‎“Each of you possesses the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait that natural selection has ever devised. It’s a piece of neuro-audio technology for rewiring other people’s minds. I’m talking about your language”…

Biologist Mark Pagel shares a theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language and transformed humanity in the process.

Did you know that the European Union spends over 1 billion Euros every year just on translating between the 23 languages of its members countries? Pagel makes the point that language has been shaped by the evolution needs and that our world requires cooperation more than ever before. Is it far fetched then to think that we are heading toward a one language world? Watch the Ted video to find out.

And click here to check the schedule of courses on language and communication.

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‘What we know for sure stand in the way of what we need to learn’
Richard Farson, in The Innovation Paradox

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Have you ever taken a test, or assessment to discover who you are, what job best suits you, or which relationships fit you best? Do you know your “type”?

Thinking Styles.

Too many modern assessments and models put people in boxes: you’re an A-type, where you hang in the 4 quadrants, models of personality etc… As much as it is useful to discover certain character traits, those tend to limit us rather than assist us to expand our perception of who we are and how we are “supposed” to behave, because they tend to function deductively (from outside to inside) rather than inductively (from inside to outside).

Another less obvious, but probably more accurate and constructive approach is to focus not on WHAT people think or believe or their personality type, but HOW they think about them, looking at the lenses they use to understand their world: their work, their relationships, themselves in relation to the environment. It’s an inductive model of understanding (i.e. the opposite of limiting), because it reflects the increasing level of complexity that a mind has to develop in order to fit in a given external environment.

The question we ask is: are the mind capacities of a person suited to their life conditions? When we achieve congruency between the 2, we are in balance. Balance is the ultimate purpose, because when you reach a state of perfect equilibrium… you function perfectly in your world, and… what else do you need?

When life conditions change, we often need to develop new ways to cope with a changed reality, which means essentially, new mind capacities, and new ways to think about our world.

Want to know more? Click here.

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ONLY 4 SPACES LEFT!

This is a unique opportunity to meet and study with carlos Pomeda for a whole week end in Hong Kong from June 19th (Friday) to June 22nd (Sunday).

Read below details on the retreat. If any question, post comment or email me!

From the Everyday to the Supreme

The secret to the fulfillment of life lies hidden in plain sight…

Based on a classical tantric text from the Kashmiri tradition (the Pratyabhijna-hrdayam, or “Heart of Recognition”), this seminar will teach us how to recognize the most extraordinary supreme consciousness in the midst of the most ordinary processes. Starting with an expansive understanding of the unfolding of consciousness in the universe and offering the key to the understanding and experience of supreme reality, the seminar will culminate with several powerful techniques for the expansion of consciousness. Ultimately, this tradition teaches that the unfolding of the inner energy brings about the attainment of supreme bliss right within your own heart.

This seminar combines the most sublime philosophy and wisdom with the most powerful and relevant practices. Come join us as we celebrate the miracle of consciousness in our lives.

Carlos Pomeda

With over 34 years of experience, Carlos Pomeda received formal, traditional training in yoga during almost 18 years as a monk of the Sarasvati order, 9 of which he spent in India, in the Siddha Yoga Ashram. During this time he learnt the various systems of Indian Philosophy and immersed himself in the practice of yoga. He combines this traditional training with an academic background as well, having earned two Masters’ degrees: one in Sanskrit from UC Berkeley and another one, in Religious Studies, from UC Santa Barbara. As a teacher, Carlos is known for his love of the Indian yoga traditions, his insight, his humor, his deep empathy with his audiences and his ability to convey the deepest scriptural teachings in a way that is clear, meaningful and applicable. Studying with Carlos is a truly delightful and enlightening experience.

Textbook:

Pomeda, Carlos. The Yoga of Recognition. (In preparation).

Shantananda, Swami. The Splendor of Recognition. South Fallsburg: SYDA Foundation, 2003.

WHEN: June 19^th to 21^st (Friday evening to Sunday morning)

WHERE: Maryknoll House, 44 Stanley Village Road, Stanley, HK

PRICE: HKD1,450.

Daily Schedule

Friday June 19th

5 to 5:30pm Group arrives

6pm dinner

07:30–09:00 Kirtan and meditation

Saturday June 20th

06:30–07:30 Morning meditation (includes a few gentle stretches)

08:00–09:00 Breakfast

09:30–10:45 Study and meditation session

10:45–11:30 Hatha Yoga

11:30–12:30 Study and meditation session

12:30–02:30 Lunch, rest & personal time

02:30–03:30 Contemplative walk and/or Hatha Yoga stretches (gentle)

03:30–06:00 Study and meditation session

06:00–06:30 Hatha Yoga

06:15–07:15 Dinner

07:30–09:00 Kirtan and meditation

Sunday June 21st

06:30–07:30 Morning meditation (includes a few gentle stretches)

08:00–09:00 Breakfast

09:30–10:45 Study and meditation session

10:45–11:30 Hatha Yoga

11:30–12:30 Study and meditation session

Group leaves before lunch

CONTACT: heleneliu@netvigator.com or norman0001@netvigator.com

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Alfred Korzybski in “Science and Sanity” (1933) reflects on the verb “to be” and the process of identification. He used to train people to avoid saying “I am”, asking them “Is this all you think you are?”.

