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by Patrick Barrett Ph. D. (Author)
A Readable Yoga takes us on an inspiring tour orchestrated by the custodians of the ancient Vedic tradition of India. Unique in its perspective, this work explains yoga from the deeply faceted culture of a timeless yet living tradition. The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali represent a series of aphorisms alluding to the profound quiescence of meditation, which then through practice, leads to three sequential and distinctive stages of enlightenment. Here is a worldview that reaches beyond belief or faith. With scientific and historical evidence, the author strategically illustrates the reality of altered and advanced states of consciousness, miraculous human abilities, and the presence of humans on this planet dating back beyond unimaginable spans of time. But A Readable Yoga is not about philosophy or history. This work is about consciousness-the transparent background of the mind that colors and informs our thoughts, our understanding, and our ability to appreciate the deepest joy of life. Each paradigm of advanced consciousness described in the Yoga Sutras is illustrated with the poetry of saints and spiritual luminaries from recent centuries. From widely diverse traditions and spiritual backgrounds, from all over the world, we hear the story of people who have entered into these same distinctive levels of enlightenment originally codified in this seminal work on yoga. But primarily, A Readable Yoga speaks very personally to anyone practicing or aspiring to live the life of yoga in our modern world. Each aphorism, though often directed to the Yogi of advanced experience, offers wisdom, inspiration and insight to anyone who listens with a quiet heart.
