Becca Faith Yoga

I canceled my Facebook account.  I know, I know — bold choice.

Sort-of.

See, I can’t figure out how to wholly cancel the account, since the evil masterminds so obviously intent on world domination over at FB sweetly suspended my account, with the assurance that the moment I log-in again (that’s when, not if), everything will be just as it was, as if I never left at all.

Social networking is a slippery slope, particularly if you concern yourself with things like egolessness, dissolving attachment, and breaking down the barriers between self and other.  On the one hand, social networks afford us the opportunity to connect with people in a way never-before possible and foster relationships without accord for spatial proximity or cultural barriers.  On the other hand, every keystroke on a profile or self-affirming “tweet” entangles us deeper and deeper in the samsaric mire.

What is samsaric mire? Well, samsara is a Sanskrit word often translated as “suffering,” though its meaning is more complex.  Samsara refers to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and it’s filled with the suffering of ignorance, aging and sickness. Without getting too entrenched with samsara, suffice it to say that any ego-confirming practice — anything that makes us believe in the permanence of our human condition — contributes to the suffering that is samsara.

In a word: Facebook.

Just to be clear, I am continually justifying the existence of my Twitter account (@beccafaith742) because I use it to connect with lots of phenomenal Buddhists and yogis, people who make me laugh (follow @effedparkslope and @tremendousnews if you need to lighten up), and I think it helps direct some of you here, to the blog. Which brings me to my next point: the blog.

I started this blog because I read in an independent contractor tax-law book that having a web site helps prove to the government that your (wildly unprofitable) sole proprietorship is, in fact, a business. Ever notice that pesky “schedule” link in the corner? Or my “prices and policies” page? Yes, those exist because I am trying (“desperately” might be the right modifier here) to be a full-time yoga instructor. Do you see that IRS? Do you?? But I digress…

So I started the blog and I called it “Becca Faith Yoga” because, well, that’s my name + the word “yoga,” and it just made very good sense. But for the last few months, I’ve become increasingly bothered by my name at the top of the page. I hate telling people the web address, and I’m even a little embarrassed at the presumptuousness of  an eponymous title.

Hence, a contest:

1. Re-name my blog. The new title should be relevant to the subjects treated here, so reading through some archives might be prudent. Kindly check to make sure your brilliant idea isn’t already a web site/blog.
2. Post your idea in a comment on this post.
3. At around this time next week, I’ll pick the title I like best and commence the domain-buying, name-switching nonsense. AND I’LL SEND THE WINNER A PRIZE. Depending on your practice, it will be either yoga- or meditation-related. Or not — you tell me. Whatever it is will be totally rad, natch.

I know this blog’s readership is relatively tiny, but let’s not make me feel like a total loser by NOT RESPONDING AT ALL, okay? I’ve already lost the personal affirmation of friend requests, “like” buttons, and heartfelt Happy Birthdays from people I haven’t seen since kindergarten, and I just don’t know how much more I can take.