May I suggest?…
Either click on me or else press ENTER (Return) on your keyboard.
"; // LOGIN SUGGESTION var txtLoginSuggestion = "Is this what you are looking for?
Just bring your mouse HERE to unfold the submenu.
"; // AMBIENT MUSIC var txtAmbMusOpen = "Ambient Music
Click to open…
"; // MAX VIEW var txtFullScreenGallery = "View this gallery in a new browser window with maximized visual display.
"; // MAX VIEW GALLERY var txtFullScreen = "Low screen resolution?
Open a new browser window with maximized visual display.
"; // DISABLE AMBIENT var txtDisableAmbient = "Want a silent visit?
Check here to disable all soothing ambient music for this session.
"; // STYLE 1 var txtStyle1 = "Switch to STYLE 1:First time visitor?
Click here for information about this website that might just make your visit a bit more agreeable.
"; // AUDIO-VIDEO MEDIA var txtMediaMenu = "IMAGES and VIDEOS
"; // AUDIO MEDIA var txtAudioMenu = "AUDIOS only
"; var txtFirstTimeTxtMac = "AUDIO/VIDEO: To enjoy the soothing ambient music while browsing or to view and hear video or audio components on this website, the Adobe® Flash Player must be installed on your computer.
You may check here to see whether or not this player is already installed on your machine.
If it is not already installed, depending on your particular browser, Adobe will offer you to download and install it (absolutely FREE).
AMBIENT MUSIC: If you wish to disable the ambient music for this session only, simply check the ‘disable ambient music’ check box on the lower right side of this window.
JAVASCRIPT: For this website to function at all JavaScript must be enabled on your browser (it is enabled by default on most modern browsers).
"; var txtFirstTimeTxtMacSmall = "AUDIO/VIDEO: To enjoy the soothing ambient music while browsing or to view and hear video or audio components on this website, the Adobe® Flash Player must be installed on your computer.
You may check here to see whether or not this player is already installed on your machine.
If it is not already installed, depending on your particular browser, Adobe will offer you to download and install it (absolutely FREE).
AMBIENT MUSIC: If you wish to disable the ambient music for this session only, simply check the ‘disable ambient music’ check box on the lower right side of this window.
LOW SCREEN RESOLUTION: If the screen resolution on your computer is low a link will appear below (‘display: max it!’). Clicking once on this link will open a new ‘full screen’ browser window with maximized visual display.
JAVASCRIPT: For this website to function at all JavaScript must be enabled on your browser (it is enabled by default on most modern browsers).
"; var txtFirstTimeTxtWin = "AUDIO/VIDEO: To enjoy the soothing ambient music while browsing or to view and hear video or audio components on this website, the Adobe® Flash Player must be installed on your computer.
You may check here to see whether or not this player is already installed on your machine.
If it is not already installed, depending on your particular browser, Adobe will offer you to download and install it (absolutely FREE).
AMBIENT MUSIC: If you wish to disable the ambient music for this session only, simply check the ‘disable ambient music’ check box on the lower right side of this window.
RECOMMENDED BROWSERS: To best enjoy the rich functionality of this website you might want to choose either one of the following browsers:
Firefox®, Safari®, or Chrome®.
JAVASCRIPT: For this website to function at all JavaScript must be enabled on your browser (it is enabled by default on most modern browsers).
"; var txtFirstTimeTxtWinSmall = "AUDIO/VIDEO: To enjoy the soothing ambient music while browsing or to view and hear video or audio components on this website, the Adobe® Flash Player must be installed on your computer.
You may check here to see whether or not this player is already installed on your machine.
If it is not already installed, depending on your particular browser, Adobe will offer you to download and install it (absolutely FREE).
AMBIENT MUSIC: If you wish to disable the ambient music for this session only, simply check the ‘disable ambient music’ check box on the lower right side of this window.
RECOMMENDED BROWSERS: To best enjoy the rich functionality of this website you might want to choose either one of the following browsers:
Firefox®, Safari®, or Chrome®.
LOW SCREEN RESOLUTION: If the screen resolution on your computer is low a link will appear below (‘display: max it!’). Clicking once on this link will open a new ‘full screen’ browser window with maximized visual display.
JAVASCRIPT: For this website to function at all JavaScript must be enabled on your browser (it is enabled by default on most modern browsers).
"; //AWAKENING var txtAwakening = "In the context of the yoga of authentic living, awakening is an ongoing process through which one realizes evermore that who he or she really is transcends—far exceeds, in depth and inclusion of the universe—all conventional modes of self-identification and definition.
As far as human beings are concerned, awakening can never be absolute but only relative. There is no fixed standard by which one may be said to be either awakened or not. Some are just more awakened than others, that’s all.
As a rule, we are awakened to the degree that, in thought, feeling and action, we are living our life not for the sake of our existential security, aggrandizement or approval, but for the sake of truth and for the good of all sentient beings alike.
"; //AXIAL PERIOD; AXIAL AGE var txtAxialAge = "The term ‘Axial Age’ (or ‘Axial Period’) usually refers to a period in human history centred around 500 BCE and spanning roughly between 800 BCE and 200 BCE wherein several significant new beginnings and changes in religion and philosophy took place throughout the world.
Among the most prominent of these we find the rise of Taoism and Confucianism in China, the Upanishads and Buddhism in India, Zarathustra in Persia, the Old Testament in Palestine, and the rise of classical Greek philosophy with such names as Plato and Socrates.
"; //FULL HUMAN POTENTIAL var txtHumanPotential = "In the context of the yoga of authentic living, our full human potential is defined by what we most fundamentally are—our being—rather than what we may have or what we do.
