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An increased awareness of the aura enables an enjoyable exploration of inner and outer spaces. After a relaxation, a choreography of self-repeating sequences to mantric music in geometric group formation serves to realign both individual and group energy, weaving a group field and stimulating the meditative mind.

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In psychology and cognitive science, confirmation bias (or confirmatory bias) is a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions

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Barnum Effect

Barnum Effect : is a term that is used in psychology. It is the tendency for people to accept very general or vague characterizations of themselves and take them to be accurate. A good example of this can be seen when people believe what is said about them in psychometric tests, personality profiles, astrological predictions, and so on. This phenomenon is named after P. T. Barnum, who believed that a good circus had "a little something for everybody." Even though the descriptions or descriptive terms used in the inventories, typologies, and tests can apply equally well to other people, some individuals are gullible enough to believe they are unique to themselves. Of course, this is exactly what happens with the horoscope, palm reading, and crystal ball gazing (Referring to the comments of P.T. Barnum, 1810-1891, American showman

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"in Hindu cosmology by “Shiva Nataraja” which literally means‘Shiva Lord of the Dance’. Shiva performs the “tandava” which is the dance in which the universe is created, maintained and resolved. "

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Dance Poses-By Sara Avtar Olivier

Time and space are eating us up, yet unprecedented possibilities are ours for the taking. Liberation from mental and physical blocks into free and gracefully flowing living (sahej), is what the new yogic discipline, Shakti Dance®, can help us experience to find our way.

The Role of Shakti in Kali Yug

This Kali Yug or Steel Age, as termed by the Hindu Vedic scriptures, finds us wandering in the darkness of ignorance about who and what we really are and where we are headed. As we increasingly focus on the diversity of superficial existence, getting lost in the erratic and frenetic chaos of modern daily life, we lose touch with our essence and the cosiness of being. This is the influence of Maya-Shakti, the force of illusion, distracting us through our senses and concealing reality beneath the festive display of physical phenomena. I

n this age, Maya-Shakti has the upper hand as she is said to veil three-quarters of essential truth. The other quarter is revealed by the illuminating force, Cit-Shakti, the impulse of awareness residing in the heart of all beings, spurring us on towards evolution and spiritual awakening. Maya-Shakti and Cit-Shakti are two sides of the same coin. Shakti is the Hindu feminine principle and goddess of all forms of energy and activity. She is the primal creative energy of the soul, consciousness made manifest and the divine breath through which all beings are inspired and animated. Without her, consciousness would remain formless and inert, and creation would cease to exist. Shakti’s unmanifest counterpart and spouse is Shiva – pure consciousness, the underlying peaceful reality of our being, unfettered by the bonds of time and space. The goal is to imbue the dance of our lives with the serene awareness (Cit) of Shiva.

Transformation of Shakti in the Aquarian Age

Within this Kali Yug we now enter a new astrological period, the Aquarian Age. This fundamentally heralds a great shift of consciousness. It is an age ruled by awareness, information and energy. The influx and overload of information in this computer age is overwhelming. In an era of sedentary, automated living, we are challenged to find new ways of dealing with life and regenerating ourselves. We need to develop techniques that will increase our vital energy and stimulate our ever-waning sensitivity, while increasing the stamina of our nervous system. Learning to consciously command our mind and effectively transform states of consciousness is essential if we are to avoid burnout. Developing the neutral meditative mind through yoga is key to enabling us to change gears of consciousness and to helping us navigate our way. At the same time an effective technology for transforming our inner energy, our Shakti, is paramount. Such a technology is provided by Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan; and also by Shakti Dance®.

Nature and Origin of Shakti Dance®
Shakti Dance® is a “yoga of dance”, offering a joyful, graceful and healthy yogic path through the conscious practice of dance. This discipline has been evolving since the early 1990s and is based on Kundalini yoga. It was created and developed with the support and encouragement of Yogi Bhajan by Sara Avtar Olivier, lifelong dancer and 20-year yoga practitioner and teacher. Shakti Dance® shares the common goal with Kundalini yoga of expanding consciousness to unfold and manifest our soul potential (Kundalini Shakti) in daily life. Shakti Dance® embraces eastern and western dance styles, both classical and modern while primarily focussing on their underlying principles of form and dynamic, qualities and energy levels. The different moods (bhavas) and styles of dance then become a comprehensive range of “tools” from which to choose for a precise and balanced stimulation of inner energy. Refining movement to form breath-linked flowing yoga asanas, Shakti Dance® opens and aligns subtle energy channels to heighten body awareness, giving a meditative and expansive sense of lightness, clarity and wellbeing.

