Yoga and the Topology of Experience 10-27-2010

8/8/2019 Yoga and the Topology of Experience 10-27-2010

1/535

1


2/535

Yoga and the Topology of ExperienceBy Jim Bergc 2010

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Yoga and the Topology of Experience

2. Sutra on Yoga, the Topology of Experience and Neurocognition

3. Qualitative Distinctions of the Path of Yoga

4. Topology of ExperienceIntroduction to the Topology of ExperienceStructural Geometry of he Topology of ExperienceFunctional Analysis of he Topology of ExperienceDynamics of Experience: Influences that Change the Field of AwarenessDeviations from Qualitative Experience: Styles of Suffering and Fulfillment

5. Yogic Implications of Neurocognition

6. Wise Ways to Tune into the Quality of Life

Appendix:Stages towards the mastery of yogaFurther sutras on the Topology of Experience

Original Translations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (x5)Glossary

[email protected]

2


3/535

Introduction to Yoga and The Topology of Experience

Astronauts travel through outer space to seek out and understand the heavens. Yogis travel

through inner experiential space to seek out and understand insight, wisdom, fulfillment and lasting

freedom from the root inducers of further distress. Sentient creatures suffer, especially those sentient

creatures that are born, with a body that feels pleasure and pain, and a mind full of afflicting emotions

and beliefs, with thoughts of potential separation from loved ones, with memories of uncomfortable

events, and with forethoughts of potential dangers and death. Indeed, living in the world takes it's toll

and we have been born into a body with needs and desires, longings and hopes, and expectations. As

sentient humans, we can learn to deal skillfully and eventually master our distress. We might not be

able to stop the inevitability of aging and disease, and the innate lack of fulfillment from wanting and not

wanting, yet we can help our desires, hopes and expectations to be wiser in this process by making

disciplined choices according to worthy principles while surfing our opportunities.

Yoga is the name for the path of tuning the state of awareness towards its most fundamentally

resonant state and transformation potential. Yoga is the tuning of awareness with being fully aware,capable and upright. A yogi commits to cultivate the field of awareness to become relieved from further

self-inflicting distress, intending towards further transformation with clearer insight, sincere effort, and

grace; And to help others on their path. This path requires understanding one's truer nature and to see

into the truer nature of things. Understanding often uses models to comprehend the multi-

dimensional nature of the terrain of a path. This is one such model.

How and why are things the way they are, and what is the cause and effect of that? Any

answer given is put into a representation of words or some other conceptual relation. Any insight is

comprehended through neurocognitive processes and expressed through the representation of concepts.Information comes to us by the way of perception of the senses, the memories of perceptions and

conceptions about that. The answer to that can only be a model that helps us to comprehend a more

abstract relation of meaning or value of that. The ultimate nature of things, as comprehended by

awareness, is dependent on the ultimate nature of our neurocognition. How and why we come to know

skews the results of knowing. Awareness, perception, conception, and comprehension are dependent on

neurobiological processes and these neurobiological processes are co-dependent on our cognition. The

brain is very plastic and is shaped by our experience; and our way of knowing dramatically influences

the biology of how we know. Karma itself is embedded in the biology and our biology is shaped by our karma.

Every human is born with an extremely immature way of knowing. The structures and functions

of sentiency are immature; experience is immature. Indeed, we are born relatively ignorant and

incapable. We are especially ignorant of truly fulfilling ways as we are impulsed by drives and instincts

and the substances of neurocognition. As we mature, we can gain skill in dealing with these drives. A

3


4/535

mature human way is partially conditioned by the past and partially initiated by our hopes for the future.

Intention and effort can potentially recondition the karmic impact of negative states created by

previously ignorant and confused intentions and efforts. Ignorance and confusion and stubbornness and

innate lacking are the way of the immature. The mature are usually stupid or foolish or stubborn, or they

are intelligent and wise and able. Age does not bestow wisdom, but surely age does give us more

opportunity to fulfill it. There is a critical point to age when insight sharpens and dulls because of biology. Even insight comes and goes with biology. The yogi takes advantage of the moment to

recognize that every thing changes, even experience itself, and that insight and peace and fulfillment is

presently available that is, if one can move beyond the conditionings of experience. Yoga is the

witnessing of the distinctness of awareness from the neurocognitive processes awareness is aware of.

Awareness is the experiencer of the field of assembly and is partially responsible for binding the

neurocognitive processes into meaning and value. Yoga more literally means to bind the focus of

awareness towards the most fundamental experiential state as undisturbed sentiency, empty of objects

and transformations, full of experiential potential. And then to manifest assembling neurocognitionssynchronized from this harmonizing and truer space; Otherwise awareness identifies with the objects it

beholds, manifesting as a menagerie of illusions, delusions, afflicting emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Because of our biology, we are born into illusion,, delusion, afflicting emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

Because of our biology and insight, we can navigate our way to freedom beyond these conditioned

afflictions. Yoga is the harmonizing of the transformations of neurocognition so that awareness can

have its most fulfilling insights and manifestations. These neurocognitions are programmed into the

putty of the brain as procedural, semantic and autobiographical memories which display and transform

the field of awareness. The qualitative impact of these memories onto the contact of awareness with

the presently identified object can be called karma. A yogi tunes the karma to become non-afflictive;

But the momentum of that karma is powerful enough to require a continual returning of the yogi to

retuning the modifications of the mind-stuff to quiescence, and thus resonant as awareness.

Yoga relies on the peaceful, insightful and fulfilling way of awareness. Awareness is the self-

evident essential aspect of a sentient being that carries the potential for cognitive luminosity, value and

meaning. Awareness contacting and transforming objects through time and space is experience. Yoga is

the disciplined attempt to bring awareness into its fullest and most true qualitative fruition. Awareness

being truthful to its essential nature, and acting carefully, requires a skillful discipline. A yogi seeks to

reside in their essential and true nature and to move with integrity from this space, even when

recognizing this essential space as empty, empty of objects, or processes, of self, i.e. a particular identity,

of attached meaning and value, and even of essence. Neurocognition intimately influences awareness

like the climate and terrain do the traveler. A wise traveler appreciates an accurate map and forecast of

these influences. Neurocognitive models seeks to provide accurate topographical time and space maps.

4


5/535

Yoga provides the directions and traveling advice on the neurocognitive terrain.

Every sentient creature navigates the currents of life with a certain degree of skillfulness and a

certain degree of clumsiness. Clumsiness is due to innate disability, ignorance, impulsion, stupidity,

foolishness, compulsion and the synchronistic force of destiny. Skill is due to innate ability, right

knowledge, right intention, right effort, opportunity and synchronicity. The skill can be developed or

immature, misguided or principled, and achieved weakly or strongly, gracefully or not. These skilledcapacities influence the field of awareness as objects and scenes attract/repel our attention, hope and

behavior. Each of us develop our own unique skillful capacity to harmonize the field of awareness; and

each of us develop our own overwhelming impulsions and compulsions keeping awareness distracted or

oblivious to the more fulfilling way. Yoga is the disciplined harmonization of the way of experience and

tuning this way towards the even more truthful and valuable.

The map of this disciplined path would be referenced to each awareness approaching yoga. The

map is lined by the karmic terrain of the hills and valleys created by the neurocognitive apparatus and

other worldly conditions. No awareness would share the same path as another, but the general stylistictendencies of the direction of approach can be qualitatively distinguished. Thus the paths of yoga are

based on these stylistic tendencies of awareness as a starting point, not an end. Yoga is the multi-

dimensional intentional movement on the karmic terrain of a persons life towards the most real, true and

valuable experience.

A wise exposition is careful when defining terms so that ideas at least have an opportunity to be

logically aligned with clear conclusions. The most important and critical word to define in this study, is

awareness. This word represents goal of the yogi, so let's define carefully this path. Awareness is the

self-evident field of experience that sources a being's potential for the sentiency of quality, meaning and

expression. Awareness is the field that witnesses perceptual, conceptual, and comprehensible

objects/scenes; Awareness copes with and transforms objects in its field; and this field is changed by the

contacted objects and the memory of past contact with similar objects. These are categorical subfields of

awareness that inputs objects onto the field of awareness and thus for awareness to be extended in some

way.

