Jason Gregory's Blog, page 33

Zhuangzi on Oneness (learn to see the infinite in life)

In this episode of Enlightenment Today I will explain Zhuangzi’s natural philosophy of oneness. This is the ability to perceive the infinite in all things, which allows us to experientially feel the actual unity of life deep within our heart-mind. This is the Daoist (Taoist) vision of the universe which runs counter to the Western trained cognition of individualism and partiality. Zhuangzi explains how our analytical training blinds us to the oneness of the universe and this problem is only becomes worse because of analytical focused education. This is Zhuangzi’s natural understanding that life exists with no labels and the analytical training to discern between “this” and “that” is a human flaw which leads to a subjective viewpoint of right and wrong, and good and evil, which we all superimpose onto an objective reality which is actually the same for all. This incorrect perception is the seed of all conflict. To see reality as it truly is, in its infinite oneness, Zhuangzi advises us to fast the mind. Only then will our mind be cleansed and, as a result, the world will be at peace.

The Atman (The Nature of the True Self)

In this episode of Enlightenment Today I will give a thorough explanation of what the Atman truly is. There is a lot of misinterpretation and misunderstanding surrounding the knowledge of the Atman. When we say the Atman means the “true Self,” what does that “Self” actually represent? People with no prior training in Hindu thought, then, assume the true Self is related to a sense of agency or being (Jiva). This confusion between the Jiva and the Atman is prevalent in spirituality. But, as I thoroughly explain from traditional Vedanta knowledge, the Atman is the undifferentiated consciousness within all as one (Brahman), which is the foundation of nonduality. We need to rephrase the question of “Who am I?” (which implies a sense of agency/ego) to “What am I?”

 

Go Beyond Everything (Turiya)

In the great Eastern spiritual traditions there is a special importance given to going beyond everything, essentially going beyond the world and even your own mind. This is the spiritual ideal of the great sages and teachings of the East. But this ultimate goal is something that frightens most people because they are not willing to truly give up their sense of “self.” People who become interested in spirituality forget this ideal. Sadly, people often subtly use spirituality to propagate their ego rather than dissolve it. This is especially rife in the West. The individualistic mind of the West has taken the holistic philosophies and practices of the East and turned them into something geared more towards self-interest and vanity rather than the dissolution of self, humility, and simplicity. To counter such widespread cultural appropriation, we need to understand what going beyond everything means and how and why we should really be aiming for those lofty heights previously only experienced by the great sages of antiquity.

The Foundation of Consciousness

Going beyond everything means you’ve come into resonance with the underlying witness of all life. This witness is the pure awareness at the core of our being that we cover over with worldly experiences, mundane concerns, and individual conditioning. This witness is not overly considered in Western religions, but it is the spiritual ideal of the East. The goal is to firmly re-establish yourself in this pure awareness which is untouched by all experience. So, the focus of this goal is not about the “experience,” but instead the experiencer. The pure witness (experiencer) of all internal and external movement.

This witness resides in all experiences, no matter whether the experience is pleasurable or painful. The witness is a permanent feature of consciousness and is actually the foundation of consciousness. The surprising thing is not many people in science or Western religions focused a lot of attention on the witness and this might be an unintentional oversight considering that if you are not a deep explorer of your own consciousness then the experiencer will be overlooked in favor of the actual experience.

Undifferentiated Consciousness

Thankfully the great Eastern spiritual traditions revealed that the pure awareness of our being is the essence of consciousness. Yet each tradition explained this a little differently. In Vedanta to remain as the Atman, the undifferentiated consciousness, the Self with a capital S, means to abide in that witness state without letting the turbulence of worldly experience shake you. In Samkhya and classical Yoga, the more you reside in pure awareness, Purusha, you will begin to separate from all the movement of energy in the universe and mind, Prakrti. You develop an actual gap, where Purusha can look upon Prakrti without being affected by its gravitational pull.

In Buddhism we have Tathata, a word which refers to someone who has arrived at suchness or thusness. This is the Buddha mind that has recognized the utter impermanence of the world and, as a result, their sense of self has thinned away into Sunyata, the voidness of the universe where suchness is revealed. This is the Buddha’s immovable state symbolized in the Bhumisparsha mudra. And lastly, in Taoism there is the Absolute Tao that animates all life through the yin and yang energies of the universe. The great Taoist sages Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu explain how we can absorb our mind in Tao by emptying our mind and allowing life to be as it will without our individual interference. By following this process, you begin to merge with the Tao.

Unassociated Bliss

So, the common theme among all these great traditions is we should empty our faculties and instead of pursuing experience after experience, we should abide steadfast as the pure witness, the undifferentiated consciousness. And the promise of all the traditions is that abiding in pure awareness is actually the true key to happiness. Actually, they would say it leads to unassociated bliss, Ananda in Sanskrit. We’re often going from one experience to another trying to fill this emptiness we all feel inside, but it never leads to lasting happiness. The irony is ananda is not found in experience, but rather in dissolving the one who continually chases experiences.

When we abide as the witness more and more and are not influenced by the activity of our mind, then we are in a state of bliss from not being a “person.” This is the advanced spirituality which is part of the higher religion of the East. This sort of knowledge is what separates Eastern spirituality from Western religions. Too often these days people think there is a radical universalism existing among all religions. What we have to understand is that all religions have their place, but they are not equally efficacious. There are some similarities but they are somewhat loosely connected when we study each tradition. Eastern spirituality is far more transformative and peace bearing because the whole ethos of the Eastern traditions is based on the study of consciousness to discover the nature of mind and the universe. And they’ve done a damn good job at explaining all of that and more.

Turning Away from Worldliness

Most importantly, they’ve given us the key to true knowledge of our nature. But this knowledge requires us to go beyond everything to experience our innate bliss. We have to turn our back on worldliness. This means we have to turn our back on worldly desires and any ambition we may have of becoming “someone.” This does not mean being apathetic because it is actually our personal agendas and individual conditioning which causes all the trouble in the world, so we seek to dissolve all that subjectivity to see the world from an objective viewpoint. Instead of indulging in the “I”-thought, we need to ask who is the experiencer of thoughts? Does the experiencer feel pain or pleasure?

The truth is we only experience pain or pleasure in our mind when our pure awareness incorrectly identifies with the “I”-thought. We do this because most people haven’t established themselves as the witness and instead they are thrust here and there by their overactive mind. You need to abide as the witness to develop a distance between who you truly are as the witness and the never-ending activity in your mind.

The big problem in our modern world is people are addicted to indulging in their mind activity. We can’t establish a distance because we are drowning in our own thoughts. Abiding as the pure awareness is a life raft always ready to save us from drowning. But the problem is most people are so addicted to thoughts that they believe the way to liberation is by swimming deeper in our thoughts. Even people interested in spirituality are only interested in the movement of energy in the universe rather than the foundation.

In my years of teaching, I’ve realized many people are less interested in pure awareness and more interested in the movement of energy in the universe. I get asked to explain the feminine and masculine, the yin and yang energy of life all the time, mainly because people think that such knowledge can benefit themselves leading to fortune and abundance. But when I explain that the masculine and feminine energies exist in the psychological realm and have nothing to do with gender, people feel deflated because again this sort of knowledge is about sincere self-work and not individual self-interest and one gender being better than another. It’s all about coming in contact and understanding that witness. I usually ask those same people who is the witness of all this movement of energy including yin and yang? People say they know, but that’s only intellectual to them. It’s not a direct experience. They have not thrust themselves into an abidance in pure awareness.

All energy, including movement, thoughts, and even the material world arise from the unstained awareness. If this is the case, then shouldn’t our focus be on this witness state rather than anything else? Though I know it is important to understand how the movement of energy operates because then we get a greater understanding of the source of all life and how to navigate effectively. But if our focus is only on energy and individual self-interest, then we will have no real awareness of the higher spiritual goal of moksha, the ultimate liberation which is facilitated through a reidentification with the Atman, the Self, rather than the Jiva, the isolated person bound to time. All experience is only experienced because of the experiencer. We need to know and understand this experiencer.

The Ultimate State of Consciousness

Vedanta has an amazing way to explain this ever-present awareness in all experience. They explain this through four states of consciousness. Three states are common states we all experience. First, we have the waking state of consciousness which is our ordinary waking experience. Second, we have the dreaming state of consciousness which is a dreaming world where we still have a subjective experience. And third is the dreamless sleep state of consciousness, where everything coalesces into a vast nondual darkness with no subject or object. With these three common states of consciousness we experience the world. This means that waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep are all still experiential. In dreams and dreamless sleep there is still a subtle awareness there that experiences that state. For example, you still witness a dream just like you witness the waking world. The experiences are different, but the witness is the same.

