All photos by Bob Keidel
“Perhaps consciousness arises when the brain’s simulation of the world becomes so complete that it must include a model of itself.” Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene
Moderately paced asana practice emphasizing breath support in posture, functional alignment and mindfulness. Inspired by the Eastern philosophies, and the Sciences. All levels are welcome.
In my view, Purusha/Prakriti are two aspects of consciousness, the experienced and the experiencer, and do not need any special metaphysics to explain them. They are two aspects, not two realities, which are mutually exclusive in our experience–a cognitive illusion. And like a visual illusion, only one aspect can ‘pop’ into view in any given moment.
If you need some background on these concepts, you will have to delve into Samkhya for clarification. Yoga’s metaphysics is based on Samkhya. It is an atheistic AND dualistic school of thought. I like that first part, not so keen on the latter 
My view places Purusha/Prakriti firmly in the natural world and rejects the metaphysical implications of a dualistic point of view.
From my comments on FB about this post: The dualism of Patanjali (and Yoga) is slightly different than the dualism of Western Philosophy. However, I don’t think the difference is worth going into, because it’s essentially the same problem, which is– Is there some facet to the universe which must concede to supernatural explanation? Thus far, I see no reason or evidence which points to this concession. Even though, I do think there is probably a REAL limit to our ability to understand the universe. Quantum phenomenon is a perfect example of that limit. As popular as it has become to use quantum mechanics to draw metaphors for the reality that we experience at the human level of interaction, the fact is that quantum theory is more math than metaphor. And all our attempts to visualize this math is frustrated by a complete lack of an innate ability to do so. We will continue to run into these limits, perhaps…or evolve the ability to burst through them
I’ve been engaged with a group of practitioners over the last few weeks via Linked In Discussion Groups over the question: “What is the proper relationship between Yoga and Advaita? I personally believe, and have experienced, that Atman is Brahman but I experienced this before I started to practice Yoga, however I find Yoga a helpful tool to show other people on how to gain this experience, what are your views on this?” Continue reading
So, I think this will conclude my train of thought on free will for now. If you would like to follow the train from beginning to end, see the four links below the article in order of their appearance. Continue reading
My thoughts are forming around the breath and how surrender is an act of will. We intentionally remove the obstacles to spacious breathing which is also spacious awareness. Yoga is the process of removing the obstacles. From the perspective of the breath, the poses are a laboratory for discovering the obstacles that prevent a full and spontaneous expression of the breath. This is the deepest of meditations…an intentional act of release. Not luck. Through the Spontaneous we discover the Deliberate. Continue reading
So the problem of free will is something that has been a consistent consideration for me for sometime…and especially in my practice it has become something of a muse. Free will a problem, you say? Continue reading
