your space to brake free. On the other, I believe in life, in the preservation of life, and in the creation and maintenance of a society.
So I will just post the lyrics to this highly addictive song, performed by Eddie Vedder.

Society, Eddie VedderFrom the Soundtrack of “Into the Wild “

It's a mystery to me
we have a greed
with which we have agreed

You think you have to want
more than you need
until you have it all you won't be free

society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
you think you need
and when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'cos when you have more than you think
you need more space

society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

there's those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like its starting from the top
you can't do that...

society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Forgive me...

As the summer comes to its end, I wait impatiently for the end of September. How is it that the one holiday in the Jewish calendar that I used to hate as a child, is now my most favorite?
And as Yom Kippur comes closer, feelings of uncertainty arise, like the once before a scary ride at Six Flags: you know you will be OK, and yet, you are apprehensive about how it will be. I am not sure what it is. Do I miss my Blackberry? It is the fast? Is it being at synagogue for so many hours without a change of scenery?

When the sun is high in the sky, and the sugar levels in my blood are low, my heart opens. At that point, I sometimes half-hallucinate that my family is next to me. It is always first my father; he wraps his Talit around my shoulders and holds me strong, as he always does when we are in Synagogue. And in ברכת כוהנים he places his Talit over our heads and we make a little tent. Then my mother joins, and my siblings. Some have never been to a synagogue before and now they are here with me. Last are the dead once, as if wrapping their arms around us. Maybe I should drink more water before the fast next year.

A few months ago I practiced Yoga Nidra with a class. Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep, a state of conscious deep sleep for extreme relaxation and subtler spiritual exploration. When we arose from the “sleep” we were all shaken up. I felt scared and alone; my friend Cori was crying. As you lie on the floor, withdrawing sense after sense, you stop seeing the black background that you see even when your eyes are closed and stop hearing the quiet hum that you hear even when you plug in earplugs. You actually don’t feel. It is an experience close to death. It reminds us that we are human, and that we, like everything else on earth, are temporary. That can be scary. On Yom Kippur we are reminded of our mortality. Depriving our bodies from water and food, and the senses that we indulge on, the scripts tell us of the ways that we can find our death this year.

ונתנה תקף קדושת היום כי הוא נורא ואיום, ובו תנשא מלכותך ויכון בחסד כסאך, ותשב עליו באמת. אמת כי אתה הוא דיין ומוכיח ויודע ועד, וכותב וחותם וסופר ומונה. ותזכר כל הנשכחות, ותפתח ספר הזכרונות, ומאליו יקרא וחותם יד כל אדם בו.

ובשופר גדל יתקע וקול דממה דקה ישמע, ומלאכים יחפזון וחיל ורעדה יאחזון, ויאמרו הנה יום-הדין. לפקוד על צבא מרום בדין, כי לא יזכו בעיניך בדין. וכל באי עולם יעברון לפניך כבני מרון. כבקרת רועה עדרו מעביר צאנו תחת שבטו, כן תעביר ותספור ותמנה ותפקוד נפש כל חי. ותחתך קצבה לכל בריה ותכתב את גזר דינם.

בראש השנה יכתבון וביום צום כיפור יחתמון, כמה יעבורון וכמה יבראון. מי יחיה ומי ימות, מי בקיצו ומי לא בקיצו. מי במים ומי באש, מי בחרב ומי בחיה, מי ברעב ומי בצמא, מי ברעש ומי במגפה, מי בחניקה ומי בסקילה, מי ינוח ומי ינוע, מי ישקט ומי יטרף, מי ישלו ומי יתיסר, מי יעשיר ומי יעני, מי ישפל ומי ירום.

ותשובה ותפלה וצדקה - מעבירין את רוע הגזרה

כי כשמך כן תהלתך, קשה לכעוס ונוח לרצות. כי לא תחפץ במות המת, כי אם בשובו מדרכו וחיה, ועד יום מותו תחכה לו, אם ישוב מיד תקבלו. אמת כי אתה הוא יוצרם ואתה יודע יצרם, כי הם בשר ודם. אדם יסודו מעפר וסופו לעפר, בנפשו יביא לחמו. משול כחרס הנשבר, כחציר יבש וכציץ נובל, כצל עובר וכענן כלה, וכרוח נושבת וכאבק פורח, וכחלום יעוף.