These three states are all experiential. But what facilitates an experience is the continuity of the witness. And this witness, which is transcendent and yet immanent in all experience, is the fourth state of consciousness known in Sanskrit as Turiya, which simply means the fourth. Turiya is the pure awareness/witness. Turiya is like the secret foundation of consciousness that people truly are but they have lost connection with.

Our firm identification in Turiya is what settles the constant activity in our mind which evokes ananda, bliss. Experiences can never evoke this permanent bliss felt by the great sages. Experiences are still experience, but there is always a witness to them. Even if we have a psychedelic experience, a near death experience, or an out of body experience, there is still a witness to all of those experiences. I’m not saying these aren’t spiritual experiences, they are deep spiritual experiences. But they are still an experience nevertheless.

Take a psychedelic experience, for example. For some people psychedelics are extremely transformative. An experience can work on a deep subconscious and psychological level, helping us in our own personal evolution, which often reveals all the stuff we need to work on that we didn’t even know about ourselves. And psychedelics have the ability to permanently heal things about ourselves as well. Some people even experience a glimpse beyond duality thrusting us straight into the universe’s true loving essence. Even though this is all wonderful and beneficial, the Turiya is still present as your pure awareness in all experiences. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying psychedelics are good and healthy for everyone, it’s just an example of how our witness of all experience is always overlooked for the actual experience.

This might also answer why when Ram Dass gave LSD to his guru Neem Karoli Baba it didn’t affect him. Actually, Neem Karoli Baba said meditation is better. But his reaction might be the result from decades of residing in the Turiya, where unassociated bliss was his normal state. So, psychedelics can have a deep impact on your life, but because it’s an experience it doesn’t last and as a result it won’t give you that ultimate bliss that the East promises us.

The only way to be firmly in bliss is to go beyond the world. To do this you have to settle the whirlpools of activity within your mind, where you can see right into its transparent and reflective nature. What you will find is the undifferentiated Self which is within everything and also beyond everything. But to be That you have to establish yourself firmly as the witness without the mind distracting you. Abide in Turiya and know the bliss innate within all our hearts as the one undifferentiated state of consciousness.

The Nature of Siddhis in the East

The word siddhi is a Sanskrit noun which means attainment, accomplishment, perfection, power, realization, or success, in the sense of liberation or attaining magical powers. Siddhis are the magical powers or paranormal abilities attained through rigorous spiritual practice. In the Hindu sect of Shaivism they define siddhis as the “Extraordinary powers of the soul, developed through consistent meditation and often uncomfortable and grueling tapas, or awakened naturally through spiritual maturity and yogic sadhana.” (Tapas in Sanskrit means asceticism and sadhana in Sanskrit means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal).

The modern day students of yoga and spirituality often dismiss siddhis and are naturally skeptical when it comes to this magical dimension. And I would say it is healthy to show some skepticism because there are many charlatans and fake gurus and yogis who depend on people believing they have paranormal abilities. But even though it is sane to be skeptical of such people, I am going to give the subject of siddhis an honest an open hearing based on the knowledge available. And, between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, there is a ton of information and texts about siddhis going back thousands of years. We also need to remember that the founder of classical yoga Patanjali dedicated a whole chapter to siddhis in the Yoga Sutras.

The Nature of Siddhis

This strong siddhi component in India and other parts of Asia originates from the archaic tradition of asceticism (tapas) and also Tantra, especially the hatha yoga element of Tantra. For thousands of years we’ve heard of world-renouncing yogins and sadhus who have attained access to this magical dimension. But keep in mind, Tantrism is concerned with siddhis both in the sense of ultimate liberation and also magical powers. Tantra affirms the phenomenal world and has a positive relationship with cultivating the innate psychospiritual potential within the body-mind system. Vedanta, on the other hand, dismisses siddhis for their own reasons which I will discuss shortly.

Tantra regards siddhis as an advantage which allows us to reach our spiritual goals more fully. But, as with most things, there are two sides to each coin. For example, many practitioners of Tantra (tantrikas) will use these powers for less noble goals. Actually, there are whole texts composed to deal with these unsavory practices. And you still find tantrikas following this less noble path in India today. This less noble path is referred to as “lower Tantrism.” While, on the other hand, higher Tantrism is motivated by spiritual liberation and the spiritual upliftment of all beings, not just humans but also nonhuman beings. In the end, Tantric scriptures are focused on the higher element of liberation.

Yoga and Tantra scriptures often mention siddhis as part of an accomplished adepts arsenal of skills. The relatively unknown text called the Yoga Bija states: “The yogin is endowed with unthinkable powers. He who has conquered the senses can, by his own will, assume various shapes and make them vanish.” The Yogashikha Upanishad also explains that siddhis are the mark of a true yoga adept. As a result, siddhis, according to the Yogashikha Upanishad, are encountered in the course of one’s own spiritual practice in the same way that a pilgrim passes by sacred spots on the way to the sacred city of Varanasi in India.

The Yogashikha Upanishad also distinguishes two fundamental types of siddhis. First, the artificial which is called kalpita in Sanskrit. The second type is the nonartifical which is called akalpita in Sanskrit and means spontaneously arising. The artificial siddhis are produced by means of herbal concoctions, magic, mantra recitations, rituals, and alchemical elixirs. While the nonartificial spontaneous abilities spring from self-reliance. This natural spontaneous ability is thought to be pleasing to Ishvara. (Ishvara can mean God, the lord, a personal god, or the ultimate reality which is equal to the concept Brahman.) It is believed that these nonartificial spontaneous siddhis manifest in those who are free from desire.

In the third chapter of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali explains a long list of siddhis. This chapter is called the Vibhuti Pada. Vibhuti means manifestation or incarnation of powers and it probably stems from the Bhagavad Gita because it mentions Krishna’s far-flung powers. It is believed that a fully realized adept has access to these divine powers. She or he is known as a mahasiddha, which means great adept. These great adepts enjoy what is known as the mahasiddhis, which means great powers. In the Yoga Bhashya it refers to these great powers, commonly known in Hinduism as the Astha Siddhi, the eight great perfections.

The Nine Great Powers

There are actually nine great powers mentioned among various schools of thought. The first is Anima, which means miniaturization. This is the ability to reduce one’s size to the size of an atom. The second great power is Mahima, which means magnification. This is the ability to expand to an infinitely large size. It is believed you can become as large as a mountain, city, continent, and so on. But in the Mani Prabha text it defines Mahima as “pervasiveness.” This means it is not the physical body that expands but rather the subtle body or mind.

The third great siddhi is known as Garima, which means becoming infinitely heavy. The fourth great power is Laghima, which means weightlessness or levitation. We are all familiar with the famous idea of levitating yogins. The fifth great power is Prapti, which means extension. This is the ability to be anywhere anytime according to your will. It is the ability to bridge great distances. This could be related to teleportation. The Yoga Bhashya seriously suggests a great adept can touch the moon with their fingertips if they have access to this power. The sixth great power is Prakamya, which means irresistible will. This is the ability to use your will as freely as you like. You can apparently realize whatever you desire. The Yoga Bhashya explains that we can dive into the solid earth as if it were liquid.

The seventh great power is Vashitva, which means mastery. This is the complete mastery over the material elements and their products. You essentially have control of the natural forces of life. The eighth great siddhi is Ishitva, which means lordship or supremacy over nature. This great power is the ability to have perfect mastery over the subtle energies of the material world. This brings a great adept on par with Brahma the creator. The ninth siddhi which is sometimes included in the great eight siddhis is known as Kama-avasayita. This means the fulfillment of all desires or complete satisfaction. This is the unobstructed ability to will whatever into manifestation. But this ability cannot go against the will of Ishvara.

The Six Black Magical Powers

Contrary to these great powers, which vary from school to school, we have the black magical aspect of lower Tantrism. In Tantrism these are recognized as the six magical actions or Shat karma. The first magical action is shanti, meaning peace. But don’t confuse this with how you’re used to hearing shanti as peaceful. In this context of magical action, it is the ability to pacify anyone by magical means through the use of mantras, yantras, and visualization. The second magical action is Vashikarana, which means subjugation. This is the ability to bring people under complete control making them as subservient as slaves. The third magical power is Stambhana, which means stoppage. This is the ability immobilize another being or make a situation ineffective.

