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• The Nature of Yoga The Nature of Yoga

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Hi there,

    Well. Over the last past few years I've been developing a presentation on the nature of yoga (it's an animated Powerpoint slide show, sans sound - as I talk as the show rolls). At that time I had a day job at the Social Services Department in the city I live in (could'a walk to work). Yeah, anyway, I developed and gave this short lecture (25 min, abouts) nine times for my coworkers and clients.

    In this lecture I develop the idea of an heuristic metaphor, "The Tree of Life", with which to explain and make sensible all of yoga, all of its dynamic, to unite all its variegated methods, all its ways, to make clear its purpose, and to define its recursive algorythmy once an' for all.

    And, yes, I do use a few strange words an' all, but bear with me please, they are all there but for to pinpoint a few ideas I have on yoga somewhat distinctly, well, that's my hope (a slight attempt, vielleicht, to broaden the generally expressed scope of yoga in a rational way). I do try to explain the context and inner/outer sense of the constructions I apply ... and English not being my native language, I'm from Sweden, I can but blunder about.

    Anyway, here it is*:

    The Nature of Yoga

    On this I would be very interested to hear your views, fellow yogis, on my take on yoga and on the metaphor of "The Tree of Life" which I sort'a pulled out'a the ground (ah well, it 'a happens that way in the animation - go see). (I, seemingly, couldn't link straight to the pps file so now the link leads to my 'metaphor' folder on my SkyDrive cyber storage area, and the file's called, you guessed it, "The Nature of Yoga".)

    One thing led to the other and then last fall I pulled all my ideas together even more by having the whole edifice of the metaphor above fall under the numinous nub of paradigm. In this both 'feet' of yoga, rest & activity, find common ground.

    The Paradigm of Yoga

    This is a more worded stance, a book, in my endeavour to bring yoga onto a firm, an' perchance bright, naturalistic foundation. The two works are complementary, one is the quick overview and one the heady verbal rush. For the moment these are my contributions towards a glimble, glymbal, glint at the kindling of life itself, true joy, happiness and fulfilment, so to say.

    All the best,

     

    Albatross

     

    * This file resides in the 'Metaphor' folder at the top of my An Another Albatross Goes Arundo blogh.

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  • 1 year ago
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• True Love True Love

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Ah, wah!

    Here's another one, "True Love", a li'l song to go with the Valentine spirit of the now. I was playin' a few song this morning and suddenly I chugged into this one, which I haven't played for a while, but somehow I did it in 3/4 instead of the 2/4 I usually apply ('t just happened). And I liked it. I hope you'll like it too. (And as with that other song I posted the other day, "All the Worlds a Joy", it's all very unpretentious, just me an' da livin' room ambience.)

    Here's the song: "True Love" (links to an mp3 file).

    (If this link doesn't work please see my Arundo blogh where I have my SkyDrive files, this song is in the folder "True Love Affair".)

    And here's the lyric:

     

     

    True Love

     

    True Love may be a blessing,
    It just cannot be a curse.
    An’ I guess it all works out somehow,
    True Love don’t make it worse.
    I came upon you in the wee hours,
    Walkin’ out on Leaf Wood Ridge;
    True Love, I came for the beauty
    You surrender with each tender kiss.

    True Love may be a blessing,
    Maybe even now.
    Out here dawn slips up the stair,
    Here’s True Love by’ an’ by’.
    Ah, you took me in awhile,
    Yeah, dawn’s about, an’ you by my side,
    Ah, my sky’s so much brighter now;
    True Love, I still can’t be without it.

    And True Love is true desire;
    Turns heat into fire.
    True Love I got a glimpse of you;
    Turn the wheel and take me higher.
    I wanna come on to you sweet love,
    Take you in my arms, so close, so tight;
    True Love all grace and charm,
    In this sweet embrace.

    
    Albatross (Juri  Aidas  —  7 June 2003)

     

     

    For more songs se my "Wild River Collection" at MySpace.

    And my book on yoga, "The Paradigm of Yoga", is at Issuu.

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  • 1 year ago
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• All the World's a Joy All the World's a Joy

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Hi,

     

    I'd like to share this song I wrote a while back. Today, after doin' a bit 'a service on a friends guitar I wanted to play it, new strings an' all, and suddenly I found myself trying it out with this song here below (haven't been playing it for a while). Well, I had some problems with my equipment so I couldn't record on the spot but had to leave it till later in the day, and thus another guitar. This ain't professional recording, it's just me in my living room. I like the song, and the recording didn't turn out too bad, mistakes an' all.

