Stefan Conradsson
Thanks for your kind reply Margus.
As I said above, I am not used to thinking about yoga and religion (in combination) so this is for me - literally and figuratively - uncharted territory. Your post nevertheless struck a chord: my thoughts are still nesting, not yet able to unfold their wings and take flight. The egg has been laid and needs nurturing.
The philosopher Daniel C. Dennett wrote the book "Breaking the Spell - Religion as a natural phenomenon". In it he argues, among other things, that ideas, such as the idea of religion or a god, can have survival value that benefits the idea much like viruses properties benefit themselves and not the host. Sometimes (most times?) they can be dangerous to the host, other times post no danger at all. But also that ideas can benefit the host and live in a symbiotic relationship with it.
My premonitory thrust is that yoga has been incorporated into Hinduism and Buddhism because it adds survival value to both the ideas and the hosts holding them.
It also seems obvious to me that the mental is inseparable from the physical, our mental states occur in our physical medium of brain and body. Manipulating the physical affects the mental and vice-versa.
The gentleman in your video knows this, anyone (I assume) who performs yoga will also find this to be true (Ram Dass knows I assume). An atheist will benefit from yoga practises just as much as a religious person. So if we strip the religious from the the bones of yoga to get to the essence we find something probably beneficial to all.
For me to sum these thoughts up in a neat package and post them as comments to your link is not possible even though I would want to. I must also once again stress that I am far from convinced of the truth of what I am proposing.
On a personal note Margus: I don't know why you are on my friends list, I can't remember ever adding you. I am also very restrictive of those I add, but I am very glad that I have you on my list. Your posts and thoughts add a lot to my Facebook experience and I have a deep respect for your ideas and thoughts.
It also seems to me that we have an interest in psychedelics in common which makes this even more remarkable.
I will end this mail now as I don't know the upper limit of characters allowed in a private message. At one point I was informed that I could post no more than 420 characters in a reply. Something I found very funny. Anyway, all the best to you and your family.
Stefan Conradsson
As I said above, I am not used to thinking about yoga and religion (in combination) so this is for me - literally and figuratively - uncharted territory. Your post nevertheless struck a chord: my thoughts are still nesting, not yet able to unfold their wings and take flight. The egg has been laid and needs nurturing.
The philosopher Daniel C. Dennett wrote the book "Breaking the Spell - Religion as a natural phenomenon". In it he argues, among other things, that ideas, such as the idea of religion or a god, can have survival value that benefits the idea much like viruses properties benefit themselves and not the host. Sometimes (most times?) they can be dangerous to the host, other times post no danger at all. But also that ideas can benefit the host and live in a symbiotic relationship with it.
My premonitory thrust is that yoga has been incorporated into Hinduism and Buddhism because it adds survival value to both the ideas and the hosts holding them.
It also seems obvious to me that the mental is inseparable from the physical, our mental states occur in our physical medium of brain and body. Manipulating the physical affects the mental and vice-versa.
The gentleman in your video knows this, anyone (I assume) who performs yoga will also find this to be true (Ram Dass knows I assume). An atheist will benefit from yoga practises just as much as a religious person. So if we strip the religious from the the bones of yoga to get to the essence we find something probably beneficial to all.
For me to sum these thoughts up in a neat package and post them as comments to your link is not possible even though I would want to. I must also once again stress that I am far from convinced of the truth of what I am proposing.
On a personal note Margus: I don't know why you are on my friends list, I can't remember ever adding you. I am also very restrictive of those I add, but I am very glad that I have you on my list. Your posts and thoughts add a lot to my Facebook experience and I have a deep respect for your ideas and thoughts.
It also seems to me that we have an interest in psychedelics in common which makes this even more remarkable.
I will end this mail now as I don't know the upper limit of characters allowed in a private message. At one point I was informed that I could post no more than 420 characters in a reply. Something I found very funny. Anyway, all the best to you and your family.
Stefan Conradsson
17 December 2010 16:58
Margus Meigo
Thank you for your mail Stefan - you inspire me to re-post the video. I removed it yesterday as i had some wording there that i did not like.
Your comment, points are really good - can you maybe post them also under the video ? :)
I have one post more to do by tonight, just going trough some links before.
Your comment, points are really good - can you maybe post them also under the video ? :)
I have one post more to do by tonight, just going trough some links before.
16 December 2010 17:38
Stefan Conradsson
I found your youtube video on yoga quite interesting, to say the least.
It is my conviction that almost everyone to some degree practises meditation. We do it in solitude, on the bus or train or even while driving. Or we do it in bed before sleep (I know I most definitely do).
What strikes me as intriguing is that, as you and the video says, monotheistic religions dislike this practise. My understanding of monks and nuns is that they are supposed to meditate in private, but the difference between that practice and that of yoga is that yoga is not just a mental practice but also a physical one. This seems obvious to me.
But where do we, or in this case they, draw the line? Is it not more about how we think rather than what we think, that matters? I must stress that I know next to nothing about yoga, but my understanding is that it is about finding truth as it is revealed to you by thinking.
Perhaps it is this that is abhorrent to monotheistic thinking: you are not supposed to find it out by yourself, you are supposed to find truth in scripture and if you are contemplating your existence this must be done by following rules set out by your mentors.
Looking into yourself, reflectively and recursively, bringing yourself to coherence, must necessarily involve your body as well as your mind. But monotheistic thinking disregards the physical (you belong to god after all) to the benefit of the mental only.
Perhaps I am way of in my analysis, but your link got me thinking, and for that I thank you.
Kindest regards / Stefan Conradsson
It is my conviction that almost everyone to some degree practises meditation. We do it in solitude, on the bus or train or even while driving. Or we do it in bed before sleep (I know I most definitely do).
What strikes me as intriguing is that, as you and the video says, monotheistic religions dislike this practise. My understanding of monks and nuns is that they are supposed to meditate in private, but the difference between that practice and that of yoga is that yoga is not just a mental practice but also a physical one. This seems obvious to me.
But where do we, or in this case they, draw the line? Is it not more about how we think rather than what we think, that matters? I must stress that I know next to nothing about yoga, but my understanding is that it is about finding truth as it is revealed to you by thinking.
Perhaps it is this that is abhorrent to monotheistic thinking: you are not supposed to find it out by yourself, you are supposed to find truth in scripture and if you are contemplating your existence this must be done by following rules set out by your mentors.
Looking into yourself, reflectively and recursively, bringing yourself to coherence, must necessarily involve your body as well as your mind. But monotheistic thinking disregards the physical (you belong to god after all) to the benefit of the mental only.
Perhaps I am way of in my analysis, but your link got me thinking, and for that I thank you.
Kindest regards / Stefan Conradsson
15 December 2010 20:43