The fourth magical action is Uccatana, which means eradication. This is the ability to destroy someone from a distance, where you don’t even have to see them for this to happen. This is used to influence emotions between two people. The fifth magical action is Vidveshana, which means causing dissension. This is the ability to create discord among groups of people. With this ability you’d be great at instigating a riot. And the sixth and last magical action is Marana, which means causing death. This is the ability to kill someone from a distance. A useful ability for assassins or anyone at war. As interesting as these six magical actions may sound, they definitely fall short of the high Tantric ideal of liberation through knowledge and spiritual upliftment. These six magical actions in no way reflect the ideals of Tantrism, which is first and foremost, a path to liberation encompassed by high moral values.

Transcending Siddhis

This misguided use of siddhis is why many traditions believe we should avoid them at all costs. Vedanta is especially critical of the attraction to magical powers. This is also the view held in Buddhism and Taoism. Why these traditions are super critical is because siddhis are useless on their own. They are just more ways for us to posture and show off, which in the end strengthens our ego and this defeats the purpose of the spiritual process. If the spiritual processes purpose of refining the ego is not met by people who possess siddhis, then all this does is lead one to peacock consciousness, where people want to use siddhis to showcase how they are somehow special. We discover this peacock temperament especially in hatha yoga and the Taoist arts.

Peacock consciousness implies that the ego is still strong within you and it also implies that you are not ready for the deeper mystical states of consciousness. Trying to externalize your spirituality is one of the most ego-driven things you could do and this goes for those trying to showcase their magical powers. We must remain sensitive to the distinction between magical powers and the great work of real spiritual transformation, which in the end goes beyond siddhis.

The goal of authentic spirituality has nothing to do with attaining magical powers, but instead it is about self-realization or God-realization, meaning you have transcended your ego construct to merge with the ultimate reality (Brahman). The Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati text, attributed to Gorakhnath, has an interesting insight into the matter of transcending siddhis. In the fifth chapter it states that when the yogin has renounced all siddhis they begin to merge with Shiva, in this case Shiva as the ultimate reality (Brahman). This insight in the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati agrees with the concerns of Vedanta because they recognize that siddhis can be the last obstacle before true liberation.

In conclusion, liberation is not dependent on siddhis. Though from the perspective of Tantra, they can benefit our liberation and benefit the spiritual upliftment of others and the world if we understand them correctly. In the end, the question you have to ask yourself is, Do you believe in siddhis or not?

Yugas: The Hindu Map of Time

The Eastern view of time is completely different to the Western view. A perfect example of this is the Hindu time system called the Yugas. The word yuga in Sanskrit means age, cycle, or world era. The yugas are a complex world-age doctrine of four ages. The yugas map the cycles of change within the universe and consciousness. The yugas build a solid framework for understanding how we experience time and eternity, and how they are related to one another. This way of thinking is completely different to the view of time and eternity held firm by Western religions and the West in general. The Western view of time is linear and this effect’s the Western view of eternity, as the idea of an eternal “heaven” becomes something we have to wait for until after death. This Western concept implies that eternity is bound to time. This is ridiculous considering eternity can only be ever-present in this very moment and can only be experienced when limiting thoughts and thinking have completely ceased.

The Eastern view of eternity illustrates that eternity can be nowhere else but in this present moment, and a lot of their time systems and philosophies are based on it. As a result, the relationship between time and eternity is thought of very differently in the East, especially in the yuga system. Many Eastern traditions don’t map time in the linear sense, but instead, they designed systems to understand time’s nonlinear qualities in relation to matter, mind, and spirit. In Hinduism, the nonlinearity of time is broken into the yuga cycles, which map the consciousness that drives the process of linear time fueling human civilization.

Kalpa

There are two yuga systems that are somewhat similar, but also a lot different. There is an ancient long-count system and a more recent short-count system. Both systems are based on the concept of kalpa. Kalpa is a Sanskrit word that means aeon in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. A kalpa equals 4.32 billion years. This massive period of time is not about lifetimes or an age, but rather the life of Earth.

The concept of kalpa is described in the ancient texts of the Puranas, especially the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana. One kalpa of 4.32 billion years is regarded as a day of Brahma. If you think this is a long time, a mahakalpa consists of 100 years of Brahma which is 313, 528, 320, 000, 000 years.

The Long-count Yuga System

In the long-count system one kalpa is made up of one hundred mahayugas (great yugas). The duration of a mahayuga is built on a system of four yugas. These yugas are Satya Yuga, which is the ideal or truthful age spanning 1,728,000 years. Next is Treta Yuga, which is the age where virtue has declined by a quarter of Satya Yuga. Treta Yuga spans 1,296,000 years. Treta Yuga is followed by Dvapara Yuga. Dvapara Yuga is the age where virtue is reduced by half of what it was in Satya Yuga. Dvapara Yuga spans 864,000 years. The last yuga, and we could say definitely the least, is Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga is where virtue is reduced to a quarter. Thankfully in the greater scheme of things, Kali Yuga only spans the time of 432,000 years. Well, I know it’s still a long time, but in the universal sense it’s quite small.

According to the long-count system what yuga are we in right now? It is commonly believed we are in the heart of Kali Yuga. According to the dates suggested by authorities, we might only be at the beginning of this yuga. It is believed that the dark age of the Kali Yuga commenced with the death of the Godly sage Krishna after the famous battle in Kurukshetra, documented in the Mahabharata epic. Traditional Hindu authorities put this date at 3102 BCE. Though many scholars dispute this date, as they believe a date of around 1500 BCE is more probable. Nevertheless, if we are to take the yuga world-age doctrine seriously, we are only at the beginning of the Kali Yuga. We’ve been on this long descent from the golden age of the Satya Yuga until now. This slow process spanning millions of years stupefied our mind into the characteristic of Kali Yuga.

The Character of the Kali Yuga

What is the characteristic of the Kali Yuga? The core characteristic is our minds identification with the external world and a turning away from the inner world. This is where we focus on everything in the outside world and forget about the inner world. We focus on how we look, our anxiety about how we are perceived by others, our reliance on sensory needs, our dependency on relationships, our over attachment to people and material possessions, and our focus on acquiring assets to promote our own self-interest. The Kali Yuga, then, is basically the involution of the human mind into gross matter, which means our mind is entangled with the outside world. Materialism, then, is the heart of the Kali Yuga. The minds tendency in this age is geared towards consumerist thinking. Consumerism becomes the accepted way of life in this age. And it is hard to argue with this ancient view of the Kali Yuga when we look outside and see what mainly drives people.

The lowest point of the Kali Yuga might be technological transhumanism, as many people would rather be a robot and live forever than a natural human. The integration of mind into technology will likely be the lowest point of the Kali Yuga, if it happens. This technological motivation is the Kali Yuga belief that the material universe is everything. As a result, the inner world of consciousness is not considered valuable without the material world. This type of thinking is one of the greatest threats to the survival of human race. So before you play unconsciously with your phone, ask yourself what that habit is doing to you and how is it training your mind to be. I find it interesting that when I criticize social media or technology people jump to their defense, which is just plain odd when you think about it. They are not living things. They are just objects. Could you imagine how stupid I would look if I defended a toaster like it was my friend. I’d look like an idiot.

The reason people defend social media and technology is because they want to justify their unconscious habits. Just ask yourself how many times do you unconsciously reach for your phone during the day? Though this may seem insignificant, it’s all leading to a movement away from raw nature and our own naturalness and connection to the universe. From the naturalistic view, the integration of mind into technology will be a permanent hell we cannot escape. In the Kali Yuga the fear of death is intensified because we believe matter is everything. Hence, we yearn for immortal life through technology.

As we began to move into the Kali Yuga after Krishna left this world, some enlightened people could foresee our future and they wrote the Puranas, Tantras and other scriptures to serve our spiritual needs in this dark age. These were specifically designed for a spiritual seekers inherent difficulties in the Kali Yuga. In the Kali Yuga we lack the moral fiber and mental concentration necessary to pursue the path of liberation. But fortunately we have access to these ancient texts that can bring our awareness back within ourselves. The hope is that there are enough people in the world who wake up to their divinity, which is revealed when we cease the minds gravitational pull towards the external world. Only then can the human race survive the Kali Yuga and progress into the golden age of Satya Yuga.

