Resources

A must read for all yogis. Guaranteed to send hatha-nazis with metaphysical pretensions into a foaming frenzy! Singleton explores the 1920’s roots of modern hatha practice, a practice that turns out to be rooted in a combination of British Army/Swedish gymnastics and Indian nationalism. Excellent scholarship that should help many yogis avoid the ill effects of repetitive physical stress and hopefully help shift the emphasis in Western yoga from physical accomplishment to the cultivation of body awareness.

Per Bak explores complexity and self-organization and what happens when system hit criticality. Oddly, Bak does not seem to recognize that his definition of criticality stems from Ilya Prigogine’s bifurcation points in dissipative structures. This is a very well-written, well-illustrated and wide-ranging look at one aspect of dynamic structures. Written for the laymen, as well!

A remarkable, exhaustive, (and exhausting!) reference book of tantric literature and ideas. The book covers Hindu, Buddhist and Shaivite tantras and authors, art, architecture, science, healing, philosophy, meditation, magic and cosmology. A book for research librarians! Yet is hows the sheer diversity of what tantra became in different cultures over many centuries.

A terrific exploration of string theory and geometry from the perspective of the man who proved the existence of Calabi-Yau manifolds.

A great explanation of quantum physics that illuminates its remarkable strengths and logical weaknesses. Hawking is on solid scientific ground everywhere, but he buys into the logical error made by quantum physicists after Richard Feynman that infinity makes every possible alternative a fact. This leads him to the rather existentialist conclusion that we live in the world we live in because we find ourselves in it. And that every quantum moment, another infinity of universe splits off to cover every possible probability. Terrific quantum physics, not-so-good logic.

Kauffman puts together an impressive collection of fascinating and wide-ranging topics in science and culture. He proposes a “new view of emergence and ceaseless creativity partially beyond natural law”. The book is an excellent Western critique of both science and religion and does, indeed, find common ground between them. For as far as it goes, it is very compelling.

This is a wonderfully clear explanation of Kashmiri Shaivism, one of the main schools of Tantra. That is not to say it is easy to understand! Tantra can be almost petrified with philosophy and distinctions. If you can see through the words to the experience being referenced, this book is full of gems

This is a graceful, scholarly and intimate explanation of the classic 11th century C.E. Tantric text. Shantananada does an absolutely terrific job of explaining the Shaivite technology of consciousness. Still, tantric metaphysics is a daunting and confusing topic when explained from inside the tradition. There are simply too many words with religious connotations and intricate meanings. And cultural baggage about mantras, words, and gurus. If you already understand the experiences referred to by the words, it’s a lovely stroll through a metaphysical garden.