“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Love cannot remain by itself - It has no meaning. Love has to put into action, and that action is service.”
—Mother Theresa
As we come into the presence of this lunar full moon eclipse, we are being asked to look within more than ever as we move forward. The questions that arise now are daunting and frustrating. Haven’t I been here before?
I was living and experiencing the ‘92 LA riots after the acquittal of the LAPD officers for the violent beating Rodney King—the raging fires, the looting and the killings. I was teaching yoga, putting my self through graduate school, going through a divorce, and house sitting as I tried to manage life as best I could in the hectic circumstances being presented.
I was fortunate enough to be able to escape my apartment as I lived three blocks from the epicenter of the start of the uprising. The massive smoke from the fires being set surrounded my apartment and I couldn’t breathe. On those frightening days of unrest, the presence of the National Guard was right down the street.
Those memories came flooding back this past week. Back then there were no peaceful marches nor understanding of the deeper pain; the country remained separated and just confused. I retreated and escaped to the affluent Hollywood Hills, blessed to have friends in “high Places” because I could.
I am a white woman educated, and yes, born into my identity. Like most of us living in a white world, I was able to look down into the streets below with the ache of deep sadness. Everywhere, I saw how devastating the looters were as they rampaged through Hollywood taking everything they could carry and more.
I was equally as horrified by the hoarding I witnessed in the supermarkets. Cart after cart of indulgence linked from a fearful mind to take whatever was on the shelves. As the customers screamed how terrible “those looters” from their protective mountain mansions, the credit card was racking up whatever debt needed to be used.
There was blame and thoughts of putting up more barriers as "those people might come to take your possessions too." How sad that fear brings such anger and judgement and denial. I watched "looting" on both sides. Maybe we assume it is better to create debt than to actually “steal”.
I was shocked then and soon realized that some of us can’t afford to get into debt! I observed and reflected on how the pain of “lack” escalates into anger. Revenge is fed when we feel cut off from any source of nourishment and the pain of being pushed so far down.
The cruel superiority of judgement is a weight we all carry. I am constantly aware of my thoughts as I struggle with putting myself in someones else’s shoes, practicing to let go any judgement for what I don’t understand. I am not condoning the actions of looting in anyway, I just want to hold the opportunity to see from all perspectives.
I have been deeply absorbed in the yoga study of the yamas:
Ahimsa—the consideration towards all living beings and to act without harm.
Staya—to use words, gesture and actions with truthful intentions.
Steya—to not covet and resist the desire for that which does not belong to us.
Brahmacarya— moderation in all our action.
Aparigraha—to resist the urge to hoard with an ability to accept only what is needed.
How these brilliant teachings are to ask of me to practice letting go of my fears and be open to holding an attitude of compassion!
I recall months after the riots, I could walk freely in Beverly Hills and travel without the burden of being seen as “not belonging”. I remember my sweet friend from Ghana was questioned about her presence in the neighborhood. I left her outside the house I was staying in to go use the bathroom. I was gone only minutes; and yet returning outside, I saw she was surrounded by two police officers questionng her presence there. I felt for the first time how painful it must be to walk around as “other” and be so judged by just being there. Does the world ever see past the outer shell into the eyes of a human soul longing to belong?
I am still shocked, and still grieving, that we are now witnessing these historic cries to pay attention. We are all looters to mother earth, and to the system of greed, and to the need to get more. We teach it is not enough to just be a loving kind soul. If you are poor, if your skin is dark, and if you are homeless, well then, you are in the wrong. That pain is a cry for please, "pay attention to my soul.”
We are being presented with deeper questions, and and we must focus on finding solutions. Since moving to the western suburbs, it has been a daily challenge to engage is these powerful conversations without having a diversity in my yoga population. I hope we can move into this time with tools for keeping our consciousness alive to how we can serve—and not add to the problem by avoiding those courageous conversations that take listening, and willingness to go into our murky places. We must be the voice of the heart and refuse to collude in the fear. We will move collectively into a future with better tools, that which is NOT possible becomes POSSIBLE with yoga!!
I am hopeful that as we move forward we can drop the armor of defense and move into acts of kindness. I must speak out forgiving myself for contributing to the problem; and with support of our community, move into solutions for a better future for all.
I’m so grateful that our new platform of classes has begun. Our community is needed more now than ever. We need a steady balanced mind and the willingness to engage in tapas of effort; keeping the flame alive and vibrant so we can cultivate the expansion of the loving heart.
Please take a deep breath and send out the exhale from your true self. May we all be grateful for this day.
With love,
Laura Jane