In various Puranas they speak of the tenth avatar of Vishnu named Kalki, who is foretold to come into this world near the end of the Kali Yuga. Kalki is thought of as riding a white horse brandishing a blazing sword. His task is to destroy the present age to give birth to the age of Truth with a capital T, Satya Yuga. Maybe Kalki could be you or it could be all of us who are willing to wake up.

The Short-count Yuga System

Though the idea of the Kali Yuga may seem grim and depressing, a short-count system of the yugas was designed which is more of an optimistic view of where human civilization is currently heading. The short-count yugas was introduced by the Indian mystic Sri Yukteswar. Sri Yukteswar explains the short-count system in twelve brief pages in his classical book The Holy Science. Sri Yukteswar doesn’t base his understanding of the yugas much on the older long-count tradition. His system of the yugas was born from his own self-realization. The short-count system of the yugas focuses on the correlation of inner consciousness and outward behavior. Sri Yukteswar explains that as human consciousness changes, so does civilization and human development. With this short-count model we can begin to perceive a discernible pattern in our seemingly chaotic history.

In Daniel Steinmetz and Joseph Selbie’s book called The Yugas, they trace our known history in a way that supports the claims of the short-count yuga system. They show a recognizable cycle of human civilization that descended to a certain point of time and evidence of an ascension. To understand this, I need to explain how the short-count yugas are different. First of all, Sri Yukteswar’s theory is based on the idea that our own sun revolves around a dual star which is a cycle of 24,000 years. It’s a binary star system. Sri Yukteswar explains that this is a celestial phenomenon caused by the backward movement of the equinoctial points around the zodiac. The common explanation for this is precession, meaning the wobbling rotating movement of the earth’s axis. Sri Yukteswar explains this in The Holy Science. He states:

“The sun also has another motion by which it revolves round a grand center called Vishnu-Naabhi which is the seat of the creative power Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates Dharma the mental virtues of the internal world. When the sun in its revolution round its dual come to the place nearest to this grand center the seat of Brahma (an event which takes place when the autumnal equinox comes to the first point of Aries) Dharma the mental virtue becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend all, even the mysteries of Spirit.”

Each age has its own dharma, meaning virtue. And our dharma is at the height of virtue when our sun and its dual are closest to the grand center of the universe, the creative power of Brahma. To map where we currently are in the short-count system, we need to understand how the complete cycle of 24,000 years is mapped.

As with the long-count system, the short-count system is made up of four yugas using the same yuga names as the long-count. But the difference is the short-count system splits the yugas in two, resulting in eight ages that mirror each other. So one full cycle of 24,000 years goes through 12,000 years of descent and then 12,000 years of ascent. In the short-count yugas the golden age of Satya Yuga is a duration of 9,600 years split into 4,800 years of ascent and descent. Satya Yuga is considered the spiritual age. As a result, it is in the Satya Yuga where our dharma is so virtuous that we can understand what the Godhead is intellectually. And we also have no sense of separation.

The next age is Treta Yuga. It has a duration of 7,200 years split into 3,600 years of ascent and descent. It is the mental age, where we can use our mind to influence matter and other things. Some scholars who support this short-count system suggest this was how we might have erected megalithic structures like the pyramids. Also, we are supposedly able to access telepathy easily.

The next age is Dvapara Yuga. It has a duration of 4,800 years split into 2,400 years of ascent and descent. Dvapara Yuga is the age of energy, the age where we begin to understand that everything is energy and we begin to use energy to our advantage. The last yuga is the Kali Yuga, which has a duration of 2,400 years split into 1,200 years of ascent and descent. As with the long-count system, the Kali Yuga in the short-count system is the material age, where our minds are turned outward into the illusion that matter is all that exists.

Between each yuga there is a transitional period known in Sanskrit as sandhis. This transitional period is the time when the state of mind in the previous yuga still lingers until we move into the new yuga completely. By following the cycle of the short-count system the pinnacle of the spiritual age was not too distant in the past. The height of Satya Yuga was specifically at 11,501 BCE, or 11,500 BCE to simplify it. The life in the spiritual age is thought to be much simpler than our modern complex world. Scholars suggest that some of the evidence for the Satya Yuga in this time period is discovered in places like Gobekli Tepe, because it is some sort of spiritual complex rather than residential, and its oldest structures have been dated to around 9,000 BCE placing it right in the short-count Satya Yuga. This idea also supports Graham Hancock’s lost civilization theory. It also supports somewhat the idea of Atlantis. But since that time we went into the descending period of the yugas.

Our lowest point according to Sri Yukteswar was 499 CE; we could say roughly 500 CE. This time of 500 CE was when the vernal equinox was at 0 degrees Aries. He placed the beginning of the golden age at the opposite point when the vernal equinox was at 0 degrees Libra. The lowest point of the short-count Kali Yuga was 500 CE, which means the end of Kali Yuga was the year 1700 CE, specifically 1699 CE. This is why Sri Yukteswar’s model of the yugas can be viewed as more optimistic, as it places us in the ascending cycle of Dvapara Yuga.

We moved into Dvapara Yuga proper in 1900 CE (allowing for the transitional period, sandhis). The amazing thing about this transition is that Sri Yukteswar predicted several developments that eventually happened. Keep in mind that he wrote The Holy Science in 1894. He predicted the rapid development of knowledge in the twentieth century and also the discovery that energy underlies all matter. Basically the idea that everything is energy. His insights predate Einstein’s E=mc2 by over ten years.

Though, the idea of everything is energy has been a hallmark of Eastern thought for as long as anyone can remember. Einstein’s theory, on the other hand, came five years into Dvapara Yuga proper and this changed our world view. Sri Yukteswar predicted that it was inevitable for this knowledge to surface because energy is the characteristic of Dvapara Yuga. From Sri Yukteswar’s perspective, the relationship between energy and matter would have been brought to light by someone else if Einstein didn’t reveal it. From Sri Yukteswar’s view of the yugas, we can see that energy is a primary focus in the world today, and this is increasing with the evolution of clean energy which ultimately benefits the world, and also the growing interest in Eastern spiritual practices that focus on how we use our subtle energies.

In conclusion, both systems have their reasons why we should believe them. We can see the validity of the ancient long-count system because of the materialistic world around us, and we can also see the validity of the short-count system because of our modern focus on energy and how intelligent use of technology can help humanity and also how an intelligent understanding of spiritual practices can help the individual. But in the end it’s really up to how you feel. It’s a matter of whether you trust the deep intuitions of Sri Yukteswar or prefer to trust an ancient tradition going back thousands of years.

My Top 5 Books of 2018

There were so many superb books in 2018 but enough time to get through all of them. And I’m not one to waste time, so that means there were a truckload of great books. Many in-depth books on consciousness studies surfaced in 2018, along with some breakthrough books on spirituality, philosophy, psychology, and optimal performance (including my own book Effortless Living).

Last year I mentioned to you how I aspire to read at least 10 books a year and explained that you should also try and hit the target of 5-10 books, as this shows you have not been wasting your time on things that don’t matter. Instead you have invested in yourself. Please let me know in the comments section if you reached this target.

Without further ado here are my top five books of 2018 (not all published in 2018).

Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy

By Evan Thompson

This is one of the most unique and important books of our time (and maybe beyond our time). I discovered this book in a most unlikely place, it was recommended by Swami Sarvapriyananda. You would never think a Hindu Swami would recommend a book on Western neuroscience. But this is what makes Thompson’s book different to the rest. Thompson himself was brought up on Eastern philosophy, especially Buddhism. But the link between Sarvapriyananda and Thompson is that in Waking, Dreaming, Being the organizing principle comes from the first recorded map of consciousness found in the ancient Indian texts known as the Upanishads. According to the Upanishads there are four states of consciousness. There are the common states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, and then there is the fourth states of pure awareness (turiya) which is found in the Mandukya Upanishad, arguably the most important Upanishad for that fact. This idea of pure awareness pervades Eastern thought, even Buddhism. Modern science, and most people in general, assume that consciousness has a biological origin, most likely in the brain. But contemplatives in the East have studied consciousness for thousands of years and believe that pure awareness is not located in our brain, it has no physical origins (what philosopher David Chalmers calls the “hard problem” of consciousness). This is where Thompson’s experience as a Western philosopher and scientist along with his years of studying the great Eastern traditions are all beneficial. He goes into detail and makes a claim for both sides, is the idea of pure consciousness still a phenomenon of the brain or is it beyond the physical world. In the end, he offers some of the most unique research and insights on the subject of pure awareness in Eastern philosophy.

