Interdependence

There is a sweet spot between blindly striking out on one’s own and caving in to the demands of others. If you think about it, even action that is intended to be fiercely independent necessarily involves others because whatever path is taken, though perceived as singular, is illuminated at least in part by eliminating whatever choices are deemed dependent and therefore unacceptable. And so, whether we’re talking about colonial armies resisting King George or a teenager refusing to come home at curfew, what we do is always part of a larger continuum.

This does not mean that there is no such thing as choice, or that we’re merely cogs in a mechanized fabrication called reality. In fact, it means just the opposite. Creationist, pantheist, and humanist alike might acknowledge the simple truth that life here is complex, that different people do different things based on different beliefs and motivations; and that sometimes even the same person does different things at different times when faced with a supposedly same situation (because, well, life really is like a box of chocolates). If we are cogs, we are eight billion strong, prone to breakage but equally able to repair ourselves in ways that demonstrate the surprising, regenerative nature of life itself.

Rather than spend too much time trying to untangle these ideas (though, personally, I find the idea of karma, itself an evolving concept, from its first appearance in the rituals of the Rig Veda to later Buddhist understandings and into modern yogic explanations like this one, to be a rich area of exploration), I would like to invite you to experience one of my own favorite methods of finding the sweet spot of interdependence—the place where we hang in delightful suspension between individual, private detachment and shared, community entanglement.

Each week this summer, you can join “Summer Sits,” the Wednesday evening meditation series that features a Guest Meditator from Sun & Moon Yoga Studio’s roster of experienced and beloved teachers.* This person will share with us their own unique take on what it means to meditate—the why and how of their own personal practice. Then, we’ll drop into group practice, where you can test out the received teaching for yourself. Does it ring true for you? How do your mind and body and breath respond to it? In what ways does it appear in your own rolling continuum of choices in days to come?

Group practice is an extremely concrete example of interdependence, and it's one of the best ways I know of to get into the paradoxical zone where the more directly I know and accept the granular particulars of myself—my body, my breath, my mind even (and especially) in all its weird and twisty turns—the more I learn to trust the larger picture of a vast, unseen and unfolding universe. In this zone, I understand that as people we are simultaneously miniscule and massive—in all ways, immeasurable—and I’m just fine with it.

Check out the list below, and you might easily recognize several important contemplative traditions. But dig a little deeper and notice also the array of unique personalities represented here. All thrive today in the meditation arena. Let’s find out how these ancient teachings will bring the future forth, in their transmission through you.

Wenesdays, 7:30-8:30pm.

3811 Langston Blvd. Arlington, VA

Register to attend in person HERE;

or join by Zoom HERE.

Problems joining? Contact me at (703) 201-0999.

• July 9: The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths with Annie Moyer

• July 16: My Meditation Journey: Personal Narrative with Asya Haikin

• July 23: Meditating with the Gita with Ashley Montgomery

• July 30: Flowing Into Meditation: Why Movement and Meditation Go Together with Ahmed Jabali-Nash

• August 6: Critter Japa: A Personal Practice with Beads with Alison Zak

• August 13: True Self Tune-In with Anne Jablonski

• August 20: Me, You, We: Heart Practices with Jennifer O’Sullivan

• August 27: Dive into Presence: Seasonal Changes with Marjorie Ames

  
  

*Meditation is offered freely; optional donations can be made at the time of registration or in person at the studio and will go directly to the Guest Meditator.

Photo by Christine Clardy; Miami, Florida 2022