January 20, 2025

“Keep going.” -Ti Harmony

As what I call “I” has now taken a ride on the Mother Earth 60 full times around the sun, I want to acknowledge two important “things”—or Beings—and one “Thing” more fully. 

(Note: I capitalize Mother Earth, Earth, Sun and some other words in non-traditional ways. I see them as proper names, so just as Ti is capitalized, these names are too. Besides, these are names of far more important beings than this little one, so it makes no sense to capitalize my own name but not capitalize them which would only serve to diminish and demean them! I will not participate in doing that, in language or spirit.)

Those Beings I need to acknowledge: First of all the Sun—93 million miles away, radiating light. It has been doing that for 4.6 billion years. It will continue in its current situation for about another 5 billion years. In one sense it’s “younger” than me since it’s got more than half its expected life left; it’s possible that that statement is true for this bodymind also, but statistically it’s not very likely. 

The light which lit the Earth on the anniversary of my birth—the photons—were created in the center of the sun 100,000 to 50 million years ago. (Once they reached the Sun’s surface, it took them just a few minutes to get to Earth.) Therefore, 60 years in the face of the time scale of the Sun magnifies the ephemeral nature of a human life and suggests its ultimate insignificance.

Additionally, without the existence of the Sun in its current form and distance from the Earth, the life of this human body would simply not exist. It’s likely that nothing would be moving here on what would be a frozen wasteland. I need to point out that important fact. I am a being of the Sun; this statement cannot be stressed enough. There is no “Ti” without the Sun. Period. The energy that makes anything called “Ti” move is only from the Sun.

As I gazed at the Sun in the clear blue sky on the morning of that birthday—as I do on as many days of this life as possible—I mentally, emotionally and energetically, honored that constant Presence in my life. That day, for the first time ever, I felt the Sun’s constant pull on this physical body. I felt that its gravity had always been pulling this physical body—as part of the Earth—to itself all these short 60 years. That pull felt secure and nurturing, and with it was the knowledge that it could not change; it simply could not ever end as long as this physical being appears to exist. So the Sun, the source of physical Life on Earth deserves my undying reverence and gratitude.

It is equally important to acknowledge the constant Presence, nurturance and support—physical body support but also physical nourishment support and much more—from my Mother the Earth. This earthly Mother has been around for 4.54 billion years, forming only 10 million years after the solar system began. Again, this past 60 years is less than a snap of the fingers from Her perspective. 

My Mother the Earth has, of course, provided the physical elements themselves and a supportive and proper environment (with the Sun). She has also given any other physical materials needed to support this human life, like the materials for adequate clothing and shelter. Mother Earth has provided abundant air and oxygen, food and water to this one and has also nurtured many other human beings who played key roles in the survival of this seemingly individual life. If you are reading this, you are one of those people who probably has had some role in maintaining the life of this bodymind. (Huge THANK YOU for that!) 

It is not hyperbole in any way to say—similar to what was said above—that I am a being of the Earth. Once again, that statement cannot be stressed enough! There is no “Ti” without the Earth. Period. Saying “Ti” is, in a way, saying “Sun and Earth.” Those other “Beings” are implied in “Ti,” of course, but language matters, and as one who makes his living using language that is as exact and accurate as possible, making this statement very clearly, now—at 60 times around the sun—is very important to me.

Then, looking at the clear, blue sky on the morning of January 20 as I do on all clear, blue sky days, no longer do I see the blue sky as a thing—like, “oh, there’s the sky right there”. I see “it” as what it truly is: Infinite Space. Gazing “at”—which is not really “at” but through!—the blue sky, I’m looking from this vantage point of the surface of my Home, the Earth, directly at—into!—Infinity. I’m literally seeing infinite time and infinite space. 

In visually connecting with the Infinite in this way, I allow myself to feel the Reality—the Presence—of Infinity as something non-separate from “me.” In that process, I feel not infinitesimally small but infinitely huge! I am a child of Infinity; nothing less. Any “thing” that exists is a manifestation of the Infinite in that form; the Infinite has also manifested Itself as this temporary human form. And I know that from one perspective the Infinite is completely unconcerned with a short 60 years of one of Its endless temporary manifestations. (From another perspective, I know that the Infinite is intensely “concerned” with Its temporary manifestations.)