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

By Matthew Walker

This is one of the most important books for the modern busy world, especially in regards to our health and sanity. Too often people will neglect their sleep to be more successful and get more done. But all this actually does is diminish your chances of being successful and getting more done, as Matthew Walker scientifically points out in his book. People never associate their stress and illnesses with a lack of sleep, as this is an area of research that has been avoided for far too long. Thankfully, Walker has taken the time and effort to scientifically prove to us the benefits of sleep for our health, sanity, and longevity. After reading his wonderful book, you will have no other option but to prioritize your sleep because it is the foundational pillar of everything else we experience in life. As Walker suggests, don’t be afraid to drift off to sleep while reading. It is normal to rest and sleep, don’t fight it. 

 

In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha)

By Bhikkhu Bodhi

This is the foundational text for Buddhist studies and for those who practice Buddhism or are interested in learning. It is the most important Buddhist text to read for any school of Buddhism because it is the original Pali Canon, the actual discourses of the historical Buddha. This book gives you an insight into early Buddhism and the Theravada school of Buddhism. Most people will likely not start with this book when they begin their Buddhist studies, but in an ideal world this book would be the first book you should read on Buddhism and the Buddha. This book will give you a taste of what it is like to read the ancient suttas (sutras) with their unique repetitive style (this may be laborious for those unfamiliar with the sutta repetitive style). And Bhikkhu Bodhi has done a tremendous job with the translation and commentary which makes for an enjoyable and enlightening read. All of his translations sparkle with clarity and wisdom, but none so more than this amazing book. So if you are interested in the wisdom of the Buddha then begin here to build a solid foundation for your future studies.

Shankara’s Crest Jewel of Discrimination (Vivekachudamani)

By Swami Prabhavananda

Shankara’s Vivekachudamani (Crest-Jewel of Discrimination) is a pure transmission of the nondual teachings of Vedanta. In some sense, Shankara lays out the nondual teachings of Advaita Vedanta more clearly for everybody than the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras. This is because not everybody can grasp the mystical depth of the three main texts of Vedanta. But even though the three main texts of Vedanta are more more important to read and contemplate long-term, the Vivekachudmani is an extension of them and a great explanation of them, especially for people new to Vedanta. Shankara had a wonderful ability to see into the heart of Vedanta and bring back this jewel of wisdom from the eternal ocean of Brahman to the shores of our world.

 

 

A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong

By Damo Mitchell

Back in 2015 in my home in Tiruvannamalai and then in a small guesthouse in Mahabalipuram, I had the honor and privilege of writing the foreword for Damo Mitchell’s book White Moon on the Mountain Peak. But in his latest book he has taken his work to a whole new level. Mitchell has dedicated his whole life to Daoism and the Daoist arts. Not many of us can say that we’ve been studying the internal arts since four years old, but Damo can. With over thirty years of experience, he is an authority on Daoism and especially the path of Nei Gong. In A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong Mitchell flexes his knowledge like no one else on the topic has ever done before. The book will leave you with a comprehensive view of the Daoist tradition, Qi Gong, Chinese medicine, and martial arts. In this book Damo Mitchell unleashes his spirit for all of us to learn and grow from on the sacred path of Dao.

 

That’s my top 5 books of 2018. What are some of the best books you read in 2018? Leave a comment below of your own personal top 5 books for this year.

Understanding Flow – Part 3 Intelligent Spontaneity

The story of Cook Ting is about how we effectively move through the world with skill and not feel resistance. Reaching your optimal potential is also the same, meaning you attain expert skill in your desired craft and that extends into life in general. This feeling of effortlessness, or flow and wu-wei, is a state of psychological ease we feel through our whole body.

The goal of wu-wei, then, is to effectively move smoothly through all aspects of your life, where even unexpected events in your life are dealt with spontaneously with intelligence. No obstacle is too big or even really perceived as an obstacle anymore. In a state of wu-wei you don’t press up against obstacles, but instead you act in the same fashion as the gentle key trying to open the door, which means you may absorb the pressure of an obstacle but because you don’t resist it you overcome it without forcing the outcome. This absorb and action technique is one of the foundational pillars of traditional martial arts.

Modern martial artists, especially mixed martial artists, often use the word flow. It is used when someone appears to be very lucid and in the zone. Yet, as I mentioned, common understandings of the concept flow are at a novice level and this goes for a lot martial artists. The spontaneous nature expressed through us in a state of wu-wei is the deeper and more powerful raw material of our hot cognition functioning optimally. When there is no interference from the over-analytical cold system, you express the spontaneity of human nature intelligently.

Intelligent spontaneity, then, is a fully embodied state of mind where one is perfectly calibrated to the environment. The environment essentially becomes an extension of your skill. For example, when you are in a state of intelligent spontaneity in martial arts you are perfectly calibrated to the obstacles you face with an opponent. The opponent will try everything to land a blow but you see it almost in slow motion, like Neo in the Matrix. As a result, you act spontaneously without it feeling like a reaction because there was no conscious thought driving it.

And even if you do absorb a blow you move with it, which is a technique in the Korean martial art Hapkido. This technique makes the opponent overextend and lose balance, where they usually fall to the ground. In ancient Chinese thought this approach is explained by the concepts yin which is a Chinese word for the feminine and passive energy of the universe and yang which is a Chinese word for the masculine and active energy of the universe. In Chinese thought yin nourishes yang. This means that when we are intelligently passive, or have poise in other words, we give birth to correct action minus aggression. This is a key point, correct action minus aggression.

We overextend in Hapkido, or in any martial arts and life in general, when we are full of aggression and emotions. Essentially, if we are not receptive enough we will be hard and rigid. And someone hard and rigid is easily overcome by someone who is soft and flexible because they have poise and are fully present in the moment. As Bruce Lee once said, “Be like water my friend.”

This effortless cognitive style is similar to the movements of a graceful dancer. Intelligent spontaneity is not only the effect of a dancer being perfectly calibrated to the environment, but it is also the essential goal of martial arts, or any skill for that matter. In a state of intelligent spontaneity we approach life with a mind of no deliberation. An expert craftsman embodies this effortless state of mind.

The craftsman integrates the two systems into mind-body holism. As a result, they are perfectly adapted to the world around them. But, to cultivate expert skill and skill in life, we have to understand how a craftsman disengages from the cold system to allow the hot cognitive virtues of nature to spontaneously flower.

The expert craftsman is a perfect example of how both systems function together to evoke intelligent spontaneity. Their mind absorbed in their craft is a metaphor for how we too can be absorbed fully in life through a chosen skill. A skilled craftsman’s integration of mind and body back into its original holism is the result of years of training their embodied cognition to be as natural as nature itself. The craftsman moves effortlessly through their skill and this is applied to life in general. When the two systems function naturally in harmony you will be perfectly calibrated to the environment. This integration of both systems means that the mind is embodied and the body is mindful.

To make the two systems integrated and working together harmoniously, we need to develop the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. This will eventually evoke a deep level of focus that arises from the hot system. A skilled craftsman can evoke this ability spontaneously anytime if it is needed, to the extent that it is as normal as chewing food.

The way the process begins is through the long and arduous training which is required to call on a skill upon command. The process of learning a skill to this heightened degree is dependent on a strong cold system to begin with. A strong cold system is dedicated to the theory of a particular skill and the discipline required for it to become embodied.

We have all tried to get better at something which requires practice every day. Usually we don’t want to use a lot of effort but something inside says “stop being a weakling. Suck it up and push forward.” That inside dictator is of course the cold cognition, and it is a strong cold cognition if the message is taken on board to push forward.

When a craftsman strengthens their cold system and becomes a dedicated student to whatever skill they’re learning, they are ever so slowly downloading the subtle nuances and theoretical details of that skill into their hot cognition. As a result, the skill begins to unconsciously manifest. The hot systems ability to fine tune a particular skill continues when a strong cold system has an iron will to reach beyond the known limits.

As this process of cultivation continues the craftsman invariably encounters an unexpected snag, which is that the cold system begins to inhibit flow states of consciousness. So once a skill has become ingrained in the hot system, the cold system is a hindrance because of its tendency to analyze and over think.