Awareness contacts the objective physical world first and foremost by being aware, and then by

perceiving the sensory input onto its field. Awareness also contacts representative memories of past

transformations of events, abstract conceptions, and comprehensions of the quality and meaning, and

creatively imagines new transformations of events and meanings and qualities. Awareness wills effort

into perceiving, conceiving, comprehending and creative expression.

Awareness is the most fundamental topological category of experience, with each sub-dimension

of experience having characteristic topological characteristics, objects and transformations. The

fundamental sub-dimensions of experience are topological sheaves, with fiber bundles of categorical

5


6/535

objects and their particular algebraic potentials. Awareness abstractly recognizes these sheaves and

performs the abstract algebraic manipulation. The results are often acted upon the comprehension of the

abstracted potentials. These experiential categories have rules of transformations amongst the objects and

their groups; these may be called experiential topoi. These topoi describe an experiential topological

sheave and its algebraic potentials. Correlated with these experiential sheaves are the neurocognitive

substratum and their topological sheaves.{insert: List of Experiential Categories}

These categorical distinctions allow the abstract algebraic manipulation of objects imaginatively

according to the rules defined by the category and the intention of awareness. Awareness routinely does

this as a way to creatively considering potential implications of real object manipulation. The rules of

transformation are often conditioned by peoples feelings and thoughts attached onto the objects by

awareness and imprinted into the neurobiology. The personal rules of abstract manipulation are not

necessarily the most logically, semantically or mathematically correct. But the categorical types of

objects and their rules are characteristically similar enough to allow for abstract manipulation within that particular frame of awareness with its rules.

A GIS Topology can be applied to the experiential frame of awareness. Each object can be

described as a qualified bounded set of fuzzily defined algebraic parameters. These objects are in a time-

space neighborhood called a scene. A scene is the immediate time-space context of the experiential

frame. An event is a time-space interval of experience. Awareness perceives, conceives, comprehends

and actuates objects, scenes and events. The quantized properties of the objects transform through time

and space and influence the states of awareness as awareness attaches its attention to the object. The

strength of attachment causes a drag or propulsion of energetic effort impeding or impulsing further or

less attachment. The state of awareness is further stabilized or destabilized accordingly out of the now

towards the past or future, imaginary or real, pleasurable or painful, based on the nature of the

transformations of the attachment style of awareness. The style of attachment influence the security of

the resonant field of awareness. The style is seeded and further pressured by the neurobiology and

fashioned by awareness. Awareness uses the cognitive processes like we use the computer monitor to

control the CPU of the computer. We think we are doing it, but we are only directing the physics

that is available.

Awareness assembles into a field of awareness and has states of harmonic equilibrium. Objects

and scenes change on this field and participate in the states of awareness. Awareness intentionally

participates with objects through attention towards them. Awareness is the origin and the object is the

direction. The experiential object has properties and dynamics and value and meaning. These determine

the magnitude and direction of the particular vector of awareness. The force of attraction towards or

away from an object depends upon that the inherent properties of that object, and our contact with that

6


7/535

object with the projected values and meanings and feelings elicited upon contact. The field states of

awareness fluctuate and transform, pulling and pushing our awareness as we attach projections on to the

identity of that object and with that, our wants and dont wants. Even, and especially our own identity

with whom I really am, is laden with a field of awareness skewed by past ignorances and ways of

comprehending myself.

Awareness perceives its external and internal context. Objects on the screen of awareness callforth certain attached thoughts, images, feelings etc depending on the reactive tendencies and

conditionings of the person with that type of identified object/scene. The GIS vector field map is the

recreated binded experiential mapping of all the inputs on the screen of awareness. Each object has an

identified coordinated value and meaning in the multitude of fields comprehended as a unity of this

object in a scene, here and now. This binded unity has properties and these properties have quantizable

parameters. These parameters move through the time-space continuum transforming and reconfiguring a

control system to adapt to the environment, meet physiological needs, live conveniently, bath in luxury,

pursue and create dreams, hopes and aspirations. These aspirations, even, are meaningful parameters thatguide our personal transformation. The person weighs and evaluates scenes and chooses a course based

on that evaluation. We can map experience by understanding the objects that transform awareness into

experience, the potential transformations, and the fundamental experiential categories.

{Insert: The Transformations of Experience}

The more interesting map is the map of field potentials embeded in the field of awareness itself.

These vector field potentials are the potential ways of transformations upon contact with an object.

Karma is the name of these vector field potentials embedded into our neurocognition, for this has

traditionally meant the qualitative impact of past experience onto the now. Karma is the tendency for

awareness to react with a preconditioned transformative pattern and has now come to be called our

thought and emotional capacities, habits, traits and personality styles.

Human experience is inevitably tied intimately with our brain and body. The structural

neurobiological apparatus is a correlative map of our functional awareness. Mental process and our

emotions are the experiential correlative of physical events. We can now witness these fluctuations of

the mind stuff in functional MRIs and PET scans, Spect scanning, EEG and magnetic scans. These

physical fluctuations are topologically related to experience. A yogi can learn about the nature of that

experience by studying experiential and objective neurocognitive research, much like the traveler might

study the geology and climate of the terrain.

Awareness considers many inputs simultaneously as an event unfolds. Awareness is the co-limit

of all the dimensions available to experience. To describe the event, a model would need to reflect the

potential complexity of experience. Causality itself is incredibly complex as all events are

incomprehensibly causally interdependent. However, certain major experiential categories can be

7


8/535

identified, interrelated and fuzzily quantized similar to how a particular person might do it. The model,

itself, might be defined broad enough to include all human experience for all people, and ultimately and

cognitive or sentient living or virtual frame.

A frame of reference can be defined in many ways in a particular system of awareness. This

model will assume the frame of awareness itself as the primary reference frame. We will also study some

neurobiological correlates. All experiential objects take their reference from the here, now of the particular awareness considered. This here-now may be re-metriced to another time-space measure like

objective eastern-standard time in Time Square. Awareness seems like a continuous flow of the here-now

where/when the scene transforms as beheld by awareness. The frame of awareness might be represented

by the name of the person who embodies the awareness. Each person has their own unique set of

transformation potentials (capacities). The basis of the reference frame is the subjective essence of

awareness -- the very sentiency itself.

Experientially, objects take context in their spatial relations to this subjective frame. The relative

position and motion, and the spaces topological characteristics give relative meaning to the context of the objects in a scene. Events also have a temporal context, including a temporal sequence, a rate of

change of the temporal change, a directional time-reference of change, and a reference potential to an

objective time standard. Objects also have a value and meaning context based on previously learned

knowledge and current creative insight. Systems have time-space contexts that relate the structure of the

parts to the function of the whole. Experiential objects are always part of an experiential system;

Physical objects are part of a physical system. Each system has its group transformation potentials

allowed within the context considered. The context gives extension to the dimensions available to the

frame of reference.

Objects are conceptual and perceptual classes of bounded qualitative distinctions and their

relations. The object has mass based on the intrinsic properties of that object in time-space and weight

based on the conceived value of the qualities within the field of awareness that beholds it. Objects

precipitate an apparent displacement in the field of awareness. This conceived extension in a particular

qualitative direction is the measure of the projected attachment of awareness to that object. The object

will pull or push awareness in a particular way. And, awareness can desire or avoid, impulse or compulse

or ignore the object in its particular way.

The particular way is dependent on the intrinsic characteristics of the object and the capacity

and will of the awareness. The capacity and will determine most of the field influences of awareness.

The capacity of awareness is determined by the experiential resources available to awareness at a

particular interval of time-space, and these are based on neurobiological processes. The will of

awareness is based on desire, intention, effort and opportunity. These determine the strength of the field

of awareness weighted attachment to the object. Objects have perceived and conceived relationships

8


9/535

with other objects. Objects form groups of objects. These groups have characteristic and uncharacteristic

relations that determine their group boundaries and transformative potential. Awareness perceives,

conceives, comprehends and manipulates groups of objects.

