Ahmadinejad Between the Palms of My Hands

Every good yoga class begins with a moment of silence in meditation on an intention. The intention could be a wish for oneself or for a friend or family member. The intention can be set on a principle in the physical, the emotional or the intellectual -- flexibility, compassion, acceptance, ambition.

Lately, when I sit down on my mat and fold my hands against one another to my heart, instead of pressing them to each other I make something of a cup. And in that cup, I like to imagine President Ahmadinejad. I hold him between the palm of my hands. In my mind's eye I can see him in the photographs of newspapers and websites and television clips. I think of his smile, he seems to always have such a sincere smile, it starts from his eyes. If you notice, his eyes in some shots actually sparkle. Once I have the clear image of him, I start to ask him not to spew such hatred all over the world. I ask him not to make statements that lead to the Israeli mentality that one day, Iran will send nuclear weapons to destroy Israel, as Ahmadinejad insinuates, dictates and rallies in exact words and nuances. I ask him to stop using his influence to instill fear that perpetuates violence that the majority of Israeli society believes to be justified.

Suddenly, Ahmadinejad morphs into Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, the Chinese government in its ocupation and administration of Tibet, the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal of Hamas, Binyamin Netanyahu of the Likud in Israel, and the hundreds of thousands of young men and women in the world, learning religion-manufactured and condoned hatred and intolerance -- in the madrasas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the fundamentalist revival churches of the United States and the extremist yeshivas of Israel.

Of course one will argue and take offense that I have equated some of these people with others who are outright terrorists, racists, bigots, plain haters. But my intention is not to call Netanyahu a terrorist, for I do not believe that is what he is, nor would I ever call Israel a terrorist state, as so many seem to be doing these days. My point is to draw attention to the spotlight and power of which all of these players possess. With guns, armies, youth and ideology, leaders of a military occupation of an interminably fragmented Palestinian nation, such as Netanyahu, leaders of pseudo-governments using terrorism to achieve its aims like Meshal and Haniyeh, and leaders of an Islamic repressive Republic with unapologetic ill will towards others like Ahmadinejad hold an incredible position in the eyes of the world. Often I am floored by the vast, limitless fanfare they receive for all of their misdeeds, for the oppression they inflict, for the hate and disaster with which they infest the world.

When I see Ahmadinejad between the palms of my hand and the rest of these men and movements, I ask them and I ask the world to give them attention for making positive contributions to the world. I ask Ahmadinejad to stop pointing a finger to Israel so that he may divert the misery and dissatisfaction of his people away from the sorry state in which Iran finds itself today. I ask him and his fellow leadership to take some damn responsibility for the way things are and to fix them, and not by method of destroying another nation-state. I ask al-Bashir to exorcise the Satan that resides within him and reflect on the genocide that he has orchestrated. I ask Meshal and Haniyeh to stop fighting the battle to the end of days, to lift up their people from the dependence on the compassion and sympathy derived from perpetual victimhood for the purpose of the Palestinian national movement's progression.

I ask Netanyahu to stop building settlements. Not because I believe, anymore, that that is the answer to the problems. But we have to do something that makes sense, something that comes from the need to live in the here and now with peace of mind.

At the end of the yoga practice, one finishes where one began. On the mat, hands folded, the journey completed. I see Ahmadinejad once again, full smile on newspapers, websites and television clips. With a full heart, I ask him and the others to try getting attention and adoration by leading from a different angle.