When I heard that the Occupy Wall Street protestors had been kicked out of Zuccotti Park, that their utopian camp had been dismantled and destroyed, I felt sad, deflated and wondered what it would mean for the whole movement. I had a fleeting thought that it was the beginning of the end. Clearly though, this movement is already more powerful than one encampment. The day of the eviction, one of the protestors spoke to NPR and said: "It's gonna take whatever form - it's like water. It's gonna take whatever form it's got to take to get to where it's got to go." He was right, of course. With tremendous resilience, the movement has already manifested at the New York Stock Exchange, Foley Square and celebrated its 2-month birthday on the Brooklyn Bridge in a matter of days. Occupy Movements all over the country are getting stronger, addressing their internal and external struggles and building momentum.
When the physical space of OWS was dismantled, the movement had been functioning for 59 days. Let's compare 59 days of the occupation to 59 days of spiritual practice. You get up every day for 59 days and practice yoga and/or meditate. When you do that, you build momentum and something shifts. You start to change energetically; you are creating new samskaras. A new you begins to take form. Nobody knows exactly how it works, but as my teacher says, "a little mystery is nice."
But, let's say that on the 60th day, you don't practice. Maybe your child gets sick or maybe you just don't feel like it. And then, you feel like you've screwed up, like you've really blown it. The voices in your head say - "see, you can't do this" or "you're lazy, you're never going to change." But, on the 61st day, you find yourself doing your practice, in spite of yourself.
A zen teacher of mine used to say, "Fall down seven times, get up eight." Another one used to say that the secret to spiritual practice was to keep doing it. I have more experience with starting and stopping regimens of spiritual practice than I care to admit. But, at some point I finally did get it - I had to ignore the voices and just completely believe in myself. And, once the momentum was there, barriers lifted and my path became obvious.
OWS is not going away; it has a life of its own. The movement has already profoundly changed the individual lives of protestors, and it is awakening a new social consciousness. The Occupations are unprecedented in their ability to hold public spaces and they will continue to manifest in novel and surprising ways. New channels of creativity will allow more successful, heart opening actions. Mistakes will be made, but the direction is clear. As the occupiers have said, "you can't evict an idea whose time has come."
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Occupy Your Heart
Mainstream media pundits have been critical of the Occupy Movement because it appears on the surface that there is no real focus to their ideas and actions. Occupiers have been described as muddled, confused, leaderless - some have wondered just what do they stand for, what are they demanding?
Two of the key message frames of the movement are - "We are the 99%" and "Stop Corporate Greed." The meaning of the messages, in reality, seems pretty clear and simple - a small percentage of the population controls most of the wealth. The wealth is being leveraged to influence economic and social policy in ways detrimental to the interests of the vast majority of the population. Greed (a desire that we all have experiences with) is running amok on a grand scale and remains largely unchecked, harming both people and planet. If we work together (with open hearts and wise minds) we can change things. That's the message in a nutshell, at least my interpretation of it.
But, why are they holding up signs about mountaintop removal, community violence, unions, the war in Afghanistan, and Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Creating spaces (both physical and cyber) to critique the current system, explore connections between social issues, and to envision and create new ways of doing things is the heart and soul of the Occupy movement. Buddhist environmental activist Joanna Macy and visionary economist David Korten have called this time that we are in (well before the Occupy movement surfaced), The Great Turning, a shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a Life Sustaining one. There are three dimensions to the work of The Great Turning, according to Macy:
1. Actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings
2. Analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives
3. Shift in consciousness
The first set of actions concerns pushing for new public policy that can provide a palliative treatment for the damages that the industrial growth society is causing - like the tar sands activists who are trying to pressure President Obama to stop the Alaska oil pipeline. Perhaps we can call this karma yoga. The second set concerns engaging in collective inquiry about the issues and building consensus-oriented, non-hierarchical projects and groups to transform the issues. This means engaging in popular education or inquiry groups to address questions such as this one - How might corporate greed and the prison industrial complex be related? Perhaps we can call this jnana yoga.