    Listen to it here: All the World's a Joy (mp3)

     

    All the World’s a Joy

    
    All the world’s a joy
    And all the stars are bright.
    Come runaway child
    Be my pleasure, my delight.
    I love the song you strum,
    I love that rhyme.
    Be mine awhile.

    And all the ways of love
    whirl that firmament above.
    Oh! Blessed abode!
    Oh! Blessed child of God!
    Everywhere you go
    Flowers bloom all around,
    And I will sing with you.

    I will sing with you
    For all tygers of the night,
    When soft and lean
    Their paws embrace us here!
    Peace of mind, peace of mind!
    And the beacon of your eye
    Calm this soul of mine.

    I soar rifts and ridges
    I scale the heights.
    Yea my love,
    Fall free with me awhile.
    Share holy wine,
    Heaven and Earth entwine,
    May love abide.

    Ah! Take me to the valley
    And love me there.
    Where honey and roses
    Pour fragrance on the air.
    Like paradise I guess,
    Yea, I’ll sing it all here.
    To sing with you.

    I will sing with you
    For all tygers of the night,
    When soft and lean
    Their paws embrace us here!
    Peace of mind, peace of mind!
    And the beacon of your eye
    Calm this soul of mine.

    Yea! All the world’s a joy
    And all the stars are bright.
    Come runaway child
    Be my pleasure, my delight.
    I love the song you strum,
    I love that rhyme.
    Be mine awhile.
    Be mine awhile.
    Be mine awhile.

    
    Albatross (Juri Aidas)  —  28 February 2003

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  • 1 year ago
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• A fourfold sequence of experie A fourfold sequence of experience up unto the inner event horizon and beyond.

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Hi there,

     

    Once as I was doing a meditation (allowing the Recursive Evolutionary Algorithm, da olde algorythmie*, to do it's thing) I had an experience in four distinct stages.

     

    1.  Yes, once, when I had gotten myself into a meditative setting and started up the process of yogic algorythmy I, after a little while of this process, got to wondering where I had my hands? Were they in my lap or at my sides? I could not discern this mentally, but I knew that if I'd open my eyes I'd get an instant confirmation of where my hands were. So (this being a quite general experience) I wasn't worried, thinking "I can verify later", thus letting it go ... an' I continued with that algorythmy.

     

    2.  After another little while I had the thought "Where am I? Am I in my living-room, in my bedroom or at a friends place?" I just couldn't tell, but I did not let this worry me either (these things happen often in deep meditation) thinking "I'll know when I have finished". I could've looked but I let this go too ... an' that algorythmy showed me along. 

     

    3.  Now, after another li'l while, the dimension of time came into question. I suddenly found that I asked myself, "When is all this taking place? Today? Which today? Or is it yesterday now, or tomorrow?" I couldn't discern anything about the space/time thing from inner reference. But being used to the recursive process of Yoga I didn't worry at all, and now I was thinking "Ah, later" and I let this go also ... dah, now the algorythmy literally sparkled. 

     

    4.  Then as a grand finale to this very distinct progression I had the thought "What is my name?" I could not remember. Yes. I, in that moment, just could not remember my name. But being so deep into the inner thing I let this slip away too, thinking "I'll remember when I'm finished with this Yoga, I'll just look into a mirror and remember, surely I'll remember". I knew I knew, but my cognitive works just didn't bother. I was so deep into that inner quiet that I just did not want to disturb myself by being attached to a memory of a name, my name. This was a strange sensation. I was surprised, and that would have been enough of an activity to derail me from the inward quietening had I not been used to doing the Yoga ... but I'd reached the inner event horizon ... ah, that algorythmy.

     

    After these four stages I went somewhere very quiet (where even the gods do not go, why should they, there's nothing there, it's quiet -

     

    "Who verily knows and who can here declare it,

    whence it was born and whence comes this creation?

    The Gods are later than this world’s production.

    Who knows then whence it first came into being?"

     

    Rig Veda, X. 129, 'Creation', translation by R.T.H. Griffith).

     

    I became invisible, in the sense of experiencing a total, but momentary ego-loss. Afterwards I was filled with a sense of serenity, of universality, my body was supple and responded perfectly, playing my guitar was effortless.

     

    Albatross

     

    * In my book I describe the algorythmy of yoga more fully, see:

    The Paradigm of Yoga: Rest & Activity.

     

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  • 1 year ago
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• What is My Yoga? What is My Yoga?