ואתה הוא מלך אל חי וקיים

אין קצבה לשנותיך ואין קץ לאורך ימיך, ואין שעור למרכבות כבודך, ואין לפרש עילום שמך. שמך נאה לך, ואתה נאה לשמך, ושמנו קראת בשמך. עשה למען שמך, וקדש את שמך על מקדישי שמך. בעבור כבוד שמך הנערץ והנקדש, כסוד שיח שרפי קדש המקדישים שמך בקדש, דרי מעלה עם דרי מטה קוראים ומשלשים בשִלוּש קדשה בקֹדֶש".

"The great shofar is sounded... A still small voice is heard...Even the angels are frightened... the Day of Judgment is here...
Who shall live? And who shall die?Who shall find rest? And who shall be restless?Who shall be raised up? And who shall be humbled?Who shall be rich? And who shall be poor?
“On Rosh HaShana they are written, And on Tsom Yom Kippur they are sealed.
How many shall pass, and how many created:
Who shall live and who shall die;
Who in their time and who not in their time;
Who by water And who by fire;
Who by the sword And who by a beast;
Who by hunger And who by thirst;
Who by disaster And who by sickness;
Who by strangling And who by stoning;
Who will rest And who will wander;
Who will be go peacefully And who will go violently;
Who will be calm And who will be harried;
Who will be poor And who will be rich;
Who will be degraded And who will be exalted.

By repentance, prayer and charity Remove the evil of the decree.

As for Man, he comes from dustAnd to dust he shall return..."

Man is like... Grass that withers... A flower that fades... A shadow that passes..."

As the day ends, we sing a hymn from Psalm 27, 4:

אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה-- אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ:
שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה, כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי;
לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם-יְהוָה, וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ.

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to behold the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit early in His temple.

Singing this hymn always gets me very emotional. What is it about dwelling in the Lord’s house? What is his graciousness?

Last year I was thinking hard about forgiveness. It is actually easier to forgive someone that has obviously done you wrong. But what about those people you are mad or angry at, but for reasons that are beyond their control. You know they have done no wrong to you. What about those people that are mad at you, but you know in your heart you have done no wrong to them.

A year has past, and as I was hearing the cantor singing “may I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,” I remembered that last year I found no good answers to my concerns of forgiveness. I looked at those painful relationships again and smiled. Over the last year, I kept my cry to the Lord to dwell in his house close to my heart, and there I beheld his grace: awareness, compassion, patience and love. One can’t always solve heartbreaking situations. Sometimes, all you can do is strive to be close to the Lord, so you can learn from him. Actively practice awareness, compassion, patience and love towards the people you can not solve difficulties with, and you might find out that with time, you will be dwelling in the house of the Lord together, again.

With Love and Appreciation to My Family

As the mother of a gay son, I've seen firsthand how cruel and misguided people can be.

Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.

I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny. My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay. He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other
boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.

In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.

You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.

At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty
that it is inborn.

If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?

A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."

You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.

He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.

You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance. How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.

You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin. The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"

Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?

Sharon Underwood lives in White River Junction, Vt.
This editorial is from Sunday's Concord Monitor.
Sunday, April 30, 2000, By Sharon Underwood
For the Valley News (White River Junction, VT/Hanover, NH)

Miss Subway

On a week like this in New York, when everyone is cursing the Subway system, it was a nice surprise when my cousin found this photo of my grandmother when SHE WAS Miss Subway.
I really don’t have anything smart or yogi to say about it, it’s just kind of cool.

