by Tao Oliveto and Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC

(For part one of this post, go here.)

SG: “Yoga can cure all problems, except those caused by yoga” - I’m not quite sure I get this. So you’re saying that if yoga, or other forms of spiritual exploration, lead to an overly introverted outlook (inlook?), then the solution would lie outside of yoga - i.e. political action, protest, direct boots-on-the-ground environmental work?

In a sense, I do get the need for balance - if you concentrate only on the political, or technological, or any other (for want of a better word) ‘practical’ aspect of positive change, there is a danger you build abn entirely new set of problems. Equally, if you stay focussed only on the personal, the spiritual and the emotional, there is a real danger of fooling yourself into thinking you’re making a difference. Whenever I hear that personal change is where it’s at, or ‘all you need is love’, or any other such sentiments, I’m reminded of a quote from George Monbiot’s book Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning:

“…a Buddhist once told me when I questioned his purchase of unethical products. ‘It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it with love.’ I am sure he knew as well as I did that our state of mind makes no difference either to the exploitation of workers or to the composition of the atmosphere. Thinking like ethical people, dressing like ethical people, decorating our homes like ethical people, decorating our homes like ethical people makes not a damn of difference unless we also behave like ethical people.”

So, I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating. If attending Burning Man, or following any other exploration of ones beliefs, emotions and spirituality leads to a greater awareness AND a greater ability or willingness to act, then I’m all for it. If it leads to a desire to buy more incense and fly to Goa more often, then I guess I’ll give it a miss. My jury is out (and they’re probably chanting ‘Omm Shiva’ in the backyard…)

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TAO: Actually, what that quote reveals is the fact that anything can be used to an extreme and become something else entirely - religion, diet, work, even what we think of as love. A yogi who practices with too much ego, ambition or even aggressiveness, will possibly will probably have those things show up in life. Yet, a spirit-seeking practice which is half-heartedly - without commitment, could show up as apathy or weakness in other ways.

I do not believe that “love” is enough unless we have the corresponding awareness and balance that allows “Right Action”. I may decide to fill up a wading pool for my kids (or in my case, dogs) every other day in hot weather - because I love them - despite the drought conditions. Out of love, I may buy gifts for people, without considering social and environmental responsibility.

There is no one or right way to find this truth - we will all follow our own path if we look for it. Perhaps all you need is be willing to ask the questions first and be willing to do the work that appears. As Kahlil Gibran says in The Prophet,

Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.” Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.” For the soul walks on all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

by Tao Oliveto, Raleigh, NC

Saturday, September 1, began an 11-day process in my area of “generating peace by being peace” through an all faiths group prayer and meditation. This event, happening both virtually and otherwise, is sponsored by One%, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to bring peace to our community and ultimately to the world”.

In June of 2005, Yoga International published an article by Dr. John Davies describing the positive impact of consistent, deep meditation by One % of a community. The Article That Started It All. Rev. Neusom Holmes urged his congregation at Unity Church of the Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina to participate and they have continued their commitment since then.

Locations are available up to 3 times/day for those who desire to share space as well as intention over the next 10 days, but shared personal efforts is all that is necessary to produce an opportunity for impact.

It’s hard not to accept the premise that any form of meditation can have far-reaching benefits for practitioners, including physical, mental and emotional health. The researched theory that our efforts can also reach out into the world is especially confirming and motivating.

Like many yoga practitioners, I consider my 75-minute daily practice a form of meditation. Walking can also be meditative - I notice similar effects from my mornings spent in the woods. I intend to challenge myself to include a longer period of seated meditation in accordance with this effort and join a part of the 24- hour meditation vigil being held in Downtown Raleigh next Saturday. Nothing to lose, much to gain.

by Sami Grover and Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

SG: Hei Tao, I’ve been ruminating on our respective Burning Man posts, and I keep coming back to one thing. In your post you state “that change within (and therefore without) depends on our ability to go beyond our earthly day-to-day responsibilities and find ways to come together and take a deeper look within.”

Now, while I applaud the sentiment, I wonder if there is not a flip-side to this. I know a lot of people who spend a great deal of time ‘looking within’, and while many of them are truly lovely folks, they don’t always act that way - especially when it comes to sustainability. Many “enlightened” Buddhists live in big houses and drive large cars. Lot’s of compassionate-minded hippies fly off to India on a whim to find themselves. I just think there is a danger when personal growth and transformation becomes a distraction from, not a tool for, the real and urgent change we need - i.e. a MASSIVE cut in carbon emissions asap. Ultimately, these changes are likely to be achieved through political action, not meditation and good intentions.

To this end, I applaud all the good stuff Burning Man is doing, in terms of reducing its footprint and raising awareness, but I still question the importance it is given as a true agent for change. I also think it smacks of a wider trend in the green movement, including in myself, to focus on the self (yes, even when that focus is about recognizing the interconnectedness of the self to, errm, all the other selfs) , rather than on the concrete, societal changes that we need to bring about. I’m sure it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation, but I would hope that Burning Man talks as much about writing to your senator as it does about personal responsibility and hooping yourself to a higher level of consciousness.