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Well, Hi there folks,

     

    There are days that just pass by,
    There are thoughts that slip my eye,
    There are dreams I cannot hold,
    And the ways of all these things I won't presume to know.

     

    Yes, I teach yoga, and I have been doing that since 1971 - I teach of the philosophy of yoga and of it's methods. I found yoga mainly through a meditation technique which I still practice every day, in the morning, in the afternoon, it being basic Yoga, so to say. Falling drops of water carve stone if let go their course. Yes. Every day I sit down to do yoga, maybe I’ll do some asana (posture) first, just a few minutes, stretch the system a little, shake it, roll it, flow it, get that surface tension out, balance it. Then I sit, comfortably, I straighten my back a little, I’ll find me a good posture so as to not my block my breathing, I allow for a free flow of breath in and out of mine physical structure, yes, after the rollin' an' tumblin' of asana it's natural to find a good seat. From this setup I apply a li’l prana-yama to handle the breath, to slow down my system even more, to bridge the purely physical with the cognitive platform (and well, while doing the prana-yama, I’ll close my eyes, of course, as I don't need all the excess input my most poignant sense can provide, I don't bother about the entertainment, I'm about to rest, 'nothing' is supposed to happen, or not happen, same thing, it's all about the stilling of mental and somatic functionality - would it be rest if there were visions?). I but do a few minutes of this prana-yama. Now I balance my head comfortably and freely on top of my spine and shoulders and then I slide into the process of meditation, dhyana, per se. A candle lit in a place where the wind doth noth blowh, ho! Feels good to me.

     

    Now, the mind is full of stuff; the thinking process, feelings, flux, vacuity, veracity, verocity, vocality, vaguity, an' then some 'a that velveteen stuff, cats' whiskers an' all - all mixed up in inner contemplative and focal dynamics. Well, I don't need all that action going on as I'm about to rest, so, as thoughts arise I divert them, uh, in an underhanded manner, oops, like I just add another thought, a mantra of no import or meaning ('man' means 'to think', 'tra' is suggestive of instrumentality - method that is); that's the point of a mantra, it does not have connotations, it should not, at least it's not supposed to imbue meaning - here the common understanding, as I hear, makes a mess of everything, it's like a mantra would be an epitome of inner focus, a focusing of faith, a calling of the name of 'god' - does 'god' need a name? - of course things go incomprehensible - there's no faith involved in the use of a mantra - even 'god' leaves me alone here in my yoga, puh. That's the thing. A mantra is used as a mental impulse to distract any flow of cognitive expression of an either spontaneous or volitional character. It's simple really. As one falls into the inner domain (because one allows for the micro-time-out) the slight impulse of the mantra is, as the process proceeds, enough to distract ones attention from the intentionality of the thinkings going on and not towards anything else, a moment of no doing is there for the having. The motivating intent of our budding, growing expression is fragmented by this process of 'algorythmy', which leaves thoughts stranded, extinguished, they become the prey of inner quite quiet breezes, they are as if just vacumed off, shoh. The impulse itself of the slight diversive action of thinking a mantra, this easy channeling of intent (no concentration, no mindless dull repetition, just an easy return to the process of dhyana, meditation, for to establish a flowing algorythmie) also stimulates our awarness, and makes for alertness over time as all extraeneous mental-somatic functionality turns off, by an' by. The process itself also gets distracted and finally falls away, vaguely waves away. Waves of tiredness may rise as a potentially stressed out system settles into quiet. Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. If I'm tired I fall asleep. Then I do not continue the process of yoga but I rather snooze happily for a while. Next time the yoga may be clear and smooth. And finally. How does one get hold of a word of no meaning, that does not create further meaning, an' so on? Not from a book (with all their attached fractal associatives), not self made (whoo, what devious ways do our inner processes take, invisibility from below, ho, snakes' hands), heard on the telegraph (but that would bring contexts). Well, just get it from somebody else, privately, preferably from some respectable and trustworthy source (any method of meditation held in high esteem accomplishes its goal), go find, and then there's really no need to ever use a mantra in any other circumstance but within the process of yoga. This should cut all extra baggage from the mantra (it's important that it not develop into a meme - and thus scintillate the cognitive works) - and whatever (sub-level) meaning the giver of a mantra would induce will not be carried over if the mantra is let alone to do it's work, of non-work, within the processes of yoga and not all over the place.

     

    Then, as I rise from my yoga (which I end with a slight rest lying on my back, all flopped out) I perform action. I'm rested, I act, I work, I sing.

