Each and every being is attracted toward a more subtle vibration. This brings feelings of joy, peace and contentment. This is a universal attraction for all – to find a more refined flow in life.
While no doubt we can get caught up in more crude endeavors and general busyness, it is when we return to and seek out the subtle that we feel better.
This applies to animals as well. They also want to find joy and peace in this world.
Of the 5 sense experiences – shabda (sound) – is the most subtle. That is why at the highest state of realization, the aspirant will only hear the eternal sound: Omn.
Here below is a sweet reminder how all have an appreciation for the more subtle expressions of life…
This is our second video series of baby groundhog footage. Check what these two are up to…
Once again, I drove up the driveway after returning from yoga class and sure enough I saw one of the baby woodchucks (i.e. groundhogs) poke his head from underneath the blue tarp on the woodpile – they love playing on top of and within the woodpile! I filmed that scene through my front windshield from my driver’s seat. The above video picks up from where the aforementioned video left off, i.e. now he is already on top of the woodpile and soon to be joined by one of his mates.
Do enjoy the images of our two fury friends. And perhaps soon I will post the prior video of this sequence: i.e. his journey from underneath the tarp to the top of the woodpile.
This is all part of our ongoing groundhog saga as mother groundhog delivered 4 babies in early spring.
It has been on my mind to start filming our resident groundhogs this spring when I noticed that mama gave birth to a multitude of young’uns – 4 to be exact. On this particular occasion, I returned from class and was about to get out of my car only to see this young fellow (who is no longer quite so small) perched up on our woodpile directly in front of me. Fortunately I had my camera with me in the car and I just filmed him through the front windshield. After some time I opened my car door in an attempt to go closer – but he scurried away fast.
Since this first occasion, I was able to get quite a bit more footage of them from my back porch – an aerial view. I even got the whole family out breakfasting in our food scraps pile and sunning on the lower porch. Suffice to say there is more to come.
Friendship is one of the great treasures of life. Certainly this is something we have all experienced. With friends we share our innermost thoughts, smile, console, and rejoice. And so much more…
How dreary would life be without friends?
In Sanskrit there are many terms for the word friend – one of which is sa’thii. The root word sa’the means “with” and the suffix ii means “the one who”. The literal meaning is “the one who is always with you” – whether in good times or bad. Such a person is your friend. Hence the Sanskrit word sa’thii.
Friendships are invaluable and sometimes come in unusual ways, shapes and forms. We have all developed friendships in ways we least expected.
Such has got to be the case with Roscoe the orangutan and this rescue dog.
One lives on land and has a furry coat; the other lives at sea and has a smooth skin. One has been domesticated, the other is wild. One hates to have water splashed on him, and the other splashes day-long joyfully in the water. They could not be more opposite & dissimilar. Yet they are friends and they reach out towards each other with love and affection.
Certainly as humans we can learn something from this…
OK – the gig’s up! No more complaining or excuses about crow pose. If these two giants can manage crow pose, then you can too! This is now mandatory in every class – complainers and nay sayers will be escorted out of the hall.
More seriously, many of the our yoga poses are of course named after animals as the yogis scanned the natural world and emulated those postures they thought would be helpful for human beings: cobras, cats, cows, and so much more.
What is interesting about these pictures (click on above link) is that they depict one animal doing the pose of another animal!!
Well, to continue with our interesting week – it kinda goes like this.
Wendy Rieger, the news anchor of NBC (Washington DC), was due to come to our 6p class this past Wednesday to get some video for a story she is doing on Renaissance Yoga. Well, true to form she came – right on time too!
And also true to form – the universe had something else brewing. While all 21 class participants began to arrive and get set up, one of them heard a crying sound from underneath the hall – it was a tiny kitty. The fire dept (next door) was notified and they wanted permission to remove a metal grate to get access to the kitty. We called the powers that be in Galesville and permission was granted. Next thing – kitty was out – and she was the size of 1/2 stick of butter.
