Yoga Psychology
                                 seeing through the eyes of Infinity         

1. Ocean Breathing

This excerpt teaches a basic yoga breathing technique (traditionally known as ujayii breathing) which helps to calm the mind and relax the body. 



2. Learning to use Ocean Breathing with Words, Spinal Breathing
   and Heart Centering

This excerpt guides you in the use of mantra with ocean breathing for the purpose of developing concentration.



3. The Space of Awareness

In the 6th chapter of the book, we describe the development of spacious awareness as one of the basic means of learning to see “through the eyes of infinity.”   This excerpt uses music and guided reflections to evoke that experience. 



4. Contemplating the Nature of Ego

In this excerpt, we question the experience of a solid, unchanging identity which most of us take for granted.



5. Contemplating The Nature of Matter and the Material
   Universe

In the 4th chapter of the book, we suggest that our ordinary assumptions about the nature of material objects may be one of the major obstacles to understanding the nature of consciousness.  In this excerpt, we offer some provocative questions in an attempt to challenge those assumptions.



6. Intimations of the Soul

Inspiring quotations and music evoke the experience of a deeper consciousness. [The word “Soul” here does not refer to a separate entity; rather, it is meant to point to a particular “focus” or perspective of what the Tibetan Buddhists refer to as “primordial awareness.” ]



7. The Evolution of Consciousness in Each Moment

Neuroscientist J. Alan Hobson, in the Scientific American book, Consciousness, describes consciousness as emerging in a graded fashion – from simple to more complex – over three different time spans: over the course of billions of years of evolution, over the course of an individual lifetime, and over the course of hundreds of milliseconds as consciousness emerges in each moment of our experience.  In this excerpt, we briefly describe the parallel between the evolution of consciousness over billions of years and the emergence of consciousness as we awaken from sleep.



8. Understanding Karma and the Possibility of Transformation

There are remarkable parallels between some of the latest discoveries in neuroscience regarding the workings of the brain and the yogic view of karma. However, the yogic understanding of karma goes beyond what science has yet discovered, suggesting rather remarkable possibilities for both personal and social transformation.  In this excerpt, we briefly point to such possibilities.



9. An Invitation

Here we offer a thought experiment to give a more specific sense of the possibilities for social transformation hinted at in the previous excerpt.

                   
CD EXCERPTS


The CD accompanying the book is designed to provide intimations of the deeper experience that lies at the heart of yoga psychology, and to make the experience of reading the book a more contemplative one. In the form of guided meditations with accompanying music, it offers an introduction to the main themes of the book.

The experience of the CD will be more effective if you’re able to set aside the time to listen to it at least once all the way through. When you listen to the CD (or the excerpts below) sit quietly with your back straight but relaxed, and your eyes closed.  The meditative effect will be enhanced by listening through headphones.                
  
       Contents       Foreword      Preface       Introduction       Endorsements     Essays    Purchase
"Yoga Psychology and the Transformation of Consciousnesss:
Seeing through the Eyes of Infinity"

by Don Salmon, Ph.D. and Jan Maslow

Click on the titles below to hear excerpts from the CD:  
Copyright 2008 Don Salmon and Jan Maslow