yoga.org.nz

Satsang and the pre/trans fallacy.

al — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:51:17 +0000

I went along with my film crew to a Satsang the other night; below I’ve posted a video that shows a small part of it (I’m the one reading the words as it’s all pretty new to me). There is a bit of confusion and misinterpretation about what Satsang is in the mainstream, which I interpret as the pre/trans fallacy, so here goes a bit of a blog pitching some philosophy to clarify.

Ken Wilber, a leading American philosopher who has written extensively about many subjects, human development being one of them, coined the phrase “pre/trans fallacy.” Ken Wilber purports that many claims about non-rational states make a mistake he calls the pre/trans fallacy. According to Wilber, the non-rational stages of consciousness (what Wilber calls “pre-rational” and “trans-rational” stages) can be easily confused with one another. I have to agree that the pre/trans fallacy is one of the hardest things to get your head around – especially when looking at it from a rational level (which can be generalized to include the mainstream western mind).

Check out the video below, which is a chant from this May 2010 Satsang that I attended – if you’re on my list you will get an email when the whole thing is online (it’ll be free for members and makes for another consciousness expanding tool you can add to your box). It’s about 90 minutes and includes meditation, call and response/devotional chants and some philosophy.

I had never done a Satsang until Ram – the guy playing the harmonium and leading it - set the yoga center up in town here in 2008. (Yeap, that is 10 plus years for me without knowing about this vital aspect of yoga!) Now that I have a better understanding of developmental psychology and growth I get the whys and the benefits that it can provide.

Ok, so “non-rational” states… what are they? To understand this you need to understand about Growth as it relates to the human experience. Here is a video post on Yoga and Growth which gives a part of the picture.
Eastern and Western Developmental growth models all tend to look at growth as something that happens by and through “stages.” Whether growth be viewed through the lens of the Chakras, the Koshas (Annamaya kosha, Pranamaya kosha, Manamaya kosha, Vijnanamaya kosha, Anandamaya kosha )or the western developmental growth models, for example, Jean Gebser (who looks at growth through the archaic, magic, mythical and mental structures, and into the integral stage) and many, many others. Here’s a chart of many philosophers mapping lines of development through levels, or stages, of consciousness that will give you an idea.

Levels of Growth

Click the image to enlarge.

In a nutshell they are all saying the same thing. There is a path of growth which takes us through many levels of our own being as we wind our way through the human experience.
Many of us can get stuck at certain levels, which is totally cool if that is what you want to be doing. At lower levels of mind it can be turbulent (with fear, anger, anxiety, etc) making sense of your own consciousness. So what is consciousness? For thousands of years this question has perplexed some of the world’s greatest hearts and minds—entire generations of philosophers, yogis, mystics and scientists have spent many an hour laying awake at night wondering. So it is cool to feel OK about not knowing. But it makes sense to work up the chain of growth where you can be more at peace with yourself. The chain has many levels and lines so it can be mind boggling to think about it.
So how does this relate to Satsang? Let’s look at Satsang from a few different levels:

A/ Looking at it from a Pre Rational Level.
Here we are in the moment and we may take a literal meaning in the chants, many of which tell stories in myth form to help us grow at this level by giving us something to sense that is beyond us (note that this stage is neither good nor bad, for there is a lot of learning that happens as we grow through this stage… so it just IS. We are all at the level that we are at; but the idea is that everyone grows through this stage, as opposed to becoming stuck at it).

B/ Looking at it from a Rational Level.
This could look like some crazy religion. What are all these English speaking people doing chanting in a foreign language?? Is this some cult or what? JackTM over at YT asked me if I was a Hindu? LOL although I have nothing against it and encourage all authentic spiritual practice, but no I’m not Hindu.

C/ Looking at it from a Trans Rational Level
Here you have an understanding about States and Stages of consciousness and what directs one towards higher being. You understand that certain practices, Satsang being one of them, can move you to other states of consciousness and that this can help you slowly understand your mind more deeply while helping you to develop a greater capacity for care, comprehension and compassion.

So the pre/trans fallacy grossly simplified is:
A & C are both NON rational – but both look different. So if you do not have the philosophical framework to interpret what is going on, you can be experiencing the pre/trans fallacy where you interpret it as A when IMHO, in this instance, it is C. I have known Ram for a couple of years and he is a switched on guy that understands development. But be careful as this can also go the other way around. In another setting, that looked very similar, you could perceive it as C when it was A – in this situation a mythical experience is elevated to a trans-rational experience.
This (being Satsang) is just one situational example that can be transposed into many other areas of life. The point is that we tend to jump in from the level we personally perceive things at and judge situations as non-rational, rational or trans-rational… but because we are perceiving things from our own standpoint, we are often left open to error of judgment if we don’t fully understand what it is we are seeing or experiencing. And this error of judgment often elevates the mythical, or the pre-rational, and demotes the integral, or the post-rational – herein lies the pre/trans fallacy and consequently a lot of confusion.
Anyway, that just a super condensed overview in relation to one topic. Pick up one of Ken Wilber’s books like “Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World” or take a look at that big fat book “Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution” if you wanted to explore this more: understanding this at a political level would go a long way to balancing the current world situation.