Here is the Wiki article:
Miss Subways was a title accorded to individual New York City women between 1941 and 1976. The woman who was "Miss Subways" at any one time appeared on posters placed on New York City Subway trains, along with a brief description of her. The program was run by the ad agency "New York Subways Advertising". To be eligible, a woman had to be a New York City resident and herself use the subway. Winners were usually chosen by telephone-based voting, from among a group of contenders whose photos were all placed on the subways; the nominees were chosen by John Robert Powers, a modelling agent.
Around 200 women held the title during the program's run. The first Miss Subways was actress Mona Freeman; the last was Heidi Hafner.
The first African American Miss Subways was in 1947; the first Asian American Miss Subways was in 1949.
Ellen Hart Sturm, owner of the New York diner Ellen's Stardust Diner, was Miss Subways in 1959; her diner currently features photos of many past Miss Subways on the walls.
In 2004, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in conjunction with the New York Post, brought back the program, though now named "Ms. Subways". A voting contest was held to determine the first winner, Caroline Sanchez-Bernat; Sanchez-Bernat remains "Ms. Subways". Current posters of "Ms. Subways" always appear with subway safety tips instead of biographical notes.
Miss Subways was a title accorded to individual New York City women between 1941 and 1976. The woman who was "Miss Subways" at any one time appeared on posters placed on New York City Subway trains, along with a brief description of her. The program was run by the ad agency "New York Subways Advertising". To be eligible, a woman had to be a New York City resident and herself use the subway. Winners were usually chosen by telephone-based voting, from among a group of contenders whose photos were all placed on the subways; the nominees were chosen by John Robert Powers, a modelling agent.
Around 200 women held the title during the program's run. The first Miss Subways was actress Mona Freeman; the last was Heidi Hafner.
The first African American Miss Subways was in 1947; the first Asian American Miss Subways was in 1949.
Ellen Hart Sturm, owner of the New York diner Ellen's Stardust Diner, was Miss Subways in 1959; her diner currently features photos of many past Miss Subways on the walls.
In 2004, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in conjunction with the New York Post, brought back the program, though now named "Ms. Subways". A voting contest was held to determine the first winner, Caroline Sanchez-Bernat; Sanchez-Bernat remains "Ms. Subways". Current posters of "Ms. Subways" always appear with subway safety tips instead of biographical notes.

I will always be his little girl

Guruji

My Ashtanga teacher is on his way to meet his Guru, and will be away for over a month. So I woke up early this morning and went to practice, to be with my teacher before he leaves. I wasn’t the only one, so the Ashtanga room was packed.

I found a tight space between two other yogis at the front of the room, just in front of the door. This is where students say Namaste to their teacher when they finish their practice.
Today it was a longer “ceremony” as everyone wanted to say another word or two. I know I should be focused on my practice and not listen to the conversation, but it was just overwhelming. His students come to him every day, and the relationship of a teacher/student is developed. It is a relationship with very littlie words exchanged; based on trust and compassion. New students who come to Ashtanga sometimes are pushed away by the stern guidance, and the strong adjustments. But surrendering to your teacher is an integral part of the practice. Not because of the teacher’s ego or power strives; but because if you learn to surrender “on the mat” you will also learn: “Isvara pranidhnad-va” (Yoga Sutra 1:23); Or (achieving Samadhi is also attainable) by devoted self-surrender to the Lord.

On our journey to Samadhi, Patanjali is giving us another very important tool, surrender to the Lord. This is probably one of the hardest one for us as Westerner’s to practice, we are so pride and full of ourselves, it is so hard for us to surrender. I grew up in a Jewish orthodox home and school, I then spent three years in the army. The lessons of following a discipline without the consent questioning is one of the most important lessons I was giving between the ages of 4 and 21. There is nothing wrong with surrender; it does not make you weaker.

Baddhakonasana is where I learned to surrender, while my teacher climbed my hips again and again, I resisted, pushing up and back, struggling with my pain. Only when I surrendered to my teacher, I could breathe into the Asana and surrender to the feet , touching my head to my feet as a symbol.

I was emotional throughout the practice today; a young student placed his hand on my teachers shoulder and said: “Have a great trip Christopher.” I suspect my teacher was shocked by this display of affection, I started crying.