The third kind of actions are shift of consciousness - this means regular spiritual practices that can stop the momentum of our individual and collective karma in its tracks. With practice we can begin to erase our negative samskaras and strenghten the light of Self-Knowledge. From this perspective, cultivating a serious yoga practice (such as hatha yoga or kriya yoga) is, in the end, a political act. Just by persisting with the beautiful yet challenging personal work of observing our egos and uniting with our divinity, we are contributing to this Great Turning. As we function at home and in society, this shift manifests and benefits others. If you are part of any kind of community group (a parent-teacher association, a book club) try sitting meditation as a group for 5 minutes before the beginning of every meeting and see what happens to the group.
The movement is not without legitimate critique. Indeed, amplifying "the 99% frame" is not without its ramifications. First, it fails to account for the fact that corporate greed affects people differently depending on their social location. Policies favoring the 1% have been especially devastating for the most vulnerable in our communities - poor people, people of color, women, and children. (This is a populist movement and while the "99% frame" masks some forms of oppression, it serves the purpose of bringing in greater numbers of people). Second, it fails to acknowledge that the 1% is part of humanity. As Seane Corne has said, we are all 100%.
I'm certainly not saying that Occupiers the world over are doing yoga and meditating individually and/or together before every General Assembly and practicing non-violent communication flawlessly. But, some are bringing their practices to the work and trying out alternative approaches; people of many spiritual persuasions are taking part and bringing something crucial to the table. And, it is undeniably possible to do the work of Occupation and the Great Turning with bhakti, pure devotion. In a secular society where the sacred is silenced, we can allow Love to Occupy our hearts and guide our actions.
Two of the key message frames of the movement are - "We are the 99%" and "Stop Corporate Greed." The meaning of the messages, in reality, seems pretty clear and simple - a small percentage of the population controls most of the wealth. The wealth is being leveraged to influence economic and social policy in ways detrimental to the interests of the vast majority of the population. Greed (a desire that we all have experiences with) is running amok on a grand scale and remains largely unchecked, harming both people and planet. If we work together (with open hearts and wise minds) we can change things. That's the message in a nutshell, at least my interpretation of it.
But, why are they holding up signs about mountaintop removal, community violence, unions, the war in Afghanistan, and Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Creating spaces (both physical and cyber) to critique the current system, explore connections between social issues, and to envision and create new ways of doing things is the heart and soul of the Occupy movement. Buddhist environmental activist Joanna Macy and visionary economist David Korten have called this time that we are in (well before the Occupy movement surfaced), The Great Turning, a shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a Life Sustaining one. There are three dimensions to the work of The Great Turning, according to Macy:
1. Actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings
2. Analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives
3. Shift in consciousness
The first set of actions concerns pushing for new public policy that can provide a palliative treatment for the damages that the industrial growth society is causing - like the tar sands activists who are trying to pressure President Obama to stop the Alaska oil pipeline. Perhaps we can call this karma yoga. The second set concerns engaging in collective inquiry about the issues and building consensus-oriented, non-hierarchical projects and groups to transform the issues. This means engaging in popular education or inquiry groups to address questions such as this one - How might corporate greed and the prison industrial complex be related? Perhaps we can call this jnana yoga.
The third kind of actions are shift of consciousness - this means regular spiritual practices that can stop the momentum of our individual and collective karma in its tracks. With practice we can begin to erase our negative samskaras and strenghten the light of Self-Knowledge. From this perspective, cultivating a serious yoga practice (such as hatha yoga or kriya yoga) is, in the end, a political act. Just by persisting with the beautiful yet challenging personal work of observing our egos and uniting with our divinity, we are contributing to this Great Turning. As we function at home and in society, this shift manifests and benefits others. If you are part of any kind of community group (a parent-teacher association, a book club) try sitting meditation as a group for 5 minutes before the beginning of every meeting and see what happens to the group.
The movement is not without legitimate critique. Indeed, amplifying "the 99% frame" is not without its ramifications. First, it fails to account for the fact that corporate greed affects people differently depending on their social location. Policies favoring the 1% have been especially devastating for the most vulnerable in our communities - poor people, people of color, women, and children. (This is a populist movement and while the "99% frame" masks some forms of oppression, it serves the purpose of bringing in greater numbers of people). Second, it fails to acknowledge that the 1% is part of humanity. As Seane Corne has said, we are all 100%.