Charakas the Yoga of food – No ordinary Moments

al — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:58:37 +0000

I just finished the most amazing Yoga session and meal of living food and thought I would recap the experience to integrate better what I have just learned and share it with any readers that may take interest.

To let my system catch up after a week of a bit too many complex carbs I had a pretty light day of eating, I consumed a mandarin for breakfast, kiwifruit for morning tea, 10 almonds for lunch and a Tablespoon each mix of Spirulina, Wheatgrass and Barleygrass for Afternoon Tea. I had my usual pre Ashtanga ritual and at about 7 pm I sweated and glided (not so gracefully as I am just starting ( a few years) to work with the physical style of yoga) my way through two hours of a workshop style Ashtanga session, working with a few blocks, straps and holding the poses through a lot of the of the vinyasanas on the video, so I could go in slower and really feel it everywhere, with a focus mainly in the heart charka and letting the energy look for the right lines or feeling the energy channels that emanate from the different positions in the chest and back, whatever label that I am using for an experiences beyond words .

It was an area the we covered in Pauls Workshop a couple of weeks back. Physically this meant: keeping the focus on the ribs, taking the attention/mind into that area, keeping the shoulder blades down the back and keeping the should blades from popping, which is a challenge for me at present. Below photos: One area I was working on . .

Keeping the lower back broadening with all of this is another challenging thing

When looking at it from the front keeping the lower ribs extending downward stopping them from popping while keeping the action on the back.

There are no ordinary moments, is saying I once heard, which is true. Really for us to be here us to be hear now, integrating all the energy brings you to that moment is just an amazing thing. Anyway the Yoga went well and I had a really fantastic relaxation for 15 mins.

Then about 30 minutes later I had dinner. Pretty late around 10 pm . ( too late to be eating really )

22:30 150grams white fish with lemon juice,170grams raw salad (50 grams mixed Mescalun salad greens-120grams carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato, red capsicum),10ml mixed hemp and flax oil,40 grams avocado and balsamic vinegar.

I was reading a book once called The yoga of food. It suggested that a good idea was to chew the first mouth full so many times that the food trickles down your throat with our swallowing and to put your eating utensils down until this is complete, so you are not tempted. So after about 100 chews the first mouthful was gone.

This had given me a heightened awareness of how the living food was becoming part of the vibration of space and information that I am ( well what appears to be me) & had set the tone for the rest of the meal . Back to the book, which advised that when we eat we should focus and mediate on what we are doing, not watching TV ( fine for me as I pulled the plug on that years ago ) or surfing the Web, (hmm that is a challenge ) reading, talking or working or whatever… you get the picture . Focus and breathe. Chewing the food is the first stage of the digestion process,so you must Chew, Chew and Chew some more otherwise you body does not use the food efficiently and if you are seeing whole chunks the next day ( you know what I mean) you have obviously not used it efficiently.

Leading a very busy business life I do not do this mindfully all the time. I am working towards it, being aware is the first key.

More another time

Namaste

A Vegetarian Recipe Quick & Nutritious

al — Sun, 23 May 2010 08:23:55 +0000

Hey crew here is a quick nutritious Vegetarian Recipe made with a simple steamer. Give it a go I am no chef but can do this easily. Steamed veggies with a little olive oil and salt.

I am no chef so this is really simple and quick . Anyone can do this!

With the dangers coming out about microwaved food that give me the jitters. I have long since got rid of it and honestly this is just about as fast.

Here is the first show of the Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Show that I refer to in the video. Ram is a really super chef. I am not kidding he is really good. Good enough for me to invest in filming him for 2 months to get some good information on the web. A Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Class with a world class Vegetarian Chef . The first dish at the link about is Spiced Pumpkin Soup and Red Rice Pilau. You want easy vegetarian cooking you have now got it.

Here is an Article about Microwaves and their effects titled Why did the Russians Ban an Appliance Found in 90% of American Homes? over at Mercola.com which is worth a read. It will make you think twice about using it and take up the benefits of steaming.