Or (achieving Samadhi is also attainable) by devoted self-surrender to the Lord

At some point I would like to write more about the path of “Isvara pranidhnad-va” (Yoga Sutra 1:23) or Bhakti Yoga, the surrender to the Lord.

But for now I would like to bring this controversial but pretty story from the Gospel of Luke (courtesy of We, Like Sheep)

As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:38-42)

The journey begins…

With great appreciation and gratitude to my teachers, for setting the direction.
Bowing down to the teachers of the past, present and future, and the biggest teacher, the guru within, Om Bolo Sat Guru, Bhagavan, Qi Jai

An officer and a Gentlewoman

My sister Noa finished the first part of her officer training! I am so proud of her!

Noa is someone that leaves the house without keys/money/cellphone. Gets stuck in the middle of an Arab village with no gas in the car. And now she is an officer in the IDF.

God, our army is in trouble!

Holding Out for a Hero

I am reposting but this time with this amazing performance of Ms. Tandi Iman Dupree, courtesy of Pop Muse.

This is a good practice of practical Karma. When someone does something to you that you dislike (like taking your Hummus) your initial reaction might be, “that hummus hog! I am going to steal his hummus AND pita!” or just steal someone else’s Hummus if he is too big to steal from (which might be the case if he eats a lot of Hummus)
When someone does something pleasant to you, like “back נעימי/Naimi,” which is a combination of scratching and petting your back, you might think to yourself: “MORE! MORE! MORE!”
Now practical karma practice would suggest this; if someone does something you dislike, A. don’t do it to someone else, B. do something quite the opposite to your friend.
And if someone does something nice to you, do the same to someone else, now that you know how nice it feels.
Every time I listen to this SO GAY song by Bonnie Tyler (it’s on my GYM playlist) I imagine myself at a club (I have the club mix version) having a crappy night, and just waiting for that hero to change it all! And then I think that if I am holding out for an hero, there is probably someone out there that is holding out for me, so instead of holding out for an hero, I try and be someone else’s hero. And no, just buying someone a drink does not count! So be a hero, tonight!

Look how the Arab world treated me. I sure didn't deserve that.

I always had this passion about Gazpacho soup, I never knew why until I saw Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios last night.
There were two main concerning facts about this event:
1. My BF said: “You will understand me better after you see this movie”
2. I saw it with a friend that just broke up with his BF, HE chose the movie.

It is one of those movies where you identify with more then one character throughout the movie which makes you feel you need therapy more then just once a week.

There is no doubt that Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown teaches us that to be passionate you have to be at least slightly insane.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

Candela: Men keep taking advantage of me. I always realize it when it's too late. Look how the Arab world treated me. I sure didn't deserve that.

Paulina Morales: You're weak,

Ivan. Iv·n: Yes, sweetheart.

Paulina Morales: Don't agree with me.

Iv·n: But you're right.

Paulina Morales: Sometimes I like to be wrong.

PolicÌa I: What's going on?

Pepa: Nothing. Just discussing the lady's dress.

Candela: [in tears] It's awful!

Carlos: It's only a dress.

Candela: But it's awful!

And of course:

Pepa: I'm sick of being good.

We can all hug Part II

These guys are huge on hugs.



And of course, Israel!

We can all hug Part I

This story is from the Washington Post

A gate-crasher’s change of heart - Gunman bursts into party, tastes cheese and wine, gets hug, then leaves

