To: <deleuze-guattari-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:47:59 +0100
Subject: [D-G] Yoga psychology is a very fine analysis of brain neurology


Hello,

I find it worthwhile to mention, that the psychology of yoga, as laid down
in Patanjalis yoga sutras and texts on kundalini yoga, are a very fine
description of
states of conciousness, the interaction with the sub- and unconciousness,
the building
if circular mental patterns (vrittis), which may be relateded to traumata or
thoughts coming
by themselves, analysis of dream states and also the fancy (delirs), wrong
knowledge (including hallucinations).

What is also striking is the theory of the mantal frame, the change of
the essence of the mind, like the growing from child to adult.
This is done by the theory of chittas, which are a chain of
"I" concsciousness. There are  severeal layers or strates of conciousness,
including on for self esteemm and on for logical thinking (manas).
There is also an phase transition if the neocortex take sover more activity
by
dominaring things through elctrical activity and not so much
neurotransmitters (buddhis).

This has to do with subjectivation through deep crisis, and the subjective
processes accompanied with it,
what is laid down only in these texts. Other texts concerning advanced
processes of subjectivation out of
more mystical traditions have no such obvious connections
to our western well estalished, materialistic neurobiology.

It is easy to explain in a sociological framework, why these knowledge
became esoteric and marginalized and is mostly
still bound
to religious discourses. It simply hinders it wide spreading, letting such
the social system or the strates intact.
The tantric Buddhist, having institutionalize sthese knowledge and practces
werew
also swept out of India
by the orthodox brahmins in an counterreformation against Luther and
protestantism remindimg manner.
In spreading to more far east, the tantric tadition, which si some older
name of form of yoga,
was not overtaken so fully and mostly neglected, eeven in monastaries.

I am a little bit puzzled, that there seem to be no interst in these
coincidations with yoga psychology,
not by the neurologists and also Guattari (Deleuze was for sure bo
neurologist) and othe ranti psychatrists.
For short, not even by critical scientists. This is more than puzzling,
as the search for an alternative to neuroleptica was one of
the starting points of the movement of Antipsychatry.
This search itself brought psychanalysis
and psychtherapeuthic cures into critique,
because the treatment of psychosis was obviously with to
little success in real healing.
Psychosis was the starting point of Lacan, who
inaugurated the work of Guattari who adopted this and lead to the
collaboration
with Deleuze.
As you all know, psychosis became the starting point of the whole Deleuze
Guattari theory of mind.

At last, the in India calle dkundalini is also present in the first pages
of the Ant-Oedipe - it is nothing else than the divine "numen".
But there is also no reference - not to kundalini, not to chinese chi, not
to something else in this direction.

For what is yoga - "an ensemble of practices".
Of course you can make an intelligent election ever day.
There is also progress by abstraction.

greetings Harald Wenk

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