the home stretch

From your first day at school you are cut off from life to make theories.
-Taisen Deshimaru

twenty days left this year
sun is setting on the third grade
my heart is filled with nostalgia
my mind with annoyance
thinking (just SHUT UP!!)
and then sweetness returns.

I will cry on the last day
I will write an epilogue on the plane to Boston
and read Anna Karenina all the way to India
I will spend 24 hours
straight
up in the air.

stop making up theories
teaching theories
writing about theories.
opting instead for
the bountiful yellow wildflowers
under a big, grey blue Texas sky.

nothing's better than
raspberry shaved ice
practical world travel
and creative completion.

perrito perdido

My parents found a lost Chihuahua last weekend and have not been able to find its owner. If you are interested in adopting her, please call 512-388-2159.

science vs. religion

Last night, I saw Expelled. I entered the theater not knowing what the movie was about nor how controversial it has become in the science community. It featured Ben Stein (of Ferris Bueller fame) traveling around the US and Europe investigating why several prominent American scientists lost their prestigious university professorships for mentioning the term "intelligent design" (ID) in classes or writings. The film concludes that they were promptly ejected from academia by "big science," the powerful Darwinian evolutionists who [erroneously] consider ID to be the same as creationism.

My favorite athiest, smarmy Brit Richard Dawkins, had a prominent role in the film. Apparently, his cooperation and interviews only occurred because he was never told what it was all about. He wrote a blog called 'Lying for Jesus?' in which he bashes the film rather humorously: "The whole tone of the film is whiny, paranoid -- pathetic really. The narrator is somebody called Ben Stein. I had not heard of him, but apparently he is well known to Americans, for it is hard to see why else he would have been chosen to front the film. He certainly can't have been chosen for his knowledge of science, nor his powers of logical reasoning, nor his box office appeal (heavens, no), and his speaking voice is an irritating, nasal drawl, innocent of charm and of consonants."

Apparently, Dawkins and another of the scientists interviewed for the film, PZ Meyers, went to a screening in Minneapolis and PZ was, ironically, expelled from the movie theater. Somehow, the security didn't notice Richard Dawkins, who was able to enter the theater and watch the movie in its entirety.

Though it exacerbated my headache, I enjoyed the film. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it was thought-provoking and mildly entertaining. I had been of the opinion that intelligent design was a fancy new term for creationism, but I came away thinking perhaps there is a noteworthy distinction. Creationism is the idea that the Judeo-Christian God created the cosmos in six Earth days, and everything else from the Book of Genesis is literally true. Intelligent design is much more vague: a higher intelligence had a hand in creating everything in our world. The film debunked Darwinism, not to say that natural selection is invalid, but that it may be an incomplete theory. After all, Darwin published in the mid-1800s, and there have been a couple scientific advancements since then.

There were two parts I had trouble with: (1) Stein's visit to a former concentration camp in Germany in which he makes a large leap between Darwinism and Nazism, and (2) the use of a snippet of John Lennon's Imagine whose lyrics, "nothing to kill or die for/and no religion too," conveyed, in the context used, that 'no religion' automatically equals communism.

Still, I think it's worth a watch, because it gets people thinking and talking about science and religion. Are they at war? Are they mutually exclusive? Can they somehow be merged? Most importantly, how did life begin? Even though this is an answerless question and always will be, it's crucial because it forces us all to ponder life's meaning -- and to remember the importance of loving and accepting others, no matter their views and beliefs.

flexing the spine and dropping the ego

The above video features five minutes of spinal flexing, both seated and on the hands and knees. Spinal flexion is great for preventing and alleviating pain and tension from the lower, middle and upper back.

I must admit: up to now, I have neglected to post any videos that feature my midsection. No, I am not pregnant. Just overweight, and I carry it in my abdominal region. I have been "waiting" until I lost weight and was less self-conscious about my body. But, in meditating, practicing yoga (on and off the mat) and reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, I have become more aware of the habits and patterns of my ego. My ego is saying, "You're too fat, you're supposed to be this healthy, yoga teacher person, do not put your big belly on the internet for all to see." So, although I am not thrilled about the way I look in the above video, I am posting it anyway, because spinal flexes are a powerful exercise and an integral movement in hatha yoga. Take that, ego!

odds + ends

"God is inscrutable, mysterious and unknowable. We do not understand what life is about, what it means, why were are here and what will happen to us after our brief sojourn on the planet ends. We are saved, in the end, by faith – faith that life is not meaningless and random. … Small acts of compassion … have a power that lives after us." -Chris Hedges, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

This is a great article on the state of our country and culture by Peggy Noonan. Although I personally disagree with her point about Barack Obama needing to prove his love for America, I can see how people of older generations might need to see more proof of his patriotism.

the energy of amala

Last night, I attended the Sivananda hatha yoga class led by my dear friend (and first yoga teacher!), Lila Lolling. She is about to embark on a yearlong journey to upstate New York, Val Morin, Canada, and finally India -- all in the name of deepening her practice as well as doing research on ancient yogic signs. Her calling, which I have seen so beautifully blossom over the past 7 years, is to offer yoga and meditation teachings to the deaf community. She does this through her non-profit, the Deaf Yoga Foundation. I am so thrilled for and inspired by her!

Her deaf yoga classes (which are signed and spoken) have been held at the Amala Foundation, which I visited for the first time last night. It's tucked away on South 8th Street, just across Lamar from the Alamo Drafthouse, yet you walk onto the grounds and feel worlds away. I instantly felt the peaceful, quiet energy of the place as I walked around. There is a huge oak tree right in the middle of the front yard which provides shade and beauty. It was 7 o'clock, cool and relaxing. Large wind chimes rang as the gentle breeze blew. I met a woman who works there and she told me I was welcome to come anytime, even if there's no class or event. The yoga room/sanctuary is always open and it's considered a community space. I plan to spend more time there. Check it out!

give your wrist a twist

backyard bliss

As with everything, it's a work in progress, but here is my beautiful backyard/Zen garden/happy place:



I acknowledge my truly amazing roommate, Leanne, for her vision and hard work in getting this reluctant gardener moving and spurring along the above project(s). In other news, I have booked my summer trips to Boston and India! I will be gone from mid-June through early August. I feel so thrilled and honored to have the means to travel to my heart's content. What a sweet reward for the challenges of teaching. Namaste, y'all.