Author: Elizabeth Ü

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Alt + Christmas Songs

I just went grocery shopping and they were already playing Christmas music, so I figure it’s fair game to post a few of my favorite “alternative” Christmas songs. I think they’re better than anything you’ll find in a retail establishment. Except for maybe the last one.

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I came across this song while Mike and I were looking for a new band to play with. The band was looking for a new singer, and though I quickly decided I had neither the guts nor the pipes to audition, I did listen to this on repeat for days; wish it were longer!

The photo is a tree I remember fondly. There’s a massive magnolia not far away that flowers a month or so after Christmas every year, points if you’re familiar with these San Francisco landmarks!

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Rob is a friend-of-a-friend who moved to Vietnam. A trip into the SoundCloud rabbit hole led me to this song of his, so lovely! (His GoodReads updates are amongst the most interesting in my feed, too.)

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Late Breaking Christmas Eve Update: I had forgotten about this oh-so-California number from my friend and former bass teacher Alexis, but must include it!

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Scott reminded me to include this one, Khruangbin’s version of the Charlie Brown Christmas / Vince Guaraldi classic:

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I did NOT leave the best for last. I apologize, this one’s pretty bad, from Lawrence Arabia, who seems to hold weirdly mythical status in NZ. I’m fascinated by his stage presence so I like to go to his performances; we’ve also seen him (plus entourage) in the audience at other people’s shows. (Aside: he did a really interesting crowdfunding project in 2018, which of course I appreciated!)

He wrote of this:

It’s a jaunty song I wrote, inspired by a friend’s Christmas Eve one night stand. It’s got at least one appalling double entendre in it.

Merry Christmas!

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If your heart is breaking, I hope it’s breaking OPEN

A friend-of-a-friend sent this to a friend of mine (Ashley!), who sent this to me, and now I send it to you, and maybe you’ll send it on again, and we’ll all Keep Going:

What a beautiful example of Lovingkindness, and Compassion, and Mudita, aka JOY!

And of transferring merits, don’t they show so vulnerably how one’s own practice can become a beacon and an inspiration and an invitation to open to your own experience, and that of others?! Check out how many people wrote in the comments that watching this video is what finally allowed them to cry.

May I somehow manage to cultivate a bit of the beautiful, generous, connected energy they share, especially in the section from 1:37 – 2:30. And her eyes-closed, centering BREATH at 1:53! _/|\_

I hope my rage, I pray that my rage is a fire
That clears my mind out
And makes me ready to listen
I pray my pain is a river
That flows to the ocean
That connects my pain to yours
And I pray, I pray my happiness is like pollen
That flies to you and pollinates your joy
Oh boy!
Oh boy, is that possible?!
I don’t know, I don’t know
We are making this up as we go
We have to make it up as we go

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On letting go of rules: words of wisdom from Devi Daly

Yin yoga is like the punk rock of yoga; it’s the yoga where we don’t like rules very much.

Thus spoke Devi Daly in the middle of Dragon pose during her live-streamed Yin yoga class this morning.

She went on to explain that there is a lot of physical variation from person to person; we don’t all have the same bone structures, the same hip joints, the same flexibility, etc. So when it comes to yoga postures,

We really need to have a lot of variation, a lot of permission, and a lot of willingness to break the rules. For those of us who have done a lot of other kinds of yoga that have strict rules we need to let go of some of these alignment dogmas that we’ve learned in order to honor our bodies properly.

I’d add that for those of us who have done a lot of ANYTHING that involves strict rules — or even unspoken or not-so-strict codes of conduct — it pays to at least question what we’ve learned in order to honor ourselves properly. Because we’re all different, in terms of values, motivations, and inclinations. Thanks for reminding me of this, Devi, I really needed that this morning ❤

If you’re looking for some excellent online yoga classes, taught by someone who’s really on it as far as the technology goes, do check out her awesome yoga channel and consider subscribing!

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Like Rechungpa, I have a lot to learn

Apparently I need to read this book, ha:

Rechungpa is a promising disciple, but he has a lot to learn, being sometimes proud, distracted, anxious, desirous of comfort and praise, over-attached to book learning, stubborn, sulky and liable to go to extremes.

Source
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Lauren Ruth Ward channels some serious Vajrapani energy

I’ve been studying up on Vajrapani, wielder of the thunderbolt, protector from fear of unknown places. He’s got a wrathful side. Look at his mudra! \m/ He’s ready to burn it all down; all the delusion and hatred, that is.

Lauren Ruth Ward channels this energy perfectly in this Jam in the Van performance:

Even the lyrics are spot on, complete with poison, pride, and a fight to lead with one’s heart. Om Vajrapani Hum!

Valhalla by Lauren Ruth Ward

You’ve got beauty coming out your ears
Aw, must make it hard for you to hear
Give me the wheel
And I will take you off course
I’ll put your money on the speckled horse
I’ll put your money on the speckled horse

Communication is the only ointment
(But) You give me poison
You give me poison

They’ll memorize my name on the list
At the door at Valhalla
I’ll tell them how I died
In the battle of Madonna
Some will scratch their balls
And wonder how I conquered
Befriend the male gaze
Make my own money
Forming my own phase

I ate shit on the walk of fame
Yeah, I tripped looking down looking for my name
I saw the L saw the A saw the U
Saw the aRe you gonna gonna make it thru?
You can’t take tomorrow
Won’t fake today
When are you going to make
A name?