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TAO: You make many good points about the highs and lows of the spiritual quest, Sami. In my yogic work, I’ve come to understand that no matter what growth tools we choose, it is the ability to find balance - in Buddhist terms, to walk the “middle path” - that allows us to realize and manifest truth and purpose inside and outside the self. Fittingly, the middle place is the most difficult to manifest in everything we do - eating, sleeping, working, exercising, celebrating, even meditating or doing yoga. An interesting truth, if you ask me and most of us can relate to this example: It is easier to eat a lot or not at all, while, without some conscious effort, eating a balanced amount becomes difficult.

While spiritual seekers (that includes all of us, whether we are conscious of it or not) use different methods for growth, all of them can become excessive or deficient, rendering them useless or even harmful. This makes me think of a quote attributed to Ashtanga Yoga luminary, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, “Yoga will cure everything except problems caused by yoga.”

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to be continued…

By Tao Oliveto

At each Summer’s end, when Burning Man energy begins to build towards this momentous event, I find myself drawn to the experience, yet wrestling with some lingering questions…
As a long-time student of yoga, I’m not a stranger to the possibility and power of the transformational process and I wholeheartedly support this tribal gathering and ritual. Having been subjected to the twists and turns of the spiritual path, I understand that change within (and therefore without) depends on our ability to go beyond our earthly day-to-day responsibilities and find ways to come together and take a deeper look within.

There’s no denying that the survival (and celebration) of 40,000 people for 6 days in the desert has its environmental impact, but a thorough perusal of the BM web site shows that “leave no trace” is taken sincerely and seriously. As portrayed, most “Burners” pack out what they take in, including trash, compost and ashes. Even used water (forbidden to be dumped) is collected in evaporation pools. Water bottled in plastic is discouraged - most people bring large stainless steel tanks. Although generators are allowed, more are now powered with biodiesel and many use solar powered lighting. Designated “green camps” are growing in number, for those who want to pool together their renewable resources and make a stronger environmental statement.

There’s still the problem of finding your way (from all over the country and possibly the world) to Black Rock City. Booking an airline flight, then renting a car or RV is the modus operandi. Tent campers arrive with carports (or have them sent ahead) for more shaded personal space. This is a consumption issue at best and a pollution issue at worst.

Offsets to the rescue. Burning Man uses, encourages and advocates retail Offsets for all energy use and carbon emissions. And, though not entirely clean, burning the Big Guy is a worthy and life-changing spectacle in my opinion. Fire is more than a metaphor. It is primally linked to all cultures and to our very existence. Destruction before creation, death before rebirth, the mythical Phoenix rises from the ashes transformed. Burn on, Burning Man. My spirit goes with you.

Each day, before I begin my yoga practice, I chant this ancient Ashtanga Invocation in Sanskrit:

vande gurunam charanaravinde

sandarasita svatmasukahava bodhe

nihsreyase jangalikeayamane

smasara halahala mohasantyai

abahu purusakaram

sankhacakrasi dharinam

sahasra sirasam svetam

pranamame patanjalim

om

But in my early Ashtanga years, I resisted this part of the practice ritual. I had all sorts of reasons - the language was difficult to pronounce and memorizing it seemed impossible. The words felt meaningless. I looked up the English translation which, at the time, was equally confusing. In class, I would just hum along at times and in my own practice, I would pass over it entirely. I’d learned the joy of the sound of “Om” early on, but it took nearly a couple years of regular practice before this chant began to speak to me - quietly. And, suddenly I felt equally drawn to the mystery of it.

It took a few weeks to memorize it. I would write down one line at a time, work out the syllables and then repeat it over and over in rhythm while I hiked in the woods each morning. Just one line. Over and over. By the end of the walk, I had found a melody for it. After I had gone through all of the lines, I started putting it together - adding one at a time. In about a month, I had it down and would sing it straight through while walking. Over and over. It felt good.

It was probably during this time that the meaning of it became more clear to me, though I couldn’t yet articulate it. One day, I understood - and the words that describe it are below - my own words, my own meaning. It may hold something different for someone else, but I’ve come to understand that it works that way. Tradition and myth allows us to be a part of something bigger - a mythical story - but we’re also able to assign it a personal meaning. Ritual of any kind can serve as a tool to tap into the insights that are lost to day to day distractions. It’s a reminder to be still, to come home to the self. As Joseph Campbell said, “Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life” - what we’re capable of knowing and experiencing within.

Traditional Translation of Invocation: I bow to the lotus feet of the guru who awakens insight into the happiness of pure Being, who is the final refuge, the jungle physician, who eliminates the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of conditioned existence.

I bow before the sage Patanjali who has thousands of radiant, white heads in his form as the divine serpent, and who has, as far as his arms, assumed the form of a man holding a conch shell and a discus of light and a sword, representing infinite time and discrimination. om.

What it means [to me]:

I surrender my emotions to the quiet and all-knowing part inside me, to awaken my insight and wisdom of what is true, and there I can find refuge - a quieter space - to heal myself and therefore healing outside myself. In this way, I am freed from the veil of delusion caused by my conditioning and my fears.

