Episodes
Wednesday Aug 10, 2016
PATANJALI'S ZEN: COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST SIX APHORISMS OF THE YOGA SUTRA
Wednesday Aug 10, 2016
Wednesday Aug 10, 2016
In this podcast, we comment on the first six aphorisms of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. The podcast stands alone but is also intended to supply the background to a practical weekend to be held at The Parkdale Yoga Centre, Wolverhampton on October 22nd - 23rd 2016. This weekend is ideal for yoga teachers, dedicated practitioners and open-minded beginners in Yoga.
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
LETTING BE [PART ONE]: INTRODUCTION TO WU WEI AND ISHVARAPRANIDHANA
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
This podcast introduces wu wei and ishvarapranidhana with a view to opening up future discussions on the matter of 'letting be' in life and meditation. 'Letting be' is not to be construed as fatalism or passivity. [Free. 19 minutes.]
Wednesday Jun 01, 2016
TRAVELLING LIGHT
Wednesday Jun 01, 2016
Wednesday Jun 01, 2016
We started this podcast with no topic in mind. Consequently it meanders from a consideration of the plasticity of mind through the matter of the historical variety of cultures and the character formations they produce and require, on through a story about our current situation in which consumerist capitalism requires hyper-individualism as the preferred human character, on through a narrative connecting discomfort with this plasticity with social conservatism and the metaphysics of stasis. Somewhere amongst this, we remember childhood and celebrate and recommend travelling light. [Free. 51 minutes.]
Tuesday May 17, 2016
CHAOS AND COSMOS PART FOUR
Tuesday May 17, 2016
Tuesday May 17, 2016
Here, somewhat belatedly, is the final part of Chaos and Cosmos, a talk given at Parkdale in 2015. The main thrust of this part of the talk is to abstract the practicalities implicit in the discourse thus far for practitioners of meditation and creativity. We also hear about Taliesin's shit-or-bust attempt to win the high priestess.
Monday May 09, 2016
KUNDALINI
Monday May 09, 2016
Monday May 09, 2016
This podcast deals with many aspects of the Kundalini phenomenon, particularly the nature of the experience itself, the discourses surrounding it, the theories about it and the practices associated with it. [Free. 40 minutes.]
Tuesday Apr 26, 2016
THE ROLE OF THE 'SPIRITUAL MASTER'?
Tuesday Apr 26, 2016
Tuesday Apr 26, 2016
In this podcast a specific instance of the authoritarianism that often accompanies spiritual culture is treated critically. Listeners are urged to value their autonomy and hone, not repress, their critical faculties because both of these are conditions for spiritual inquiry to take place at all. [Free. 15 minutes.]
Saturday Apr 16, 2016
YOGA & COMMERCIALISM
Saturday Apr 16, 2016
Saturday Apr 16, 2016
A short squib proposing that the modern entanglement of yoga with commercialism is actually inimical to yoga, at least as understood by Patanjali. Patanjali's practices of satya and aparagriha are invoked in relation to advertising and yoga's place in the economy. A way of collectively combating the unholy alliance between yoga and commercialism is suggested and those who think that the razzmatazz is all very fine are asked to justify their position. [Free. 16 minutes.]
Thursday Mar 17, 2016
ON THE BODY [PART FOUR]: THE BODY DIES
Thursday Mar 17, 2016
Thursday Mar 17, 2016
The body dies. In this podcast we critically reflect on the existential and cultural consequences of the fact of life that the body dies. [Free. 36 minutes.]
Friday Mar 04, 2016
ON THE BODY [PART ONE]: YOGA AND THE BODY
Friday Mar 04, 2016
Friday Mar 04, 2016
This is the first part of a series on the human body. It deals with various attitudes to the body found within yoga culture and texts and attempts to evaluate them against their usefulness for life. I also propose that the affirmation of the human body and the attribution of the highest value to it is essential to Yoga practice. Accordingly, the value of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika lies in the fact that it refrains from condemnation of the body whilst reminding us that "Hatha is for Raja". This recording was first put out on YouTube some time ago. We're repeating it here because it touches on many of the themes we want to explore in more detail in this series. [Free. 30 mins.]
Tuesday Mar 01, 2016
Tuesday Mar 01, 2016
This short ramble investigates 'ruts' or repetitive patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour and how some are necessary and others cause us to suffer and to be discontected from the glory of life. I make the observation that in many cases, such patterns are held in place by our very own expenditure of energy to the extent that they become a part of our identity. Refraining from this expenditure, i.e. relaxing and forgetting, is often sufficient to rlease us from the suffering of endless circling. [Free. 19 minutes.]