The Core of Feeling: Explorations in the Mythology of Shiva Nataraja, the Seven Dances, and the Nine Rasas
Deep inside us the core of consciousness resonates as feelings, the primal emotions that cut to the very heart of our being and begin the process of autobiography that is Self. In our extended sense of Self, we have mapped these feelings into our awareness of the world, into memories and language, into the social and cultural expressions of our humanity. At the foundation of these experiences is the theory of rasa, that essential the essence-feeling, sentiment, and "taste" that creates this ensemble of personal identity. In the mythologies of Shiva the Dancer Nataraja reside the symbolic maps for unraveling this relationship between core consciousness feelings and symbolic, extended Self awareness. This is some of the most beautiful, rich, and worthwhile study in all of yoga traditions because it leads us to practical and fecund experiential understanding, the kind that changes how we define private and public selves.
In this seminar we will learn this basic and foundational study called the rasas, trace the maps from core to extended consciousness, and place the theory of rasa within the image of the dancing Shiva as Seven Dances within Two Principles, what is called in Rajanaka Tantra in Sanskrit thesaptatandava-dvilasya-shastra. This remarkable mythology creates a forest of feelings and perceptions that take us into the heart of awareness from our own unconscious sources.
NO previous experience is expected or required. Bring an open mind, a wiling heart, and your playful imagination.
November 14 -16, 2014
Friday: 6:00-8:00 pm $45
Saturday: 10:30-1:00 pm $50
Saturday: 3:00-5:30 pm $50
Sunday: 10:30-1:00 pm $50
Price break for early registration, $175 by November 1st. or $185 after.
**The entire workshop is highly recommended. 10% Discount for Annual Members.