Wednesday, June 26, 2002


all yoga all week?

i was going to start the calvel bread recipe today, but looking at the weather forecast for this weekend, it's going to be about 98 degrees on the day i would be baking it. so we're going to have to let that project lapse a bit. please be patient until i can find a rainy weekend.

however, i do have a great thing happening this saturday. it's a workshop with mark whitwell, a world-renowned yoga teacher. his style of yoga is a little different than the one i normally do. but i have received only the highest recommendations about this teaching. so look for that on saturday night. . .

you know i began this blog thinking it would be mostly about bread and chocolate, but actually it's now mostly about coffee and yoga. strange. i began doing yoga 3 times a week to counteract the back problems endemic to all us computer people who sit and type and type and type.

now i have a serious yoga practice, 6 days a week. my yoga routine is like my favorite pair of blue jeans. it's not an activity, it's not an exercise, it's really become a helpful outlook on life. it just helps me be more comfortable and makes me feel more like me, even as it constantly challenges my assumptions.

i hope to be able to speak to mark whitwell about this. i'll report all the details to you. . .

oh, and by the way: a short political commentary. the 9th circuit court today ruled that the words "under god" in the pledge of allegiance are unconstitutional. since i grew up in kansas -- that place most recently noted for banning the concept of evolution in the schools -- i naturally have a certain feeling about this.

of course, the ruling will not stand on further appeal; after all the constitution itself mentions god several times. while the administration and the senate have already expressed their intention to make sure "under god" stays. but in what form?

'leading schoolchildren in a pledge that says the united states is "one nation under god" is as objectionable as making them say "we are a nation 'under jesus,' a nation 'under vishnu,' a nation 'under zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion,' the judge wrote. oh, i disagree. . .

i propose just that: we should revise the pledge, while keeping the concerns of the godly in mind. if it's unfair to make some people say "under god," as that is not neutral, then we should simply rotate the deity/not-deity named. mondays would be "under shiva;" tuesdays "under avalokita;" wednesdays -- "under . . .," why, pick the dogon spirit of your choice!; thursdays could be whatever rational value the secular humanists prefer; and friday could be for the organized atheists, who might choose "under the great horned aleatory."

i would love to hear certain famed evangelists say "under nommo," frankly. but as long as everyone has a chance to name the divine being or not of their choice in turn, why isn't that "neutral?" no one is being favored in this system. . .

those evangelical christians, who wish to expose everyone to the benefits of religion, could still have their wish. we could also teach children about other cultures, other religions and about that crucial insight: how it's actually great that people hold wildly different points of view. more power to you, nommo and st. jude both!

we can dream can't we?

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