Further contemplating the 60 years of this physical life, it is noteworthy that with the possible exception of some of the minerals in the bones and teeth of this body, nothing material in this body remains the same as it was even ten years ago. I know from personal experience that I am not this body, but if I were, I feel fairly confident that I am not limited to just the bones and teeth of this body; even those will fall away from “me” at some point. All the other material elements that comprise this temporary form have been given by the Earth for an even shorter time, and they will all go to their next thing in due time—long before the next left-digit change of the age of this human life.

And yet, even with all those facts and a bigger perspective, these 60 years are still very important from other perspectives. To a number of people, this life has provided some inspiration and, in some cases, solace. When I graduated from college, I permanently enrolled myself in the School of Life, where I did more “undergrad” work for many years and “graduate” work for several more decades. All that work—as with any ongoing course of study—brought more knowledge, but also more commitment to living a life of sincerity purposely aligned with the callings of the Heart. 

Other people who have also decided to try to live aligned with their own Hearts and to work in a purposeful and deliberate way toward that have slowly congregated around “me.” We are all now keeping going together. We are endeavoring, I think, to be the change that we want to see in the world. We have decided to exercise the little bit of control we have—that being over ourselves—and are choosing to live consistent with our values as best we can, guided also by other principles like being loving, harmless and truthful; again, to the extent that we are able.

So I thank you, all of you who have found “me” worth celebrating on January 20th. It’s interesting that another thing was happening on that day that many of us were probably grieving (at best!). MLK Jr. Day also was that day, and it’s an honor, of course, to share that day with another intense and sincere seeker whose influence in the world was far beyond the small influence “my” life is exerting. But the other happening so contrasted with MLK’s Day and my birthday that before January 20, a number of people said, “Oh, that Ti was born and is still alive is what I can focus on and appreciate on Inauguration Day” (instead of that other thing).

It’s always been a little weird being born on Inauguration Day, but this time was especially noteworthy. At first I wanted to “run away” and go on retreat, totally separated from the world for some days before and after it. I intended that for a couple months and planned on it for a few weeks. Life happened to make that impossible. I had already known that there was a strong element of running away, of not wanting to face what was there for me—some Light and some Dark—in that intention, and it didn’t surprise me at all that the Divine Mother didn’t indulge that bit of avoidance!

So I had to—got to—acknowledge that people in my life were very glad that I had been born, were happy that I was still alive and able to teach and help and serve in the ways that I can and do. I had to let in their happy feelings.

In my hopes to run away from my birthday, I had also wanted to not have my annual birthday kirtan due to my grief over the change in white, male, ancient dinosaur presidents. But even the weather (snow…finally!) colluded and forced a change in the kirtan schedule so that I ended up having the birthday kirtan that I have done annually for at least 25 years. And it was awesome, as always. In my self-indulgent view, I think the Divine Mother wanted to come through in the love of her devotees toward all of Creation. I’m honored that I was able to play a role in that manifestation on what was in many ways a dark day.

And then there’s the other obvious fact mentioned when I wrote about the Sun above; it’s quite likely that this life is more than halfway done. It’s possible that that’s not the fact, but again, statistically, it is the case. For many decades, I’ve had a strong push to follow the Heart and do as the Spirit guided me, but now, with limited time remaining, I feel more intent to not keep myself small in any way, to not cover the Inner Light in any way, to do as many of the good things that come to my mind as time and energy allow. This added incentive has helped me face difficulties in relationships that I previously had been able to put off but now can’t be anymore. And I feel the push to write more, possibly to get a very long book done before the end of this life. (If you need more reading before that, you can always look more deeply and dedicatedly at what I call my long, online book, i.e. my blog over all these years. There’s a lot of good stuff there already!)