Namaste

Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Class

al — Sun, 23 May 2010 08:03:05 +0000

A Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Class with a World Class Vegetarian Chef . Spiced Pumpkin Soup and Red Rice Pilau. Easy vegetarian cooking. Making 2 dishes with the simple vegetarian cooking. Recipe and ingredient list is below .

View this Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Class on You Tube

Kerala Spiced Pumpkin Soup

1/4       Pumpkin
1          Stick of Celery
3/4       Cup of Coconut
1          Bunch of Coriander
1          Carrot
2          Tomatoes
2          Lemons
1-1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seed
1          Teaspoon of Coriander Seed
1          Teaspoon Mustard Seed
1          Pinch of Asfodia Powder
2          Sprigs of Curry Leaves
1-1/2 Teaspoon of Grated Fresh Ginger

Rams Red Rice Pilau

1   Cup of Red Rice
1   Cup of Cauliflower
1   Handful of Beans
1/4    Red Pepper (Optional)
1   Carrot
1   Cup of Broccoli
2   Sprigs of Curry Leaves
1    Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1   Pinch of Asfodia Powder
1   Teaspoon Cumin Seed
1/2   Teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2   Teaspoon Tumeric

Lemon Juice and Coriander to garnish.

Pukekura Park New Plymouth Taranaki

al — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:14:40 +0000

Come with me on a ride through Pukekura Park New Plymouth Taranaki. Then along the New Plymouth foreshore. Living with an attitude of gratitude is so important. How could this not happen with the ride below!!I must be one of the luckiest guys in the world( even though I think that we create our own luck. )

Anyway I picked up my little JVC cam and took a shoot of my ride to work. Then took a few other shots another day and editing them all together with some of the many photos of the park I had on my harddrive.

This contains a video montage of stills in the middle. Pukekura Park New Plymouth
Pukekura Park is a world-renowned park located in the heart of New Plymouth city.
A tranquil paradise the park covers about 52ha (128 acres) and contains a diverse range of landscapes, including many plant collections, exotic specimen trees, formal gardens, lakes and walking trails through native bush.

Pukekura Park features a wide variety of plants and landscapes – from dense remnant kohekohe, tawa, mahoe and pukatea forest, to broad acre lawn with perennial displays, to themed garden plantings.

A native orchid and fern collection is housed among sub-tropical plants in the Fernery.

Pukekura Park has been awarded the accolade of Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust since 2004.

Yoga Injuries

al — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 05:03:42 +0000

I have been thinking about the Good news Bad news of Yoga and injuries and having finally been doing back bends with little or no pain over the past month, I thought I would do a quick video review on a couple of points I have been able to learn. You may ask how a injury can be good news ? This post covers a bit of Anatomy and Physiology, a couple of concepts about being more aware in your approach to your yoga practice.

How you can turn a simple piece of rope into a home traction device, ( Traction is a term used by orthopedic and chiropractic doctors to describe the any treatment that pulls or lengthens the spine apart as opposed to squishing it together) that strengthens and loosens the muscles surrounding the spine naturally—so you can eliminate the source of the pain. While you would work on treating the issues that are behind the underlying cause.

The Yoga Trapeze (This looks like it would be a safer alternative to what I am doing in this video and has a lot more applications and a solid back support)
While there are dozens of causes for yoga injuries like back pain, the physical manifestation is almost always the same: some form of compression, a squishing of the vertebrae into one another. If your lower back, neck or shoulders suffer from recurring pain and after you exercise (yoga, jogging, etc) this may help. The Yoga trapeze looks like it would be more A LOT more comfortable that the rope system that is demonstrated in the video above (basically with the dead-simple treatment of traction your back pain can be eased)

A healthy spine has full, firm, and resilient disk tissues that allow for complete range of motion. After sitting all day in an office, driving a car or doing yoga for years with incorrect form that overloads one muscle at the expense of others, it’s very likely that some of your disks are not in great shape . So watch all these things are take some form of action to get on top of it.

Books referenced in the video

Anatomy and Physiology Version 6
This is the version I have which you can get a 2nd hand copy at this link

Anatomy and Physiology 7th Edition The latest version.

The Psoas Book Liz Koch

Keep practicing with more awareness.