Being is the dimension of our consciousness that is absolutely not in conflict with life. It is one with life, and thus it is by far what is most fundamental about who we are. Our being knows, as it were, even before we are born, how to most effectively make use of all the latent energies, talents and intelligences available within our body and mind, our environment and the universe as a whole, as is required and suited in each situation.
To the degree that we—as an idea or story of our self—are willing to step out of the way of its genuine expression, the whole of our human potential is bound to manifest itself in the course of our present lifetime.
"; //SPIRIT var txtSpirit = "Spirit is (a name for) fundamental reality—that which ultimately accounts for all that is.
In some wisdom traditions, fundamental reality is referred to as ‘God’ (Judeo-Christian-Moslem). In other traditions, it is called ‘Brachman’ (India), ‘Atman’ (India), ‘the Tao’ (China), ‘Emptiness’ (Buddhism), etc. Others simply call it ‘Being’ or ‘Consciousness.’
By virtue of the fact that Spirit is fundamental reality, it transcends all dualistic perception or conception. To the degree that we commit ourselves to an awakened life, we can feel the presence Spirit within us.
For even though we cannot in an ordinary sense perceive nor understand Spirit, through meditation and other contemplative practices, we can nonetheless directly experience it, and thus, for instance, know with absolute certainty that we are in fact Spirit manifested, and as such truly one with all that is.
"; //IN-QUEST var txtInQuest = "A phrase describing a core practice in the yoga of authentic living which consists in looking in—‘in’ in the sense of actuality, or the here and now— for what we used to look for outside of ourselves for the sake of egotistic security, power or approval.
In-Quest exercises two of the most basic dimensions of our being (or consciousness).
When exercising the dimension of our being-alone (or ‘I’), its instruments are meditation and contemplation—and is therefore called in-quest meditation.
When exercising the dimension of our being-with (or ‘WE’), its instruments are communication and relationship—and is therefore called in-quest communication.
"; //DIMENSION OF BEING var txtDimensionOfBeing = "A dimension of being, or a dimension of consciousness, is a perspective, a way of looking at something, a standpoint. We may experience our being—in fact, any being, event or thing—from any of its multiple perspectives or dimensions.
Among the most important dimensions are the Interior (throughts, feelings, intuitions, awareness itself), the Exterior (body, sensory perceptions, objects), the I (or being-alone), the We (or being-with), and the It (objective, empirical) dimensions. The more dimensions through which we can experience ourselves and life, the more perspectives we can take, the richer our experience of ourselves and life on the whole becomes.
"; //BEING-IN-THE-WORLD var txtBeingInTheWorld = "Coined by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), being-in-the-world describes our true human potential in terms of two of the most essential dimensions of our being called being-alone and being-with (or simply the I and We dimensions of our being).
Being-in-the-world expresses the fact that we are not ‘islands onto ourselves’ but that invariably, we are deeply connected to one another, and that indeed, ‘the world is our oyster.’
"; //BEING-WITH var txtBeingWith = "The term Being-with (or Being-with-others) describes one of the two most essential dimensions of our inner being. Being-with, or We, is how we define and experience ourselves in terms of our relationships. It is our social self.
As such our being-with is inseparable from our being-alone (or I dimension). Like our being-alone, it may either manifest authentically or inauthentically.
Inauthentic being-with is essentially marked by our seeking of others’ egotistic approval.
Authentic being-with is essentially characterized by our seeking to truly understand others, and our genuine concern for their well-being.
"; //BEING-ALONE var txtBeingAlone = "The term Being-alone describes one of the two most essential dimensions of our inner being. Being-alone is how we define and experience ourselves in terms of our personal inner perspective. It is our personal self. As such our being-alone (also called the I dimension of our being) is inseparable from our being-with (or We dimension). Like our being-with, it may either manifest authentically or inauthentically.
Inauthentic being-alone is essentially marked by egotistic self-concern and the compulsive pursuit of personal acquisitions (of things, power, status, good feelings, etc.).
Authentic being-alone is essentially characterized by self-contentment and acceptance of ourself as we actually are.
"; //GROUND OF BEING var txtGroundOfBeing = "A more neutral, not so loaded with traditional meaning, way of expressing the ultimate Source out of which all manifestation is at all possible. All manifestation—all sentient beings, all things, all people, all thoughts, all feelings, all phenomena visible or invisible—whatever ultimately accounts for all that is, and by whatever other name, is also called the Ground of Being
"; //PATANJALI var txtPatanjali = "Patanjali (circa 150 BCE) is the alledged compiler of the Yoga Sutras, an important collection of aphorisms on traditional yoga practice.
"; //RISHIS var txtRishis = "The rishis were the ancient seers, both men and women, to whom the Vedas, the most ancient texts of Hinduism, were originally revealed through higher states of consciousness, perhaps as far back as some three or four thousand years ago.
"; //VEDAS var txtVedas = "The Vedas (Sanskrit véda, meaning ‘knowledge’) are a large body of texts which originated in India some three to four thousand years ago and which were revealed to humanity through the clairvoyance of the rishis, or seers of ancient India.
Composed in Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The Vedas are composed of four major sections, the one being most relevant to yoga is called Rigveda.
"; //RELIGION var txtReligion = "It is interesting to note that while the term yoga is etymologically derived from the Sanskrit root yug from which for instance we get the English word yoke, and which means ‘to join’ or to ‘connect,’ likewise the term religion is etymologically derived from the Latin root religio from which for instance we get the French verb relier, and which also means ‘to join’ or ‘to connect.’