Each dimension of experience has types of objects and transformations. As an object is a

bounded unity, each object class can define a metric for each class of object which invokes a

neurocognitive algebra that abstractly manipulates these parameters. A particular object input ontoawareness through a particular dimension defines the topological boundaries for the algebra. The types

of objects creates a category, which along with their transformations (morphisms and functors) allow for

abstracted algebraic manipulation through Category Theory. The brain has its own category theory as

does experience. The mathematics is category specific. Each category assigns rules of manipulation that

correlates with the rules of the experiential dimensioned modeled upon. Each dimension can identify a

class identity for the type of objects entertained. Awareness binds cross dimensional categorical

information into the experience and identifies the object.

The intended effort of the person fashions thematic patterns of the context creating abilities.People create their reality by choosing familiar objects and scenes, in both their own head and in the

world. The person weaves an intricate web of causal connections conditioning their future attention and

weight patterning. These networked connections can be described as a model, but prediction from the

model is limited since all humans have the free will to think creatively and spontaneously and somewhat

randomly. A model can be descriptive as well as predictive. They both should be an accurate

representation. Conditioned experience is relatively linear, but creative experience can be quite non-

linear. Non-linear events are very difficult to predict, as is the creative mind.

Objects transform on the field of awareness. Objects represent all inputs onto the field of

awareness. Scenes are the time-space context of the objects. The five major dimensions of the inputs

onto the field of awareness are sensations, perceptions, conceptions, comprehensions, and volitions.

Awareness scans and sorts the potential input fields and identifies objects and their time-space meaning-

value relationships with the rest of the scene and perceptual/conceptual context. Objects are weighted by

their conceived and pragmatic necessity to pay more attention and exert more effort. Each object is

identified as an attractor or repellor of attention based on a tension identified in the space of awareness to

accommodate or assimilate or avoid that object. That induces a directed volitional urge. Thus begins

volitional formations.

The persons temperament is their innate neuro-hormonal-cognitive reflexive tendency to react

characteristically to identified objects/scenes. The temperament is the biological states that impose

themselves onto the field of awareness as urges and impulses. Each person develops a proclivity to

arousal, an emotional reactivity. These proclivities may be engendered or suppressed as we develop

attachments and avoidances. A temperament can be more highly reactive or less reactive to a given

9


10/535

stimuli. Each person learns styles of self-regulation with their impulsions to react as such. The qualitative

tendency to have self-control and creative freedom brings a plethora of moral discipline styles.

A schema is a particular transformation potential of an object intrinsically and as it relates to

awareness. Every object as its intrinsic transformation potential and person develops transformation

potentials called capacities. The algebra of the events and their attachment transformations influence the

weight of further attachment around similarly identified events. These conditioned responses form patterns of characteristic response to identified situations called thema (pl. themata). A thema may be a

reflex, habit, trait, or way. A reflex is an immediate reaction to a stimuli; a habit is a conditioned

response to stimuli based on previous attachment transformations. A trait is a pattern of characteristic

response that is often intended and proactive. A response may be physiological, behavioral, attitudinal, a

belief, or feeling or any tendency of experiential attachment.

A thema may be stabilizing or destabilizing, immediately or delayed, constructive or destructive,

intentional or not. A fearful stimuli, for example, may evoke a reflexive neuroendocrine response that

leads to a racing heart and a sense of anxiety. The person can fight or flight, avoid, submit, or somehow accommodate/assimilate the evoking attractor-repellor object. These can lead to immediate or

further implications on both the object and the person. The degree of conscious will-strength necessary

evoke a stabilizing, constructive, qualitative response is proportional to the conceived necessity and the

capacity of the person, the weight of the object itself, and the will-strength of the person to do something

about it.

The integrity of the field state of awareness is effected by the nature of the attachments to the

objects/scenes and their implications. An object can enhance the resonance of the field of awareness as it

interacts with the capacities, intention and conditionings of the person. Overtime, patterns of

characteristic response develops, adding a tendency to further stabilize or destabilize the field. The sense

of security of the field of awareness is based on these factors.

The dynamical system approach to the person allows us to model a fuzzy topological model of

experience. Properties (quale, singular; qualia, plural) of experiential objects have experientially

quantizable parameters. These objects and scenes follow rules of transformation defined by the class of

the group. The metric of the quanta of the quale are relative like every metric. Awareness attaches to

objects/scenes and they are transformed according to preconditioned tendencies and effort. The force of

the object to change the field of awareness is the valenced change in a qualitative way, that is, this

quality changed in that way that is experienced as + or - . Traits develop as dispositional tendencies to

transform certain classes of objects in a certain way. Awareness tracks the valence potentials of identified

objects and scenes over time and feedbacks a control accordingly. The patterns of these tendencies can

be represented by quantizing qualities of perceptions, conceptions, comprehensions and actions and the

results of their transformations in the time-space context.

10


11/535

A valence potential a valency is created as the field of awareness contacts the object. The

object however never arrives to awareness in isolation. Objects arrive within temporal and spatial,

meaning and value contexts we call a scene or event. The object has a priori properties and force of

impact; awareness has a priori neurological and cognitive tendencies to direct and re-direct the impact.

The capacity of awareness to respond is also an a priori tendency. The manner and choice of contact and

accommodation adds to the transformational context of the present encounter with the object.Because some experiential objects are fuzzy, and some object classes not well defined, even

oneness of an object or scene may not be well defined. Experience deals with this fuzziness with our

obscured sensations, perceptions, conceptions, comprehensions and intentions. An experiential object

may be likened to a point with a disc of uncertainty extending in the relative neighborhood. An

experiential point may be a range of points within this uncertainty, like a cloud of nebulosity. And since

many objects are groups of objects in a scene over time and extended through experientially space,

whole groups of complex relationships lie beyond awareness current comprehension. There are levels of

this incomprehensibility, just as there are levels of comprehension. The whole of experience uses a multi-dimensional analysis and synthesis to grasp an identity and associated transformations. With this identity

comes the projected neurocognitive attachment onto the object that defines its qualitative valency. The

space of awareness curves from this valency. This is the wave of karma upon which awareness rudders.

Karma is a vectored force field skewing awareness by the the impact of past experience

influencing potential identifications and attachments. Somehow the past present moments are imprinted

into a memory that impulses itself onto the objects at hand. Karma is the vectorally directed weight of

this attachment of the particular memories. The field of awareness is conditioned to accommodate and

transform the object as such. An object is most often attended to with the attachments automatically

layered on the perception. The feature attributes of a perceived object are recognized, identified,

conceived, valued and implicated as a binded unity of an experiential event. These components can be

teased apart by awareness, but they are usually experienced as learned associations of past memories and

potential imaginings projected upon this experience.

Karma, as the weighted attachment of our learned and conditioned capacities that tend to

influence our present awareness, is generated primarily on the sub-dimension that awareness most

commonly dwells. Awareness dwells in certain spaces more than others and focuses on certain aspects of

the fields of awareness more than others. A mis-intended or well-intended effort often carry an awesome

force. Learned conditioned response tendencies can hinder or promote the harmonization of the field

states of awareness; Intentional effort is required to control the field beyond the conditioned influences.

Even our intention dwells in certain spaces more than others, and thus our skillful way may be biased by

this apparently partitioned space. The different paths of yoga accounts for the multi-dimensional

dwelling space tendencies of awareness and outlines a directional tendency that could be skillfully used

11


12/535

to harmonize the essential field of awareness.