     

    Now time might someday embrace this song,
    Time whose changes surely will unfold,
    As you an’ I come close.
    O, dear heart, your charm’s ‘a pinned me to lifes’ spinnin’ wheel.

    And as the tremblin’ first notes abide,
    As the words fall in easy driftin’ rhymes,
    An ageless modern sound to your ear,
    Well that could be, that would be a love quite real to me.

    So I sing this song of love,
    I sing the words that fall,
    I just want to tell the world,
    That true love and sweet companions should everyone befall.

     

    Well anyways folks. I have had good mileage out of my practice for more 'n 40 years now and I still recommend a lil' go in the mornin' when the mind is fresh (you do sleep well, dont you all?) and then that lil' afternoon go seems quite natural to me as I might need, and do, a refresher after a days work (to me yoga is 'the' siesta). So where time allows I fill it with a go at yoga in a structured manner; but this is a pattern to modulate as needs go.

     

    Ah, the road keeps rollin’ on,
    O, what sights there are to see,
    Oh, how near I came to thee,
    But it’s the breeze that flows all free.

     

    (By the way, I regard myself today an both an affiliated and unnaffiliated teacher of the philosophy of yoga [I am paradox], as I have developed something of my own approach to the subject over the years: see my Algorythmy Blog for more on this.)

     

    There are days that just pass by,
    There are thoughts that slip my eye,
    There are dreams I cannot hold,
    And the ways of all these things I won't presume to know.

     

    
    Albatross

     

    ("There Are Days": listen at my MySpace, An Another Albatross Arrives.)

    ("The Paradigm of Yoga: Rest & Activity" - my book, all 178 pages of it.)

     

     

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  • 1 year ago
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• The Paradigm of Yoga The Paradigm of Yoga

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Hi there folks,

     

    (As I just left a somewhat longish comment in the comments section below, of certain pertinence to the ideas I'd like to peruse here at YJ, and as I'd like to invite ya, all ya yogis an yoginis here, from novice to master class, to somewhat discuss and adduce your thinkings to my idea of a paradigm to yoga, I take the liberty, so that my update be more visible, of updating this blogpost with this parenthesis here. [An I'm 'a quite fond of Strange Loops.] Ah, now I get it, groups are the nexa here.)

     

    Um. I, just a moment ago, happened to notice my picture on the front page of this Yoga Journal site (member of the day, uh) - felt good, touched my ego some, just a little.

     

    So. I thought I really ought to tell you all a bit more about what I do, though as today has been rather hectic, in an existential sense, I'm a bit rushed, an' I still have a few more obligations to attend to, so, please allow me to but take the short road here for now.

     

    As you might have seen from my profile I have written a book on yoga - and I found a nice place to publish it on the Internet. It's up for reading at Issuu.com. For a direct view of it (all 178 pages of it) please surf over to Issuu - heres a link that'll take you directly to my book: The Paradigm of Yoga (if you use the Issuu full screen option, and if your screen is of at least 19", the book will display life size).

     

    As said, I'm in a hurry at the moment, but I did write a bit on my book, explaining my ideas, at another yoga forum, HRIH (where not much happens, but somehow the views keep tickin' in, but there'a a lot on Patanjali). So, for a short intro and some background please see my forum post over there.

     

    For some appendixal hariolatory stuff on a possible biological connection of the stuff 'a the brain, the workings of neuronal cells, with the eight aspects of yoga (as per Master Patanjali) see my blog over at blogspot: The Algorythmies of An Another Albatross.

     

    Ok. Gotta run!

     

    All the best to you all fellow yogis,

     

    Albatross

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  • 1 year ago
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• Well, Well, Well! Well, Well, Well!

  • From: albatross
  • Description:

    Well, here I am, an' I think I'll start out with a li'l poem I wrote a few years ago.

     

     

    Oh My God! 

     

    Oh My God!
    My god am I.
    I am my god,
    Myself am I.
    
    Oh God.
    My god is me.
    In me is God,
    God is me.
    
    Oh, my God!
    There be a place for me in you,
    Where I alone am,
    Yet you are me.
    
    O! God!
    There I am,
    And you do not intrude.
    So who is there?
    
    Oh My God!
    When I alone, am home,
    And alone myself forget.
    Is anybody there?
    
    O God.
    I’m here.
    Never was I gone,
    When not there.
    
    Yes, God is me,
    A word, a song, is me.
    And there I am.
    There you are.

     

    /Albatross

    My stuff on yoga: The Algorythmies of An Another Albatross.

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  • 1 year ago
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