The notes below are designed to give prospective readers an idea of what to expect from the book, and to aid in making a decision on whether to buy it.
Yoga for A World Out of Balance, Micheal Stone
Below are some general notes about the book, and then some about a few of the later chapters specifically. I have also added a specific section about the Yamas.
General Notes
Social service gives way to social action.
Introduction by BKS Iyangar.
It’s all a web linked with karma (causality) and Samadhi (integration).
Vinyasa instill restraint.
Ashtanga concentrate on an object.
Dhaya: you don’t have a sense of me. Samadi: you and I are one.
Who is the other? Microorganisms? Do not cling to yourself as a separate thing.
Become ___ don’t try to act like ____
Richest 20% makes 150x the amount of money that the poorest 20% makes. Powerful.
You are the choices you make (karma).
Do not label yourself as separate.
Duhkha is differing and discomfort from the self. Also means a lack. But all is linked.
Earth is the body. Misperception is that objects other than me are me. When we create an object of a feeling, we give it substance or substantial-ness. Let feelings come and go. No solid, continuing me.
Lack of healing via openness and intimacy.
Karma is the link between actions and effect. Something you plant. Some grow soon, some never grow. While we don’t always get what we deserve it’s not just pure luck. Some midpoint. Yamas are based upon karma.
State of separation of self from the world.
Each in all that we do.
Ahimsa: One. Not separate. United via Samadhi. Not “to be” not “to have.” We are.
Listening is knowledge. Love and listening is the answer to violence.
Nondualist. Don’t seek retaliation. We are all responsible for one another.
Satya: honesty because truth is the objective. Honesty in both mind and spoken word.
Poverty is caused by concentration on ownership.
Beliefs proceed action. Be honest with beliefs. Don’t be narrow or dogmatic or violent. Start where we each are. Numb suffering via sensual gratification.
Asitya (non stealing): Ego seeks wealth. Enough on earth for all, but not enough for everyone’s greed. Buy to fill up lack. More money gives one more worry. All of life is relational.
Brahmachayra: wise use of sexual energy. Not for the ego or personal pleasure. Do not try for an organism. Unfold without repression or entanglement. Sexual energy is a life force not a bodily function.
Tantric yoga is creative use of energy vs consumption. Sexual energy without forcing relationship as a means of avoiding something. Do not numb loneliness with sex. Confront it.
Use sexual energy to give us something greater. Not for our outer perceptions. Issue is clinging, not sexuality. Sexual energy must be used wisely to transform.
Rivers flow in us, sun shines in us, not on us.
Aparigrha: Living with as little as possible. Acquisition has no limits.
Accumulating knowledge (knowledge is not wisdom), attachment and fear of death, use collective web not self.
Capitalism based upon separate self and not collective.
Chapter 10
Nothing is hidden.
Yamas reverse greed, angle, promote love and wisdom. Mental and physical in the root.
Yoga is seeing fluctuations in the mind but letting it pass through.
Pure awareness does not move. Union of the body, mind, and experience.
Chapter 11
Not just action but also intentions matter.
When you have a bad idea, think of the opposite.
Reality is all inside and outside.
Chapter 12
Yamas are social and ecological.
Awakening is non-separation realizations.
Break molds and don’t be more ethical.
Actions > non actions but don’t cling.
Samadhi requires perfect state of calm.
Cannot control world’s speed but can control my reaction.
Enlightenment is seeing what has been there the whole time.
Free from Dukhan via self-awareness and karmic knowledge.
With a calm mind creativity can replace greed.
Chapter 13
Non duality extends to life off the mat as well.
Forest is you and I.
Yoga is the education, not a religion. Yoga does not come from India; it just always was.
Tell stories of the collective future, not of the individual past.
Karma is the great force of yoga.
Suffering that has not arisen can be prevented.
Yoga links all of our lives in work, home, mat, ecology, etc.
Yamas
Review all the yamas:
1. Will they harm you?
2. Will they harm others?
3. Quality of intention (social and ecological)
Yamas are the god of death. Violation leads to death of self and of the community. We are all linked. Yoga is not just me, but the world is of the same force.
Yamas are external restraints (wise use of energy and bramachyara). What you should do, not what your soul should do.