Have you noticed when we are asked “who are you”, often, we say our name, and maybe mention our occupation/job title? Is this all we are? The verb TO BE can be limiting and reflects our beliefs about ourselves.

His work was based on the view that human beings are limited in their knowledge by the structure of their perceptions and their language. Unable to experience the world directly, they resort to “abstractions” (non-verbal perceived impressions and verbal indicators expressed through language). The structure of our perceptions and our language (which determine our understanding) sometimes misleads us as to what is going on, what we must deal with. We create an abstraction and this is the reality we deal with. He called for an increased awareness in each of us of that process of abstraction.

Interestingly enough, some 800 years before Korzybski, in India, Shankaracharya, the creator of the philosophy of non-duality Advaita Vedanta, mentioned the human process of “Adhyasa”, superimposition of meaning onto the unchanging reality through our senses, and its remedy, “Apavada” deconstruction of the operation of the senses.

So how to expand the structure of our language and our perceptions? Mind changing courses.

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Often, the solution to our problems lies in the ability to see things from a different point of view.

Something to contemplate (from the philosopher Wittgenstein):

We are tempted to think that because we know 1, we know 2 because 1 and 1 equal 2; but we forgot to look at the “and”. If you combine 1 litre of alcohol and 1 litre of water you do not get 2 litres (try it, you’ll see)!

Think! In people, when 1+1 equal more than 2, it is called synergy! When it is less, conflict!

In what ways can you make 1+1 more than 2, in your personal life, business, health?

Expand your point of view!

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This is a vast question, and many answers have been proposed. In 1957 Karl Jung hinted one possible answer in his book “The Undiscovered Self”. The Conscious Mind (that part of us which is rational, speaks in words and which we are aware of) takes us away from experience. The dissociation between the Conscious Mind and the Unconscious Mind (that vast, symbolic part of us which … you are not conscious of right now, but which contains the programmes behind our behaviours) is at the root of many human problems.

The logic of the Conscious Mind dissociates us from reality itself. The Conscious Mind attaches labels to reality and we become identified to labels, by the same token, restricting our flexibility and emotional and mental freedom. Example: I hate my job, but it pays well. Rationally, there is no reason to feel miserable, but I do. All the rational reasons (Conscious Mind) are here to be happy but emotionally, spiritually, (Unconscious Mind) I am not.

Hypnosis bypasses the critical faculty of the Conscious Mind to work directly at the unconscious, symbolic level by giving suggestions to the Unconscious Mind; if the Conscious Mind is the goal setter, the Unconscious Mind is the goal getter; when the two are aligned, we function at top performance; hence the effectiveness of Hypnotic suggestion in times of stress and confusion.

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Early 20th century scientific research on how the brain stores memories had shown that rats could still run a maze with a major part of their brain removed, which brought about the conclusion that memories were not stored in the brain, but throughout the whole body (the basis of the scientific proof of the mind-body connection).

Karl Pribram, in his pioneering work on the brain and the nervous system which led to the development of the holonomic model, shows that memories are stored, not in cells, but as wave patterns. His breakthrough discovery that the Human nervous system functions a hologram opened a whole new dimension to how we see the Mind and the nervous system (have you ever heard that we are only using 10% of the capacities of our brain?). A hologram is a light field resulting from the interference of two light beams (one of them going through an object) on a recording medium which appears as a 3D object. One of the interesting qualities of the hologram is that if you break the holographic plate, you get 2 whole pictures.

It is interesting to note that all the Fathers of Quantum Physics, as well as Einstein were familiar with Eastern Esoteric schools of thought and practices which focus on the underlying Oneness of consciousness pervading the multiplicity we see in the physical world, including ourselves. (See David Bohm’s conversation with Krishnamurti on Youtube).

Karl Pribram’s holonomic model leads to the question that mystics have been asking for centuries: if the human nervous system is a hologram, what it is a hologram of? Interestingly, the basic presupposition of the Indian Tantric school, as it appeared around the 6th century AD is: the Human being is a contracted form of the Supreme. The practice in Tantra is expansion. Indeed, what are we a hologram of?

“Consciousness is all there is” is the basis of Advaita Vedanta, a school founded in 800AD by Sri Shankaracharya, which takes it origins in Vedic times in the Upanishads. If we accept, as Modern Science has already started to demonstrate, that multiplicity and separation are an illusion, or that at least they are only real at a very gross level, then we have to completely reconstruct our model of the world AND of who we are and where we stand.

Indeed, we understand reality through the filters of our limited perceptions and give names to the forms we see in the physical world (“Namarupa”). The human nervous system however cannot fathom the vastness of infinity and wholeness, and needs to create duality (male/female, good/bad, black/white) in order to bring structure and understanding to daily life.

The practice of Advaita Vedanta is “Apavada” or deconstruction of the illusion of multiplicity.

“Consciousness is all there is”. Ramesh Balsekar is the most advanced proponent and teacher of Advaita Vedanta in the world today. Ramesh holds satsang at his home in Bombay every morning; he wrote numerous books, one of which is highly recommended as an introduction to Advaita Vedanta: “A personal religion of your own” (Zen Publication).

To Be Continued…

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