A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back patio of a Capitol Hill home, sipping red wine. Suddenly, a hooded man slid in through an open gate and put the barrel of a handgun to the head of a 14-year-old guest.
"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he demanded, according to D.C. police and witness accounts.
The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze -- and then one spoke.
"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"
The intruder took a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry and said, "Damn, that's good wine."
The girl's father, Michael Rabdau, 51, who described the harrowing evening in an interview, told the intruder, described as being in his 20s, to take the whole glass. Rowan offered him the bottle. The would-be robber, his hood now down, took another sip and had a bite of Camembert cheese that was on the table.
'Can I get a hug?'Then he tucked the gun into the pocket of his nylon sweatpants.
"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said, looking around the patio of the home in the 1300 block of Constitution Avenue NE.
"I'm sorry," he told the group. "Can I get a hug?"
Rowan, who lives in Falls Church and works part time at her children's school, stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Then it was Rabdau's turn. Then his wife's. The other two guests complied.
"That's really good wine," the man said, taking another sip. He had a final request: "Can we have a group hug?"
The five adults surrounded him, arms out.
With that, the man walked out with a crystal wine glass in hand, filled with Chateau Malescot. No one was hurt, and nothing was stolen.
In the alley behind the home, investigators found the intruder's empty crystal wine glass on the ground, unbroken.

Hanuman Meets Ganesh

Michael is on the road again…



We drove from the Bhubaneswar train station directly to the Hospital. We were planning on spending one day at Puri beach to kind of acclimatize after the 24-hour train trip across India but Govinda told me Sunday was the busiest day at the hospital and we had several visiting doctors there for the day. We arrived after dark and the next morning the patients started to show up early. There were around 60 patients waiting in and around the hospital entrance and due to the visit of a gynecologist, Dr. Tappan, there were many female patients waiting.

There was an operation today at the hospital in Juanga that is worth noting. It was a 40-year-old woman from a village around 15-20 kms. Away! Her mother accompanied her to the hospital. She was suffering from an ovarian tumor. The family was extremely poor and her husband had abandoned the women with two children. The husband was a labor worker and just never came home. She moved back in with her widowed mother in the village of Galadhari. They are landless and get their food by one son who is doing labor work as well. Labor workers gets around 60 rupees a day (1.50 USD) and the rest of the family eat from this. It’s hardly enough to survive. So the mother was hesitant to seek medical attention for the growing tumor for fear of throwing the family into a debt that would ruin all their lives for at least this generation.

The tumor had grown to 4.2 kilos and needed to be removed for her to lead a tolerable life. The operation was a great success and everyone was amazed at the tumor sitting there outside the Operating theatre. But Dr. Tappan said he had seen far, far worse cases in these regions of persons living in poverty leaving them to extremely advanced stages.

After the procedure was over, I entered the office and the discussion of payment between Govinda (the Managing Trustee), Dr. Tappan, and a few other staff. This same procedure would have cost the family around 20,000 rupees (500.00 USD) in any other nursing home or hospital in the nearest cities. But do to the visiting Specialists charge and the rate of medicines we would usually have to charge at least 5,500 rupees (137.00 USD) But due to knowing her condition and after a long heated discussion about villagers having to pay something for the work, we all agreed on charging her 500 rupees (12.50 USD). Most village women, out of pride, wear a sari that was gifted to them at a wedding and tucked away in their mud huts in a plastic bag as a prized possession, only to be worn when they need to enter an official engagement like a government interaction or a hospital visit. This old frail women, dressed in nothing more then a tired thread bare sari, reached for a knot and small lump in the cloth holding all the money they could borrow to visit the hospital. I watched her hands trembling and the anguish on her face as she desperately untied the knot to reveal the waded up bills hidden in her sari. She handed the 500 rupees to the clerk in the office and then sat curled up on the bench in the entrance hall, quietly with a blank stare. I found this very unusual since her daughter was just operated on and Indian villagers can’t bare to be alone or leave others alone, especially at times of crisis. I knew what weighed on her mind was that even the 500 rupees would place an incredible burden on the families future and stability. I went up to my room and took out 300 rupees (7.50 USD) and reached around the corner and tapped her on the knee. She looked up and I handed her the rolled up notes and she gave back both combination of a smile, a look of shock and confusion. I placed my finger over my mouth and gestured for her not to tell anyone. She peered around to see if anyone was looking, then turned back to me and shook her head in agreement with a more confident smile.