I'm certainly not saying that Occupiers the world over are doing yoga and meditating individually and/or together before every General Assembly and practicing non-violent communication flawlessly. But, some are bringing their practices to the work and trying out alternative approaches; people of many spiritual persuasions are taking part and bringing something crucial to the table. And, it is undeniably possible to do the work of Occupation and the Great Turning with bhakti, pure devotion. In a secular society where the sacred is silenced, we can allow Love to Occupy our hearts and guide our actions.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Occupation Yoga - The Beginning
It's 11:15 Sunday morning. I'm wandering around Academy park in Albany, across the street from the New York state capitol, the site of the burgeoning Occupy Albany movement. During an early season snowstorm in late October, some referred to the encampment as "Valley Forge," but today it's sunny and a mere 45 degrees. I'm accosting everyone I see, letting them know that there will be a yoga class at 11:30 in front of the music stage. Though I get a few strange looks and a couple of "no, thank yous," the positive reactions are disarming. Faces light up. "Oh, I've been talking about wanting to do yoga since I've been staying here." "My body is so sore from sleeping on the ground, that's exactly what I need." One guy jokingly says, "oh yoga" and busts a David Carradine warrior monk move right out of Kung Fu.
We are wearing shoes, coats, and stocking caps. We stand on the grass in a horseshoe-shaped circle and 9 of us do 30 minutes of what one might want to call, Occupation Yoga. About half men, half women, some are beginners and some more experienced. One person is so inspired by the scene, that she spontaneously keeps leaving her spot to take pictures of the group. (I feel compelled to suggest that she remove the camera hanging from a strap around her neck in forward fold.) We warm our bodies with Breath of Joy. We put our hands on our hearts and bellies, re-connecting to our mysterious source. We raise and lower our arms with the breath and move our necks toward blessed release. We stand our ground in mountain pose, 5-pointed star, Warrior II and Goddess pose. We don't have mats and we don't bother getting on the cold ground. We blow our stuffed-up, chilled noses in some Kleenex I brought and do alternate nostril breathing. I read a quotation by Archbishop Oscar Romero that is on a t-shirt of mine (Yes, I brought the t-shirt and actually read from the t-shirt):
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
We conclude by chanting the sacred sound of om. We honor the highest spirit in each other. There is gratitude everywhere.
I've been organizing with a working group of the Occupy Albany movement and we call ourselves, MindBodySpirit. We are mostly part-time occupiers who are committed to offering emotional, physical and spiritual support to other occupiers. We are counselors, social workers, yoga teachers, chaplains, meditators, massage therapists and others who want to help sustain the movement. As a long-time community organizer and a university professor of community organizing this has been some of the most challenging organizing I've engaged in (though I think I always say that every time I get involved in a new community organizing endeavor. The reality is that it's always just complicated and difficult work). The Occupy movement is exciting, but because it is new and there is a sense of urgency about getting it off the ground, things seem to be always teetering on barely managed chaos. Someone said recently, "about every 6 hours, the sky is falling." There is always some crisis involved with living in a park in the Fall in a leaderless movement. Use your imagination - think sanitation, precipitation, and miscommunication.
My practice is not to be attached to the results of these efforts. The other day I felt overwhelmed, overburdened, and angry. I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into. According to the Yoga Sutras, "mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment." Swami Satchidananda says: "of these two, the non-attachment is more important." To achieve this requires some frequent and serious one-on-ones with the ego.
There's something about this movement that captures our imaginations - humans from all walks of life trying to create a utopian community in the midst of a very destructive society. But, how do we keep this vision protected from our heedless egos? How do we stay clear about the issues, goals and objectives of the work? How do we keep connected to what is purest about ourselves and everyone else, including the 1%? It's my dharma to explore these questions. And there are others like me who want to put spiritual practice into action and to bring spirituality to social action. There are those of us who are compelled to see just what role yoga and other spiritual practices can play in fostering a beautiful, powerful and sustained social movement that is dynamically evolving moment to moment.