Early in yogic aspiration, the goal is to stabilize the field of awareness and move toward

harmonization and greater insight. Discipleship brings with it a certain degree of stability and insight

and the instability is often now more apparent. The skillful effort is consolidated and used to bring about

progress. A skillfully harmonized field of awareness is clear, bright and stable. It can be occupied by

objects and appreciate their meaning and value without unsatisfactory disturbance, distortion nor despair.The influence of our neurochemical potentials and our conditioned way imprinted into it is like a great

oceanic current our only hope is to rudder our choice within of the given tide. A yogi is like a great

sailor who rides these waves with grace and skillful pursuit to cross the ocean of despair. A sailor need

not know the absolute true physical characteristics of the ocean to sail it, but sure helps to know the

apparent nature of the tides and currents and weather. The tendencies of turbulence offer great insight for

the yogi, just as it would for the sailor. Sailing is one of many ways to get from one point to another of

intended choice. Yoga has many approaches to a common goal harmonizing the field of awareness, so

that the seer may reside in its essential nature and proceed forth true and strong as intended, empty of negative preconceived notion that stirs the field.

Awareness tends to take on the characteristics of that which it is focused on. For the moment,

awareness is absorbed in the object it beholds and becomes it. Many creatures remain in the awareness

that their perception or conception of the world is the world as perceived. If awareness remains focused

on disturbing conditioned responses and the ensuing karmic repercussions, awareness remains perturbed.

Awareness can remain established in its own luminescence, not focused on any object. Unattached from

the qualitative field influences of objects, awareness can remain calm and clear. Yoga is the continual re-

establishing of awareness to resolve into calmness and clarity upon contact with objects. The scene and

its object may be inherently disturbing, but awareness can learn to assimilate or accommodate that

perceptual\conceptual disturbance without actually disturbing the field of awareness itself, now and

potentially in the future. This is the task of yogic discipline.

Conditioned responses, usually as impulsions or compulsions, are the main obstacles and

opportunities for the yogi. Conditioned responses are the karmic ties that consciousness holds for objects

and itself. The associated memory of a response to an identified stimuli is based on the learned patterns

imprinted from previous experience. The memory itself, the feelings attached to the memory, and the

ability gained by the memory are biochemically linked to our neurocognitive potentials. Much of our

karma is the network of associations that move our present experience in some preconditioned way.

Karma is the anchor of neurocognitive complexes that are weighting our here-now awareness to behold

objects as such. More accurately, the the karmically imprinted neurocognitive tendencies generate the

present karmic field influences.

Qualitatively, awareness tends to polarize objects into values of this or that, good and bad, right

12


13/535

and wrong. Awareness also projects meaning, association and implication onto objects. This is enlivened

in the neurocognitive field. Identified objects, pleasurable objects, wanted objects are generated by the

neurocognitive conditions. The field tendencies of awareness itself is available only when there is

alertness, attention, sentiency, memory, thought, feeling, all of which depend on our brain functions as

fashioned by our previous experience. Suffering, incomprehension, and lack of insight are especially

dependent on given and conditioned neurocognitive tendencies. The a priori neurocognitiveopportunities of experience determines the field upon which awareness potentially plays; all the joys and

sufferings, insights and ignorances of experience play out their drama in this a prioritized neurocognitive

field, potentized by the a posteriori conditional karmic tendencies driving the current field tendencies in

a preconditioned valencing way. A yogis cleans the karma to lubricate, not hinder the way.

13


14/535

Sutra on Yoga, the Topology of Experience and Neurocognition

Now some insight into the yogic implications of the topology of experience and neurocognition

There is awareness and therefore existence

The very questioning of this proposition self-evidently implies a subject who exists and is aware

The essential nature of awareness not attached to objects is real (existing), sentient (luminous andinsightful), peaceful (free from desire/avoidance) Awareness is the self-evident subjective field of experience that sources a being's potential for thesentiency of quality, meaning and expression.

Awareness is the field that witnesses that states of perceptual, conceptual, and comprehensibleobjects/scenes;

Awareness copes with and transforms states of objects in its field; and this field is changed by thecontacted objects and the memory of past contact with similar objects.

Awareness is the fundamental field of experience and occurs directly in a space-moment called the "here-now".

The name of the dimension of the here-now extension of awareness is time-space.

Space is the extensibility of any objective quality.An object extends itself in the field of awareness as a network of qualities and transformation potentials

Awareness normally experiences time-space as a simultaneous here-now moment-place and thisautomatically moves forward.

The time-space metric of awareness is relative to the objects and scenes transforming on the field of

awareness, and the condition, intention and effort of awareness.

Awarenesss is the sentient state controller harmonizing the objects it beholds and transforms. Awareness contacting objects over time-space is experience. Experience is time-space integral of awareness. Experience through time-space develops within the complex dynamical system called the "person" The person is expressed through multiple dimensions some objective and some subjective Body, sensation, appearance, behavior and symbolic expression are the objective dimensions of the

person. The fundamental awake categories of the subjective dimensions of the person are the fields of experience:

AwarenessPerceptionConceptionComprehension

14


15/535

Volition

Other dimensions of awareness include:DreamingDrug-induced StatesMystical and Psychotic StatesDeep Sleep

Each dimension has its own unique characteristic topology and transformations that develop throughexperience Each dimension is connected to each other dimension in characteristics ways that also develop throughexperience These intra- and inter-dimensional relationships define the characteristic ways of a person and impact thecharacteristic tendencies of the awareness of the present moment. The momentum of the past experience impacting on the now is called karma Karma is a derivative of the line integral of experience at a moment in time-space; The slope of thetangent to the vector of experience is the vector of the karmic impact. Karma is the vector field potentialof awareness at a moment of experience to react in a certain preconditioned way.

The integration of experience (the field of awareness transforming objects through time), from birth todeath, is the qualitative manifestation of the person. Karma is the vector space of qualitative impactfrom past experience onto the here-now field, and is correlated with a person's capacity to change or bechanged by events, or to be equanimitous.

Experience is both quantitative and qualitative,i.e. experience is vectoral (tensoral) with magnitude and qualitative direction

Awareness maintains a state based on feedback from the contact, attachment, and transformation of the

objects in its field.

The attachment of awareness to the objects determines the force and direction of awareness contactingan object.

The field state of awareness qualitatively depends on this attachment.

Awareness, simply as pure consciousness, has no objects and no field.

A field is an extension of a qualitative parameter in a particular vectoral way.

This way is influenced by the past conditioned ways and these condition the field of awareness.

The qualitative direction of experience is influenced by the qualitative impact of the actual object or event, the karmic reaction of the field of awareness to the object, the intentional effort of the awareness,and the alignment of synchronistic Fate

The synchronistic constant is the manifestation potential of reality at that moment of contact = Grace of Fate

Experiential objects and events being experienced, change the topography of the experience by the15


16/535

impressions of the karma of past experience attached it and thus change the vectoral field as a tendencyto attract the object or to repel it or to be indifferent at the moment of choice. Valuable and meaningful experiences tend to lead to more valuable and meaningful experiencesUntruthful and harmful experiences tend to increase suffering and decrease valuable and meaningful

experiences The person has the opportunity to influence the momentum of past negative karma by willing to cultivate

positive karma. This is done by disciplining oneself according to excellent principles. Experience is conceived as a flow of the edge of the wave of past karma with the potential to be, becomeand do intentionally given the worldly climate and objects/events at hand The flow of Experience can be calm or turbulent based on the nature of the mental objects and thereactions to contacting these objects. Unattached to objects, awareness is calm. Turbulence is oriented to either the past or the future, like a coriolis effect clockwise or counter clockwiseThe seed of the vortex is an attachment or avoidance of a value/meaning.

Remaining calm, concentrated insight and continual effort, tend to keep the experience remainingoriented with the now in a truer and better way Ignorance, arrogance, impulsion, compulsion, inhibition, exhibition , indulgence and avoidance, illusion,glamour and delusion are all based on conditioned attachment or avoidance to some desire (conceivedvalue/meaning) that seeds the turbulent momentum of potential future experience towards less quality. Thus are the seeds of suffering Thus the opportunity for the path of freedom from suffering

The intentional paths towards freedom from suffering and towards their fulfillment of meaning/value that

a person can make in the now are their dharmic potentials.

Dharma is the potential redirection of the momentum of karma towards maximal freedom from sufferingand the greatest experience and expression of truthful quality.