When a skill has become embodied, the primary way to get better is to continually perform that skill through constant repetition. But this cannot happen if the cold system is still functioning, meaning when it is essentially in the way. From a contemporary cognitive science perspective, this is what it actually means when we say we are in our own way, which in their terminology means the cold system is in the way of the hot system naturally expressing itself.

If the cold system cannot be downregulated, it inhibits intelligent spontaneity. The effortlessness in a performance, no matter what it is, is ruined when we begin to over think about what we are doing. As a result, we regress back into mind-body dualism training.

The problem in trying to attain intelligent spontaneity is we don’t know how to temporarily shut down cold cognition. What you need to remember is that when you are fully engaged in what you are doing cold cognition is naturally downregulated because parts of the brain are not activated when they are not necessary. And when intelligent spontaneity comes to life, cold cognition is not activated because it is not part of nature’s spontaneous beauty. But it is not that easy for most of us, especially if you are starting out in a particular skill.

There are numerous methods for downregulating cold cognition, some intentional and others unintentional. For example, alcohol downregulates our cold cognition allowing us to communicate and experience the world authentically with no agenda, well that is up until a certain point when we lose our way and the drunken arguments and fights break out.

Psychedelics and marijuana also downregulate the cold cognition, resulting in different effects to that of alcohol. But these methods I don’t condone, as they are not sufficient methods for downregulating cold cognition nor do they have lasting effects to achieve that end on a regular basis. Intense aerobic exercise also downregulates cold cognition, but the problem with this is you can’t exercise all the time and it doesn’t train the mind outside of utilizing will power.

Meditation is the advanced tool for training your mind to naturally downregulate cold cognition. Specifically vipassana meditation practiced in Theravada Buddhism and open awareness meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism. Both practices train you to perceive reality from that deeper level of focus we usually only attain in a flow state. These practices evoke a flow state of consciousness without intentionally trying to do so.

The practice of open awareness meditation, for example, is an objectless meditation we engage with a simple, stable posture while we try to observe the mind in the hope of silencing and emptying it through focusing on the anchors of breath or by fixing our attention on something in the environment. We don’t need these anchors as much as our practice continues because we begin to embody a more natural effortless state of consciousness, not attracted to the tendency of resistance or force.

This type of meditation, like vipassana, has a positive effect on mental concentration, reaction time, motor skills, and sensory sensitivity to the environment, making it more conducive for intelligent spontaneity. You are essentially tilling the soil in your mind and producing peak performance as a natural result. These two practices will benefit your hot cognitive ability to be effortlessly spontaneous in your skill and life.

When the spontaneity of the hot system is expressed, through a skill or otherwise, cold cognition is downregulated. When skill is ingrained in the hot system we access, more often than not, a deep level of focus where the sense of “you” doing “something” has evaporated. You have merged as one with the activity. There is no distinction between you and your skill, they are one. As a result, you are one with the terrain your skill has to navigate through. This experience is commonly referred to as “being in the zone.”

The real reason you are in the zone is because your cold cognition has been downregulated to let the spontaneous nature of life come alive through you. This is intelligent spontaneity. Essentially, there is no “person” because the cold system has downregulated. Remember the cold system is where we identify with ourselves as a person, just this very small part of brain in the prefrontal cortex. We are much more than that.

So in the experience of intelligent spontaneity we come in contact with a deeper level of existence beneath our personality within our hot system. This deeper level of existence is where the naturalness of life spontaneously arises. This spontaneity arising of itself is the Chinese concept of ziran, which ultimately means nature is fundamentally of itself and your skill can become as nature is if you discover that flow state within your chosen skill. This in turn trains you to extend those skills into everyday life.

Ultimately being in a state of flow is not truly about the aesthetic beauty of the performance, but rather it is about how the discipline trains you to be as nature intended, which transforms your character into becoming more humble, compassionate, and forgiving. This is the end goal of intelligent spontaneity, or flow and wu-wei. Your skill is your second nature in the sense that it is as effortless as opening and closing your hand. You have disentangled yourself from the clutches of rational thinking and become an expression of nature, because that is who you truly are. Now you truly understand what flow is. Now it’s up to you to enter that flow state so you can bring your ingrained skill forth to inspire the world.

Understanding Flow – Part 2 Ancient Philosophy

The embodied model of the self was the primary viewpoint during the Warring States period of China, and also other parts of Asia. But it was in China especially that we discover the embodied mind model. During the Warring States period there were numerous philosophers and sages whose names we still know today. Most notably Lao-tzu, Confucius, Mencius, and Chuang-tzu. Though their philosophies may somewhat differ, their way for understanding the mind and body was the same. Their view of human nature was mind-body holism. Their philosophies, social systems, religions, and ritual practices reflect this holistic view.

From centuries of ancient Chinese people following their philosophies and rigorous training to cultivate harmonious dispositions in the self, there is no doubt according to them that human cognition is embodied. Any other model, such as mind-body dualism, was shown the contempt it deserved.

If in ancient China the embodied model of the self was understood to be how humans are hardwired, then we can see why a healthy skepticism developed towards mind-body dualism and its idea of a rational agent in control of an unruly body. In the East, in general, this skepticism shown towards rationality is culturally held firm. The battle within us, then, is not between a rational agent attempting to lord it over an unruly body. But instead it is a tug of war between an allocation of function between the two systems of hot and cold cognition.

In the West and modern developed world, majority of our energy is allocated towards the function of the cold system trying to control the natural hot system. But in the ancient East it is absurd to try and overemploy the cold system, especially when you consider the main driving force within us and our essential nature is within the hot system. The focus in ancient China, then, was more about ingrained skill and shaping our character because they can both be cultivated in our hot system as natural and spontaneous.

Eastern thought, then, especially the ancient Chinese embodied model of the self, is an essential corrective to the way modern Western philosophy has a tendency to focus on the cold cognitive aspects of conscious thought, rationality, and willpower. As a result, the modern revolution of embodied cognition in cognitive science was inspired partially by Eastern thought, especially ancient Chinese thought.

The main focus of many ancient Chinese sages and philosophers during the Warring States period was the concept wu-wei. Wu-wei literally means non-doing, non-force, and effortless action. The effortlessness of wu-wei is ultimately a state of intelligent spontaneity. And I believe intelligent spontaneity is a more accurate term than flow when we are talking about that effortless state of mind. Keep in mind though that how wu-wei is achieved differed slightly among each philosopher and sage.

Chuang-tzu’s focus was on effortless skill, or in other words effortless action, which actually adapts perfectly to modern cognitive science. We can understand the effortlessness of wu-wei when we think of those times we try too hard to achieve something. When we are trying too hard to achieve an outcome we are not allowing for life to naturally happen.

For example, when we put a key in a lock and try to turn the key too fast we feel resistance. To open the door you need to be loose and relaxed and when you jiggle the key ever so softly the door opens effortlessly. By not forcing you effortlessly move through the task of opening a door. The key and door analogy is not only about how expert skill is effortless, but it is also a metaphor for how we move skillfully through life.

No other sage or philosopher during the Warring States period explores skill more than Chuang-tzu. The Chuang-tzu text is like a manual for cultivating skill and training spontaneity, upon a lot of other wisdom about life. And this is why Chuang-tzu synthesizes well with modern cognitive science.

The skill emphasized by Chuang-tzu in the Chuang-tzu text is not only about expertise, but also life skills which are supposed to contribute to developing harmonious dispositions in the self. Chuang-tzu, on a subtle level, examines the science of skill and how to reach peak performance to the point of explaining what the actual experience is like. Chuang-tzu understood that spontaneous skill comes from the deeper, more evolutionary ancient hot system. Somehow we need to ignite the spontaneity within the hot system naturally without any effort to do so.

The cold system interferes with the spontaneity of life. Even in ancient China people overly identified with the cold system which gives one this sense of being an isolated self. Chuang-tzu explains that our real nature, the authentic self, is beneath the rational cold cognition. He articulates this through skill stories that exhibit this transfer of functional allocation from the cold system back to the hot system. He uses the craftsmen as an example to explain how skill and virtues can become so much a part of us that they are instinctive and spontaneous, they are hot.

One of the most famous stories in the Chuang-tzu text is about a butcher called Cook Ting (or Butcher Ding). The Cook Ting story setting is a traditional religious ceremony where an ox will be sacrificed in public for the ruler Lord Wen-hui and a large crowd of onlookers. Cook Ting is the center of attention for this religious event. This ritual of animal sacrifice demands the difficult skill of using a blade with precise timing and perfect execution. But this is not a difficult task for Cook Ting. He slices and dices the ox up so effortlessly that Lord Wen-hui is astonished.