I realize why the hospital wanted the patient to pay at least some of the costs. We can’t possibly afford to give everyone free care (presently, we barely raise enough funds for salaries). Also in some cases, villagers need to feel responsible for their care and take their medicines properly and understand what we tell them they need to do to get well. Many times if they pay something they are more apt to do this. But I do feel in the future it would be good to have some funds available for just such cases as this when they arise. As it is, I don’t know how Govinda and the staff deal with and function in such a poverty-stricken region and continue to maintain a stable healthcare for the villagers.

Photos by Hinda W.

My friend Hinda is showing her photography in a new art exhibit in Tel Aviv, here are some of the photos:

Do your work, then step back

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security and your heart will never enclench.
Care about other people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
--Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, ch. 9

Patanjali teaches us in the Yoga Sutra The 8 Limb Yoga, or Ashtanga Yoga. I tend to get stuck at the Yama (first limb) or Asana (third limb) and skip नियम Niyama, the second limb, which is translated at “the observances” or “the Do’s.”
The second Niyama after Shaucha: purity or cleanliness is Santosha: contentment or peacefulness. I find this “do” hard to practice. We live in a world where we are thought to want more and more, and honestly I find this quality attractive. And still, how can we progress with out contentment? The Buddha said: “I teach only one thing- there is suffering and there is an end of suffering.” It is as simple as that. But for us to be happy, to remove suffering to come, we must first be happy with what we have. Our lives are wonderful, they are full with glory!
So for this birthday, I take upon myself to practice contentment; I will fill my bowl only to the point that I need, I will sharpen my knife only so it is sharp, I will not chase money or security and I will not depend on people’s approval. I will do my work, every day, practice, practice, practice and I will step back.

Carpe Diem! Seize the day, lads! Make your lives extraordinary!

A traveler came to the gates of a new city and asked the gatekeeper, “What kind of people live here?” The gatekeeper answered with a question of his own, “What kind of people lived in the city you came from?” The traveler replied, “They were mostly a cantankerous lot, greedy and self-centered.” The gatekeeper answer, “I expect you will find the people here just the same.” Soon after, another traveler met the gatekeeper and asked the same question. Again the gatekeeper asked, “How did you find the residents of the city you visited last?” The traveler answered enthusiastically, “They were warn and hospitable, truly a fine group of people.” The gatekeeper responded, “I expect you to find these folk just the same.”

For many years I was afraid (yes, afraid) of going to the Pines at Fire Island. I expected a nonstop party scene, drugs and alcohol. My friends kept on telling me that “Fire Island is what you make of it.” Last summer and this summer I learned that truth. I have been lucky to spend my days in Fire Island in the company of good friends, honest people, great yogis and remarkable personalities. I get to be close to Mother Earth, eat her offerings made by my company and not some stranger in a restaurant, practice Ashtanga Yoga in the company of great practitioners, discover over and over again how amazing, kind and smart my younger brother Amos is. And also see old loves, or people I might have felt anger to in the past, to them I come with a clean, simple and calm slate.

“Being present does not imply that we erase our past and the impact it has had upon us. Being present invites us to allow the memories and the stories rooted in the past to be just whispers in our minds that we no longer solidify with unwise attention. We free ourselves to turn a whole-hearted attention to this moment.”
--Buddhist Path to Simplicity

“Carpe Diem” Or “Seize the day” is not only “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” is it also Live This Day Like Never Before. See each day as an opportunity to re-experience the world we live in, you might find it more beautiful then you have expected.





































Photos by the wonderful person

Refuses To Go Like A Sheep Part III

AT LAST! Mika Brzezinski also refuses to go like sheep!
When his newscaster sees that the lineup for the news is Paris Hilton AGAIN she tries to burn and eventually shreds the story.
Yes, change starts with one person saying: NO MORE.
Even if you know your actions will have no actual affect, the intention will change the course of things, either psychologically, energetically or karmaically.

Refuses To Go Like A Sheep Part II

We, Like Sheep

Pada Yoga

My teacher Guta quotes her teacher that says “Yoga is for the Mind.” Jamey who is my teacher when I visit home proves that there is more to yoga then just the mind…

Refuses To Go Like A Sheep

Thank-god some sheep just take things into their own hands, or should I say their own hooves.