Each being has a measure of "Integrity" (c.f. Q-factor of resonance) at any particular moment thatrepresents the tendency of the being to move towards resonance with the highest quality of experience,Dharma;This constant is a measure of the curvature of the manifold of experience, defining the slippery slopetowards suffering or towards value;

Negative slopes of the topology of experience represent the negative karma and it's despair.

Positive slopes, the blessings.Yogi's avoid going down those slippery negative slopes and climb austerely, the positive.

Wisdom is the excellent discipline according to excellent principles.The cultivation of wisdom is the way to harmonize the disruptions that impact onto awareness resonantfield.Calm-abiding with the most true ands essential nature of awareness can set the fundamental tone for theresonant state of awareness in a truer and more beautiful way.The wisdom path encourages one to gain insight into and be skillful with the perceptions, conceptions,

16


17/535

comprehensions and volitions of experiential objects and their transformations.Then one can skillfully transform their experiences and others, into their most capable value andmeaning.Wisdom is the intentional effort of our capacities to meet the resistances, induce a the good, the beautifuland the true for all experiential fields

Qualitative power (wisdom) is our effort (capacity and inductance) applied to our experience (flow of awareness over time)(cf. P=VI)

Yoga is the name for the intentional harmonizing of our experience towards its maximal mindfulness,insight and fulfillment.Experience is the integral curve of the field of awareness transforming objects through time-space.Awareness is that self-evident sentient aspect of our subjective nature.Mindfulness is the undisturbed and truthful relation awareness can experience upon contacting an object.

An (experiential) object is a bounded entity, scene or event as perceived, conceived or comprehended or remembered by awareness.

Insight is the comprehension of the implications of this sentient contact with the object by awareness

Fulfillment results when being aware freed from disturbance of objects, recognizing objects as objectsand awareness as awareness. Fulfillment continues with the well intended transformations with objects.

This allows for harmonious transformation of the objects by the awareness gracefully avoiding negativekarmic impact

Harmonious transformation is the way of contact and functional utility that increases the quality of theimpact of the contact on the experience of those awarenesses involved. Harmonious transformation uponcontact enhances the opportunity for harmonious karma

Karma as the impact of past contact and transformation onto the now-here of experience upon contacts

with recognized objects, can be impulsive, compulsive, neutral or useful and can be actual or potential.

Each awareness has intrinsic a priori capacities that encourages a dispositional way of contacting objects,as well as reflexively learned (conditioned) transformations, and intentional transformations.

The reflexive capacities and the pre-conditioned capacities entice awareness to contact and transformobjects in an overwhelmingly karmic way.

The a priori neurocognitive capacities determine much about awarenesss impulsive/compulsive andlearned ways of contact and transformative potential.

Intention to contact and transform objects differently than this, is awarenesss opportunity to transcend

the tendency towards suffering that comes with impulsive and dissonant karmic styles.

Intention is the willed induction of transformation on an object by awareness for a goaled result.Intention requires a priori neurocognitive capacities, as does awareness itself, yet it is the primaryopportunity for awareness to pursue the yogic path. Intention induces further mindfulness and insight for the potential of fulfillment. Effort adds potency to the intention as does the truthfulness of the insight.

Intentional effort is the work required to move an object from its predetermined path. Work is the amountof force that moves an object in experiential time-space. Effort is the amount of intentional force applied

17


18/535

in such a way.Truthfulness of the insight is the correlation of the insight with what actually was, is or hoped to be. Thisguides our effort efficiently.

The study of neurocognition allows awareness to understand its own innate and learned tendencies toimpede/augment its own efforts on the yogic path.

Neurocognition is the a prioiri biopsychological substratum for the field of awareness as it contacts andtransforms perceptions, conceptions, comprehensions and physical objects.This study of neurognition may also lend insights into the opportunities to induce more mindful,insightful and fulfilling experience.

Yoga is the result of wise modulation of the neurocognitive transformations which allows awareness toremain undisturbed and undistorted as awareness, really being, full of maximum potential, actualized.

18


19/535

Qualitative Distinction of the Paths of Yoga

{see Sutra in appendix: Stages towards the Mastery of Yoga}

We are not re-inventing the wheel here, but we can re-perspect the models and utility of the

wheel. Yogis have never in our human history had the opportunity to come to understand the details we

have available today about the pathways of consciousness. Function MRI, PET scanning, SPECTscanning, EEG and many other technologies can watch consciousness fluctuate. Thus we can more

objectively understand the field influences and tendencies that influence our awareness. Alertness,

attention, attachment, and behavior are all interdependent with the medium in which they travel. The

very causal potentials of any object are interdependent with the topological potientials contexting the

object.

The topological characteristics of the neurocognitive fields determine the very contextual

possibilities of the field influences of objects. Awareness is the space upon which all experiential objects

move and transform. The conditions of the state of awareness strongly influence the perception andconception of an object. Alertness, orientation with spatial and temporal contexts, egoic orientations,

impulses, compulses, attentiveness, concentratability, settledness, clarity and insightfulness, innate and

learned capacity, all influence the field of awareness itself as it beholds an object. A multi-layered

algebra of related parameters is comprehended by awareness for every object it beholds; This

comprehension is often mistaken for the object itself. Living in the world requires this to some extent,

thus suffering and misunderstanding are also weaved into life. Thus comes the opportunity for insight,

value and meaning.

The path of yoga depends on the orientation of the awareness that approaches it. Culturally, the

paths to yoga reflect the temperaments and tendencies of personalities involved. As every field of human

awareness has its own dispositional tendencies, aspirations and opportunities, the paths of yoga will

remain multifold.

Yoga, as the pursuit of even more truthful, fulfilling, and insightful way towards

transformational excellence, finds opportunity with every volitional effort. A yogi cultivates cleaning and

strengthening the body-mind as the substratum of neurocognitive events. Accurate and able senses tune

the perceptions with accurate reflections of the physical world. Skill in driving the vehicle of the body

involves mastering the principles of tuning the mind-body. Hatha yoga is the name for the yoga of the

disciplining of the vital energies in the mind-body so as to further the yogic path.

Traditionally, the vital energies are called qi, prana and they flow through the body in a network

of functional patterns. These terms were used long before our current understanding of the vast science

we have come to appreciate today. So let us use update the traditional terms so that we can take

advantage of the insights of humanity and show why the ancient knowledge is still yogically important.

19


20/535

Many cultures have used a word to represent an essential bioenergetic force that defines a

conscious awake creature from a dead one. All conscious creatures have the ability to sense this

awakeness in all areas of contact with the mind-body. Awakeness and alertness are critical to be aware of

a potentially perceivable aspect of our body; the more awake and alert the better to be able to

comprehend what is really going on. The body must function well; we can then be aware of certain

aspects of our body. Apparently, awareness can travel on nerve impregnated tissue and see into that body part. We do this obviously with our hands and feet and most of our skin and bones, and tongue and

even some internal organs. Most of us do not recognize the immense opportunity to not only explore our

awareness of our body, but to control and determine it. The goal of yoga is to help our body to remain a

faithful and kind vehicle carrying us into safe, fruitful and enjoyable travels.

Most people do not explore their body-mind and avoid even a glancing discussion about their

insides, but a yogi chooses to directly face the dangers and blessing of the yogic path. Yogis learn that

awareness does have the ability to enliven the body to its utility. The dancer tames the physical body to

be in beautific sync with some music; the yogic tames the body to cooperate with the higher missions athand.

The primary tool of the yogi is the will. It is applied ultimately to the disturbances of the mind-

body so the person can be essentially true and right. The will can learn to control the bodily

functions, the mental functions, the artistic, moral, ethical and spiritual functions. Yoga is the path of this

control. Control is not just a magnitude, but also a direction. Yoga is the joining of that which is

controllable with the principled end of that control. Yoga is the cultivation of stable, accurate and

fulfilling field potentials of awareness as it contacts objects.