It is most certainly true that we are just tending seeds that likely won't blossom in our lifetimes. But, we have an astonishing opportunity to practice non-attachment and that requires infinite patience. As Rilke says:
One should experience patience
with what is unsolved in the heart
and try to love the questions themselves
as secret little chambers
as books written in an unknown language
And it's not all spiritual asceticism. There are tangible rewards for this work right now - a new friendship, a steaming hot cup of sencha green tea donated to the occupation by a local tea shop, and a heartfelt thank you from an unshowered, dread-locked young man who has just taken his first yoga class on a luminous Fall day in an Occupied park. And, who knows, maybe Cuomo will re-new the Millionaire's tax.
We are wearing shoes, coats, and stocking caps. We stand on the grass in a horseshoe-shaped circle and 9 of us do 30 minutes of what one might want to call, Occupation Yoga. About half men, half women, some are beginners and some more experienced. One person is so inspired by the scene, that she spontaneously keeps leaving her spot to take pictures of the group. (I feel compelled to suggest that she remove the camera hanging from a strap around her neck in forward fold.) We warm our bodies with Breath of Joy. We put our hands on our hearts and bellies, re-connecting to our mysterious source. We raise and lower our arms with the breath and move our necks toward blessed release. We stand our ground in mountain pose, 5-pointed star, Warrior II and Goddess pose. We don't have mats and we don't bother getting on the cold ground. We blow our stuffed-up, chilled noses in some Kleenex I brought and do alternate nostril breathing. I read a quotation by Archbishop Oscar Romero that is on a t-shirt of mine (Yes, I brought the t-shirt and actually read from the t-shirt):
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
We conclude by chanting the sacred sound of om. We honor the highest spirit in each other. There is gratitude everywhere.
I've been organizing with a working group of the Occupy Albany movement and we call ourselves, MindBodySpirit. We are mostly part-time occupiers who are committed to offering emotional, physical and spiritual support to other occupiers. We are counselors, social workers, yoga teachers, chaplains, meditators, massage therapists and others who want to help sustain the movement. As a long-time community organizer and a university professor of community organizing this has been some of the most challenging organizing I've engaged in (though I think I always say that every time I get involved in a new community organizing endeavor. The reality is that it's always just complicated and difficult work). The Occupy movement is exciting, but because it is new and there is a sense of urgency about getting it off the ground, things seem to be always teetering on barely managed chaos. Someone said recently, "about every 6 hours, the sky is falling." There is always some crisis involved with living in a park in the Fall in a leaderless movement. Use your imagination - think sanitation, precipitation, and miscommunication.
My practice is not to be attached to the results of these efforts. The other day I felt overwhelmed, overburdened, and angry. I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into. According to the Yoga Sutras, "mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment." Swami Satchidananda says: "of these two, the non-attachment is more important." To achieve this requires some frequent and serious one-on-ones with the ego.
There's something about this movement that captures our imaginations - humans from all walks of life trying to create a utopian community in the midst of a very destructive society. But, how do we keep this vision protected from our heedless egos? How do we stay clear about the issues, goals and objectives of the work? How do we keep connected to what is purest about ourselves and everyone else, including the 1%? It's my dharma to explore these questions. And there are others like me who want to put spiritual practice into action and to bring spirituality to social action. There are those of us who are compelled to see just what role yoga and other spiritual practices can play in fostering a beautiful, powerful and sustained social movement that is dynamically evolving moment to moment.
It is most certainly true that we are just tending seeds that likely won't blossom in our lifetimes. But, we have an astonishing opportunity to practice non-attachment and that requires infinite patience. As Rilke says:
One should experience patience
with what is unsolved in the heart
and try to love the questions themselves
as secret little chambers
as books written in an unknown language
And it's not all spiritual asceticism. There are tangible rewards for this work right now - a new friendship, a steaming hot cup of sencha green tea donated to the occupation by a local tea shop, and a heartfelt thank you from an unshowered, dread-locked young man who has just taken his first yoga class on a luminous Fall day in an Occupied park. And, who knows, maybe Cuomo will re-new the Millionaire's tax.
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