The Dance of Life

The same principle of “rhythmic animating movement” that is attributed to dance is inherent to the vibration of the universe and all life. Just as creative consciousness is supremely expressed through the act of creation, dance is one of the most expressive forms of human activity through which the impulse of the soul can manifest. This simple yet profound truth is symbolised in Hindu cosmology by “Shiva Nataraja” which literally means‘Shiva Lord of the Dance’. Shiva performs the “tandava” which is the dance in which the universe is created, maintained and resolved. His dance is Shakti. Together the “dancer and the dance” become the “lover and the beloved”. Out of the duality of Shiva and Shakti are born the three “gunas”. These are the three basic qualities of all life from which the entire universe is woven. They emerge from and influence the fundamental phenomenon of vibration (spanda). From them proceed the five fundamental frequencies or elements (ether, air, fire, water, earth), that give rise to all physical phenomena, our mind and our senses.

The System
Shakti Dance® uses the insights gained from yogic philosophy to awaken and embody universal principles of harmonious movement. The interrelated systems of the three gunas, five elements (tattwas), 8 chakras and 10 bodies, known to Kundalini yoga, are an enlightening basis for recognizing and explaining the qualities and effects of movements, positions and feelings (rasas) created through dance. Yogic anatomy also provides a map for explaining the movement and transformation of energy. Here Shakti’s animating breath is described as flowing through the human body by way of an intricate network of subtle energy channels (nadis or meridians).This vital form of Shakti is known as “prana”. Together the network of pathways that convey it constitute the “pranic body”. Mental balance and rejuvenation are directly dependent on the stimulation and equilibrium of the pranic body. A precise definition of a yogi or yogini is: one who is able to control their three gunas, five elements and eight chakras at any time to reinstate perfect balance.

The Phases of Shakti Dance®
Through her extensive yogic and dance experience, Sara Avtar has been able to not only extend and systemise her spectrum of movement, but also develop a systematic process for cleansing and awakening the pranic body to access and enjoy the spirit of Shakti. Eight successive phases mark the way. Initially, mind and body are tuned to spirit. This uses mantra and mudra to connect the individual with the subtle wisdom of the soul, opening a meditative protective space in which to work. Then comes a series of Shakti Stretching, gentle and centring floor exercises to open the pranic body. These are cyclic, breathlinked flowing asanas that not only release tension and increase flexibility, but also increase movement range and initiate the experience of graceful flow. Gradually breath takes over the lead, initiating and sustaining the meditative current of movement. Energising standing exercises and self-repeating dance steps are then introduced to open the pranic body and chakras with breath-coordinated movement. This phase recharges vitality. It increases the vocabulary of movement while carefully stimulating and rebalancing the energetic spectrum. Once the pranic body is free-flowing, the inherent wisdom of the soul, the inspiration of Shakti, begins to unfold. The phase of freedance then takes over in surrender to the creative impulse, as it is given free reign for self-expression. An increased awareness of the aura enables an enjoyable exploration of inner and outer spaces. After a relaxation, a choreography of self-repeating sequences to mantric music in geometric group formation serves to realign both individual and group energy, weaving a group field and stimulating the meditative mind. A crowning moment of stillness in meditation is taken to enjoy the fulfillment of emptiness following the satisfaction of self-expression – bathing in the Source within. To close, inner and outer worlds are brought into balance while creating a protective auric shield.

Flowing with Grace
The effects of Shakti Dance® are immediately noticeable after the first class. Participants report feeling lighter, more free in their movement and at home in their bodies. A wider horizon and broader perspective is often related, enabling practitioners to face daily problems with greater serenity and joyful creativity. Those practising for a longer period are visibly transformed as their movements become more refined and subtle. Their whole demeanour and appearance takes on a graceful hue as they confidently describe riding the waves of life as if in a state of grace. Shakti Dance® is firmly established on the continent, particularly in Italy and Germany where around 30 certified Shakti Dance® teachers are currently teaching. Now in the UK, Shakti Dance® classes can be taken with certified teachers in London, Brighton, Cambridge and Manchester. Sara Avtar Olivier will also be holding a weekend intensive Shakti Dance®

Workshop in London on 3rd &
4th March 2007. For further
details visit: www.shaktidance.net

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Tohra, however, says that this does not mean that Bhajan is the Sikh leader of the Western Hemisphere, as he claims. The Sikhs do not create such offices. Nor, Tohra adds, has the committee given Bhajan the rarely bestowed title, Siri Singh Sahib (the equivalent of saying "Sir" three times), which he uses

Bhajan has his critics-and they are severe. Many traditional Sikhs insist that yoga has no place in their religion. Sikh historian Trilochan Singh says that Bhajan's synthesis of Sikhism and Tantrism is "a sacrilegious hodgepodge." Far more important, High Priest Jaswant Singh, a leader of the Sikhs in eastern India and comparable in status to Bhajan Backer Tohra, last week denounced Bhajan's claims. He and his council professed to be "shocked" at Bhajan's "fantastic theories." Yoga, Tantrism and the "sexual practices" taught by Bhajan, the council declared, are "forbidden and immoral."

