From Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ to the work on Essence At the very beginning of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, we find a definition that forms and is the essence of the yogic practice: Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ. Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind. This sūtra is often quoted, translated, and explained, yet its radical … Continue reading Yoga, Impressions, and the Return of the Seer
Impressions as Food for Essence Part 5
In the book The Reality of Being Jeanne de Salzmann brings an important clarification around how we can and should perceive 'impressions' in order to grow. The decisive point of inner work The moment of impression In the Gurdjieff Work, the word impression refers to a precise and critical moment: the instant at which reality … Continue reading Impressions as Food for Essence Part 5
A call to consciousness, the many I’s and the search for presence Part 4
The section 'A call to consciousness' unfolds over twelve chapters and gradually sharpens the reader’s capacity to observe themselves without illusion. In the next chapter of this section, Jeanne de Salzmann turns attention toward what feels most familiar and at the same time most unstable, the sense of I. We speak of ourselves as if … Continue reading A call to consciousness, the many I’s and the search for presence Part 4
A call to consciousness, the moment life enters Part 3
In the secton of the book 'A call to consciousness', Jeanne de Salzmann (1889, 1990) turns from the general observation I am asleep to something very precise, the moment an impression enters. This moment, she suggests, is decisive. It is where consciousness is either lost again, or has a chance to appear. An impression is … Continue reading A call to consciousness, the moment life enters Part 3
A call to consciousness, the first honest step Part 2
The opening chapters of The Reality of Being are part of a larger section of 12 short chapters, 'A call to consciousness'. This framing is essential. Jeanne de Salzmann (1889, 1990) is not presenting a theory, nor a gradual self improvement program. She is calling the reader into a direct confrontation with the fact of … Continue reading A call to consciousness, the first honest step Part 2
The Reality of Being: Entering the Work of Gurdjieff Part 1
This section is dedicated to the system of Gurdjieff and the Work The Reality of Being, entering the work of Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866, 1949) is one of the most important and at the same time most misunderstood spiritual masters of the twentieth century. Like Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895, 1986) and Osho (1931, 1990), … Continue reading The Reality of Being: Entering the Work of Gurdjieff Part 1
Toward Awakening: on Gurdjieff’s Work
On the Meaning, Direction, and Inner Demand of Jean Vaysse’s Book 1. Why This Book Exists Toward Awakening is not a book written to inform, inspire, or console. It is written to disturb a certain sleep. Jean Vaysse does not address the reader as a student, a believer, or even a seeker in the usual … Continue reading Toward Awakening: on Gurdjieff’s Work
The Essence of Yoga and the Flaws of Kundalini
1. When Living Traditions Lose Their Vitality Every authentic spiritual tradition begins as a direct response to a human problem: confusion, suffering, inner fragmentation, and the inability to see reality clearly. Over time, however, traditions tend to drift away from this original urgency. Practices become formalized, teachings become symbolic, and insight is replaced by interpretation. … Continue reading The Essence of Yoga and the Flaws of Kundalini
Kabir: The Renegade Master Who Refused to Play the Religious Game
Kabir is one of those figures who stubbornly refuses to fit. Every tradition that later tried to claim him ended up being quietly dismantled by him instead. Hindus call him a bhakta, Muslims a Sufi, yogis a sant, philosophers a mystic. Kabir himself would likely have laughed at all of them. Labels were precisely what … Continue reading Kabir: The Renegade Master Who Refused to Play the Religious Game
The Essence of Somatic Yoga
The core of the 'new American invention' somatic yoga lies in interoception, the lived experience of the body from within. Something essential of all yoga, but redefined again due to so much confusion in the field of yoga. Yoga practice is grounded in first-person sensation rather than external form, visual imitation, or predefined outcomes. Movements … Continue reading The Essence of Somatic Yoga
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