I was inside getting things ready for the class and deliberations were underway on the front porch for how to handle the kitty. As class was about to start, a student informed me that Wendy thought it best to bring the kitty to her vet down the road. I was told she would be back in 5 min. (Note: This photo is not “our” kitty, but it is very, very similar looking!)
Alright…let’s get class started. All were primed for the video shoot but no worries we can adjust. 6:20p still no sign of Wendy and the kitty – 6:30p and still not back. By this point we were all wondering – or at least I was wondering…we were moving through one sequence after another and there was not a camera in sight.
At 6:40p Wendy gently tiptoed back in and shot video for 15 min or so. A few more minutes and class was over. The convention was again underway about kitty.
Turns out she was only 2 1/2 weeks old (they really can’t be separated from mother until 6 weeks) and the kitty would need to be hand fed. Fortunately Wendy had secured all that was needed from the vet in terms of a milk formula. And our cat-loving student, Krista, took the cat home – wondering how she was going to feed the cat every 2hrs with a full time job!
The kitty was so small that she could easily curl up in the palm of your hand – she was tiny! And all she wanted was to be warm and have a cozy place to sleep.
Krista nursed the cat that night and in the morning called to inform me that she needed help in placing kitty in a home or shelter. After all, keeping such a young kitty would be a round-the-clock commitment.
We both called around – no luck. Then Krista phoned me – I had just gotten out of my 9am Thurs class – and told me she found a senior in Annapolis who was ready and able to take kitty.
To make a longer story short – kitty was blessed with a wonderful home, complete with a kitty infirmary etc. So she will be well cared for.
And, and, and earlier Wendy had called me and left a message saying she got all the footage she needed plus she had many directions about caring for kitty. As you may know Wendy is very active in causes for animal welfare and true to form she shined brightly in this situation as well.
So that’s the story of our video shoot with NBC and kitty’s rescue.
I will keep you updated both about our kitty as well as when the story on Renaissance Yoga will air!!
So that was my interesting week – part 1 & 2 – and it was only WEDNESDAY.
No, that is not a striped horse that mom is feeding – that is a zebra.
Some of you may be thinking that mom took a jaunt to Africa. Not exactly…
Get this – that zebra is living in the Green Mountain State, i.e. Vermont!! And mom is up there this weekend visiting family & friends – and yes zebras too!
ZEBRA FACTS:
- Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual.
- It was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes, however, the animal’s background color is dark and the white stripes are additions.
- When chased, a zebra will zig-zag from side to side, making it more difficult for the predator.
- Zebras have excellent eyesight. It is believed that they can see in color. Like most ungulates, the zebra has its eyes on the sides of its head, giving it a wide field of view. Zebras also have night vision.
Here elephants use their brawn and brains – and most importantly their feeling of collective welfare – to rescue their little toddler.
There is a great lesson in this for our present humanity. As strong and as smart as we may be, that strength & smartness should always be used for helping those in need – not any self-centered agenda.
As we develop as a humanity, slowly we are making our way in the right direction, with a few growing pains here and there.Yoga and meditation will certainly help illumine the proper pathway – enabling us to create a world-based human society upon on the pillars of peace, security and universal benevolence.
Friendships are invaluable and sometimes come in unusual ways, shapes and forms. We have all developed friendships in ways we least expected.
OK – the gig’s up! No more complaining or excuses about crow pose. If these two giants can manage crow pose, then you can too! This is now mandatory in every class – complainers and nay sayers will be escorted out of the hall.
Well, to continue with our interesting week – it kinda goes like this.
I was inside getting things ready for the class and deliberations were underway on the front porch for how to handle the kitty. As class was about to start, a student informed me that Wendy thought it best to bring the kitty to her vet down the road. I was told she would be back in 5 min. (Note: This photo is not “our” kitty, but it is very, very similar looking!)
No, that is not a striped horse that mom is feeding – that is a zebra.