Lord Wen-hui cannot believe such a mundane skill can reach the heights of beauty similar to an artistic performance. He approaches Cook Ting to ask how he can cut an ox up so effortlessly. Cook Ting explains that after years of cultivating skill he now encounters the ox with his spirit and it spontaneously guides him in the right direction. Cook Ting says:

“What I care about is the Way (the Tao), which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now – now I go at it by spirit and don’t look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint.”1

Cook Ting’s ability to allow spirit to move where it wants from a contemporary perspective is the spontaneity of the hot system naturally functioning without the hindrance of cold cognitive analysis. When Cook Ting says, “Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants” what he is really saying from a contemporary perspective is “when I have stopped the cold cognitive thinking apparatus, the spontaneous nature of the hot system takes over and moves effortlessly with the environment.” And yet, this ability of Cook Ting’s expert butchery was something that took three years to master.

From years of repetition and discipline, the skill of butchery was effortless, instinctual, and spontaneous. The need to think about what he is doing evaporated. All that is left is a movement of effortlessness which feels no resistance in mind, body, or environment. Cook Ting and his skill as a butcher are one because the skill is so ingrained in his hot cognition that it is as effortless and spontaneous as walking for him. His embodied mind has reached the height of skill, which is a state of intelligent spontaneity. Intelligent spontaneity is a common experience for the skillful craftsmen.

Notes

1. Chuang-tzu, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, (Columbia University Press, 1968), 50, 51.

Recommended Viewing

Enlightenment Today episode Flow and Wu-wei 

Understanding Flow – Part 1 Modern Science

What is the nature of being in a flow state of consciousness? How and why do we experience flow? What truly is flow? The term flow was first coined and popularized by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi who is a Hungarian psychologist. He wrote a fascinating book called Flow back in 1990. When we think of flow we think of an athlete, musician, writer, craftsman, or any artist when they appear to have this laser-like focus and precision which is equated with them being in the zone.

But flow is a much more ancient concept going back to the Warring States period of China (475-221 BCE). Its original ancestor is known in Chinese as wu-wei, which is a concept at the heart of Taoism and martial arts. Many of us are familiar with the term flow but not with wu-wei. Understanding wu-wei and the Eastern mind it came from, is imperative for us to truly understand the depth of flow.

Yet, in the modern day, our understanding of flow and how to induce it is at a novice level. The word is loosely thrown around in popular culture. We hear people proclaim that “they’re in the zone,” or more to the point “I’m in the zone” or “I’m in the flow,” which actually implies you’re not in any state of flow if you have time to speak about it. We often hear athletes state after a great performance how they felt they were in a state of flow, where all the external noise of the world was eliminated. They essentially had tunnel vision.

To be highly effective at our chosen skill we need to enter a flow state of consciousness. But the problem for most of us is we have no idea how to enter a flow state. Many of us incorrectly believe this dimension of effortless skill and peak performance is a state of mind isolated to world-class performers. You need to eliminate this way of thinking and really absorb the information I am about to give you.

First and foremost, cultivating skill and reaching peak performance, in other words entering a state of flow, really depends on how we understand the mind and body. This is not some new radical way of thinking. This was actually the primary focus of numerous great thinkers throughout history. It doesn’t matter whether East or West, understanding human thought and the minds function has been a central focus for as long as we can remember. We’ve always been fascinated with why cultures and traditions developed, why certain religions were born to bind community, and why someone is more skillful at a particular craft than someone else. The process of thinking and how and why we think is at the foundation of philosophy, science, religion, and art.

For thousands of years, both in the East and West, there have been numerous systems for understanding the mind. Some have stuck and many have disappeared. But for as long as we can remember there has been a persistent myth pervading human civilization: mind-body dualism. This dualistic model of mind and body has become the standard template for which we study the mind and the body. As a result, it is common for us to feel this split within us, which is evident in our language and actions.

This dualistic model of mind and body is the big reason we don’t understand the nature of flow. We tend to feel we are these rational minds in these completely irrational bodies. Mind-body dualism is the disembodied myth embedded in our modern thinking. This myth has led us to focus and believe firmly in an abstract rationality, where reason trumps all. So we end up believing we are these disembodied rational agents imprisoned within this meat suit we call a body.

The disembodied myth is a philosophical hangover from Plato down to influential philosophers such as Descartes and Immanuel Kant. Philosophers such as these three propelled the dualistic model of mind and body along based on vague intuitions they had about a distinction between people who have minds and the physical world, which apparently doesn’t have a mind according to them. Their metaphysics led to a dualism between a disembodied mind and a physical world of things.

In post-Enlightenment Europe and its colonies rational thought was portrayed as the essence of human nature. Reason became something completely disconnected from the physical world around us. Our mind, and its rationality, is thought to be superior and distinct to the body and its emotions. The disembodied myth has implanted a split within us that confuses us to no end. We have bought into the disembodied model of mind without questioning its validity.

Science also has been handicapped by the disembodied model. Cognitive scientists in the mid-twentieth-century treated the human mind as a brain in a container. Many experiments were concerned with abstract information processing which led them nowhere. It wasn’t until the past few decades that cognitive science began to change its perspective. Cognitive science is slowly moving away from the disembodied dualistic model and instead is beginning to treat human thought as fundamentally embodied.

Cognitive science has shown through extensive research on embodied cognition that we are not the paragons of reason we assume to be. Though, science is just catching up to this perspective. Many sages, artists, philosophers, and even athletes have questioned the overuse of rationality, as the actuality of their experience tells another story. This also might be why many artists, writers, and philosophers are usually considered as having eccentric behavior by the general public.

Many sages from the East, on the other hand, are often suspicious of rational people because rational people often think too much about everything. An artist would say being overly rational destroys beauty and truth. Ask yourself what is rational about a lot of art? Or even for the beauty in sport for that matter? Beauty is intrinsically in the performance, it is not something you have to think about, but instead it is something you appreciate and are inspired by. And yet, though the embodied state of mind may be the normal perspective for sages, artists, philosophers, and athletes, cognitive science has developed a sophisticated model for understanding the mind-body integrated system.

This model is known as dual process theory. It is based on two systems of cognitive function. Psychologists like to create unique terms which define them as different from the rest of the scientific community. So these two systems are known as hot cognition (or System 1) and cold cognition (or System 2).

The hot system is the cognitive function that is automatic, spontaneous, fast, effortless, mostly unconscious, and what is the primary driver of emotions. It is located in the more unconscious regions of the brain. Hot cognition operates automatically and is fast and spontaneous, with little or no effort required. In the hot cognitive process there is no sense of voluntary control.

Cold cognition, on the other hand, is the cognitive control centers within our brain located in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The cold system is self-conscious, slow, deliberate, effortful, and it is the part of our mind we refer to as ourselves, the “I.” Cold cognition, then, is associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice, and concentration.

In our growing rational world, we have overcompensated for the cold system and don’t realize that both systems have their benefits and flaws. We need to understand that even though we feel as though we are these subjective agents who have conscious control of our lives, hot cognition is mainly driving us.

In regards to expert skill, it is ultimately the result of the hot system. The time and practice spent on a particular craft cultivates ingrained skill. From the NRL legend Johnathan Thurston’s ability to kick a winning goal in the dying moments of the game onto NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s ability to throw a touchdown pass under pressure, and also the ability of someone like Ida Haendal to play the violin, they all possess an ingrained skill that is as effortless as opening and closing their hand, well for those three individuals anyway. This is expertise.

This is where the skill has become embodied and the cold function of thinking and analyzing has temporarily shut down. Spontaneity takes over and as spectators we can appreciate the natural beauty of their skill. Not only does hot cognition bring the spontaneity of our natural movements to life, but it also brings the peak states of skill to the forefront of humanity, making our world much more beautiful than if we had to think and analyze everything we do as something that should be rational.

Both systems are required to function optimally to develop skill. In music, you need to learn music theory over and over again to the point that it is like reading your mother language. On top of this you need to learn how to manipulate the body to make the noise coming out of the instrument sound like a melody rather than a dying cat. For violin you need to train your body to hold certain finger positions and also learn how to hold the bow. For drums you need to learn how to hold the sticks and how to hit the drums while your feet simultaneously press down on the pedals with a beater attached to hit the bass drum, or kick drum in other words.