Athletes tone their body for their sport; their goal is utility to win at their sport. There are, of

course many other reasons to train, but for a motivated competitive sportsman, winning is the goal. For

the yogi, goal of the training is the skilled wisdom of the insightful way. This path, like all Olympian

endeavors, is fraught with hindrances and obstacles, as well as blessings and curses. But like the great

Olympians, a talented yogi trains to discipline the karma of their hearts, hands and mind through worthy

techniques. The variation of these techniques mature through the fields of their opportunity. The goal is

not the techniques, for they are only a ladder to step towards the goal. The goal is to relieve distress and

fulfill our insights. The effort seems herculean, for it indeed is. But like all paths, this yogic path begins

with each step, the continual returning to the worthy endeavor.

Distraction is a major force on any path and it is especially important on the yogic path.

Concentration is the solution to distraction. The point of concentration can be on the momentary way

of contact, projection, attachment and manipulation of experiential objects. Is the way dharmically

aligned, that is, does the contact tend to lead ultimately to relief or further distress? And what future

cause was implemented by that way? How will the future field of awareness be effected by these

20


21/535

decisions of tranformation? Is there a way of contact that causes the least disturbance and helps to

maintain focus back to the path? There are many causes of distractions, so there are many opportunities

for the yogi. So many ways back.

There are worldly distractions. The body itself often and eventually unfit, in pain, traumatized,

infested, degenerated, congested, stagnant, disintegrating, dying. The family and societal obligations,

work duties, debts, enemies, merchants, and predators. There are our personal pressures and obligations;our impulsions and compulsions, our spaciness, our ignorance, foolishness and stupidity. (Not to mention

the famines, droughts, hurricanes, floodings, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, warsetc, if we are lucky

enough to be avoiding for the moment). What are the critical efforts and necessary discipline to

overcome at least our self-inflicting distractions?

The most critical focus of concentration is on the helping of sentient life to flourish and be free

from suffering -- this is the non-compromising vow of a yogi. The path of yoga is lined with the choices

to have compassion with those in need and to treat other conscious creatures with respect. Rudeness,

meanness, anger, harm generate a very disturbing influence on all the fields of awareness involved.These efforts tend to lead to further lack of peace and dissonance. Cooperation, kindness, sharing,

serving these are part of the yogic path. These harmonize the social influences back onto the yogis field

of awareness. The social fields are forever testing the limits of kindness and hatred. The goal is to have

harmonizing influences on the field of sentience contact through the objects that we share.

A yogi is committed to the accurate correlation of their words and representation with their

comprehension of the most truthful insight. Being not committed to truthfulness leads to many

distractions from those deceived. Deception, exaggeration and misrepresentation leads to resentment and

social disruption. There is much negative karmic rebound from other people not trusting or believing

ones words. Discipline to truthfulness cultivates trust, friendship, loyalty and cooperation. Neglect leads

to much the opposite.

Honesty breeds the respect of the possessions of others. The world is divided up into parts that

are owned and controlled by others. Respect for the rights of others to possess an object tends to breed

respect for the rights of others. Thievery creates a lot of enemies and resentment. Coveting, greed and

stealing are avoided by the yogi to prevent these distractions and disturbances. It is hard to concentrate

when people are trying to imprison or harm you. A yogi tries to skillfully create the conditions to help the

path of peace prosper and thus avoids taking what is not theirs or wanting something that is not earned

rightfully.

Honesty and good will and respect for life helps the yogi to control the, at times, overwhelming

impulses to fulfill a desire. This is especially distracting when it comes to the biological impulses to

procreate. The desire to have sex drives most who inhabit a human body. Sentient life is also the most

precious of substances. Dishonoring the seed of sentiency with non-committed, impulsive sexual

21


22/535

relations is potentially extremely karmically distracting. Guarding the seeds of life under the yogis

protection with respect, control and good intention can prevent some severe distractions. Recreating life

is extremely distracting for even a responsible parent, yet it is also a field of great opportunity.

Irresponsible sexual encounters lend to the potential for the greatest disturbances. Responsible sexual

activity (or non-activity) lends to great opportunities for insight, wisdom and the flourishing of life.

A yogi, realizing that all words only approximate truth, sees the limit on all spoken/written rules.In general, it is advisable to try not to get into too deep of trouble with someone elses rules; A yogi must

learn to tolerate even other peoples oppression, for sometimes, that is the field of opportunity. It is better

to be alive with ones head that silently bowed outwardly to the enemy, than to have died holding fast to

ones ideology. A yogi knows that tyrants demand allegiance to their tyranny and that even a kind

leaders rules are not necessarily truthful. The focus is on helping life to flourish and awareness to be

insightful, creative and fulfilled. A yogi cultivates a socially harmonious environment and to minimize

the karmic debt from being in the world.

A yogi also seeks to minimize the karmic debt created not just socially, but also personally. Theyogi seeks to be true to oneself, for loss of faith in ones own words and intention to oneself has a high

disturbance potential. Confidence in ones words and intention to manifest as hoped lends to harmony,

backed by a committed effort accordingly. Purity of intention is critical. Often times a person is plagued

by their own intentions remaining confused and misaligned even to their own private field of awareness.

Continually disappointing ones own word breeds a low self-esteem, weaked discipline, and misguided

effort. Fulfilling ones own commitment endears further faith in further more sophisticated

responsibilities.

Griping, complaining, and being dissatisfied disturbs awareness from peacefulness. The ongoing

babbling of phonological critical looping to oneself continually gives awareness the opportunity to be

distracted. Remaining contented with ones very awareness is a good place to remain, but is easily

enticed into disturbance. First one needs to gain insight into the nature of undisturbed awareness. Then

one can learn to remain undisturbed when tempted by contact with objects. Even if that object be an

image or voice on the screen of consciousness. Recognizing peacefulness and contentment gives the

opportunity for awareness to remained undisturbed in more complicated scenes. Cultivating the way of

everthything is alright is important, especially if everything is. Giving into conceived needs, wants,

impulses and compulses lends to a weakness in this way. Being contented cultivates contentment.

A yogi is committed to nourishing and strengthening ones body and mind to be able to not only

endure the hardship of the flesh, but to gain utility and comfort. Pain and discomfort in the body is very

distracting. Thus a yogi reckons with the flesh by learning what it needs and honoring it. Cultivating

comfortable postures to remain undisturbed by the body, also helps settle the mind. As the body finds

peace, the mind settles; as the mind settles, the body finds peace. Once a body remains comfortable it is

22


23/535

possible to see more insightfully the vital energies of the body-mind. Thus begins the process of

withdrawing the awareness from the senses. Then one has the opportunity to learn to detach awareness

from objects and remaining in the undisturbed state.

At first the world is so distracting; we often need reckon with this worldly distraction to have the

opportunity to be reckon with our own disturbing way. Life, before yoga, remains giving into the needs

and desires of the impulses and the compulsed rules and expectations of a conceived culture. With yoga,one focuses awareness to the field of awareness itself. Prior to yoga, awareness commits to various styles

of attachment to objects that occupy that field. This attachment disturbs the field itself and lends to

discontent and distraction. Concentration begins when awareness adds the most focused resolution and

the least noise. The field of awareness can be not alert, distracted, or alert, attending, concentrating. The

attention is focused on the field of awareness itself as it is mindful of objects coming and going through

the field of awareness.

If our endeavor is archery, we learn how to chose our weapon, place the arrow in the bow, take

stance, pull the arrow in the string, hold the bow steady, take aim, and release. In yoga, we seek how tohold the mind steady, to allow objects to come and go with mindful insight and respectful disregard.

Suffering is the attachment of memories, feelings, ideas, images, words or whatever, onto the object or

scene at hand. The ultimate object for the yogi is the subject, the essence of awareness, not disturbed by

objects. The disturbance is all about and ready at any time, yet some are up for the challenge. It is

amazing how a golfer can hit a ball into a hole so consistently accurately; it is even more amazing a skill

to keep awareness insightful, yet undisturbed.

Human are both reactive and proactive. Much of our experience is driven by the obvious need to

attach to the objects and scenes at hand. We are impulse from one momentary experience to another and

we try so hard to grab onto those that might bright us fulfillment. Childhood is laden with the

socialization processes that adds the cognitive burden of obsession and compulsion. Physical reality, the

body, other people, voices and representations are displayed onto the field of awareness attracting or

repelling us. People can react to the stimuli, or proact, that is, put the action in perspective of a principle.