They’ll memorize my name on the list
At the door at Valhalla
I’ll tell them how I died
In the battle of Madonna
Some will scratch their balls
And wonder how I conquered
Befriend the male gaze
Make my own money
Forming my own phase

It’s a sleepy time
For the ones who choose their hearts
One of a kind, bedroom eyed
Pair of dice
Take my hand you will understand
My side
Be my friend
Woman or man
We will fight

They’ll memorize my name on the list
At the door at Valhalla I’ll tell them how I died
In the battle of Madonna
Some will scratch their balls
And wonder how I conquered
Befriend the male gaze
Make my own money
Forming my own phase

How did she do it?
How did she do it?
How did she do it?
They all will ask

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Calling on Akshobya: a Puja for people experiencing anger

As someone who experiences anger and indignation quite strongly, I’ve been digging around for Buddhist approaches to handling these challenging emotions. Of all the Buddhas in Triratna’s mandala, it seems that Akshobya is the appropriate one to call upon at such times… though I can’t think of a time when Imperturbability or Mirror-like Wisdom would NOT come in handy!

Ever since discovering Saccanama’s Puja to Akshobya I’ve been wanting to arrange it into a printed booklet, complete with images and all the refuges and precepts intact and an appropriate reading, etc. Voilà!

Download the booklet

If you send this pdf to Warehouse Stationery or some other printer, they know how to organize things such that it works out properly when printed on A4 paper, folded and stapled into a 20-page booklet.

If anyone is interested, I can probably figure out how to organize the pages so that it works if you’re printing it from home? Contact me and we’ll get it sorted 🙂

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Stone Hammered to Gravel: a poem by Martín Espada

An excerpt of Martín Espada’s poem, Stone Hammered to Gravel:

Did you know?
When the bullet exploded the stars
in the cosmos of your body, did you know
that others would read manifestos by your light?
Did you know, after the white ambulance left,
before the coloured ambulance arrived, if you would live at all,
that you would banish the apartheid of the ambulance
with Mandela and a million demonstrators dancing at every funeral?
Did you know, slamming the hammer into the rock’s stoic face,
that a police state is nothing but a boulder
waiting for the alchemy of dust?

Written for a specific person, at a specific time, in a particular place… and yet, and yet. For how long will poetry like this be necessary?

The entire poem:

Stone Hammered to Gravel

for poet Dennis Brutus at eighty Continue reading “Stone Hammered to Gravel: a poem by Martín Espada”

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Generosity and the giving of time: a talk for Buddhist Action Month

As part of our Buddhist Action Month series on Generosity, this week I gave this talk on Generosity and the giving of time.

The official description from the Auckland Buddhist Centre’s website is below (thanks Mary Anna for writing these up!)… but it actually ended up shifting into something a bit more esoteric once I started pondering: what even IS time?!

Listen

A finger is sometimes pointed at Buddhism accusing its practitioners of sitting on their cushions, wishing everything to be well and happy but not actually doing anything practical to achieve it. Yet in Buddhism the Bodhisattva ideal exists, where Buddhists dedicate their lives to the alleviation of suffering of all, and tirelessly dedicate themselves to this task.

In this spirit Buddhist Action Month (BAM) was born. Buddhists commit to taking action in areas of concern, usually around the degradation of the environment or issues around poverty and other social concerns.

Most of us have intentions to act with care for the environment and a desire to help those less fortunate. However, many things seem to get int the way of translating this intention into action. For some, feelings of scarcity and lack shrink their perception of the resources they have available to offer. Others are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness or dissuaded by feelings of hypocrisy from giving their resources to a cause.

This is where the “Perfection of Generosity” – one of the practices of the Bodhisattva, serves us well. Generosity is an act of love, and out of love comes the spaciousness, energy and resources to act. Generosity connects us and imbues our lives with wellbeing and meaning. Generosity provides the resources to act in any situation, so that we take action not only in Buddhist action month, but we live Buddhist action lives.

Over the month of June, we will cover the following themes:

  • evoking Ratnasambhava and the spirit of generosity
    • giving money
    • giving time
    • giving to the care of the environment
    • how generosity makes us happier, creates more meaningful lives and the science that supports this idea

29 June – Elizabeth U – generosity and the giving of time

Elizabeth gives her time to many unpaid causes. She will talk about the factors that enable her to give her time for free and for the service of others. She will speak to the busy-ness of our lives, how we need to evaluate how we spend our time and what makes time well spent. She will also touch on time scarcity and the perception of “enoughness.” She will explain why we need to make space for generosity in our lives and how we can do that.

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For Nothing is Fixed: podcast and poems

“Fixed” as in: permanent / unmoving / unchanging;
“Fixed” as in: repaired, made whole.

On this theme I present this timely and provocative conversation between Viveka and Paramananda. So much of what Viveka says (and not just in this podcast!) resonates with my experience, in particular:

Just because we’re physically together doesn’t mean we’re vibing together… Just recognizing that when we’re physically together doesn’t mean that all bodies are able to be there in the same way has been a huge teaching for me.

and:

How can we actually co-create a space that everyone is genuinely able to be welcome with others, to be welcoming others? …There’s something about the beautifulness of our differentiation where we can actually welcome each other fully.

Their conversation takes as its springboard this poem by James Baldwin, which Paramananda recites beautifully (and from memory!) at 4:40:

For Nothing Is Fixed
by James Baldwin

For nothing is fixed,
forever, forever, forever,
it is not fixed;
the earth is always shifting,
the light is always changing,
the sea does not cease to grind down rock.
Generations do not cease to be born,
and we are responsible to them
because we are the only witnesses they have.
The sea rises, the light fails,
lovers cling to each other,
and children cling to us.
The moment we cease to hold each other,
the moment we break faith with one another,
the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.

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Here’s another excerpt of a poem, which I heard for the first time this afternoon. Apparently it is stenciled on the streets of Salem, Massachussetts in such a way that it is only visible when it rains, and I wish I could find the poem in its entirety:

Prema-Bangera-TheArtofHealing

All around the globe, Right Now, people are busy filling in the cracks of our world with gold, and I’m deeply inspired.