As with most things, learning any musical instrument takes time. But after a while the skill becomes embodied. The musical instrument ends up being an extension of your body, like a fifth limb, because it becomes as easy and unconscious as walking. It is the constant focus and repetition exercised by a strong cold cognition that ingrains any particular skill into our hot cognition.

A strong cold cognition can focus on a task for a good length of time. While a weak, or lazy, cold cognition is prone to answer questions with the first thing that comes to mind which leads to intuitive errors. Other characteristics of a weak cold system are impulsivity, impatience, and a desire for immediate gratification.

A strong cold cognition, on the other hand, is essential for cultivating ingrained skill. Once we download the cold cognitive details and theory of a particular skill into our hot cognition, the skill becomes spontaneous and can be accessed without having to consciously think about it. This process is constant in cultivating skill. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains this cognitive phenomenon by stating that “As you become skilled in a task, its demand for energy diminishes. Studies of the brain have shown that the pattern of activity associated with an action changes as skill increases, with fewer brain regions involved.”1

If you are seriously dedicated to a craft you will continue to develop skill. This process teaches us to disengage from our cold cognition as well, and this is really important to understand. Even though world-class performers use cold cognition to learn a certain skill, once it has become embodied cold cognition is like kryptonite to the effortlessness of the hot system. For example, a musician will perform without the sense of “them” doing it. When they start to think about what they are doing they begin to make mistakes. We, as the cold cognitive conscious self, are in our own way. When we are out of our own way, meaning our cold cognition has downregulated, we are in the zone (downregulate means decrease, diminish, or turn the volume down).

The dizzying height of skill is to have the ability to remain in this state of being in the zone for longer periods of time. Our cold cognitive concentration gives way to a much deeper level of focus. If you are focused, and not thinking, your cold cognition will slowly downregulate and you will be in the zone, in a state of flow.

The effortless cognitive ease we feel in a flow state is the result of the lights being on but nobody is home, meaning the slow cold thinking function that we mistaken for who we are has shutdown. As a result, the aesthetic beauty of the natural world comes alive through your skill. Understanding this modern science of flow demonstrates how human cognition is embodied.

The methods for cultivating skill should be approached with the new embodied model of the self rather than the hangover of an old and dusty disembodied model of the self. And yet, though the embodied mind may appear new to cognitive science, it is only catching up to an embodied model of mind which is much more ancient. To sufficiently understand how to experience flow we need to understand the wisdom and science behind the development of skill first explored in the East.

Notes

1. Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, (Penguin, 2012), 35.

Recommended Viewing

Enlightenment Today episode Flow and Wu-wei 

Best Books for Studying Yoga

I find it disappointing that when most people hear the word “yoga” they think of an exercise routine that is focused on stretching the body, making one more flexible. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s not yoga. That idea of yoga results from the cultural appropriation it went through when it went to the West, especially in places such as America. That version of yoga is a poor replica of the traditional hatha yoga which is only one branch of yoga. Actually, there are seven main paths or temperaments of yoga known in Sanskrit as hatha, mantra, tantra, karma, bhakti, raja, and jnana. Yoga is not asana and in actual fact the word asana literally means to sit or seat, revealing that the first yoga posture is sitting meditation. So, yoga is not an exercise routine where we wear skimpy tight clothes which is all too egocentric. Real yoga is about dissolving those tendencies to be egocentric, which includes our urge to be physically attractive.

Yoga is a system of knowledge designed to liberate you from the idea of an isolated and separate ego so that you can reunite with the divine. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj which means to yoke, unite, or join with the absolute Ultimate Reality (Brahman) beneath all the energy and movement of duality in the universe, known as prakrti in Sanskrit. At its core, then, yoga is a dualistic philosophy where we are supposed to break free of the gravitational pull of all the energy, including thoughts, and movement in the universe (prakrti). The way this is done is by coming back into resonance with your innate pure awareness (purusha in Sanskrit) which unites you with the Ultimate Reality, Brahman.

Pure awareness is the root of our consciousness and the main principle of all forms of yoga. Patanjali, the founder of classical yoga, believes that the evolutionary aspect of mind, citta in Sanskrit, is to refine our mind back into its original state of pure awareness. Our mind (citta) is wound up in the vortex of energy and movement in the universe (prakrti). The goal of yoga is to unravel our mind from this turbulence. This is done by coming back into resonance with pure awareness, where it is said that eventually you will develop a gap between prakrti and Purusha, meaning you will be able to look on the world of form from a distance without being moved by the activity of the world. This is liberation in yoga and what all honest yogini’s and yogi’s should be striving to achieve. I will recommend the best books for you to achieve this liberated state and to further your understanding of yoga, and also how to apply it to your life.

To build a foundation for understanding yoga I suggest first reading The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This is the foundation of yoga from the great master Patanjali. In an ideal world, I always say that it is best to read the classics first to get your head around the actual philosophy and practice. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is no different and I class it as one of the greatest classical texts on the planet (definitely top five). There are so many translations on the market and a lot of good ones. But I will give you my personal favorites. My favorite translation is by Chip Hartranft. His translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is translated for the modern mind but keeps its ancient beauty. I’ve read his version many times and it always plunges me deeper to reveal more about the nature of self and the universe. The second translation I recommend is by Swami Satchidananda. His translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali sticks more to tradition but is very lucid and profound. It really is a showcase of how great Swami Satchidananda really was. He was one of the most honest and brilliant gurus to have graced our earth in recent history and his translation reflects his greatness. These two translations are even better when they are coupled together.

Outside of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the most important book on yoga is The Yoga Tradition by Georg Feuerstein. Georg Feuerstein is the greatest scholar and teacher of yoga you’ve never met or heard of. A lot of his work is criticized because of how intelligent and scholarly his writing was. But he should not be criticized for the genius he was. Actually, the onus and responsibility is on the reader is to be more intelligent and that can come about by reading his works (also criticizing someone highly intelligent because you can’t understand is an act done by those less intelligent). As for yoga, all of his works are unmatched. Even his translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is brilliant. But it is The Yoga Tradition where his knowledge and wisdom really shines. As a writer, when I read The Yoga Tradition I am in awe of how he could have wrote such a tome. In this book, Feuerstein takes you through the whole history of Hindu thought, not just yoga. He explores Vedanta, Samkhya, Jainism, and Buddhism in relation to yoga, which gives you the full scope of Indian thought. Though, if you do take the challenge and read this book you better be prepared because it is a behemoth. This is why it is sometimes referred to as the “yoga phone book.” But if you are serious about yoga then this book cannot be avoided. And you won’t regret it because it is full of insights and traditional knowledge on yoga.

Another book I recommend is by Feuerstein again. It is called The Psychology of Yoga. You should read this book after The Yoga Tradition. It was the last book Feuerstein wrote before he passed away in 2012. It is some of his best work. In this book he explores ancient yogic thought in comparison and contrast to Western psychology. He seamlessly blends both to give a modern view of why and how yoga is important.

A lot of people living super busy lives often don’t have much time to read nor do they have mental bandwidth to absorb a classic like The Yoga Tradition. What I would say to this is that you have to prioritize your life better and understand what is truly important in life. But if you are attached to your busy life then don’t fear, there is a special little book on yoga that I recommend. The Eight Limbs of Yoga by Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple is a little handbook on how we live the philosophy of yoga. Though Feuerstein goes the deepest into the eight limbs of yoga that make up yogic thought, this little book covers them well enough to pique your interest to continue your yoga studies and practice (not just hatha yoga practice). Actually, Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple have achieved quite a feat with this book. How they condensed all the key elements of the eight limbs of yoga in a book less than 100 pages I’ll never know. But this is the perfect book to get you interested in what yoga really is. You could read it on your way to work or finish it in an afternoon. That’s the beauty of this little book. But don’t let the size fool you, it packs a punch. This book is also a great reminder for those who live yoga philosophy, as you can open it up anywhere at anytime and find a piece of wisdom to ground you.

On top of these books for studying of yoga, I recommend you watch two episodes of my show Enlightenment Today. First watch the episode called Yoga and then watch the episode called The Eight Limbs of Yoga. Both of these episodes go extensively into what yoga truly is. There are many other books I could have mentioned, but the ones I have mentioned are better than a good start. They will not only open the world of yoga up for you, but they will take you all the way to the ultimate goal in yogic thought, which is the isolation of purusha from prakrti, the utlimate state of kaivalya (isolation/aloneness/detachment) leading to moksha (liberation).