There are more delicate matters at issue, many raised by people who knew Bhajan when. Judith Tyberg, respected founder of Los Angeles' East-West Center, where Bhajan briefly gave courses, questions his knowledge of Kundalini yoga. She fired him from her faculty after three months for another reason-which she refuses to divulge.

Bhajan has repeatedly been accused of being a womanizer. Colleen Hoskins, who worked seven months at his New Mexico residence, reports that men are scarcely seen there. He is served, she says, by a coterie of as many as 14 women, some of whom attend his baths, give him group massages, and take turns spending the night in his room while his wife sleeps elsewhere.

Colleen and her husband Philip, Bhajan's former chancellor, who quit last year, say they could no longer countenance Bhajan's luxurious life-style when so many of his followers had to scrimp along. Filmmaker Don Conreaux, an early apostle, says that originally the yogi was "against titles, against disciples. Now he teaches only obedience to him." When Philip Hoskins quit last year, he says Bhajan told him that he would suffer 84 million reincarnations and be "reborn as a worm for betraying your teacher."

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Live Your Life: the boarding schoolsGNFC was a traditional Sikh boarding school that had a British influence, and
had ... In 1988 a conflict arose between the 3HO organizers of the India "program
" ...
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Most cult leaders, senators, hot shot businessmen and rock stars seem content to take advantage of the rather insecure and immature groupies that flutter around any man who can pull off a bit of wealth or power.

That, however, was far too tame a game for Yogi [Bhajan]. Because he knew that women were his source of power, his goal was first to awaken women to their power and THEN to see if he could control them. Therefore, do not for one moment imagine that women within my cult were lifeless dominated zombies. On the contrary, over the years most of us developed that aura of confidence that only women who really understand and feel at ease with their power can gain. This power we freely shared with our sisters and out of gratitude and devotion, this power we freely gave back to Yogi [Bhajan].

In many ways he was like the physician in attendance at our birth, yet unfortunately, like many birthing women we tended to give Dr. Yogi [Bhajan] credit for all those successful deliveries--forgetting that we were the one's doing the real work.

A woman is not truly in her power unless she can look any man in the world in the eye and say--"I don't need you to love me, I don't need you to protect me and I don't need you to provide for me." Mind you after a women reaches that level of confidence and security within herself, it is perfectly natural for her to turn around and say to the men in her circle and say--"but thank you so much for loving me so well, thank you for being so willing to protect me and thank you for providing me with so much." But lets face it, few women ever make it to that first step. In fact, most women are desperate to find a man to take care of them and that is how we can be so easily controlled, exploited and conned. There is nothing strange in that, rather again, much stranger to me--is the fact that there are men who don't take advantage of this weakness in women.

Yogi [Bhajan] provided a structure for the women in my cult to heal this fundamental insecurity within them. For instance, for six weeks every summer women of my cult would leave the kids with our husbands and we would go off to camp. There we had the leisure to explore our potentials, free from the often all-engrossing and exhausting roles of worker, mother and wife. During those six weeks we grew strong and confident within the society of other women and unlike our normal lives, at camp there was only one man to make any demands on us and that, of course, was Yogi [Bhajan].

It was Yogi [Bhajan's] goal to make the women of his cult independent of all men ---except himself. If forced to choose, therefore, between our husbands and the cult, most of us felt that we were strong enough to choose the cult, which we firmly believed was the righteous choice. Although very few of us were in actuality Yogi [Bhajan's] mistresses, ([he] never screwed married women, not even his own wife) our husbands were always in a subtle or not so subtle competition with Yogi [Bhajan] for our allegiance, support and power.

I believe that Yogi [Bhajan's] biggest rush was his ability to woo, without ever touching us, the wives away from the men that were his students. It was his skillful control and empowerment of the women that insured his position as dominant male in the baboon troop that was our cult.

As a woman I must admit that the competition that Yogi [Bhajan] set up among the men in the organization was not, in all cases, a negative thing. Since we believed [him] to be pure and of righteous intent, we women fully expected our husbands to be ethical, unattached, and magnificent beings and many of them turned out to be just that and more. The more being [like] that, unlike Yogi [Bhajan], a few of his male students developed the capacity to love as well.

Needless to add, none of these truly superior men have remained Yogi [Bhajan's] students.