Having felt—and truly been—different all along while growing up, it was a major thing to follow the Heart and the intuition when others around may judge and criticize it. As it would with anyone, going against the cultural flow, though necessary, did make me feel unsafe. As a sensitive soul who wants people around him to be happy, it’s also difficult to follow the Spirit when it will make others feel uncomfortable. So for my safety as well as for the comfort of others—in relationships that were not yoga-related—I tended to make myself small, to minimize my value, to hold back from sharing who and what I truly was—or at least the fullness of it. I don’t have time for that anymore. It’s not only not satisfying, it’s not fulfilling, meaningful, or helpful. Given the current state of the world, it’s not helping anyone. Full blast Love and compassion needs to radiate as powerfully from as many people as possible!

One final thought has been big in my mind around this time: the yoga practices work! I’ve been on a conscious spiritual path now for 38 years, and practicing intensely (meaning for minimally three to four hours every day) for 36 of those years. I will happily and enthusiastically attest that the practices work. 

You may not be as driven as I was, but that is not an issue. I have been blessed to see in many other people as well that the practices work, for everyone who commits—at whatever level they are able to commit! Certainly my drive and goals were—are—“higher” than many, but that’s good news if your drive and goals are not as intense as mine. 

If you “just” want to experience more peace and happiness, to have more unconditional love, or you’d like to have a better handle on your mind-troubles and emotional challenges, yoga and other spiritual practices work. The only thing that needs to be done is to “just do it.” And the next day, do it again. The following day, do it again. Repeat. I guarantee you will see the positive effects, even if your drive is “small” and apparently selfish. You will also see positive results—unless you are doing your practice as an act(s) of violence—quick enough to keep you inspired, certainly within 40 days of daily practice.

Don’t think it needs to be a big commitment to be effective or meaningful to you. Many times and in many ways, I have chosen to make small actions and do them regularly if not daily. One example is picking up trash in our neighborhood when walking our dogs. In a couple of weeks, our rollout trash bin is full; if it was just our trash, it would go out to the street about once every six to eight weeks. Just one little plastic shopping bag—often saved from someone’s recycling bin where it would have only clogged the fans at the recycling sorting station—I fill on a dog walk. Though it’s small, I can see the effects in the pile of bags that grows in our trash bin. I consider that a win for my Mother the Earth.

That’s just one example but there are a number of others. Just one small action repeated again and again. I do a lot of these to prove to myself—repeatedly—that those repeated actions, though small, add up. Then I know that I’m not “crazy” to think that thinking my mantra once and then another time and then another time could—and does!—have any kind of remarkable effect. But just the small act of choosing to repeat a seemingly insignificant thought!—that I don’t even know the meaning of—does have a profound and noticeable effect!

I’ve seen this phenomenon over and over again, in a number of different contexts. I would say this—“my”—life is a living testament to what happens—or what is possible—with a somewhat disciplined life and a willingness to repeat actions on purpose, even when from one point of view they could be viewed as trivial. This is true even when from my own point of view, they seem to not be working for some time!

But they work. Period. You don’t have to do what I do, or what I have done. You have to do what calls your Heart and what interests you. It should start with at least that. We are trying to cultivate love and awareness, and we want to make it as easy on ourselves as possible since it’s not an easy process—ironically! 

As I’ve written many times before; what calls your Heart? What spiritual practice do you find interesting and appealing? Great! How much time are you able to spend on it daily—honestly, not aspirationally? When are you able to do it? Why would you do it, even if you don’t want to? What would get in the way of you doing it and what will get you past those blocks? Great. Now with all that info, what would keep you from beginning the actual doing of it?

Remember, you can’t just think it. Or think that you will do it later! Any excuse will do; it doesn’t even have to make sense. Any excuse we make, we can only know one thing about it: it will be the one that is least damaging to the ego. That is all. It’s easy to not start…and then find 40 years have passed by and you are left with the wish for having made different choices. I’ve seen people model that for me; they, also, have been my teachers of the reason to keep going! I hope more to teach from a place of what to do rather than what not to do.

Many of you reading this are already on board with some daily practice. For you—us—what’s the next step? What do we need to add, shift, make happen so we can deepen or intensify what we are already doing? And it might be that it’s all good and I/we just need to keep going.

OK? We see the Bigger Picture, and we keep going because there really is nothing else for us to do.