There was a time when most people’s practical awareness of life and the world around them was limited to the people and events that occurred within the area or region in which they resided. The geographical borders of their “world” often did not extend beyond more than a day or so walk, and for some it was even less. Today, such borders are essentially non-existent. Events that occur in one country or continent can now almost immediately affect people and events in every time zone. The ramifications of these changes are myriad and while there have been countless positive results, there have been equally negative ones as well. This paper will look how such changes have influenced what it means to be a spiritual citizen of the world today.
Yoga has a long history in the United States. Starting with Henry David Thoreau, yoga has captivated Americans, and has been translated, practiced and commodified to be culturally constructed in a particular way: as “eastern” and mystical; as non-Hindu, universal and scientific; as a practice for...
In this talk, Andrea Jain illuminates the power dynamics underlying the global yoga industry. She does not just bemoan the commodification of yoga as a numbing device through which consumers ignore the problems of neoliberal capitalism or as the corruption of “authentic” religion, however. Instea...
We have been taught to see parts. We have been taught to relate to that which is outside ourselves as separate from ourselves. We have also learned to feel into our own brokenness, our sense of fragmentation, our isolation from others and from ourselves. From the scientific, to the political, to ...