The first limb of the Eight Limb/Ashtanga Yoga that Patanjali gives us in the Yoga Sutra in “Yama,” the Universal Discipline, or Code of Ethics.
The first Yama is Ahimsa, or Non- Harmfulness. Kind of a no brainier.
Many Yogis therefore are vegetarian. I have been vegetarian since the age of 12, but I can relate to the difficulty of forgoing food that you are custom to eating. I have a problem forging food in general as I have made it a custom to eat, period. In any case, even if you find being vegetarian too hard for you, try and eat organic or kosher meat and dairy produce, there is a better chance that the animals you are consuming have been better treated and the bad karma you are in-taking is smaller (this is not what I was meaning to write about, I have become so serious lately!)

This sheep, ran away from the butcher and roamed the streets of the Bronx, good for her!
This sheep did the same; kind of... Two brave sheep!

Good Morning, Jafa

Since my trip to Israel I have been meaning to write about my younger sister נעה/Noa and her army service. And also how much I love her and how goofy she is. And pretty too! She is often described as fey.
Noa started her service as a program producer in the IDF radio station גל"צ/GLZ. One would expect it to be serious and old fashioned, but mostly because it is driven by young hip 18 year old soldiers it is probably the most poplar radio station in Israel. You can listen to the station and even watch the broadcasting online.
During my last visit home, Noa took me on a tour of the station; it was very “Good Morning, Vietnam.”
Since then, Noa has decided that doing one of the most desired jobs in the army is not good enough; she requested to be transferred to Officer Training. Those ambitious desires are not from my side of the family.
Here are some photos from my parents’ visit to her army base with her boyfriend נדב/Nadav. I am filled with pride as I see them. She has really great taste in men. That is from my side of my family, for sure!

You can call a woman a woman

Buddha said:
"You can call the book a book, and you can think about the book as a book, because it never could have been a book."
I say:
"You can call a woman a woman, and you can think about the woman as a woman, because it never could have been a woman."
Confusing…

I am that I am that I am that I am I am that I am that I am that I am I am that I am I am that....

सोऽहं-Soham is a very powerful mantra, the simple English translation is “I am that” Or “I am that I am”
Because it follows the breath, Sooooo... the sound of inhalation, and Hummmm... the sound of exhalation, it is a natural and universal mantra.

Patanjali teaches us in Yoga Sutra II -3. Avidyasmita-raga-dvesabhinivesah klesah, that the second Kleasah/root affliction/cause of pain is Asmita, the identification of the ego with our soul, or “I am-ness.”

It is important (and therefore confusing) to differentiate between these two concepts, “I am that I am” or “I am that” which is an important and a growing concepts of non-clinginess or dispassion from our ego, verses, Asmita: “I am THIS and that is ALL I AM”

Do I attract you?
Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?
Am I too dirty?
Am I too flirty?
Do I like what you like?...

I could be wholesome
I could be loathsome
I guess I'm a little bit shy
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me without making me try?...

Say what you want to satisfy yourself
But you only want what everybody else says you should want…

Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Walk out the door!

Grace Kelly, Mika

Vertical Community

I went to the MoMa today, something I usually refuse to do because of the outrages price, but my step dad treated me. Anyway I saw this:

SITE (Sculpture in the Environment) and James Wines

I think it is amazing, I am considering talking to my boss about developing a project like this in New York. He won’t agree.

Remind Me

A kid sends his hand to the cookie jar without permission.
1. He gets slapped on his hand
2. He hears a loud NO
Why is it that when getting slapped the kid will remember better never to do it again? It seems as if our bodies remember much better then our minds (not that I am promoting child abuse or anything like that.)

Every time I go back to the practice of Ashtanga Mysore Style I am in awe of how my body remembers what it used to know. The Vinyasa (sequence,) the Asana (poses,) and the feelings of pain and pleasure that flow through your body and mind.