A yogi may choose to meditate. They may sit comfortably in a secure place with no one and no

thing to interrupt them, quiet, fresh, safe, minimal bugs. They may then focus on the inspiration, the

expiration and the space in between these. The exercise, for the moment, is to quiet the breath to its most

comfortable space that allows the nervous system to quiet to its most comfortable space. Watching the

breath, awareness will become clear on the quietness of the space especially at the end of the exhale.

This space tends to be relatively free of object disturbance. When well absorbed in this space, awareness

notices that time does not occur because there are no objects or space changing.

As the body demands the breath to continue (comfortably) notice how the inspiration concurs

with thought activity. See that activity as if the tv was quietly on in the corner of the room, but because

23


24/535

one is absorbed in the task at hand, that is not attended to. Eventually the inhale naturally stops and there

too is a moment of quiet, a yin within the yang. There is awareness; then the exhale and the mind may

really babble on and commentjust a tv in the corner..till the end of the exhaleawareness in its

essential nature, not disturbed by objects, simply aware, alert, insightful, no want, no no want, no thing,

being aware.

There are many, many techniques to still the thought waves of the mind. In general, there arecalm-abiding meditations and insight meditations. There is mantra meditation, prayer meditations,

gazing meditations, ritual based meditation, Vital-energy manipulation meditation, body movement

meditation, and so many more techniques. The yogi may use technique to gain the skill, but the skill is in

sustained concentration, absorption in the undisturbed, fulfilling state of awareness not fractionated by

objectspure subjective field.

This is the entry point to the ongoing commitment to tame the desire nature when immersed in

the world. We practice an exercise like the meditation above to touch the space, for even a moment. This

space is self-evidently valuable because it is our most precious commodity our very awareness!!! Whatis there to life without our awareness. All joy in this life that we can experience, requires awareness to

experience it - As does our suffering. Awareness is both our blessing and our curse, the source of bliss

and the seat of our life-drama.

Awareness is fundamentally why we share with each other. We share words, hugs and

handshakes, but we share to be able to contact our awareness. Hi, I am awareness and mean this, value

that, and care about others awareness. The I of a yogi is the knower of the field of awareness. The

I is not just our mind babbles opinion, this body, who you see, but the seer of the seen. The witness to

the other aggregate most likely relies on the physical elements to exist. The evidence is pointing strong

in that direction. That is not the point, to solve the ultimate metaphysical truth this seems beyond

human comprehension, certainly mine. But as long as I am Aware, then the utility to live, survive,

enjoy and serve may take their precedent; a yogi honors the essentialness of awareness as the most

precious, the most useful tool, the finest gem, the greatest value of all of our aggregates.

Aggregates certainly play a huge role in how I feel, think, create, act and become alert.

Awareness itself, may come and go with the aggregates, and there may be no life hereafter. That still

does not affect the self-evidence for the yogi, of awareness. This particular field of awareness may be

fleeting as objects come and go, as life takes its toll. The ever-changingness of all of the aggregates, by

their very nature is like a Brownian motion for all objects of consciousness. Even awareness itself comes

and goes as I sleep, take a potion, get hit on my head. Every cognitive function is only temporarily

lended to us, and usually they work well for a while.

The yogi takes advantage of every moment to recognize the preciousness of these pieces of the

aggregate to come together into me or you and all the sentient creatures who presently exist. The group

24


25/535

effort of modern science has given us much conceptual insight into the patterns and characteristic

features and transformations of the physical and cognitive world. The yogi can use these characteristic

patterns to understand the trappings that keep us less than mindful.

The trappings are the hormones and neurochemicals and electromagnetic field fluctuations that

is created by our biology and our karma. Karma is the imprinting into our memories, and habits, learned

tendencies and skills into our being, like a needle etches a sound into the groove of an album. Life iscomplicated, with a lot of grooves competing for the needle, a lot of choices digging our grooves. Our

body-minds are designed to remember the effects of our intention and feedback according to the rules we

choose to honor. The effects of our choices follow us like a wave, temporally delayed by the time it takes

for the ripple to return in the opportunity to call it forth. A yogi diligently learns to be very careful while

creating karma, so as to minimize its negative effect and maximize its harmonizing potential.

Our choices do influence our hormones, neurochemicals and our electromagnetic fields. We can,

given our genetic givens, optimize our body, our mind and our manifestation. The problem with

hormones, for example, is that they can be very strong and continue in their strength way past the pointof personally or socially acceptable. We each must learn to control our drives and impulses to have any

hope for peace and happiness. The drives require an executive controller to deal with the pressure.

Hormones and neurotransmitters are often the result of a stress response to a potential or actual stressor.

These cause characteristic patterns of internal pressure that demands coping with.

The blood sugar response can induce the secretion of adrenaline and cortisone. Thyroid hormone

can speed the heart rate, blood pressure and lead to a sense of anxiety. Testosterone, ah, testosterone, the

pressure behind many a war, and love affair and family. Ah, estrogen, much the same, but in a way

different way. The purpose of this discussion is for yogis to comprehend how to use their hormonal

responses to their best yogic advantage. Hormones and neurochemistry are the blessings and curses for

the worldly life, but the yogic path disciplines towards the skillful harmonization of these physically

empowered karmic tendencies.

Cultivating ones hormones, though in principle is not new, in history it is. Hormones were only

discovered only little over a century ago. Their effects have been known for ages. Now we can

understand more precisely the pressure behind the drives and how that tends to imprint on the brain

affecting its development and subsequent neurochemistry. Personality development is critically tied with

hormonal and neurochemical development. The goal for a yogi is to see the karmic repercussions of our

own hormones and neurochemistry and maximize it to help on our dharmic path. It is hard for a person

to step on or feel like continuing on a disciplined yogic path when one is sickly, mentally or

neurobiologically disturbed. If we can use our hormones to our advantage and steer our future tendencies

according to our intention, then there is hope of controlling the impulse of these forces.

For example, most men feel the effects of their surging testosterone in their rage, impulse to

25


26/535

dominate, win, or have sex with another. Testosterone tends to activate, and pressure the organism it

surges in. Adrenaline surges raises fear and fright levels and tends to activate and stir the body into

activity. It is hard to be peaceful with high adrenaline levels. We might interpret the adrenaline surge as

our fear of heights, or the testosterone surge as an irritability towards our wife. Our interpretation and

redirection of the hormonal experience has much to do with the effect of that experience.

Some men use their testosterone surges to compete in sport, or to attract a sexual partner, or towin fights. A yogi uses it to keep the body fit and strong, to withstand the forces of aging, trauma, abuse,

and neglect, so that one can be comfortable and free from distraction and burdensome karma. Too much

testosterone can drive the strongest man into temptation and get him into trouble; too weak testosterone

leads to muscle wasting, weakness, depression and loss of vitality. A yogi has the opportunity to cultivate

techniques of balancing the testosterone levels and the effects of that impulse. For some that means

complete abstinence unless in a committed relationship of faithful love and mutual willingness to care

for the life potentially created. Abstinence is not necessarily a solution, for the drive can be quite

disturbing, even though one does not behave in a sexually inappropriate manner. Abstinence brings withit its own problems; Avoidance and desire still can torment the abstaining mind and disturb the yogic

path.

Seeing clearly that many of the feelings and the desires we have are generated directly from the

hormones and neurochemistry is an important insight for a yogi. And that hormones curve our apparent

experiential field to distort objects to appear with more or less value or meaning than they are. Our

apparent field of awareness is distorted by the glamour of the attractiveness of the object. The attention is

more easily turned to that which appears attractive. The object, with the projective overlay urged on by

the hormone and neurocognitive interpretation of that feeling, skews our experiential space with a

potential perceptual, conceptual, aesthetic, moral and eithic bias. Our connection with the value and

meaning of the object, our contact, interpretation, and response depend on the skew of this bias.