Namaste

Yoga and Growth.

al — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:10:32 +0000

Lately I have been reflecting on my own path and how I got to this moment in time. When I first started with my Yoga about 14 years ago now, it was more about the physical ( Sports Performance) & health aspects that kept me going with it. However as time moves on, it also helps reveal more aspects of yourself to yourself. With the correct practice you get to a point where you develop the capacity to hold many perspectives and your mind is very balanced in most situations. Over the past 8 years I have been reading and listening to a lot of audio material from the Great Philosopher Ken Wilber ( whom is still alive). He has done a lot of research into growth and development, looking at both Western and Eastern models. In a Nutshell we start life with a certain world view and it gains complexity ( and simplicity in a sense), as we move through our lives (where it moves to can depend on many different aspects of your life /practice /) The below video is a very brief overview of this. It is really one of the most important understandings that you can make. I kid you not, Repeated here for Emphasis It is really one of the most important understanding that you can make. if you can see the path it is a whole lot easier to start following it. Anyway please watch the below video I have tried to give you some keys to help understand this. The mic did drop out and I lost a couple of video tracks so the video is not the smoothest but it contains some important information.. IMHO .. This is a follow on from the http://yoga.org.nz/yogaonlineblog/2010/happynewyear/ post so you may want to catch that first.

Keep well all and keep practising.

Namaste

Ultimate Nutrition Superfood Smoothie recipe

al — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:13:58 +0000

Ultimate Nutrition Superfood Smoothie recipe

Hey Internet I decided to film myself making breakfast on Sunday. The video is below gives you all of the information if your looking for a breakfast on the run that is Tasty nutritious and quick. Check below the video for the ingredients list. If you can’t get it all just add what you can. The green foods are a must.

Is pretty simple really, eat wisely!!

We can tend to eat more than we need, because our body is craving nutrients . In the West the majority eat a lot of empty food that will fill your stomach with empty calories, so you will still want to eat as your body maybe full, but it is still not getting the nutrition that it needs. So it will send the signal to your brain that you need more and you confuse that with “more food” but in reality it is more nutrition. For those in the East, watch the overdoing of carbohydrates, to many grains is not a good thing.

To drop weight you need to consume less healthy calories than you expend and keep your heart rate (on an empty stomach) in a training zone 4-5 times per week for around 40 minutes. The calories you eat must have some nutritional value and its not about diet it is about lifestyle choices, simply make a choice to live a more healthy lifestyle, you will then get the benefits of feeling great most of the time, not just when you have a sugar rush

About Nutrition it is pretty simple really, eat wisely!!

Goat Kefir 80 ml (use unsweetened Yoghurt if you cannot get this)
2 Apples
2 X 25gram scoops 50 Gram Green Blend
40% Organic Spirulina (Fromhttp://www.organicspirulina.co.nz ),
30 % Barleygrass & 30 % Wheatgrass Powder.
Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)
Optional Strawberries (Fresh or Frozen)
Chia Seeds
Oil Blend Approx 2:1:1 Ration Omega 3, 6, 9
Made of 40% Flaxseed oil – 20% Sunflower Seed – 15% Sesame Oil – 10% EPO (evening primrose oil) 8% Coconut – 4% Ricebran Oil 3% macadamia Nut oil.
(Keep refrigerated)
LSA (Contains B complex vitamins) 50% Ground Linseeds [also known as Flaxseed, Linum Usitatissimum] , 33.35 Sunflower Seeds & 16.7% Almonds
Optional Banana
Spices for Digestive aids and Flavor
Cardamom Sprinkle
Ginger Sprinkle
Cinnamon Big Sprinkle
Turmeric is good to add half a teaspoon (not added in video)
RO Water. (Reverse Osmosis) Add as much as you need to mix.
The final product should be quite thick.
Blend for 30 seconds or until all ingredients are mix thoroughly.
Enjoy!!

Happy New Year.

al — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:16:25 +0000

Hey every one. Since I have been working on the internet full time for the last 5 years I have grown my hair. Below is a light hearted skit that looks at the Guru Model as it stands from a western percpective. The Guru and the Pandit talking about the politics of consciousness. Something different check it out. Please leave a comment . For the New Zealanders check out the details below this for the Yoga Retreat that my friends from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre. It will be a awesome retreat .

Yoga Retreat
February 12th-14th
Starts 6:00pm

The retreat will be run in a traditional style that reflects the Sivananda Ashrams:

Each day will consist of:

2 Practices of Satsang- Meditation,Kirtan and Yoga

Philosophy

2 Practices of Yoga Asana and Pranayama Classes

2 Nutritious & Tasty Vegetarian Meals

A workshop on one aspect of the vast profound science of yoga

The cost is

-Early bird price with shared cabin $175 (booked before jan 14th)

-Early bird price private cabin $195 (booked before jan 14th)

-Shared cabin after jan 14th $200

-Private cabin after jan 14th $220

The location is Te Wera valley lodge, 3560 Ohura Road,R.R. 25, Stratford

Space will be limited so be in quick. To secure place full payment must be made.

For bookings or questions please call 06 7538234.