These feelings and emotions will pass, you will be left with the merits of the practice.

Practice Mysore in NYC at The Shala, Yoga Sutra and Ashtanga Yoga New York

Photos from Alan Little’s Weblog

watching through the door

through the bars

backbending

Streetlight people, living just to find emotion...

People say that New York City is a very lonely place.
I have mixed feelings about that statement. When I moved to NY I was very lonely, I found people very intimidating, strong, out of touch, and it made me feel lonely.

That feeling still comes back once in a while, like when I am at a party talking to someone, and someone else walks by (usually more attractive) and the person I was talking to just walks away. That makes me feel lonely.

At a party I attended this weekend there were a lot of very self confident, young and attractive people, I love that! Later on, there was a whole discussion among my friends about how intimidating “they” were. I don't love that! If you choose to see a group of individuals, which happen to be at the same place at the same time, as a UNIT, that is what you will get back from the universe, they will always see you a part of a group or classification.

Discrimination and being prejudiced are a result of this unattractive tendency. I know that might sound extreme but I really believe that you must maintain a sense of self, and also a sense of other’s self. If one thinks that by saying that someone belongs to a “group of really hot people” he is giving him respect, I disagree. Individuals deserve to be respected for what and who they are. If you don’t know who they are, let them be. You will get the same treatment from the universe when time comes.

Drg-darsana-saktyor ekatmatevasmita- Yoga Sutra II 6
The Yoga Sutra states that one of the Rout Affliction-Pain-Klesha is Asmita, or “I Am’nes” Identifying with your qualities, internal or external as what you ARE. If you look at people that way, how can you teach your own mind not to look at yourself in that way.

Only once you start detaching from that feeling of ego, and practicing “I Am That” or “I Am That I Am” you can feel in good company again. It is hard work, but who wants to be idle.

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

Some-Things You Can Do I Can’t Do At All

Dont try this at home

Shavasana

My friends question was quit shocking to me; she wanted to know how to practice detachment from the death of her mother who died when she was 16 years old.
My immediate reaction was “What are you trying to detach from?”
Our teacher told us a story that remained me of this one:

There is a story told of a Zen master who is weeping after the death of his child. His disciple finds him weeping and says ,"But master, you have told us it’s all illusion."
“Yes," replies the master “And the death of one’s child is the most painful illusion of all."

I spoke with my friend after the class has ended. We spoke of ways of practicing detachment from the deep and evolved feeling and concept of death.

One of our teacher’s suggestions for practicing meditation was to start with a gross objects (he suggested a bottle of FIJI Water) and not subtle ones that are more of a concept like Love or Compassion. In the same mater I suggested practicing detachment on less conceptual subjects of death like Lost and Body.

Practice detachment from object that you feel very attached to, practice giving them up, leaving them behind, that is a first step to practice of detachment of loss.

Death of our body is related to the feelings of ownership that we have to our bodies, practicing detachment from that, from the vanity that we feel to our bodies, and our reactions to the immediate sensation of our bodies is the first step to the practice of detachment from our bodies.
The practice of Yoga (I use this here as the physical practice) is a great place to examine that feeling. As you move on and off your matt during your practice you will feel joy and pain. These feelings will pass, and you will be left with the results of your practice. The practice end with Shavasana or Corpse Pose, where we fully detach from our bodies.
Our bodies and mind learn that the sensation pass, and we are left with are benefits (which you should dedicate to the universe, but we can talk about that another time.)

So when you are practicing detachment, or anything else from a very subtle concept, that you find too large in magnitude to deal with, you may find these ideas helpful:
One, Choose a “grosser” subject to work on (instead of loss of life choose loss of objects); Two, choose a related subject for your intention (instead of loss of body in death choose sensation of the body.)

“Your practice will not free you from pain, which is part of human experience, but will free you from the suffering that grows out of grasping and clinging, out of wanting things to be different than they are. Your practice will give you the balance of wisdom and compassion, wisdom to see just how things are and compassion to keep your heart open with things as they are. I pause.”