I bow to the earth as the wise sage and to all creatures, who symbolize the divine nature of man and animal. I hold the conch shell and listen to the wisdom of the Universe. I hold the sword of strength, courage and truth. We are One.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Upon returning to yoga class after the first few weeks, my new students often would come to me with a despondent look, saying, “I don’t know if yoga is for me - it’s very difficult.” My response always began in the same way: “If yoga was not difficult for you, you would not need to be here. The struggle is what makes it meaningful.”

Viktor Frankl said,

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”

Viktor Frankl, M.D., Ph.D., was a neurologist, psychiatrist, author and Holocaust survivor. One of his over 32 post-war books, “Man’s Search for Meaning” (1946), describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all circumstances and situations.

Viktor Frankl once recommended that the Statue of Liberty be complemented by a “Statue of Responsibility”. There are plans for construction of such a statue on the West Coast of the U.S. by 2010.

Back to Work. See you there.

I took my first Tae Kwon Do class the other day. I’ve done lots of sports and enjoy the edges I find within them, so, after 13 years of practicing yoga, I was curious about this similar martial art. The metaphor of doing battle interested me since I often feel like I’m personally at war - with my own efforts to change things and the need to accept and detach from those same efforts. I sometimes feel ready to “fight” and am not always sure how that fits into my life and my purpose.

So, here I am in this gym, running around on a mat, doing push ups and sit-ups and yelling “yes sir!” - ninth-grade gym class meets Boot Camp! Once we were sweating, we started doing side kicks, 40 at a time - hard - into mats held by my classmates, complete with a warrior cry and intermittent bowing. I admit, it felt good, though by the time I was done, seemed less like a spiritual, life-changing practice than “Tae Kwon Do It”.

I was grateful to return to my yoga mat the next day, though I have to say that I brought a renewed sense of vigor with me. Ashtanga provides a balance of hard and soft, ease and effort. It made me wonder, can we be peaceful warriors in this fight to save the planet? Can we tap into the strength and determination we need to “push the iceberg” without losing our compassion and peace? Yoga tells me yes, though I worry about our culture’s willingness to dig deep into what it takes to change.

Ron Kauk, a climber in El Portal, CA spoke to me through a quote I read in Late Summer Patagonia catalog, “How are we supposed to evolve when we’re so caught up in material things? Society is so anxious. We want so much and we want it all, now. Man…you need to work at it, you need to put in the time in order to be rewarded.”

Can we survive disillusionment and bridge the gap between knowing and doing? I believe it’s all in the flow - that balance of ease and effort, work and surrender and our willingness to rediscover both inspiration and purpose. Perhaps it takes sweat, focus and making some noise. But within that, we can find our peace.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Early into my yoga years, I felt and realized the practical and metaphorical connection between the yogic path and earth stewardship. Yoga is about flow, connection of the mind, body and spirit, and oneness of the Universal energy - much like the cycles of nature and its ecosystems. As it’s said in Japanese, ““Shi Do Fu Ji” - The Soil and Body are One.

When I opened my neighborhood studio in 2000, it became a place to explore these ideas and put them into practice. I introduced one of the the first green yoga mats, as well as the idea of yoga as activism. My seemingly new and revolutionary teaching of yoga as a “green state” was warmly, albeit tentatively, received by my trusting students. Framed on the studio wall, was a letter written by Shannon Gannon, of Jivamukti Yoga Center in NYC, published in Ascent magazine in March, 2004. Here’s an excerpt:

…”Most crucial to the future of yoga in North America is the courage of its practitioners to embrace the spiritual and ethical practices of yoga. It takes a lot of courage to go against the grain. The most profound act a person can do these days is to have the courage to care about the suffering of others. In our times, I believe that the atrocities committed against animals in the name of human progress is an important issue facing us all. Many other issues are related to it, including water pollution, air pollution, soil erosion and pollution, all forms of violence including war…Traditionally, the yogi has been that member of society who devoted himself or herself to the pursuit of enlightenment through finding means to live harmoniously with the Earth and all her creatures. Now that is a very radical concept for anyone these days to embrace. “Live simply so that others may simply live.”

Shortly afterwards, the green yoga movement became official when Laura Cornell founded the Green Yoga Association in CA, with a mission “dedicated to fostering ecological consciousness, reverence and action in the Yoga community”. Studios are now signing on to the Green Yoga Association Green Studios Program, installing bamboo flooring and solar energy, using soy and beeswax candles and and educating students about eco-friendly habits.

The yoga = sustainability idea has grown by leaps and bounds since then, with the introduction of pvc-free mats, cork blocks, and other supplies made from sustainable materials. Many yoga clothing lines, like Blue Canoe Bodywear, are also now offering organic cotton, bamboo and hemp yoga wear alternatives.

Keeping in mind that yoga was once done on the ground, at sunrise outside of a temperature controlled studio with skylights, I’ve taken to practicing outdoors much of the year. I love to really feel the weather - the humidity, the breeze and the mist of early morning, and hear the animal sounds. I’ve learned even to welcome the buzz of insects and occasional mosquito bites.