Bias is not always bad. It is often necessary. Bias is necessary to make a choice when one is not

assured of an outcome. We use bias to help us through our not knowing the truth to approximate the

truth, make a gut feeling about the truth, guess, get what we want. A yogi seeks to see biasing for what it

is, and to de-skew it, take off the filters and be as unbiased and as truthful as possible. The filters are

often impulsed onto awareness, a yogi is on guard to catch it, see through it and not be trick especially

when really paying attention. Each of us develop tricks of untruthfulness, that tarnish our vision and

disturb our peace. We blow things out of proportion, minimize things, go onto another focus in our own

characteristic, and often neurotic ways. A yogi is ones own psychotherapist on the battlefield of

awareness, outwitting the clever neurotic tendencies, cultivating more a more clear way.

There are many distractions from even beginning to pay attention; once even able to focus for a

second or two, there are many distractions. Holding the space of non-attachment absorption while being

26


27/535

fully active in the world is very challenging. Symptoms of cultivating this in personality are non-

judgmental and hypercritical, non-blaming, patient, content, kind, respectfully indifferent, flexible,

sincere. A yogi studies attachment, concentration, morality, any disruptor or harmonizer of the field of

awareness, the causes of the impulses to confuse and distract or direct our deepest attention.

A yogi drives this vehicle of the body to allow us opportunity for greater insight and

understanding and fulfillment. Each step of the yogi path described above requires the control of thisvehicle. At first the vehicle is used behaviorally to fulfill needs and hopes. Extreme sociopathology and

psychopathology and ill-health, allow us to take aim at the very opposite of the yogic path. Morality and

ethics have neurobiological correlates, since children develop the ability to choose in different moral

stages. Brain maturation must be available for the moral ability to occur. Clearly we have some morally

weak individuals, and moral Olympians. Our choices can affect our neurobiological development, as

does our genes. Choosing to become a cab driver in London and being successful, will enhance ones

spatial abilities. The brain will show those changes in the thickness of the grey matter in the spatial

orientation parts of the hippocampus. Choosing to be non-violent, truthful, non-greedy, not-rewardoriented, peaceful, compassionate, caring these have neurobiological consequences.

Learning about pain and other major distractions, can help us to understand comfort. There is a

science to loosing the body. Manipulating the breath, in a comfortable body allows the senses to be

more further withdrawn. What are the senses and how are they averted? Once not distracted by the world

and the body and the breath nor the senses, one can control attention to see the thoughts and feelings and

impulses of those thoughts/feelings and their associations and tendencies to act as an impulse. Then one

can concentrate the attention on that which is not an object. These states too have neurobiological

correlates; states worth studying and speculating as to their yogic utility.

27


28/535

The Assemblage Point

Consciousness is a network of associated fields binded into a unified experienceExperience is assembled from many distinct yet connected neurocognitive pointsAwareness is an apparent coherent assembly amongst the groups of resonating coherenciesMenageries of objects and scenes assemble on the field for awareness to behold and transformConsciousness is the assemblage point of awareness in contact with the objects on the

networked field

This realization is an obligation to re-comprehend the old comprehensionsRe-assemble the old-assemblagesVolitionally, reform the formationsAll experienced objects are re-assembled objects and scenesSensation, perception and conception tease the objects apart and the neurocognitions re-assembles themLayering the awareness of objects and scenes with identification, memories and feelings andopinions

Somehow awareness is possible and embodied with a field of awareness to behold and modifyHow exactly consciousness is created is the hard problemAn easier problem is how to wisely control the states of consciousness with the objects in it'sfield

Many an excellent driver had no clue of the science of the physics of drivingAwareness likewise seems oblivious to the biological substratum that creates its opportunityGenes and nurturance can both impulse the biological activityAwareness can fashion the field into a assembled comprehension and act as a state controller

We are consciously and unconsciously impulsed

At best, we harness the impulsions which then become opportunitiesOpportunities to re-assemble conciousness into a better wayA way free from disturbanceFree from despair, distress, discontent, cynicism, anger, hatred, unkindness

The assemblage point is accessible through intentional effortVolitional formation induces change in the formation of the fieldThe effort to assemble the field in a fulfilling way is critical to the endeavor The endeavor of becoming free from distressre-assembling into a kinder wayInducing assemblage points to become more accurate, fulfilling, more re-creative

More uprightSynchronistic with the resonant patterning of the consonant way

How it does it, science is honing into this so-called hard problemThat we do re-assemble the assemblage at will--This is a problem we live with everyday in our choices that come back to haunt or fulfill the assemblage

Not so easy, but accessible

28


29/535

Importance of Neurocognition for Yogis

Yoga was traditionally defined by Patanjali as harmonizing of the transformations of

consciousness quieting the neurocognitive processes; Only then, claims Patanjali, the seer is free to

remain established in its fundamental nature as pure awareness. Otherwise there is identification of the

seer with the seen and this distorts the seeing. This attachment of the identifier with the identified is thesource of our current and future distress.

This treatise details the topology and topography of these experiential fields of awareness that

the seer identifies with and their modifications, so that we can gain the wisdom and skill to deal with

them yogically. A yogi learns to pay very careful attention to the neurocognitive processes so as to tease

out awareness from the objects and scenes transforming on the the fields of awareness. Many meditation

techniques utilize the neurocognitive processes to recondition the neurocogntive processes. We have no

choice early in meditation but to deal with the all-pervadingness of neurocognition.

How and why we see, hear, think, feel etc., is important to a yogi because they entice theawareness to identify with it and thus continues the false identification. The enticement process is very

mammalian, very human, very life itself. Our neurobiology imprints procedural patterns of response to

identified stimuli. Not just to stimuli in the world, but to any stimuli from any field of awareness, there

are neurocognitive modulations that make these experiences possible. We know this because when the

wires short circuit, these neurocognitive modulations are not available to awareness as a resource.

Sometimes even awareness is not available. Then there is no experience.

It turns out that most of the conceptual patterns are templated neurobiologically, topographically

coinciding with their neuroperceptual counterpart. We internally visually imagine and remember using

similar brain areas that we see with; the same with imaging hearing and feeling moving. Thoughts and

feelings are assembled neurophysiological field states that create our experience of thinking and feeling.

Even awareness itself needs the physical field substratum to generate luminosity shape and color,

identity and association, potential value and meaning. Thoughts and often follow similar procedures

because they are often processed by the basal ganglia which assigns procedure to identity and is thus at

the very source of our attachment and suffering. Cognitive and affective patterns are procedurally

embedded into similar anatomy as the motor control neuropathways.

The basal ganglia is responsible for coordinating the neurobiological programs when to start a

movement, not start a movement, persist in a movement, or stop a movement. This movement can be for

the gross or fine movements of fingers or limbs, but also for the movements of our thoughts and feelings

and other objects on the field of awareness. A basal ganglia neurobiological glitch can affect the

modulations of the mind. Yoga, remember, is the control of the modulations of the mind. These

procedural memories, especially conditioned procedural memory is played out through the basal ganglia.

29


30/535

Stilling the thought waves of the mind requires basal ganglia cooperation.

A yogi needs to control their basal ganglia, so that these neurocognitive procedures are

remodified to be more non-afflictive, supportive, or ignored. A yogi can learn to intentionally control

neurocognitive potentials to steer down the path of yoga undeterred by beliefs that some other way is

more fulfilling than yoga. Yoga is the successful ruddering of the neurobiological currents to get to the

other side freedom from the burden of negative patterning. All this yogic pursuit takes quality, placeand time and meaning extension within the topology of experience. The oscillating brain networks

generate the oscillating fields of consciousness. Oscillating Thalamic-basal ganglia-cortical-thalamic

loops generate a binded experience available to awareness. Awareness surfs on these loops. What we do

with these neurocognitive currents is awareness' sacred responsibility. The fact that they exist, is

fascinating, and useful.

30


31/535

The Topology of Experience

Many books have been written. Everyone has their opinion. Why does humanity need one more

writing? Because people remain confused, foolish and im

Documents

Yoga and the Topology of Experience 10-27-2010