This lively discussion will create a foundational framework for how these traditional healing practices can be woven together with the modern understanding of trauma to help us gain resilience in our lives.
Simran Lal joins Drs. Ramkumar & Welch in this Vedic Threads session to talk about bhāva and bhāvana. One could say that bhāva and bhāvana is what makes this world go round. Everything in this manifested world begins with a thought; Everything is a manifestation of our intentions. Bhāva is one’s inner world - intentions, feelings, desires; and bhāvana is the outer expression of those - in what we say, how we express ourselves, how we conduct ourselves in society. Yogis advise us to align our bhāva with our bhāvana (what in modern day parlance is what we call ‘authenticity’), and to make them śuddha (pure). Our persistent thoughts and the way we perceive the world shape us. To refine them (make them śuddha) is the birthright, and the highest aim of each of us.
Professor of Sanskrit & Classical Indian Religions Fred Smith, joins Dr. Ramkumar & Dr. Welch to talk about "itihāsa" or, "history". Itihāsa also is used to specifically refer to the two monumentally influential epic poems of ancient India: the Mahābhāratam and the Rāmāyaṇa. The very fact that the word, "history" is used in a context where, in the West we might use "mythology", “epic”, "story" or, "poem" can lead us into curious conversation. Hopefully this will be the case.
Rose Baudin joins Drs. Ramkumar & Claudia to share her love of Abhinavagupta and Lal Ded, two mystic luminaries, and how their works and spirits have influenced her life and yoga practice of over 50 years.
Theyyam is an ancient form of worship found only in northern Kerala in India. A designated theyyakkaran – "a Theyyam man (or woman)" – calls the formless deity down from heaven and ‘carries’ the deity by providing him – or her - with a body and therefore the ability to interact with their devotees. Pepita Seth has lived with and studied the people and practice of Theyyam for 20 years and shares experiences and wisdom around this with Drs. Ramkumar & Claudia
Along with the 8 branches of Ayurveda that apply to humans, we can understand that, depending on the teacher, there are 2 or 3 other branches: one covers agriculture or farming (kṛṣi Ayurveda); one plants & trees (vṛkṣa Ayurveda), and one animals (mṛga or paśu Ayurveda).
Saṅkalpa translates as, “intention” or, “determination”. Ayurveda physician Dr. Vignesh Devraj ji plans to join the Vedic Threads community for the first May session to explore the role of saṅkalpa in medicine—from the patient’s experience as well as the doctor’s. This can relate to the way a practitioner and the patient approaches the doctor/patient relationship; the roles of medicine, the doctor, the patient, hope, compliance; what is whose responsibility, and to the outcome itself. Some of these insights are likely to apply to life in general as well as to medicine.
Join Satsangam's team, including Drs. Robert Svoboda, Fred Smith Ramkumar, Claudia Welch, Scott Blossom, Kimberly Kubicke and the rest of the satsangam team and friends, in Taos, New Mexico to delve into the therapeutic dimensions of storytelling. The retreat is designed for those who cherish stories, as well as for anyone seeking to understand how to construct or choose stories that act as the right medicine in varied situations.
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