Yoga leaflet January 2017
Consciousness and Intuition

Western psychologists and psychoanalysis have, when studying consciousness in the past, largely confined their studies to the subconscious mind and the study of mental diseases. In contrast there is little research into the origin and fundamental formation of normal mental states and their emotional and volitional expression, which has been the main focus of Indian Philosophy.

It is only recently with the advent of neuro-science that mental states and innate brain biases and how we can overcome and change them, has become a focus. The plasticity of the brain and the possibility of changing neuro-pathways by means of increased self regulatory practices is a new investigation of behavioural science. There are definite overlapping concepts which confirm some of the ancient insights the yogis have been proclaiming for a very long time.
Precise classifications are made in the yoga systems of the various links in normal mental modifications and of the characteristic functions of Buddhi (discriminative intellect), ahankara (egoistic principle) and manas (mind or sense-consciousness). (Autobiography of a yogi, P. Yogananda, p.46). Detailed mental states and the corresponding biochemical changes in the brain are now researched in neuro-science. These can include the effects of sports activities on the brain, common habits of successful people and meditation effects on the brain to name but a few.

Most of us will have experienced the beneficial impact of a regular yoga practice.
Jung had this to say about yoga: "Yoga practice would be ineffectual without the concepts on which yoga is based. It combines the bodily and the spiritual with each other in an extraordinarily complete way. In the East, where these ideas and practices have developed and where for several thousand years an unbroken tradition has created the necessary spiritual foundations, yoga is, as I can readily believe, the perfect and appropriate method of fusing body and mind together so that they form a unity which is scarcely to be questioned. This unity creates a psychological disposition which makes possible intuitions that transcend consciousness. The Western day is nearing when the inner science of self-control will be found as necessary as the outer conquest of Nature. The Atomic Age will see men's minds sobered and broadened by the now scientifically indisputable truth that matter is in reality a concentrate of energy." (an extract attributed to Jung by Parahamsa Yogananda, p.227).

The practice of yoga can lead to an enhanced sense of wholeness. Intuition is soul guidance appearing naturally in man during those instants when his mind is calm. Nearly everyone has had the experience of an inexplicably correct "hunch", or has transferred his thoughts accurately to another person.
The human mind , freed from the disturbances or 'static" of restlessness, is empowered to perform through the antenna of intuition all the functions of complicated radio mechanism- sending as well as receiving thoughts and tuning out undesirable ones. As the power of a radio-broadcasting station is regulated by the amount of electrical current it can utilise, so the effectiveness of a human radio depends on the degree of will power possessed by each individual.
All thoughts vibrate eternally in the cosmos. By deep concentration a master is able to detect the thoughts of any man, living or dead. Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted: a truth cannot be created, but only perceived. Any erroneous thought of man is a result of an imperfection, large or small, in his discernment. The goal of yoga science is to calm the mind, that without distortion it may hear the infallible counsel of the Inner Voice (ditto. p.151).
Radio and Television have brought the instantaneous sound and sight of remote persons to the firesides of millions: the first faint scientific intimations that man is an all pervading spirit. Though the ego in most barbaric ways conspires to enslave him, man is not a body confined to a point in space but is essentially the omnipresent soul (ditto p. 152).
Yoga is a method of restraining the natural turbulence of thoughts, which otherwise impartially prevents all men, of all lands, from glimpsing their true nature of Spirit. Like the healing light of the sun, yoga is beneficial equally to men of the East and the men of the West. The thoughts of most men and women are restless and capricious; a manifest need exist for yoga, the science of mind control.
The ancient Rishi Pantanjali defines yoga as "neutralisation of the alternating waves in consciousness".
The yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path.
1.Yama (moral conduct), 2. Niyama (religious observances), 3. Asana (right posture), 4. Pranayama (control of prana), 5. Pratyara ( withdrawal of the senses), 6. Dharana ( concentration), 7. Dyana (meditation), 8. Samadhi (superconscious experience).
The Eightfold Path of yoga leads to the final goal of Kalvalya (Absoluteness), in which the yogi realises the Truth beyond all intellectual apprehension (ditto p. 225).

The gradual taming of what yogis like to call the "monkey-mind" in essence can lead to the development of clear intuition. Next time I will give an overview of how neuro-science understands our basic brain attitudes and how it influences the status quo.

Ecological awareness or caring!
How do we introduce our children who are still in the magical zone of story telling before the age of 10+ to the needs and understanding of our planet Earth? The Age of Consciousness in which we find ourselves demands that we understand our role and responsibilities in relation to our environment and Nature to an ever greater extend. As an introduction to the bigger picture and the movement through the seasons in our immediate environment "The little lemon-tree that stood!" is meant to grow the young child's awareness and understanding of Nature's unique qualities and to encourage the observation of some of its underlying realities..
The book is printed on recycled paper and available from marjogamble@gmail.com for R140.

Carte-blanche has a number of new items such as African pillow covers as well as home designed and locally printed pillow covers.
There are new female tops and tight fitting men's shirts in single shweshwe and pure sandy coloured cotton with Cape Town embroidered on the chest pocket.
I am intending to have a stall at the Lion's Craft Market in HoutBay on the second and fourth Sunday during the coming month.
Best wishes!
Marjolein